Throughout Isaiah, and the books of the prophets generally, there are numerous passages about the age of the messianic kingdom. Some of these passages mention and focus on the Messiah Himself, others just describe the features of that age, and some of them, like Isaiah 11, include both. There can be little reason to doubt that it is invariably the same age that is described in all of these passages, though each passage contains its own selection of features from a common pool. The most common characteristics of these passages are the mention of universal peace and prosperity, a highway established for the return of pilgrims to Zion, the justice of the Messiah's administration, the rejoicing of God's people, and the subjection of the Gentiles. There are other features of the messianic age that occur in such passages, but these seem to be mentioned more frequently than most.
One of the themes common to many of these descriptive passages is the idea that God will bring about another "exodus." Images of escape from Egypt and crossing the parted sea dry-shod are sometimes used in these descriptions. Also, predictions of the fall of Babylon and the return of the exiles to Jerusalem often blend into descriptions of the glories of the messianic age (this is very common, for example, in Jeremiah and Ezekiel). Both the Exodus and the return of the exiles from Babylon provide prototypes of a greater salvation that the prophets foresee coming with the advent of Messiah.
The great controvery between the modern day interpreters of the Old Testament focuses very largely on the question of the fulfillment of these "kingdom-age" passages. Both camps agree that the age in question requires the advent of Christ for its establishment. The question is whether it is the first or the second coming of Christ that brings these things into reality. If the first, then the kingdom passages are describing the present age of the Church, the effects of Christ's first coming; if the second, then it describes an age to be inaugurated by the second coming, usually identified with a future millennial kingdom.
Another aspect of this controversy is just how literally these passages are intended to be understood. Are they speaking precisely and literally, or are they expressing something through the use of symbolic language?
The premillennial view applies these passages to the future millennialism, to be brought about by the second coming of Christ. They (especially the dispensationalists among them), take the language as literally as possible. The Biblist/Preterist view, following the example of the New Testament writers and the historical church, spiritualize the passages and apply them to the age established at Christ's first coming.
If it seem disingenuous for me to say that the New Testament writers universally applied these passages to the church age, I would simply invite anyone skeptical about this to note every case in the New Testament in which such passages are quoted. You will find that the writers, without exception, cite these passages in order to establish some point about the present age. It was my noticing this, thirty years ago, that started me on my journey out of Dispensationalism, and eventually into Preterism.
Isaiah 11 is a great place to observe this phenomenon. It begins with the Messiah springing up as a Branch out of Jesse's roots (Isaiah 11:1). This is a clear reference to the first coming of Christ, since He will not spring out of His ancestors' roots at His second coming.
Then we read of the Spirit of the Lord resting upon Him (v.2). The same detail is mentioned in Isaiah 61:1, which Christ quotes as being fulfilled during His earthly ministry (Luke 4:18-21).
Isaiah then tells of Christ's character and discernment (v.3) and of His championing the cause of the poor and downtrodden (v.4). One needs only to read the Gospel accounts in order to see the fulfillment opf these things. Some may have trouble with the clauses in v.4: "He shall strike the land with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." This is a figurative reference to the impact of His preaching, as seen in the use of similar imagery about the Old Testament prophets: "Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth" (Hos.6:5). Paul refers to himself, in his pre-conversion period, as being "slain" by the word of God (Rom.7:11).
Isaiah 11:6—9 describes idyllic peace between the former enemies, Jews and Gentiles, using the common Old Testament imagery of the Jews being God's flock and herd, and the Gentiles being likened to predatory animals that prey on domestic creatures. The language of verses 8 and 9 is echoed in Luke 10:19, where Jesus applies it to His disciples presently having authority over the demonic powers.
The gathering of the Gentiles to Christ is then mentioned in Isaiah 11:10-12, which Paul quotes in Romans 15:12, and applies to his Gentile mission. Also the remnant of Israel and Judah are gathered in the same period—the church age (Isa.11:12). This gathering is not geographical , but spiritual. In the previous chapter, Isaiah has mentioned this returning of the remnant "to the mighty God" (Isaiah 10:21). A chapter earlier, Christ is called "the mighty God" (9:6). Paul quotes the Isaiah 10 passage and applies it to the present salvation of the remnant of Israel, who have come to Christ (Rom.9:27).
Isaiah 11:13—16 uses the common Old Testament device of naming ancient enemies of Israel as representative either of Gentiles generally, or of the spiritual enemies of the saints. The mention of the Philistines, Edom, Moab and Ammon (v.14), for example, cannot be literal, since these ethnic groups and their nations have passed from history in pre-Christian times. The passage is most likely a stylistic prediction of God's people being vindicated and victorious over their enemies, whether physical or spiritual.
The "highway" motif appears in Isaiah 11:16; 35:8; 40:3; and elsewhere. It is a common feature in these kingdom passages. We need not speculate about the time of its fulfillment. The New Testament is explicit in declaring that the building of this highway began with the preaching of John the Baptist (Isaiah 40:3 is quoted to this effect by all four Gospels).
Thus it is demonstrable beyond any reasonable doubt that the New Testament writers saw this chapter as predicting the age of the church, in which they were living. What is true of Isaiah 11 can as easily be shown to be true of most of the other passages of the same sort in the prophets. No New Testament writer ever applied any of these passages to what we call "the end times."
Concerning the question directly, the "second time" of regathering, mentioned in Isaiah 11:11 is not presupposing the gathering from Babylon as the "first time." When Isaiah wrote this, there had been no previous mention in scripture of the Babylonian exile, nor of the subsequent regathering. Isaiah's audience would not have had any frame of reference for thinking of the "second time" being subsequent to a regathering from Babylon—but there was a historical precedent that would have occurred to them immediately.
In the context, it seems clear that the "first" gathering of His people from foreign oppression was the Exodus itself. From the vantage point of Isaiah's generation, this would be the only historic referent that would make any sense. Besides, a few verses later, Isaiah tells us that the previous gathering was the exodus—"...as it was for Israel in the day that he came up from the land of Egypt" (v.16; the previous verse mentions crossing "the Sea of Egypt...dry-shod").
The "second" exodus is, of course, our salvation. Moses and Elijah, on the mount of transfiguration, discussed with Jesus "the exodus that He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). Paul likened our salvation to the Israelites' crossing the Red Sea (1 Cor.10:1-6), and there are many other evidences that the New Testament writers saw the cross and the resurrection of Christ as fulfilling the typology of the exodus (e.g., 1 Cor.5:7).
Thus there is no mention here of either the gathering of the Jews from Babylon, in 539 BC, nor of another gathering of the Jews in the end times. It is a reference to the first and second exoduses—the second of which is the exodus of all God's people, Jews and Gentiles, from all nations on earth, out of the bondage of sin and into the kingdom of the Messiah—the new Zion (Heb.12:22-23).
One thing is clear to me, Christians have been historically guilty of minimizing the completed work of Christ and attributing too much to a future period. Like Martha we eagerly affirm “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”, and miss what He has already done and can do in the present age.
So it is clear to me that the Scriptural evidence for the re-gathering of the Jews to the land of Israel in the 20th Century is non-existent. However, it cannot be ignored that God has had a providential hand in allowing the rebirth of the nation in 1948 and has preserved it through ongoing threats. In saying this, I in no way condone any injustices that have been done to achieve these objectives. If the Lord were truly in control of this situation, I believe His solution would involve Semetic brethren dwelling together in unity (e.g. Isaiah 11:6), which is not likely to occur in this present (fallen) age.
God is working out His purpose among the Jews who have regathered in modern Israel, I have no doubt that He is doing so, as I believe that God is working in every significant geopolitical development. I don't know if the re-establishment of Israel as a nation will promote the salvation of the Jews, ultimately, or not. I know only that God is sovereign over nations and rulers, and that He wants all the Jews (as well as Gentiles) to be saved. I do not necessarily see, however, the fulfillment of any specific predicted purpose in this re-establishment.
If the Jews, by obtaining their sovereignty in 1948 could have guaranteed for themselves a just and secure society, such as would prevent any future holocaust, I might see the establishment of modern Israel as an unmixed blessing...though earthly security might rather disincline them, not incline them, toward considering Christ as their Messiah. Unfortunately, not all that they do would stand the ethical scrutiny even of Moses and their own prophets, and the people living in the land are far from secure. The outcome of all of this remains to be seen, and is not (in my opinion) predicted anywhere in scripture.
