6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his
name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of
peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to
establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this
time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will do this. (Isaiah 9)
This
is the connection between the throne of God in heaven,[1] and the people of God on earth. Is the throne-room of heaven so
glorious that there is no room for people like us? Is it so beautiful and holy
that sinful people have no place being there? Is there any hope for sinners if
the throne-room of God is so glorious, and perfect, and undefiled, that no
human being can enter?
The
answer is: “to US a child is born, to US
a son is given,” and that settles everything. This child that is born to us
will bear the government of God upon his very shoulders. He will bring the
government of God to the earth, to all who are the sons of God.
What
is our hope in his rule? It is this: that he is a “Wonderful Counselor” who shines the hope of God upon prostitutes, drunks,
tax collectors, sinners, and transgressors of every description. He calls them
to come and reason with him, to sit down on hillsides, and beside wells, and in
storm-tossed boats, and at the foot of a bloody cross, and consider how their
sins that are as scarlet can be washed as white as snow. Though their sins are
the deepest red of the darkest crimson, they shall become white like the
cleanest, purest wool of the whitest little lamb.[2]
Our
hope in the rule of this child is that he is the “Mighty God”. He is the Mighty God image of the invisible Mighty
God.[3] He is Almighty God come in the flesh.[4] He is not another mere man trying to leave a good mark on the
world’s bad history. He is not another hero seeking to bring about an uprising
that will overturn one government and bring in another fleeting mirage of hope
for humanity. He is not another founder of a world religion, or a good man
seeking to be the first man that broken people could trust.
As
much as he would touch history for good, and change the course of governments
and nations, and present broken hearts with the feel of a good man caring for
their deepest hurts, guilt, and shame, he was much more than that. He is the
Mighty God, the one who is fully able to perform whatever he sets out to do. His
food was to do his Father’s will, and he would complete that work his Father
gave him[5] because he is the Mighty God who can do all that his good,
gracious, loving, and holy heart would ever desire for his people.
Our
hope would build and grow because this child is the “Everlasting Father”. He is not a sometimes-father. He is not an
everlasting despot[6]. He is everlasting as a Father. Not one corruption of fatherhood
can diminish the glory of the Fatherly care of this son who is given to us.
Every hope of the orphan-minded, abused, rejected soul can look up to this
Everlasting Father and know that we will be loved with fatherly love, forever.
But,
this is not all. This son shall also be our “Prince
of Peace”. God promised that, when this child was born, and when this son
was given, he would enter the world with a message of peace that was both
different, and more, than all the peace the world had ever imagined.
The
government on the shoulders of this child would be a rule of peace. It would
not be a wishful-thinking kind of peace, or a mirage-in-the-desert kind of
peace. It would be real peace in the messed-up world of sinful people living as
enemies of God.[7] It would be a peace that overcomes sin, rebellion, pride, self-will,
and sarkiness[8] of every description. It would be the real peace that sinful,
shame-filled, fearful, guilt-crushed souls could ever long for, and it would
come in the real person and presence of this particular child that would be
born to us, this distinctive, unique, one-and-only son who would be given as
God’s greatest gift.
To
be certain that we understand this as a wonderful revelation of incomparable
hope, God’s prophet adds: “Of the increase
of his government and peace there will be no end”. This assures us that the
governing rule of this Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace will grow instead of diminish. It will not fade away as every
other empire has done. It will not become some archeological prize uncovered
from centuries of dust. It will be a government that increases, with a peace
that increases, with “no end”… EVER!
As
wonderful as this is, there is a qualification. While the whole world will sing
along to Christmas songs of “joy to the world” and “peace towards men”,[9]this son will rule over “the
throne of David and over his kingdom.”[10] In short, this means that this child will rule over God’s people.
The kingdom he established and upheld would be the Kingdom of God,[11] the kingdom of heaven.[12] It would be for those who come to God through this son, and enter
this kingdom through faith in this Son.
What
can the recipients of this kingdom expect from this ruling son? That he will “uphold it with justice and with
righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”[13] The kingdom will not be what the recipients make it, but what this
Prince of Peace makes it. There will be perfect justice and righteousness in
this kingdom because this son will uphold these realities of God forevermore.
Now,
as if more affirmation was needed, the LORD’s prophet is carried along by the
Holy Spirit to add this: “The zeal of the
Lord of hosts will do this.”[14]Not only can we see what this son will do when he comes, and feel assured
that he will do these things because of who he is, but we are also promised
that these things will happen just as prophesied because the One True God will
do exactly what he moved his prophet to write. And, he will not do it
haphazardly, or reluctantly, or half-heartedly. He will do all of this with
zeal, with earnest desire, with longing to have sinful people as saintly children.
Some
two thousand years after this prophecy was fulfilled, God’s word has been
proven true beyond question. While the people of Isaiah’s day were called to
look forward more centuries then they could have imagined, we are given this
inestimable privilege of looking back at the myriad of prophesies fulfilled in
the life of Jesus Christ our Lord.
The
message is clear: those who have faith in the child who was born, the son who
was given, will see the zeal of the LORD of hosts fulfill all the remaining
prophesies of the New Covenant, including all the prophetic pictures of the
book of Revelation.
The
view of the heavenly throne-room in Revelation 4 assures us that the Wonderful
Counselor is still wonderfully counseling all who meet with him in his word and
prayer. Jesus, the Mighty God, is still bringing lost sheep home, rescuing them
from the mouth of the lion, delivering them from the red dragon, and there is
none who can stop him from fulfilling every thought of all his Father’s plans.
Jesus, the Everlasting Father, will bring orphaned children into the safety and
security of the Father’s presence, where they will live in fearless enjoyment
of the Fatherly love of God forever. This Prince of Peace will rule at his
Father’s right hand with the eternal security of peace for all who have come to
him by faith in his name.
Simply
put, because the zeal of the LORD of hosts did what he promised through Isaiah,
we are assured that he will do all that he promised through John in the book of
Revelation. Be of good cheer! Jesus has overcome the world![15]
From
my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
This will be a recurring theme for a while as I ponder my way through
Revelation 4.
[2]
“Come now, let us reason
together, says the Lord: though your sins are like
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they
shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
[3]
“He is the image of the
invisible God…” (Colossians 1:15)
[4]
“And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son
from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John
1:14)
[5]
“ Jesus
said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent
me and to accomplish his work.’” (John 4:34)
[6]
“1. Powerful ruler: a tyrant or ruler with absolute powers. 2. Tyrannical
person: somebody who behaves in a tyrannical way toward other people.” (Encarta
Dictionary)
[7]
“You adulterous people!
Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore
whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
[8]
The Bible speaks of our prideful self-centeredness as “the flesh”, which is the
English translation of the Greek word “sarx”, or “sark”. “Sarkiness” is my way
of encapsulating all that is fleshly, or selfish, or independent from God about
us. Romans 7 is an extensive revelation about the hopelessness of living in the
flesh, contrasted with Romans 8 which is a beautiful revelation of the hope
that is for those who live in the Spirit of God through Jesus Christ.
[9]
A misunderstanding of the joy and peace the angels announced to the shepherds
in Luke 2:8-14
[10]
Isaiah 9:7
[11]
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)
[12]
“Let the little children come to me and
do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
[13]
Isaiah 9:7
[14]
Isaiah 9:7
[15]
John 16:33
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