Isaiah 9:6-7 6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom [basilea], to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever., The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
This prophecy has not been fulfilled yet. Despite how hard man tries, he still cannot bring peace. However, there is a time coming when The Messiah is here on earth that peace will increase.
NLT Psalm 2:6 For the LORD declares, "I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, my holy city." 7The king proclaims the LORD's decree: "The LORD said to me, 'You are my son. Today I have become your Father. 8Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession. 9You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.'" 10Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! 11Serve the LORD with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12Submit to God's royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of your pursuits-for his anger can flare up in an instant. But what joy for all who find protection in him!
The New Living Bible makes this passage very clear. The nations, or as the King James version translates it, "the heathen the unbelieving people will need to stand before the great king." If these kings don't act wisely they will be broken with a rod of iron.
When Jesus comes back to earth he will fight the battle of Armageddon. The next thousand years, he will begin to set up his kingdom here on the earth. There will still be mortals here on the earth with nations and kingdoms. These rulers will be given a chance to submit to the lord Jesus and his government.
Jesus will reign from Jerusalem during this millennial period.
Jeremiah 23:5-6 5Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth [emphasis added]. 6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
No matter how hard man attempts, anyone who understands biblical prophecy know that Israel and the Middle East will not see lasting peace until the prince of peace comes to set things straight.
Zechariah 6:12-13 12And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.NLT Zechariah 9:9-10 9Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey-even on a donkey's colt. 10I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and I will destroy all weapons used in battle. Your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.Psalm 89:35-37 35Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
The promise that God made to David will come to pass.
Titus 1:1-2 1Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; 2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
God is not like man who lies.
When God's Word declares that His seed will endure forever and of His kingdom there will be no end, surely it must come to pass.
Let's look at the New Living Translation of Isaiah 65.
NLT Isaiah 65:19-25 19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard no more. 20"No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only sinners will die that young!21In those days, people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. 22It will not be like the past, when invaders took the houses and confiscated the vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees and will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains. 23They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they are people blessed b the LORD, and their children, too, will be blessed.24I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! 25The wolf and lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox. Poisonous snakes will strike no more. In those days, no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
When Jesus comes to earth-the planet, including nature, will respond favorably to the Messiah's personal presence.
NLT Isaiah 11:1-16 1Out of the stump of David's family will grow a shoot yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 2And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3He will delight in obeying the lord. He will never judge by appearance, false evidence, or hearsay. 4He will defend the poor and the exploited. He will rule against the wicked and destroy them with the breath of his mouth. 5He will be clothed with fairness and truth. 6In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all. 7The cattle will graze among bears. Cubs and calves will lie down together. And lions will eat grass as the livestock do.8Babies will crawl safely among poisonous snakes. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes and pull it out unharmed. 9Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. And as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD. 10In that day the heir to David's throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, for the land where he lives will be a glorious place.11In that day the Lord will bring back a remnant of his people for the second time, returning them to the land of Israel from Assyria, Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, Ethiopia, Elam, Babylonia, Hamath, and all the distant coastlands. 12He will raise a flag among the nations for Israel to rally around. He will gather the scattered people of Judah from the ends of the earth.13Then at last the jealousy between Israel and Judah will end. They will not fight against each other anymore. 14They will join forces to swoop down on Philistia to the west. Together they will attack and plunder the nations to the east. They will occupy all the lands of Edom, Moab, and Ammon.15The LORD will make a dry path through the Red Sea. He will wave his hand over the Euphrates River, sending a mighty wind to divide it into seven streams that can easily be crossed. 16He will make a highway from Assyria for the remnant there, just as he did for Israel long ago when they returned from Egypt.
The Word of God gives so much information about this time of the Messiah and his rule.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
All through the ages men and women have looked for this coming kingdom.
This would be a time when Israel could dwell in safety and live in peace. This was available to Israel when Jesus came the first time, had they received him as their king. Their response provoked by their leadership is forever etched in the pages of the Bible.
John 19:15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
In our next issue, we will look as the subject of the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven.
To be continued …ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, NLT means the New Living Translation, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.