“He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.” (Psalm 46:9).
Isaiah 9:5-7
5 For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult
and every garment rolled in blood
will be burned as fuel for the fire.
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.
For to us a child is born. At a time when the world is weary and despairing of political solutions, when the political future looks bleak, this is welcome news. As we wake up each day I think many of us wonder what violent act has captured the headlines. What bombing, what senseless act of terror, what inhuman travesty has now been committed. Each day we are confronted by politicians, gurus, academics and a host of others that say they will solve the world’s problems. Just listen to them, just vote for them, just buy their latest book and all will be fine.
God, however, in His infinite wisdom sent us a child. This child will be a Mighty King and a Prince of Peace. “He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.” (Isaiah 2:4) This child was the Promised Messiah, the Son of God, the great hope of Israel and all mankind. “The government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 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.”
We know this is a promise yet to be fulfilled because we live in this world. We know that this Kingdom which Christ will reign over is a “kingdom not of this world”. (John 18:36). This is a Kingdom yet to come. We know because we can see that there is no peace, there is no justice and there is no righteousness evident on this earth to the degree that Scripture has promised us. We know, but we do not despair. We do not despair because as Christians we have a hope and we believe in the promises of God. “We have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” (Timothy 4:10).
Christ’s kingdom is spiritually active in the world today in the hearts and in the lives of His people. God has promised and assured us that one day Christ will return to physically reign on this earth over His Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 11:15; 20:6). We need to take hold of this hope and believe what He has promised us, that one day He will reign as a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. With the chaos of this world we need to take hope knowing that the Millennial Kingdom will be one of peace without end and ruled by our Lord with justice and with righteousness. Take heart, because in this Kingdom we are told that “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him.” (2 Timothy 2:11-12).
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