“All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”
“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.”
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Isaiah 7:14, 9:2, 6-7 NLT
We read the Son’s assignment in Isaiah 9:6-7, and it quickly becomes clear that this did not happen while He walked the highways and byways of Palestine, as we read in the Gospels. Jesus wasn’t present on this earth as a Ruler, but as a Prince of Peace. There were three prophecies in these verses penned by Isaiah. They all referred to the coming of God’s Son, Jesus. Isaiah prophesied about how He would come, the impact of His coming, and His eternal reign. All in a few short verses. We have considered the first two and, with the benefit of hindsight, we see how remarkably accurate Isaiah’s prophecies were. But we have yet to see Jesus ruling “from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity”.
In a few words, Isaiah gave us a hint that the Son’s first coming was going to transition to His second through the Holy Spirit’s presence on the earth. He was going to act as the Son’s representative, maintaining the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, inviting all who desired a relationship with Him to become citizens. But then we see a new Jesus. Not the Man of peace, riding a donkey, but a Man of authority, riding a white horse and ruling for all eternity. We don’t have the benefit of hindsight for this part of Isaiah’s prophecy so we, in faith, must accept it and watch out for it. It has still to happen.
Nowhere in these verses in Isaiah does it say when these prophecies would come to pass. We know that Jesus will return to this planet, because the angels at His ascension told the disciples so. We read in Acts 1:10-11, “As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!””. There are several Scriptures that give us some clues as to how Jesus will return to this earth. The Apostle John, in his vision, wrote in Revelation 19:11, “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war“. I Thessalonians 4:16-17 reads, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever”. When Jesus returns to this earth, He will fulfil the last part of Isaiah’s prophecy. No returning as a helpless and insignificant baby – He will return as the Ruler, the Lord of lords and King of kings.
In this season of Christmas, we pilgrims celebrate the birth of Jesus. We trace His steps through the dark paths of a people needing a Saviour. We see how His light has illuminated the world for the past two thousand years, and we have been given a preview of His impending return as the triumphant Mighty God. All from a few verses written by a Jewish prophet nearly three thousand years ago. The penultimate verse in the Bible records the last words of Jesus. We read in Revelation 22:20, “He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” Sentiments I am sure we echo and share.
Dear Lord. We are so grateful for Your willingness to come to earth, showing us a way to eternal life with You. We worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 