As the Christmas season gently wraps around us, as if in a warm blanket fresh and fragrant from the dryer, no church service would feel complete without the reading of this wondrous Christmas-time passage:
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7 KJV)
Many over the centuries have attributed Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the birth of the Messiah to the advent of Christ instituting an ecclesiastical kingdom—the Church Age. But, in actuality, this passage points much farther in time to the coming of an even greater kingdom—the Millennial Kingdom.
As we are currently living in this Church Age, we find ourselves suffering in a world filled with fear, violence, and strife. The unending peace promised by the prophet remains seasonal and fleeting. In contrast, Isaiah was revealing a King and Kingdom that would do away with all these vices. He prophesied what our hearts have so long desired—that the peace of Christmas would last all year long.
Conqueror of the Three Tyrants
If a kingdom bears the reflection of the one or ones who rule over it, then this coming kingdom of Christ certainly emulates the divinity of its Messianic King. And the book of Isaiah especially does great justice in describing the righteous character of its monarch.
In Isaiah’s passage, the Son of God is identified as the ultimate head over all government during His kingdom reign. He will utter wonderful and consoling words to His subjects. As the Son rules righteously from the throne of David, His awesome power will ensure a peaceful regime.
To achieve such universal world peace presupposes a universal recognition of God and a willful subjection to His judgment. And, for those who choose to disobey His moral law, Christ will bring about swift judgment, but all in perfect justice, for He will rule with great zeal and attention over His realm.
In commenting on Isaiah 9, Martin Luther concluded that when righteousness defines such a kingdom, it will naturally conquer what he labeled the Three Tyrants: (1) sin, (2) death, and (3) the Devil. Luther elaborated: “The rule of sin is broken. The yoke of death is destroyed. The law which condemns has been subdued.”
Banner of the Harmonious Whole
We learn a whole lot more about the righteous character of the King and kingdom from reading Isaiah 11:
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.
And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious. (Verses 1-5, 10 NKJV)
In this passage, the righteous ruler is described puzzlingly as both “a Rod from the stem of Jesse” as well as “a Root of Jesse.” How can the King be at the same time both a progenitor and a descendant? To find the answer, we look to the messianic significance embedded within Isaiah’s description. The passage not only identifies an individual king of human descent born out of the line of David’s father, Jesse, but also, by virtue of its context, notes that the king would also be the forefather of Jesse. In presenting us with this supposed conundrum, Isaiah intended for us to understand that this righteous ruler can only be the prophesied Messianic King, for while a man, He also hails from divine and ancient origins.
In reading about the righteous character of the King in Isaiah 11, expositor Richard Brand beautifully likened Isaiah’s portrayal of the coming of the Holiness of God to “floating airily into one’s room on a springtime breeze to the sounds of the lovely stringed music of Vivaldi.” The “Branch” will possess three specific pairs of these beautiful gifts, which are identified as (1) wisdom and understanding, (2) the Spirit of counsel and might, and (3) the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Brand explained that according to the first pair, the King will possess the practical acumen required to arbitrate political and judicial affairs. According to the second pair, He will possess the qualities for advancing diplomatic negotiations and consolidating military authority. And, according to the third pair, He will validate the piety of the ideal king, thereby confirming His status as God’s instrument.
Godly wisdom, divine counsel, and perfect righteousness—do those characterize the fallen leaders of our governments today? Most certainly not! No wonder commentators have described Isaiah’s messianic passage as “brimming with imagery that has shaped the imaginations of Jews and Christians for centuries.” For, as Brand so aptly identified, “All of us will be living together in a harmonious whole. This will be the place where all creation lives in peace.”
Defender of Truth and Justice
Other defining characteristics of the Messianic King’s reign include perfect justice and absolute truth. Let’s look again at the writings of Isaiah and Micah. These two prophets echoed each other’s prophecy, declaring that the King will serve as both lawgiver and judge. “Out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off” (Micah 4:1-3; see also Isaiah 2:2-4).
Both Micah and Isaiah shared a powerful vision of a future that will stand in stark contrast to humanity’s distasteful experience with today’s failed rulers. They leave the righteous yearning for the day when King Jesus will finally transform this chaotic world. Mount Zion will become the Supreme Court of the world. And the Messianic King will rule as suzerain over all nations, for He alone will hold all legitimate power to govern and judge (see also Psalms 2; 47; 82; 95; 96; 98; 99).
Isaiah compelled his readers to “look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet home… There the majestic Lord will be… (For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us)” (Isaiah 33:20-22).
A judge is usually perceived as one who brings condemnation to the guilty. Instead, during the Millennial Kingdom, Christ’s presence will be welcomed as Savior. Isaiah also proclaimed the Messianic King’s tireless passion for justice: “He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law” (Isaiah 42:3-4).
Jesus recited this passage to the multitudes whom He was teaching in Matthew 12 (see verses 18-21). He did so to reveal Himself as this prophesied divine Lawgiver. We can take away three main reflections from Christ’s teachings in Matthew 12: (1) His compassionate miracles, (2) His silence imposed on the cured, and (3) His withdrawal from the plotting Pharisees.
Jesus modeled justice tempered by gentleness and restraint, with a policy toward the weak and vulnerable, and He did so in an extraordinarily merciful, tender, and evenhanded way. The life of Christ was meant to provide us with a template for what our lives will truly be like once we are living in truth and justice, as we will during the Millennial Kingdom.
Worthy Servant of the Exalted Courts
Isaiah also pointed out that those who will one day stand in the millennial court of the Lord will exhibit the same awestruck wonder as those who once stood before the exalted courts of King Solomon: “Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high… Kings shall shut their mouths at Him” (Isaiah 52:13, 15). As Wycliffe Bible translator Kenneth Litwak rightly noted, “The Servant’s exaltation is without precedent.”
Isaiah 52 doesn’t merely prophesy Judah’s remnant returning home one day from Babylonian captivity under Cyrus; instead, God was presenting something greater in mind: an ultimate deliverance from the Lord—one that He will bring about through the mysterious character known only as “My Servant.” The suffering of My Servant had made Him worthy of such great exaltation; a glory prescribed only to God.
Remember that during Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry, He was looked upon as homely, weak, and an outlier. Aside from His ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Jesus rarely received His due exaltation from the masses.
And yet, due to My Servant’s selfless actions in bringing salvation to humanity, the citizens of the Millennial Kingdom will equate Christ as being truly worthy of receiving the same glory as the God of the universe. Those who appear before the Servant’s courts will gape and marvel at this transformation. We, too, will wonder open-mouthed, amazed by Christ’s gracious and divine justice, and will exalt Him with all the praise due such a righteous liege.
It is in the Millennial Kingdom that Isaiah’s Christmas prophecy will have at last been fulfilled. The trials and tribulations of this corrupted Church Age will have passed. Then and there, the world will finally know righteousness, justice, and peace, having received the rewards for our hope. And the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this!
Resource
To further learn about what life will be like living in the Millennial Kingdom, order Dr. Nathan Jones’ new book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom, published by Harvest House Publishers!
