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Thoughts on the advent of Christ from Isaiah 9:6-7

 

For 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.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

 

  1. A Son is given: This speaks of His eternal Deity and eternal Sonship (before the incarnation). A Son is "given" - the incarnation. wholly God
  2. The government: He came unto His own (Israel) and His own received Him not. Israel rejected their king at the 1st advent. A 2nd advent is coming and He will reign.
  3. The rejection of Christ by Israel, was not a surprise to God, for in His eternal counsels the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again to settle the sin problem of man...and for Israel's New Covenant, enjoyed after the 2nd advent.
  4. His titles in this portion tell of His person, work, and honor due Him. At present man is not honoring Him, and Israel is in rebellion. He is not merely a wonderful (adjective) counselor, but titled as both Wonderful, and Counselor. One is mindful of the Angel of the Lord's response to Manoah in Judges 13 "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” Then Mahoah and wife look upon as wondrous things took place. These are in type, picture of millennial actions by Him who is Wonderful indeed. It is wonderful that the government is on His shoulder (singular). He carries the lost sheep of Luke 15 on his shoulders (plural) and yet the government of the millennium is on a shoulder (singular). This too is worthy of consideration and glory.
  5. In this present age of rejection of Messiah by Israel, God is calling out people from Israel and from the Gentiles to form the new thing, the body of Christ, the church, a mystery not revealed in the Old Testament. Isaiah knew nothing about the body of Christ. The Church is not Israel modified, replaced, or completed. They are distinct. The Gentile kingdoms of this world also reject Him, despite the pomp one sees in holiday season, He is a rejected Savior.
  6. Ere long, the last person will believe and be brought into the body of Christ. the last person saved. The church will be raptured out of the world, and God takes up His dealings with Israel again, culminating in to the 2nd advent.
  7. The great tribulation - 7 years of sorrow on earth, judgment, and the conversion of Israel as they at last look upon Messiah Whom they have pierced. His 2nd advent and kingdom come at last (Thy kingdom come..Thy will be done...)
  8. His government/His peace....the 1000 year reign of Christ from Jerusalem, will be the apex of Israel's existence. The nation will have been converted, and finally enter into their Messianic blessings and kingdom. This will be the golden era of enduring peace that men seek today, but cannot accomplish, apart from the rejected King.
  9. Jesus will be sitting on that throne of David, ruling the earth at last. At present He's on the throne in heaven, ere long on the throne of David on earth. Judgment and Justice will be the hallmarks of that millennial reign.

We must remember that Israel's blessings are a kingdom on the Earth, with Messiah as their King. The Church's blessings are in the heavenlies and very different and distinct from Israel's. The church is Christ's Bride, He is also her Lord. King is a title reserved for Israel's relationship to the Lord Jesus- as King (king is not a church relationship to Him).

 

The two advents of Christ, if taken in context, bring light upon God's purposes...for Israel, and for the Church...yet moreso for God's glory as manifest in the created universe. First advent was judicial actions against sin. Second advent sets things right governmentally in preparation for the millennial reign, with the judgment of Israel & the nations, the separation of sheep from the goats, and the entry of those who believe of both Israel and the nations into that 1000 year reign.

So we see the 1st and 2nd advent have the cross at the center, at the crossroads of time... God's purposes are diverse, yet centered on the Child born and Son given. He always was God the Son, in time became the Child born and Son given.

 

Reader, how do you know Him, do you?