The Gift of Wholeness
|
Key Verse: “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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Selected Scripture: |
JESUS PARTIALLY fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah 9:1,2 and Isaiah 42:7 as we read in Matthew 4:15-17. When he began to preach and do most of his mighty works in “the land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” Those people saw a great light of Divine Truth but the real fulfillment lies in the future Millennial Kingdom when the great light of the “Sun of righteousness [shall] arise with healing in his wings.” (Mal. 4:2) We thus have prophetic assurance of the great light of knowledge which God will bring to all mankind through Christ, “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9) Every one born into the world is promised enlightenment by that glorious Sun which assures them that “they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”—Isa. 35:10
In this kingdom of the Lord, the Prince of Peace will be the supreme ruler. The prophet tells us that “in the last days, … the mountain [kingdom] of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills.” This suggests that Christ’s kingdom will take a dominating position and control over all the nations of earth. The people will quickly recognize its governing authority “and all nations shall flow unto it.”—Isa. 2:2
All this will come to us because ‘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, Counsellor, the mighty God, The everlasting Father, [and] The Prince of Peace.’ Our great Redeemer is eventually to bear these many titles of the many wonderful offices he will fill and the services he will accomplish. His great work in the past, his redemption work, was the foundation of all his future work. He will have the right to assume these various offices and use these various powers on account of his faithfulness.
First, he will be revealed to the world as the Wonderful Counsellor, the embodiment of Divine justice, power, wisdom and love. Christ will give assistance, guidance and direction that man may return through restitution into harmony with God.
His title, The Mighty God, will be recognized as he that God set forth “to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” and “to all that are afar off.”—Acts 5:31; 2:39
The title, The Everlasting Father, will apply to him as the life-giver of the world, during the thousand years of his reign. All the faithful world of mankind, regenerated on the human plane, will obtain their right as human beings in an earthly paradise.
As The Prince of Peace “the increase of his government and [of] peace there shall be no end.” (Isa. 9:7) When his reign shall terminate at the close of the thousand years, it will be to deliver the perfect kingdom over to the Father.—I Cor. 15:28