7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. – Isaiah 9:7 AMP
Chapter Nine of the Book of Isaiah contains a prophecy of Jesus’ birth and subsequent reign. Today’s verse says that there will be no end of peace during His reign. This messes with the theology of some.
Those who claim this prophecy has already come to pass and is continually being fulfilled point to the church as the source. Churches continue to grow and it is said by this group that peace fills the hearts of every believer. Sounds pretty convincing doesn’t it? Sure it does, but there is a small problem with that line of thinking.
The difficulty arises around the throne of David. The throne King David sat on was located in the city of Jerusalem. This piece of furniture is not located on my heart. I’m kind of a big fellow, but not that big. A throne would keep any of us literally weighed down. So even though we do not have the exact location or the exact piece of furniture, I am confident in saying that God knows the precise location of this future throne and also will be able to speak the aforementioned throne into existence at a moment’s notice.
That aside, my specific focus today is on the increase of peace. In Jesus’ kingdom, there will be no end to peace. Those who interpret the Bible figuratively will argue that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter to give us peace whenever we need it. Okay, Someone Who comforts should give us peace. But Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would give us power (Acts 1), so the Comforter takes on a whole new look when that aspect is considered.
Difficulties arise to explain an increase of peace first because of individual Christian believers. There are some committed Christians in the world who stand by God’s Word no matter what. But there are also professed Christians who really put on a good show in front of their fellow church goers, yet live a completely different lifestyle behind closed doors or at work. Their life hardly experiences an increase in peace.
Second, the world we live in presents another difficulty. We are not currently experiencing a world war like previous generations did, but can you say our world is one of peace? Yes, peace is something we would all like to see, but take off the rose colored glasses. Countries all over the world are being run by ruthless dictators who oppress their own countrymen daily. Radical religious groups make it their life’s mission to rid the world of infidels. This is definitely not indicative of an increase of peace.
But the biggest obstacle of all for this group to prove this increase of peace has begun is churches themselves. Since Christ’s death, countless denominations and even cults have started based loosely on the Gospel message. All of these sects think their way is not necessarily the only way into heaven, but they do think that their way is best. Many times one group tries to correct another group, which is godly, but often the correction ends up leading to a bunch of name calling and finger pointing. Different groups in the same religion serving the same God and Savior, arguing with each other rather than increasing in peace.
So you see it’s very hard for me to understand why everyone doesn’t see things this plainly. Jesus does reign in our hearts, or at least He should. The truth is that the increase in peace mentioned in today’s verse has yet to begin. And I can assure you now that I am definitely looking forward to it.
When will the peace start? When will Christ set up His earthly kingdom? He will do it after the Rapture, after the Great Tribulation, and after the Battle of Armageddon, none of which have yet to occur.
Why can’t we have an increase in peace now? We can. It starts when we first put our trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It continues as you grow in your walk with God. It is always there when you listen to His voice speaking to you. And it culminates when the Rapture happens. No, I don’t know exactly when that will be, but I personally believe that it will happen in my lifetime. And the more I think about my walk with Him and even the fulfillment of coming prophetic events, I sure do have a whole bunch of peace.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
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You have spoken the plain truth. To the 'proud experts', you have missed the 'point'! May the Lord open their hearts to understand the Scriptures! The present 'peace' in the world is fragile and elusive. Why do christian homes break up? This has led me to open a blogsite (www.peacelink.wordpress.com) to deal with peace in the home. You have written the right thing. Thanks.
