We tend to pull this passage out of the box only during the Christmas holidays! It’s like one of the ornaments we use to decorate our houses but have you ever thought about the rich truth this single verse teaches concerning the King of kings? Though we still await the full realisation of His kingdom, the promised Messiah will be the greatest political ruler ever seen.

Isaiah wrote this prophecy at least a hundred years before Israel was taken into Babylonian captivity – nearly 600 years before the birth of the Saviour! Looking at a litany of failed monarchs, and sitting in the rubble of Israel’s monarchy, Isaiah looked across the centuries to a time when God would rule on earth through His Son.

What kind of kingdom is it? What distinguishes the Messiah’s kingdom from the other kingdoms of this world? The names Israel used for Christ hint at four characteristics that make the Messiah’s kingdom – in all its manifestations – different from any other earthly government. At a time when the world is weary and despairing of political solutions; when the political future looks bleak; this is welcome news.

1. No Confusion

This kingdom is free from confusion, because Christ is a “Wonderful Counsellor.” Every now and then, a politician comes on the scene who possesses; according to some; messiah-like qualities. Whether it’s a reference to their speaking ability, charisma or wisdom, it’s certainly a compliment. However, when you compare the greatest social or political leader with Jesus Christ, you’ll find there’s no comparison at all. Not even close!

During His incarnation, Christ demonstrated His wisdom as a counsellor. He always knew what to say, when to reach out to a seeking heart, and when to rebuke an impetuous soul. Even his enemies testified, “Never did a man speak the way this man speaks” See John 7:46. As God incarnate, Christ is the source of all truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”. No politician can match that! It is He to whom we must ultimately turn and trust His loving rule of our lives.

Many of our politicians turn everywhere else for counsel. They go to one another; they listen to special interests; they have their own psychologists, psychiatrists, analysts, philosophers, spiritual advisors, gurus, astrologers and other human counsellors. But the King of kings keeps His own counsel. After all, “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord or as His counsellor has informed Him?” See Isaiah 40:13. The Messiah is the Wonderful Counsellor because He is God, the source of truth. When He rules the earth, there will be no uncertainty in his administration. He is the ultimate and only true answer to political confusion.

2. No Chaos

The Messiah’s kingdom is singularly free from chaos because He is the Mighty God. He is the One who in creation brought order out of chaos. See 1 Corinthians 14:33. Chaos is antithetical to who He is. He is a God of order. Christ the King is orderly, and He brings order to the troubled lives of all who surrender to Him. In other words, He not only tells His subjects what to do as a Wonderful Counsellor, but since He is the Mighty God, He can also energise them to do it.

Legislation can go only so far; it stops short of providing the power and the will to obey. Because of the sinful nature, people will always strain against law and order (See Romans 7:8). Add human fallibility to the inability to make people obey from the heart, and you can see the severe limitations of political and legislative solutions.

But when Jesus Christ comes to rule this earth, He’ll display His divine power by bringing order to the chaos. Those who do not submit to His leadership from the heart, He’ll subjugate with a rod of iron (cf. See Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Those who humble themselves from the heart, bowing to Him as Lord and Saviour, will find the power of the Mighty God unleashed in their lives to help them obey.

Because Christ is God, He can forgive sin, defeat Satan, liberate people from the power of evil, redeem them, answer their prayers, restore their broken souls, and reign as Lord – “Mighty God”; – over their newly ordered lives. That’s a politician this world has never seen.

3. No Complexity

In comparison to human governments, the Messiah’s kingdom is uncomplicated because He is the “Eternal Father.” The phrase literally means, “Father of Eternity.” Human life is getting more and more complex. Technology has so improved communication and transportation that commerce, culture, and religion have become global in nature. And rather than organising and making sense of it all, governments of the world seem to exist primarily to make things more complicated. We build bureaucracies to deal with the complexities of life – and consequently life only grows more perplexing.

Messiah’s government, however, is simple and uncomplicated. He is the sole ruler – no bloated bureaucracy – and He knows the end from the beginning because He is the Father of Eternity. See Isaiah 35:8. His way is so free from the complexities of life that even fools cannot lose their way. That kind of simplicity characterises Messiah’s entire government. As the Father of Eternity, He alone comprehends the complexities of time and eternity. He requires no bureaucracy; He shoulders His government by Himself.

4. No Conflicts

In the Messiah’s kingdom there are no conflicts because He is the Prince of Peace. He offers peace from God (See Romans 1:7) to all who are the recipients of His grace. He brings peace with God (See Romans 5:1) to those who surrender to Him in faith. He brings the peace of God (See Philippians 4:7) to those who walk with Him.

There never really has been peace on earth in the sense we think of it. Wars and rumours of wars have characterised the entire two millennia since the announcement at His birth of peace on earth (See Luke 2:14). That angelic announcement of peace on earth was a two-pronged proclamation. First, it proclaimed that God’s peace is available to men and women right now. Read the words of Luke 2:14 carefully: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased”. Who are those with whom He is pleased? They are those who have yielded their lives to the authority of His government: “The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:11).

The angel’s announcement of “peace on earth” declared the arrival of the only One who ultimately can bring lasting peace on earth. Jesus Christ will bring lasting peace in the final establishment of His earthly kingdom. As we already mentioned, He will ensure “peace on earth” over the rebellious at heart by wielding a “rod of iron.” There will be no coup d’état, no insurrection, not even the slightest threat to disturb the peace He brings to the world. See Isaiah 9:7. His government and peace will keep expanding and improving. How can anything perfect improve? That’s one of the mysteries of Messiah’s government. It gets better and better, and the perfect peace flows deeper and deeper.

We are to look forward to the day when He returns to execute the final political solution that will truly bring world peace. His is the greatest government because it’s ruled by the greatest ruler – the “Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” He is the only hope of mankind. Let the government of your life be on His shoulders, that He rules and reigns even now in your heart. Only then will you experience the growing peace that comes only from the Prince of Peace.

Categories: Isaiah