Grow With Pastor Joe

George Frideric Handel was a German-British composer during the end of the Baroque period (1600-1750) of musical composition. Handel had come to what he thought would be the end of his career after several musical failures and mounting debt. In the spring of 1741, Handel gave what he believed would be his final concert. However, later that year, Handel received a commission to compose a work on the life of Jesus Christ which would be used for a benefit concert to help raise funds to free men from the debtor’s prison which Handel could have faced for his own surmounting debt. “The composition of Messiah, the complete 260-page oratorio, began on August 22, 1741, and was composed in just 24 days, when Handel finished the final orchestration on September 14, 1741. Handel composed Messiah without getting much sleep or even eating much food. When his assistants brought him his meals, they were often left uneaten. His servants would often find him in tears as he composed. When he completed “Hallelujah,” he reportedly told his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.”” (The History of “Hallelujah” Chorus from Handel’s Messiah) Perhaps the most famous section of the incredible work is ‘The Hallelujah Chorus’ which proclaims praise to the Lord Jesus Christ while declaring His eternal Kingship being expressed through a literal earthly kingdom. We know theologically that this is in reference to the coming of Christ when He returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom on the earth where His eternal Kingship will be expressed, recognized, and enjoyed throughout all the earth.

            In the Bible, we see two different phrases that show up throughout the scripture. One is the kingdom of God which broadly references the sovereign rule of God over all things and more narrowly His rule of a spiritual kingdom. The other is the kingdom of Heaven which Jesus references much in His teachings, especially in the parables which were a judgment for the Jewish audience who rejected Christ (John 12:38-46). The kingdom of Heaven deals with the earthly kingdom of Christ where He literally rules and reigns. We must understand that the grand scope of redemptive history as revealed throughout the Bible deals with Christ the King and His kingdom being expressed and established on the earth. This is traced from Adam in the Garden all the way to the future second coming of Christ where He will establish His kingdom on the earth. In Isaiah’s day, the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah were facing judgment. Judah had ceased to hear and obey the word of God. This is seen clearly in Isa. 1:4, 21-26 which tells us that Jerusalem of Judah was once a faithful city who is now like a harlot, but in the second coming of Christ they will be restored to be a faithful city once again when the promised Messiah-King reigns from the throne of David. This brings us to our verse for the day. Last week we looked at the glory of King Jesus in Isa. 9:6 by looking at His nature and names. Today, we will focus on the throne of the King in Isa. 9:7. This passage says, “ ⁶ 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷ 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.” The gospel accounts show us that Jesus is not just born a king, although from a human perspective His birth and life doesn’t look very kingly; but Jesus is the eternal King who is born into the world that He created. As the wise men recognized, He was born King of the Jews as He is the promised Messiah-King that they had longed for. Sadly, from His birth and even until today, the Jewish people have rejected their King. To reject the King is to reject the Kingdom. Jesus was rejected as King by the Jews; therefore, the Jews missed out on Christ ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven during His earthly life and He even wept in lament over their rejection in Luke 19:41-44. This passage of Isaiah that is in focus today is dealing with both advents of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we see in particular that the fulfillment of this promise of the Messiah-King will be seen at the second coming of Christ when He establishes His Kingdom on the earth. As we look at Isa. 9:7, we will focus on the reach of His throne, the right of His throne, and the rule of His throne. He is the King of glory who will bring a glorious Kingdom to the earth at His second coming.

            First, let’s look at the reach of His throne. All of creation, from every galaxy that spirals throughout the cosmos to the most microscopic molecules that make up all living things, falls directly under His throne. Isaiah had seen the same idea in his heavenly vision of the throne of God. When we think about a throne, we think about a ruler who has authority. Well, every earthly king has authority, but their reach of authority is only so far. Every ruler or leader has boundaries and a specific jurisdiction. The Lord Jesus Christ does not. Everything is under His authority and under His jurisdiction. The reach of the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ that we see in this passage and throughout the scriptures is both unending and unchanging in its reach. We see that the reach of His throne is unending. Notice the phrases “there shall be no end…henceforth and even for ever.” Jesus is the Ancient of Days who has no beginning and therefore His rule has no ending in either time or place. Every kingdom of the earth will crumble and bow to His rule (See Dan. 2; 7). Christ is the eternal King who will one day establish His Kingdom on the earth. There are opponents of the Biblical view of a literal Millennial Kingdom that is to be established on the earth at the second coming of Christ. Those who are opposed say, “How can it be a literal 1,000 years if His Kingdom has no end?” Well, the answer is quite simple. Jesus’ earthly Kingdom of Heaven on earth will not truly end although there will be a final rebellion and final judgments according to Rev. 20. The earthly Millennial Kingdom will transfer directly into what I call the eternal Kingdom where Christ the Lamb will still rule, and reign having reversed the curse and ushered in a New Heavens and New Earth (Rev. 21-22). There has never been and never will be a moment where Christ is not reigning over all of creation. He is the King of Kings, the King of Glory! The reach of His throne encompasses the heavenlies and the hearts of men. Furthermore, the reach of His throne is not only unending, but it is unchanging. Notice the phrase in our passage, “to order it, and to establish it.” Both of those phrases speak to the setting up, securing, and sustaining of a structure or system. The idea is that the throne of King Jesus is fixed and one day will be fixed and fasted on earth where He will rule over all of creation. There is no threat to His throne. There will be no voting Him out because there was no voting Him in. There are no term limits. There is nothing and no one that could ever remove Him from His office of being the eternal Prophet, Priest, and King of eternity. We see that as Handel put it, “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth…forever and ever.” To which we reply, “Hallelujah, Hallelujah!” The Bible speaks to the unending and unchanging reach of His eternal and earthly throne. Psalm 2 expresses this and commands the kings of the wicked worldly nations to bow before the Son who is King of all; and then in Rev. 19:11-16 we see that King Jesus is coming in power and glory to put down His enemies and establish His Kingdom on the earth.

            Second, let’s look at the right of His throne. What gives a ruler the right to rule? In the case of monarchal systems, it is by birth. Well, Jesus Christ was King long before He was born. Jesus is the King who was born with the Heavenly Host coming to announce His arrival. They saw Him on the throne on high and now sing of His birth in a manger low. He is as much King in Heaven as He was in the manger. Jesus Christ is the God-Man, the Word made flesh! Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and is the Son of God. We discussed previously His dual or hypostatic union of His human and divine nature. There is none like Him. Jesus’ literal and legal lineage to the throne of David is seen in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke. Each one shows that Jesus had the literal legal right to be the ruler. In Isaiah’s day, the kingdom was divided and God through the pronouncement of judgment also pronounced the coming of a Messiah-King who would come through the royal line of David. The Jews believed it would be in one fell swoop, but in Jesus’ day the divided kingdom was never truly restored. It will not be restored until Christ’s return. Nevertheless, Jesus has the right to the throne of David. In 2 Samuel 7 we see the establishment of the Davidic covenant which acted as God’s promise to David that the scepter of rule would abide in his household forever and that God would be with His chosen people. Throughout the Old Testament after David’s death, the kingdom was divided, yet God continued to spare both Israel and Judah for “David’s sake.” This was because through the line of David would come the only begotten Son of God who is the promised Messiah-King who will one day rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem. Jesus is the “Lion of Judah” and the “Root of David.” Rev. 5:1-5 says, “¹And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? ³ And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. ⁴ And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. ⁵ And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” The “Lion of Judah” was in reference to a prophecy found in Gen. 49:8-10 which says, “⁸ Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. ⁹ Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? ¹⁰ The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” The passage in Revelation that we just read includes that He is not just the “Lion of Judah,” but He is also the “Root of David.” This is seen in Isa. 9:7 (‘throne of David’) and later on in Isa. 11:1,10 (we’ll cover this in more detail shortly). Heb. 7:11-22 alludes to this as well stating that Jesus sprang out of Judah to be a Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Judah was the royal line, but the Levites were the priestly line. Jesus is the true and better Prophet, Priest, and King for He alone can hold and function in all three offices completely, perfectly, and eternally.

            Third, let’s look at the rule of His throne. Isa. 9:7 tells us that peace and righteousness will flow from the throne of Christ. The character of the coming Kingdom is seen in the character of the King. He is the Prince of Peace and He alone holds all righteousness in all that He is and does. From His birth in Bethlehem and forward to His coming Kingdom, the attributes of Christ do not change. He is the same. Notice the two characteristics of His rule from His throne. One, there is rest seen in the peace that His rule brings to the earth. This is a world that is filled with sin and knows little of peace. Furthermore, Jesus came the first time to make peace with God and man through His vicarious death and resurrection for sinners who were at enmity with God. He is the great mediator for God and man, because He Himself is the God-Man who offers salvation through His blood. Luke 2:13-14 says, “¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” There will not be peace in Israel, the middle east, the warring nations of Europe and Africa until the Lord Jesus Christ rules from David’s throne. Two, there is righteousness seen in the words “judgment” and “justice.” Judah’s king during Isaiah’s ministry was far from righteous. The people were wicked and perverse (Isa. 6:5). All that Jesus is and does is righteous. Therefore, His rule is righteous. He is a good, gracious, and just King. There is no threat of injustice with God. He is the righteous King who brings peace through His redemption and rule. Interestingly enough, Jesus is the Great High Priest and King who has sprung out of Judah and is after the order of Melchizedek. Heb. 7 shows us Christ’s uniqueness and points out that Melchizedek (I believe the preincarnate Christ seen in Gen. 14) is the King of Righteousness (the very definition of ‘Melchizedek’) and is the King of Peace (Salem comes from the Hebrew word ‘shalom’ meaning peace.”). Jesus is the King of peace and righteousness. Both the King of glory and the coming glorious kingdom are associated with peace and righteousness. Isaiah speaks of this in greater detail in Isa. 10-12. There are some specifics though that will help us better see the throne of the King in Isa. 11:1-16. The first half of Isa. 11 shows us the character of the Messiah-King in that He is the one who has the fulness of the Holy Spirit (“seven Spirits which are before his throne” Rev. 1:4-8). He has the “Spirit of the LORD…Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” (11:2). The “rod out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch” (the Lord Jesus Christ) will be one who has all of life and righteousness within Himself, but He offers life and righteousness to all who believe (John 1:12-18). The second half of Isa. 11 covers the character of the Kingdom under the throne of Jesus Christ in the coming age. Notice the peace and righteousness that is associated with the rule of His throne. Peace and righteousness will flow from His throne throughout all the earth so that indeed, every knee should bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:1-11).

            As we close, look at what Isa. 12 says, “¹And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. ² Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. ³ Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. ⁴ And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. ⁵ Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. ⁶ Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” What a day that will be when we behold Christ upon His throne. His person and work shall be declared and exalted throughout all the earth. How wonderful to see that His throne will be “in the midst” of us so that we may know the wonderful presence of Immanuel, the Messiah-King, who is Prophet, Priest, and King forever. It is He whose throne flows with peace and righteousness. Not only will Israel and Judah be restored, but Christ will one day restore this fallen world, and His blessings will be known as far as the curse is found. Every thorn will be made smooth. Every enemy will be destroyed. The Lord shall make all things new and dwell with His people forever. He offers redemption through His righteousness and reconciling work. He gives rest to the weary and restoration for the wicked. Indeed, this King of Glory shall reign forever and ever to which we sing with Handel and the Heavenly Host, “HALLELUJAH!”