"Prince Of Peace" Series

Today we conclude our series based on Isaiah 9:6. In this verse, the prophet Isaiah was inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak about the Messiah -the Lord Jesus Christ, In so doing, Isaiah spoke of His coming, mentioning our Lord’s first coming ("For to us a child is born, to us a son is given") and mentioning His second coming ("and the government will be on His shoulders"). He then goes on to speak of the Messiah’s character, using the vehicle of a title to describe the Lord Jesus. But in doing so, the prophet could not restrict himself to only one name, but found that he had to use multiple titles in sharing with us about the character of the Messiah - "Wonderful Counselor," "Mighty God," "Everlasting Father," and "Prince Of Peace." It is this last title that we will consider today.

Jesus is described by the prophet as the "Prince Of Peace." In other words, where ever Christ reigns, peace rules. As we mentioned, the prophet Isaiah prophesied about our Lord’s first and second comings. One day, Christ will come again. In that day, He will reign upon the earth and peace will rule. Peace will rule, because Christ will remove from the earth all who oppose Him as He makes a new heaven and a new earth. All that will be left will be those who are right with Him, therefore, peace will be the rule of the day. The prophet" speaks of that glorious day when our Savior returns to make all things right in heaven and earth in verse 7, where he says, "Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end" (Isaiah 9:7).

In our world today, man seeks to establish peace, yet whatever successes he might seem to achieve are never permanent. Instead of achieving peace, man continually lives with chaos, confusion, and conflict. Perhaps one of the best illustrations of the kind of chaos and confusion that reigns in the world today is found in a story related to the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

For many years a large silver star adorned the top of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. One day back in the 1800’s, the Roman Catholic Church, which shares a part of the building with a Greek Orthodox Church, decided to take down the silver star & replace it with their own star. But the Greek Orthodox church refused to let them do that.

The Greek Orthodox Church was supported by Russia, & the Roman Catholic Church was supported by France. But it was Turkey who actually ruled over Palestine at that time. When Turkey sided with the Roman Catholic Church, Russia declared war on Turkey. Immediately France & England allied themselves with Turkey, & fought what history calls the Crimean War which lasted from 1853 -1856. At the end of that war the star came down.

Isn’t it ironic that in the very place of the birth of the Prince of Peace there has almost always been conflict & war? When TV cameras take you to Bethlehem this Christmas season you will have to notice the armed soldiers who are watching over the crowds that gather to worship the Prince of Peace.

But when Christ returns, all that will change. Through His second coming, Jesus will make peace permanent.

When Christ reigns on the earth, His peace will rule the world, because all will be made right by God.

It is going to be different when Jesus comes back again. The first time He rode a donkey. The next time He will ride a white horse. The first time He stood before Pilate. This time Pilate will stand before Him.

At first, Jesus was rejected, but at the last every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. At Christ’s first advent He wore a crown of thorns. At his second, He will wear the diadems of glory. There is coming a day when Jesus Christ will make walking on water look like child’s play when He steps out of eternity into time and walks on the clouds. There will be a rainbow of victory wrapped around His shoulders.

There will be a smile on His face. At that moment, the laws of gravity, time, and space will simultaneously collapse and His disciples will instantly be standing in His presence. Hollywood and glitz will be replaced with holiness and godliness, and He will reign in peace!

Peter tells us that every Christian should look forward to that glorious day, "But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness, " (2 Peter 3:13). We can look forward to Christ’s reign of peace on the earth one day, because we know the reality of His peace in our hearts today. While His second coming will make peace permanent, through His first coming, Jesus made peace possible. As we allow Christ to reign as Lord in our hearts, His peace will rule our lives, because we will be right with God.