Isaiah 9:6, 7 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.
When will this prophecy happen? OR did it already happen? This is a popular verse at Christmas time. It is often seen on Christmas cards. But is it a prophecy about His first advent or His second. When you continue the context of the first five verses in Isaiah 9, this passage would point toward Jesus Christ’s second coming. What often throws people off is the phrase, “For unto us a child is born.” J. Vernon McGee wrote: First of all, let me clearly state that He was not born “unto us”, the nation of Israel, at His first coming. They didn’t receive Him. John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Although He was born at Bethlehem the first time, He was not received by the nation – only a few shepherds welcomed Him. The wise men who came to worship Him were gentiles from a foreign land. If you read verse 6 carefully, you will see that it was not fulfilled at His first coming, neither verses 3, 5, and 7.
What we will see is that Israel will be “born at once” as a nation. Turn to Isaiah 66
Isa 66:7-8 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. (8) Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
Let us break this down further: Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Israel travailed during the Roman occupation and Jesus Christ came forth as the Saviour. He was born to be the Messiah of the Israelites but they rejected Him. This links to “For unto us a child is born” From Isaiah 9:6, “a son is given” refers to His Second coming. The nation of Israel will be re-born with the second coming of Jesus Christ. for as soon as Zion travailed refers to the Great Tribulation and after that, Jesus Christ will come.
Isaiah 9:6, 7 is a prophecy about the second coming of Jesus Christ. “The government will be on His shoulder” points toward the strength of Jesus Christ, but He is not governing right now. Jesus Christ will rule after the Tribulation. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with promises of the second coming of Christ. Someone has reported that there are 1,845 references in the Old Testament alone and a total of 17 books that give it prominence. Of the 260 chapters in the entire New Testament, there are 318 references to Christ’s second coming. That averages one out of every 30 verses. Furthermore, 23 of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event. That leaves only four books that do not refer directly to the Second Coming. Interestingly, three of these four books are single-chapter letters which were written to specific persons on a particular subject.
Isaiah 9:7 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.
There will be no peace on this earth until Jesus Christ sets His feet on the earth again. When that happens there will be peace and justice. His government will increase – there will be no deficit spending and there will be no taxes. There will be no war and every knee will bow before Him. Every day will be new. Jesus Christ will literally sit upon the throne and will rule over all. God’s zeal will bring all of this to pass. Man cannot hasten the day of Jesus Christ’s arrival and that is how it should be. What a day that we have to look forward to!
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, said, “To me the second coming is the perpetual light on the path which makes the present bearable. I never lay my head on my pillow without thinking that maybe before morning breaks, the final morning may have dawned! I never begin my work without thinking that perhaps He may interrupt my work and begin His own. This is now His word to all believing souls, till He comes.”