For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
This is a prophecy of the coming rule of Jesus on earth. These verses gather into one announcement the predictions of the birth, the deity, his earthly government, his just kingdom, and eternity of Christ.
For unto us a Child is born
The purpose of Christ’s coming was for “us.”
Unto us a Son is given
Jesus did not happen upon earth. From eternity God planned to “give” him. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus existed eternally as the Son. The word “Son” is used to show the relationship between the Father and Son.
And the government will be upon His shoulder
Jesus will reign as King Jesus King of the world. The government of the entire world is on his shoulders.
And His name will be called Wonderful
When he came he was a wonder. He transcends human understanding. He is unique among human beings. He stands supreme above everyone else. His name is wonderful because he is wonderful.
And His name will be called… Counselor
Jesus reveals the mind of God. He counsels us from God’s perspective. He gives God’s council.
And His name will be called… Mighty God
He is God almighty. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Deity in bodily form (Colossians 2:9).
And His name will be called… Everlasting Father
This is better translated as “The Father of eternity.” All the ages meet in him (Hebrews 1:2). The Son is not to be confused with the Father, although the Father and He are one (John 10:30).
And His name will be called… Prince of Peace.
Peace will characterize his reign upon earth.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
There will be no end
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
God made a covenant with David many years before the writing of Isaiah that His Son would reign forever. This has not yet been fulfilled. Jesus has not yet been seated upon that throne. There is a day coming when He will reign (Revelation 3:21).
PRINCIPLE: God predicted the coming of Christ. He is sovereign over the affairs of man.
APPLICATION: We can rest confident that God manages the world well.
Getch, The word “Father” in this context is an idiom that describes the Messiah’s relationship to time. It makes no reference to the Trinity. Thus, in this context the Messiah is benevolent and just ruler over His people. He will be a “fatherly Ruler.” Isaiah 22:21 uses “father” idiomatically in this same sense. Many kings in biblical times claimed to be a father to their people. The idea here is that the Messiah will be a Father to His people eternally.
“Everlasting Father” here refers to the Messiah who will be a Father to His people forever. He will rule over His people with fatherly concern for their benefit. The term “Father” is used here of the relationship of the Messiah to His people.
Everlasting” is a title that does not apply to any human ruler, except that the Davidic promise speaks of one who will rule on the throne of David “forever” (2 Sam 7:16). Since the next verse (9:7) refers to a person ruling forever on the throne of David, the “everlasting father” in verse 6 must be the same ruler. “Everlasting” shows that the Messiah will guard and sustain His people forever; He will be a Father in this sense even in eternity. The throne of David, which is to be forever, will be preserved into the eternal state. The word “Father” can convey the idea of source of eternity. Since the Messiah is eternal He can give eternal life to others.
The birth of Jesus on earth was totally because of man to learn from him. As a human being he was humble, he was obedient. The salvation of man begins here, every path that Jesus took teaches man how he should be. Being the the prince of peace we must be peaceful, justice must rule among us.
Victoria, I agree that Jesus is our example for life, however, He did not come “totally” as an example. He came “to seek and save that which is lost.” He came that we might have “life and have it more abundantly.” He came to die for our sins.
There are verses in the bible that maybe lead you to conclude that Yahshua is the Second in the Trinity, though it gets kind of confusing at times: 1. one verse says that nobody knows the day and the hour of Yahshua’s coming, but the Father. This verse seems to really define a hierachy. 2. There are verse(s) saying that He and the Father are One. 3. When you’ve see Me, you’ve seen the Father. 4. There is a verse in Revelations that says that I am the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end, I think. 5. David says that The Lord said to my Lord sit on My right hand until I make your enemies Your footstool. This verse makes Yahshua to be receiving an award of the Father. 6. One verse, if I understand it correctly, says that He created everything that was made. 7. This verse calls Him the Prince of Peace.
When you put all of this together, It says to me Second in the Trinity. Beyond that, the idea confuses me; let’s just say I’m glad that it’s not a requirement that we know specifically how They divide(what makes One 1 and the Other 2). Some say that He’s the Father or maybe they are saying Yahweh[but meaning apart of Yahweh and meaning a very close Second to Him], but–whatever they mean–I believe HE’S Second!
Marcus, the theological distinction is that the Trinity is three in person but one in essence.
I was intrigued by the word government used in the Isaiah 9:6-7 and curious as to if this was the original word used to explain the future rule or reign of Christ Prophetically on the earth? Does Isaiah receive a revelation of the millennium and in the same breath indicate His rule will be forever?
Paul, there is little in the context to be definitive in answering your question. However, Christ’s kingdom will be delivered to the Father that God may be all in all 1 Cor 15:24. That is, He will deliver the millennial kingdom to glorify God in the eternal state.
Paul, here are the lexical meanings of “government:” מִשְׂרָה [misrah /mis·raw/] n f. From 8280; TWOT 2288a; GK 5385; Two occurrences; AV translates as “government” twice. 1 rule, dominion, government
Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship.
And, מִשְׂרָה S4951 TWOT2288a GK5385 n.f. rule, dominion;—Is 9:5, 6.
Brown, F., Driver, S. R., & Briggs, C. A. (1977). Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (p. 976). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
As you can see the term “government” carries the idea of “dominion” or “rule” as well.
I have one question, I don’t really understand the trinity. I mean everytime I “thought” I get it, then I’ll see a bible verse that’ll oppose my understanding. 3 persons in 1 God/Essence. How to actually understand that? Jesus taught us to pray to the Father but if Jesus is also God, does that mean we also pray to him? He’s the physical representation of the unseen God so he accepts prayers too. I know the patter for prayers is pray to God, in Jesus’ name through the work of the Holy Spirit. But I don’t actually like to use Jesus’ name as a throwaway phrase or a magic word to my prayers. And it wouldn’t be a sincere relation or communication to him if we would simply say in Jesus’ name. In this verse, Jesus is called as Mighty God, does it have another meaning? Also, Jesus said he’s one with the Father. If you see me, you see the Father. And also John 1, In the beginning, there was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And verses after that, and the word became flesh. Whom should we actually pray to? As of the moment, I talk to every person in the trinity individually. OR DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHOM TO PRAY TO? I also thought that praying to Jesus is praying to the Father and vice versa is a thing since they’re one. I’m now confused but I won’t lose my faith. I just need help hehe
Sebastian, thanks for your blog. I think every Christian has dealt with your issue. However, the pattern in the NT is to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are to think of the collective 3 persons of the Trinity as God in one essence, not three essenses. We do not pray to 3 essenses. The “in Jesus’ name” means that we have the authority to address God because of what Christ did on our behalf, and not due to any morality of our own. The bottom issue is to follow the pattern of the NT and not our approach to God.