Messiah: His Kingdom Established

“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.'... They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2:-5, NIV). [Read also Micah 2:1-8 and Zechariah 2:10-13]. “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:32-33, NIV).

“His kingdom will never end!” These words of the angel to Mary when he announced that she would bear the Messiah were reechoing the Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah. The angel assured Mary of the hope the Jews had held for centuries; Messiah will come! His kingdom will be established! His rule will be forever! The kingdom has three definite characteristics different from all the kingdoms known to that time: a kingdom of peace, a kingdom of power, and a kingdom of permanence. We know the story of Jesus. He came, lived, taught, healed, died, was buried, arose from the dead, was seen of many in His resurrected body, ascended in a cloud as several watched, gave His gathered disciples the Great Commission, and at Pentecost the promise of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was fulfilled. Where was the kingdom of peace, power and permanence the prophets predicted and the angel declared? How, then and now, is this kingdom being established?

Listen to what the King Himself said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27). Heart by heart, person by person this peace is given, and it is not the peace that the world gives. What about the power promised to Kingdom subjects? “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14, NIV). How is this possible? Jesus lives in believers everywhere, and evangelistic, healing, and compassionate ministries in His name are blessed of God and empowered by God so that the works Jesus began when He was on earth are multiplied and expanded. Jesus promised power for the assignments He gave us, and that promise is fulfilled daily in the lives of disciples. And what about the permanence of the Kingdom? We’ve not seen it in the way the prophets pictured: not everyone with unparalleled allegiance to the King coming together in “His holy mountain”—Mt. Zion. Neither have all weapons of war yet been turned into instruments of peace. But all who know the Lord in their hearts are a part already of the permanent kingdom. To God be the glory!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Friday, December 17, 2010

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Defense - A Song of Ascents

“ ‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,’ let Israel say—‘If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when men rose up against us, Then they would have swallowed us alive. When their wrath was kindled against us, Then the waters would have overwhelmed us, The stream would have gone over our soul; Then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul.’ Blessed be the Lord who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord. who made heaven and earth.” [Psalm 8: 1-8. NKJV]

This psalm is attributed to David and is also a song of ascents, chanted or sung as the people ascended the hill of Jerusalem to enter the Temple for worship. Its reference to the Lord’s defense in battle may have been for a specific battle (not named) or for His defense in general as Israel faced formidable enemies. It is a thanksgiving for national deliverance. Had it not been for divine intervention, the people would have been “swallowed alive.” This shows the desperation of their plight. Only the Lord’s power could (and did) deliver them. The poet proceeds to give other descriptions of destruction: being drowned by powerful waters and as prey, those being hunted and destroyed. Notice how David emphasizes that they were saved not only from physical destruction, but their “soul” was also saved. In war, if the soldiers lose heart, lose their spirit to continue fighting, then they have lost the “soul,” the “spirit” of their desire to persist and win. A beautiful poetic description recounts their victory: “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers” (v. 7).

David and the people of Israel could confidently sing that the Lord was on their side and He had defended and delivered them from the hands of their enemies bent on destruction. There is seldom anything beautiful about war. Aggression and warfare bring death to the military participating as well as to innocent citizens in whose lands the conflicts take place. Devastation and destruction are products of war. But sometimes war seems necessary. Right and wrong exist in our world, and wrong is normally the aggressor. Although each side holds to the rightness of their position, still warfare has to be weighed in the light of God’s justice. Until “swords are beaten into plowshares and spears into pruninghooks” (Isaiah 2:4), wars will continue to rage in various parts of the world. Instead of the peace Isaiah prophesied, the conditions in the world are more likely to be as Joel foresaw: “Beat your plowshares into swards and your pruning hooks into spears” (Joel 3:10). The bombing of the Trade Center Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001 plunged America into war in which we are still engaged. This is like no war in our prior history. Our safety and defenses—even our spirit—have been severely taxed since. Fear and insecurity are on every hand.

Like John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, there are in America today those sincere and devout prophets who plead a return to the Lord and seeking His face. He alone has the answer, even in the midst of the fear and mistrust that abound. We return one by one, individually. As David stated at the end of this psalm thanking God for his defense of Israel, the way is still to believe in and rely upon the Lord: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 124:8). May we return to the Lord. Our hope and defense rest in Him alone.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, November 27, 2010