The Greatest Prophecy of All Times
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, Counselor, 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 forever. The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
Beginning with the Prophets
If we are to recognize the order in which the Christmas message was delivered, we must begin with the Prophets of God. The message did not originate with the star appearing in the East to guide the Wise Men on their journey. The message started long before it was told to Mary that she would bear the Christ Child. Yes, the message predates the warnings to Joseph to fear not to take Mary as his wife. Long before there were angels rejoicing, peace on earth and goodwill toward men, the message was delivered first to God’s Prophets. For God was preparing the greatest prophecy of all times for the greatest event of all times for the greatest need of all time: the salvation of souls for all times.
Prior to this one such a message had never been heard. 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, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. The timing was perfect. The message was powerful. And the meaning would reveal the purpose of God to all mankind. Though the message was for a time in the future, it was the greatest prophecy of all time. The prophets were the first to tell of the Coming of Christ. God gave them this Truth ahead of time so that when it was time, not one soul could say that it was by chance. The Coming of Christ was the fulfillment of prophecy and therefore the prophets had to speak forth the truth of God centuries before that great day. Note that the prophecy is both personal as it is universal. Unto us is a Child is born… The prophet does not exclude himself, nor does he withhold the good news from others. The “us” includes any who would believe with their heart and confess with their mouth that this Child is born. For as much as the Prophecy is about Christ and His unlimited Power, it is also about the unlimited potential to save every soul that believes on His Name.
What Child is this? It is the Christ Child, God’s own Son. 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, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. The prophecy is universal because the government (all government including future government) will be upon His Shoulder. What Child is this? He is God’s own Son that will rule the world and the universe with the Power of His Righteousness. What Child is this? This is God’s Son and the prophecy states that His Name will be Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. This is the greatest prophecy of all time. God planned for His prophets to proclaim this message so that people would wait for His coming, look for His coming, and plan for His coming. Isaiah was given the message, but then the message was written for others to see. Then the message was repeated in the ears of those who looked for the Messiah and the coming of His Kingdom. One day this prophecy would reach the ear of a man named Simeon, whom God promised he would not die until he had seen the Lord, and a widow who would not leave the Temple until she had seen the Christ. It all started with the prophecy of Christ.
What Makes the Prophecy of Christ the Greatest?
Why is this the greatest prophecy of all times? The prophecy is the greatest because it is about God. There is none greater. No occurrence or future event will ever surpass the greatness of God. Prophecy may give us insight to future events, places, and things, but no prophecy can exceed the most excellent Glory than the Lord of Glory.
Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy and all prophecy points to Him. As Revelation 19:10 boldly declares, the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. I love to hear of the prophecy of the Holy City coming down out of Heaven as a bride adorned for her husband, but if there is no Christ to reign over the City, it shall not be. The prophecy of the lion and the lamb resting together is wonderful, but only Christ can make that happen.
What makes the prophecy of Jesus Christ the greatest of all is the fact that He tells us that He will reign over all things. His government will be permanent and will never suffer threats of harm or any vile thing. 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 forever. The Zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.
By stating that the Prophecy of Jesus is the greatest prophecy of all does not exclude or preclude other prophecies of God. Those things shall be fulfilled in their time. The prophecy of the tribulation shall be fulfilled. The prophecy of anti-Christ shall be fulfilled in its own time. But the very mention of anti-Christ is an admission of the True Christ. When that wicked one will come with all lying wonders, the faithful of God will know that the True Christ will rule the Earth with justice and with equity.
Some say they are intrigued by the breaking of the Seven Seals of Revelation. While those events are powerful, I challenge you to look closer. When a search was made for One worthy to break the seals and read the book, there was none found in Earth or Heaven to take on such a task. John wept as he recognized there would be no fulfillment or future without someone to take the Book from the Hand of God, Who sat upon the Throne. Then there appeared a Lamb as though He had been slain, Who took the Book from God Almighty and proceeded to break the seals and was worthy to read the Book. That Lamb was Jesus Christ. That Lamb was the Rock of Ages. That Lamb was Mary’s Holy Child. That Lamb is the Son of God. That Lamb is the Shepherd of the Soul. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
So the question should not be, why is the Prophecy of Jesus Christ the greatest of all times. The question should be: do you know Him? For you see, it is in the Prophecy of Jesus Christ that we find the answers as to why He came in the first place. It is amazing how the Gospel writer Matthew points to prophecy after prophecy about Jesus coming to the world. This was God’s way of telling us that He was forth-telling in advance the things that God would do in Person. God in Person is Jesus Christ. The assignment would not be delegated to any other man nor delivered by any angel. God would personally deliver His own message of Grace and Truth through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is amazing to behold the Prophecies of Jesus Christ. It is the Lord Himself that fulfills the Prophecy of Jesus Christ.
Matthew and the other Gospel writers were able to “stamp” these wonderful promises as “fulfilled.” Matthew 1:21, they shall call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. Fulfilled: Gen. 49:10, Jeremiah 33:16, Daniel 9:24. Matthew 1:23, Behold a virgin shall be with Child, and bring forth a Son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is ‘God with us.’ Fulfilled: Isaiah 7:14. Matthew 2:4, Herod demanded to know where Christ would be born … they said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea. Fulfilled: Micah 5:2. Prophecy after prophecy was fulfilled when Christ was born into this world. But the greater question is not which prophecy, but do you know Him?
How will you know Him? It is the Prophecy of Jesus that explains why we need Him in our lives. Prophecy tells us (Isaiah 53:6) all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to their own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. It is prophecy that tells us why Jesus suffered for our sin. Isaiah 53:10, It pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief: when You shall make His Soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. It is prophecy that promises us Salvation through Jesus. For whoever shall call on the Name of the Lord, shall be saved. Joel 2:32, Romans 10:13.
It is Jesus personal prophecy that gives us hope for the future. In John 14, Jesus said that He was going away and coming again. While that may not sound too promising, it really is. He came the first time to redeem us for God. We know that He accomplished that first prophecy because we now have the witness of the Holy Spirit as our proof of salvation. Then we have our same Jesus saying, I am coming again, or the second part of the prophecy. This greatest prophecy of prophecies is a guarantee that you have a future and a hope. Jesus guarantees that He will come again and receive us to Himself that where He is, there we will be also. That is the greatest of all prophecies because it is all about Jesus and His plan to have all His believers to be with Him for all eternity.
That is the best news ever. To think that God gave this news ahead of time to reveal in time what Jesus Christ would do for all time. What a mighty Savior! What a prophecy!