that is absolutely unequivocal. The promise was repeated to Abraham, to
Isaac, to Jacob, and to David. The seed of the woman was to be the
Messiah, the Christ, triumphing over the power of Satan. The race has
not triumphed over Satan, but has been a failure.
The Holy Spirit has settled the question in Paul's Epistle to the
Galatians, iii. 16: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
_He saith not, and to seeds, as of many_ (or, the human race), _but as
of one, and to thy seed which is Christ_." On the human side, our Savior
was of the line of Abraham, and David, but was singularly and literally
"_the seed of the woman_," being the Son of God.
He called himself the Son of man only in the sense that he was born of
her who was of the race of man. He ever claimed God as his Father, and
in a different sense from that in which men can claim God as Father. His
claim to be the Son of God was the claim to be equal with God, which no
created being dare make.
The Holy Spirit further declares, in Hebrews ii. 14; "For as much then
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same, that through death (his death on the
cross) he might destroy him (Satan) that had the power of
death"--"bruise the serpent's head." It was Satan that inflicted death.
He was the first higher critic who changed and denied the word of God,
saying to the woman, "Ye shall not die." Through his denial of the word
of God, he deceived the woman and brought spiritual death on the race.
This was the work of Satan, according to the New Testament teaching. He
is the same that God calls the serpent in the third chapter of Genesis.
For the Holy Spirit informs us, in 2 Cor. xi. 3, that "the serpent
beguiled Eve," and states definitely who the serpent is--"that old
serpent called the devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world."
(Rev. xii. 9.)
Having God's testimony that the serpent and the devil are one and the
same, we are prepared for the mark which our Lord puts on him, "A
murderer from the beginning ... and no truth in him." He had always
sought to pervert and discredit the word of God. He suggested to Eve
that she did not understand God's command; she had taken it too
literally, which is a popular form of attacking the Bible today. "Yea,
hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Are you not
mistaken? And when he had injected the doubt into the mind of Eve, had
gained an advantage, he seized it and boldly denied the word of God, "Ye
shall not die." He is an artful critic and successfully did his deadly
work.
Hence, the first great promise which God gave to the fallen pair, and
through them to the race, set the seed of the woman, the Messiah, in
conflict with "that old serpent called the devil and Satan." That
promise is now in process of fulfillment, and must reach its final
consummation when John's apocalyptic vision is fulfilled, "And the devil
that deceived them (the nations) shall be cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night, forever and ever."
X. GOD HIS OWN INTERPRETER.
_"To the law and to the testimony, if they speak not accordingly to this
word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah viii. 20._
_"Thy law is the truth." Psa. cxix. 142._
_"Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very
faithful." Psa. cxix. 138._
_"Lead me in thy truth and teach me." Psa. xxv. 5._
_"The word of our God shall stand forever." Isaiah xl. 8._
_"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away."
Mark xiii. 31._
The destructive critics have assaulted the most precious prophetic
scriptures. It has been already stated that the final aim of skepticism
is against the person of Christ. If the unbelieving world can be rid of
both the prophecies concerning Christ, and the history of his life, his
sacrificial death and resurrection, they will be rid of that stumbling
stone which they have been pleased to call the "much-abused
supernaturalism." Hence, the strenuous effort is made to destroy
predictive prophecy concerning the person of the Son of God. The fact
that there are more than thirty-five prophecies, containing one hundred
and thirty distinct counts, concerning the birth, the life, the
teaching, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord, greatly disturbs
the critics.
The prophecy of Isaiah ix. 6 has been troublesome. The prophet foretold,
in distinct and unimpeachable language, the coming of the Messiah: "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."
A critic who claims to be loyal to the word of God says concerning this
passage: "The prophet always paints upon the canvas the events of the
_near_ future. I can not believe that Isaiah ix. 6 refers to a far-off
event, because it would not give comfort to his people at that time." As
this prophecy was given more than seven hundred years before the coming
of the Messiah, our critic concludes that it could be of no practical
benefit to Israel, hence, must have referred to some person who must
soon appear.
To affirm that this promise of the Messiah long before his coming "would
not give comfort to his people" is mere assumption. The time of his
coming was not announced, and the people were to live in expectation of
the event, which expectation was to be their stay and comfort. This
assumption would vitiate the promise of his coming made to our first
parents. Gen. iii. 15, the promises made to Moses; Deut xviii. 15, the
predictions made in Psa. xxii. 1, 8, 16, 18, in which his cry on the
cross, the taunt of his enemies, the piercing of his hands and feet, and
the parting of his raiment among the soldiers, were all predicted.
The prediction that "Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little
among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto
me, he that is to be the Ruler of Israel; whose goings forth have been
of old, from everlasting" (Micah v. 2) was made seven hundred years
before the coming of Christ, and, according to critical assumption,
could not refer to our Savior, "because it would not give comfort to his
people."
Indeed, no prophecy preceding the time of Isaiah ix. 6 could be allowed
to refer to Christ, on the assumption of the critic. More than this, the
prediction of Christ's second advent is vitiated by this assumption. It
was more than eighteen hundred years ago that the angels said to the
disciples who were steadfastly watching his ascension: "This same Jesus
who is taken from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen him go into heaven." Was there no comfort to the disciples in
the promise of his return, though they did not live to witness it? Paul,
enlarging on the promises of Christ's return, said to the Thessalonians:
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
Let us now consider the prophecy in its context. The prophecy of the
seventh and eighth chapters is projected on through the ninth. The first
verse of this chapter predicts some relief of the former sufferings of
the people for their sins.
"The people that walked in darkness (verse 2) have seen great light."
The prophet informs us who it was, to whom this light should come. The
inhabitants of "the land of Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim," which
embraced the region of Galilee, in which the larger portion of Christ's
ministry was exercised. Matthew quotes this scripture as fulfilled by
the coming of our Savior. (See Matt. iv. 12-16.) "Now when Jesus had
heard that John was cast into prison he departed into Galilee, and
leaving Nazareth he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea
coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim; _that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet_, saying, The land of
Zabulon and the land of Nephthalim, by way of the sea, beyond Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw a great
light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is
sprung up."
Undoubtedly the prophet looked into the future, when the coming of the
Messiah should bring the light of the gospel into that region so
particularly described by him. And the inspired writer of the gospel of
Matthew positively applies the context of Isaiah ix. 6 to our Lord.
Then, proceeding with the explanation as to how the light should break
forth in "Galilee of the Gentiles," the prophet announces (verse 6)
that, "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."
The reader may well investigate the language of this prediction, "for
unto us a Child is born." The "for" is given as an explanation, a reason
for the coming light to "Galilee of the Gentiles," a region and a people
that had been for generations "in the shadow of death." The light was to
break forth because a child was to be born and a son given.
The announcement was made as if the event had taken place, though so far
in the future. This is in accordance with the form of predictive
prophecy, as in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, where the atoning
work of Christ is spoken of as already accomplished, though it remained
to be achieved in the future. The prophet said of that work: "He hath
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.... He was wounded for our
transgressions.... He was bruised for our iniquities.... The Lord hath
laid on him the iniquities of us all." So it is stated in this prophecy:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given," for the promise
of God is the same to him as the fulfillment. His word is equivalent to
his deed. It cost him as much to purpose and pledge as to fulfill his
pledge. Hence, the prophecy speaks of the thing as done, since God has
promised to do it. Seven centuries before he came, the prophet said,
"unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given."
Our critical friends can not inform us who was the "Son given." They can
only say it must refer to some "_near future event_." Let our Book speak
for itself. It gives no uncertain testimony.
1. "_The government shall be upon his shoulder_."
As already stated in the context, and affirmed by Matthew, it is he that
should bring light to the Gentiles. There is only one who is himself "a
light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel." (Luke
ii. 32.) He said of himself: "I am the light of the world." (John ix.
5.)
The government is his. He is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings and
Lord of lords." (1 Tim. vi. 15.)
There is only One Potentate, One Ruler, One who could say, "All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matt. xxviii. 18.) There is only
One who could say, "All things are delivered unto me of my father."
(Matt. xi. 27.) There is only One of whom it could be said, "Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end," and that is
said of the "Child born unto us and the Son given," and is a part of the
prophecy concerning him. (Isaiah ix. 7.)
All earthly thrones have crumbled, all earthly kings and potentates have
slept in the dust of death with the poorest of their subjects. But of
this Son given, Daniel says: "There was given him dominion, and glory,
and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and
his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel vii. 14.)
2. "_His name shall be called Wonderful_."
His name means his character, his person. He, himself, shall be called
Wonderful, in a sense in which no other person can be entitled to that
designation. Nicodemus accredited him as a wonderful instructor. "We
know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these
miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." (John iii. 2). His
enemies that were sent to arrest him quailed before him, and returned to
the chief priests and Pharisees, saying, "Never man spake like this
man."
A devout scholar has well said: "The manner of his birth was wonderful;
his humility, self-denial, and sorrows were wonderful; his mighty works
were wonderful; his dying agonies were wonderful; his resurrection and
ascension were all fitted to excite admiration and wonder."
3. "_His name shall be called ... Counsellor_."
This term plainly indicated his exalted wisdom and dignity. The wisdom
of men comes to naught; their counsel shall perish with them. But there
is One, who understands, who declares the end from the beginning. Of him
it is said: "The counsel of the Lord standeth forever; the thoughts of
his heart to all generations." (Psa. xxxiii. 11.) He says of himself,
"Counsel is mine and sound wisdom" (Prov. viii. 14), and it was by his
"determinate counsel and foreknowledge" that the glorious scheme of
redemption and complete salvation from sin was planned and executed.
Hence, he takes to himself the title, "The Great and Mighty God, ...
great in counsel, and mighty in work." (Jer. xxxii. 19.) Therefore, the
Child that was to be born, the Son that was to be given, was to have a
name, and "his name shall be called ... Counsellor."
4. "_His name shall be called ... The Mighty God_."
And now we are face to face with the Lord Jehovah, and the positive
statement that this was the promised Son. By what guessing or critical
legerdemain one who claims loyalty to the word of God and ordinary
intelligence can attempt to sweep away these definite and determinate
statements, and crowd some insignificant worm of the dust into the place
given to him who was in the beginning, who was with God and _who was
God_, we can not comprehend.
And still the prophet rises to the climax, to make sure that "wayfaring
men, though fools, shall not err," and adds the prediction concerning
the coming Son that,
5. "_His name shall be called ... The Everlasting Father_."
The Revised Version gives the same rendering as the accepted version,
and adds the marginal reading, "Father of Eternity." The sense of the
passage is the same. The name "Everlasting Father" was the name of the
coming Son. He would be Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, not for a
short time, but eternally, forever and ever--"the same yesterday,
to-day, and forever." His care of his people would never cease.
The distinctions between the persons of the trinity were not made in the
Old Testament, as in the New. Jehovah was God, the Lord was God, and was
known as Jehovah God, the Everlasting Father. The incarnation of the
second person in the trinity gave emphasis to his sonship, in order to
put him in brotherly relation to us. "Wherefore he is not ashamed to
call them brethren."
This prophecy of Isaiah, however, condescends to accommodate our
weakness, and necessity, and gives to the promised child the name by
which he is recognized in the New Testament, for
6. "_His name shall be called ... The Prince of Peace_."
At the birth of the Child the angel choir sang "Glory to God in the
highest, and _on earth peace_, good will toward men." (Luke ii. 14.)
"Him hath God exalted with his right hand _to be a Prince_ and a Savior,
to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." (Acts v. 31.)
Isaiah spoke as he was moved by the Holy Spirit. He gave to Israel this
assuring promise for their comfort, that the Seed of the woman, the
Messiah, was coming not as a fallible, impotent ruler, but as a Prince
and Savior. Israel failed to comprehend the glorious things predicted,
and even yet they are not fully unfolded. But the Messiah did not fail
to come, and, as predicted, he came at Bethlehem. Every phase of his
life, and the mighty work of redemption, all that was predicted of his
earthly career, has been accomplished. And now, at the right hand of the
Father, he is moving to the final consummation of his purposes of
redeeming grace.
He will not be moved from his purposes by the uncritical attempts of
rationalism to destroy the confidence of God's people in his revealed
truth. We can move forward confidently in our work, knowing that nothing
shall pass from his Word until all is fulfilled.
In this very brief study, in which God has spoken through the testimony
of his word, we have only touched a few points in which the truth of
Scripture has been assailed. But the testimony of the Book settles all
questions. We can well rest on the assurance, "Forever O Lord, thy word
is settled in heaven," and can not be unsettled on the earth. Our
Sunday-school teachers and Christian young people can not fail to
comprehend, and will rejoice in the fullness and power of God's
testimony through prophet, apostle, and Christ the incarnate Word. To
him be honor, glory, and dominion forever. Amen.