throne; (c) born of a virgin in Bethlehem.
(a) The King will be "Immanuel, God with us":
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear
a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isa_7:14 ). "Now all this was done, that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us" (Mat_1:22, 2::1).
(b) The King will be heir to David's throne:
"And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of
his roots: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the LORD; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he
shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: but
with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the
earth : and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and
faithfulness the girdle of his reins" (Isa_11:1-5).
"Behold, the day is come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth"
(Jer_23:5).
"And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David;
he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd" (Eze_34:23).
"And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they
shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them" (Eze_37:24).
"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and
without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim;
afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek the LORD their God, and David
their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days" (Hos_3:4-5).
(c) The King was to be born of a virgin in Bethlehem:
"Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isa_7:14).
"But, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been
from old, from everlasting" (Mic_5:2).
(2). Immanuel's Kingdom will be Heavenly in character.
"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat
their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift
sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isa_2:4).
"But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of
the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and
faithfulness the girdle of his reins" (Isa_11:4-5).
"Behold, the day is come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have
promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days, and at that
time, I will cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute
judgment and righteousness in the land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem
shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our
righteousness. For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the
throne of the house of Israel" (Jer_33:14-17).
"And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the
fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and
sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safety" (Hos_2:18).
3. Immanuel's Kingdom will be (a) in the earth; (b) centered at Jerusalem, (c) over regathered
and converted Israel, (d) and extending to the nations.
(a) Immanuel's Kingdom will be in the earth:
"Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
the earth for thy possession" (Psa_2:8).
"For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea"
(Isa_11:9).
"He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles
shall wait for his law" (Isa_42:4).
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth"
(Jer_23:5).
"And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one LORD, and
his name one" (Zec_14:9).
(b) Immanuel's Kingdom will be centered at Jerusalem:
"The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall
come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow
into it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the
LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk
in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from
Jerusalem" (Isa_2:1-8).
"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that
burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou
shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name. Thou shalt also
be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed
Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD
delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so
shall thy sons marry thee: and as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride, so shall thy God
rejoice over thee. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold
their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, and give
him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth" (Isa_62:1-7).
"Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and
the inhabitants of many cities: and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
Yea many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem,
and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to
pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of
the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is
with you" (Zec_8:20-23).
"And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled" (Luk_21:24).
(c) Immanuel's Kingdom will be over regathered and converted Israel:
"That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and
will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered
thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the
LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: and the LORD thy God
will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he
will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will
circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live" (Deu_30:3-6).
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall set his hand the second time to
recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and
from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and
from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble
the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of
the earth" (Isa_11:11-12).
"For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their
own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of
Jacob. And the people shall take them and bring them to their place: and the house of
Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they
shall take them captives whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their
oppressors" (Isa_14:1-3; see also Isa_60:1-22).
"In his day Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is the name whereby
he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days
come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up
the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The LORD liveth, which brought up
and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all
countries whither I had driven them: and they shall dwell in their own land" (Jer_23:6-8).
"Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in my anger,
and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again into this place, and I will
cause them to dwell safely: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God" (Jer_32:37-38).
"And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build
them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have
sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and
whereby they have transgressed against me. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise
and an honor before all nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good I do unto them:
and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I
procure unto it" (Jer_33:7-9; see also Eze_36:16-38).
"And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel
from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and
bring them into their own land: and I will make them one nation in the land upon the
mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two
nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms at all: neither shall they defile
themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their
transgressions: But I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have
sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And
David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall
also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in
the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and
they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for
ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever" (Eze_37:21-25).
"In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is
driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halteth a remnant, and
her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in Mount
Zion from henceforth, even for ever. And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the
daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the Kingdom shall come
to the daughter of Jerusalem" (Mic_4:6-8).
(d) Immanuel's Kingdom shall extend to the nations in the earth:
"Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. His name shall
endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in
him: all nations shall call him blessed" (Psa_72:11, 17).
"All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall
glorify thy name" (Psa_86:9).
"Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee
shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he
hath glorified thee" (Isa_55:5).
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of
heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And 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" (Dan_7:18, 14).
"And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the
LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will
walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from
Jerusalem" (Mic_4:2).
"Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem,
and to pray before the LORD" (Zec_8:22).
"And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their
land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God" (Amo_9:15).
4. Immanuel's Kingdom will be established by the power of the returning King.
"That then the LORD will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will
return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered
thee" (Deu_30:3).
"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall
be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the
earth, that he may judge his people. Gather my saints unto me; those that have made a
covenant with me by sacrifice" (Psa_50:3-5).
"For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with
righteousness, and the people with his truth" (Psa_96:13).
"Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee,
saith the LORD, and many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be
my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of
hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy
land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is
raised up out of his holy habitation" (Zec_2:10-12).
"BEHOLD, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the
Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the
covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who
may abide the day of his earning? And who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a
refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and
he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto
the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be
pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years" (Mal_3:1-4).
5. Immanuel's Kingdom will be spiritual:
Not incorporeal, or separate from that which is material; but spiritual in that the will of GOD will
be directly effective in all matters of government and conduct. The joy and blessedness of
fellowship with GOD will be experienced by all. The poetical, temporal Kingdom will be
conducted in perfect righteousness and true holiness. The Kingdom of GOD will again be "in the
midst" (Luk_17:21) in the Person of the Messiah King and He will rule in the grace and power
of the sevenfold Spirit (Isa_11:2-3). Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and
the nations shall walk in the light of GOD. "Yea, many people and strong nations shall come
to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. The trees of the
field shall clap their hands for joy."
These passages, which might be multiplied many times, may serve to outline the prophet's vision
of the features of Messiah's earthly Kingdom which was covenanted to David. This Kingdom has
ever been Israel's only hope and was the consolation for which she waited when CHRIST was
born (Luk_2:25).
~ end of chapter 3 ~
***