CHRISTMAS INTERLUDE

Christ's Christmas Messianic Isaiah 9:6-7 Provisions For Today's Needy World

Part I: Christ's Birth As Israel's Messiah Opposite Ecumenical Theologies

(Isaiah 9:6a)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Due to relatively recent developments, we need to know if Jesus Christ was born as King unto the Church or as King unto Israel, for the difference greatly affects what we believe and do as a Church today:

(1) The issue began back in the third century School of Alexandria in Egypt where theologians tried to "harmonize" Christian "systematic theology with Platonic philosophy" by "interpreting Scripture in a nonliteral sense." (John F. Walvoord, The Blessed Hope and the Tribulation, 1976, p. 12) This nonliteral view led to the loss of belief in a literal thousand-year reign of Christ after His Second Coming to earth, the "Amillennial" view that was later adopted by the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformers. This view also held that the Church replaces Israel as God's people! (Charles C. Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today, 1970, p. 140-144; emphases ours)

(2) "A divergent view of amillennialism" called "postmillennialism" then arose that held the Church would disciple the world and usher in a 1000-year period to climax with Christ's Second Coming, Ibid., Walvoord, p. 13-14.

(3) Later, from postmillennialism came "Reconstructionism," the belief that "Christ will not return bodily to earth in His Second Coming until after the Millennium has been fully developed on earth by the Church." (Renald Showers, "An Evaluation of Christian Reconstructionism," Israel My Glory, April/May, 1991, p. 22)

To achieve this alleged golden era, Reconstructionists try to gain control of the world's political, government, business and religious institutions, often by joining forces with non-Christian groups, enhancing the growth of godless ecumenism that departs from the Biblical Christian faith. (Brannon Howse, The Coming Religious Reich, 2015, pp. 472) The more these political, religious and business entities converge, the greater number of people are pulled into their ecumenical whirlpool, enhancing the growth of apostasy worldwide! (Ibid.)

(4) Last week I learned that this matter now affects many historically fundamentalist dispensationalists like us: Renald Showers noted, "Reconstructionism teaches . . . Christ received the Kingdom of God from the Father when he ascended . . . and sat down on the throne of God at His right hand," and "(c)onsistency requires this view to equate the throne of God in heaven with the throne of David." (Ibid., Showers, p. 23) However, equating God's heavenly throne with David's earthly throne is what "Progressive Dispensationalism" also does, a belief condoned by Dallas Seminary and other dispensationalists (George Zeller, "Progressive Dispensationalism," rev. 1/04; middletownbiblechurch.org), so Progressive Dispensationalists like Reconstructionists also promote social activism that leads to ecumenism, Ibid.

Need: We then ask, "Since it affects many historically fundamentalist dispensationalists like us and influences Church ministry to turn ecumenical and go apostate, was Jesus born as King unto the Church or unto Israel?!"

I. In viewing the Christmas prediction of Christ's first coming in Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 9:6a claims that a "Child" and a "Son" would be born "unto US," Isaiah 9:6a (emphasis ours).

II. This claim in its Biblical context reveals Christ was born as King unto the LITERAL NATION ISRAEL:

A. The word order in the Hebrew text at Isaiah 9:6a emphasizes the subjects "Child" and "Son," for they appear before their respective verbs "born" and "given," thus in the emphatic position, Kittel, Biblia Hebraica, p. 620.

B. In addition, the prepositional phrase "unto us" (lanu) in Isaiah 9:6a is repeated for its emphasis (Ibid.).

C. Thus, the highlighting of the "Child" and "Son" and the highlighting of the phrase "unto us" by way of the context indicate the Child and Son is Christ Who as Israel's King would rescue Israel from oppression:

1. Isaiah 8:19-20 described the decadent spiritual darkness of Judah in the prophet Isaiah's time where the people had turned to mediums and spiritists for guidance instead of turning to the written Word of God.

2. The result of this vain search for fulfillment would be spiritual hunger followed by desperate frustration at not being fulfilled that ended in a thrusting out of the people into deep darkness and gloom, Isaiah 8:21-22.

3. Yet, opposite such despair, God would send the very afflicted land of Zebulun and Naphtali in northern Israel a "Great Light," producing great joy, victory over Israel's foes and an end to war, Isaiah 9:1-5.

4. This deliverance by the "Great Light" introduced in Isaiah 9:6a as the "Child" and "Son" who is born and given "unto us" indicates the Person in view is Christ considered in both His first and second comings.

5. This "Child" and "Son" who is Jesus is also described in Isaiah 9:7 as the Messiah who, as the descendant of David, would sit as Israel's King on "the throne of David" in an eternal reign of judgment and justice.

D. Scripture at Christ's nativity also testifies that He came as King unto the literal nation Israel (as follows):

1. When the Angel Gabriel told Zecharias of John's birth as the forerunner of Messiah, he said John would turn many in "Israel" to God in preparation for the Messiah, clearly the Messiah of Israel, Luke 1:16.

2. The Angel Gabriel then told Mary that Messiah Jesus would be born unto the nation Israel, Luke 1:30-33:

a. When he appeared to Mary to say she would conceive and bear a son, naming Him "Jesus," he added that God would give unto Him the throne of His father David, Luke 1:30-32.

b. Gabriel added that Jesus would rule over the house of Jacob forever, and since Jacob was Abraham's grandson, Jesus would rule over Jacob's descendants, the nation Israel, Luke 1:33.

3. When Mary spoke her Magnificat, she clarified that her ministry of bearing the Messiah fulfilled God's promise to Israel as He had spoken to the patriarchs, to Abraham and his seed forever, Luke 1:54-55.

4. The angels who appeared to the shepherds at Jesus' birth testified He was born unto Israel, Luke 2:8-11:

a. The shepherds to whom the angels came near Bethlehem kept sheep "destined for sacrificial services" at the nearby Jerusalem temple, (A. Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 1972, i, p. 187)

b. The angels who appeared to these shepherds informed them of the great news they were to share concerning the birth of "a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11 KJV), that this news was for "all of the people" in the Greek New Testament, the definite article to indicating this was the Hebrew people of which these shepherds were a part, the people of the nation Israel, U. B. S. Greek N. T., 1966, p. 207.

c. The angels even repeated the Isaiah 9:6a prepositional phrase that this Child was born "unto you," the "you" being not just the Hebrew shepherds, but all of the people of the nation Israel! (Luke 2:11)

5. Elderly Simeon and Anna met the infant Jesus in the temple where Simeon predicted Jesus would be set for the fall and rising of many in "Israel," and Anna testified of Jesus to all who "looked for the redemption in Jerusalem," for God's deliverance of the Hebrew people in their capital city, Lk. 2:25-38.

6. When the magi came to Jerusalem, they as Gentiles asked where the king of the "Jews" would be born, for they had seen his star in the east and were come [to the land of Israel] to worship Him, Matt. 2:1-2.

Lesson: The Isaiah 9:6a prediction of the "Child" and "Son" to be born "unto us" foretold of Christ's birth unto the nation Israel, so we must use the literal interpretation of Scripture that produces Dispensationalism with its focus on discipling people and NOT the non-literal interpretation that leads to the Amillennial, Postmillennial, Reconstructionist and Progressive Dispensationalist views that lead to ecumenism with the godless world order.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ as Savior for eternal life, John 3:16. (2) In using the literal interpretation of the Bible that produces the dispensational view, may we focus our ministries this Christmas on making disciples for Christ's future Kingdom on earth that Scripture literally claims He will establish versus heeding the non-literal view of Scripture that leads to errant views that foster social activism in ministry that ends in godless ecumenism.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

The Lord very clearly, powerfully applied this message in my own life this last week in a way that affects us as a Church body, so I share it with you in belief that He wants you to know about it for your insight and edification:

(1) In last Sunday morning's sermon, we noted Christ in Revelation 3:21 pledged to set our era's overcomer(s) "in" His earthly Davidic throne like He was set "in" His Father's heavenly throne. Since then, on Tuesday, I read how Renald Showers (Ibid., p. 24) in 1991 noted: "(I)n Revelation 3:21 Jesus drew a clear distinction between His throne and the throne of God in heaven where He presently sits with His Father" so that "David's throne and God's throne must not be the same." This critique of Reconstructionism also counters a key error of Progressive Dispensationalism that my alma mater Dallas Seminary now condones, the idea that Christ in heaven sits on David's throne, Ibid., Zeller!

(2) Tuesday night, I was awakened in the middle of the night and was then stunned to realize that my 1976 master's theses back in seminary had critiqued a point in Calvinism, a point in Arminianism and a point in Progressive Dispensationalism, three theologies critiqued by Christ in our Laodicean Church era predicted in Revelation 3:14-22, and that this thesis was written 9 years before Progressive Dispensationalism was even formed in part by two Dallas Seminary profs! God had prepared me since my student days to withstand these errant theologies four decades later!

(3) On Thursday, I studied 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 for tonight's message and recalled I would give an account to Christ at His judgment seat for what I did in this ministry, and how knowing this fact was to drive me to please Him.

(4) In all this, I realized God was urging me to add the statement to last week's sermon that Jesus in Revelation 3:21 critiqued the Progressive Dispensationalism of our era regardless if my alma mater Dallas Seminary condones it. As a result, I have since added that statement to that sermon and sent it to our web master for posting on our web site.

May we trust in Christ as Savior and interpret Scripture LITERALLY for God's abundant blessing!