PRINCE OF PEACE

“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.” (Isaiah 9:6)

  • Text:      Isaiah 9:6
  • Introduction:
    • There are several things that the title “Prince of Peace” reminds us of:
  • I.THE FUTILITY OF MAN’S EFFORTS (Eze. 13:10-16)
    • The untempered morter is a picture of the philosophies of man without God, the wall will collapse.
    • According to the Canadian Army Journal, a former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, aided by historians from England, Egypt, German, and India came up with some fantastic figures and findings:
      • Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace.
        • During this period there have been 14,531 wars, large and small, in which 3,640,000,000 people have been killed.
        • The value of the destruction would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles in width and about 33 feet thick.
      • Since 650 B.C. there have been 16,656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war.
        • The remainders have ended in the economic collapse of the countries concerned.
      • From 1500 B.C. to present more than 10,000 peace treaties of peace, meant to remain in force forever, were concluded.
        • The average time they remained in force was two years.
      • War is the result of:
        • A.      The lust of men – (Jam. 4:12)
        • B.      Punishment for sin – (Judg. 5:8) –
        • Peace comes as a result of righteousness (Ps. 37:4,11,37; Pro. 16:7)
  • II. THE DESPERATE NEED OF THE LORD’S INTERVENTION
    • “Russia now has satellites in space carrying multiple nuclear warheads that are capable of obliterating the population of the whole earth.
    • The U.S. has atomic submarines in every ocean carrying atomic warheads that are capable of obliterating Russia and China.
      • One submarine can loose in 16 minutes more explosive force than all the bombs and ammunition exploded by all the nations in the six years of World War II.”
    • If God does not intervene it is only a matter of time before man will destroy himself.
      • There are several things that Jesus said that must precede the Lords intervention:
      • A. Many False Christs – (Matt. 24:5)
        • There have been over 100 religious leaders in different parts of the world in the last 50 years who have claimed to be Christ and the Saviour of the world.
      • B. Increase in wars – (Matt. 24:6)
      • What Emil Ludwig call “annihilating statistics,” he presents in the following ghastly summary of World War I:
        • “Ten million men killed.
        • A parade of these dead men, marching ten abreast from sunrise to sunset, with a new rank passing every two seconds, would take forty-six days to pass by a given spot!
        • To this number should be added 13,000,000 missing.
        • There were also 10,000,000 refugees and 6,000,000 children who had lost their fathers.
        • The daily loss of human life amounted to 16,585.
        • The cost of the war came to a total of $338,000,000,000 -in other words, $20,000 for every hour since the birth of Christ.
        • The war itself cost $9,000,000 an hour to wage.
        • In those four years, Europe lost all savings it had accumulated during a century! “
      • By far the most costly war in terms of human life was World War II (1939-45), in which the total number of fatalities, including battle deaths and civilians of all countries, is estimated to have been 54,800,000, assuming 25,000,000 U.S.S.R. fatalities and 7,800,000 Chinese civilians killed.
        • The country which suffered most was Poland with 6,028,000 or 22.2 percent of her population of 27,007,000 killed.
      • C. Famines, pestilence, earthquakes – (Matt. 24:7).
        • In the 9th century, there was one major earthquake;
        • In the 11th century, two;
        • In the 13th century, three;
        • In the 16th, two;
        • 17th, two;
        • 18th, five (including the Lisbon);
        • In the 19th century, nine major earthquakes.
        • In the 20th century, there have been over 40 (including the Peking quake).
      • From the World Almanac comes another set of facts: there were only 6 earthquakes of strength between 1800 to 1896.
        • But in each decade from 1897 until 1947, there were either 2 or 3, and in the decade from 1947 to 1956, there were 7.
        • From 1957 to 1966 there were 17.
      • Time magazine’s front cover for its Sept. 1, 1975 issue was a split earth with this inscription: “FORECAST: EARTHQUAKE.”
        • Since that date to the end of 1976, there have been 24 significant earthquakes – in China, Guatemala, Italy, Indonesia, Soviet Central Asia, and many other places.
      • The year 1976 experiences at least 50 significant quakes (intensity 6.5) and 18 major quakes (over 7.0).
        • An estimated 695,000 deaths – the highest in modem history.
  • III.          THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST
    • After viewing the desperate condition of the world today we are reminded that only a Holy, all powerful God could rectify the situation.
      • Many look forward to the promise of Isaiah 2:4, “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 up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
    • That day will never come until there is one final authority on earth – The Lord Jesus Christ.
      • Consider:
        • A.      Peace comes from God – (Ps. 29:11; 1 Cor. 14:33)
        • B.      Jesus Christ is the only one who can enforce a lasting peace – (Rev. 19:15)
        • C.      The only real peace available in this age is a spiritual one – (Eph. 2:14; Phil. 4:7; Col. 3:15)