Jesus is Not the Prince of Peace in the Way the World Wants Him to be
In a prophecy about the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6-7 we read: “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 (or, Father of eternity), The Prince of Peace. 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 for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
We also read in Isaiah 48:16-22: “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me (we see the Trinity here, by the way). Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.”
Jesus judged the Jews through the Babylonians and had them led into captivity for not obeying His commandments. They would only be redeemed by acknowledging their sins before Him and turning from them. They were guaranteed that they would have no peace from Him otherwise. This is a timeless, unchanging principle. Jesus is only the Prince of Peace in the context of righteousness (subjection to His Righteous Government, walking in the commandments and ways thereof). He has made no promise of peace outside of this context.
Acts 5:30-32: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”
Consider that Jesus had killed Ananias and Sapphira for their hypocrisy a very short time before Peter gave this rebuke and witness to Israel’s religious leaders.
Melchizedek is surely a type of Christ from the Old Testament. Melchizedek was both a King and a Priest (and it’s hard to conclude that Melchizedek is anything besides a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ like the man in Genesis chapter 18 and the man in Joshua chapter 5).
We read of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:1-3: “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.”
Reading now from Exodus 14:13-31: “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honor upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten me honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.”
Continuing immediately, Exodus 15:1-4 then says: “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spoke, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.”
The Israelites rightly compared the Lord to a man of war here (Jesus is sure not a Pacifist and portraying Jesus as a Pacifist is essentially fashioning a false jesus). And yet the fact that the Lord can rightfully be compared to a man of war meant judgment and terror for Israel eventually. And that is because they did not learn the lessons which they should have from the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh’s Army. Israel itself refused to heed God’s commandments and walk in His ways.
Look at Isaiah’s commentary on this in Isaiah 63:7-10: “I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”
So much controversy related to the especially controversial Bible chapter of Hebrews six would be eliminated if people just received the following key point in the midst of the chapter.
Hebrews 6:7-8: “For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.”
It had already been said in Hebrews 4:10-16: “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief (as the Israelites in the wilderness, and Israel many times in its history afterwards, and the Jews who reject Christ unto this day). For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (the writer of Hebrews is writing to Christians, exhorting them not to slack in following Jesus Christ- as the Hebrew Christians had begun to do). For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
Through the atoning blood which Jesus shed on the cross and His unchanging Priesthood, whereby He is able to save those who come to God by Him from the guilt and power of sin, He offers grace and peace- which we obtain from Him only if we put away our sin and submit ourselves to the sharp judgments of His Word. Sin must be put away and self must be dealt with through the Word- severely! Otherwise, His controversy remains. His sword still hangs over those who are not accordingly walking in His covenant of peace.
Job 19:29: “Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.”
The following from Romans 13 is speaking of criminals in an earthly sense being punished by Government authority acting in its proper God-ordained place, but how much more does it apply to sinners before God?
Romans 13:4: “For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”
Revelation 19:15 (speaking of Jesus when He returns, the very One who commissioned Jehu through one of his servants, to slay Jezebel and destroy the house of Ahab): “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”
And yet, Satan always has his servants who offer people peace without dealing with their sin properly before God and delivering it to the sword of judgment that is His righteous Word.
Jeremiah 23:9-24: “Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah (and now many false pastors and teachers even tolerate, and some even openly celebrate, the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah). Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord. They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”
The flaming sword which God placed to guard the way to the tree life, after He drove Adam and Eve out of the garden for their sin in Genesis chapter three, signifies the horrible death which His Son (the Seed of the woman which God had promised earlier in Genesis 3) would have to die in order to open the way for humans to one day eat of the tree of life; and it also signifies the symbolically bloody death to self and sin which any who would have a part with the Messiah would have to die in identification with Him in order to side against the lies of the serpent (and the world is utterly saturated with the lies of the serpent) and be delivered from the ultimate condemnation which the serpent and those who heed his counsel will eventually face. There is no other way to partake of the redemption which the Prince of Peace purchased on the cross at such a bloody price.
Jesus thus said in Matthew 10:34: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.”
Aaron’s email is: [email protected]