The Prophecy - Different Titles Given To Our Redeemer |
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Old Testament Prophecy |
New Testament Fulfillment |
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.(Isaiah 9:6-7) |
John 1:1-3, John 10:30, Romans 1:1-4, Colossians 2:9, Luke 1:31-33. Also see table of Divine Titles below. |
There will be a child born unto us that has all of the following qualities, attributes and characteristics found in Isaiah 9:6-7. Since there are at least 9 different revelations given to us by God it will be easier to break them all down by using the table of Divine Titles created below.
Articles related to the Isaiah 9:6 prophecy include:
Some commentators look at Hezekiah as the fulfilment of this prophecy. Hezekiah was a man of war and not a prince of peace.(1) There are other reasons why Hezekiah does not fit the person whom this prophecy points to as well.
The Jewish commentator Rashi also came to the conclusion that Hezekiah could not be the one Isaiah was writing about. Hezekiah was born before the prophecy was written and the prophecy was pointing forward into the future about a yet to be born person.(2)
The talmud recognizes this passage of scripture as being a messianic passage. There is a specific conversation where the question is raised if Hezekiah is the person intended to fulfill this prophecy. While the writers of the talmud knew the passage to point towards the messiah they also knew that Hezekiah was not him.(3)
Looking specifically at the following part of the passage "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end" (Isa. 9:7), the talmudic rabbis wrote, One may ask why in the Hebrew, in the first word lemarbe, the letter mem, though in the middle of the word, is written as a final mem? The answer is that the Holy, blessed be He, considered the possibility of making Hezekiah Messiah ...(3)
The passage goes on to imply that Hezekiah was not the Messiah, and it explains that the closed mem signifies that the decision concerning the Messiah was closed for now and postponed to another time.(3)
There is another messianic idea related to the exact letter (the final mem) that the talmudic rabbis discussed in this passage. The Hebrew letter final mem - closed mem- always goes at the end of a word. It is always the last (final) letter in a word needing the letter m at the end. There is another mem - an open mem - for all other instances when the mem is needed anywhere but the last letter. In the entire bible there is only one closed mem that appears anywhere except where it belongs, as the final letter of the word. In Isaiah's prophecy, a final mem appears in the middle of the word (Limarbeh). It is believed that the image of the letter mem represented the womb of a woman. An open mem meant that she was able to give children, a closed mem meant that she was unable to give children. Isaiah 9:6 may offer further revelation on Isaiah 7:14 where Isaiah foretells that a virgin (closed mem) would give birth to the Messiah, whom now in Isaiah 9:6, is given a greater description. For more on this interesting idea surrounding this letter please read The Mystery Of The Closed Mem.
This prophecy has been made into a wonderful song by a musical group known as The Liberated Wailing Wall which is a mobile musical ministry with Jews for Jesus.
Listen to the song For Unto Us (Isaiah53) from their David's Hope C. D.
Isaiah 7:14 Connection:
Isaiah 9:6-7 is a further revelation of the Virgin Child to be born unto us found in Isaiah 7:14. There is special Hebrew grammar in Isaiah 9:6 associated with the Isaiah 7:14 passage that is found nowhere else in the Bible.
To find out more please read:
This is a great prophecy and an excellent example of how Gods' word can have a duel fulfillment in life. Some Rabbinic scholars have attributed this passage to King Hezekiah, the son of King Ahaz. While this prophecy may loosely fit a description of King Hezekiah, it more accurately describes both the first and second coming of the Messiah.
The first part of the prophecy about a child being born is believed to reflect the first messianic passage in the Bible (Genesis 3:15). This (Messiah) is "her seed."
There is a prayer recited each week on the sabbath that includes the words: He is our God, He is our Father, He is our King, He is our Saviour. This prayer (Sabbath Amidah, Kedushah) helps to support the position that one person (God) can be all four of these titles at the same time.(4)
How can anyone deny that this passage is speaking about someone who is of Divine origin? They can't.(5)
Articles related to our Messiah's birth include:
The prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 was written around 600 years before the birth of Jesus.
1). The Prophet Isaiah by Victor Buksbazen p.165.
2). Menorah Ministries, Abba Hillel Silver, Messianic Speculation in Israel (MacMillan 1927) p. 66-67.
3). Sanhedrin 94a, Menorah Ministries, What The Rabbis Know About The Messiah by Rachmiel Frydland p.52-53.
4). The Complete Artscroll Siddur p.464.
5). Rabbi Jonathan Bernis: A Rabbi Looks At The Last Days p.134.
The Soncino Books Of The Bible, Isaiah p.45.
The Messiah In The Old Testament By Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
The Mystery Of The Closed Mem Daniel Botkin. May-June 2003.
RBC Ministries. (The Amazing Prophecy of Names).
John MacArthur Study Bible.
