You may not have noticed, but just about everywhere you
look, there are reminders that people long for peace. Various peace symbols are found on T-shirts,
graffiti, etc. The various peace symbols
have become iconic of our pop culture. I
have even found it difficult to find clothing for my daughters that are not
plastered with its symbols. Talk and
symbols of peace are central to our society and are rapidly becoming part of
the indoctrination of our schools, as well as, our politics. But my primary concern is that I do not
believe that most in our society really knows what peace is, nor from where it
originates.
I have been reading in the prophecy of Isaiah lately, and in
chapter 11, there is a noticeable shift in tone. Up to then, much of the prophecy is
pronouncement of judgment on the nation of Judah for their idolatry and
immortality. But in chapter 11, he introduces what will become a major theme in
this book. It is the arrival of the
shoot (or branch) from Jesse’s stump (cf. vs. 1), the Messiah. Aka, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (cf. 9:6)
True peace, as scripture describes it, happens as the result
of the removal of sin in the world (not the denial thereof) which will be fully
realized when Christ returns. Look at
the evidence Isaiah describes that true peace has arrived,
“6The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. 9They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
These are natural enemies that came when man rebelled
against God in the Garden. This peace
occurs only when all that was broken at the fall is made right again. It does not come with indoctrination against
violence because no matter how hard you try you cannot regulate the human
heart. You cannot disarm enough. It is only when Christ makes all thing new
and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord” that we will be able
to see true peace on earth.
