The Prophecy of Peace
Peace, perfect peace -- we all seek peace. General Douglas MacArthur once said, "Men since the beginning of time have sought peace. Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations -- all, in turn, failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. The utter destructiveness of war now blots out this alternative." Truly the only path to peace, true peace, perfect peace, peace within, is the path that takes us to Jesus Christ.
From the Old Testament, in Micah 4:1, we find what we might, indeed, call the prophecy of peace:
"Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; 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. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God Forever and ever. "In that day," says the LORD, "I will assemble the lame, I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted; I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation; So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever."
This prophecy of peace is a prophecy pertaining to the time when the kingdom of God, the church of Jesus Christ would come into existence. It is not a future prophecy still, as some mistakenly think. It is not prophesying of a time of total abstinence from war or hostility in the physical sense. This clearly, according to every capable commentator who has ever written on this passage, refers to the kingdom of Christ, the church. So, today, I would like for us to look at this great prophecy of peace and look at several aspects of it -- the period of peace, the place of peace, the Prince of Peace, the particulars of peace, the path to peace, and finally, the prize of peace.
You see, in Micah 4:1 of this great prophecy, we find the period of peace -- that is, the time in which this peace would come. "in the latter days" --that's it, "...in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it." Now, by what does the Scripture mean by the phrase"the latter days?" According to the Scripture we find that "the latter days" refers to the Christian dispensation, the ushering in of the Christian Age. In Acts 2, for example, we have one clear example of how this "latter days" phrase is applied by an inspired man, Peter, as he stood before the crowd gathered there on the day of Pentecost, following the resurrection of Christ, with the eleven apostles, "...raised his voice and said to them, "Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day." Now, notice Acts 2:16: "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel," quoting Joel 2:28, now,"And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams." But, notice the key: this is "the latter days." He identifies the beginning of the kingdom, the time at which the gospel of Christ was first preached to those Jews from every nation under heaven. Devout men gathered there on that Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ. Peter said, "This is it," "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel." Joel said this would happen when? In the latter days, which is the Christian Dispensation.
When we go back to Micah 4:1, and look at the period of peace, in the last days, we clearly see, then, from other passages, that the last days refers to the Christian Dispensation, which tells us that clearly we are in that dispensation of time. Therefore, this prophecy has been fulfilled clearly in the coming of the kingdom, the church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
But what about the place of peace? "...in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it." The place of peace -- the house of the Lord, the mountain of the house of the Lord -- a clear reference to the establishment of the church in Jerusalem. Look down at Micah 4:2: '...For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.." This prophecy is very, very similar, almost identical to the prophecy of Isaiah 2:2-4. So, clearly, here, the mountain of the house of the Lord is identified with Jerusalem. Where did the church have its beginning in Acts 2? Yes, it was in Jerusalem. So, the period of peace -- the last days, the Christian Dispensation. The place of peace according to Micah's prophecy? Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, the church of the living God. That is, there is peace in the church, in the kingdom which had its beginning on that first Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ, in Jerusalem, as the law -- that is, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, went forth out of Zion, the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
But notice, the Prince of Peace in Micah 4:2: "Many nations shall come and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths...'" The Prince of Peace, through whom the peace within, the perfect peace, is obtained is Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ. In Micah 5:5, these words are found: "And this man shall be the peace..." -- Jesus Christ our Lord. In John 14:6, Jesus Christ himself as he lived among men, said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." " The Prince of Peace" -- he is the only one through whom and by whom any of us may be saved.
But, now, what about the particulars of this peace, the specifics? Notice: "He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; 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. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken." Now, this is not a literal thing where there is a prophecy about no more wars whatsoever. He is talking about the state of those who are in the kingdom and the attitude of those who have come to the Lord in his kingdom. There is that peace, the result or the particulars of that peace, the attitude of love, concern, care for others, and the attitude that says, I no longer have to fear what man will do unto me, as in Hebrews 13:6. You see, the expression in Micah 4:4, "But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid" -- you don't have to be in the house all locked up, all boarded up, to avoid harm. We can sit in the open under the vine and under the fig tree, and none shall make us afraid, "For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken." These are the particulars of peace.
But what about the path of peace? Micah 4:5: "For all people walk each in the name of his god, But we will walk in the name of the LORD our God Forever and ever." You see, the path to peace continually is to walk in the name of the Lord our God -- that is, by his authority, according to his revealed will in his word, his Last Will and Testament, the New Testament of Jesus Christ -- that is the path to peace. Again, John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." This is the path to peace -- through Jesus Christ the Lord.
But, finally, there is a prize of peace. Micah 4:7 of this beautiful text reveals it: "...So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on, even forever." Yes, the Lord reigns now over his kingdom the church; but, when the Lord returns and we meet him in the air, the faithful shall ever be with the Lord in the eternal phase of the kingdom -- not a different kingdom, the same kingdom. But entering into that eternal phase -- there is the prize of peace. Remember Revelation 2:10: Jesus said, "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." -- life as a crown, eternal life as a crown. The prize of peace is eternal life with God the Father, with Christ the Son, with the Holy Spirit, and with the faithful of all the ages.
Yes, this great prophecy of peace in Micah 4 tells of the coming of the kingdom, the church. It has come. You now have an opportunity to be a part of that kingdom, that kingdom that brings the peace that passes all understanding, as Paul spoke of it in the Philippian letter. That is only possible by believing in Christ as the Son of God, repenting of your sins, confessing him as the Christ, and being buried with Him in baptism as He has commanded for the forgiveness of sins, that He might add you to the kingdom of peace, where you may live faithfully in order to one day have the prize of peace -- life eternal.