The Four Names of Jesus

During the traditional twelve days of Christmas, let us remember the four names of Jesus found in an inspired prophecy of Isaiah. The prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 begins with the Christmas message: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.” It is a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah as a coming great ruler. The passage then proceeds to list four names of the prophesied new born infant. Yes, in the King James Version and in Handel’s Messiah, there are five names, but I think it is best to translate the passage with four names: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Four names are a possibility because the commas in the English translation are not in the original Hebrew. There is also a more harmonious balance with four names each consisting of two words. In addition, the reading with four names better fits my understanding of the passage.

It occurred to me long ago that the background for the names in this prophecy is probably the history of David and Solomon, the father and son who were kings at the height of the glory of old testament Israel. The Messianic name “the Everlasting Father” is a bit puzzling when one is thinking in terms of the personal names of the three members of the Godhead: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The infant wrapped in swaddling cloth was the incarnation of God the Son, not the incarnation of God the Father. Yet the name “the Everlasting Father” is completely understandable when combined with the name “the Prince of Peace” and considered in another context. That other context is Jesus as both the new David and the new Solomon of the new covenant. David and Solomon were related to each other as father and prince, and both find their fulfillment as biblical types in Jesus.

The consecutive reigns of David and Solomon are prophetic pictures of the spiritual victory and reign of Jesus Christ. David was the warrior king who defeated the enemies of God’s people. When David’s wars were over, the land enjoyed rest and was at peace. David’s son Solomon reigned during this time of peace and built God’s temple in Jerusalem.

All of these events in the lives of David and Solomon are biblical types pointing to Jesus as their antitype. Jesus fulfills the spirit of David as the warrior king in His overcoming sin, Satan and the world. Jesus fulfills the spirit of Solomon in His reigning after the defeat of His enemies and in His building His church as a new covenant temple.

Again, these four names are all in some way linked either to David or to Solomon. In addition, three of these names have something in them which points beyond David and Solomon, even something which points to the divine. Solomon had the wisdom of a counselor, but Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. David was Solomon’s father, but Jesus is the Everlasting Father. David was a mighty warrior, but Jesus is the Mighty God.

With these thoughts as background, let’s now look at these four names one at a time. The first name is Wonderful Counselor. The Hebrew word translated “Wonderful” is really a noun. A more literal translation would be “the Wonder Counselor.” This implies that Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor in that not only His counsel but even His very person and being is a wonder. The supernatural conception of the God-Man in the womb of the virgin Mary certainly was a divine wonder beyond human ability. The whole Hebrew word family related to the word translated “Wonderful” in our text is mainly used to refer to the mighty acts of God that are beyond human ability. This word family is used in Genesis 18:14 in the question, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” In Exodus 3:20, God said to Moses, “So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in its midst; and after that [the Pharaoh] will let you go.” After God drowned the Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea, Moses sang to the Lord in Exodus 15:11, “Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Later in redemptive history, an adjective in this word family was used to describe the name of the Angel of the Lord. This occurred when the Angel of the Lord told Samson’s parents about the coming birth of their special son (Judges 13:18-23). Samson’s father asked the Angel of the Lord what His name was. The Angel of the Lord replied, “Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?” Then the Angel of the Lord did a wondrous thing that demonstrated His deity. Samson’s father offered a sacrifice to the Lord. As the flame of the sacrifice ascended, the Angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. In response, Samson’s father said to his wife, “We have seen God.” Again, this Hebrew word family refers to mighty acts of God that are beyond human ability.

The use of the word “Wonderful” in our text certainly points to the full deity of Jesus. The use of the word “Counselor” points to Jesus as the Solomon of the new covenant. Early in Solomon’s reign, the Lord appeared to him in a vision and said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (1 Kings 3:5). In response, Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge God’s people, so that he would be able to discern between good and evil. God was greatly pleased that Solomon had made this request instead of asking for long life or earthly riches. God then said to Solomon,

1 King 3:12

12 “… behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.”

Good kings surrounded themselves with wise counselors. As it says in Proverbs 15:22:

22 Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.

Solomon, however, had no one wiser than himself with which to consult.

1 King 4:29-31

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.

30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 For he was wiser than all men …

The Old Testament records a classic example of Solomon exercising his wisdom. Two harlots came to Solomon. They both lived in the same house, and each was the mother of an infant son. One son had died during the night, and both mothers claimed to be the mother of the surviving infant. To settle the dispute, Solomon commanded the child to be divided in two with one half given to each mother. One woman said regarding the child, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” The other said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” Solomon gave the child to the woman who pled for the child’s life, recognizing her as the child’s true mother. We read in 1 Kings 3:28 about the effect of this judgment upon the people of Israel:

28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.

Of course, King Solomon was not perfect. Later in life he strayed into the worship of idols under the influence of pagan wives. Unlike the coming one whom Solomon foreshadowed as a type, Solomon had his flaws, even serious ones. The same can be said of King David.

The name Wonderful Counselor tells us that Jesus is much greater than the Solomon of the old covenant. Jesus has a greater wisdom than Solomon because Jesus has a human mind that has not been distorted by sin. Jesus has a greater wisdom than Solomon because the person thinking through Jesus’ human mind is the divine person of God the Son. Jesus has a greater wisdom than Solomon because God has poured out the Holy Spirit without measure upon Jesus.

Isaiah 11:2

2 The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.

Jesus brings us divine wisdom in its clearest and most complete form. Jesus tells us heavenly things in human terms that we can understand. Jesus declares God to us with a new clarity. In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). His counsel is a wonder, a mighty act of God beyond human ability. His counsel includes His advice, His plans and His purposes.

Just as Solomon received questions that challenged His wisdom, so did Jesus during His earthly ministry. For example, some who sought to entangle Jesus asked the question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus asked to see some tax money and then asked whose image was on the coin. His opponents answered that the image was that of the Caesar. Jesus then responded, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21; Luke 20:25). They marveled at the wisdom of His answer and had nothing to say in reply (Luke 20:26). Jesus exhibited His wisdom by commanding a proper division of wealth, even as Solomon had exhibited his wisdom by commanding as a test the division of a child.

The second name is Mighty God. Here we have another reference to the deity of Christ. The same Hebrew name here translated “Mighty God” is used in Isaiah 10:21 to refer to God Himself. This proves conclusively that Isaiah used the Hebrew name translated “Mighty God” in our text as a divine name in the fullest possible sense. In other words, Jesus is not some halfway deity or demigod like the pagan Roman god Hercules, and Jesus is not merely an angel like Michael and Gabriel. Jesus is fully God as well as fully man.

We also need to consider individually the two words here translated “Mighty God.” The Hebrew word here translated “God” is “El,” a general name for the true God who is superior to all false gods. The respected commentator Edward J. Young said this about this Hebrew word “El”: “In Isaiah it is found as a designation of God and only of Him” (1.336). And “This designation is reserved for the true God and Him alone” (1:337).

There are also overtones of deity in the Hebrew word here translated “Mighty.” This Hebrew word is often used of God as He fights for His people. For example, Psalm 24:8 says:

8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

This Hebrew word here translated “Mighty” also has usages that can be related to King David. This Hebrew word can mean “mighty,” as it does in our text, but it can also refer to a mighty man. This Hebrew word is used elsewhere as a noun to refer to the elite soldiers in David’s army who were called David’s mighty men. David himself was a warrior hero. As a boy, David defeated the great Philistine warrior Goliath. The Hebrew word here translated “Mighty” is used to refer to Goliath as the warrior champion of the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:51). David’s defeating a warrior hero in combat would imply that David himself was a warrior hero. When David was later fighting the Philistines under King Saul, women would meet King Saul when he returned from battle. They would dance and sing, “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7).

Jesus as the David of the new covenant is a warrior hero of a higher sort. Jesus has defeated Satan, sin, death and the world, which are all foes vastly more powerful than the Philistine giant Goliath. Jesus came as a man to fight a human fight against our enemies on our behalf. Jesus came as God to obtain a sure victory of infinite worth. Jesus is the Mighty God, the divine warrior, the God hero.

The third name is Everlasting Father. This is another reference to Jesus as the David of the new covenant. David of the old covenant was the father of Solomon, who in his youth was a prince in Israel. In addition, Jesus is like a father to His people even as old testament David was a father to old testament Israel in his role as their king.

Yet Jesus as the David of the new covenant is greater than old covenant David. Jesus is the Everlasting Father. The adjective “Everlasting” here refers to an attribute of Jesus’ deity. David is still in his grave, but Jesus continues to rule, and will rule forever.

We read in Matthew chapter two that when the wise men from the East came to Jerusalem seeking the Christ Child, King Herod asked the chief priests and the scribes where the Christ would be born. They replied,

Matthew 2:5-6

5 … “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'”

If we look for the fuller context in the prophecy of Micah, we find in addition that this Ruler born in Bethlehem would be one “whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2). Micah and Isaiah, using different words, taught the same concept. Jesus in His deity is everlasting. He possesses the divine attribute of eternity. Jesus was born in the city of David, but the goings forth of Jesus are from everlasting. Because of His deity, Jesus was able to say, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Old covenant David was never able to say that or anything like it.

Isaiah 9:7 comments on the unending duration of Jesus’ rule:

7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

We read a similar statement about the kingdom given to the Son of Man after His coming with the clouds before the Ancient of Days:

Daniel 7:14

14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.

Jesus is the greater David who, in His glorified humanity, will oversee His people forever as their fatherly Ruler. Jesus gives His people eternal life, and they shall never perish. They will ever live under His fatherly rule.

The fourth and last name is Prince of Peace. This name refers to Jesus as the Solomon of the new covenant. Solomon was a prince, and Solomon’s name is related to the Hebrew word for peace, which is shalom. Because Solomon’s father David had defeated Israel’s enemies, Solomon reigned in a time of peace. Because of this peace, Solomon was able to build the first temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus is our Solomon of the new covenant. Through His saving work, Jesus has made us to be at peace with God by paying for our sins, by satisfying the just claims of God’s law against us as sinners and law breakers and transgressors. Jesus has also made us at peace with God by removing that old heart that was filled with rebellion against God and His law and by replacing it with a new heart with God’s law written upon it, a new heart that wants to please God, a new heart whose main desire and aspiration in life is submission to the will of the Father. Now that we are at peace with God, Jesus has incorporated us into His new covenant temple as living stones.

Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. Jesus finished all the work that is implied by these four prophetic names. After His death and resurrection, Jesus ascended up into heaven where God seated the glorified Jesus at His right hand, the place of all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus is now seated on an exalted and universal form of the throne of David. Jesus in His humanity is now the Sovereign of the universe. God has given Jesus the nations for His inheritance and the ends of the earth for His possession. Jesus now rules that one eternal kingdom which will never fall.

Let me close by exhorting you to put your faith in Jesus and His saving work. By looking to Jesus alone for salvation, by resting upon Jesus alone, by depending upon Him and His work, you will receive the gift of salvation. Jesus will become your greater David and your greater Solomon. He will deliver you from the grip of sin and Satan. He will give you eternal life. He will provide you with wisdom and peace. He will incorporate you into His new covenant temple. One greater than David is here. One greater than Solomon is here. If we do not come to Christ in faith, then the Queen of Sheba, who came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, will rise up in judgment against us. May we instead come to Christ and enjoy the eternal benefits of His benevolent reign.

Insights on Enduring Persecution from the Church at Smyrna

I believe that the book of Revelation is especially relevant today but maybe not for the reason that many might expect. The church always finds special comfort in the book of Revelation when the church is experiencing persecution. We are today experiencing what may prove to be the early stages of a time of persecution. Some Christians have experienced various forms of persecution because they could not in good conscience provide certain services upon request for a same sex “wedding.” Some Christians in the medical profession may have been excluded from certain positions because they could not in good conscience take the life of a criminally innocent person either in the womb or in old age. Some Christian teachers may not be welcome in certain schools because they will not teach young children racial prejudices or sexual perversions. These are just a few examples, but I think that they are sufficient to give a sense of the times in which we are living. We don’t know if this persecution is going to intensify and expand, and we don’t know to what degree it will affect our own lives. We pray for a coming spiritual awakening that will radically change the direction in which our culture has been heading. Yet as long as persecution is on our horizon, the book of Revelation will have a special relevance for us. What was comforting to those seven churches in the closing years of the apostolic age can also provide comfort for persecuted Christians from then onwards down to the end of the age.

We find some insights on enduring persecution in Jesus’ letter to the church at Smyrna, found in Revelation 2:8-11. We learn here that Jesus is well aware of the church’s difficulties in a hostile world. In verse nine, Jesus said to the church at Smyrna, “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich) …” When we first read this, we might assume that this church existed in an impoverished area where jobs were scarce and resources were limited. But no, Smyrna was a large and prosperous city. The Christians there were poor because of prejudice against Christians. One could not there openly confess Christ and also get ahead socially and financially.

Like every pagan Greek city, Smyrna had its own patron deity. In addition, each trade guild would also have a patron deity. There were occasions when and situations where everyone was expected to give a certain token worship to a particular pagan deity, whether the patron deity of the city or the patron deity of a trade guild. Many would not take kindly to Christians who in principle refused to participate. Many would quickly blame such Christians for offending the gods whenever anything bad happened in the city.

Yet what was perhaps an even greater challenge in Smyrna was the rising cult of Caesar worship. The city of Smyrna had been loyal to Rome long before Rome became the dominant power in Asia Minor. About 195 B.C., Smyrna became the first city in the world to build a temple dedicated to the worship of the goddess Roma. In A.D. 26, all the major cities of Asia Minor petitioned Rome to be the site of a new temple dedicated to the worship of the Roman Emperor Tiberius while he was still alive and ruling. Smyrna was chosen for this honor and became a temple warden for the imperial cult. Cicero, the Roman orator, called the city of Smyrna Rome’s most faithful and ancient ally. We can only imagine what it would have been like to have been a Christian in the city of Smyrna during Roman times and to have refused to offer a pinch of incense to the goddess Roma or to the Roman Emperor Tiberius.

The situation gets even more complicated and dangerous. Jesus went on to say in verse nine, “… and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” We can get some insight on this verse from the Apostle Paul’s experiences on his missionary journeys as recorded for us in the book of Acts. When the Apostle Paul entered a city, he would first go to the local synagogue. There he would proclaim that the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth was the prophesied Messiah of Scripture. Those who believed in Jesus proved themselves to be the true Israel within Israel, and they became part of the Christian church. Those who rejected Jesus were in God’s eyes cut off the olive tree of Israel for failing to bear the fruit of faith in God’s Messiah. Some of these cut off branches would try to stir up the local pagans to persecute the church. By doing this, they became agents of Satan, the devil. The name “Satan” means adversary, the word “devil” means accuser, and later in the book of Revelation, Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. Some would accuse the Christians of refusing to worship the pagan gods and of having another king besides Caesar. They would also try to inform the pagan Gentiles that the Christians were a separate religion that did not possess the religious immunity that Rome had given to Jews since the days of Julius Caesar. They would do what they could to stir the pot of pagan persecution against the church.

Because of all this tribulation and persecution, the Christians at Smyrna were financially poor. But Jesus assured them that they were in reality rich in a way that really counted. They had stored up in heaven treasure where moth and rust do not corrupt and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Here is the counsel that Jesus gave to the church at Symrna in their situation:

10 “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

When we first read this, we might think that these Christians were about to be sentenced to a little time in prison. We would be reading our modern world back into the text. People in Greek and Roman times did not spend time in prison as a form of punishment. They went to prison as a holding place where they waited for trial or sentencing or punishment. The exhortation “be faithful until death” implies that many of those arrested for being Christians would become martyrs for the faith. They weren’t facing just a little time in jail. For example, about the middle of the second century, the leader of the church at Smyrna, Polycarp, was burned at the stake after refusing to offer a small pinch of incense to an image of the Roman emperor.

The Christians at Smyrna were about to endure a time of testing and tribulation that would last ten days. Because the book of Revelation is full of symbolism, the ten days are probably more symbolic than a literal length of time. The number ten often signifies that which is complete and would in this context indicate a coming time of intense persecution. The fact that the time of tribulation was measured in days and not in weeks, months or years probably indicated that the time of tribulation that the church at Smyrna was then about to experience, though intense, would be limited in duration. The ten days of tribulation were in contrast to the thousand years that Christian martyrs reign with Christ according to Revelation chapter twenty.

Jesus exhorted the Christians at Smyrna to be faithful until death and promised them the crown of life. The words “crown” and “faithful” had a special relevance to the Christians at Smyrna. Smyrna was known as a beautiful city, and a part of its beauty was a prominent hill crowned with stately buildings. This hill was known as the crown of Smyrna. The city of Smyrna was also known for its faithfulness to Rome. Jesus exhorted the Christians at Smyrna to be loyal first and foremost to Him. Those pagans whose first loyalty was to Rome might very well martyr the Christians whose first loyalty was to Jesus. Through their deaths, these Christian martyrs would forfeit their beautiful city as symbolized by that hill called the crown of Smyrna, but Jesus promised them something better. Jesus promised them a crown of life. A crown symbolizes victory, and the Christian’s victory is eternal life. This is a prize that the Christian possesses from the moment when he first believes, a prize that the Christian will more fully possess at death, and a prize that the Christian will possess to the fullest in his resurrection body on the last day.

Jesus’ letter to the church at Smyrna ends with a positive word about their future. Verse eleven says, “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” Earlier Jesus had exhorted the Christians at Smynra not to fear but to be faithful unto death. The first death is physical death, the temporary separation of the human spirit from the physical body. The second death is eternal death, the everlasting separation of the total person, body and soul, from God in a place of everlasting punishment. The faithful Christians at Smyrna did not need to fear physical death because Jesus would protect them from the harm of the second death. Jesus has transformed physical death for the Christian from a prelude to the second death into a time of rest and reward.

The letter to the church at Smyrna reminds us that there are times when and places where the Christian cannot be loyal to Jesus without experiencing persecution to some degree. A generation ago, the world called Christians fools because they believed in Jesus as He is revealed in the Bible. Today the world calls Christians bigots because they believe what Jesus teaches in the Bible about right and wrong. We are in a time when being faithful to Jesus is becoming more costly. The cost may continue to increase, but we must resolve to overcome and to remain faithful. After all, what would it profit us if we gained the whole world and in the process lost our very souls? Our goal in life must be to be rich in the way that the Christians at Smyrna were rich, even if that means that we are impoverished in this life in terms of the riches of earth where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break in and steal.