YOUR EYES WILL SEE THE KING

by Darwin Hunter

Isaiah’s prophetic declaration thrills the soul of the believer: “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty” (Isaiah 33:17). For the Christian, nothing could possibly compare with that promise. To see our King at last, in all of His beauty — the beauty of His holiness, His power, His majesty, His glory, and His wisdom — will be inexpressible joy!

We see Him now. He is revealed to us within the pages of the inspired Word. He was prophetically anticipated as in Isaiah’s words above. The Savior of men was spoken of in the Garden of Eden as the Seed of woman who would defeat the subtle serpent whose deceptive tactics brought about the fall of man (Genesis 3:15). The King was spoken of in Genesis 49:10 as the scion of the tribe of Judah, a lawgiver to whom human obedience must be rendered. The prophet Balaam had declared of our King, “I see Him, but not now; I behold I- but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all of the sons of tumult.” David, the greatest king of fleshly Israel, was informed by Nathan the prophet that one of his descendants would arise to build “a house” (the church, 1 Timothy 3:15), and to sit upon an everlasting throne over a never-ending kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12ff). Micah saw the everlasting King making His entrance into the world in the little, insignificant town of Bethlehem, the city of His ancestor David, to be “Ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2). The prophet Zechariah pronounced, “Behold, your King is coming to you!”, anticipating His triumphal entry into “Jerusalem “riding a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). Further, that exilic prophet foresaw that the King he called “the Branch” would build the “temple of the Lord” (the church, (Matthew 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:19-22), and would be both King and Priest in the coming age of the M (Zechariah 6:12-13). Indeed, the message of the entire Old Testament is, “Behold, your King is coming to you!”

The New Testament shows the fulfillment of the prophecies in the entrance of Jesus info the world. The virgin conceived, as per Isaiah 7:14, and was told that the holy Child she would bring forth would be that promised King. The angel Gabriel informed her: “And, behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give unto Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the House of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:30-33). The Son of God brought forth by Mary would reign over God’s new covenant people, spiritual Israel (Galatians 5:16; Philippians 3:3, 16), composed of both Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 3:7) His dominion is universal and perpetual, extending to all generations, and beyond all political boundaries. His power, or authority, extends to both Heaven and earth, and is exercised through His Gospel, the universal law far all men in this present age (Matthew 28:18-20).

Isaiah declared, “Your eyes will see the King in His beauty” (Isaiah 33:17). The angel at Bethlehem, on the night of Jesus’ birth, announced the new babe as “a Savior, who is Christ [Messiah] the Lord” (Luke 2:11). At about the age of two, wise men from the East searched for the One whom they come to worship as King. Their question, “Where is He who is born King of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2), revealed their faith, but inflamed the passions of wicked Herod.

Throughout the rest of the New Testament, Jesus is identified as the King of Old Testament promise. He is indeed the son of David (a descendant of the famous OT king, (Matthew 1:1, 22:41 -46), and thus of the tribe of Judah, the Messianic tribe (Matthew 1:2-3; Hebrews 7:14). The Revelation calls Him “the lion of the tribe of Judah” and “the Root of David” (Revelation 5:5). Before Pilate, Jesus identified Himself as a king, not of a material entity, but a spiritual one (Matthew 27:11; John 18:36-37). He told Peter to put away his sword in the garden of Gethsemane since His spiritual kingdom was not to be acquired by physical force, but by the power of the Gospel (Matthew 26:51-54; 2 Corinthians 10:3-4). The apostle Peter’s great Pentecost sermon goes to great lengths to prove His kingly credentials. His powerful sermon shows that the resurrection of Jesus is the subject of OT prophecy, just as His death was (Isaiah 53; Psalms 22; Psalms 16:8-11). Peter convincingly shows that Jesus has been raised up from the dead, has now ascended to the Father, and is seated at His right hand on David’s throne, ruling over His kingdom (the newly established church, (Acts 2:29-35, 47), which He had earlier promised to build during the lifetimes of his disciples, (Matthew 16:18-19, Mark 9:1). Paul later speaks of Jesus possessing a kingdom into which the Colossian Christians have been translated (Colossians 1:13). Those redeemed by His blood make up His kingdom and are His willing subjects through obedience to His will (Revelation 1:5, 9; Acts 2:38) The shout of victory echoes throughout the Revelation depicting our Savior as the triumphant “King of Kings” who vanquishes His enemies and grants Heaven to His faithful ones (Revelation 1 9-22)

“Your eyes will see the King in His beauty” In fact, every eye shell see Him when He returns in the clouds to claim His own (Revelation 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). He will bring all nations before Him for judgment (Matthew 25:31-46), rewarding each according to His work (2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 22:12-13). He will speak the final verdict on each one saying to some “Depart” and to others “Come” (Matthew 25:34, 41). His coming will arouse admiration in His saints, and fear in His foes (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

The whole theme of the Bible is the story of our King. The Old Testament tells us that a King is coming! Matthew, Mark, Luke and John tells us that a King has come! The New Testament epistles promise us that our King is coming again in the clouds of glory! We express the sentiment of Isaiah 33:17 when we sing, “We shall see the King some day!” We will see Him in glorious triumph, in all of His regal splendor, and in the robes of judicial authority (John 5:22). What a grand day that will be for the faithful in Christ!