The
Desire Of All Nations
I thought it would be appropriate for the last part of our study
to look at the OT promise that the Messiah would be “The Desire Of All Nations”. After looking at some of the Messianic
prophecies of Christ, we have seen demonstrated that He is the source of all
blessings of forgiveness, justice, righteousness and peace that this world will
ever possess. No wonder the Bible tells
us that He is to be desired by all His people throughout the world.
THE
SCRIPTURES:
Hag
2:6-9
6) For thus saith the
LORD of hosts; Yet once, it [is] a
little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the
dry [land];
7)
And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I
will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
8)
The silver [is] mine, and the gold [is] mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
9)
The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the
LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
Isa 25:9
9) And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this [is] our God; we have waited for him, and
he will save us: this [is] the LORD;
we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
Luke 2:10-11
10) And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11)
For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord.
Rom 8:19-25
19) For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20)
For
the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him
who hath subjected [the same] in
hope,
21)
Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into
the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22)
For
we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now.
23)
And
not only [they], but ourselves also,
which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to
wit], the redemption of our body.
24)
For
we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth,
why doth he yet hope for?
25)
But
if we hope for that we see not, [then]
do we with patience wait for [it].
Gal 3:6-9
6) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness.
7)
Know
ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham.
8)
And
the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying],
In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9)
So
then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Titus 2:11-14
11) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men,
12)
Teaching
us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world;
13)
Looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ;
14)
Who
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
2Pet 3:11-14
11) [Seeing]
then [that] all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner [of persons]
ought ye to be in [all] holy
conversation and godliness,
12)
Looking
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13)
Nevertheless
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness.
14)
Wherefore,
beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found
of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Rev 22:20
20) He which testifieth these things saith,
Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
THE
STUDY:
Before
we begin our study, I think it is important to understand what is meant by the
title “Desire’. In the Hag 2 text, “Desire”
carries with it the ideas of longing, value and satisfaction.
In
other words, when Hag 2 calls the coming Messiah “The Desire of all nations”,
it is saying that His people found in all the nations of the world would long
for His coming. Why would His coming be
so greatly desired? It is because He
would be very valuable to them as the only One able to fulfill their every
need. It would only be through Him that
they would find, total and complete satisfaction.
Let’s
take a look at this wonderful OT prophecy that declares His great value to all
the nations of the world.
THE
PROPHECY:
Luke 2:10-11 & Gal 3:6-9
In Luke
2:10-11, the announcement of Jesus’s birth, is
described as “good tidings” (pleasing news) that will bring great joy to all
people… “And the angel said unto
them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall
be to all people. For unto you is born this
day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Why is this the source of such great joy and desire? Because it would be through the Messiah
(Christ) (and his work on the cross at His first coming), that allows individuals
of all nations to find salvation from their sins. This is why, at His first coming, He was the
“desire of all nations”.
Another OT prophecy of the Messiah is mentioned by
Paul in Galatians, in this prophecy the Messiah’s birth into the world is said
to result in all the nations being blessed, again this is referring to His
death on the cross allowing salvation of both Jew and Gentile… “…And
the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith,
preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying],
In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
In this text, it is emphasized that the blessing
that is poured out upon individuals results in their entrance into the spiritual,
eternal nation of Israel… “So then they which be of
faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.”
Hag 2:6-9 & 2
Pet 3:11-14
In this Haggai prophecy
of the second coming of the Messiah, we find Him being described as the “Desire
of all Nations”. .. “I will shake all nations,
and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with
glory, saith the LORD of hosts….” In 2 Peter we are told that the entire world
will undergo a great makeover as the Messiah judges the world for her sins and
creates a perfect, eternal, dwelling place on a new heavens and new earth.
It is this wonderful
eternity that He will share with his people that will result in their final,
complete satisfaction and fulfillment.
It is this great day that is looked for with all desire… “Nevertheless
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that ye look for such things…”
Isa 25:9 & Rom 8:19-25 & Titus 2:11-14
The wonderful day of His second coming spoken of in
2 Pet 3:11-14 is also talked about in Isa 25.
It is for this event that believers in all the nations of the world
eagerly await. It is at this time that
the salvation of His people will be brought to completion as He delivers them
from the presence of sin and gives them entrance into His glory… “in
that day, Lo, this [is] our God; we
have waited for him, and he will save us: this [is] the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice
in his salvation.”
This
longing for His second coming, and our removal from sin’s presence, is also
spoken of in Rom 8:19-25… For the earnest
expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God…
Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God….
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body…For
we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth,
why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, [then] do we with patience wait for [it].”
This
great desire of God’s people for His coming and total deliverance from sin is
also covered in detail in Tit 2… “Looking for that blessed
hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for
us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
THE FULFILLMENT:
Partial fulfillment during the first coming of
Christ… but much of the fulfillment is yet to come. See above verses for details.
PRACTICAL
APPLICATION:
When we, as His people, take the time
to stop and consider all of the blessings that will flow to us in eternity
(based upon the work of Christ at His first coming), we can all all heartily
join the Apostle John as He eagerly desires for the Lord to come back the
second coming….”He which testifieth these
things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20)
May the Lord bless our study of His Word.
If you have any questions about salvation you are
welcome to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com. I’ll be more than happy to answer any
question you may have.
Also, if you look at my blog page “How To Have A
Relationship With God”. On this page,
you will find several blog entries explaining the way of salvation and
important truths about salvation.
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Ministries” homepage –
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May the Lord bless your study of His
Word. Like God’s Word… may your soul’s
salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”
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