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 Christ
on David's Throne
by David Padfield
Premillennialists claim that one day our Lord will return to this
earth for the purpose of establishing His kingdom. They further
claim that He will sit and rule "on the throne of David" in
Jerusalem for 1,000 years. The truth of the matter is that at this
very moment, Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, and He is
now reigning from heaven "on the throne of David." If we can prove
that Christ is now "on the throne of David," the entire theory of
premillennialism falls to pieces.
God's Promise To David
King David of Israel, was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22).
Before his death, God made several promises to him. "When your days
are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your
seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish
his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father,
and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him
with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My
mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I
removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be
established forever before you. Your throne shall be established
forever." (2 Sa. 7:12-16).
This promise to David can be summarized by four main points: 1)
David's seed would be set upon the throne, 2) it would happen after
David's death, 3) God would establish this throne, and 4) this one
would build God's house. These promises were fulfilled by Jesus
Christ, the son of David, when He ascended into heaven to sit at
God's right hand.
When Peter preached the first gospel sermon in the name of our risen
Lord, he told how God fulfilled His promises to David. "Men and
brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he
is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an
oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh,
He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing
this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul
was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus
God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being
exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the
Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you
now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he
says himself: The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, Till I
make Your enemies Your footstool." (Acts 2:29-35).
The promises to David were fulfilled: 1) Christ was of the seed of
David, 2) His coronation in heaven took place after the death of
David, 3) Christ was raised up "to sit on his throne," and 4) God's
house, the church, has been built. Paul wrote to Timothy to remind
him "how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is
the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1
Tim. 3:15).
What Was Established?
When God spoke to David, He said, "your house and your kingdom shall
be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established
forever." (2 Sam. 7:16). God promised to establish three things:
David's house, David's kingdom, and David's throne. When you find
out when one of these items was established you will find out when
all of them were established.
David's house (royal family) was established in the first century.
Matthew begins his gospel by proclaiming Christ to be "the Son of
David, the Son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1). Many centuries before God
had promised, through the prophet Amos, to "raise up the tabernacle
of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages" (Amos
9:11). The NKJV adds a textual note to this verse, which says, "Lit.
booth, A figure of a deposed dynasty." Amos had gone from his home
at Tekoa to Bethel to prophesy against the kingdom of Israel, which
had become very corrupt, and to warn the people of their coming doom
(Amos 1:1; 7:7-17). The rule of David's house had ended for Israel
when they left the theocracy; it ended for Judah with the carrying
away of Coniah into Babylon (Jer. 22:24-30). They were sifted and
scattered among the nations, and these verses refer to their return
from captivity.
The "tabernacle" of David was the "royal family" of David. Please
observe C.F. Keil's comments on the word "tabernacle" in this
context: "Sukkah, a hut, indicates, by way of contrast to bayith,
the house or palace which David built for himself upon Zion (2 Sam.
v.11), a degenerate condition of the royal house of David. This is
placed beyond all doubt by the predicate nopheleth, fallen down. As
the stately palace supplies a figurative representation of the
greatness and might of the kingdom, so does the fallen hut, which is
full of rents and near destruction, symbolize the utter ruin of the
kingdom. If the family of David no longer dwells in palace, but in a
miserable fallen hut, its regal sway must have come to an end."
(Commentary On The Old Testament, pp. 329, 330).
When the apostles and elders met in Jerusalem to discuss the state
of the Gentiles, James quoted the prophecy of Amos and pointed out
that it had to be fulfilled before the Gentiles could seek after God
(Acts 15:13-19). What had to happen before the Gentiles could seek
after God? The tabernacle of David had to be rebuilt. If Christ is
not on David's throne, if the tabernacle has not been rebuilt, then
the Gentiles cannot seek after God!
David's kingdom was "established" by Christ in the first century.
Paul told the Colossians how God "has delivered us from the power of
darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love"
(Col. 1:13). He told Hebrew Christians that "since we are receiving
a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" (Heb. 12:28).
David's throne was "established" when God raised "up the Christ to
sit on his throne" and exalted Him "to the right hand of God" (Acts
2:29-36). Christ told the church at Laodicea, "To him who overcomes
I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat
down with My Father on His throne" (Rev. 3:21).
What Will David's Throne Do For Him?
If Jesus Christ is not now on David's throne, then one of three
things will happen when he does ascend to that throne: 1) He will
increase in power and authority, 2) He will decrease in power and
authority, or 3) David's throne will add nothing to Him.
If you teach that being seated on David's throne will increase His
authority, you have to explain passages like Matthew 28:18 where
Jesus claimed, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on
earth." Paul spoke of how Christ had been raised from the dead and
seated at the right hand of God, "far above all principality and
power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only
in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things
under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the
church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in
all." (Eph. 1:20-23).
If He will decrease in power and authority when seated on David's
throne, it would be a dishonor to Him. In this case, David's throne
could only serve to weaken His power and authority.
The only other conclusion would be that David's throne would add
nothing to Him -- in either power or authority. What a consequence!
Whose Throne Is It?
Premillennialists often claim that Christ is now on the "throne of
God" but not on the "throne of David." However, a study of the Old
Testament reveals that these are one in the same.
During the time of Samuel, the people of Israel desired to no longer
be ruled by a judge but by a king. The sin of the people was not
just that they wanted to be "like all the nations" around them, as I
sometimes hear brethren preach in ignorance. Their sin was that they
had rejected Jehovah as their king. "And the Lord said to Samuel,
'Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they
have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not
reign over them.'" (1 Sam. 8:7).
God had long ago promised that kings would rule Israel. Just before
his death, Jacob promised his son Judah that kings would come from
him. "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from
between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the
obedience of the people" (Gen. 49:10). Moses had even instructed the
people on the duties and behavior of kings before the people entered
the promised land (Deut. 17:14-20).
The point is that when God allowed Israel to have a king over them,
that king was ruling Israel in place of God. This explains many of
the passages related to the throne of David. At the coronation of
Solomon, David said, "he shall come and sit on my throne, and he
shall be king in my place. For I have appointed him to be ruler over
Israel and Judah" (1 Kings 1:35). David also said, "And of all my
sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) He has chosen my son
Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel"
(1 Chron. 28:5).
We also read of how "Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king
instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed
him" (1 Chron. 29:23). Solomon himself said, "Now therefore, as the
Lord lives, who has established me and set me on the throne of David
my father, and who has made me a house, as He promised, Adonijah
shall be put to death today!" (1 Kings 2:24). Solomon also said, "So
the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled
the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as
the Lord promised; and I have built a house for the name of the Lord
God of Israel." (1 Kings 8:20).
When we put these passages together, we see how Solomon sat on "the
throne of David," "the throne of the Lord," "the throne of Israel, "
and "the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel" all at the
same time.
Christ On His Throne
The prophet Zechariah prophesied about the reign of Christ, and
said, "He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the
glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest
on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."
(Zech. 6:13).
Christ was to do three things on His throne: 1) He would sit on His
throne, 2) He would be a priest on His throne, and 3) He would rule
on His throne. If we put this into the form of a syllogism, we would
say: 1) He would rule on His throne while priest, 2) according to
Hebrews 8:1, He is a priest on His throne now, and 3) therefore, He
is ruling on His throne now.
Notice another syllogism: 1) He is a priest on His throne (Zech.
6:13), 2) He is a priest in heaven (Heb. 4:14), and 3) therefore,
His throne is in heaven!
One last syllogism for your consideration: 1) He could not be a
priest if He were on earth (Heb. 8:4), 2) however, He is a priest on
His throne (Zech. 6:13), 3) therefore, His throne cannot be on
earth!
Christ And Coniah
Jeremiah had condemned king Coniah as a "despised, broken idol" (Jer.
22:24-30). Coniah (also called Jeconiah) was to be cast out of the
land and brought into captivity. We are further informed that he was
a "man who shall not prosper in his days; for none of his
descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and
ruling anymore in Judah" (Jer. 22:30). Notice this carefully: Coniah
would never have a descendent of his sitting on the throne of David
and ruling in Judah.
We need to notice the genealogy of this man. Jehoiakim begot Coniah
(1 Chron. 3:16; Jer. 22:24). Coniah (Jeconiah) begot Shealtiel (1
Chron. 3:17; Matt. 1:12). Christ is a descendant of Shealtiel (Matt.
1:12).
Therefore, since Christ is a descendant of Coniah, He cannot sit on
the throne of David and rule in Judah! Yet, this is the very heart
of modern premillennialism! The truth is that Christ is on the
throne of David -- but not in the land of Judah. He is on the throne
of David in heaven where He must reign "till He has put all enemies
under His feet" (1 Cor. 15:25).
Conclusion
When Our Lord returns it will not be for the purpose of establishing
a kingdom -- He is at this very moment the King of kings and Lord of
Lords (Rev. 17:14). He rules as sovereign King in His kingdom right
now. When He returns He will deliver "the kingdom to God the Father,
when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power" (1 Cor.
15:24). ~
(With permission from David’s site at http://www.padfield.com.)
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