The Throne of David Those who believe, that is, the dispensational who believe in a future millennial kingdom often argue that there needs to be a millennial kingdom when Jesus comes back because there is a promise made to David and to Israel that has never been fulfilled, namely, the Davidic Covenant. And this has to be fulfilled during the millenneal reign after Jesus comes back. They are referring to is 2 Sam. chapter7. David really wanted to build the temple. He never did. His son Solomon actually did. but David wished to build the temple and first the prophet Nathan encouraged him but he later came back and said; sorry I was wrong, you're not supposed to build the temple. Your son will but there's some consolation in this for you. And the words that Nathan the prophet gave to David are referred to as the Davidic Covenant because it was a covenant God made with David. And in 2 Sam. 7:12 it says: 12 “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. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 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. 15 But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”’”(NKJV) Now this promise that God would raise up one of David's seed to sit on his throne, and have an eternally established kingdom formed the basis of the expectation that the Messiah would come from the line of David, that He would rule on the throne of David, and that He would have a kingdom whose character was very much like the character of the Davidic Kingdom a thousand years before Christ when David lived. David ruled over the gentiles around him. All the gentile regions adjacent to Israel and those far beyond, paid tribute to David because he conquered them. The Jews at the end of David's reign, the latter part, were at peace because they had no more enemies that they had not subdued. It was the most properous period in Israel's history. The golden age of OT Jewish history. The Jews always looked forward on the basis of this promise to God restoring Israel to such a golden age under the Messiah, the son of David, who would be a second David. The dispensationalist believe that God is going to do that and since He hasn't done it yet, He must be planning on doing it when Jesus comes back. They say, well, when Jesus came the first time He didn't sit on the throne of David, and yet that's promised that He will, therefore He must return and do that. And this golden age, they say will be associated with the thousand year millennium. Now a couple of things I want to say, and I realize there are some problems in this 2 Sam. passage. One of them and the principal problem is verse 14 where it says: 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. Now we know that Jesus did not ever commit iniquity and therefore He did not have to be chastened with the rod of men yet He was chastened. He was killed, in fact, by the rods of men. Probably how this is to be understood is that Jesus was put to death by men because our iniquities were laid on Him. He didn't commit any iniquities but borrowed ours as it were. He became guilty of our sin the Bible says in Is. 53 verse 6: 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. That all of our iniquity was laid on Him and He was treated as if He had done these crimes. That in my mind takes care of the "iniquity problem" as it were in 2 Sam. 7:14. Now back to the throne issue. One thing interesting is that the pre-mil interpretation of this cannot be true. The reason is they think that this will be fulfilled after Jesus comes back. However the Bible teaches that when Jesus comes back, He is going to raise all the righteous dead, and that would include David. And yet this prophecy says that the reign of David's son will take place while David is sleeping with his fathers. That is to say while David is dead and and in his grave. It says it very plainly in verse 12 “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." It doesn't say after you're resurrected after resting with your fathers. We have to understand that when Jesus comes back He's going to raise the dead. That would include David. And if Jesus is THEN going to set up His kingdom and by doing fulfill this prophecy, David will not be resting with His fathers anymore. So that won't work. This prophecy is fulfilled while David is dead, therefore prior to the resurrection, therefore prior to the second coming of Christ. But when and how? Well, the apostles, who are the inspired interpreters of the OT, tell us how. My authority in saying this is from Luke 24:44-45 44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. So now we can look in the books of Acts and see how they understood the Davidic Promise being fulfilled. Look at Acts 2: 29-31 29 “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. 30 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, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 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. 34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘ The LORD said to my Lord, “ Sit at My right hand, 35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now notice, Peter says that David knew that God had promised that one of his (David's) seed would sit on his throne and be the Christ. And Peter was making this clear to the house of Israel that God has done through Jesus exactly what He said He would do after David. What actually has happened in the enthronement of Christ at the right hand of God, Peter interprets as the fulfillment of what God said to David would happen. Admittedly the right hand of God is not the same throne that David sat on, but apparently Peter had no problem spiritualizing it and we already know from Luke that Jesus had opened the eyes of the apostles to understand the Scriptures, which all they had at the time was the OT. The Apostle Paul has some thought on this as well. In Acts 13: 29, the first recorded sermon of Paul's: 29 Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead. 31 He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. 32 And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers. 33 God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm: ‘ You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.’ 34 And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus: ‘ I will give you the sure mercies of David.’ "I will give you the sure mercies of David." comes from Is. 55:3 Notice how Paul associates all these things with Jesus rising from the dead. The sure mercies of David, the fulfillment of the promises made to David, has been accomplished by Jesus rising from the dead and sitting at the right hand of God. Notice how Paul is absolutely sure of this by saying in verse 32 that promise which was made to the fathers. 33 God has fulfilled... He does not indicate that further promise along this line to be fulfilled that have not been fulfilled because the promise has been fulfilled. Both Peter and Paul quite obviously believed that Jesus by His resurrection and enthronement has satisfied the Davidic Promises. By the way, Paul and the other apostles were not the first guys to recognize this. It was also recognized way back when John the Baptist was born, by the prophet, his father Zacharias. In Luke chapter 1 when John the Baptist was born, his father after having been mute for 9 months, suddenly recieved back his speech and prophisied. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and he prophisied, therefore his prophecy was inspired. First the angel said to Mary in: Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then some months later Zacharias said in Luke 1:68 “ Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, 69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, 71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant,... All of this is associated with the birth of Jesus. Therefore the Davidic Covenant has been fulfilled. God has in fact raised up One like David. One other prophecy like this in the OT is clearly said to be fulfilled in the NT so that we can move along with full assurance that the Davidic Covenant has and is being fulfilled in Christ even now in the present kingdom established by the resurrection of Christ and His enthronement. Amos 9: 11 11 “ On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,” Says the LORD who does this thing. (pre-mil people think this is endtimes stuff and some even believe this is about the rebuilding of the temple) When Amos wrote this the Temple had not fallen down and besides tabenacle does not equate to temple. The tabernacle of David is in reference to the house of David that was now so corroded that it was now nothing more than a booth. The house of David means the dynasty of David. This is the same type of House God said He would build of David in 2 Sam. 7 and in fact was the case for 20 generations after David. However the house of David did not share the character of David. His descendants, the kings of his dynasty were corrupt, almost every one of them and God had no respect for them. And Amos is actually speaking of this corruption. A fallen house. But He says in the latter days He is going to reestablish the house of David and by that He means the dynasty of David will have a new King worthy of that title. And he mentions the Gentiles being subdued by Him. Let me clarify how the apostles understood this. In acts 15 at the Jerusalem council, the apostles were discussing whether the Gentiles who got saved needed to become Jews in order to REALY be saved. In the course of their debate, James spoke up and made a very significant observation. Acts 15:13 on 13 And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, “Men and brethren, listen to me: 14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15 And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 16 ‘ After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; 17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the LORD who does all these things.’ What James is saying is that this prophecy, right now, is in the process of fulfillment and the gentiles coming in (in this case Cornilius) is in agreement with the prophets. By Jews and gentile alike this prophecy is reflected and fulfilled in that we are of the kingdom and Jesus' rulership over us. Every time this fulfillment is applied spiritually to the church. Never do the apostles break rank and say that their is a literal throne of David someday. They always assume that presently the enthronement of Jesus at the right hand of the Father is the fulfillment of that Davidic kingdom promise.