DISPENSATIONAL PREMILLENNIALISM
PART 2 - The Throne of David

Now let's turn our attention to the throne of David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. There we read, "And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of mm and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever."

Now there is no doubt that there was an immediate fulfillment of this promise in Solomon, but the Bible makes it clear that the ultimate fulfillment was to be in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 1:5, the Hebrew writer wrote, "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?" The second part of that verse is a direct quote from 2 Samuel 7:14 and is applied by the Holy Spirit to Jesus. Look with me at Acts 13:22-23. It says, "And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus." "David's seed" refers back to 2 Samuel 7, and the promise made in verses 12-16. There is no disagreement among those who worship Christ, whether they are premillennial or not, that God promised David He would raise up One to sit on His throne, that the throne would be established forever, and that the One who would be raised to sit on it was Jesus. Once again, the problem concerns whether or not that promise has been fulfilled.

Several questions need to be considered. First of all - what exactly is meant by the throne of David? Second, is the ultimate fulfillment of that promise meant to be literal, in the sense of a physical throne, or spiritual? Third, is Jesus king now in fact, or just in prospect? All of these questions are vital, and how the Bible answers them will determine if Dispensational Premillennialism can be true or not.

Let's try to answer the first question - what exactly is meant by the throne of David? We can begin to answer that question by turning to Isaiah 9:6-7. This is a beautiful messianic prophecy that says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder. - and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.'

Come now to Luke 1:30-33. There we read, "And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus, He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.' The throne that was promised to Jesus Christ was the throne of David. The individual to whom the promise made to David ultimately referred is Jesus - about Ns there can be no doubt. If Jesus is on a throne now, it has to be the throne of David.

In the Old Testament the throne of David was God's throne. It was occasionally referred to as David's throne because David occupied it. The Bible tells us that Solomon sat upon the throne of his father David. It also tells us that Solomon sat upon God's throne, and it also says that Solomon sat upon his own throne. So the throne of the Old Testament promise was called David's throne, Solomon's throne, and God's throne. I Kings 1:46-48 says, "And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne (Solomon's throne), greater than thy throne (David's throne). And the king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne (David's throne) this day, mine eyes even seeing it" Now then, let's go to I Kings 2:12, where the Bible says, "Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was established greatly." And now we go to I Chronicles 29:23. It tells us, "Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered- and all Israel obeyed him." So, put it all together, and Solomon sat on God's throne, on David's throne, and on his own throne. God's throne, David's throne, and Solomon's throne are all one and the same - and to be on one is to be on the other. So you see, if Jesus is on a throne now, it is God's throne - which is the throne of David.

Is the throne of David, God's throne, upon which Jesus is to rule meant to be a literal, physical, earthly throne in the literal, physical, earthly city of Jerusalem; or is it meant to be a spiritual throne? To answer this question, come with me to Jeremiah 22: 24-30. In that passage the Bible says, "As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? Wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? 0 earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah." This is a vitally important passage in understanding the nature of the throne.

Let me explain. There were 21 kings in all, beginning with Saul in what was the United Kingdom through the period of Judah alone unto the last one, Jechoniah. Jechoniah was the son of Jehoiakim, and Jechoniah was also known as Jehoiachin. Jechoniah and Coniah were the same person, the son of Jehoiakim. Now, concerning Coniah, Jeremiah the prophet said that no man of his seed should prosper sitting on David's throne and ruling any more in Judah. What does this have to do with the question of Jesus sitting on David's literal, earthly throne? Just this - Jesus was of the fleshly seed of Coniah. When the Lord said, "Write this man childless," it does not mean the Coniah was congenitally childless - the names of his sons are given in the Old Testament record as well as the New Testament genealogies. Coniah had sons; he was not physically childless; but God said he should not have a successor on David's throne; that Coniah would be the last man to occupy the fleshly throne of David.

It is true that young Zedekiah, a son of Coniah, was appointed to the throne by Nebuchadnezzar, but he was simply a vassal of the king of Babylon, a representative of Nebuchadnezzar with no right to the throne of David. I know this to be true because Ezekiel was in Babylon with the captives. He knew that the throne of David was no more and that Zedekiah, as a prince of Nebuchadnezzar had no right to it. He wrote in Ezekiel 21:25-27, with reference to Zedekiah, these words, "And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high I will overturn, overturn overturn it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.' That throne would be no more until 'he come whose right it is," and that was Jesus. That throne could not be earthly, because in Matthew 1:11, in the genealogy of Christ, we find Jechoniah, or Coniah. Jesus was of the fleshly seed of Coniah, and 'no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah." The "throne of David," as it relates to Christ, is spiritual, not earthly and physical because it cannot be.

Is Jesus king now, ruling on the throne of David?

In Acts 2, Peter stood before thousands who had gathered in the city of Jerusalem for the celebration of the feast of Pentecost. He and the other eleven apostles had been baptized with the Holy Spirit on that day and were speaking as the Spirit gave them utterance. Peter presented a wonderful gospel sermon, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and I want us to notice part of that sermon right now. In verses 29-36, we read, 'Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand. Until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of lsreal know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Peter said that when God told David he would raise up One to sit on his throne, Christ was the One He meant. Peter also said that when God had promised that He would raise up Christ to sit on David's throne, He meant 'the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." Peter also said that God had done what He promised, "This Jesus hath God raised up..." Dispensational Premillennialism says that Jesus is not king now, that He is not reigning on David's throne now. Peter said that the very promise to raise up Christ to sit on David's throne had reference to the resurrection of Jesus (not His second coming), and that He has been raised up to sit on David's throne and He is at the right hand of God exalted. Who are we supposed to believe, Peter or the Dispensational Premillennialists, because we cannot believe both?

The Lord Jesus Christ is reigning now. He is "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (I Timothy 6:15). Jesus is my King now!

Dispensational Premillennialism - Part 3