Corey Jarvis #1158 Senior Seminar Senior Thesis Jesus on the Throne: The Future Davidic Reign of Christ

In the modern theological climate, it seems that dispensationalism is on the retreat rather than on the advance, both in the academic and popular spectrum.1 One result of this, if not perhaps a cause, is the fracturing of dispensationalism into two camps, classical dispensationalism and progressive dispensationalism. Although it is not the purpose of this paper to delve into the differences between the two systems, it is essential to note one particular tenet of progressive dispensationalism. Blaising and Bock, two key figures in the progressive dispensationalist movement, say that, Every New Testament description of the present throne of Jesus is drawn from Davidic covenant promises. Repeatedly, the New Testament declares that He is enthroned at the right hand of God in fulfillment of the promise given in Psalm 110:1. This is a Davidic promise; it is the son of David who fulfills it.2 Furthermore, Ryrie lists the current Davidic kingship of Christ as one of the core tenets in the progressive dispensationalist movement.3 In this paper, I will argue for the classical dispensationalist understanding of Christs kingship and my thesis is that, despite the position held by progressive dispensationalism, prophecy that describes Jesus sitting upon the throne of David and ruling over the Earth will only see
1

Dr. Paul Henebury points out several possible factors in this retreat: While I dont want to diagnose the trouble here, I think it is obvious that Reformed thinkers speak and write about far more topics and often about more important subjects than Dispensational thinkers have done for many a year. He goes on to say that the trend within Dispensationalism is to focus on narrow, unhelpful and unnecessary issues. Henebury, Dr. Paul Martin. Where Are All The Young People? The Pre-Trib Conference 2010, 12/13/1010. Dr. Reluctant, Musings of a reluctant dispensationalist.
2

Craig A. Blaising and Darrell L. Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), p. 182.
3

Ryrie, Charles. Dispensationalism. Rev. and Expanded ed. Chicago, IL: Moody, 2007. 193. Print.

future fulfillment in the Millennial Kingdom in a political and nationalistic sense. In some ways Jesus is currently king of kings and ruler over creation, however, His role as King specifically describes a future ministry that has yet to be fulfilled. The primary issue in this debate is in reference to the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7.12-16 and Psalm 89.34-36, in which God says that he will establish the throne of his [Davids] kingdom for ever. This promise is ratified in Psalm 89.34-36, His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. The role of Christ in these prophecies is obviously to sit upon the throne of David and rule in a way that no one could before Him; namely, for eternity and in perfect peace. However the issue with this seemingly simple fulfillment in regards to Christ being king, is that the Church age is a mystery in the Old Testament. There is an extremely large gap between the death of Christ and the future return of Christ. It is precisely this gap that is problematic, for Christ has risen from the dead and taken his seat beside the father, but he has yet to institute an earthly kingdom. For Progressive Dispensationalists, Christ rules now as king over His kingdom, but for Classical Dispensationalists, Christ has not yet been inaugurated. The first major issue in this debate is primarily a hermeneutical one, that is, what exactly is meant by the throne of David? In his article on the subject, Mal Couch states that The earthly nature of the Davidic throne is continually confirmed in the Old Testament. Though most [kings] were evil, Jeremiah speaks of his day and the kings that sit for David on his throne, (Jer. 13:13). The prophet further reminded Judahs king Zedekiah that he sits on Davids

throne (22:2) and that if he is faithful, future kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting on Davids place on his throne, (v. 4). But in time, as the nation failed morally and spiritually, the kings were set aside with no one of the house of David occupying the place of leadership.4 The position stated here is that the physical and earthly nature of the Davidic Throne is key to understanding how Christ will reign. In contrast to this, the progressive dispensational position is that Jesus inauguration as king is primarily concerned with his current authority, especially in reference to salvation5, that is, Jesus current rule does not have to be synonymous with Davidic kingship exactly in a physical and earthly sense, but is fulfilled spiritually. This is tempered however, with the idea of the already/not yet rule of Christ. Bock is ready to affirm that Jesus sits on Davids throne now spiritually, but he recognizes that there are physical and earthly elements to this reign, Bock says that there is continuity with the future kingdom in the present kingdom, though there is a distinction in the visibility of the King in the two phases of the reign and in the fact that the current kingdom lacks political, nationalistic elements. Despite Bocks attempt at separating the future Davidic reign with a current one, it is key that his understanding of the current Davidic reign does not contain political or nationalistic elements, however these elements are key in the classical dispensationalist system. In classical dispensationalism, the reign of Christ upon the throne of David is a political reign upon a physical throne on this earth. Besides being necessary for the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies, Christs reign is necessary because

Progressive Dispensationalism: Is Christ now on the Throne of David? Conservative Theological Journal Volume 2, 4 (Fort Worth, TX: Tyndale Theological Seminary, 1998). 36. 5 Bock, Derrell. The Reign of the Lord Christ. Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. 1992.

through it, God will rectify fallen human government and establish His own perfect standard for earthly government. In the fall, man directly rebelled against God and they were punished not just spiritually but physically as well. Through the sacrifice of Christ, God has justified us and rectified our fallen spiritual nature, even if we havent completely experienced it yet, in that we still sin. In a similar manner we will one day receive glorified bodies in which our flesh will no longer be subject to death. One area that has not been rectified however, is the governmental rebellion against God. This can be seen in several instances, not least of which is the political uprising against God in the building of the Tower of Babel. In addition, Israel rejected God as king so that they might have a human king. When Christ takes his seat upon the throne of David, he will rule the earth in such a way that there will be perfect peace and perfect governmental rule. The significance of this rule is that, in spite of peace, prosperity and governmental perfection, man will still revolt against Christ at the end of the millennial rule. This governmental rule will be accomplished in the millennium, and will be ultimately realized at the Great White Throne judgment, in which Christ judges those who are not saved and will then rule over the new earth forever. It is not just progressive dispensationalists who are opposed to the idea of Christ ruling upon Davids throne as an unfulfilled future event. Covenant theologians are categorically opposed to the idea that there could be any kind of distinction between Christ ruling now and in the future. The reason for this is that: The amillennialist is bound to argue for a conditional covenant and a spiritualized fulfillment, so that the throne on which Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father becomes the throne of the covenant, the

household of faith becomes the house of the covenant, and the church becomes the kingdom of the covenant.6 The question of the covenant theologian is thus more concerned with whom Christ is ruling over rather than how He is ruling.7 The significance of this type of fulfillment is that it gives away the Covenant theologians position regarding the idea of kingdom. For the Covenant Theologian, the status of people of God has transferred from Israel to the Church. Thus, any fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant would be fulfilled through the Church. Therefore, the church is being ruled over by Christ. For the dispensationalist however, Israel will still receive the promises made to them, and therefore, the Davidic Covenant is still applicable to national Israel. This means that in some way, Israel will experience a time in which they are directly ruled over by God. The Covenant perspective leads to a spiritualized fulfillment of this covenant because for them, Christ is already ruling over the church! Any sort of political or nationalistic fulfillment is eradicated because they simply do not have a place for the spiritualized people of God. Therefore, in the covenant system, Christs rule now is the same as it will be in the future. The importance of distinguishing between Christs current rule and his future rule lies primarily in the fulfillment of eschatological prophecy. To illustrate this, we will look at the prophecies contained within Psalm 2. In this Psalm, the Lords Anointed is placed upon the holy mountain and installed as king. The psalmist writes, Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like

J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come (Findlay, OH: Dunham Publishing Company, 1961), p. 103. I am aware that there is a alternate method of distinguishing between how Christ will rule in the future and who He will rule over in the Historic Premillennial position, which is a covenantal theology position. However this the merits for and against this position will not be investigated in this paper.
7

earthenware. 8 The scene being described here is of a time when the Lords enemies are broken before Him and He is reigning with authority over the earth. This doesnt quite seem to coincide with the current reality regarding the worlds relationship with Christ. He has indeed conquered death and sat down in a place of prominence beside the Father, however it doesnt seem correct to describe this reign as detrimental to unbelievers in the same way that we see in Psalm 2. A similar parallel to Psalm 2 however, can be found at the end of Revelation. In chapter 19, Jesus strikes down the nations and then proceeds to rule without the presence of Satan; the nations are conquered and peace ensues in chapter 20. This parallel better accounts for the language of Psalm 2, which seems to imply victory, which cannot be accounted for currently. One of the most applicable passages in this discussion is in regards to the scene beginning in Daniel 7.10. Daniel begins this vision with an account of the Ancient of Days sitting upon the throne. In v. 11 there is a beast that is killed and destroyed, and other beast lose their lives as a result. Following this, Daniel tells of one like a son of man coming to the Ancient of Days and being given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Following this fairly straightforward description of Christ ruling as king, there is a lengthy section regarding a series of events that will take place around the time of Christ coming to power. Couch says about Christs rule in this section:
Though the Son of Man is granted this kingdom, does He at that time take possession of it? No. If one continues to read the passage carefully, the Son of Man "receives" (v. 18) this kingdom after
8

New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995). Ps 2:89.

the fourth kingdom and the "other horn" (the Antichrist) (vs. 20-25) are destroyed!... What is important to note is that this fifth Messianic earthly kingdom follows an earthly fourth kingdom which most take as the Roman empire. And the Antichrist (the other horn who "will arise," v. 24) does not appear until the end of this empire. Therefore, the Messiah's kingdom, Daniel's fifth kingdom, cannot begin until the final demise of the Roman end-time rule.

This interpretation of Daniel 7 isnt unique to dispensationalists9, but it does require a paradigm of prophetic fulfillment by which the prophecies retain the element of historical significance, rather than a typological or spiritual fulfillment. The issue of prophetic fulfillment plays a large role in this debate because all we can know about Christs future reign comes to us through the medium of prophecy. In reference to prophetic fulfillment, there is a range of theories regarding how prophecy should be interpreted. For example, Charles Dyer, a dispensationalist, writes that, Biblical fulfillment occurs when the meaning of a specific Old Testament prophecy finds its exact correspondence in a New Testament person, activity, or event.10 He goes on to redefine many New Testament fulfillments simply as applications of the Old Testament text, or even as an author using analogous language in order to illustrate a point, or to bring to mind a larger event. One important aspect of prophetic fulfillment must include the fact that prophecy must first be fulfilled in an Old Testament sense before it can be applied in a New Testament sense. With regards to Christs reign, it is
9

Couch lists several major commentators who are non-dispensationalist who would agree with this interpretation. Not least of whom is John Gill, a prominent Baptist Calvinist. 10 Dyer, Charles H. Biblical Meaning of Fulfillment, (50). Issues in Dispensationalism. Moody Press. Chicago, IL

hermeneutically irresponsible to take the Old Testament prophecies regarding his future reign, and simply assign them to any New Testament text that references Christ as king. In this way we can form a more complete picture of how Christ can be at the right hand of God, but not ruling in the same manner that David would have understood it. Furthermore, it is possible to look even farther forward to a time in which there will be an analogous fulfillment11. The role of Israel in the book of Revelation is a picture of this fulfillment in that Israel will finally respond to their Messiah and Jesus will reign as king.12 For the Covenant theologian, the reign of Christ on the throne of David, as has already been stated, is fulfilled spiritually in the current age. However the scriptures never state that this has been accomplished yet,13 but rather they give us a very detailed description about the role that Jesus plays as an interceding priest while seated at the right hand of God: Christ Jesus who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34). In Hebrews we see a similar verse, When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (1:3). Thus, the current ministry of Christ is closely associated with his salvific

11

Dyers method of describing the elements necessary for prophetic fulfillment are extremely helpful, however it seems possible through this method to downplay lesser fulfillments and even potential fulfillment. Dyer addresses the issue of potential fulfillment by stating that there is advancement of scriptural knowledge through progressive revelation. But this doesnt solve the issue regarding the use of prophecy. Furthermore, what is the purpose of prophecy in this absolute fulfillment paradigm? If we take Dyer, along with the addition of the possibility that biblical authors can use fulfillment to mean application or even illustration, then his position would strengthen considerably. 12 Ibid. (69-71) Dyer describes the situation regarding Israel and Jesus as king, Israel di not accept Jesus as their Messiah, and the Davidic kingdom promises were not fulfilled. Following the resurrection of Christ the apostles again offer the kingdom to IsraelOnce again the offer was contingent on their acceptanceAgain Israel failed to respond properly and again the kingdom for Israel was postponed. In the book of Revelation God pictures a third period when the kingdom will be announced/offered to Israel. This time Israel will respond and Jesus will return to earth to reign as King, seated on the throne of David. The Old Testament prophecies ultimately will be fulfilled exactly as God promised. 13 Progressive Dispensationalism: Is Christ now on the Throne of David? Theological Journal Volume 2, 4 (Fort Worth, TX: Tyndale Theological Seminary, 1998). 40.

ministry; he perfected our salvation through His work on the cross and now he is working on our behalf until our glorification is realized. Now the covenant theologian would not disagree with this description regarding Jesus current ministry, but Jesus current role isnt isolated singularly to intercession on our behalf but also includes the fact that Jesus is awaiting the time when his enemies will be laid down before Him at the time of his rule as king (Psalm 110.1)14. Although the conclusion of both the covenant theologian and the progressive dispensationalist are similar in that Christ is currently reigning upon the throne of David, there are several important distinctions between the two positions. For the progressive dispensationalist, there is indeed a future rule of Christ in which he will reign upon earth in a political and nationalistic manner. In contrast, the covenantal theologian sees no need for a future reigning of Christ that is political and nationalistic. The basis for this disagreement can best be understood by means of a continuum. Classical dispensationalism represents a perspective of strong discontinuity, covenant theology represents a perspective of strong continuity, and progressive dispensationalism falls somewhere in the middle, containing elements of both continuity and discontinuity15. In regards to Christs kingship, this paradigm becomes useful because the prophecies regarding Christ were given in the context of the Davidic Covenant, which means that there is the issue of how to apply an Old Testament covenant to the New Testament.

14

Psalm 110.1 is a parallel verse to Psalm 2, the primary aspect of the verse for Jesus current ministry however, is verse 1: The Lord says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. 15 This method of delineating Dispensationalism and Covenant theology by means of a continuity/discontinuity paradigm is introduced in three articles: Robertson, O. Palmer. Hermeneutics of Continuity. Feinberg, John S. Systems of Discontinuity and Hermeneutics of Discontinuity. Although the primary goal of these three articles is to form a hermeneutical basis to understand how the testaments fit together, this can be applied quite easily to the issue of Christs kingship.

In a system of continuity, there is a high regard for typological relationships and fulfillment16. What this means for the issue of Christs kingship is that there is absolute continuity between the testaments and thus, prophecies can be applied in ways that originally would not have been understood. For example, Christ can rule as king over his chosen people (the Church) even though the prophecy was given to David as a promise that his seed would eternally rule on the throne over Israel. This continuity also lends to typological fulfillments because applicability is far more liquid. For example, in a system of discontinuity, a much more historical approach would be taken with regards to Christ ruling over his people. It would be necessary for the prophecies to be fulfilled in the same way they were intended when given, as it is more difficult to apply Old Testament prophecies in ways alien to the original context. Accordingly, Christs reign would have to apply to Israel because that is how David would have understood it to be fulfilled. This can be described as a system of discontinuity because the two testaments cannot be directly applied to each other, but must exist separately to some degree, interacting with each other but remaining unique. One of the major issues when examining continuity and discontinuity is in regards to the people of God. In a system of discontinuity, Israel is a completely separate entitity from the church. In a system of continuity, the church is either the fulfillment or replacement of Israel, and thus received the promises made to Israel. When applying this to Christ reigning, we see that in a system of discontinuity, Christ will be reigning over national Israel because any other fulfillment would be unknown and it would be a non16

In his chapter on Systems of Discontinuity, Feinberg argues that, throughout church history the relationship between the Testaments has been understood in three main ways, the allegorical and typological, the doctrinal, and the historical. Obviously there are variances within each category, however it seems that Covenant theology would fall more towards typological (although avoiding allegorical), while Dispensationalism would be thoroughly historical.

fulfillment and thus be invalidated. However, in a system of continuity, the church is able to receive blessings made to Israel though typological fulfillment. Thus, it is possible for the Church to receive promises made to Israel because they are in fact the same entitity. Therefore there is legitimate prophetic fulfillment and the promise to David is actualized typologically. This idea isnt just limited to Christ ruling as king however. If a system is dominated by the idea of continuity, it becomes possible to apply ideas not just forwards in the bible, but backwards as well. The result of this backwards application is that the Old Testament simply absolutely synonymous with the New Testament. The risk in this situation is that the theologian will approach difficult concepts with the mindset that they must apply and therefore can be applied.17 The subject of Christs position as king is indeed a difficult one. The matter isnt helped by the fact that dispensationalism itself is a fairly advanced topic. This is only amplified by the in-house debate between progressive and classical dispensationalism. Despite the daunting issue of applying this doctrine, it is indeed possible. In some regards, Christians on both sides of the dispensational fence can take comfort in knowing that covenant theologians, progressive, and classical dispensationalists all agree that in the eternal future Christ will reign sovereign and there will be absolute peace and perfect existence. The reason this idea is necessary to state is that oftentimes we find that our theological debate opponent has moved from his position as brother, to that of enemy.

17

This issue is called the historicist perspective regarding past events. For a historicist, events in history are able to be understood through the context we exist in now. The difficulty with this perspective is that history is viewed in a vacuum, devoid of historical context and absent of cultural distinctiveness. This relates to the covenant perspective because the claim is made that they can directly apply historical prophecies to a different group that does not exist is the same location, manner and general context as Israel did. In some instances, the prophecies would be nonsensical if applied outside Israel; there has yet to be a legitimate covenantal criteria to judge whether or not a promise made to Israel is received by the church. Are curses applied to the church as well, or physical blessings, spiritual blessings? The line is fuzzy and in danger of being very historicist.

Secondly, we must recognize that, as with any discussion regarding dispensationalism, hermeneutics is a key issue. The fact that dispensationalism has forced biblical scholars to seriously examine the text from a fresh perspective and through a historically literal lens has arguably been the most beneficial result of dispensationalism as a whole. In this topic specifically, we see that through studying Christ and how he is currently fulfilling, or will fulfill certain roles in the future, we not only better know our savior, but also we can better understand our relationship with Him. The most fertile ground for this I believe is in reference to the current ministry of Christ. Dispensationalism is in a unique position to stress the ongoing priestly ministry of Christ as we believe that this is his primary role until his future coming. If we know that Christ is currently primarily focused in providing constant intercession on our behalf, we can have confidence in our Christian lives. The issue of Christ reigning on the Davidic throne is not an isolated doctrine. It exists within the larger system of dispensationalism and is a necessary element in a consistent understanding of dispensationalism itself18. As we have seen, this issue interacts with such wide reaching subjects as, prophecy fulfillment, the applicability of the Old Testament with the New Testament, the role of Israel in the eschatological future along with a variety of other issues. By means of examining relevant texts that deal directly with Christs reign as king, and by applying a historical fulfillment paradigm to these prophecies, it is clear that

18

In fact, it may be accurate to say that dispensationalism is the most consistent application of theological truth by means of a more thorough hermeneutic. The above list of prophecy fulfillment and especially the applicability of the Old and New Testaments are best understood through the lens of dispensationalism. The issue of the Old and New Testaments and applicability really is the overarching theme of the system; simply by stating that it is more difficult to apply themes to the New Testament from the Old would move you more in the direction of dispensationalism.

Christ is indeed Lord in a general sense, however He is not reigning in such a way currently as to fulfill the promises given in the Davidic Covenant. However in the future, Christ will indeed fulfill His role as king in a political and nationalistic sense.

Bibliography
Henebury, Dr. Paul Martin. Where Are All The Young People? The Pre-Trib Conference 2010, 12/13/1010. Dr. Reluctant, Musings of a reluctant dispensationalist. Craig A. Blaising and Darrell L. Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993), p. 182. Ryrie, Charles. Dispensationalism. Rev. and Expanded ed. Chicago, IL: Moody, 2007. 193. Print. Conservative Theological Journal Volume 2, 4 (Fort Worth, TX: Tyndale Theological Seminary, 1998). 36. Bock, Derrell. The Reign of the Lord Christ. Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. 1992. J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come (Findlay, OH: Dunham Publishing Company, 1961), p. 103 New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995). Ps 2:89. Dyer, Charles H. Biblical Meaning of Fulfillment, (50). Issues in Dispensationalism. Moody Press. Chicago, IL Robertson, O. Palmer. Hermeneutics of Continuity. Continuity and Discontinuity. Progressive Dispensationalism. Wheaton. Feinberg, John S. Systems of Discontinuity. Continuity and Discontinuity. Progressive Dispensationalism. Wheaton. Feinberg, John S. Hermeneutics of Discontinuity. Continuity and Discontinuity. Progressive Dispensationalism. Wheaton.