03.08. The Kingdom of Christ on Earth is Yet Future

CHAPTER EIGHT The Kingdom of Christ on Earth Is Yet Future

JESUS IS GOD, and in some sense has part in all the rule of God the Father over this universe. We are clearly told that Christ is now sitting on the right hand of the Father in His throne (Rev 3:21; Eph 1:20), and before giving the Great Commission, Jesus Himself said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." When we talk about the reign of Christ on David’s throne, we do not mean that Jesus is not now God, possessing all the kingly attributes of God. But David’s throne and God’s throne in Heaven are entirely different thrones. God was on His throne in Heaven before David was given a throne at Jerusalem. When David ruled at Jerusalem, the throne in Heaven was unchanged and its glory was undiminished. When David’s throne was temporarily vacated and the children of Israel carried into captivity, there was no change in the throne of God in Heaven. As far as the Scriptures reveal, there has been no change in the throne of God in Heaven through all the centuries of human existence. Its glory had not been diminished and it could not be increased. Christ now shares the glory that He had with the Father in the beginning and no Christian can deny that Jesus is now Lord as well as Christ. Jesus now has authority with the Father just as He shares the nature of the Father. But the reign of Christ on the throne of David is not the same as the reign of the Father in Heaven. David’s throne belongs to God, is subject to the heavenly throne, but David’s throne is not the heavenly throne. The throne of God in Heaven has always been established. But the reign or kingdom of Christ on David’s throne is yet future.

Jesus Taught Us to Pray for His Future Kingdom The Bible is full of proof that the kingdom of Christ is not yet set up and that Christ is not now on His Throne. In the model prayer Jesus taught us how to pray, in these dear and familiar words:

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Mat 6:9-10).

Jesus wants us to pray "Thy kingdom come"! The kingdom had not come when Jesus gave the command to pray this prayer. Notice that to the first three petitions of the ’Lord’s Prayer’ there can be but one answer.

- The name of God is not hallowed in this world now.

- His will is not done on earth as the angels perfectly obey Him in Heaven.

These other two petitions must be answered when the kingdom comes. When Christ rules on this earth in a literal kingdom, then the name of God will be kept sacred and without blasphemy. Then God’s will shall be done on earth. It is not so now. This prayer clearly shows us that the kingdom of Christ is in the future.

How far Christians have missed the spirit of this prayer! The first thought of a Christian when he prays should be to long for the coming of the Saviour, His kingdom, and the time when man shall reverence God’s name and do His will on the earth as it is done in Heaven. The second coming of Christ is as central, as emphatic, and as pervasive in the teaching of the Bible as is His first coming. The Second Coming is:

- The Christian’s "blessed hope" (Tit 2:13), - His constant watch (Mark 13:33-37), and, - According to the model prayer, it should be his daily prayer. The millions who daily pray, "Thy kingdom come," are praying, whether they know it or not, for the return of Jesus and the setting up of His reign on the earth. The Bible Constantly Mentions the Kingdom as Future Jesus never left a doubt with His disciples that His kingdom was in the future. In Mat 19:28-29 He said unto His disciples:

"Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." When Jesus spoke these words, He did not sit "in the throne of his glory." He referred to a future time "in the regeneration," that is, when things are made new, when the Son of man should sit on the throne of His glory. At that time the twelve apostles shall sit on the twelve thrones, He said, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus is to reign over the house of Jacob, on the throne of His father David (Luk 1:32-33). His apostles will sit on thrones at the same time to judge the tribes. The wildest stretch of the imagination does not picture apostles now sitting on the thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. It was future when Jesus mentioned it. It is future still. When Jesus stood before Pilate, charged with claiming to be King of the Jews, He explained to Pilate that His kingdom was not of this present "world" (the Greek word is kosmos, meaning the present social and political order, the present civilization). Jesus did not mean that His kingdom would not be on this planet. The kingdom of Christ will be on this earth, but not of this present civilization, this political and social order. Here is what Jesus told Pilate:

"My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence" (John 18:36).

Pilate understood and believed the claim of Jesus that He would one day rule as King of the Jews, and so the Roman ruler had it put above His head on the cross when Jesus died, "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." The kingdom of Christ will be on this earth, but not of this present world. No, it must be "in the regeneration" (Mat 19:28), in the time of "the restitution of all things" (Acts 3:19-21).

"Wilt Thou at This Time Restore Again the Kingdom to Israel?"

After Jesus was risen from the dead, the kingdom was yet future. In Acts 1:6-7 the disciples raised with Jesus the burning question of the time of His kingdom. They had heard all His teachings. Jesus had opened their hearts after the resurrection to understand the Scriptures (Luk 24:45). Do not mock at their question. I would rather have the theological training of Peter, James, and John, three years of intimate teaching by the Saviour Himself, than to have a degree from all the seminaries in this world.

Smart professors often say that the apostles were foolish to expect still an earthly kingdom, but I remind you that Jesus never said so.

Here are the apostles of Jesus, trained, empowered and authorized to carry on His work after His ascension, which is about to take place. Knowing the hundreds of promises about the coming kingdom, the covenants with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Israel, their hearts longed for the restoration of the kingdom of David under Jesus, as was revealed in the Old Testament and then promised by the angel to Mary.

Let us hear the disciples’ question and the answer of Jesus:

"When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:6-8). Be sure you understand the question! The disciples did not ask "Lord, wilt thou restore again the kingdom to Israel?" No, no, they knew all too well the promises which made certain the re-establishment of that kingdom under Christ. Their question was altogether about the TIME of restoration of that kingdom. "Lord, wilt thou AT THIS TIME restore again the kingdom to Israel?" they asked. The apostles simply asked to know if it was time for the kingdom to be set up. That is what they asked, and that is what Jesus answered. Jesus did not rebuke them for thinking the kingdom would be restored to Israel. He simply said, "It is not for you to know the times." The kingdom of Christ was not set up when Jesus had finished His earthly ministry, had risen from the dead, and was ready to ascend back to the Father. The Kingdom Not Established at Pentecost

Notice this other thing, the kingdom was not set up at Pentecost. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised should come "not many days hence," was the subject of the discussion when the disciples brought up the question about the time of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel under Christ. Jesus plainly indicated that when He talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit or the pouring out of the Spirit He was not talking about the kingdom.

Read again Acts 1:6-8 and you will see, if you look closely, that this is true. When the disciples asked if this was the time that the kingdom was to be restored to Israel, Jesus replied that the matter of this kingdom pertained to "the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in HIS own power," and this, it was not for them to know. Not a word in the Bible has ever made known the time of the coming of Christ and the things that follow it. The bringing of that kingdom God has kept "in his own power." That is, that kingdom will be set up by the power of God, not by any work of men. That is the reason we are told in Dan 2:44 that in those days "shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom." That kingdom will not be set up by human hands nor by human works but by God Himself. He has kept it "in His own power." But the matter of winning souls in this gospel age is another matter, and for that God will give men power, the power of the Holy Spirit. That is what Jesus meant in the above passage. Read it again.

"When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israeli And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put IN HIS OWN POWER. But YE shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:6-8). The power and authority for restoring the kingdom to Israel, when Christ will sit on the throne of David, the Father has kept in His own hands. It is not for us to know the times or seasons concerning that, not even for the apostles to know it. But power for soul winning, He had plainly promised them, should come when they were baptized with the Holy Ghost "not many days hence" (Acts 1:5). The Holy Spirit power for soul winning was definitely promised for the immediate future, AND THEY WERE NOT TO LEAVE JERUSALEM UNTIL THEY GOT IT! But the authority and power for restoring the kingdom to Israel the Father has reserved in His own power and it is not for them to know that time.

One of the worst mistakes one can make in the study of prophecy is to try to set the times and seasons which it is not for us to know and which the Father has put in His own power alone. All the Millerites, Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Anglo-Israelites, and others who have attempted to set dates for the Lord’s return, have gone wrong because they tried to know the times that are not revealed. Times and seasons pertaining to the restoration of the kingdom to Israel are left in the hands of God.

These times and seasons (in other words, these dates) are secret things that belong to God. No chronology in any part of the Bible is given whereby we may set the dates for these things. Those who interpret Daniel or Revelation or any other part of the Bible with a view to making a day mean a year (which it never does mean in the Bible) in order to set the date for the return of Christ, the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, etc., violate the plain teaching of the Word of God.

They try to know that about which God plainly said, "It is not for you to know" and which God has kept "in His own power."

Some people say that the kingdom was set up at Pentecost, the restoration of this kingdom to Israel. They make the same mistake exactly as other date-setters. Jesus said that the times and seasons of that kingdom were not for the apostles to know and they did not know. Neither do we know. We know the kingdom will be restored to Israel, but WHEN is a matter not revealed. The reason why the time of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel is not told is that it must follow the return of Christ. And concerning the return of Christ the Saviour plainly said, "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Mat 25:13).

Again He said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Mat 24:36).

Pentecost was one thing, but the restoration of the kingdom under Christ, Jesus told them, was an entirely different thing. Jesus is not now sitting on the throne of David, and the kingdom of Christ is not yet come.

Jesus Had Same Power Before Pentecost as After

"Church of Christ" people and some others usually believe that the reign of Christ on David’s throne began at Pentecost. But the Scriptures do not say so. Actually, of course, Jesus on the day of Pentecost did not have any change of state or authority. Jesus had already risen from the dead with a glorified body fifty days before Pentecost. About ten days before Pentecost He had ascended to Heaven and sat down with the Father on His throne. Since His ascension, when He went up, up, till a cloud hid Him from the disciples’ sight, the Scriptures do not hint that there has been any change whatever in the state of Jesus: His glory, power, authority or royalty. How could there be when He already had been glorified with the glory that He had with the Father in the beginning? (John 17:5). In Mat 28:18 we are told that Jesus said, before giving the Great Commission, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

He did not say that all power or authority will be given, but He said "All power [or authority] is given."

Jesus already, before His ascension, had received all authority in Heaven and in earth. He could not have more than that at Pentecost. Nor are we to suppose that before His death and resurrection He lacked power and authority.

- He could have had twelve armies of angels for the asking at the time of His arrest (Mat 26:53).

- He controlled demons with a word, at will, and repeatedly cast them out.

- He who in the beginning with the Father created the worlds used again the same creative power time after time during His earthly ministry.

- He created more loaves and fishes, - He put the coin in the fish’s mouth, - He gave life to the dead and changed the stinking, decaying body of Lazarus to breathing, pulsing health. Disease.

- He cured with a word or thought.

- He was master of the wind, waves, angels, demons, life, death, Heaven and Hell, even in His earthly ministry, long before Pentecost.

Jesus in human form carried with Him all the power and authority of the Father. In His preaching He plainly said so, again and again. The Jews saw this and hated Him for it.

John 5:18; John 5:21-23 says:

"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."

"For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him."

All judgment was committed to the Son; the Son had power to give life to "whom He will," and the Son must be honored as the Father. All this was true before Pentecost. Jesus at Pentecost did not get greater or less authority than He had before.

If on David’s Throne Now, Why Not Before His Birth?

If Jesus is on David’s throne now, then what is the difference in His reign now and that before He came to earth? He is one with the Father now, and has "the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (John 17:5). If He reigns NOW on David’s throne, He reigned THEN on David’s throne. There is only one throne ever mentioned in the Bible as being in Heaven, and that is the throne of God. Jesus sits there with the Father now on His throne (Rev 3:21; Psa 110:1). That throne was there before David ruled at Jerusalem; it is there now. It never has been, in the Bible, called the throne of David. David never sat on it. And Jesus, sitting on the throne with His Father until He receives His own kingdom and returns to reign, IS NOT ON THE THRONE OF DAVID! The reign of Christ on David’s throne certainly did not begin at Pentecost.

World Hates Christ Now as in His Ministry Is this world now subject to the reign of Christ as Israel was subject to David? The world does not love Him, the world does not obey Him. It crucified Him when He was here, and every Christ-rejecting sinner does the same thing in his heart. Peter denied Him, and the rest of the disciples forsook Him and fled. Do not present day disciples do the same?

What nation is a Christian nation in all the world today, as Israel was David’s nation? Is America, with legalized booze, with the national government a party to the booze trade? Is the will of Christ done on earth as it is in Heaven, as Jesus taught it would be when the prayer, "Thy kingdom come," is answered?

Look about you and see if the kingdoms of this world have been taken from Satan, "the god of this world" (2Co 4:4), and have been given to ’the Lord and His Christ.’ No, not yet, but they will be at His coming.

Restoration of the Kingdom Not Till Jesus Comes, Says Peter

Preaching again in Acts 3:19-21, Peter urged the Jewish rulers and the Jewish nation to repent so that the national sins of Israel should be forgiven. But Peter plainly told them that those national sins for which Israel was suffering then and has suffered ever since would not be blotted out until the times of refreshing from the Lord, in the future, when at the second coming of Christ all the things promised by the prophets would be restored.

Read carefully that passage.

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21). The restitution of the kingdom of David and of other things promised by the prophets will not take place, this passage states, until Jesus comes again. The restitution of the nation Israel to the land of Canaan, and all the eternal and unchangeable promises of God to Israel, to Abraham’s seed and to David’s throne, await the second coming of Christ! Jesus is not now on David’s throne.

"Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord," says Acts 3:19. That time of refreshing is also called "times of restitution" (verse Acts 3:21). This time of refreshing or restitution will occur when the Father "shall send Jesus Christ . . . whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution." At that blessed time of the restitution of all things, the sins of national Israel shall be blotted out, and they shall be restored as a nation to favor with God. The sins of individuals are blotted out when they repent. But to these Jewish leaders of the nation who officially rejected and crucified the Saviour, Peter preaches that they are to repent, that the sins mentioned, of Israel as a nation, would be blotted out at the second coming of Christ. Individual Jews do repent and their sins are blotted out as individuals. Then they are no longer condemned (John 3:18; John 5:24). But Israel as a whole will be forgiven and restored nationally, their kingdom will be restored, their land will be restored, at the second coming of Christ, and not till then. This return of Christ is indicated more than once when the Lord discussed the restoration of Israel. Deu 30:3, speaking about the regathering of Israel and their restoration to their land, says, "That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee." The term "Lord" in the Old Testament Scriptures often refers to Christ and seems to do so here. "The Lord . . . will return and gather thee from all the nations," said God to Israel. The regathering and restoration of Israel awaits the Lord’s return!

Christ Gone to Receive a Kingdom-Will Return to Rule The parable of the pounds given by the Saviour in Luk 19:12-27 clearly pictures the fact that the reign of Christ awaits His return from Heaven. This parable was given to explain why the kingdom did not immediately appear. The preceding verse, Luk 19:11, says: "And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear." To correct this erroneous impression "that the kingdom of God should immediately appear," Jesus told them the parable of the pounds. This parable teaches that Jesus, in His ministry on earth, was like a nobleman with no kingdom; that He went away to Heaven, and that when the Father gives Him the kingdom He will return, will reward faithful servants and destroy those who are not willing for Him to reign over them.

Read the story for yourself.

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities." For brevity’s sake we leave out the verses about the unfaithful servant, and give you the last verse of the parable.

"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."

Some great facts stand out in this parable.

1. In His first coming, Jesus was like a nobleman, deserving a kingdom, but having not yet entered into His rule. At the first coming of Christ, He did not sit on David’s throne.

2. Jesus ascended to Heaven to "receive for himself a kingdom and to return." Jews there would understand that. It was as if Herod, a nobleman, should go to Rome and there persuade Caesar, the emperor of the whole Roman world, to appoint him as king in Judea. Having received the kingdom from the emperor, Herod would return to Jerusalem to reign.

3. In His absence, while Jesus is gone to the far country, we His servants are to "Occupy till I come." During this church or gospel age, while we are carrying on the work of Christ, we are merely occupying until He receives the kingdom and returns to reign.

4. The reign does not begin until Christ, having received the kingdom, returns. After His return, the nobleman, having received the kingdom, says to one servant, "Have thou authority over ten cities," to another He says, "Be thou also over five cities." A king appoints his helpers to rule with him at the beginning of his kingdom. A president appoints his cabinet when he goes into office. So Christ, when He returns, will appoint faithful Christians to rule with Him, each one according to his faithfulness and ability.

Likewise, at the beginning of his reign, a man must put down his enemies. A peaceful reign is impossible until rebels are put down. So in Luk 19:27, Jesus teaches us that when He returns and reigns from the throne of His glory, David’s throne, and faithful servants rule over literal cities with Him on this earth, that living enemies who do not consent to His rule will be put to death. How clearly this pictures the battle of Armageddon and the judgment of the living Gentiles as pictured in Mat 25:31-46.

Surely the parable of the pounds proves that Jesus is gone into a far country and that when the Father gives Him the kingdom He will return to rule on this earth in the promised kingdom, will appoint faithful ones to rule with Him and destroy His enemies. The same connection between the second coming of Christ and His reign is found in Rev 2:25-27, where Christians are commanded to "hold fast till I come" and then are promised that those overcoming will rule over the nations, even as God has promised to Jesus.

"But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father" (Rev 2:25-27). The connection and order of events here is very clear. Christians are now to hold fast and live the overcoming life "till I come." Then when Jesus comes He will reward overcoming Christians with the right to rule with Him "over the nations."

Verse Rev 2:27 quotes Psa 2:9. That Psalm tells about the reign of Christ on earth. Rev 2:26 says that Christians will reign with Him. And in connection with Rev 2:25, it plainly says that this will be at the second coming of Christ. Christians who hold fast until Jesus comes, that is, overcoming Christians, will rule with Christ when He sits as King "upon my holy hill of Zion" (Psa 2:6). The Tabernacle of David, Now Fallen Down, to Be Rebuilt When Christ Returns A great commotion took place among the Hebrew Christians when Paul began his missionary tours among the Gentiles. A great discussion arose as to whether Gentiles could be saved by faith in Christ without being circumcised and keeping the law of Moses. Paul, Barnabas and others went up to Jerusalem to meet the apostles and there threshed the thing out.

All came to the conclusion that it was the will of God for Gentiles to be saved, that God should take out of the Gentiles a people for His name, and He would afterwards return and build again the tabernacle of David which was fallen down. The tabernacle of David, his kingly reign and throne, has fallen down. But when Jesus returns it will be restored. Read Acts 15:13-16 and you will see that clearly the reign of Christ is to come when HE RETURNS to the earth.

"And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will RETURN, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up."

God is now taking out a people for His name among the Gentiles, but the Lord Jesus will return and build again the tabernacle of David. Isa 16:5 shows clearly that the tabernacle of David means a throne where Christ will rule. A similar thought is found in the eleventh chapter of Romans where the Holy Spirit tells us that "blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom 11:25), but after that Israel shall be saved. Jews are now blinded and about the hardest of all people to reach with the gospel. But when Jesus returns, those left alive will be saved, when the tabernacle of David is built again and Christ reigns. That time will be "the regeneration" when the apostles will reign with Him, sitting on twelve thrones and judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Mat 19:28).

Christ Now Seated With the Father in His Throne, Not on the Throne of David In Rev 3:21 we are plainly told where Jesus now is. He sits, not on the throne of David, but on the right hand of His Father, in the Father’s throne.

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Rev 3:21). In the future, this passage teaches, Jesus will sit on His own throne. Then Jesus will allow others who overcome to reign with Him, just as the Father allows Jesus to sit with Him in His throne.

God the Father has an agreement with His Son Jesus Christ about this matter, which is mentioned in the 110th Psalm. There we are told that the Father has invited the Son to sit on His right hand until all His enemies are made the footstool of Jesus, and that then He shall reign out of Zion, that is, out of the city of Jerusalem.

We give here the entire 110th Psalm.

"The Lord, said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head."

Jesus, then, is not now sitting on the throne of David but is seated at the right hand of the Father in His throne. When the time comes for the reign of Christ, then the terrible retribution, mentioned in this Psalm, verses Psa 110:2; Psa 110:5; Psa 110:6, will take place on the enemies of Christ.

Later we shall learn that these refer to the Great Tribulation and battle of Armageddon when "he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked" (Isa 11:4; 2Th 2:8). But Christ is not now on David’s throne. David, on a throne at Jerusalem, and Christ in Heaven, have nothing in common as kings. David was on earth, Christ is not. David ruled over a nation of Jews, Christ does not rule over a nation of Jews. The Jews, by a great majority, rejected Christ as both King and Saviour. They said, "We will not have this man to reign over us" (Luk 19:14).

Even today the vast majority of Jews will have nothing to do with Christ. The land of Palestine is inhabited largely by Mohammedans who do not even acknowledge the deity of Christ, much less accept Him as Saviour and King. The Un-kingly Jesus This Nazarene peasant, do you call Him a king? David was rich beyond imagination, a monarch whose glory shames the crowned heads of Europe. But Jesus had nowhere to lay His head.

- He had no money to pay taxes until God put a coin in the mouth of a fish.

- He had no bed in which to be born, - He had no grave in which to be laid, but in birth and in death was the object of charity.

- He ate His daily bread as a penniless one supported by the ministrations of good women.

- His estate, after the nails were driven in His hands, and His naked body had died on the cross, was one simple garment, a seamless robe!

No, Christ had all the powers of a king, but He did not exercise them in His brief ministry on this earth. He who thought it not robbery to be equal with God had voluntarily emptied Himself, and became, not a King, but a Saviour; not rich, but poor; not proud, but meek and lowly in heart. A king? No, the wise men who brought Him gifts, as to a king, looked far into the distant future when Christ should reign over the Jews. A king? To be sure it was written of Him by Pilate, but it was written above the cross where He was crucified! I think that even Pilate, Pilate the compromiser, Pilate the cowardly one, Pilate the pleaser of men, the seeker after human favor-even Pilate seemed to know that Christ would come into His own and would one day reign as a king. A king? No, the only crown He wore was a crown of thorns, briars pressed down on His dear head in mockery. The only scepter He ever wielded, the only kingly robe He ever wore, was after He was scourged with the Roman cat-o’-nine-tails, when the mocking soldiers plucked out His beard, blindfolded Him and beat Him over the head and people said, "Guess who hit you." That bleeding, stumbling figure, carrying the cross out of the gate of Jerusalem to the place of a skull-do you call Him a king? Is there any likeness between this abused, despised, and pitiful figure, the jest of the soldiers, the pawn of Herod and Pilate, the One despised and rejected by Israel; is there any likeness, I say, between Him and King David the mighty monarch of Jerusalem with his great palace, his riches, his power and the applause of the world? No! By faith we know the kingly heart of the Saviour, but we must admit that Christ did not rule as a king. At His first coming Jesus did not rule as King of the Jews. He did not then, and He does not now, sit on David’s throne. The kingdom of Christ on earth has not yet begun. When Will Jesus Sit on His Throne, the Throne of David? So much is said about the coming reign of Christ in the Bible that we should expect definite teaching about when Christ will sit on His throne and reign. Thank God, we do have definite teaching in many places on this question. For instance Mat 25:31. There the Saviour tells us, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." When will Jesus sit on His throne, His promised throne, to reign over His promised kingdom? The Scripture answers, "When the Son of man shall come in his glory . . . THEN shall he sit upon the throne of his glory."

All the argument in the world cannot change the plain, simple fact which the Scripture expressly states: Jesus will be enthroned at His Second Coming.

Some may complain, however, that that Scripture, Mat 25:31, refers to Jesus sitting on a throne to judge. It does tell about His judging those that are brought before Him, the sheep and goats, the saved and lost of the living nations on the earth when He returns. And that judgment will be on the basis of what they have done toward Christ’s brethren, the Jews, during the tribulation period. We grant that.

However, one must distinguish between this judgment of the living on earth with those three groups of sheep, goats and brethren, and the last great judgment of the unsaved dead, mentioned in Rev 20:11-15. No, Mat 25:31 tells of the beginning of His kingdom when He shall sit on the throne of His glory. Those brought before Him are the living of the nations of the earth over whom He is to rule. In fact, in the same context, Mat 25:34, we are told that the Saviour will say to the saints who will reign with Him: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Mat 25:34). The kingdom of Christ begins when He will sit on the throne of His glory at His coming. In 2Ti 4:1, Paul plainly tells Timothy that the Lord Jesus Christ, "shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom."

"The quick," or living, will be judged at the appearing of Jesus to reign, and the dead will be judged before He turns the kingdom over to His Father. Get it clear in your mind that according to 2Ti 4:1 "His kingdom" comes after "His appearing."

Jesus is not sitting on His throne now, but He will sit on the throne of David at His Second Coming. Not in the rapture of the saints when we go up in the air to meet Him, but after our honeymoon in Heaven when Jesus comes visibly, bodily, literally, with all His holy angels to reign on this earth, "THEN shall He sit upon the throne of His glory."

Certainly that kingdom is in the future, not the present. Do not be discouraged, dear Christian, for all God has promised He will do, and the Saviour shall have the kingdom that rightfully belongs to Him and shall reign on the throne of David on this earth.