Tag Archives: Heir to the Throne

Heir To The Throne (Day 5 of 5)

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After posting yesterday’s commentary and study, something became vividly clear to me that I hope to express here. It’s not unusual for me to learn the most while teaching because I consider the study material differently when I bring it forward for others. I examine it more closely but also in the big picture context.

During the thousands of years that God oversaw the building of the Jewish nation before making Himself known in flesh, the people always seemed to be drawn to idol worship. They proved themselves as idol worshippers when they created a golden calf to bow down to rather than the God of the covenant. They wanted a “god” that they could see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and touch with their hands.

They also wanted a set apart place where they could be religious for a little while expecting that they could refuse God when they weren’t in the temple. Their worship of idols and counterfeit gods led them to heinous acts including burning their children in the fire which greatly grieved the heart of God. The devil had succeeded in blinding them to truth. They could not appease God by religious acts then, and we can’t now. God wants prayer connection that can only happen by hearing His voice.

John 8:47 NIV: “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ He said, ‘Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. Then I said, ‘For how long, Lord?’ And he answered: ‘Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.’” (Isaiah 6:8-13 NIV)

When God made Himself known in flesh, He gave them what they wanted: a God that they could see, hear, and touch. He dwelled in a flesh temple. And still they absolutely didn’t know who He was. I can say that with the ultimate confidence because they crucified Him on a cross with the help of the religious leaders. Many of the religious leaders today think there is a second God sitting next to the Father in Heaven. Their trinity theology, of three Gods, shows their ignorance. Today, many worship their Bibles, their pastors, their church platforms, religious emblems or brands. They don’t know God or recognize Him.

John 1:10 NIV: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.”

Today, if you hear the Lord’s voice and recognize Him in the spiritual realm, you don’t need an earthly priest, an atonement sacrifice, or a brick and mortar temple. You can have a blessed relationship with God that others have rejected for idols made by human hands. If you know Him, you know His name is Jesus. He is the Father who made Himself known in Son of Man flesh. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is no other.

John 10:5 NIV: “But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

Heir To The Throne (Day 4 of 5)

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Over the last few days, the daily posts have been leading up to a very obvious conclusion. But it is today’s post that I hope will finally provide insight about the “seated at the right hand of God” language used about the Son of Man. Is there a second God seated next to the Father or was figurative language used to represent the fulfillment of the Davidic kingdom?

Was God, through coming in flesh, ending the need for the Old Testament way of doing things? Was He changing up the protocols for covenant restoration? Clearly, the Old Testament ways did not keep the people from God’s wrath. Over and over again, God allowed the Israelites to be taken into captivity when they rebelled against God’s heart and failed to repent.

After Jesus’ crucifixion, the covenant restoration protocols changed. We, as covenant followers, no longer need a priest to intercede. Jesus (God in bodily form), through His broken body, was the final priest to offer sacrifice in the priestly line.

We, as covenant followers, no longer need to present a blood sacrifice when we sin. Jesus (God in bodily form) was the final blood sacrifice, a perfect atonement offering. As part of the new covenant, we can now repent in prayer directly to God and hear His words of forgiveness. We can hear His specific instructions for remaining in covenant with Him.

We, as covenant followers, no longer need a (Solomon’s) temple building to meet with God. The human vessel (dressed in King David’s lineage) was the perfect dwelling place for the Shekinah glory of God. The veil in the temple was torn at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and death signaling individual direct access to God for covenant restoration conversation.

So why all the mentions of the “Son of Man” being seated at the right hand of God? For those who aren’t aware of God’s use of figurative language and the covenant promise made to King David (one thousand years before the Son of Man “temple” was born), that phrase might sound an awful lot like the existence of a second God. The New Testament Scriptures acknowledge this seat of honor more than 10 times.

The Jewish people alive at the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry were expecting a Messiah who would come through King David’s lineage. They were expecting a conquering king. They were expecting an earthly dynasty. They were expecting freedom from tyranny and from the oppressive rule of the Roman empire. They wanted a savior who would deliver them from enslavement.

What they got instead was the same God that had judged their forefathers for their persistently idolatrous behavior. The one and only God chose to make Himself known to His people in a very relatable way. He walked in flesh among them. They got a savior that they could “see with their eyes” and “hear with their ears”. They got much more than they could understand. But the one thing that they could fathom was that Jesus, in bodily form, was in the lineage of King David and was an heir to his throne.

Let’s look at one of the passages about the Son of Man being seated at the right hand of God.

“At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ‘If you are the Messiah,’ they said, ‘tell us.’ Jesus answered, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.’ They all asked, ‘Are you then the Son of God?’ He replied, ‘You say that I am.’ Then they said, ‘Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.’ (Luke 22:66-71 NIV)

Jesus’ answers to the chief priests and teachers of the law were intentionally vague. He was announcing the fulfillment of the Davidic promise but with figurative language.

“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.” (John 16:25 NIV)

We know that Jesus (God) while wearing mankind flesh often spoke in parables and was often intentionally vague. But for those who understood that His body was the temple of the living God, it makes perfect sense.

“Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’” (John 2:19)

Heir To The Throne (Day 3 of 5)

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On Day 1, we examined the Scriptures that explained the promise that God made to King David. The promise was that He would place one of his descendants on His throne (which was tied to building the temple).

On Day 2, we reviewed the history of the descendants of King David as they ruled over Judah (the southern tribes of Israel) and the eventual end of Israel’s kings. We were reminded that the temple containing the ark of the covenant was destroyed when Judah was taken into captivity by the pagan king of Babylon.

Today, we will briefly study the lineage of King David to trace how God delivered on His promise to place one of his descendants on his throne. I’m carefully describing these points so that at the end of these five days, we can come to the same conclusion that the “Son of God” body was a temporary flesh-and-blood TEMPLE to house the one and only Spirit of God. There was not ever a separate God.

In tomorrow’s post, we will look at the Scriptures that figuratively speak of the “Son” at the Father’s side. These references were to highlight that a (flesh-and-blood) descendent of King David was built into a physical temple to temporarily house the forever King of Kings (which is the one and only Spirit of God)! We know Him as Jesus!

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:” (Matthew 1:1 NIV)

Rather than go generation by generation tracing the history, I will point out a few memorable people that are in the lineage of Jesus. We learn right off in the chapter that Jesus is in the lineage of David and Abraham. Clearly God was very carefully orchestrating the family lines that He would deliver Himself through. He intentionally chose the blood lines and anointing that would carry His dynasty.

A few familiar names in David’s lineage were: Tamar, Rahab (the prostitute), Boaz, Ruth, Jesse, Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba), Solomon, King Uzziah, and Governor Zerubbabel. The lineage continued through the 400 years of silence and brought us to Joseph and Mary.

Mary would birth the flesh-and-blood “temple” that the Lord would temporarily dwell in while walking on earth. The Messiah body was a much more flexible and convenient dwelling place than the ark of the covenant for housing the Shekinah glory or the manifest presence of God. The physical body was never meant to be a substitute for the Spirit of God, just like visiting Solomon’s temple was not a replacement for keeping the covenant. God’s earthly name was made known to us as Jesus.

God is not wearing mankind flesh today. The temple body was crucified and resurrected to end the need for a corporate earthly temple. Today, we are each the “temple” when the Holy Spirit indwells us. Let us walk in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit requires being in an unbroken covenant relationship. True repentance restores a broken covenant.

“‘What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ ‘The son of David,’ they replied.” (Matthew 22:42 NIV)

Heir To The Throne (Day 2 of 5)

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Did God fulfill his promise to King David that his throne would be established forever? The original promise was surrounded by discussion of building an earthly temple for God. King David wanted to build the temple, but God chose that David’s son, Solomon, would instead build the temple. It was then that God promised King David a forever throne.

We can look back and see that what God was promising David was that God would build His own earthly temple through the offspring of David. A temple made of flesh and blood instead of brick and mortar; A temporary temple (body) that we know as Son of God, but was also son of David (lineage). The body (temple) was temporary but the indwelling Spirit was the one and only everlasting Spirit of God. Jesus is the Spirit of God who was wrapped in Son of God and Son of Man flesh. The dad part of that biological “temple” was from God, and the mom part was from David’s lineage through Mary. (We will look at lineage tomorrow.)

Let’s look at the succession of kings on David’s throne.

King David’s descendants who ruled on the throne of Israel were his son, Solomon, and all the kings of Judah after the kingdom was divided into northern tribes and southern tribes. The kings of the southern tribes, Judah, were descendants of King David and were on the throne until 586 BC (about 500 years after King David died). King Zedekiah was the final king of Judah. During Zedekiah’s reign the kingdom of Judah fell to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the (brick and mortar) temple built by David’s son, Solomon, was destroyed.

During the reign of the kings of Judah (David’s descendants), there were good kings and bad kings. A good king was one who followed God’s laws and outlawed the worship of idols and foreign gods. An evil king did not do those things and were often described in the Scriptures as “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord”.

Throughout the hundreds of years of Israel’s kings, God often chose prophets to be His messengers to the people, kings, and other nations to remind them of God’s judgment against those who turn their back on Him and do evil. The people were persistently idolatrous. They were disobedient to God and failed to keep covenant promises. They ignored God’s prophets. They failed to repent. They were cruel and unjust towards the vulnerable.

Despite all of God’s warnings, they felt security as long as the physical temple stood. Enter King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. God allowed the Babylonian king to take Judah into captivity and to destroy Solomon’s temple as punishment for their constant and repeat rebellion.

The brick and mortar temple was destroyed and there was no king on David’s throne. The ark of the covenant (meant to be God’s dwelling place) was never recovered. The brick and mortar temple was rebuilt 70 years later in 516 BC. Judah was then ruled by governors. Like Judah’s kings, Governors Shesbazzar and Zerubbabel were descendants of King David too. It was during that time that the temple was rebuilt. Governors Ezra and Nehemiah were not descendants of King David, but they led spiritual reform and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Then there were 400 years of silence. There was no king on the throne of Israel and there were no words delivered through the prophets. With the hand of God removed, the people were left to be their own gods. How did that work out for them?