Reigning from Zion
Following his resurrection, Jesus began his reign from the messianic throne as prophesied by David – Psalm 2:6-9.
According
to the Psalmist, the “son” will be anointed to reign on the throne of
David “on my holy mount.” According to the New Testament, that king is Jesus,
and his rule began following his resurrection and ascension.
And
ever since his enthronement, he has been extending his sovereignty to the “uttermost
parts of the earth” as his heralds proclaim the “kingdom of God” to
the nations.
And
two Psalms are applied by the writers of the New Testament to portray him as the
ideal king who now sits on David’s throne:
- (Psalm 2:6-9) – “Yet I have installed my king, on Zion my holy mountain. Let me tell of a decree, Yahweh said to me: You are My son; I, this day, have begotten you. Ask of me and let me give nations as your inheritance and as your possession the ends of the earth. You shall rule them with a scepter of iron, as a potter’s vessel shalt thou dash them in pieces.”
- (Psalm 110:1) – “Yahweh said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
HIS PRESENT REIGN
Through
the Psalmist, God promises that his anointed king will reign on the Davidic throne,
and the Apostolic Tradition applies this prophecy to the present status of
Jesus. Moreover, it places the commencement of his reign immediately after his resurrection
and ascension.
Both
psalms are prominent in the epistle to the Hebrews. When
contrasting the “Son” with angels, it asks, “to which of the angels said he ever, YOU ARE MY SON, THIS DAY
HAVE I BEGOTTEN YOU?”
Already,
the “son” has “achieved the purification of sin and therefore SAT
DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND of the Majesty on high.” As the “son” and designated king, he inherited the name “more excellent than the angels” – (Hebrews 1:3-6, 5:5).
On
the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached to a crowd of Jewish pilgrims after the
fledgling church received the gift of the Spirit, and he concluded it by
declaring:
- “God had sworn with an oath that of the fruit of David’s loins, he would set one upon his throne. Foreseeing this, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that neither was he left to Hades nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up… Being, therefore, exalted by the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured forth this that you see and hear. For David ascended not into the heavens, but he says, THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, SIT ON MY RIGHT-HAND UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES YOUR FOOTSTOOL. Let all Israel know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ” – (Acts 2:30-36).
Thus,
Christ’s exaltation to the messianic throne occurred because of his death and
resurrection, and already, he reigns as the Lord and “Messiah” from Mount Zion.
ACCORDING TO PAUL
Likewise,
Paul declares that God promised to raise up a king from David’s seed, and this
was fulfilled in the “Savior, Jesus.” Though
the Temple leaders conspired to destroy him, “God raised him from the dead,” just as it is “written in the second psalm, YOU ARE MY SON, THIS DAY HAVE I
BEGOTTEN YOU.” And He gave him “the holy and sure blessings of
David.”
Paul is explicit. The resurrection of Jesus marks the start of his reign on the royal throne. And this means he not waiting for any future event before his rule may begin - (Acts 13:22-40, Romans 1:1-4).
Similarly,
in Ephesians, Paul reminds us how God “raised Jesus from the dead and set him at his own right hand in
the heavenly places… And PUT ALL THINGS UNDER HIS FEET and gave him
to be the head over all things to the church” – (Ephesians 1:20-22).
Likewise,
to the Corinthians, Paul writes that Jesus was raised from the dead and
installed to reign on David’s throne since “he must reign until he has put
all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is
death. For GOD PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET” – (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).
He
endured the cross, then he “SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF
THE THRONE OF GOD.” He achieved the “purification of sins,”
and therefore, he now reigns at God’s right hand, “angels and authorities and
powers being made subject to him” – (1 Peter 3:22, Hebrews 1:3, 10:12-13, 12:2).
MOUNT ZION
As for “Zion,” the ancient
city of Jerusalem, the “city of David,”
foreshadows the true and greater “Zion,” the Jerusalem
that is “above.” Under the old covenant, the saints were seeking
the “city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God…
But they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly, wherefore God…has prepared
for them a city.”
Likewise,
rather than Mount Sinai, the church is approaching “mount
Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.”
Everlasting life and all the covenant promises are received in the city of “New Jerusalem” – (Hebrews 11:10-16, 12:22, 13:12-14,
Revelation 21:1-8).
In
the opening salutation of Revelation, Jesus is
declared to be the “RULER OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH.”
His high status is based on his past death and resurrection, for he is “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead.” He is
the long-promised king who “SHEPHERDS THE NATIONS”
– (Revelation 1:4-6, 2:26-27, 3:21, 5:10).
Thus,
he is the “Living
one, and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore,” and
therefore, he now possesses the “keys of death and of Hades.”
He is the faithful one who holds the “key of
David, who opens, and no one closes, who closes, and no one opens.” And he
now summons his followers to “overcome” in the very same manner so that they
will seat with him on his throne – (“Just as I
overcame and took my seat on my Father’s throne” -
Revelation 1:17, 3:7, 3:21).
He
is the “lion of the tribe of Judah,” but he fulfills that
role as the sacrificial Lamb, and all creation
declares him “worthy to receive power… To him, that sits on the throne and to the
Lamb be the dominion forever and ever.” It was the sacrificial Lamb who received all authority and
now rules over the Cosmos from the “throne” – (Revelation 1:18, 3:7, 5:5-12, 12:5,22:16).
And in chapter 14, the “Lamb” is found standing with the priestly company of the 144,000 on “Mount Zion.” This company is the “first fruits” of the greater harvest about to be reaped from the earth.
The
144,000 priests standing on Mount Zion bear his name on their foreheads. In contrast, the “inhabitants
of the earth” take the “mark of the beast” and render homage to him,
the “Beast” who reigns from the “throne of Satan.” Thus, in Revelation,
Christ’s reign from “Zion” is a present reality, and it contrasted with
the tyranny of the “Beast” who operates with the authority of the “Dragon.”
The
New Testament tells a consistent story. Already, Jesus reigns over the nations from
the “right hand of God.” He is the Messiah and Davidic king,
the anointed “son” of Yahweh who reigns from the greater “Zion.” His exaltation and sovereignty are the results of
his obedience unto death and subsequent resurrection from the dead.
His
reign is not waiting for some future date or event. It is a present reality. Nor is it limited to the
ancient city of Jerusalem or the limited territory of Palestine. Instead,
he reigns from the throne of God over the earth, indeed, over the entire
Cosmos.
