I have Enthroned My King
The conspiracy by the Earth’s kings to unseat the Messiah is applied in the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus – Psalm 2:1-6.
The Second Psalm is a key
passage applied to Jesus multiple times in the New Testament. When were its predictions
fulfilled, and is the Messiah reigning now on David’s Throne? Is the world
still waiting for his enthronement at a future date? What about the “revolt”
of nations and kings against the Son of God? Is it a prediction of a coming war
between Jesus and earthly governments - (Psalm 2:1-6)?
[Photo by Parth Savani on Unsplash] |
In the Book of Acts, when the Temple authorities attempted to suppress the fledgling church, Peter prayed for “boldness” to proclaim the Gospel. He declared that the same authorities that were venting their rage against the Church also plotted to kill Jesus, and he applied phrases from the Second Psalm to stress the point:
- (Acts 4:23-28) – “O Sovereign! You are he that made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all things that are therein, Who, by our father, through means of the Holy Spirit, even by the mouth of David your servant, said, Unto what end did THE nations revolt, and peoples busy themselves with empty things? The kings of the earth stationed themselves, and the rulers were gathered together with one intent against the Lord and his MESSIAH. For they were gathered, of a truth, in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with them of the nations and peoples of Israel...”
Peter followed
the Greek text of the Septuagint
version of the Psalm. The verb translated as “gathered together” is ‘sunagō’,
the same term applied in Acts to the priestly leaders who hauled the Apostles
before their “gathering” for examination - “It
came to pass upon the morrow, that there were gathered together of them
the rulers and the elders and the scribes in Jerusalem” - (Acts
4:5-7).
The same
authorities that conspired to destroy Jesus “came together” to stop the
Church in its infancy. In doing so, they continued their “revolt against the
Lord and his Anointed.”
Peter
attributed responsibility for the death of Jesus to Herod, Pontius Pilate, the nations, and the priests
and people of Israel. They all “gathered together” against the “holy
child when they rejected the Messiah and became complicit in his death.
The same language from the Second Psalm is applied
to the conspiracy to destroy Jesus elsewhere in the New Testament. In the Gospel
of Matthew, for example, “All the
High Priests and Elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put
him to death” - (Matthew
27:1-2).
Peter preached to a crowd on the Day of Pentecost about “Jesus, the Nazarene,” whom they slew. However, God raised him from the dead and exalted him to rule from His Throne. He made him “both Lord and Messiah… the one whom you crucified” - (Acts 2:23-39).
At the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, the Apostle Paul declared, “They
who were dwelling in Jerusalem and their rulers” found Jesus guilty of no
crime yet delivered him to Pontius Pilate for execution. However, “God raised
him from among the dead,” and thus fulfilled the “promise made to our
fathers by raising Jesus: as also in the second psalm it is written — My son
you are, I, this day, have begotten you.”
ENTHRONED ON ZION
The Second Psalm links the enthronement of the Messiah with the
declaration by God, “I, this day, have begotten you” - (Acts
13:23-36, Psalm 2:7-9, 110:1).
- (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, My son You are. 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 will shepherd them with a scepter of iron, as a potter’s vessel, you will dash them in pieces.”
The opening
paragraph of the Letter to the Hebrews describes how God spoke in His “Son,”
who, “having achieved the purification of sins, sat down on the right hand”
of God. His exaltation is connected to his past victory over sin on the Roman
Cross, and the Second Psalm is cited to confirm this:
- (Hebrews 1:3-5) – “Who, being an eradiated brightness of his glory, and an exact representation of his very being, also bearing up all things by the utterance of his power, purification of sins having achieved, sat down on the right hand of the majesty in high places, by so much becoming superior to the angels, by as much as, going beyond them, he inherited a more distinguished name. For to which of the angels said he ever, You are My Son. this day, have begotten you?” – (also, Hebrews 5:5-8).
Finally, the Book of Revelation declares
that Jesus is the “Ruler of the Kings
of the Earth.” His exalted position
is linked to his Death (“Faithful Witness”) and his Resurrection (“Firstborn
of the Dead”). The clause alludes to
the Second Psalm in which “The Kings of the Earth set themselves and the rulers took counsel
together against Yahweh and his Messiah” - (Revelation 1:4-6).
God promised to give his Son the “nations for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the Earth for his possession. He will break them with a rod of iron.” Revelation applies this promise to Jesus in his present position as the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.”
Already, he reigns over the Earth and its “Kings” from
“his Father’s Throne” - (see, also, Revelation 2:26-27, 12:5, and
especially Revelation 3:21 - [He
that overcomes, I will give to him to sit down with me in My Throne, as I also
overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne]).
The New Testament applies the predictions
of the Second Psalm to the conspiracy by the Temple leaders and Roman
authorities to destroy Jesus of Nazareth. However, God was not taken by
surprise. Had He not predicted these events? He responded by raising Jesus from
the dead and enthroning him as Ruler over the “Kings of the Earth.”
In the New Testament, the Messianic
reign of Jesus on the “Throne of David” is a present reality that
began following his resurrection. Whether the “revolt” of the kings
against him was exhausted by those historical events or continues to this day, his
Death and Resurrection mark the time when the fulfillment of the prophecy began.
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SEE ALSO:
- Call His Name Jesus - (The name ‘Jesus’ means ‘Yahweh saves.’ In the Nazarene, the salvation promised to Israel has arrived in all its glory)
- Sovereign over all - (Messianic promises from the Psalms are applied to the PRESENT reign of Jesus who possesses all authority in Heaven and on Earth)
- Reigning from Zion - (Following his resurrection, Jesus began his reign from the Messianic Throne as prophesied by David – Psalm 2:6-9)
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