on His Father's throne. His own proper kingdom as Messiah', has not yet commenced, nor will do so, until His second advent, when it will begin. The following tabular view of the subject will convey a clearer idea of it, and will exhibit it in a smaller compass than if put in any other form. The first column contains a selection of texts in which Christ's present reign in Heaven is more or less directly referred to: the second, passages which in like manner refer to His future reign upon Earth. Only some of them, indeed, speak of the locality of this latter reign; but this will be more fully shown hereafter. The results deducible from the texts pro duced, are given at the foot of the columns, and should be compared together in the order in which they are numbered. things under His feet." 1 Cor. xv. 25-27. "Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things put under Him.” Heb. ii. 8. "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject to Him." 1 Pet. iii. 22. behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days; and they brought him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. vii. 13, 14. "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 iii. 21. See the parable of the nobleman receiving a kingdom, given 2. Was given as the reward of in Luke xix. 11-27, which forms a His sufferings and work. striking illustration of the subject throughout. This, indeed, must have been its chief design. "And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name." Phil. ii. 8, 9. "Which (power) He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far 1 It may be fairly argued, that the time referred to in the commencement of this passage, as that in which He who was "like the Son of man was "brought near before the Ancient of days," was that of the Ascension of Christ into heaven: but undoubtedly the "dominion" given to Him is that which He will enter upon at His Second Advent. The case, therefore, may be regarded as exactly parallel to that of the "Nobleman who went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return”, in order to take possession of it. Luke xix. 11-27. above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church." Ephes. i. 20-22. 11, 12.) "And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then, &c." (v. 15.) "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom." 2 Tim. iv. i. 2. Is His own proper kingdom. 1 'Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb. xii. 2. 3. Is properly the Father's, not the Son's. "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. iii. 21. "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at My right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Ps. cx. 1. 4. Is to be given up to the Father. "Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put "The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; He will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne." Ps. cxxxii. 11. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne." Rev. iii. 21. "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His glory." Matt. xxv. 31. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end."2 Luke i. 32, 33. The manner in which His "kingdom" is here named in connection with His "appearing," or advent, strikingly shows that they are both alike future and contemporaneous, and will begin together. 2 This is of course a repetition of the promise made in Ps. cxxxii. 11, and in many other places of the Old Testament. If we would see what are the results of the spiritualizing system of interpreting Scripture on such promises as these, we may find a striking and painful example in the note of Whitby on 1 Cor. xv. 28. It down all rule, and all authority, and power." 1 Cor. xv. 24. 5. The Son from this time to be subject to the Father. 66 And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." 1 Cor. xv. 28. 6. Will terminate at the Second Advent. "Whom the heaven must receive UNTIL the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." Acts iii. 21. "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand UNTIL I make thine enemies thy footstool." Ps. cx. 1. "For He must reign, UNTIL He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 1 Cor. xv. 25, 26. N.B. When, therefore, this last enemy is destroyed, His present reign will terminate. But the dead will be raised at His second coming (1 Thess. iv. 13-18), therefore His present reign will then terminate. And it is most important to observe that throughout this See farther; Jer. xxiii. 5. Isai. xi. passim. Isai. ix. 7. 3. Is to continue for ever. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Dan. ii. 44. "And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a king. dom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan. vii. 14. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre." Ps. xlv. 6. Comp. Heb. i. 8. "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up Thy throne unto all generations." Ps. lxxxix. 3, 4. "Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth, even concludes as follows::-" When there is no more a house of Jacob to reign over, or a throne of David to sit on." Anything more terrible than this, as rendering the promises of God "of none effect," it is scarcely possible to conceive; and yet Scott has quoted Whitby without protest, and therefore it is to be supposed approvingly! D chapter (1 Cor. xv.) it is the resurrection of the believing dead alone that is spoken of. The death, therefore, that is to be destroyed is death in relation TO THEM, not death generally or universally, for this will not take place until the close of the Millennium. (Rev. xx. 5.) It is the "last enemy" of His people that is referred to, and this will be destroyed the moment He leaves "the right hand" of the Father. He will therefore "sit" there "until" this enemy be made his footstool. I may add, that all our writers regard 1 Cor. xv. as referring only to the resurrection of "them that sleep in Jesus," and unless this be distinctly borne in mind, great confusion must ensue. N.B. We see, therefore, from the above passages: 1. That this kingdom is properly the FATHER'S, not Christ's, who is only appointed to it as Regent for a time. Rev. iii. 21. for ever. The zeal of the Lord or Hosts will perform this." Isai. ix. 7. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ; and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." Luke i. 32, 33.1 "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever." Rev. xi. 15. N.B. We see, therefore, from the above passages:— 1. That this is the Messiah's own proper kingdom. Isai. ix. 7. Matt. xxv. 31. Rev. 3. 21. 1 It is important to notice, however briefly, the import of the expression, "the throne of His father David," in order to observe that David's throne, so far as its locality was concerned, was on earth; and so far as his people were concerned, they were essentially "the house of Jacob," i. e. the Jews. How utterly unwarrantable to make this correspond to Christ's present spiritual reign, the locality of which is heaven, and the subjects of which consists of Gentiles, as well as Jews, the former, as yet, in far greater proportion than the latter! What is this, moreover, but to say that David's throne and God's throne are one, seeing that they are made to correspond the one to the other. To what marvellous lengths have men gone in their perversions of the word of God, in order to make it square with their preconceived views and theories! Comp. with this, Ps. Ixxxix. 3, 4, Jer. xxiii. 5, Isai. ix. 7, in all of which we have the same truth couched in the same or similar expressions. |