Chapter 19: Theocracy II
In our first look at theocracy, we defined our term as the Kingdom of God. There we discussed how it is important to know that this kingdom is not simply abstract, but a reality. Our lives are to be governed by this reality, and the way to discern how closely our lives truly are ruled by God’s Kingdom would be to see our ‘culture’. How do we interact with other people? How do we treat those around us? How modest is our lifestyle? All of these sorts of questions help to facilitate the truth of our condition. The more like the culture around us that we are, the less like the Kingdom we live. Simple questions that seem irrelevant should indeed be asked. What size home is proper? How many televisions, if any, should we own? What kind of luxuries should we grant for ourselves? What kinds of television shows are appropriate?
These sorts of questions seem almost legalistic, but when we approach them with the notion that we desire nothing short of the glory of God, they suddenly lose their legalism. Is it all right to allow our children to watch violent shows like batman or power rangers? What effects are there for allowing countless hours to be devoted to computers and screens? These are legitimate questions to work through and discuss in the context of community, but I would stress that the answers to these sorts of questions are not to be taken as “thus saith the Lord.” In this chapter, I want to revisit the kingdom of God. Now that we have a good amount of eschatology under our belts, I think it is worth diving into this subject again.
We see the Kingdom of God as both here and now, and a coming kingdom. Jesus had expressed that the Kingdom of God is like a growing seed.{dvii} You plant it in the ground, it sprouts, grows a stalk, then a head, and then a kernel in the head. All of this happens by itself. Likewise, the Kingdom of God started by calling one man out of the nations to make him a nation. Little by little, the man’s offspring multiplied into twelve tribes, and those twelve tribes into hundreds of thousands of people. It eventually came that God took Israel out of Egypt and established them as the theocratic kingdom in the Promised Land. From there, prophecies and promises started to arise about an anointed king (Messiah) that would arise. He would be the offspring of David, and the government of God would be upon his shoulders.{dviii}
We see the progression through Scripture about this kingdom. It starts as a little seed within Abraham, a promise. It then grows until we find a culmination in the man Christ Jesus, who then claims, “The Kingdom is within you.” Why does he say that? These words are expressing something: The Kingdom of God is fully established when the Son of David takes his seat upon the throne of David and rules from Zion over the whole of the earth. That statement that Jesus made was declaring that he is the Son of David, and He has come to establish His rule. We see in Psalm 2 that, “[God has] installed [his] King on Zion, [his] holy hill.” We see a couple verses later that this happens in the moment when the declaration is made, “You are my son; today I have become your father.” What day was that? Remember from the chapter on priestliness that this took place at the cross and resurrection. Christ’s ascension was to the right hand of the Father, to take his place on that throne of David to rule and reign over the nations forever.
This has a couple of implications. This kingdom that has been established is both present and very tangible to us now. Yet, there is another sense in which we know that Christ will return to rule and reign over the nations literally. So, how do we reconcile this? Psalm 2 seems to be speaking about a future time, and yet when the author of Hebrews quotes it, he puts it in the past with Christ’s crucifixion. The answer is found within Jesus’ own parable. The seed is planted, and it grows and grows. Yet, you don’t harvest that crop until it produces the kernel in the head, and the kernel is ripe. Likewise, the kingdom has indeed been established, and it is indeed among us. Yet, we don’t say that the kingdom has fully come because we know that the harvest has not yet come. The seed has been planted, but the harvest is not yet.
So, in this chapter I want to examine this kingdom. I want to look into the topics of Zion and David. What does it mean for Jesus to be established upon Zion now, and what does it mean for Him to be established upon Zion when He returns? What does it mean for Christ to be a Son of David, and for Jesus to rule upon the throne of David? To sum up, then, we will put the two pieces together to hopefully better understand the connotation of theocracy – specifically the Davidic Kingdom.
Zion
Zion is in two places at once. It is heavenly, but it is also physical. We don’t need to think abstractly, nor do we need to spend our time divesting in ethereal notions. As much as Zion is a heavenly pattern, that heavenly pattern has been made known to us quite plainly. For example, Psalm 84 is a beautiful psalm about going up to the City of God, and how the psalmist yearns to be in the dwelling place of God. We have in Psalm 133 the statement that Zion is when brothers dwell together in unity. Jesus had even said, “When two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.”{dix} Zion is that reality of true fellowship one to another. It is the place of God’s habitation – within the praises of His people.{dx}
For Christ to be seated in Zion is both symbolic and literal. There is a literal heavenly place, I am quite certain, where Jesus sits next to the Father. We are granted access to that very place – the throne room of God – through the blood of Christ Jesus. In ancient Israel, the Ark of the Covenant was actually considered the throne of God. The wings of two cherubs made the back of that Ark. The cherubim were facing the mercy seat, but also facing one another. They were placed on opposite sides of the mercy seat, and their wings stretched up over their heads and connected at the tip to create the back of the chair. It is from between those cherubs that God told Moses, “There… I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites”.{dxi} One version states, “I will commune with you…” It is between the cherubim, where their wings touch, that God said He would meet with Moses. This Ark was placed in the Most Holy Place, and from that innermost room in the Tabernacle the Israelites assumed God actually dwelt there. The Holiest Place was God’s throne room.
For the ancient Israelites, they knew that God could not be contained within a small room in the Tabernacle, and later the Temple. They knew that the earth is His footstool, and the heavens are His throne.{dxii} Solomon even addressed this in his prayer of dedication. What the Israelites were thinking was that God had told Moses it is there, and only in that Most Holy Place before the Ark of the Covenant, that God would meet and speak. Outside of that dwelling, there were prophets that could hear God. But no one was able to speak and commune with God like Moses did. He alone was allowed into the dwelling place of God to speak with Him as a friend. Only the High Priest once a year could go into that holy dwelling to offer sacrifices on behalf of Israel.
Do you see the solemnity? This is considered a sacred place. The dwelling of God was chosen to be in Jerusalem, within that Tabernacle. God specified very acute details. Those details in the Ark of the Covenant help us to see how it is that God is currently ruling and reigning. They help us to understand practically what it means to be a part of that heavenly Zion, especially since we cannot see it. The Ark was made of acacia wood. That symbolizes humanity. The acacia wood was overlaid in gold. That gold represents Divinity. Just as the Ark was made of acacia wood overlaid in gold, believers are human beings indwelt by God.
The mercy seat was set upon the Ark of the Testimony. The mercy seat was made of gold – there was no acacia wood in it. Likewise, we are saved by grace, and not of works. Inside the Ark were the Ten Commandments. The mercy seat was placed over that Ark to show that mercy triumphs over judgment. The two cherubs that were upon the mercy seat were on opposite sides. This represents all of the people that are opposites – male and female, Jew and Gentile, slave and free, black and white, Palestinian and Israeli, etc. They are both opposite, and yet they are somehow one. Not only do their wings touch, but also they are made of the same stuff. The only difference between these two cherubs was that they were on opposing sides of the mercy seat. Likewise, God has made of one man all of the nations of the world{dxiii}. We are all of one blood, and God has broken down that dividing wall of hostility and made of the two one.{dxiv}
The fact that the wings of these two cherubs touch is essential. It is where our lives come together that God dwells. It is when brothers dwell together in unity that God commands the blessing. What does it mean for brothers to dwell together in unity? We can have a pseudo unity, where we come together in good spirits and enjoy one another, but we then go back to our homes and go on with our lives as if nothing ever happened. True togetherness demands that we are united thoroughly. You cannot see where the one begins and the other ends. They have been made one, and are no longer two. This is intimacy. It is deep calling unto deep. To be together means more than simply being in the same location and both believing in Jesus. It requires pouring out your life on behalf of the other, and the other pours out their life for you. Neither of you are ever empty because you both pour out self into the other.
In marriage, we see this kind of symbolism in the Hebrew words for man and woman. The Hebrew word for man is ish. The Hebrew word for woman is ishah. Ish is spelled with a yud, and ishah is spelled with a hey. When you add the yud and hey together, you have yah, which is the name of God. It takes both man and woman coming together in marriage – the two becoming one in all things – that we see the expression of yah. Unity is the breaking down of hostility between us so that love might cover a multitude of sins. It is within us that Christ dwells: Christ in you, the hope of glory.{dxv} This is why Paul tells the church in Corinth that we leave our faces unveiled. It is so that we can behold in one another’s face the very glory of God – Christ in you – and seeing God within my brothers and sisters is what leads me from image to image and glory to glory.{dxvi}
Now, it is interesting to mention this. Paul says in 1 Corinthians that men should not wear head coverings, and women should let their hair grow long. But when we see the original Greek of this passage,{dxvii} we find that Paul’s words are not so clear. He is addressing men with head coverings, but that word in Greek is actually something that would hang down over the head like a veil. This is most likely the prayer shawl. Paul most likely is telling the men and women to not cover your face when they pray and prophesy. Why? Paul started the statement with saying that Christ is the head of everyone. We don’t cover our faces because others need to see Christ in us. What implication does this have for praying with our eyes closed and heads bowed?
It is of this Zion that the author of Hebrews says Abraham sought for a city whose builder and maker is God. We find in the very next chapter of Hebrews, “You have come to Zion.”{dxviii} What Abraham knew he was searching for is what we have come to. This city is not some sort of ethereal place that we still look up into the heavens for. It is here and now among us. This city is a reality because we have in Christ the ability to be unified believers. We have the ability to be made new in Christ, and thus come unto Zion. The earthly Zion is not as of right now modeled after the heavenly pattern. It takes the New Jerusalem to come down out of heaven, where we are currently seated with Christ, in order for that earthly Zion to be made into the image of the heavenly protocol.
Davidic Kingdom
The issue of David’s throne is the issue of David’s character. When we read 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, or 2 Chronicles, we find a statement made for every king. Either they are “like David”, or they are “not like David”. In order to be established as the messiah, you need to have the same character and heart that God saw in David. This is not to say that David is the prototype, but to say that there is more going on to the story than we’ve initially been led to believe. For God to say that David is a man after God’s own heart is more than a statement to claim David seeks to know God’s heart. There is something about David and his heart that God acknowledges and associates Himself with. David’s heart is God’s heart, and therefore we are not making a statement about Christ that he needs to line up with. That which is Davidic is of the spirit of Jesus, and that which is of the spirit of Jesus is Davidic.
God has actually established that His Kingdom is forever to be considered a Davidic Kingdom. The messiah sits upon the throne of David, not simply because he is a descendant of David, but because David’s heart and character are a reflection of the Divine heart and character. When Jesus is called the son of David, it is a deep expression of subjection to this man’s authority in God – not because of His words or power, but because of His tenderness, compassion, and character. In Mark 11, Jesus makes His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. There are people who are going before Him and behind Him that are shouting, “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” The kingdom of David is associated with Christ, and Jesus never seems to have any rebuke when that association is made. It is not something lowly for Him to come into, but instead is an honor to be known as a Son of David.
David is the ruler of Zion, the heavenly kingdom. The Davidic Kingdom is not simply an implication of a kingdom to come where a greater David, or son of David, rules upon his throne, but instead a reality of a Davidic pattern-type. That type is Christ, who is currently seated in the heavenly Zion ruling and reigning. The character of the Davidic Kingdom is the character of Zion, and the character of Zion is the character of Jesus. That which is Davidic can be expressed in the words of Jesus toward Nathanael, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile”.{dxix} We see this same statement being made by Paul in Romans with different words: “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”{dxx}
Two times the Lord handed Saul into the hands of David, and David did not kill him. It is said in both of those instances,{dxxi} that David is without guilt of wrongdoing or rebellion. Contrast that with Saul who was rebuked by Samuel for his rebellion. Samuel actually told Saul that what he did was no better than witchcraft!{dxxii} We see the humility of David expressed throughout his life. Right from the inception of David’s story, we find that he is not at the party with his family, but instead out in the fields with the sheep.{dxxiii} After David is anointed king, he goes right back to the sheep to tend his father’s flock.{dxxiv} When the majority of humanity would have then left their father to come into their kingdom, this youth continued in submission and respect unto his father. We find in 2 Samuel 1:19 that David ties the Lord’s anointed together with God’s glory. This might explain why David was jealous to preserve and fight for the Lord’s anointed in 1 Samuel 24:6, 26:9, and 2 Samuel 1:14-15.
It is true that if we miss the Jewishness of Jesus, we erect an idol. It is equally as true to say that if we miss the Davidicness of Jesus, we have erected an idol. Interestingly, it is the pouring of self into the Hebrew Scriptures that tears us out of our Gentile worldviews and into the Hebraic mindset. We erect the Greek Jesus, Greek faith, and Greek interpretations of the Scriptures because of the vicissitudes of hellenization that has affected the Western World. By constructing our Hellenized Jesus, we have forsaken the faith that was once and for all given to the saints in order to embrace a more Gentile Kosher Jesus that reeks of Aryan supremacy.
This Gospel of the Kingdom is a Gospel of the Hebrew Jesus that sits upon the throne of David. Each Gentile, when coming into this faith, revisits the Abrahamic call. This separation from culture and upbringing to come into the Hebraic root is not instant upon salvation. It requires a process and it requires that we be diligent to consciously perceive that we are grafted into Israel’s root, otherwise we will not be granted the life that emits from that root, which is God Himself. From the lack of that life, we Gentile believers have turned up the amplifiers and employed varieties of manipulative tactics for our Sunday agenda. The lack of the Davidic fruit in our midst is the result of a refusal to embrace the Hebraic roots. Israel’s history is our history. Israel’s heritage is our heritage. That is not to say that we should employ the Jewish traditions of the phylacteries, yarmulke, or other means of worship and study. This is what the book of Galatians is all about. We are grafted in, but that in no way means that we are to now be Jewish.
There is something beyond Judaism. There is something beyond our Greek Christianity. It is Davidic, and it is Hebraic. To be a Hebrew is to be without guile. To be Davidic is to be grafted into this Kingdom and to rule and reign with Christ from Zion. The fruit that sprouts when we move from our own life and heritage to embracing the life of God and the heritage of Israel is actually the very fruit that will drive the Jew to jealousy. For us, we are no longer ruled by our pagan culture, but are now governed by the Hebraic faith – which is to say: Zion. No longer do we invest self in the paganism of our Western culture and society. We move out from that demonic stronghold to embrace the very root and sap of God – Christ in you.
Christ is Jewish, and not Gentile. Christ is Davidic, and not Aristotelian. Christ is theocratic, and not democratic. When we think pagan, we think of some sort of tribal or primitive people dancing around. Yet, pagan is defined as any practice of religion outside of Christ. To worship the state is to submit to paganism. To embrace opera and theater as means of fulfillment is paganism. To live in unreality because our lives are subject to Hollywood and the music industry is paganism. Even though these things might not necessarily be indecent, and there might even be a good amount of elegance to our culture, it is still pagan.
For those like myself who are not descended from Israel, to come into the faith – into the commonwealth of Israel – is a release from my pagan upbringing to come into ultimate freedom and joy. For many, it is not a joy to break from culture and upbringing. We are American, all too American. Because of that, we have stripped away the Hebraic notions of the faith in order to maintain our culture and heritage. Our prayers for revival and our repentance because of things that our nations have performed are not conducive to the spirit of Christ. We have the same sin that the Jewish people have. We have reduced our Christianity to a Sunday phenomenon, which is an additive to our life, but not a radical laceration from our previous kingdoms. The Jewish people have done the same thing, making their Saturday Sabbaths religious obligations, but in no way do they depart from the bondage of the principalities and powers of the air. Because they had both made religion cheap, both the German and the Jew were to blame for the Holocaust. It was a judgment against both religious systems; systems that our Sunday culture mimic.
We too have our judgments in America. The time is coming, and is now at hand, when there will be another Holocaust that is worldwide. That Holocaust will eclipse the Nazi Holocaust in severity and death toll. The Nazi furor can be solely laid against the German Church that did not have the willingness to separate from German culture and pride. Because the spiritual atmosphere over Germany was one that claimed, “God is dead”, the void was filled with demonic hatred. Likewise in America, we have not sufficiently come out of our own culture and national pride to fill the spiritual void. We have been repenting for the wrong things. We don’t want a Jewish Jesus, and we don’t want a Davidic Kingdom. We are Gentile, all too Gentile. For that reason the society and culture around us goes berserk seeking for a fix. Something has to fill the void, and when the Church of Jesus Christ will not step up and fill those shoes, the principalities and powers of the air are more than willing to take full possession of our nation. For us Gentiles, our salvation is what the exodus was for the Israelites: deliverance from the house of slavery. To reject that deliverance for the sake of continuing in culture robs God of His glory.
How can we witness to the Jewish people if we do not even believe in a messiah? What is a messiah? The word means “anointed king.” Messiah does not mean mere savior; it means anointed king. We have been taught that it means redeemer, or anointed one, and have been able to continue in our own petty kingdoms living as though there is no king over us. With our lives, we repeat the words, “We will not have this man to rule over us,” and thus commit the same sin that we indict Israel for. There is a king, and his kingdom is Davidic. It has the heart and character of David, which is a heart of purity. David is the expression of servant-kingship.
David was not a glorious king because of his exploits. It was not that David was a mighty warrior and he had the mighty men fighting with him that made him such a wonderful king. David was a servant. His heart was tender. He was a king that was zealous for justice and equity. The poor and oppressed were heard before him. He did not neglect the fatherless and widows. David was one who served his people. His kingdom was one of humility – giving everything for the benefit of those whom he served. When we read the words of Jesus that he “did not come to be served, but to serve,” we are reading of a Davidic character. This kind of humility that would strip off the outer garment and wash His disciples feet is the reflection of the heart of God.
It chafes to think that the Kingdom of God is not set up in Geneva, or on Olympus, or some other superior landmark. For God to choose Jerusalem and Zion for the locus of His rule goes against every aspect of our pride. It flies in the face of national ego and cultural bias. It is the devil that continues to pomp and gloat, accusing God because ‘true’ power is found in threat, intimidation, manipulation, force, intrigue, military might, and these sorts of things. God, however, takes the weak and the foolish thing and establishes it to be greater than the strong and the wise. He takes that which is despised and makes it to be anointed king. Here the issue of the Davidic Kingdom is found in that Christ rules from Zion, and not from Babylon.
One of our biggest problems in modern Christendom is that we reject the notion that there is a literal kingdom. We like to think ethereally. We like to assume that God is contained away in the heavens somewhere so that we can continue life, as we want it. Foxes have holes, and the eagles have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head.{dxxv} We play games with our faith because we desire Jesus to return and relieve us from stress and suffering. How many of us are panting and groaning, crying out, “Come Lord Jesus,” and that cry is not one of alleviation? How many of us look forward to the return of Christ so that He could establish His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven? That cry requires pain. It requires anguish. It means that the world will go through unspeakable horror before Christ returns, but we also know that Christ’s return establishes world peace and a kingdom of righteousness and justice.
A Davidic people here and now marks the Kingdom of God. Whether they are Jewish or Gentile, both heritages have left that heritage to embrace something deeper. We join spiritually and psychologically the remnant that has always existed. We struggle inwardly and outwardly for the rest of Israel. Our ambition is to serve and make this world habitable for God and His people. We vicariously come into the Scripture and claim their history as our history, their promises as our promises. Paul addressed the Gentile believers in Corinth as though their fathers were with Moses.{dxxvi} He also tells those in Ephesus they have been brought into the commonwealth of Israel.{dxxvii}
The inclusion of the Gentiles has not given us something new, but has continued the same faith that has been once and for all. That which is Davidic is expressed through the Church in that we display a character and mode of being that is ultimate humility. Guilelessness is the character of David. We are true Israelites indeed, not because we have faith in the Messiah, but because we have been converted out of the Egypt of our own nations and into a glorious newness of life. That newness of life is expressed in lifestyle as well as submission to a kingdom that is not of this earth. We are the fragrance of Christ, and that fragrance is mishpocha Yehudi. There is a literal Hebrew quality to our lives that is animated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We’re taken out of our Gentile livelihood and brought into the tent of Shem.
Christ Jesus’ Rule from the Throne of David Upon Zion
The expression of the kingdom of God in this world through the Church is the same expression that we find in the Old Testament. There has ever and always been a remnant. Yet, when Christ returns, He does not only come to establish world peace. The establishment of world peace, and the coming of the nations unto Jerusalem is the result of Zion being made manifest on earth as it is in heaven. The Kingdom that we speak of as heavenly currently, even though it has manifestations in the earth through the Church, will come down out of heaven and be one with the earth. Heaven and earth shall kiss. There shall be a marriage of heaven and earth in such a way that we cannot distinguish the one from the other.
In that day, there will be a people that will rule and reign alongside of Christ Jesus with their resurrected bodies. We don’t get new bodies. Our bodies get resurrected. The slight difference is significant. Resurrection is not about glory, but instead about eternal life. We like to hype things up and romanticize them. The glory of resurrection does not come from some sort of glorious body, but instead from the unification of spirit, soul, and body. There is no longer a fight in our bodies, flesh against spirit. With the resurrected body comes unity with Christ in a manner that we can only scratch the surface on describing. That kind of unity with Christ is not yet experienced, only intuited. Jesus ate fish, had scars, and told Thomas to touch the hole in His side. Christ’s new body was not ‘new’, but the same body revitalized.
It will be upon the establishment of this Kingdom upon the earth that the saints of God will be granted resurrection. Because they have humbled themselves unto death, they are given ultimate authority. Some will rule over ten cities, and others will rule over five. Ruling and reigning is about being a servant. It is not about lording it over one another like the Gentiles do, but instead about being the servant of all. To understand ruling and reigning, we only need to look to the Gospels, the book of Acts, and the epistles. Examine the way that the apostles teach. Seek to understand the way that Christ brings His disciples to maturity. This does not happen because He is able to somehow snap His fingers and people obey. Instead, He takes upon Himself the sin of all mankind, and through His love He covers a multitude of sins. Paul told the Church in Corinth that he would be expended on their behalf,{dxxviii} and the Church in Philippi that he pours himself out like a drink offering to them.{dxxix}
The consummation of this age will conclude in Christ establishing the Davidic Kingdom upon the earth, in which all the nations will be blessed by that rule. The throne of God is established upon righteousness and justice. That same heart that would promote Mephibosheth to sit at the table of David is the heart that will triumphantly enter Jerusalem once more. When Christ returns, more is happening than simply defeating the Antichrist and putting His enemies under His feet. There is love. There is grace. There is passion for the oppressed. Jesus’ establishment upon the throne of David means that this holy kingdom governs all the nations of the earth. That kind of kingdom, with that kind of character, is the very thing that every human being on the planet desires.
I think many times we have the wrong assumption that God’s character changes when Jesus returns. He came meek and lowly, but when He returns He will be fierce and hostile.{dxxx} Christ showed the character of love and compassion and longsuffering, but when He returns He will show anger, vengeance, and oppression. How can we have a theology based upon God’s attributes, and then completely cast all of God’s character aside so that we can then fit in a God that would judge the world? If Christ was a servant in His first coming, He will be a servant in His second coming. Don’t forget that Moses was the most humble man on the f