Prophetic Lights

THE THRONE OF DAVID

Again we return to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan. We pass by the time of the judges, of their apostasies and consequent afflictions, and come to the time when the kingdom had been established and given to David. The record says that “when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies” (2 Samuel 7:1), the king proposed to build a house for the Lord. The prophet Nathan approved of his project, but afterwards, at the command of the Lord, he told him that he should not build the house. After briefly rehearsing his dealings with the children of Israel, the Lord said:— PROLI 156.2

“Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime.” 2 Samuel 7:10. PROLI 156.3

Note this text carefully. When these words were spoken to David, the children of Israel had been in the land of Canaan four hundred years, and at that very time David, as king of all Israel, was in quiet possession of the land, for “the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies;” and yet, ignoring all this, the Lord promised to plant his people in a land of their own, and to give them rest from their enemies. What could the Lord have meant by that? Simply this, that the possession of the small territory of the land of Canaan was not the rest that God designed for his people. Not yet had the promise to Abraham been fulfilled, and the Lord had not forgotten it. PROLI 156.4

At this time the Lord identified David with the promise, almost as closely as was Abraham. The Lord said to him:— PROLI 156.5

“And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever.” 2 Samuel 7:16. PROLI 156.6

And in praising God for the largeness of his promise, David said:— PROLI 157.1

“Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come.... Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like thee, neither is there any God besides thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever; and thou, Lord, art become their God.” 2 Samuel 7:18-24. PROLI 157.2

Starting with this specific promise that David’s kingdom should be established forever, and that Israel should be a people forever, we shall very briefly trace the history of that kingdom. We find that it continued prosperous and undivided only through the remainder of his reign, and through the reign of his son Solomon. When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam succeeded to the throne. 1 Kings 11:43. No sooner was Rehoboam seated upon the throne, than the people came to him to learn what would be the policy of his reign, and asking that he would lighten the burdens imposed on them by his father. Following the counsel of the young men, Rehoboam replied: “My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” 1 Kings 12:14. PROLI 157.3

“So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; to your tents, O Israel; now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.... So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel; there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.” Verses 16-20. PROLI 157.4

This division of the kingdom was effected in the year 975 B. C. It was in fulfillment of a prophecy made to Jeroboam by Ahijah, which is recorded in the eleventh chapter of 1 Kings. The reason why the greater part of the kingdom was to be taken away from the house of Solomon, was thus stated by the prophet:— PROLI 157.5

“Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee (but he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel); because that they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.” Verses 31-33. PROLI 158.1

Thus the kingdom, with the exception of one tribe, was taken from the house of David, on account of Solomon’s terrible idolatry; and to Jeroboam the Lord said:— PROLI 158.2

“And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.” Verses 37, 38. PROLI 158.3

But Jeroboam did not heed the words of the Lord. As soon as he came to the throne, he made two calves for the people to worship, so as to keep them from going to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (1 Kings 12:26-30); and although he was reproved by the prophet of the Lord, he “returned not from his evil way,” but “made Israel to sin,” for which reason the Lord cut him off. Read 1 Kings 13 and 14. PROLI 158.4

The succeeding kings were no better; for among all the kings of Israel we find not one good man. They were all idolaters, and some of them were men of the vilest character, without a single redeeming trait. The children of Israel sinned against the Lord “and walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel.... And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree; and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger.... And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.” 2 Kings 17:7-23. PROLI 158.5

So in the year 721 B. C., after the kingdom of Israel had continued two hundred and fifty-four years, and had made a record of wickedness which has probably never been exceeded by any nation, the Lord removed them “out of his sight.” In that year the king of Assyria took Samaria, the capital of the kingdom, “and carried Israel away into Assyria,” and filled their places with “men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sepharvaim.” 2 Kings 17:6, 24. From this date the kingdom of Israel has no more a place in history. PROLI 158.6

The history of the kingdom of Judah was somewhat different. Some of the kings were as wicked as any of the kings of Israel, and some of them were men of eminent piety. There was a succession of apostasies, of judgments, and of repentance and apostasy. Toward the close of its history the prophet Jeremiah said:— PROLI 159.1

“Thus said the Lord unto me: Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; and say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates; thus saith the Lord: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath-day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath-day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers. (But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their necks stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.) And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath-day, but hallow the Sabbath-day, to do no work therein then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever.” Jeremiah 17:19-25. PROLI 159.2

A few remarks concerning God’s purpose with Israel may be in place here. He chose Abraham, because Abraham had a heart to serve him, and would keep the light of God’s truth from dying out. He called the Israelites out from Egypt, so that they might serve him; and he made them the depositaries of his holy law, in order that they might hold up the standard of truth to the surrounding nations. In numerous places we learn that provision was made that the strangers who wished to serve the Lord could become a part of Israel, and heirs of the promise equally with the descendants of Abraham. If the children of Israel had been true to their high calling, and had not departed from God, or, having departed and repented, had remained faithful, they would ever have continued as a nation. And the text that we have just read indicates that in that case Jerusalem itself would have stood forever as the capital of the kingdom. What transformation it would have undergone, to make it suitable for the eternal habitation of the saints, we cannot tell. On the other hand, the following judgment, if they should depart from God, was uttered by Jeremiah:— PROLI 159.3

“But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath-day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath-day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” Jeremiah 17:27. PROLI 160.1

These warnings were not heeded. In the twenty-fifth chapter of Jeremiah we find the announcement of their captivity, because of their refusal to obey God. And the twenty-seventh chapter contains the record that the Lord told the king of Judah, and the kings of the surrounding nations, that he had given their lands to the king of Babylon, and that they should submit to him. Jeremiah was commanded to say to the messengers of the kings:— PROLI 160.2

“Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say unto your masters: I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son; until the very time of his land come; and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.” Jeremiah 27:4-7. PROLI 160.3

This was in the reign of Zedekiah, after Nebuchadnezzar had besieged Jerusalem once, and had taken part of the people captive. But Zedekiah would not obey the Lord, neither would he submit to the punishment which the Lord put upon him through Nebuchadnezzar. The record says: “And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the Lord. And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God; but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Lord God of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 36:12, 13. PROLI 160.4

The record continues:— PROLI 160.5

“Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling-place; but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age.... And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof, ...to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.” Verses 14-21. PROLI 160.6

This was the complete overthrow of the kingdom of Judah. Although, after seventy years of captivity, all who wished were given full liberty to return to Jerusalem, and the city and the temple were rebuilt, no king since that time has ever sat upon the throne of Israel. The Jews were in Babylon till that empire was overthrown by the Medes and Persians, B. C. 538. Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia, gave them permission to return to their own land, but they had no king, and they existed only through the sufferance of the kings of Persia. Alexander the Great showed them favors, and to him they acknowledged allegiance. When the empire of Greece was divided at the death of Alexander, they were subject by turns to different kings, until finally they turned to the rising power of Rome for complete protection, and remained subject to Rome as long as they had any existence as a nation. But before we speak of their final fate, we must look at a prophecy concerning the kingdom, which was uttered by Ezekiel toward the last of Zedekiah’s reign. After foretelling the invasion by the king of Babylon, the prophet said:— PROLI 161.1

“And thou, profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown; this shall not be the same; exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him.” Ezekiel 21:25-27. PROLI 161.2

In this prophecy the history of the world from then until the end of time is briefly told. When the diadem was removed from the head of Zedekiah, the kingdom passed into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Not simply the narrow limits of the kingdom over which Zedekiah ruled, but all the kingdoms of the earth, or, rather, the dominion of the whole earth, was given to Nebuchadnezzar. (See Jeremiah 27:4-7; Daniel 2:37, 38.) Then, said the Lord, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn it.” Three kings reigned in Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar, and then the first overturning took place, and the empire of the world passed into the hands of the Medes and the Persians. (See Ezra 1:2.) This took place B. C. 538. The Persian Empire, for the Median portion was overshadowed by the Persian element, lasted for 207 years, until B. C. 331. Then the second overturning took place, and the empire of Greece had the universal control in the earth. (See Daniel 2:39.) After the death of Alexander, the empire was divided into four parts, each striving for supreme control; but by the year 168 B. C. the third overturning had taken place, and the world came under the dominion of the Romans. This was to be the last overturning, said the prophet, “until He come whose right it is,” when it shall be given to Him. The one whose the earth is by right is Christ, for the Father has said to him: “Ask of me, and I shall give thee ...the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Psalm 2:8. Moreover, Christ has purchased the possession, by bearing the curse which came upon it in consequence of Satan’s maliciousness, and which constituted the evil one’s only claim to it. Thus he bought Satan’s technical and usurped claim, and became sole heir of the whole world. PROLI 161.3

But the promise to give the dominion to Christ did not have reference to his first advent, as will appear from the following:— PROLI 162.1

1. At the first advent of Christ the Romans ruled the whole world (Luke 2:1); and their empire continued powerful and undivided for nearly four hundred years afterward. Although the Jews rejected Jesus, they had not the power to put him to death, and he was formally condemned and executed by the Romans. PROLI 162.2

2. Just before his crucifixion Jesus wept over Jerusalem, saying:— PROLI 162.3

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Matthew 23:37-39. PROLI 162.4

The rejection of the Messiah filled up the cup of the iniquity of the Jewish nation. “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” John 1:11. If they had accepted him they might, even at that late day, and after so many apostasies, have still remained the chosen people of God, through whom the nations of the world should be enlightened, and around whose standard all the faithful would flock. But they rejected the last offer of mercy. As Jesus thought of what they might have been if they had received him, he wept, saying:— PROLI 162.5

“If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.” Luke 19:42. PROLI 162.6

Never again would the tribes go up to Mount Zion, the joy of the whole earth; no longer should the gorgeous temple be called a house of prayer for all nations. The day of Israel was past, and soon their city would be destroyed, because they knew not the time of their visitation. When Christ uttered that last cry upon the cross, “It is finished,” the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, showing that their house was left unto them desolate. Less than forty years later (A. D. 70), the Romans besieged Jerusalem and utterly destroyed it, fulfilling the words of Christ recorded in Matthew 24:2, and Luke 19:43, 44. This destruction, which marked the utter extinction of the Jewish people as a nation, also prefigured the final destruction of all that reject the gospel. From this point we leave the lineal descendants of Abraham. PROLI 163.1

But God had not forgotten his promise. Centuries before he had said to David that his throne should be established, and the people of Israel should continue, forever; and this promise he could not break. Said he:— PROLI 163.2

“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.” Psalm 89:34-37. PROLI 163.3

Later still, Isaiah had made the prophetic statement that,— PROLI 163.4

“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 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 with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6, 7. PROLI 163.5

Here, as in the promise made to Abraham, we find that Christ is the seed. It is through Christ that David’s kingdom is to be established forever, and so when the angel Gabriel came to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus, he said:— PROLI 163.6

“Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 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 forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:31-33. PROLI 163.7

David understood that the promise concerning the establishment of his kingdom was to be fulfilled in this manner. On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted the words of David in the sixteenth psalm: “Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope; because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption,” and then said:— PROLI 163.8

“Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit upon his throne; he, seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell [the grave], neither his flesh did see corruption.” Acts 2:29-31. PROLI 164.1

It was this assurance that caused David, like the other patriarchs, to die in full faith that the promise would be fulfilled. PROLI 164.2

Christ knew full well that the house of Jacob and the throne of David should endure forever, even while he was foretelling the utter destruction of the Jewish nation. When he stood before Pilate he acknowledged that he was a king, but indicated that the time had not yet come for him to manifest kingly power, by saying, “My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence.” John 18:36. PROLI 164.3

After his resurrection, as he was about to ascend to the Father, his disciples asked him, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” Acts 1:6, 7. Immediately afterward he ascended to Heaven, to sit down at the right hand of God. Why he went there, and what he is doing there, will be briefly indicated by a few scriptures. Through the prophet John he said:— PROLI 164.4

“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.” Revelation 3:21. PROLI 164.5

So he has not yet received his kingdom, but sits upon his Father’s throne, which is a throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16), procuring pardon and salvation for all who come unto God by him. It was this work that the prophet Zechariah foretold in these words:— PROLI 164.6

“Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” Zechariah 6:12, 13. PROLI 164.7

Since Christ sits upon a throne of grace, the kingdom in which he now rules must be a kingdom of grace. This is an entirely different kingdom from the kingdom of glory, and is designed to fit subjects for that kingdom. It is this kingdom of grace that is referred to in the following texts:— PROLI 165.1

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:12-14. PROLI 165.2

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17. PROLI 165.3

It is a kingdom in which the Spirit of God is bestowed; for Christ said, “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.” Matthew 12:28. PROLI 165.4

The Spirit performs its work silently, as Jesus said: “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8. And so Jesus said of the kingdom of grace, when the Pharisees demanded when the kingdom of God should come: “The kingdom of God cometh not with outward show; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is among you.” Luke 17:20, 21, marginal reading. By the coming of the kingdom of God, the Pharisees meant the coming of the Messiah, and he was already among them, “full of grace and truth.” PROLI 165.5

So it was this same kingdom that John was in when he said: “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 1:9. PROLI 165.6

Those who are in the kingdom of grace may expect to suffer tribulation, because tribulation works patience, and causes the sufferer to know more of the grace of God. But the kingdom of glory will put an end to all tribulation. So Jesus comforts the despised and sorrowing little band of disciples with the words: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good-pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:32. PROLI 165.7

James says: “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?” James 2:5. Here is the kingdom of which those rich in faith are only heirs; it is promised to those that love God, but they do not yet possess it. And to the same intent Peter, after mentioning the Christian graces, — faith, virtue, godliness, patience, brotherly kindness, charity, etc., says:— PROLI 165.8

“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things ye shall never fall; for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:10, 11. PROLI 166.1

Thus we see that the grace of God, which is freely dispensed while Christ sits upon the throne of grace, and by means of which we are enabled to overcome (Hebrews 4:14-16), simply fits us for the kingdom of glory, into which an abundant entrance will be ministered to the faithful at the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And so Christ said:— PROLI 166.2

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory [not the throne of grace]; and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 25:31-34. PROLI 166.3

While he sits upon his Father’s throne, it is as a priest, counseling with the Father for the peace of mankind. David tells until what time he will remain there, saying, “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.” Acts 2:34, 35; Psalm 110:1. PROLI 166.4

When Christ was on this earth he had not kingly power, except as he was full of grace and truth. As the representative of the kingdom of grace, he had power on earth to forgive sins. “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” But the kingdom of this world was not his. If it had been he would not have had to bear the curse of the earth in order to redeem it. Said he to Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence.” John 18:36. If he had then possessed the kingdom, he would have destroyed his enemies, as he will do when he comes again, after he has received it. At that time he paid tribute to earthly kings; when he comes again it will be as King of kings and Lord of lords. PROLI 166.5

From all these texts it is evident that Christ did not receive the kingdom at his first advent. Instead of having a kingdom, he had not so much as a place to lay his head. But he has ascended to the right hand of God, there to remain until the kingdom is given to him, and his enemies are made his footstool, when he will return to rid his kingdom of his enemies, and to plant his people Israel in their own land. PROLI 167.1

The parable of the ten pounds, as recorded by Luke, was given for the purpose of teaching this very thing. “And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.” Luke 19:11-15. Then follows the accounting with the servants, and the commendation of those who had been faithful; and the parable closes with these words: “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” This is so plain as to need no comment. It shows that Christ has gone to Heaven to receive the kingdom, and that he will return when he has received it. PROLI 167.2

In the seventh chapter of Daniel, verses 9, 10, there is a graphic word picture of the judgment in Heaven, which will determine who are worthy to be raised from the dead, or to be translated when the Lord comes. As soon as this judgment is over, Christ will receive his kingdom, as we read in the following verses:— PROLI 167.3

“I saw in the night visions, and, 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.” Daniel 7:13, 14. PROLI 167.4

This is the fulfillment of the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary, when he announced the birth of Jesus, saying: “And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:32, 33. PROLI 167.5

The throne of David is the throne that was promised to Christ; therefore the dominion, the receiving of which is described in Daniel 7:13, 14, must be the kingdom of Israel. It was declared that his everlasting dominion should be over the house of Jacob, yet the prophet, after telling of the destruction of earthly monarchies, says: “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Daniel 7:27. Therefore it must be that all the saints of God will constitute the people of Israel, over whom Christ shall reign. This truth has been referred to before, but now more extended positive Scripture proof is in order. PROLI 168.1