Millennium: Setting up the Kingdom
In bringing these papers to a close let us take a glance at the establishment of the kingdom. And it can be but a glance, such as is afforded by the might of David and the splendor of Solomon, which are but shadows in comparison of the power and brightness of Messiah when He takes the kingdom. The fullest type necessarily falls short; He must be present before we can see His glory. Even as in the past, David may have felt the sorrow of being hunted by Saul and in the end driven to seek shelter among enemies, far more than any that were with him sharing his toils; but what were his sorrows compared to the sorrows of the Lord? And as His sorrows were deeper so will His glory be greater. But here we are met with the fact that when looking at David the type of the rejected Messiah, we had Messiah Himself before us in the Gospels, and so could read the type in the Antitype; for it is He Who throws light upon the type, not the type upon Him, and the contrasts stand out in sharper outline than the analogies. Indeed the closest analogy is never without proof that the image of the coming King was looked at through a defective medium; yet enough remained to His glory to call forth our praise. For it is Christ's life in the Gospels that throws a halo around the wanderings of David.
In looking still at David now on the throne as type of Messiah, whose kingdom is not yet established in the earth, we have not its glorious reality whereby to judge of the type under David's reign. All that we know of the fixture kingdom of Christ must be gathered from the prophetic word, the lamp which we must use to read of David the King. We must wait for the advent of the kingdom to see the application and the importance of many things in David's reign, and also in Solomon's; for, as typifying the kingdom, David and Solomon must be considered as one; and indeed they are so presented historically, for Solomon was on the throne and crowned before David died. For not as a mere historical fact is it recorded, but to give one complete picture of Christ's kingdom on the earth, in one unbroken reign, David's death not interfering with its unity.
Though many a detail may be dark as to its typical application, the great truth is clearly read, that all enemies shall be destroyed, and that Messiah will begin to reign before peace is brought in—that there will be in fact a David, and a Solomon aspect of His reign.
In the history, the kingdom of David immediately succeeds the death, of Saul, which involved the ruin of Israel. A greater ruin has now befallen Israel, and the kingdom of Christ is not yet established. There is nothing between Saul and David that points to the lapse of nearly nineteen centuries during which Israel remains ruined and scattered beyond the wit of man to say where. In this interval, unnoticed in type or prophecy, the hidden purpose of God is revealed, and the exhaustless wonders of grace made known in the church. The church was revealed only by its presence when the Holy Ghost was given at the day of Pentecost. Even when the risen Lord ascended from the mount of Olives, it was the kingdom that filled the mind of the disciples, and to the kingdom the answer of the two white-appareled men alone refers. Not the least allusion do they make either to the calling or to the rapture of the church. Prophecy overlooks this long parenthesis, and therefore in the typical presentation of Christ as rejected, and then reigning in power, the one follows the other without a gap. The church of God is no part of the course of the ages which carries the idea of government either direct from God, as when He ruled in Israel, or when they were dispersed and government entrusted to the Gentile, where the intervention of God among men was by no means so marked as when Israel was publicly His people. Both Israel and the Gentile are now thrust aside—both having failed—to make room for the church; the times of the Gentiles still run on, but modified through the calling of the church. When the church is gone, God will resume the government of the world, in spite of the dragon and his slaves, and by judgment will prepare the earth for the advent and reign of His Son, to Whom Jehovah has said, “Sit thou on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Then He comes. Meanwhile He is waiting. The sufferings and the glory are in the prophetic word joined together. Grace to the lost, and going beyond all previous revelation has placed an interval between the sufferings and the kingdom glory, and has formed a sphere outside the limits of prophecy and above its range. “They are not of the world,” said the Lord. This a true of us dispensationally, it ought to be equally true of us morally. We do not belong to the ages of the world, but are a separate people.
Nor is there, in the history we are looking at, any foreshadowing of the judgments of which the prophetic word is full, and which will take place at the close of this present age after the church is caught up.; that is, before His appearing. While these judgments are being poured out upon the earth, Christ is still hidden until He appears for the destruction of antichrist, “the king.” There is nothing analogous to Christ's sitting at the right hand of Jehovah in the history of David, who with one step rises from the place of rejection to the throne. When Saul is removed, David immediately is presented to the nation; unless Saul be considered as a type of “the King,” for then Christ begins to act in power. When He appears, it is not by one great victory that peace is brought to the earth. He rules in the midst of enemies till they are all subdued, and this is the characteristic of David's reign. As it is said, “Jehovah shall roar out of Zion.” After “the king” is destroyed, there will yet remain nations to be subdued, and a re-arrangement of them according to God. For the landmarks and divisions, which the pride of man and his lust of power have made, will be annulled, and the original divisions, as God divided the nations, will again appear (see Gen. 10). And by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood (ver. 32). The world is marked by families, and nations, and races, and in this day each is asserting itself according to its power; but the final settlement will only be when Christ reigns.
The first effect of Christ taking His power will not be peace. He will in fury tread down His enemies. This is the preliminary or David aspect of war, not the Solomon display of glory which is properly the millennium. It is not according to His purpose by one stupendous act to put down all authority and power—which of course He could do if He pleased—but during a certain limited period, after the sudden and instantaneous judgment of the beast and of the false prophet, and a little later of the Assyrian, to use Israel as His instrument in breaking to pieces the opposing Gentile power. But Messiah will Himself personally appear in the judgment of these three at least. The brightness of His presence, and the breath of His nostrils, slay the wicked, but these are cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone (Rev. 19:2020And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20)). He will also personally meet the king of the north, the Assyrian, whose doom overtakes him in the same terrible manner as it fell upon the western beast and upon antichrist. The Assyrian falls not by the sword of a mighty man, nor by the sword of a mean man, but by the voice of Jehovah shall he be beaten down. That is, his will not be the destruction which falls upon his armies whose bones Israel will be seven months in burying, but he shall be cast alive into Tophet. To an Israelite no more appropriate word could be used, or so significant of his end. Tophet is the place where the Israelites burned alive their children to the god Moloch; the word is closely associated with, and carries the idea of being burnt alive (2 Kings 23:1010And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. (2 Kings 23:10)). Tophet was prepared for him and also for “the king.” “The breath of Jehovah like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it” (see Isa. 30:27-3327Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire: 28And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. 29Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel. 30And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. 31For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod. 32And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. 33For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. (Isaiah 30:27‑33); also Ezek. 38; 39; Zech. 14:1-31Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. (Zechariah 14:1‑3))
Messiah rules in Zion before His kingdom is established over the whole earth, not as sitting upon His throne, but His power will be manifested, and will proceed from Zion as from a central point. “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron” (Psalm “Jehovah shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies” (Psa. 110). His enemies shall be broken to pieces as a potter's vessel, but His people, “thy people,” shall be a willing people. See also Psa. 118:6-166The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? 7The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. 8It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. 9It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. 10All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them. 11They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me about: but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 12They compassed me about like bees; they are quenched as the fire of thorns: for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. 13Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall: but the Lord helped me. 14The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. 15The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. 16The right hand of the Lord is exalted: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. (Psalm 118:6‑16), which so clearly expresses the condition of the inhabitants of Jerusalem when the hosts of the king of the north are besieging the city. It is the introduction to the reign of peace by the noise of war, by the sword and the spear, not by the soft and persuasive voice of the gospel. The rebellions Jew with the Gentile share in that destruction. “But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me” (Luke 19:2727But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. (Luke 19:27)). This period answers in general to David's reign who was a man of war from his youth, and on that account was commanded to leave the building of the temple to his son. It will be when all Israel are gathered and all nations subdued, that Ezekiel's temple will be built, and the healing waters flow. When the heathen know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, and after they have borne their shame and are dwelling safely in their land, and Jehovah's word is given that He will no more hide His face from them, for that He has poured out His Spirit upon the house of Israel (Ezek. 39:23-2923And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. 24According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them. 25Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name; 26After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 27When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; 28Then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. 29Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 39:23‑29)), then comes the description of the temple, in which Jehovah will dwell, Whose presence will be its glory. When Judah comes back in unbelief, they will build a temple, but the abomination of desolation will stand in it. Of the temple of Ezekiel, yea, of the whole city, its very name from that day shall be, “Jehovah is there.”
David reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty three in Jerusalem, together forty years—a number always used to express the sufficiency and completeness of that of which it is spoken. And Messiah's rule in the midst of enemies will be till all are put down. But how to divide the era of judgment, from the first seal to the last mighty act of vengeance upon the Assyrian, is not revealed. To diligent faith God will give intelligence; but any attempt to arrange them so as to make the events of David's reign, and the course of judgment in the future dovetail into each other, will inevitably result in mistakes. The light of Christ in His lowly path shines upon the previous life of David; the light of Christ's exaltation in the earth is not yet come. We have as yet as regards the kingdom, only the lamp of prophecy, which though only a lamp, as compared with the Day-star, distinctly foretells a time when Christ will rule out of Zion before the millennium begins. When that time comes, Christ in glory will, rise upon the world. The Day-star risen in our hearts now reveals our heavenly, position in the coming kingdom and glory. But neither David nor Solomon points to the place grace has prepared for us.
It was the Philistine, Israel's most persistent and formidable enemy, who felt more than any other the weight of David's arm. Again and again were they smitten, and it was over them that David's mighty men won their renown. Only among them were the giants found. But all, great and small, pay homage and tribute to David, and to Solomon, for David's reign is blended with that of Solomon. The “David” character is not quite gone when Solomon begins to reign. David yet lives till after the last straggle of the enemy, as seen in the attempt of Adonijah to possess the kingdom, and with him are found Joab, the chief of the army, and Abiathar the priest, up to that moment head of the priesthood. But he is now thrust aside, according to the word spoken to Samuel long before, yet historically owing to his own act and deed; so marvelously does God blend man's responsibility with His own counsels. Zadok is called to anoint Solomon.
Adonijah said, “I will be king.” Did he not know that Solomon was the chosen of Jehovah? (1 Chron. 28:4-64Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: 5And of all my sons, (for the Lord hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. 6And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. (1 Chronicles 28:4‑6)). Here is willful rebellion, and, considering him typically, he is an antagonist of Christ. It is said of “the king” that he shall do according to his will. Does Adonijah in any measure present “the king” to our eye? We discern one or two of the same features in each, yet scarcely sufficient, taken with other circumstances, to say that Adonijah is a type of “the king.” The similarity is that both do their own will, and that neither is an external enemy; they are both in Jerusalem. But there is this difficulty, that “the king” as Antichrist is destroyed immediately at the appearing. The conspiracy of Adonijah, Joab, and Abiathar is at the close of David's reign just before his death, i.e., before Solomon, the man of rest reigns alone, and, as to time coincides rather with the judgment of the king of the north, who has the same mark of will upon him. It may be that the session of judgment closes with his being cast into Tophet. For at the time that Jehovah lays His rod upon him “in battles of shaking,” there will be with Israel “tabrets and harps.” The inhabitants of the unwalled villages where they dwelt in peace, at than same time, “shall have a song as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept” (Isa. 30:2929Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel. (Isaiah 30:29), &c.).
The Assyrian, looked at through his type, Antiochus Epiphanes, who is the king of the north in his day, does “according to his will” (Dan. 11:1616But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed. (Daniel 11:16)). Was the Holy Spirit looking at the future Assyrian through Adonijah? At most it is but a faint shadow, for self-will is the common mark of all that oppose Christ. Adonijah is spared for a brief moment till a more subtle attempt is made against the authority of Solomon, which brings judgment, and Adonijah is slain.
In these three men we see, in Adonijah the authority of the world, in Joab the executive power, in Abiathar the religious power, all combined against Christ. They are the representatives of the three great moral forces of the world. In the midst of their revelry the shouting of the people is heard; sudden fear seizes them, and destruction soon overtakes them. So it will be at the end.
The next prominent event we notice is the building and dedication of the temple. The glory of Jehovah fills it. It is a picture of the millennium. Solomon's prayer looks onward to it, but takes up also the intervening time. He, as it were, counts upon the coming glory, and pleads for mercy in view of it; he sees the scattering of rebellions Israel. His prayer is a divine forecast of their history, couched withal in the language of supplication. Grace will restore the nation to the role and glory of Christ. And even as it is grace, so it will not be limited to Israel, but the glory will be displayed to the world. The queen of Sheba—as representative of the nations—comes to learn the wisdom and see the glory of Solomon. And thus it will be when Christ reigns, not only King of Israel, but also King of kings and Lord of lords.
Moses said, “Show me Thy glory.” To us as to him, our faces are covered with His hand till the glory passes by; then we as he, shall see the back parts. When the glory of the kingdom shines over the whole earth, we shall be able to trace as we cannot now the lines of purpose and glory, the responsibilities of man and the dispensational dealings of God with him, all converging upon Christ. God has been pleased to foreshadow the, coming glory for Israel and blessing for the world. We adore though seeing dimly. The church of God has not to search amid types for her peculiar glory. It is summed up in this—with Christ; and like Christ; and forever.
R. B.