Silver Skies Research: Millennial King David’s Role

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King David’s Role In The Millennium
by Wayne D. Turner
From BibleTrack
Copyright 2004-2009

After carefully studying the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah, Hosea and Ezekiel, one cannot come to any other conclusion than this: King David will reign in Jerusalem under Jesus, the Messiah during the millennium.

Consider the following passages of scripture which address conditions during the millennium:

  • Hosea 3:5
    Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
  • Jeremiah 30:9
    But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
  • Ezekiel 34:23-24
    And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
  • Ezekiel 37:24-25
    And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.

Most Bible teachers race right past those verses and generally accept them as a reference to Jesus the Messiah, who was born into a Jewish family descended from King David. They assume that those passages are referring to David’s descendant, Jesus the Messiah. However, that cannot be the case when we look more closely at Ezekiel’s prophecies.

Let’s take a look at Ezekiel 44:1-3.

1 Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut.
2 Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.
3 It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.

According to Isaiah 9:6-7, the Messiah, Jesus, will be known as “the mighty God” and “the everlasting Father.” That means that Jesus, as the Messiah, is LORD. Yet, in these three verses, the LORD is differentiated from “the prince.” Verse 3 tells us that the prince “shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD.” So you see, the “prince” and the “LORD” are different here.

In Ezekiel 45:9-25 we have the prince offering sacrifices for himself and the people “to the LORD.” As a matter of fact, Ezekiel 45:22 instructs, “And upon that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering.” We all know that Jesus, the Messiah, is without sin. This prince, however, is not without sin.

There are some interesting specifications in Ezekiel 46:18, “Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.” This prince shall have sons. Do you think that’s talking about Jesus, the Messiah? Of course it isn’t.

In Ezekiel 48:22 we are told that this prince shall have a land allotment along with the Tribes of Israel. Of course that’s not a reference to Jesus as the Messiah either. In Ezekiel 45 and 46 we see that this prince will have a unique relationship with regard to the temple where he will be performing some priestly functions (Ezekiel 45:16-17,22 and Ezekiel 46:4, 12).

A careful examination of Jeremiah, Hosea and Ezekiel clearly leads us to the conclusion that, during the millennium, Jesus will be present as the Messiah, while David will be present fulfilling the role of the “prince.” Obviously, he will be resurrected to fulfill this role. Now, that shouldn’t really throw us. Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been dead for four days. Therefore, God is able to raise David to fulfill his millennial purposes if he so desires. And…apparently that’s exactly what he does according to these passages.