The arrival of future events depends on just one thing---the character of the God who planned those future events. Prophesied future events will not come to pass because of who wins a war, or who wins an election, or who has the most money and political power. Mankind and demonic forces do not determine the arrival of ordained events or persons, and cannot even change the arrival times by one or two minutes either way. Prophetic fulfillment rests on who God is. Many key prophecies have not yet taken place, but they will certainly come to pass because fulfillment depends on God’s character.
The Character of the God of Prophecy. God is SOVEREIGN, meaning that He is the supreme power in this universe, and that there is no individual or group that is greater than the Lord God. As the sovereign of the universe, the Lord may choose to allow certain things to take place, but His declared prophetic purposes cannot be thwarted by His creation. Those prophetic events will indeed take place. God is TRUTH, meaning that His revelations about Himself and man’s future are totally accurate and can be relied on. He can be trusted. He does not lie or deceive. He is OMNISCIENT, meaning that He knows everything, which includes things that are as well as all other possibilities. God does not learn new things so that He is forced to adjust previously given prophetic statements. God is OMNIPOTENT, meaning that as the Almighty there is nothing too hard for Him. He has all the power needed to bring prophetic events to pass. It is important to remember that the fulfillment of prophetic events is never a question about the power to do them, but usually the timing of those events. God is IMMUTABLE, meaning that God never changes. Over time the Lord does not mature nor does He decline. God’s statements about coming events will not change. God is HOLY, meaning that He is free from any taint of evil or uncleanness. So, all coming events, including His judgments, are free from anything evil. God is LOVE, meaning that He only does what is best. His goal is to bring all mankind back into fellowship with Himself and allow them to enjoy “Eden.” In His future kingdom believers will thoroughly enjoy His presence and His blessings. Jesus said that God loves to give good gifts to His children, and that He will do.
So, with a God like this, should we doubt that He can and will do what He says He will do? Is there a place for thinking that Satan and his minions, as well as his human collaborators, can somehow thwart or even delay God’s plans? (1 Chron. 22:8)
The Coming Prophesied Ruler---Genesis 48. Around 1850 BC, Jacob, and his family of 70, moved to Egypt and joined Joseph. Just before he died, Jacob gave prophecies that concerned each of his twelve sons. In Genesis 48:8-12, Jacob prophesied of the dominance and rulership of Judah. And while there are some interpretive challenges here, the prophecy speaks of the kingship in Judah which will find its final fulfillment in the person of Messiah. The “scepter” will not depart from Judah. It is from the tribe of Judah that the Messiah will come. The final fulfillment has not yet taken place.
The Covenant Made with David---2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17. King David had a strong desire to build an incredibly lavish temple for the Lord God. He had, no doubt, seen many gorgeous pagan temples when he had defeated nation after nation. But the Lord Jehovah, maker of heaven and earth, was dwelling in a temporary tent-like shelter. That should never be! Although the Lord loved this heart desire of David, He would not allow David to build a sacred temple for Him because David was a man of war and had a lot of blood on his hands (1 Chron. 22:8). Instead, God said I will build your house (meaning David’s ruling dynasty), and with that God entered a covenant relationship with David. This “Davidic Covenant” was/is both everlasting and unconditional (that is, it depended on God alone for final fulfillment). Psalm 89 makes this point with great clarity. The covenant had five parts to it: (1) David would become famous; (2) David would have rest from his enemies; (3) David’s house (that is, his family line) would last forever; (4) David’s throne (that is, his ruling authority) would be forever; and (5) David’s kingdom would not ever pass away permanently but would continue forever.
The Three Unfulfilled Parts of the Davidic Covenant. What is so important about all of this is the fact that the last three provisions of this covenant have not been fulfilled. They were not fulfilled in the Old Testament and they were not fulfilled at Christ’s first coming (though they could have been). They were not fulfilled in the Old Testament as is evidenced in the angel Gabriel’s statement to the virgin Mary. He said, “you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:31-33). Gabriel’s statement makes no sense if Solomon or someone else in the O.T. fulfilled it.
The Davidic Covenant was not fulfilled when Jesus came the first time. John the Baptist announced the long-awaited kingdom of Messiah, and Jesus validated His messianic claims time and again. However, the proud, unbelieving generation of Jews refused to accept Jesus as their messiah. Was that the end of the covenant? Absolutely not. The covenant was everlasting and will exist as long the universe exists. Psalm 89:36-37 declares: “His (David’s) descendants shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, and the witness in the sky is faithful.” Since the universe still exists, the Davidic Covenant is still in force. Jesus, the eternal Person, is the guarantee that David’s line cannot ever be cut off. Also, the covenant is unconditional, meaning that there are no conditions that David or his descendants must fulfill. It is God alone who will fulfill it. Psalm 89:30-32 saw that those who came after David would prove unfaithful and God would have to deal with their unfaithfulness and unbelief. Then Psalm 89 powerfully declares God’s word about what He will not do.
“But I will not break off My lovingkindness from him, nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate, nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness, I will not lie to David. His descendants shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me.”
Because God did not lie to David, the Davidic Covenant awaits fulfillment. And that fulfillment will take place when Jesus returns at His 2nd Coming and rules the world, which includes all the nations of the world (Psalm 2:8). In looking at the last three parts of the Davidic Covenant, it is seen that David’s “house” (his family line) will indeed last forever, since the covenant has been given to Jesus who will live forever (note again Gabriel’s statement to Mary). The fourth part of the Davidic Covenant is that David’s throne (his ruling authority) will be forever. Ruling authority now belongs to Jesus, but He has not yet exercised that authority. There are theologians today who teach that Jesus is presently ruling. But that simply does not line up with the reality of life in this world, which remains under the domination of the Evil One (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 John 5:19). The Scriptures inform us that when Messiah reigns, it will be a rule with “the rod of iron,” meaning that there will be zero tolerance for overt sin and rebellion (Psalm 2:9). This rod speaks of dominant ruling authority, and extends not simply to Israel but to all the nations of the world (Rev. 12:5; 19:15). Jesus not only rules from Jerusalem over a united Israel, but will rule all the gentile nations in this world. Today, are the nations of the world under Jesus’ authority? There is no way that one can really believe that Jesus Messiah is presently ruling the nations. This can only come about by ignoring normal interpretation and engaging in wholesale spiritualization. If Jesus is presently ruling then the many details given in the OT about Messiah’s kingdom, simply make no sense. Trying to line up the many O.T. prophecies with present reality are simply impossible. Both O.T. and N.T. writers declared that the reign of Messiah would be characterized by righteousness, peace among men, great universal joy, harmony in nature (the removal of the curse), universal prosperity, the universal worship of the Lord Jehovah, the complete absence of Satan and his forces of evil, a full knowledge of the Lord and the removal of disease and deformity (Isa. 9:3-4; 11:4-9; 35:5-6; 61:1-9; Jer. 23:5-6; Joel 2:28-32; Rom. 8:19-23; Rev. 20:1-10). These realities are simply not seen in our world today! Yet, scripture says these will characterize Jesus’ rule.
The fifth part of the Davidic Covenant declares that David’s kingdom will have no end to it. Long ago, Daniel stated that after the kingdoms of mankind are terminated by the coming of the Messiah that “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed…it will endure forever.” (Dan. 2:44). The point being that once the Lord’s reign begins at the 2nd Coming, never again will any created being rule. The Apostle Paul adds some details to this when he teaches that after Jesus’ rule (the 1,000-year kingdom on earth), He will turn ruling authority over to the Godhead which ushers in the eternal phase of God’s kingdom on a new earth (1 Cor. 15:23-26; Rev. 21:1-5).
Our response to this unfulfilled covenant with David?
First, these truths give us clarity and perspective on the world that we presently live in. What we see in our world is not what will be in the future. All the “mighty” men and great nations will come to an end. Knowing and believing the truth about the magnificence of the coming reign of King Jesus helps us with our priorities here and now.
Second, fear and anxiety ought not take root in our lives. We are citizens of the coming kingdom, along with being citizens of America. Of the two, one is temporal and fading and the other is eternal and glorious. And while we have some responsibilities in the temporal, our ultimate loyalty is to Jesus, David’s great son.
Third, because of the character of the Lord God, what He declares is coming will indeed come. Our best days are not now, but are ahead of us when we see King Jesus in all His royal splendor. And that is going to really be something! Maybe soon?