THE COMING THRONE by L. D. Santee

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Mar 7, 1906

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 10.

THE COMING THRONE.

By L. D. Santee

THOU "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." Luke 1:31, 32. Since B.C. 588 there has been a vacant throne in this world. Then, a kingdom of heavenly rule, a throne called "the Lord's," tumbled into the dust, for lack of a suitable king. First, a theocracy became obsolete. 1 Sam. 8:7. Then, a throne became perpetually vacant.

"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. . . . 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." Eze. 21:25-27. God offered them a representative on the throne of David forever if they would reverence His holy Sabbath, but their disobedience in this respect filled their cup of iniquity and sealed their ruin. Jer. 17:24, 25.

The rejected theocracy ended in the overturned throne. This throne has been without a lawful occupant for 2,487 years. Since Zedekiah's discrowning not another king has sat on it, or ruled in it. Who is the rightful king?—Jesus. Where is He?—On the Father's throne. "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." Rev. 3:21. This Jesus is the next King to sit on the overturned, but restored, throne. He is the king in David's line, of Israel's stock, of Judah's lineage, and of God's begetting.

He is the only true heir to the vacant throne. The absent King declares Himself to be "the Offspring of David." Rev. 22:16. I will "give unto Him the throne," God replies (Isa. 9:6). He shall occupy David's throne, declares the angel (Luke 1:32). There are two thrones, the throne of the Father is now in heaven, and the other, yet in prospect, is to be occupied by the Son on the earth redeemed. Read again carefully Rev. 3:21. The Father's throne is in heaven. "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven." Ps. 11:4; Isa. 66:1; Rev. 4:2. "The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom ruleth over all." Ps. 103:19.

Then the throne of God is in existence, and is located in heaven. It is not the Father's throne of the universe that is promised to the overcomer. Jesus sits in it to-day, and through this age, at the right hand of God. Acts 2:34, 35. His own throne is in prospect, and He now waits for it. "From thenceforth expecting," says Paul.

The throne of Christ is to be on the earth. Rev. 3:21 tells us that we are to sit with Christ in His throne. In Rev. 5:10 we read: "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth." Again, Prov. 11:31: "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth." Dan. 7:27 declares that the kingdom is "under the whole heavens." In 2 Peter 3:13 it is called the "new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Rev. 11:15 tells of a time when the kingdoms of this world are to "become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever."

In Matt. 13:41 we learn that the Son of Man shall "gather out of His kingdom all things that offend." Surely, the offenders are not in heaven. Let us compare the kingship of David with that of Christ. David was divinely chosen; so was Christ. He was anointed many years before coming to His throne; so was Christ. He had his throne in Jerusalem; so will Christ. He reigned over the whole house of Israel; so does Christ. His throne was to be established forever. 2 Sam. 7:16. Of Christ it is said, "He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." Luke 1:33.

The title of Christ to the throne of David is undisputed. It was a God-man that was to claim it. "Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne." Ps. 132:11. The occupant was to be David's offspring, but come out of God, and be as God. Immanuel (God with us) was a born King, and given for this object. "The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David." Luke 1:32. This was one of the grand purposes of our Lord's resurrection. God swore with an oath to David, that of the fruit of his loins He would raise up Christ to sit on David's throne, and David, who understood this, "seeing this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ." Acts 2:30-32. Again, "This Jesus hath God raised up." What for?—To sit on the throne of David.

He also holds the key of David, a symbol of right and of authority. Rev. 3:7. The proof of a divine king on a throne on earth is unanswerable, and the promise absolute and imperishable. At present this throne is vacated by God's decree. The royal seat is unoccupied. The King "whose right it is" has not come. His coming and kingdom is the hope of the pious dead, it is the hope of the righteous living. It is the hope of the true Israel. It is the hope of all the ages; and the prayer, "Come, Lord Jesus," is the cry of animate and inanimate nature.