MAY 3r 11:13 AM
Might Prince William Obtain the Throne of David?
Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton
COGwriter
A few weeks ago was the royal wedding between Prince William of Wales and Catherine Middleton. The royals have been in the news a lot the past several weeks. Prince William, himself, is second in line to take the throne of David (his father Prince Charles is first).
Why do I call it the “throne of David”?
First, let’s look at some scriptures about promises that God made to David, the former King of Israel:
3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: 4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever,
And build up your throne to all generations.” (Psalms 89:3-4)
8 My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him. 29 His seed also I will make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven. (Psalms 89:28-29)
4 My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. 35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: 36 His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me; 37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky. (Psalms 89:34-37)
5 Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt? (2 Chronicles 13:5-6)
5 I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ (1 Kings 9:5)
1 Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel:…5…He has made with me an everlasting covenant (2 Samuel 23:1-5)
Notice the following from the late Living Church of God evangelist John Ogwyn and late Herbert W. Armstrong (who helped teach him):
The Throne of David
God made a remarkable promise to King David of ancient Israel. Speaking through Nathan the prophet, God told David: “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:12–16).
God explained to David that while he might punish his descendants for their sins, he would not remove the kingdom from their line as he had done with Saul. What happened to that line of kings? History records that King Zedekiah, a descendant of David, was the last king to sit upon the throne of Judah in Jerusalem. In 586bc Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Zedekiah captive to Babylon, burned the temple, and destroyed the city of Jerusalem. Notice the statement in 2 Kings 25:7: “Then they killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, put out the eyes of Zedekiah… and took him to Babylon.”
Did God’s promise to David fail?
For the rest of the story, notice the prophecy that God inspired Ezekiel to record in Ezekiel 17. It starts out by posing a riddle that describes an eagle coming to a large cedar tree and cropping off the topmost branch. This small branch was taken to the “city of merchants” (v. 4). What is this riddle describing? Verse 12 tells us: “Say now to the rebellious house: Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, Indeed the king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and took its king and princes, and led them with him to Babylon.”
That is not the end of the story, however. God went on to tell Ezekiel in verses 22 and 23: “I will take also one of the highest branches of the high cedar and set it out. I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and will plant it on a high and prominent mountain. On the mountain height of Israel I will plant it; and it will bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a majestic cedar. Under it will dwell birds of every sort; in the shadow of its branches they will dwell.”
We have already seen that the “top branch” of the cedar symbolized Judah’s last king, Zedekiah. A twig coming out from that branch would be one of his children. As we have also seen, his sons were killed. This “tender” twig must clearly refer to one of his daughters! God talks of her being taken to a high mountain (used in Bible prophecy to symbolize a nation) where she would be “planted” and would grow into a great tree. This shows that she would marry and produce offspring and that the dynasty would continue! Also note, while David’s line had been reigning over Judah, it would now be “replanted” ruling over Israel.
Irish history records the remainder of this story. It tells of the prophet Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch coming to Ireland after the fall of Judah with a young princess and the coronation stone, called in Gaelic lia fail. In ancient Irish records, the princess was named Tea Tephi. She married the son of the High King of Ireland. Their descendants reigned from Tara in Ireland for many centuries. Later, in the days of Kenneth McAlpine, they transferred their place of rule to Scone in Scotland. This same dynasty continues on down to today in the person of Queen Elizabeth II, a direct descendant of Tea Tephi and her husband. God has fulfilled his promises to King David just as He said! (Ogwyn J. The United States and Great Britain in Prophecy. Living Church of God, Charlotte, 2006)
David’s Dynasty Forever
David succeeded Saul. David sat on the Eternal’s throne. David’s son Solomon succeeded him, also sitting on the Eternal’s throne. “Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Eternal as king instead of David his father” (I Chron. 29:23; see also II Chron. 9:8).
I wish here to impress another special point. Before Saul, the Eternal had been King over Israel. These human kings were sitting upon the Eternal’s throne. The Eternal – “LORD” – is Jesus Christ who was with the Father before the world was (John 17:5 and 1:1-2, 14). Jesus is both the “root” and the “offspring” of David (Rev. 22:16). Since He was the “root,” the throne was His before David was born. David merely sat upon the Eternal’s throne. Secondly, since Jesus was David’s lawful fleshly Son, this same throne shall once more become His right by inheritance, continuing David’s dynasty. And so, when Christ returns to earth, David’s throne will be doubly His right!
Now we come to a seemingly incredible fact – fantastic – almost unbelievable, but true! While David was king, God made with him a perpetual covenant, unconditionally, which God cannot and will not break! This covenant is even more amazing, and less understood, than the unconditional covenant with Abraham!
I want you now to plant firmly in mind the specific nature and character of the covenant the Almighty made with David. For it is a vital link in the purpose and mission of Christ – an important KEY to Bible understanding!
In II Samuel 23:1, 5, we find: “Now these be the last words of David . . . . God . . . hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure.” In other words, a covenant that shall endure forever and cannot fail!
(Armstrong HW. The United States and Britain in Prophecy. WCG booklet)
Queen Elizabeth II is a descendant of David as are her son Charles and his son William. The Queen seems to have had various issues with her son Charles, and while she may place him on the throne, there is always a chance that he could be bypassed for someone like William. And even if that does not happen, if Charles is made king, William is in line to be his successor.
But no matter how many human leaders are left, it should also be mentioned that we in LCG believe that the royal family will be replaced by Jesus when He returns (and recall that Jesus Himself is specifically called “the son of David” in Matthew 1:1):
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:32-33)
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:15)
Since Jesus has not yet returned, that throne is still under control of the British royal family. But He will receive the throne His father David and reign over the house of Jacob. Jesus clearly has not done that yet (which is why the British royal family still has the throne), but Jesus will gain it relatively soon.
It may be of some historical interest to realize that when the monarch is crowned head of England, etc. the ceremony is similar to that of ancient Israel as Dr. Douglas Winnail writes:
Ancient Irish legends recount that in addition to the king’s daughters, Jeremiah brought with him “some national treasures from the Temple. The most important of these was the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny, Jacob’s stone” (Rogers, pp. 31–32). The Bible relates that Jacob, the forefather of the Israelite tribes, set up a stone pillar after making a covenant with God (Genesis 28:13–22). It was also a custom in ancient Israel to crown kings over a stone (Judges 9:6; 2 Kings 11:12–14).
The stone was later taken to Scotland by a king Fergus, and then to England. It has been used in all three countries for the coronation of monarchs—following the ancient Israelite custom. (Winnail D. Behind the Mists of Ireland. Tomorrow’s World magazine. Jan-Feb 2000).
Hence we in the Living Church of God (LCG) believe that there is a connection between the old throne of Israel and the current throne of the British royal family. And there is a chance that Prince William will sit on that throne, and a small chance that he may be the last human to do so before the return of Jesus Christ.
Some articles of related interest may include:
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West?
Is Tony Blair Apocalyptic? The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom converted to Catholicism shortly after leaving his office and has been active in European affairs. What role might he play?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 24th, 2011 at 4:11 pm and is filed under Prophecy.
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