The
principal argument used in the thesis of 1914 is to assert that the
God’s
rulership,
as symbolized by Jerusalem, was
interrupted
in 607 BCE when Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians.
It
asserts that the city of Jerusalem ceased to represent the Kingdom of
God on earth after her destruction by the Babylonians in 607 BCE -
remaining in
this state of
lack of representativeness (as a symbol of Jehovah’s rulership) for
centuries, including therefore the period Jesus was on earth. (See
Book: What Does the Bible Really Teach? - Appendix – 1914 A
Significant Year in Bible Prophecy)
Is
this really what the Bible teaches?
To
understand the relationship between the arrangement of human kings
and the nation of Israel, let us consider 1 Samuel 8:4-9:
4
In time all the older men of Israel collected themselves together and
came to Samuel at Ra´mah 5 and said to him: “Look! You yourself
have grown old, but your own sons have not walked in your ways. Now
do
appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
6 But the
thing was bad in the eyes of Samuel inasmuch
as they had said: “Do give
us a king
to judge us,” and Samuel began to pray to Jehovah. 7 Then Jehovah
said to Samuel: “Listen to the voice of the people as respects all
that they say to you; for it is not you whom they have rejected, but
it is I whom they have rejected from being king over them.
8 In accord with all their doings that they have done from the day of
my bringing them up out of Egypt until
this day in
that they
kept leaving me
and serving other gods,
that is the way they are doing also to you. 9
And now listen to their voice. Only this, that you
should solemnly warn them, and you must tell them the rightful due of
the king who will reign over them.”
'it
is I whom they have rejected from being king over them'
These
words indicate that although there was not a human king in the same
way that nations had, but there was indeed a King ruling over the
nation of Israel, namely, Jehovah himself.
It
would be really very harmful for Israel to have a human representing
them as sovereign king, Samuel, as termed by God, declares the
prerogatives of a king:
10
So Samuel said all the words of Jehovah to the people who were asking
a king of him. 11 And he proceeded to say: “This will become the
rightful due of the king that will reign over YOU: YOUR sons he
will take and put them as his in his chariots and among his horsemen,
and some will have to run before his chariots; 12 and to appoint for
himself chiefs over thousands and chiefs over fifties, and [some] to
do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his war
instruments and his chariot instruments. 13 And YOUR daughters he
will take for ointment mixers and cooks and bakers. 14 And YOUR
fields and YOUR vineyards and YOUR olive groves, the best ones, he
will take and actually give to his servants. 15 And of YOUR fields of
seed and of YOUR vineyards he will take the tenth, and he will
certainly give [them] to his court officials and his servants. 16 And
YOUR menservants and YOUR maidservants and YOUR best herds, and YOUR
asses he will take, and he will have to use them for his work. 17 Of
YOUR flocks he will take the tenth, and YOU yourselves will become
his as servants. 18 And YOU will certainly cry out in that day
by reason of YOUR king, whom YOU have chosen for yourselves, but
Jehovah will not answer YOU in that day.”
What
a burden and a stumbling block to the people would be having a human
king over them! Despite the warnings, that was what they wanted - to
imitate the nations: a human king:
19
However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel
and said: “No, but a king is what will come to be over us.
20 And we must become, we also, like all the nations, and our
king must judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
'No,
but a king is what will come to be over us - like all the
nations'
Indeed,
perhaps the worst decision that the people of Israel had done in all
his history was wanting to have a human king like all the nations.
That
decision led them to their physical and spiritual ruin when Solomon -
the third king over them - apostatized, dividing the kingdom of
Israel in two and when other successors kings led Judah to idolatry,
and finally into exile – what a bad decision!
A
human king was totally unnecessary for those whom had Jehovah himself
for King.
The
problem was their lack of faith to see Jehovah as king over
them – they needed something material, a human institution - human
kings – like all nations.
A
human king was what Satan first established by means of Nimrod
(Babel) - a diabolical arrangement and ,after the deluge , each
nation had its own human king.
So
that the period of absence of a human ruler "sitting" on
the throne of Jehovah in Jerusalem could not mean the end of the
royal representative of Jehovah in Jerusalem for the simple fact that
Jehovah never desired or intended to have a human king seated on
His throne over the nation. It was the people who chose that.
So
although Israel no longer had a human king sitting on the
"throne of Jehovah" after the exile, the nation
turned to be like the days of the judges and the Jews would have to
see by faith Jehovah himself ruling as king over them, in
Jerusalem - the city of the great King.
Thus
the role of Jerusalem in relation to the true worship, representing
God's rulership on earth, remained the same after the exile - the
place where the name of Jehovah was invoked - in his rebuilt holy
Temple. So that Jerusalem was the city whose Owner should always have
been regarded as King over them, the holy city or the city of
Jehovah.
When
Jesus was on earth he recognized that Jerusalem represented God's
rulership or Kingdom, he said about her:
Matthew
5:33-35
33
“Again YOU heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You
must not swear without performing, but you must pay your vows to
Jehovah.’ 34 However, I say to YOU: Do not swear at all, neither by
heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 nor by earth, because it is
the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the
city of the great King
'Jerusalem
is the city of the great King'
Psalms
48:1-2
1
Jehovah is great and much to be praised
In
the city of our God, [in] his holy mountain.
2
Pretty for loftiness, the exultation of the whole earth,
Is
Mount Zion on the remote sides of the north,
The
town of the grand King.
So
in the days of Jesus it is clear that Jerusalem still represented
God's rulership on earth: Jerusalem was His holy city – Matthew
27:53.
Jehovah's
name is intimately connected with His Kingdom and Jerusalem continued
to bear the name of God. No wonder that Jesus himself called her “the
city of the great King”.
Jerusalem
only ceased to represent Jehovah's rulership - the place where His
name was invoked - in 70 CE, when it was destroyed by the Romans,
finally fulfilling ultimately the words of Jesus:
Luke
13:35 “Look! YOUR house is abandoned to YOU”
After
607 BCE Jerusalem was by no means abandoned: the name of God -
Jehovah (therefore His Kingdom) - still resided on it.
Also
consider the following words of Jesus:
43
This is why I say to YOU, The kingdom of God will be taken from
YOU and be given to a nation producing its fruits.
When
the Kingdom of God (as symbolized in Jerusalem) was taken from the
Jews? In 607 BCE?
Not
at all!
In
Jesus' days the Kingdom of God or God's rulership had not yet been
taken off from the Jews, specifically, until then, God's Kingdom was
still in the hands of Jews and was still being represented in
Jerusalem.
The
kingdom of God was taken from the Jews because they did not accept
the Messiah – Luke 19:41
The
problem was not and never was the 'vacant' of a human to sit on the
physical throne in Jerusalem, but what the worship to God had become:
commandment of men. It was exactly to want a human king "sitting
on a throne' that led them to reject the Messiah.
Let
us continue meditating in what Jesus Christ said about Jerusalem or
what he felt for that city.
As
we have already read:
Matthew
5:33-35
33
“Again YOU heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You
must not swear without performing, but you must pay your vows to
Jehovah.’ 34 However, I say to YOU: Do not swear at all, neither by
heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 nor by earth, because it is
the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the
city of the great King
Now
consider also Luke 19:41
41
And when he got nearby, he viewed the city and wept over it,
In
the first text we noted Jesus referring to things (heaven, earth and
Jerusalem) that symbolically represented things of God (the
throne, footstool, city). Jesus said that Jerusalem was the city of
the Great King, that is, Jerusalem was the city of Jehovah, therefore
Jerusalem symbolized God's rulership. (Psalm 48:1,2)
In
the second text we read that Jesus wept over Jerusalem, why so?
Anyone would be amazed to see a man like Jesus crying for something.
The
Bible tells us about another occasion when Jesus wept: death of his
friend Lazarus :
John
11:35-36
35
Jesus gave way to tears. 36 Therefore the Jews began to say: “See,
what affection he used to have for him!”
Thus
we can also conclude that Jesus had plenty of affection for
Jerusalem! - what affection he used to have for her!”
To
better understand why Jesus called Jerusalem "the city of
Jehovah," or even wept over it, we must understand how, since
ancient times, and even in the days of Jesus, a servant of Jehovah
saw or should face this city where the name of Jehovah was invoked.
The
Psalms help us to have a greater insight into the feelings that a
servant of God should have for that place. Let us read some of them:
Psalms
135:21
21
Blessed out of Zion be Jehovah,
Who
is residing in Jerusalem.
Praise
Jah, YOU people!
Psalms
132:13
13
For Jehovah has chosen Zion;
He
has longed for it as a dwelling for himself:
Psalms
149:1-2
1
Praise Jah, YOU people!
Sing
to Jehovah a new song,
His
praise in the congregation of loyal ones.
2
Let Israel rejoice in its grand Maker,
The
sons of Zion—let them be joyful in their King.
Psalms147:12
12
Commend Jehovah, O Jerusalem.
Praise
your God, O Zion.
Psalms
99:1-2
1
Jehovah himself has become king. Let the peoples be agitated.
He
is sitting upon the cherubs. Let the earth quiver.
2
Jehovah is great in Zion,
And
he is high over all the peoples.
Psalms
102:21
21
For the name of Jehovah to be declared in Zion
And
his praise in Jerusalem
Psalms
50:2
2
Out of Zion, the perfection of prettiness, God himself has beamed
forth.
Psalms
76:2
2
And his covert proves to be in Sa´lem itself,
And
his dwelling place in Zion.
Psalms
128:5
5
Jehovah will bless you out of Zion.
See
also the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life,
Psalms
125:2
2
Jerusalem—as mountains are all around it,
So
Jehovah is all around his people
From
now on and to time indefinite.
Thus,
for sharing these same feelings toward Jerusalem, as expressed by
these Psalms above, that is why Jesus said these words below about
this city:
'...Jerusalem...is
the city of the great King' – Matthew 5:35
"...he
viewed the city and wept over it”
Jesus
knew very well what the city of Jerusalem represented here on earth:
"The Kingdom of Jehovah God" – Theocracy – God's
Rulership.
'In
that case, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must take
place this way?'
Now
please consider one of the most important prophecies involving
Jesus and Jerusalem:
Matthew
21:4-10
4
This actually took place that there might be fulfilled what was
spoken through the prophet, saying: 5 “TELL the daughter of
Zion, ‘Look! Your King is coming to you, mild-tempered, and
mounted upon an ass, yes, upon a colt, the offspring of a beast of
burden.’”6 So the disciples got on their way and did just as
Jesus ordered them. 7 And they brought the ass and its colt, and they
put upon these their outer garments, and he seated himself upon them.
8 Most of the crowd spread their outer garments on the road, while
others began cutting down branches from the trees and spreading them
on the road. 9 As for the crowds, those going ahead of him and those
following kept crying out: “Save, we pray, the Son of David!
Blessed is he that comes in Jehovah’s name! Save him, we pray, in
the heights above!”10 Now when he entered into Jerusalem,
the whole city was set in commotion, saying: “Who is this?”
The
King coming in his kingdom:
TELL
the daughter of Zion (Jerusalem personified)
‘Look!
Your King is coming to you
This
prophecy is, as described, fulfilled when Jesus – the king - comes
into his kingdom - as represented by Jerusalem - the daughter of
Zion.
Remember
Psalms 14:7
7
O that out of Zion there were the salvation of Israel!
The
fact is that if Jerusalem no longer represented God's rulership on
earth since 607 BCE, either these same prophecies could be fulfilled!
They would not be able to fulfill.
All
words in these prophecies must necessarily retain the same
information and relevance since when they were written
until their fulfillment. Therefore Jerusalem should
necessarily represent God's rulership on earth in Jesus' day.
In
that case, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that it must take
place this way? (Matthew 26:54)
'This
actually took place that there might be fulfilled what was spoken
'
So
it would be mandatory from prophetical's standpoint both Zion and
Jerusalem retain the same information as they had since the days of
the Psalms, namely, to represent Jehovah's rulership, before and
after 607 BCE.
Such
prophecy stated that only the Kingdom of God - as symbolized by Zion
and Jerusalem - would provide the means of salvation for all. That
was the whole meaning of Jesus, the designated King, come into
Jerusalem - symbol of God's rulership. Or in other words: only God's
rulership [Jerusalem] could provide salvation [ Jesus].
Let
us consider again Matthew 21:43
This
is why I say to YOU, The kingdom of God will be taken from YOU
and be given to a nation producing its fruits.
These
words show that the Jews enjoyed many privileges in Jesus' day:
1)They
had the opportunity to be kings and priests with Jesus in the heavens
– Exodus 19:6, Rev 5:10, Rev 14:1.
2)They
had Jerusalem and its Temple, the holy city (Matthew 4:5, Luke 4:9,
Matthew 5:35), which represented the very Kingdom of God on earth.
3)They
had the Messiah, the king appointed to God's Kingdom - driving toward
the symbolic Kingdom - Jerusalem
So
this nation should have produced its fruits, namely the sons of the
kingdom - the kings and priests.
But
the religious leaders were not interested in a celestial government
(without crowns, turbans, vast territories) - they wanted a political
leader. So they rejected overwhelmingly the Kingdom of God - saying:
"We have no king but Caesar."
That
is why Jesus said to them:
The
kingdom of God will be taken from YOU (all that symbolized The
kingdom of God – Jerusalem included)
According
to that, Jesus amazed said constantly during his ministry: “With no
one in Israel have I found so great a faith”
Meaning
he met people from other nations with more faith than those whose
right and duty should have been the sons of the kingdom.
Read
Matthew 8:10
10
Hearing that, Jesus became amazed and said to those following
him: “I tell YOU the truth, With no one in Israel have I found
so great a faith. 11 But I tell YOU that many from eastern parts
and western parts will come and recline at the table with Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens; 12 whereas the sons
of the kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside. There is
where [their] weeping and the gnashing of [their] teeth will be.”
“the
sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the darkness outside”
That's
exactly what happened to the Jews of that time: they lost the Kingdom
-They no longer would represent the kingdom of God on earth.
Jerusalem would no longer represent it as well
We
comprehend then that it was not for nothing that Jesus 'beheld the
city [of Jerusalem] and wept over it.'
Jerusalem,
that for centuries represented God's rulership on earth, would be
'thrown into the darkness outside' - 'Look! YOUR house is
abandoned to YOU.'
Therefore
we have seen that even after 607 BCE, Jerusalem obligatorily -
because of the Scriptures themselves - maintained its role: a symbol
of God's rulership.
Some
may be bothered by the fact that Jerusalem no longer had an explicit
"human kingship" after 607 BCE. But it was the
implementation of human kings really important?
Remember
that David, who first established his throne in Jerusalem, insisted
that exalted and proclaimed should be not his reign as a human, but
the kingdom of Jehovah himself in Jerusalem.
At
the time he brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, David
proclaimed and exalted:
1
Chronicles 16:31 reads:
'Let
the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be joyful,
And
let them say among the nations, ‘Jehovah himself has become
king!’'
David
recognized that the true king of Jerusalem was Jehovah - Jehovah
did not depend on humans.
Since
the city of Jerusalem itself was the symbol of the Kingdom of God,
not human kings, the latter could be removed without problems once
the real King of Jerusalem is Jehovah himself – Psalms 149:1-2
Jesus
himself, like David, recognized this fact by calling Jerusalem
as “the city of the Great King." - Matthew 5:35
Remember
also that it was the people and not Jehovah who had chosen a human
kingship over them, like the nations, - Jehovah was sad about that:
" it is I whom they have rejected from being king over them"
- 1 Samuel 8:7
Please
reflect further on this question: Was the Kingdom of God, symbolized
in Jerusalem, 'very best represented' on earth when it had a
human-like kingship 'sitting on the throne of God' with a crown and a
turban than the situation of Jerusalem as presented after 607 BCE and
its reconstruction?
To
answer this question please note the actions and deals of some of the
human kings (from the tribe of David) who “sat on the throne of
Jehovah” in Jerusalem:
1
Kings 11:5-7
5
And Sol´o·mon began going after Ash´to·reth the goddess of the
Si·do´ni·ans and after Mil´com the disgusting thing of the
Am´mon·ites. 6 And Sol´o·mon began to do what was bad in the
eyes of Jehovah, and he did not follow Jehovah fully like David
his father.7 It was then that Sol´o·mon proceeded to build a
high place to Che´mosh the disgusting thing of Mo´ab on the
mountain that was in front of Jerusalem, and to Mo´lech
the disgusting thing of the sons of Am´mon.
2
Chronicles 28:1-4
1
Twenty years old was A´haz when he began to reign, and for sixteen
years he reigned in Jerusalem, and he did not do what was
right in Jehovah’s eyes like David his forefather. 2 But he
walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and even molten
statues he made of the Ba´als. 3 And he himself made sacrificial
smoke in the valley of the son of Hin´nom and proceeded to burn up
his sons in the fire, according to the detestable things of the
nations that Jehovah had driven out from before the sons of Israel. 4
And he regularly sacrificed and made sacrificial smoke on the high
places and upon the hills and under every sort of luxuriant tree.
2
Chronicles 33:1-25
1
Twelve years old was Ma·nas´seh when he began to reign, and for
fifty-five years he reigned in Jerusalem.2 And he proceeded to
do what was bad in Jehovah’s eyes, according to the
detestable things of the nations that Jehovah had driven out from
before the sons of Israel. 3 So he built again the high places that
Hez·e·ki´ah his father had pulled down, and set up altars to the
Ba´als and made sacred poles, and he began to bow down to all the
army of the heavens and serve them. 4 And he built altars in
the house of Jehovah, respecting which Jehovah had said: “In
Jerusalem my name will prove to be to time indefinite.” 5 And
he went on to build altars to all the army of the heavens in two
courtyards of the house of Jehovah. 6 And he himself made his own
sons pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hin´nom,
and practiced magic and used divination and practiced
sorcery and made spiritistic mediums and
professional foretellers of events. He did on a grand scale
what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah, to offend him.
Frankly,
Jerusalem has come to represent much better God's rulership after
the removal of human king on her - with the end of human-like
kingship, the Great King of this city would be only Jehovah, after
all, Jerusalem should represent God's rulership, thus nothing better
than Himself reign.
Yet
another point to consider is the mistaken assumption that never again
came to be a human king of the dynasty of David in Jerusalem after
607 BCE. This is not in harmony with the historical reality.
Was
there a king of the tribe of David, who reigned in Jerusalem after
607 BCE?
Consider
the Bible:
Matthew
27:11
11
Jesus now stood before the governor; and the governor put the
question to him: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus
replied: “You yourself say [it].”
Matthew
27:37
37
Also, they posted above his head the charge against him, in
writing: “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.”
Luke
23:3
3
Now Pilate asked him the question: “Are you the king of the
Jews?” In answer to him he said: “You yourself are saying
[it].”
John
19:14
14
... And he said to the Jews: “See! YOUR king!” 15 However,
they shouted: “Take [him] away! Take [him] away! Impale him!”
Pilate said to them: “Shall I impale YOUR king?” The chief
priests answered: “We have no king but Caesar.”
John
19:19
19
Pilate wrote a title also and put it on the torture stake. It was
written: “Jesus the Naz·a·rene´ the King of the Jews.”
Let
us return to the question: was there a king in Jerusalem after 607
BCE from the house of David?
If
we imagine a king must be dressed in soft robes, a turban, with a
crown on his head sitting on a majestic throne in a splendid palace:
the response will be: Take [him] away! Take [him] away! Impale him!
“We have no king but Caesar.”
However,
if a real king for us is related to doing the will of Jehovah, Yes!,
after 607 BCE there was the Greatest King in Jerusalem - Jesus Christ
(Luke 4:17-21 ).
It
is obvious that Jesus' way of exercising his rulership was very
different from the human kings in general.
Jesus
did not reigned as the man who has authority in this world. He was
not interested in political power neither in glory of men.
He
reigned in Jerusalem in the same way that he will rule the kingdom of
heaven:
“For,
look! the kingdom of God is in YOUR midst.”
Matthew
20:25-28
25
But Jesus, calling them to him, said: “YOU know that the rulers of
the nations lord it over them and the great men wield authority over
them. 26 This is not the way among YOU; but whoever wants to
become great among YOU must be YOUR minister, 27 and whoever
wants to be first among YOU must be YOUR slave. 28 Just as the
Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister
and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.”
“Tell
the daughter of Zion [Jerusalem], ‘Look! Your King
[Jesus] is coming to you”
Granted,
Jesus was the greatest king that Jerusalem ever had (this after 607
BCE)!
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