This is a continuation of our discussion that is found here. We encourage the readers to consult that particular article before reading this one.

What we intend to do here is to provide further evidence from the Hebrew Bible that the Messiah is God Almighty who comes to sit on his throne in the midst of the nations.

The Messiah as Israel’s Only King and Shepherd

God’s inspired Word, the Holy Bible (specifically the Hebrew Scriptures), says that in the latter days there will be one King and one Shepherd who is called David.

"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken." Ezekiel 34:20-24

"I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms…. My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever." Ezekiel 37:22, 24-28

Two other passages speak of the people turning to and serving David their king:

"Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them." Jeremiah 30:9

"For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days." Hosea 3:4-5

One possible meaning of the words "raise up" is that God in the latter days will physically resurrect David in order to rule over the people.

The main objection to this interpretation is that there are other passages that speak of God bringing forth his servant, the Branch, to rule on the throne:

"‘Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.’" Zechariah 3:8-9

"The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak. Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two." The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the LORD. Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the LORD your God.’" Zechariah 6:9-15

As we will show a little later, the Branch is the name given to a specific descendant of David whom God will place on his father’s throne.

With this being the case, it seems more likely that David is one of the names of this specific King since he will be like his father David. The inspired writers seem to be indicating through their use of the name David that the historical David served as a type or shadow of this One who is coming to sit on David’s throne forever.

The following Psalm also refers to this King and expressly says that his rule lasts indefinitely:

"Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son (or the son of the king) with your righteousness. He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him." Psalm 72:1-11

The Hebrew Bible further predicts that this royal Son would come riding on a donkey and bringing salvation:

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth." Zechariah 9:9-10

Another prophetic writing mentions a Son of Man who rules forever over the peoples of the world:

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." Daniel 7:13-14

When we piece all of these Scriptures together it seems pretty certain that David, the Son of Man and the Branch are all titles and names of one and the same Person, namely the Son of David who comes bringing salvation to the people.

The book of Daniel provides substantiation for this view since it refers to the Messiah as King or Ruler:

"Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." Daniel 9:25-27

And, as most readers already know, the Anointed One or Messiah is a title for the Son of David whom the Jews have been waiting for.

Amazingly, the prophet says that this Messiah Ruler will be cut off or killed even though he is supposed to rule forever! The only way for the Messiah to rule forever, despite being killed, is if God resurrects him from the dead. More on this later.

Yahweh is Israel’s Only King and Shepherd

In the previous section we saw that the Hebrew Bible teaches that the Messiah Son of David will be Israel’s sovereign ruler and shepherd who reigns forever. The amazing part about this is that the Hebrew Bible also says that it is Yahweh who reigns forever as the sole, universal King of all. Compare, for instance, what the following OT passages say with what we read above regarding the Messiah:

"The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name… Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain." Zechariah 14:9, 16-17

What the prophet Zechariah meant by Yahweh and his name being one is that Yahweh will hold sole authority over the world as the one King of the entire earth when he comes to dwell in Jerusalem, in Zion, during the latter days.

Zechariah isn’t the only prophet who spoke of Yahweh coming to reign in Jerusalem. For instance, here is what the prophet Isaiah wrote:

"Terror and pit and snare await you, O people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again. In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously." Isaiah 24:17-23

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that in the latter days the Israelites will no longer seek after the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized God’s presence and his throne among them, since Yahweh himself will come to rule in Jerusalem:

"‘Return, faithless people,’ declares the LORD, ‘for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘men will no longer say, "The ark of the covenant of the LORD." It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance.’" Jeremiah 3:14-18

Another prophet, a contemporary of Jeremiah, envisioned a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem where there would be a throne for God to come and occupy:

"Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple. He said: ‘Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet. This is where I WILL LIVE among the Israelites FOREVER. The house of Israel will never again defile my holy name—neither they nor their kings—by their prostitution and the lifeless idols of their kings at their high places.’" Ezekiel 43:1-7

"Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. The LORD said to me, ‘This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it. The prince himself is the only one who may sit inside the gateway to eat in the presence of the LORD. He is to enter by way of the portico of the gateway and go out the same way.’ Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown." Ezekiel 44:1-4

Amazingly, earlier in the book Ezekiel had a vision where he saw Yahweh’s glory manifested in the form of a man sitting on the throne:

"Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking." Ezekiel 1:26-28

At the conclusion of our article we shall see why this is significant.

In light of the message of these inspired prophets that Yahweh is coming to live and rule in Jerusalem, it is little wonder that Jerusalem herself will be called "The Lord is there":

"The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on will be: ‘The LORD is There.’" Ezekiel 48:35

But this puts before us a dilemma. How can the prophets teach that the Messianic King will be Israel’s sole Ruler and Shepherd who reigns forevermore when Yahweh is supposed to be the only eternal King who shepherds and rules the world forever?

As if this wasn’t confusing enough, this next passage says that both Yahweh and David’s sons, particularly the Messiah, will rule forever!

"For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your anointed one. The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke: ‘One of your own descendants I will place on your throne- if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne for ever and ever.’ For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: ‘This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it- I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food. I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will ever sing for joy. Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one. I will clothe his enemies with shame, but the crown on his head will be resplendent.’" Psalm 132:10-18

The fact that David’s sons would rule forever is reiterated in the following Psalm:

"You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, "I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations."’ Selah … Once you spoke in a vision, to your faithful people you said: ‘I have bestowed strength on a warrior; I have exalted a young man from among the people. I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him. My hand will sustain him; surely my arm will strengthen him. No enemy will subject him to tribute; no wicked man will oppress him. I will crush his foes before him and strike down his adversaries. My faithful love will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. I will set his hand over the sea, his right hand over the rivers. He will call out to me, "You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior." I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure. If his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness— and I will not lie to David- that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.’ Selah" Psalm 89:3-4, 19-37

Again, how can you have both God and the Son of David ruling forever in Jerusalem when there is supposed to be one King and one Shepherd?

The Dilemma Resolved

The Hebrew Bible provides the answer to this dilemma: the Messiah is actually God Almighty who comes to fulfill the promises made to David that his sons will rule forever on the throne by becoming a man from the line of David.

In substantiation of our claim we have the prophet Isaiah predicting that a child would be born to sit on David’s throne forever. The amazing part about this is that Isaiah’s statements show that this won’t be any ordinary child:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this." Isaiah 9:6-7

Isaiah identifies the child as the Mighty God, the very name which the prophet gives to Yahweh God in the next chapter!

"In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God." Isaiah 10:20-21

Thus, we have the Mighty God himself coming to be born as a babe in order to reign on David’s throne forever!

Isaiah wasn’t the only one to make such an astonishing assertion since he is followed by the prophet Jeremiah who announced that:

"‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD (YHWH) Our Righteousness.’" Jeremiah 23:5-6

And:

"‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David's line; he will do what is just and right in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD (YHWH) Our Righteousness. For this is what the LORD says: "David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices."’ The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ‘This is what the LORD says: "If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore."’ The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: ‘Have you not noticed that these people are saying, "The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose"? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. This is what the LORD says: "If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed laws of heaven and earth, then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them."’" Jeremiah 33:14-26

Jeremiah speaks of a Branch from the line of David who comes to fulfill God’s promise that David will not fail to have one of his sons ruling on the throne over Israel. The astonishing part about this Branch is that he is no ordinary man since Jeremiah says that his name is Yahweh our Righteousness! In other words, the Branch is not just a human descendant of David but he is also Yahweh God who comes to vindicate and justify his people.

Also recall that previously we had cited Jeremiah 30:9 to show that God would raise up David to be king over Israel. Yet here, in these texts, it is the Branch of David whom God raises up to rule over his people. This supports our contention that the name David doesn’t refer to the historical king of Israel, but is a title pointing to the coming Son of David, the Messiah.

We now have the answer and solution to the dilemma. According to the Hebrew Scriptures, the Messiah is Yahweh God Almighty who became the Son of Man by being born into the line of David in order to rule on David’s throne forever, thereby fulfilling God’s promise to David that he will not fail to have a man to reign on his throne forever!

And since Christians and Muslims both believe that Jesus is the Messiah this means that Jesus is Yahweh God Almighty who became the Son of David through his virgin birth, and therefore became the Son of Man, in order to rule on David’s throne forever, thereby fulfilling God’s promise to Christ’s human ancestor that he would not fail to have a man from his line to sit on the throne:

"But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ ‘I am,’ said Jesus. ‘And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’" Mark 14:61-62

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left." Matthew 25:31-33

"But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’ ‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.’" Luke 1:30-35

"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’" Acts 7:55-56

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 1:1-4

Jesus’ resurrection further explains and makes sense out of the prophet Daniel’s prediction that the Messiah would be cut off or killed even though he is supposed to live and rule forever. The Messiah was killed at his first coming via crucifixion and then raised by God to live an immortal and indestructible life as Lord and King:

"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him… But he [David] was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."’ Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Acts 2:22-24, 30-36

"For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life… Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." Hebrews 7:14-16, 24-25

"The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man." Hebrews 8:1-2

The identification of the Messiah as Yahweh is further supported by the fact that the Messiah performs the very functions which the Hebrew Scriptures ascribe to God. Compare, for example, the following roles and works which both Yahweh and the Messiah share in common:

"Without inquiry he shatters the mighty and sets up others in their place." Job 34:24

"Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins." Psalm 68:21

"Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance." Psalm 82:8

"Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns.’ The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity… they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth." Psalm 96:10, 13

"let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity." Psalm 98:9

"He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including the tribe of his inheritance— the LORD Almighty is his name. ‘You are my war club, my weapon for battle— with you I shatter nations, with you I destroy kingdoms, with you I shatter horse and rider, with you I shatter chariot and driver, with you I shatter man and woman, with you I shatter old man and youth, with you I shatter young man and maiden, with you I shatter shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter governors and officials." Jeremiah 51:19-23

Yahweh possesses the earth, inherits the nations, judges the peoples, and shatters kings to pieces, the very things said of the Messiah:

"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One (the Messiah). ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’ The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, ‘I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.’" Psalm 2:1-9

"The LORD says to my Lord (Adoni): ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion; you will rule in the midst of your enemies. Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy majesty, from the womb of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth. The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’ The Lord (Adonai) is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. He will drink from a brook beside the way; therefore he will lift up his head." Psalm 110:1-7

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist… In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious." Isaiah 11:1-5, 10

In Psalm 110, the Psalter’s Lord is the One who is at Yahweh’s right hand and crushes the kings of the earth and judges the nations, which agrees perfectly with what Psalm 2 says about God’s Anointed King. Interestingly, verse 5 of Psalm 110 identifies this King at God’s right hand as Adonai, a Divine name or title used primarily of Yahweh. This, again, substantiates the fact that the Anointed King is more than a man since he is God as well, which explains why he is able to perform the same functions of Yahweh.

Not surprisingly, the NT applies the language of Psalms 2, 110 and Isaiah 11 to the Lord Jesus:

"While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, ‘How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: "The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’" David himself calls him "Lord." How then can he be his son?’ The large crowd listened to him with delight.’" Mark 12:35-37

"which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:20-21

"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming." 2 Thessalonians 2:8

"and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him." 1 Peter 3:21-22

"Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’" Revelation 6:15-17

"She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne… Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.’" Revelation 12:5, 10

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. ‘He will rule them with an iron scepter.’ He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." Revelation 19:11-16

As if this weren’t amazing enough, the prophet Zechariah speaks of Yahweh sending Yahweh to live and reign in Zion!

"Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!’ For this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye- I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty HAS SENT ME. Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. FOR I AM COMING, AND I WILL LIVE AMONG YOU,’ declares the LORD. ‘Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become MY people. I WILL LIVE AMONG YOU and you will know that the LORD Almighty HAS SENT ME to you. The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.’" Zechariah 2:7-13

We thus have two distinct Persons who are Yahweh God, one Yahweh who sends and the other Yahweh who is sent to live among the people!

Zechariah further sees Yahweh descending upon the Mount of Olives with his feet and splitting it in half:

"A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day HIS FEET will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him." Zechariah 14:1-5

According to the NT Jesus is the One who will descend upon the Mount of Olives with all his saints or holy ones:

"After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.’" Acts 1:9-12

The statements of the two men (who happen to be angels) indicate that Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives since this is the place from where he ascended! And:

"May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones." 1 Thessalonians 3:13

What the above passages show us is that when Zechariah spoke of Yahweh sending Yahweh to descend upon the Mount of Olives and dwell with the people he was actually speaking of the risen and immortal Lord Jesus Christ descending from heaven in his glorified body at his second coming! In other words, Zechariah was referring to the glorified and resurrected Jesus returning to Jerusalem to rule as the one, universal King of the earth since Jesus is the Yahweh he had seen by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Hence, much like Yahweh appeared to Ezekiel in the form of a man sitting on his throne Yahweh will again appear as a man at the end of the age. But this time it won’t simply be a human form that he temporarily assumes but a genuine flesh and bone physical body which he permanently has by virtue of the fact that he has become an actual human being in the Person of the Man Christ Jesus!

Come Lord Jesus, come! We confess and believe that you are Yahweh God the Son, the eternal King and exalted Son of Man who reigns on David’s throne forever and ever! Amen.

Recommended Reading

http://www.branchofdavid.org/teachings6.htm#one%20God
http://www.branchofdavid.org/teachings.htm
http://kingmessiahproject.com/rrj_deity_of_messiah.html
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/psalm110_1.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Shamoun/luke_preexistence.htm

Articles by Sam Shamoun
Answering Islam Home Page