(This article is a study in itself
and is posted in the archive CAP Lessons)
Most students of the Bible
realize that the New Testament quotes from the Old quite often. It does so
several hundred times, actually (2,300 if you count allusions and paraphrases).
From this we can rightly infer that God takes God’s word seriously. But did you
know there is one verse God quotes from himself far more than any
other? I mean way more.
Just for comparison, the second
most frequently-quoted verse is this important doozy: “love you neighbor as
yourself” (Lev. 19:18). This shows up in seven different
places in the NT. The vast majority of other verses quoted appear a couple
times, or only once. But there is one that blows even Leviticus 19:18 away in frequency.
It is this:
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at
my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalm 110:1).
Not only may that seem
surprising, but the numbers will, as well. This verse is quoted or alluded to
23 times in the NT. It is quoted in 11 out of 27 NT books, and by 7 of the
9 NT authors.
Indeed, if we may take just a
little license and judge by such frequency, we may say that Psalm 110:1 is indeed God’s favorite bible
verse.
And since this verse appears over
three times as often as something so important as “love your neighbor as
yourself,” we my consider that its repeated emphasis has some great
importance—perhaps that we’ve overlooked. What could be so important about Psalm 110:1?
The Importance of Psalm 110
The apostolic emphasis on this
verse deserves more attention than it has so far received. In the New Testament
references to this passage we find the determinant keys to Eschatology, or the
doctrine of the future. The resulting ideas we glean from how Peter, Paul, and
others apply Psalm 110 overturn much of the popular
understanding of prophecy and “end times” teaching. A more consistent
understanding will help modern Christians see through popular doom and gloom,
through maniacal apocalyptic hysteria, and instead apprehend an optimism and
goal-oriented Christian life many have not even yet considered.
Psalm 110, simply, teaches that the Lord (Adonai)
shall sit at the right hand of the Almighty (Yaweh), and while the Lord
holds that enthroned position, the Almighty shall vanquish all His enemies (v.
1). This vanquishing occurs through the power of the Lord’s strength
applied in the midst his enemies (in other words, the enthronement of
the Lord does not mean that He sits aloft and disconnected from worldly
affairs, but just the opposite) (v.2) This point receives clarification and
re-emphasis in v. 5. During the time of this enthroned rule, God’s people shall
willingly rally to join and serve him (v. 3). The Lord does not rule as any
ordinary ruler, but as an eternal priest-King like Melchizedek (Melchi-Zedek is
Hebrew for “My King is Righteous”)—a point strongly emphasized of Christ in the
book of Hebrews (v. 4). The Lord-Priest-King engages in the subduing of his
enemies from his enthroned seat, and thus jointly with the Almighty
(v. 5). His rule extends over unbelieving nations and over the heads of
nations; He is truly a King of kings (v. 6). He shall not stop to rest or turn
aside from the way of battle, signifying his dedication to constancy of his
mission until the completion and of the task (v. 7). This is the simple reading
of the text.
The New Testament writers picked
up and applied this simple message as Christ Jesus fulfilled it. Peter
announces that this mission—this enthronement—began when Christ ascended to the
father (Acts. 2:31–36). Thus,
Christ sits on that throne now; the kingdom of God awaits no future
“coming” or “appearance” in order to inaugurate its leader: He has taken his
throne once and for all. Christ clearly had this passage in mind for Himself:
He referred to its divine nature in order to confute the Pharisees (Mt. 22:41–45), and to His immediate session at
God’s right hand in order to announce the coming judgment on the Jerusalem
leaders (Mt. 26:64). These two passages (among many)
suffice to show how Christ fulfilled the enthronement prophecy at His
ascension and session. (The writer of Hebrews makes this clear also—Heb. 1:1–3, 13).
We ought, then, to expect the
rest of the prophecy to flow out from Christ’s very present rule as logically
and consistently as the Almighty says in the Psalm. We in fact do find this as
taught by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. In discussing the reality
and implication of Christ’s victorious resurrection, Paul says the following:
For as in Adam all die, so also
in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first
fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the
end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has
abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has
put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is
death (1 Cor. 15:22–25).
From this we learn that Christ,
in His present reign, will continue His conquest until He completely abolishes
all opposition to His rule. At this point—after He has abolished all rule
and all authority, and not one moment before—He will come and
resurrect His people from the last enemy, death. The writer of Hebrews seconds
this idea that Christ currently reigns, expecting his enemies to be made
his footstool during that heavenly reign (Heb. 10:12–13).
I find this Old Testament
prophecy as interpreted and applied by the New Testament authors to present a
simple and yet challenging view of eschatology. It is simple in how clearly the
apostles lay it out: Christ fulfilled Psalm 110:1, and we currently live in the time
of the historical outworking of the waging of war (Psa. 110:2–7). We should expect—as
Christ currently is expecting (Heb. 10:13)—to experience a gradual and
progressive subduing of His enemies in history. This process shall continue
until He has utterly abolished all opposition. Then, and only then, shall He
come again to resurrect those saints who have died in the interim.
An eschatology not yet under His
feet
Compare this very simple, obvious,
and consistent understanding with the “dispensational” and “premillennial”
views popularized by C. I. Scofield in The Scofield Reference Bible. In
his notes on Psalm 110, “Dr.” Scofield makes a few
fundamental errors, and also skips over the most important aspects. I will
quote his relevant exegetical notes together first, and then deal with his
comments individually. He writes,
The importance of Psalm 110 is attested by the remarkable
prominence given to it in the New Testament. (1) It affirms the deity of Jesus,
thus answering those who deny the full divine meaning of his N.T. title “Lord”
(v. 1; Matt. 22. 41–45; Mk. 12. 35–37; Lk. 20. 41–44; Acts 2. 34, 35; Heb. 1. 13; 10. 12, 13). (2) This Psalm announces the eternal
priesthood of the Messiah—one of the most important statements of Scripture (v.
4; Gen 14. 18, note; 7. 1–28; 1 Tim. 2. 5, 6; John 14. 6). (3) Historically, the Psalm begins with
the ascension of Christ (v. 1; John 20. 17; Acts 7. 56; Rev. 3. 21). (4) Prophetically, the Psalm looks on (a)
to the time when Christ will appear as the Rod of Jehovah’s strength, the
Deliverer out of Zion (Rom. 11. 25–27), and the conversion of Israel (v. 3; Joel 2. 27; Zech 13. 9; See Deut. 30. 1–9, note); and (b) to the judgment
upon the Gentile powers which precedes the setting up of the kingdom (vs. 5, 6;
Joel 3. 9–17; Zech. 14. 1–4; Rev. 19. 11–21). ((C. I. Scofield, The
Scofield Reference Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1945),
645–5n1.))
On points (1) and (2) I
substantially agree. I, in fact, agree with point (3) as well—that this
Scripture began to find fulfillment historically with the ascension of
Christ—which makes for an interesting acknowledgement on Scofield’s part. He
should, however, have included Acts 2:34–35 as a proof text here instead of
under his point (2) only. In Acts 2:32–36, Peter definitively teaches that Psalm 110:1 found its fulfillment in the
ascension and session of Jesus Christ.
Most problematically under points
(3) and (4), his arbitrary and artificial distinction between “historically”
and “prophetically” begs the question of interpretation. From the Psalmist’s
perspective (from which Scofield should have been commenting at this point),
the whole Psalm remained “prophetical,” if we take this term in the sense of
“future.” Even the session of Christ at the Father’s right hand remained far
distant future for him. The arbitrariness appears in where Scofield determines
to draw the line. He accepts Christ’s ascension as fulfilling only verse 1 of the
Psalm, and then leaves the rest of the subduing of the kingdoms as an
ethnic-Israel-centered “prophecy” pertaining only to the distant future. This,
of course, typifies the traditional dispensational system in general. But it
hardly does justice to the Psalm itself, let alone the apostolic writers’
interpretation of it. The more modern “progressive” dispensationalists have
acknowledged the unity of the prophecy in Psalm 110:
Ephesians 1:20–22 and Colossians 3:1 also see Christ seated at the
right hand of God, with the latter passage stressing the fact that all things
are presently in subjection to Him. . . . Peter joins Paul in stressing
the present subjugation of authorities and powers to Him [1 Pet. 3:22]. . . . Some dispensationalists
have argued that the enthronement of Psalm 110:1 took place at the Ascension, but
that the rule of Psalm 110:2 will not
take place until a future time. . . . This interpretation ignores both the
literary context of the remark in the Psalms and the way in which the entire
text is applied to Jesus in the New Testament.1
Scofield’s arbitrary line leads
(or allows?) him to misapply the rest of the Psalm to some future, physical,
Israeli rulership of the world. He thus, in his point (4), separates Christ’s
current enthronement from “the rod of thy strength out of Zion… in the midst of
thine enemies.” He takes this material from Psalm 110:2 to apply only after
Christ’s physical return to earth and not to a present subjugation of His
enemies. This flatly contradicts the apostles (Eph. 1:20–22; 1 Pet. 3:22).
Further, Scofield reduces “Thy
people” in Psalm 110:3 to mean only the Jewish people.
This contradicts the New Testament, which routinely teaches us that God’s
people include both Jew and Gentile (Rom. 2:26–29; Gal. 3:26–29; Eph. 2:13–22), and that these New Testament
people are the inheritors of the Priest-King’s chosen, willing people (1 Pet. 2:9–10; Rev. 1:5–6). Scofield awaits a “conversion of
the Jews” before Christ can execute his conquest upon earth. Meanwhile, Christ
has made “spiritual Jews,” “kings and priests” out of His people worldwide, and
expands His dominion through their faith.
Further following his false
division, Scofield lastly sees a future judgment of the Gentile powers which
must occur before the “setting up of the kingdom.” What I have said so far has
already dispelled these notions; Christ has already taken His throne,
established His kingdom, and presently, currently, progressively, judges those
“Gentile powers.”
This simple Psalm and the clear
interpretation given to it by the apostles must serve as a turning point for
modern Christians. We do not await a future kingdom. We do not await
a completely future conquest by Christ. Rather, Christ has established His
kingdom. He has all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). We stand in the midst of
the conquest. Some of it awaits completion, but it is initiated and ongoing right
now.
An often overlooked and somewhat
obscure reference appears in the last verse of Psalm 110. Verse 7 says of our conquering
Priest-King, He will drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift
up the head. The Geneva Bible comments, “Under this similitude of a captain
that is so greedy to destroy his enemies, that he will not scarce drink by
the way, he showeth how God will destroy his enemies.” In other words, this
warring, conquering King will not leave the path of his battle even to refresh
himself. He will drink in the very way, and not leave to go by
the way. He will not let up one moment in His mission, nor turn aside until He
has accomplished it.
Following this example of our
Messiah, Christians should not let anything distract them from the progressing
kingdom of God. Our conquering King rules now and subdues more according to His
will and power daily. We should not let false divisions and interpretations of
Scripture distract us from His way; so many have left the way in order to drink
from the brooks of Scofield and his followers. We must return to the battle as
Christ has enjoined it, as the apostles understood it, and as the people of God
have progressively expanded so far.
Endnotes:
1.
Craig Blaising and Darrell L. Bock, Progressive
Dispensationalism (BridgePoint, 1993), 178, 312n7.(
God’s favorite
Bible verse
God’s favorite
Bible verse