The concept of the Millennial Kingdom refers to the belief that Jesus Christ will return to earth and establish a literal 1,000 year kingdom during which He will reign as King. This belief is based on certain passages in the Bible, particularly Revelation 20:1-6 which describes a 1,000 year period where Satan is bound and saints reign with Christ.
Within this Millennial Kingdom theology, there is debate among Christians regarding who exactly will reign alongside Jesus during this future 1,000 year period. Some believe only resurrected saints will reign, while others argue Old Testament saints like David will also reign despite not yet having resurrected bodies.
So what does the Bible say about whether King David will reign with Jesus during the Millennial Kingdom? There are reasonable arguments on both sides of this issue. Here is an overview of the key biblical evidence and interpretive considerations.
The Case for David Reigning with Jesus
There are several passages which suggest David will have a key leadership role during the Millennial Kingdom:
- God’s covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:12-16) promises that David’s throne and kingdom will be established forever. This seems most completely fulfilled by David reigning with Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom.
- Multiple prophecies speak of David ruling over Israel again someday (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5). Since these prophecies weren’t completely fulfilled prior to Christ’s first coming, many believe they point to the Millennial Kingdom.
- Ezekiel 37:24-28 describes David as prince under Christ in a future era when God’s tabernacle is set among His people.
- In Luke 1:32-33, the angel Gabriel tells Mary that Jesus will inherit the throne of David and reign over Israel forever. This implies Jesus will restore David’s throne in the Millennial Kingdom.
- In Revelation 5:10 and 20:6, reigning with Christ is connected to the concept of a kingdom of priests. Old Testament priests had to descend from Levi. Some believe the priestly reign could imply davidic reign as well, since Jesus descended from both Levi and David.
Based on these passages, many Bible students over history have concluded that David will reign under Jesus during the Millennial Kingdom. As an example, John Walvoord, a respected 20th century theologian, wrote:
“According to the Scriptures, David will reign with Christ after His second coming…David will have a prominent place in the millennial kingdom when Christ will reign on earth.” (Israel in Prophecy, p. 127-128)
This view argues that God’s covenants and prophecies regarding David point to a future literal kingdom on earth where both Jesus and David will reign. Christ sitting on David’s throne in the Millennium would fulfill God’s covenant promise that David’s throne and kingdom would be established forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
The Case Against David Reigning with Jesus
However, there are also reasonable arguments against David reigning with Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom:
- Nowhere does Scripture explicitly state that David will reign with Christ in the Millennium. It requires piecing together various inferences and implications.
- Texts about reigning with Christ (such as Revelation 5:10 and 20:6) do not mention David, only saints/priests in general.
- All Old Testament saints seem to await the resurrection to receive their eternal reward (Hebrews 11:39-40; Daniel 12:2). Would David reign in an intermediate unglorified body?
- Jesus and New Testament authors apply some prophecies about David to Jesus, not a future millennial David (Luke 1:32-33; Acts 2:25-31).
- The throne and reign of David’s greater Son, Jesus, has already been inaugurated (Luke 1:32-33; Acts 2:29-36). Will it be inaugurated again?
Based on these considerations, amillennial and some premillennial theologians argue that these prophecies about David will be completely fulfilled by Jesus alone reigning on David’s throne in the eternal state, without David himself present.
As an example, theologian Kim Riddlebarger argues:
“Jesus fulfills all that was promised to David…We need no future millennial kingdom in which David supposedly rules with Christ from Jerusalem to insist that God keeps his promises.” (A Case for Amillennialism, p.121-122)
This view emphasizes that the New Testament already sees prophecies about David fulfilled in Jesus. There is no explicit statement about David reigning in the future Millennium. Any reign of the saints with Christ will be in resurrected form in the eternal state.
Key Considerations in this Debate
In evaluating these competing viewpoints, several interpretive issues arise:
- How are Old Testament promises and prophecies understood in light of New Testament fulfillment in Christ? Amillennialists emphasize that New Testament revelation must guide our understanding of promises like 2 Samuel 7:12-16. Premillennialists argue neither the New Testament nor history show complete fulfillment of these Old Testament prophecies about David’s reign.
- What is the nature of the Millennial Kingdom – is it part of mortal history or the eternal state? If the Millennial Kingdom is an intermediate period that blends mortal history and eternity, an unresurrected David could plausibly reign. If it is fully part of immortal eternity, glorified resurrection would seem necessary to reign.
- Does Revelation teach two bodily resurrections or one general resurrection? The premillennial two-resurrection sequence allows for Old Testament saints like David being resurrected to reign at Christ’s return. The amillennial understanding sees Revelation 20 as recapitulating the general resurrection of Daniel 12:2, with no intermediate kingdom.
- How are we to interpret Old Testament prophecy – literally/typologically or primarily typologically? More literal interpreters expect a future Davidic reign on earth. More typological interpreters see Davidic prophecy ultimately fulfilled in Christ alone.
These hermeneutical considerations underlie the divergent approaches to this issue. Reasonable biblical scholars differ on how best to synthesize Old Testament prophecies, New Testament fulfillment, and the hints we have about the Millennial Kingdom.
Implications of This Debate
What one concludes about David reigning with Jesus does not directly impact core doctrines like salvation by grace. But it does relate to other areas of theology:
- Kingdom theology – Historic premillennialism sees Old Testament promises pointing to an intermediate kingdom reign of Jesus on earth. Amillennialism emphasizes Jesus inaugurating David’s kingdom at His first coming.
- Resurrection theology – Historic premillennialism proposes a two-phase bodily resurrection sequence. Other views hold to a singular general resurrection.
- Hermeneutics – Approaches to Old Testament prophecy interpretation factor prominently in this debate.
- Israel and the church – Views that distinguish Israel and the church tend to expect a future Davidic reign over Israel. Views that see the church fulfilling Israel’s promises spiritually do not.
This issue also relates more broadly to how OT and NT revelation are synthesized and to conceptualizations of the kingdom of God and afterlife.
Conclusion
There are reasonable biblical arguments on both sides regarding whether David will reign with Jesus during a future Millennial Kingdom on earth.
Key considerations include how we synthesize OT prophecy and NT fulfillment, the nature of the Millennial Kingdom period, approaches to interpreting prophecy, and understandings of the resurrection sequence. Sincere, thoughtful believers can and do come to different conclusions regarding the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises to King David.
Further study and debate may shed more light on this issue. But for now, there is no definitive biblical proof either way. Faithful Christians can interpret the Scriptural evidence differently yet charitably. Our shared hope remains fixed on eternal life and reign in Christ forever.