David's Dynasty

After Noah and his family left the ark, God set the rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant with all living creatures not to flood the world again. Ever since, John Ritenbaugh explains, God has been providing additional signs, particularly those that promise that He will provide a Savior and Redeemer to free mankind from its bondage to sin and death.

John Ritenbaugh, rehearsing our father Abraham's thought processes as he contemplated God's "I will" promises to him, concluded that Abraham realized he would be long dead before their fruition in the fullness of time. Nevertheless, he realized he needed those unspecified blessings applied to him, blessings that would apply to a descendant far greater than himself, a descendant which would be the source of the blessing—the Lord reincarnate, with whom Abraham had been communicating. Abraham realized that his descendant could not possibly be a mere human being, but the Creator Himself. Both Abraham and his descendent David reached the same conclusion, perceiving that fulfilment would be far into the future. Further, they both realized the promised seed (originally proclaimed to Eve, beginning a lineage from Seth to Abram, Isaac and Jacob) would be born into their family line. God promised Abraham that all peoples of the earth would be blessed by him, including those non-Israelite gentile peoples who would be grafted into the commonwealth of spiritual Israel though God's special calling, followed by receiving the Holy Spirit, becoming holy seed within the dynasty of Jesus Christ. No one is physically born into this family, but must be separated spiritually from the rest of the world by a special calling from God.

Richard Ritenbaugh, asserting that the history of the United States, compared to the mother country Great Britain, is relatively brief, holds that it is nevertheless well-documented by extremely literate Founding Fathers (Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, etc.), many of whom had a grasp of classical and modern languages. We have a superabundance of their lucid, learned writings in letters, diaries, and official documents, laying bare their goals and aspirations. Sadly, liberal 'progressive' American educators, instead of going back to the primary sources for historical information, create 'redacted,' distorted, hopelessly twisted misinformation, deliberately casting a gloomy shadow on the goals of the Founding Fathers, ridiculing any notion of American exceptionalism. Liberal 'progressive' historians want to focus on blemishes and social problems such as slavery (racism) and women's suffrage (feminism), and imperialism, denigrating any noble and upright motivations our nation may have had. The writings of the founders serve as the foundation for the concept of the American Republic and a Constitution limiting the corrosive power of the Federal government. Historically and spiritually speaking, the beginning of things set the stage for what comes after. Our parents Adam and Eve did not put up much of a struggle resisting sin; unfortunately, we do not either. We are weak and subject to temptation from evil spiritual forces. Thankfully, Almighty God, in the first chapters of Genesis unfurls His plan to call out a spiritual family created in His image. God wants us to learn events, personalities, and principles before they were sullied by subsequent damaging events. As God's called-out ones, we are obligated to follow the lead of our righteous forebears Abraham and Sarah, pursuing righteousness and yielding to God's shaping power. The theme of Psalm 78 is to go back, recalling God's past acts and works, learn the lessons from them, and repent, with the recurring motif: "God acts; Israel rebels; God responds; God

Richard Ritenbaugh, after reviewing the parallels of the five books of the Psalms with the five summary psalms at the conclusion, the five seasons, the five books of the Megillot, and the five books of the Torah (or Pentateuch), affirms that recurring patterns and themes can be seen throughout the psalms and throughout the entirety of scripture. Book one, parallel with the spring season, occurring during the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, focus on the Messianic prophecies, revealing God's plan to redeem Israel by crushing the serpent's head (emblematic of totally obviating the power of Satan the adversary) by establishing a dynasty of kings from the house of David (safeguarding the scepter in the tribe of Judah) to the ultimate fulfillment in Shiloh (code word for Messiah - the Lawgiver, Peacemaker, Redeemer, King of all peoples) who will establish God's Kingdom forever. The prophecies in Isaiah 9:6-7 and Jeremiah 23:5-6 reveal the identity of a child born to become a scion or Branch (simultaneously a root and shoot) of David, the Prince of Peace, Mighty God, having all of the governments upon His shoulders, ultimately turning them all over to God the Father. David, in his prophetic psalms (especially Psalm 22) did not experience the full measure of suffering he described, but served as a prophet (along with Isaiah and Jeremiah), graphically portraying the agony that would befall his offspring. When Christ divested Himself of His divinity and power, He was temporarily a little lower than the angels, a vulnerable human being like us, but nevertheless in continuous prayerful contact with God the Father, having a full measure of Holy Spirit, enabling Him to focus on the enormous task set before Him to raise up a group of saints to follow Him as first fruits. Christ continually expressed delight in His church, His affianced Bride, whom He loves passionately and with whom He wants to share His inheritance. As Christ ascended to the Father, those He left behind continued His work, writing the Gospels and

Martin Collins, cuing in on an article which poses the question, "Why does not mainstream Christianity attract more men?" affirms that most mainstream churches have become feminized, with many men who may call themselves "Christian" feeling bored and disengaged from the component they really need—namely, real masculine leadership. Their malaise is a result of suave metro-sexual pastors who are "ripping women off" by making the church too much about nurturing and caring and relationships. Every nation which has descended from Israel has experienced a steady decline of lack of masculinity in leaders. Biblical examples reveal that even our patriarchs, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had serious deficits in masculine leadership regarding child-rearing practices. David, a man after God's own heart, for the most part, was a flop at child-rearing, being far too lenient and indulgent, but finally coming to his senses when he gave Solomon instructions for leading Israel. Masculine leadership has little to do with marriage and fathering children. Rather it is most clearly demonstrated by men who embrace God's commandments, love and protect their wives rather than abnegating authority to them and, finally, point their children to a love of God's truth. David's final words to Solomon, mirroring Moses' final words to Joshua, were to be strong and courageous, walking perpetually in God's laws and statutes, promising that, if he would do so, there would never lack a man on the throne of Israel. Manhood is defined by God, not by some kind of macho rite of passage established by man's culture. If men in God's church cannot love their wives and take charge of the education of their offspring, instructing them to fear and respect God, leading by example rather than mere words, they are not qualified to be leaders or overseers in the church nor kings and priests in God's Kingdom. As the world degenerates, true masculine leadership as defined by God will be increasingly needed.

Richard Ritenbaugh shows that, at the time surrounding the birth of Jesus, there existed considerable messianic fervor. Simeon the priest, Anna the prophetess, and many others, including the Samaritans, were looking for the Messiah. Andrew and his brother Peter were looking for the Messiah and were prepared to follow Him instantaneously. There were many prophecies of the Messiah, included the ousting of oppressors, the evil Edomites, and the permanent establishment of David's dynasty and the Kingdom of God forever. Without God's Spirit, people would pick and choose from the prophecies, concentrating on the militant aspects of the Messiah's work, but ignoring the other aspects of the Messiah's work. The Jews were looking for a military leader like Jehu, a furious, hasty, callous, impetuous man with a temper, having as his express purpose, totally eradicating the legacy of Jezebel. Jehu's campaign proved to demonstrate blood-thirstiness and wrath, but he did not heed the law of God. Consequently, peace did not accrue, but he isolated Israel for its ultimate fall, a fall which Israel would not recover from until Calvary

Martin G. Collins:  In Part One, we saw that God's scepter promise, given to the tribe of Judah in Genesis 49:10, descended from monarch to monarch of the royal house of David. ...

Martin G. Collins:  From early times, a staff or scepter has indicated secular or religious authority. Scepters were used in Egypt as early as the fifteenth century BC and in Cyprus as early as the twelfth century BC. ...

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John Ritenbaugh, after going through the history of Israel's incremental rejection of God's authority and putting themselves under the yoke of Satan's political system, asserts that God is establishing a spiritual kingdom from the dynasty of David, having Christ at the head installed beginning with the seventh trump when He will unleash the power of His Kingdom against the kingdoms of the world. Those who hear the good news of the Kingdom of God and respond to it (entering a covenant with God to become a part of it) are in the process of being built into a spiritual house that is also a royal priesthood (2 Peter 2:9). This royal dynasty will govern a holy nation bearing governmental rule over the earth as kings under Christ.