The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Psalm 2: Jesus Will Reign

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In the previous part of this study on Psalm 2, we looked at verse 5 for the second reason why God is laughing at His enemies. Today I’ll look at verse 6 for the third reason why God is laughing at His enemies.

A Coming Reign

Psalm 2:5 – “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

The passage in Psalm 2 indicates a third reason that God is laughing. God explains it by saying, “As for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion My holy mountain” (Psalm 2:6).

The wording here is very interesting. God speaks of a future event — the Millennial reign of Jesus — as if it were an accomplished historical fact. This strange manner of speaking of the future as if it were past is a very common feature of Bible prophecy — so common, in fact, that theologians have coined a word for it. They call it “proleptic” speech.

Such speech is particularly characteristic of God in the Scriptures. The reason is that God is not in time as we are. We are on a time line. We have a past, a present, and a future. God is outside of time. If He wills something, it is accomplished, whether or not it has yet happened in history as we know it.

Take for example the crucifixion of Jesus. We think of it as happening 2,000 years ago on the outskirts of Jerusalem — and it did, as we perceive time. But when did the crucifixion take place as God sees time? The Bible says that Jesus was slain “from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8) because that is when God willed it.

The proleptic principle is best expressed by God Himself in 2 Kings 19:25 — “Have you not heard? Long ago I did it; from ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass.”

But let’s get back to our point. The point is that God sits in the heavens and laughs at the rebellious kingdoms of the earth because He has ordained that one day soon His Son will return as “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16) to reign over all the earth and bring it into submission to God’s perfect will (Isaiah 9:6-7).

An Unfulfilled Promise

How do we know this is a proleptic statement — that although it is stated in the past tense, it is a promise yet to be fulfilled? The answer is obvious — namely, there is no fulfillment in history. Does Jesus reign today as King of kings from Mount Zion in Jerusalem? Has He ever?

There are those who argue that He is spiritually reigning over the nations of the earth. If so, then He is doing a very poor job, for the earth is dominated by evil rebellion against God.

When you consider what the Bible says will be the characteristics of the Lord’s reign over the earth, it is easy to see that the reign is yet future. Isaiah 11 says the reign will be characterized by righteousness, fairness, and faithfulness. Are these the characteristics of national governments today? In that same chapter Isaiah says “the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). How could anyone argue that such a prophecy has been fulfilled? The promise of God in Psalm 2 that His Son will one day rule over all the earth is yet future. The King is coming! The kings of the earth are living on borrowed time. They plot and connive, but their fate is sealed. So, God sits in the heavens and laughs.

In the next part of this study on Psalm 2, I’ll look at verses 7-9 and Jesus’ glorious proclamation.

[Watch on Christ in Prophecy!]

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Dr. David Reagan

Dr. David Reagan is the Founder and Evangelist Emeritus of Lamb & Lion Ministries. He is a life-long Bible student, teacher, and preacher and he led over 45 pilgrimages to Israel. Dr. Reagan was the host of the radio then television program Christ in Prophecy for nearly 40 years.

5 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • Recently there was a poll on changes/additions wanted on this site.

    Any results? Anything to happen?

    Thanks.

  • The poll results were inconclusive because we had almost a 10% vote in every category, including the one to "leave it be."

    I've decided to add more verse-by-verse, which you see with the current series.

    I will address more current events, too. Only problem with addressing current events is that there are plenty of professional news sites already out there, and every analysis of an event would end up, "Yup, the signs show the Rapture is coming soon." No offense to the other prophecy teachers out there, but their articles always conclude just like that. And so, I'm hesitant to go into news too much without sounding stale, making the Rapture seem like it's always yet one more step away.

  • I'll stick with Dr.David's definition of 'proleptic'
    I could have left well enough alone, since the Bible is the best "dictionary" on giving the meanings and understandings of the things that it's describing.

    However, I was just curious what kind of definitions the 'world' had for 'proleptic'… A lot of strange defs that'll make your head hurt, no direct biblical refs, only a couple ones of future events that could be used in a biblical sense…

    Word Origin & History… And, as 'fate' would have it, as I was reading and pondering some of the strange definitions given at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/proleptic, under "Word Origin & History" — prolepsis: 1577, "the taking of something future as already done or existing,"
    [specifically at Def. #3]:
    "3. the use of a descriptive word in anticipation of its becoming applicable."
    It suddenly occurred to me; Do you have any idea what that means?!?

    According to that definition, the decision, in 1577, to use the word 'proleptic' to describe a 'proleptic event' [becoming applicable] is, in and of itself, 'proleptic'!!!
    Bwaaaahaaahaaha!
    I crack myself up! Bwaaaaahaaaaahaaaha!!!
    And, of course, the blogsphere doesn't have an acronym for: "Wiping Tears From the Eyes" WTFE, or "Holding Splitting Sides" HSS, do they?
    😀

  • but Nathan, the rapture is "just one step away";) actually i agree with you on that, the only exception being if a major event occurs, like a real major one, then its appropiate to cover it even tho everyone else does too.

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