`I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever,

and build up thy throne to all generations' (Psa. 89:3,4).

`As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of

David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto Me.

Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of

heaven and earth; then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant' (Jer. 33:22,25,26).

The important thing to notice is that like the Abrahamic covenant, this one is `for ever' and it is also unconditional.

This must mean that the kingdom or rule over Israel, will never be taken from David's posterity, in spite of

interruptions or chastisement for failure. In Psalm 89, the Lord's words are definite:

`My covenant will I not break, nor alter the things that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness

that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before Me' (verses 34-37).

The promise is further confirmed in the following Scriptures which should be read and noticed by the student of the

Word: Isaiah 9:6,7; Jeremiah 23:5,6; 30:14-17,20,21; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Hosea 3:4,5; Amos 9:11.

In connection with God's unconditional promise to David of a seed who should occupy his throne for ever, we

must note one thing. God did not guarantee that any of David's posterity would occupy that throne continuously.

There would be breaks, and history has shown this, but David's line will never be lost. This does not depend upon

man with all his limitations of knowledge, but on the unchanging Word, and the almighty power and purpose of

The amillennialist spiritualises and asserts that Christ's present session in heaven fulfils this covenant with

David. But Scripture makes perfectly clear that during this age the Lord Jesus Christ is seated on the Father's

throne in heaven and by no stretch of imagination can this refer to the throne of David on earth.

G.N.H. Peters writes:

`No sophistry in spiritualising, symbolising, or typicalising can transmute the promise of the Davidic throne and

kingdom into something else, as e.g., into the Father's throne, the divine sovereignty, the kingdom of grace,

Gospel dispensation etc., for the simple reason that the identical throne and kingdom, now overturned, is the one

that is promised to Messiah to be re-established by Himself (Amos 9:11; Acts 15:16; Zech. 1:16,17 and 2:12,

The theocratic crown cast down, the theocratic throne overturned, the theocratic kingdom overthrown, is the

crown throne, the kingdom that Christ is to restore ... These, too, are linked with the restoration of the Jewish

nation (Jer. 33:14; Micah 4:6,8). These facts - the existence of the throne at one time, its non-existence for a

period, its restoration again, its connection at the restoration with the ancient people and land that formed the

original kingdom ... indicate as fully as language can possibly express it, that the ancient faith in covenanted

language must not be discarded' The Theocratic Kingdom 1:347.

There can be no doubt, if words have any meaning at all, that the present reign of Christ in heaven simply does not

fulfil the specific promises of the Davidic covenant. What the words of the covenant do mean is that the Lord Jesus

will return to the earth in power and glory to abolish the kingdom of Satan expressed in the Gentile dominion of the

world and then to set up the precise righteous rule that has been promised by God. This will be a visible external

kingdom, not wholly spiritual, though embracing and resting upon spiritual truths as a foundation. Both these

features are necessary to fulfil the language of promise, and as we have stressed before, this kingdom will be eternal

for God determines that it shall be `for ever'.

We have seen how God uses representatives or mediators to carry out His kingdom purposes. These may be

individuals or even nations. God said to Moses in respect to his relationship to Aaron `Thou shalt be to him instead

of God' (Exod. 4:16) and concerning his relationship to Pharaoh `I have made thee a god to Pharaoh' (Exod. 7:1).

But the whole nation of Israel was appointed by the Lord with the one object of being mediatorial, taking a