The End Time Church: From the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright ©2017 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 37

Ruin, Ruin, Ruin

How many kings is enough?

How about forty?

During Noah’s flood, the rain fell for forty days and nights. Israel was in the wilderness for forty years. Moses was with Yahweh on Mt. Sinai for forty days and nights, when he neither ate nor drank. After eating an angel food cake — a cake baked by an angel — Elijah ran without food for forty days and nights. And before He was tempted by Satan, Yeshua fasted in the wilderness for forty days and nights.

In all those cases, forty was enough.

So are forty kings enough?

First, there were three kings, Saul, David and Solomon. Because of disobedience, Saul’s family was rejected from the throne. Because of disobedience, Solomon had ten tribes ripped away from his son. The ten tribes’ Kingdom of Israel then had nineteen kings, all bad. The Kingdom of Judah had nineteen kings; seven were consistently obedient, Joash was obedient then disobedient, Manasseh was disobedient, then obedient, and the other ten were just plain bad. The end result of those kings was that both the ten tribes and Judah were kicked out of the Holy Land.

That was a total of forty kings – Saul, Solomon, nineteen in Israel and nineteen in Judah.

Who does that leave out?

David.

David was distinct from all the other kings. He was the one and only king whose line was promised the throne forever.

Therefore, reigning over Israel, there were –
David;
and the other forty kings.

Some of the kings in David’s family who reigned over Judah were very obedient, with occasional problems, such as Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah, but the promise of an eternal dynasty had already been made to David. So David was unique among the kings of Israel. None of the forty were like him.

In Samuel’s time, the Israelites demanded a king like all the other nations. Under those kings, they became like all the other nations. Therefore, forty kings reigning over Israel was enough.

Enough of carnal human kings ruling in place of Yahweh God.

Lam 5:14-19
14) The elders have ceased from the gate, The young men from their music.
15) The joy of our heart is ceased; Our dance is turned into mourning.
16) The crown is fallen from our head: Woe to us! for we have sinned.
17) For this our heart is faint; For these things our eyes are dim;
18) For the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: The foxes walk on it.
19) You, Yahweh, remain forever; Your throne is from generation to generation.

The Kingdom of Israel/Samaria fell about 721 BCE. Those ten tribes were deported and never formally reentered the Holy Land. Obviously, then, they never had another kingdom in the Holy Land.

The Kingdom of Judah fell in 586 BCE. Some of that tribe did formally reenter the Holy Land, as recorded by Ezra and Nehemiah. Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt but the throne of David was not reestablished. Zerubabel was appointed governor of this Jewish nation and he was of the line of David, but Zerubabel was never a king. He was only an official appointed by a Gentile king. The Maccabees/Hasmoneans ruled over Judah for about a century, but they were priests and not of the kingly line of David so they did not reestablish the throne of David. Rome finally overcame them, and the Roman Caesar was king over Judah and the Holy Land when Yeshua was born, and throughout His lifetime.

John 19:15
15) They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

When Yeshua was born as King of the Jews, he was born to take over the throne of David. Long before the throne of David was cast down, Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be on that throne.

Isa 9:7
7) Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from that time on, even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Armies will perform this.

Mary was told that her son would be on that throne.

Luke 1:32-33
32) He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
33) and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”

Peter’s first message was about Yeshua being raised to sit on that throne.

Acts 2:29-30
29) “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30) Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,

Yeshua was born to sit on the throne of David.

Yet, when He was born, no one had sat on the throne of David for nearly six centuries!

The throne was in ruins, as the apostle James said, quoting the book of Amos.

Acts 15:13-17
13) After they were silent, James answered, “Brothers, listen to me.
14) Simeon has reported how God first visited the nations, to take out of them a people for his name.
15) This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,
16) ‘After these things I will return. I will again build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen. I will again build its ruins. I will set it up,
17) That the rest of men may seek after the Lord; All the Gentiles who are called by my name, Says the Lord, who does all these things.

Notice carefully what James said.

The tabernacle of David – his royal dynasty – has fallen. The throne of David was not occupied.

I will build again its ruins – That ruling dynasty was in ruins, and was not ruling.

I will set it up – the throne of David will be restored. Someone will sit on it.

That the rest of men may seek after the Lord; All the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord – This kingdom, the Kingdom of God will include all nations under Yeshua, reigning on David’s restored throne.

James said that the tabernacle of David was in ruins, and Ezekiel wrote that the throne of David would be ruined, ruined, ruined. And Ezekiel wrote that, just before it happened.

Eze 21:25-27 English Standard Version
(25) And you, O profane wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment,
(26) thus says the Lord GOD: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted.
(27) A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him.

Because of the wicked kings of Judah, the crown was taken off their heads. Things would not remain as they were. That throne was to be a ruin, ruin, ruin. “A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it” – said God Himself.

Other translations of verse 27 are:

Ezek 21:27 International Standard Version
27) A ruin! A ruin! I’m bringing about ruin!’ But this also will not happen until he who has authority over it arrives, because I’ll give it to him.”

Ezek 21:26 Tanakh-1917, Jewish Publication Society (different verse numbering)
26) A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, will I make it; this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.

Ezek 21:27 Literal Translation of the Whole Bible
27) Ruin, ruin, ruin! I will appoint it! Also this shall not be until the coming of Him to whom is the right, and I will give it.

The King James Version uses ‘overturn’ instead of ‘ruin,’ meaning that the throne was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar when he deposed King Zedekiah.

Ezek 21:27 King James Version
27) I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

It has been speculated that overturn means moved, that the throne of David would still have carnal men ruling on it, that when it fell in Judah it would be moved three times – “overturned, overturned, overturned.” The Hebrew word ‘avvah’ is used only here, and is defined by Strong’s as ‘overthrow.’ The related root word ‘avah’ is used 17 times and is most often translated in the King James as ‘perverted.’ No English translation translates ‘avvah’ as moved and all common Bible commentaries maintain that the verse means that the throne would be overthrown and would not continue in its current form.

To say that the throne would be moved, moved, moved is the opposite of what the passage actually says, says, says. The last part of the verse says that the throne would be no more, until he comes whose right it is, and God will give that throne to Him.

Obviously that strongly contradicts the position that the throne would be moved, moved, moved. That is then interpreted to say that the throne would be ‘moved no more’ until He comes whose right it is. That interpretation ignores the forty kings and would have some pagan sitting on the throne of David when Yeshua was born to take over that throne.

Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible renders the passage in question this way.

EBR Ezek 21:25-27
25) Thou, therefore, O profane, lawless one, prince of Israel,––Whose day, hath come, in a time of final iniquity:
26) Thus, saith My Lord, Yahweh, Remove the turban, And lift off the crown,––This, not that, The abased, exalt, And, the exalted, abase.
27) An overthrow, overthrow, overthrow, will I make it,––Even this, hath not befallen until the coming of One to whom belongeth the right, Then will I bestow it.

The problem was the carnal kings, the lawless princes of Israel. There was no point in God removing the lawless kings of Israel from David’s throne only to put other lawless men on it. The crown was lifted off those carnal men. Those who were exalted – those kings – were abased. He who was abased — who rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and who was mocked, spit on and despised of men — was exalted. That which Israel had demanded – human kings instead of Yahweh as king – was overthrown, until the coming of the One to whom that throne really belongs.

Forty human kings was enough. That system did not work. Even the few good kings had bad problems. The result of Israel demanding kings like all the other nations was ruin, ruin, ruin — both of their nations and of the throne.

It has been posited that when Zedekiah was overthrown, the throne of David was moved from the Holy Land to other nations of the world, who are said to be the lost ten tribes, and still has a man or woman sitting on it. That position violates some basic principles.

First, God never put a woman in as monarch of His people. Jezebel ruled with Ahab and apparently made decisions on her own, like trying to kill Elijah, like a queen. Athaliah killed almost all the royal line of David and ruled like a queen over Judah for six years. Yahweh did not put those women in those positions and the results of them being there were catastrophic. Therefore, any throne that has women monarchs on it obviously cannot be the throne of David.

Second, the throne of David ultimately is the throne of Yahweh Himself. He is the King that Israel replaced with human kings.

1Chr 28:5
5) Of all my sons (for Yahweh has given me many sons), he has chosen Solomon my son to sit on the throne of Yahweh’s kingdom over Israel.

1Chr 29:23
23) Then Solomon sat on the throne of Yahweh as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.

2Chr 9:8 (Queen of Sheba said this.)
8) Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you, to set you on his throne, to be king for Yahweh your God: because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore made he you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

Therefore, David’s throne, which is Yahweh’s throne, would never be in another land. The Holy Throne will only be in the Holy Land — Zion.

Ps 2:1-6
1) Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?
2) The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,
3) “Let’s break their bonds apart, and cast their cords from us.”
4) He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision.
5) Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath:
6) “Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”

Ps 9:7-11
7) But Yahweh reigns forever. He has prepared his throne for judgment.
8) He will judge the world in righteousness. He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.
9) Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble.
10) Those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11) Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion, and declare among the people what he has done.

Ps 48:2
2) Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the north sides, the city of the great King.

Ps 76:1-2
1)  In Judah, God is known. His name is great in Israel.
2) His tabernacle is also in Salem; His dwelling place in Zion.

Ps 132:13-18
13) For Yahweh has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation.
14) “This is my resting place forever. Here I will live, for I have desired it.
15) I will abundantly bless her provision. I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16) Her priests I will also clothe with salvation. Her saints will shout aloud for joy.
17) There I will make the horn of David to bud. I have ordained a lamp for my anointed.
18) I will clothe his enemies with shame, but on himself, his crown will be resplendent.”

Ps 135:21
21) Blessed be Yahweh from Zion, Who dwells at Jerusalem. Praise Yah!

Ezek 43:1-7
1) Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east.
2) Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.
3) It was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.
4) The glory of Yahweh came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.
5) The Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the house.
6) I heard one speaking to me out of the house; and a man stood by me.
7) He said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their prostitution, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places;

So the throne of David, which is the holy throne of Yahweh, will only be in the Holy Land.

Third, the ten tribes of Israel rejected the throne of David at the beginning of their kingdom. The whole basis of their kingdom was that they were torn away from the line of David because of Solomon’s sins.

Rehoboam was king after Solomon. When he said that he would tax Israel more heavily than Solomon did, the ten tribes rebelled against him.

1Kgs 12
16) When all Israel saw that the king didn’t listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What portion have we in David? Neither do we have an inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now see to your own house, David.” So Israel departed to their tents.
17) But as for the children of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18) Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the men subject to forced labor; and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
19) So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.

Taking those tribes away from the throne of David was not just the rebellion of the tribes but that was God’s doing.

1Kgs 12 (cont.)
20) It happened, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21) When Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22) But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23) “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
24) ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers, the children of Israel. Everyone return to his house; for this thing is of me.”’” So they listened to the word of Yahweh, and returned and went their way, according to the word of Yahweh.

“This thing is of me,” Yahweh said. God purposely removed the ten tribes away from the throne of David.

When will God reverse what He did and put the ten tribes again under the throne of David?

As we read before –

Ezek 37:21-25
21) Say to them, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, where they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22) and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all; and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all;
23) neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24) My servant David shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my ordinances, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25) They shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob my servant, in which your fathers lived; and they shall dwell therein, they, and their children, and their children’s children, forever: and David my servant shall be their prince for ever.

The ten tribes will again be under the throne of David only when the righteous descendant of David is on that soon-coming throne. Never before.

The ten tribes were purposely and specifically removed by God Himself from the throne of David because of Solomon’s sins. Why would God reverse His judgment against Solomon? Did He somehow accept Solomon’s flagrant idolatry?

The kingdom of the ten tribes then ended because of the sins of their own kings. Why would God switch the throne from one bunch of carnal kings to another, particularly a bunch of pagans? Sinful kings was the problem. Going from one group of sinful kings to another, and then another – move over, move over, move over – would not solve the problem.

Only one King can solve the problem of sin. The throne of David, the throne of Yahweh, is reserved for that Son of David.

Ezek 21:26 Tanakh-1917, Jewish Publication Society (different verse numbering)
26) A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, will I make it; this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.

As James said, the tent of David was in ruins. And as Peter said, God raised up the Messiah to sit on David’s throne. And as Ezekiel said, that throne was to be no more until He comes, whose right it is.

What a beautiful, beautiful picture.

The governments of men do not work. They do not work because people are inherently carnal, sinful, destructive. All types of governments have been tried in human history, monarchies, oligarchies, democracies, and republics. At some point they all lead to anarchy, people out of control, attacking each other, rebelling against God.

How do you control the people?

During the times of the judges, Israel suffered centuries of oppression from Gentile kings, because of their sin and lack of self-control. They had a King who offered them a way to overcome their human natures but they opted for a human king instead. That throne they set up then went to ruins, ruins, ruins – stated three times for emphatic finality. The world was populated through the three sons of Noah. Israel began through the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Peter denied Christ three times. Christ was three days and three nights in the grave. He was really, really, really dead. And the throne of David was in ruins, ruins, ruins. Those carnal kings who replaced Yahweh were done, done, done.

Finished.

Forty kings was enough.

He who came from David will return to sit on the throne of David, over physical and spiritual Israel. That throne is His right, because He is righteous.

Hallelujah for that, and for the fact that even before He returns to sit on the throne of David, He can be our King right now, if we look to Him instead of only to carnal human rulers.