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| Image of Bavarian crown is by skeeze, on Pixabay |
Usually, when blogging, I generally believe I know what I'm talking about. LOL! I mean, come on, shouldn't that be the case?! However, I want to state up front here that this topic is way out of my league. So much so that I almost decided against writing about it - - not studying about it - - but against sharing it with you. I freely admit I don't know all there is to know about this topic. Not even close. With that inglorious disclaimer, let's begin.
Coronation is not a theme familiar to Americans. We have watched with awe the ceremonies of the Brits, most notably the royal weddings, but few of us have witnessed a coronation or even seen one on television. A presidential inauguration would be the most similar American event. The Bible has few verses that deal directly with coronation. When King Saul was coronated, there was rejoicing and peace offerings were made1 (1 Samuel 11:15). When King David was coronated, there was anointing oil used (2 Samuel 5:3). 1 Kings 1:33-46 records the coronation of Solomon by the high priest, Zadok, and the prophet, Nathan. Once again we see anointing taking place, along with shouting/rejoicing of the people and the blowing of the shofar. At the coronation of Joash, God's Law was presented to the new king (2 Chronicles 23:11). Although there is no established, recorded ritual, all of the Hebrew kings appear to have had some sort of coronation. They did not assume the throne of David without it. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that Jesus will have a coronation in Heaven.
Chabad.org2, a distinctly Jewish website, speaks of "yirat haromemut", which means "in awe of God's kingly grandeur". They state how Rosh Hashanah is a reaffirmation of God's Kingship over our lives. In that sense, it is an annual coronation. On Rosh HaShanah each Jew contemplates his or her own role in the King's coronation.
If you had asked me what the first century Jews believed about Messiah, I would have said, "Well, the Jews believed (and still believe) that their Messiah would be (will be) a conquering King/Deliverer." That's not an untrue statement, although it is an incomplete statement.
The Bible teaches in Genesis that during the period of the Garden of Eden the Kingdom of God encompassed the entire Earth, with Adam being the Earth's human ruler/agent of God. In that time sin was not a part of either the created world or of the First Man, Adam. Then came, The Fall. The epoch from The Fall to The Great Flood showed severe deterioration of both the Earth and mankind. After the Flood, the next era (the one we are in now) was/is one of continuing deterioration, accelerated by the cataclysmic changes to the Earth's atmosphere and ecosystem caused by the Flood. Sin continues its destructive rampage today, with the Bible telling us that in the "last days" things will be as bad as they were in the days of Noah (Matthew 24:37-39).
There is a Jewish precept called "basar"2. It literally means "good news" or "gospel".
The Jewish "gospel" was all about the restoration of the Kingdom of God to an Edenic state. It would include the restoration of: the reign of God over the universe, the re-establishment of the throne of David, the ingathering of exiles, Israel returned to her former glory, the resurrection and the Last Judgment. The Messiah would be the One to bring about the basar.
Centuries before Jesus was born and lived, this basar, this gospel about the Kingdom of God, was drilled into the hearts of every Jewish child. It was against this backdrop that Jesus began His ministry.
Do you remember the scripture with the words of Jesus, after the arrest of John the Baptist: "The kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the good news." (Mark 1:15) Do you see more clearly what the people of that day would have read into those words? Moreover, did Jesus fulfill this "Jewish" gospel?
The answer is that, yes, He did, and He will continue to do so, with the events to occur at the end of days. During His birth and life, Jesus established Himself as the rightful heir to David's throne.
(Compare Isaiah 9:7 to Matthew 1:1,6. Compare Zechariah 9:9 to John 12:13-14.)
Then, Jesus conquered sin and death through His death, burial and resurrection. By being the first to experience this restoration into a resurrected body, He opened the way for all believers to experience the restoration, the resurrection into a glorified body like His. Then, 50 days after His resurrection, the Kingdom of God was delivered to His followers at Pentecost/Shavuot (Acts 2:1-4). His work to accomplish our salvation is finished. We see that in His fulfillment of the first four mo'ed, the Spring Feasts. But, there are Messianic prophecies yet to be fulfilled, and He will fulfill them when He returns, which could be I believe, on a future Rosh HaShanah.
What will the coronation of King Jesus look like? We don't know. Will it have elements of the coronations of the earthly kings of Israel/Judah? We don't know. Some have postulated that Revelation 4-5 is a sneak-peak, a vision of what Jesus' coronation ceremony will be. I concede this is possible, although I also think this event could have taken place immediately after Jesus' ascension to Heaven. Bottom line: we have no idea of the majesty we will be privileged to witness. Of that I am sure.
So, we talked in the last post about what most Christians call "The Rapture" (Natzal - - the snatching - - in Hebrew) occurring on a future Rosh HaShanah. The Jewish sages also believed that coronation of Messiah would occur on that mo'ed, that same sacred festival, with the Marriage of Messiah closely to follow, during that 7-year period known by names such as The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, the Seven Days of the Chupah, to name a couple (pun intended).
Next post, the marriage of the Bridegroom to His Bride.
Sources:
1 https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Coronations
2. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4412/jewish/The-Coronation.htm
3 Good, J. (1998). Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to come: an interpretation of the Feast of Trumpets based upon ancient sources. Nederland, TX: Hatikva
4 Additional scriptures which prophecy the Messianic coronation of Jesus Christ: Psalm 47, Psalm 2, Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, Luke 1:32-33, Jeremiah 23:5, Genesis 49:10, Numbers 24:17.
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