We have been laying a foundation to understand the Kingdom of God being established on earth.  Recall when the disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority (Acts 1:6-7). In other words, despite national Israel having just rejected his messianic claims, his ministry and they put him to death, he did not reject their claims to the Kingdom of God. He just did not answer the question. 

For many years, I did not give much thought to the details of how the Lord would establish his kingdom on earth, but the Bible is quite direct when addressing these details.  To begin, it is important to recognize there is an adversary who is vehemently opposed to the coming kingdom.

Psalm 110 touches on some of the background for establishing the kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem.  Although only seven verses in length, with amazing clarity, it presents some of the Biblical themes we have been studying.

Before proceeding, please take a moment to read this Psalm.

The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.  He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore, he will lift up his head.
Psalm 110

If you have never read this Psalm before you might be shocked considering the Lord’s vengeance against his foes. But keep in mind he has been patient and long suffering for thousands of years; at some point evil and wickedness must be dealt with as they cannot be allowed to corrupt his coming glorious kingdom. 

Psalm 110 – Breaking it Down
Let us look at some of the Biblical ideas referenced in Psalm 110.

Relationally: Since David is the author of the Psalm, it appears he is eavesdropping on a conversation between God the father and God the son.
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Geographically: It identifies God’s earthly dwelling place as Zion.
The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Considering the people of God Like glistening dew at daybreak, the Lord’s people will be at full strength like young warriors in their prime. 
Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours…

Concerning timing: It is in “the day of his power” or “the day of the Lord.”  We know from many passages in both Old and New Testament that “day of the Lord” language refers to the time of the end.
Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power…

Regarding humanity, it is focused on a people group who are followers of one likened unto Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

A Word about Purpose
Finally, interwoven throughout the Psalm is the Lord’s purpose, something that has been in his heart from the beginning. That purpose speaks to the establishment of an eternal kingdom from Zion with people who love and willingly serve him throughout the ages.  This will require the crushing defeat of his enemies – those who work at cross purposes to the Lord’s.

The following bullet points explain this in greater detail.

• Observe the words and phrases: “I make your enemies your footstool”, “mighty scepter”, “rule in midst of enemies”, “day of your power”, “shatter kings on day of wrath”, “execute judgment among the nations”, “filling them with corpses”, “shatter chiefs over the wide earth.”
• The overarching theme is one of God’s judgement, power, rulership and establishment of his kingdom from Zion/Jerusalem.
• His people are fully committed to his cause, and they offer themselves freely in his service.
• The passage goes on to establish this warring king as one following the pattern of Melchizedek who blessed Abram after a tremendous military victory in Genesis 12.
• The connections to Melchizedek and Zion link this psalm directly back to the land of Abraham’s calling.

Messianic Connections
Jesus picks up the Psalm 110 story line in the synoptic gospels to help us connect the dots.  In Mathew, Mark and  Luke, while talking with the Pharisees, Jesus identified himself as the Messianic figure of Psalm 110. 

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Mathew 22:41-46

The underlined part above is from Psalm 110

In other words, when comparing the gospel account with David’s Psalm, Jesus is saying that not only is he the Christ and Son of David, but he is also the Lord to whom David referred.  And that Lord is a priest and king, as was Melchizedek, who blessed Abram with a significant land grant in Genesis.  In the same way Abram exercised his authority in the land and rescued his nephew Lot, so will the Messiah (son of David) exercise his authority in the land on the day of his power.

By referring to Psalm 110, Jesus was pointing the religious leaders to himself as prophesied by David.  Had they been able to comprehend and accept the connections he was making, perhaps things could have turned out differently, but that was not to be. For that reason…

 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
Mathew 22:46

Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, we are laying a brief foundation for a study of the “last days.” Hopefully, by this time we are beginning to understand some specifics of God’s plan of redemption. He first chose a people group; he then connected those people to the land.  Further he gave his people sovereign authority in the land and chose a city for himself where he could live with his family.  In this post we saw that enemies have taken over his land and really conquered the  entire earth.  Now for Messiah to establish his kingdom he will first have to deal with those enemies.

In the next installment we will turn our attention to timing.  When will the day of his power/wrath occur?