Re: Jeremiah 33:17 “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.” Is Jeremiah 33:17 a prophecy of Jesus’ rule during the Millennium (not something to be taken literally regarding David and his descendants, as David does not currently have a descendant on the throne)? When was the Davidic line ended? When will it re-start? I believe that I heard a popular Bible teacher state that King David himself (literally) will rule for a time after we are resurrected….is this possible?
In 2 Sam 7:16 God promised David that his throne would last forever. This established the Davidic line as Israel’s royal line from which future kings would come. But in Jeremiah 22:28-30 God declared that the Davidic kings had become so wicked that He would not allow them to continue. This caused the Davidic line to be cursed and the current king, Jehoiachin, became the last one. This happened just before the Babylonian captivity in the 6th Century BC.
God told Ezekiel, who lived at the same time, that He was going to suspend the royal line “until He comes to whom it rightfully belongs” (Ezek. 21:27) And in Jeremiah 31:15-17 He said He would make a righteous branch sprout from David’s line who would fulfill His promise to David.
The angel Gabriel told Mary that Jesus would sit on David’s throne and reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:31-33). So we know Jesus is the One to whom the throne belongs. He’s the Righteous Branch. He hasn’t taken the throne yet but according to Revelation 11:15 He will do so at the time of the 7th Trumpet. He will arrive on Earth to claim it at the time of the Second Coming (Zechariah 14:9).
In Ezekiel 37:24 God said His servant David will be the King of Israel. Some take this as a reference to David himself, but most scholars believe the Messiah will fulfill this prophecy.