Psalm 110: The Story of Jesus :: By Sean Gooding

There are many parts of the Old Testament that are mentioned in the New Testament. An example of that is Habakkuk 2:4, “the just shall live by faith.” It is also mentioned in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. But no other passage of the Old Testament is mentioned or referenced more than Psalm 110. It is mentioned or referenced in Matthew 22:44, 26:64; Mark 13:36, 14:62, 16:19; Luke 20:42, 22: 69; Acts 2:34-35, 5:31, 7:55-56; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13, 8:1, 10:12-13, 12:2, and 1 Peter 3:22-24.

Why is this Psalm so important? I mean, Psalm 22 is about the day and the events surrounding the crucifixion; why not quote this one over and over again? Well, this Psalm is about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. In it, along with Matthew 22, we are exposed to the Trinity and see YHWH, Adonai, and the Holy Spirit all working together. Jesus tells the Pharisees in Matthew 22:43 that the Spirit allows David to see this conversation in Heaven, 1000 years before Jesus was born. We have the entire Godhead; YHWH speaking to Adonai, and that is being allowed by the Spirit.

We have a world of churches that talk about Jesus, and all they preach is Jesus and His love – He loves everyone; He is love, love, love, and they never talk about the Jesus that is coming. But here in this Psalm, we get to see the entire person of the Jesus that will return shortly.

Let us set the tone; Jesus is told by YHWH (LORD) to sit at His right hand. Here we learn two things: that Jesus is sitting, meaning the job is done, and He is sitting at the seat of power. He is at Yahweh’s right hand. In Acts 7:56, Stephen sees Jesus standing at the Father’s right hand as He welcomed Stephen home. Jesus was in the seat of Power before He was born, and He returned to the seat of Power when He went back home to Heaven.

In verse 2, we see that he will reign in Zion, and He will reign in power and strength. By the way, Zion is Israel.

Verses 3-4: not only is He going to rule and be the King there, but He will also be the Priest after the order of Melchizedek. We first meet this Melchizedek in Genesis 14 when Abram is returning from rescuing Lot. He is met by the High Priest of Salem, who is also called the Prince of Salem. Salem will later be conquered by the Jebusites and be called Jebu-Salem, which is later conquered by David and comes to be called Jerusalem. Here is where Melchizedek lives, reigns as a King (called a Prince) in those days, and also is the High Priest. We are told in Hebrews 7:1-10 that this Melchizedek, whom Abraham met (verse 4), has no father and no mother, no genealogy. He has neither beginning of days nor end of life and is made like the Son of God. Jesus is this Priest forever, and He is also the King (Prince of Salem), which translates to Prince of Peace. This is Jesus!!!

Verses 5-7: What will Jesus, the High Priest and King, do when He comes? He will judge the nations (verse 6); also see the last part of Matthew 25: the judgment of the sheep and the goats. Then He will fill the place with dead bodies, and in Ezekiel 39:11-16, we see that when the Messiah returns, He will kill so many people that they will take 7 months to bury all the bodies, and they will use the armaments of war to burn fires for 7 years without cutting down any trees. And back in Psalm 110:6, Jesus will EXECUTE the heads of many nations.

Wow, justice will be done! Too many of us forget that Jesus is the God of wrath as well. When He comes the next time, there will be no humility, no meekness, and no loneliness. HE will come, and the skies will be filled; billions will die for their rebellion against the Most High God, and He will bring justice to the widows, the orphans, and the mistreated. He will kill the people who think their power and/or money camouflages them. They are wrong; Jesus sees it all, and it is all recorded. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

But in all this, God is still not willing that any should perish. His patience is longsuffering, and His grace is extended to all who will call on the name of the Lord Jesus, who will humble themselves and beg for God’s mercy on us rotten sinners. He will hear and save.

seangooding@yahoo.ca

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario

 

CDH to Focus on ‘Israel, War, and Antisemitism’ :: By Paul J. Scharf

The 19th Annual Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics will be held at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry headquarters in Westville, N.J., on Wednesday and Thursday, September 16 and 17.

It will be the first time that this conference will not be hosted by an educational institution. Instead, visitors will be able to see FOIGM’s newly expanded facilities, including its state-of-the-art recording studio.

This is a conference that I had long desired to join but was never able to attend until 2024. This will now be the third straight year in which I will have had the privilege of presenting a paper of my own.

Dr. Mike Stallard, vice president of international ministries with FOIGM, is the executive director of CDH. He shared that CDH is an academic study group, established in 2008 to promote theological discussion among traditional dispensationalist theologians, pastors and students.

“In light of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, followed by a rise of antisemitism throughout the world, and the United States-Israel war against Iran, this year’s theme—’Israel, War, and Antisemitism’—will prove to be pivotal,” Stallard said. “We will discuss these things in light of Biblical teaching.”

The conference will entail two very full, information-packed days, with many different options for attendees, including 18 presentations.

Due to that large number, most of them will be offered in breakout session tracks, and the discussion time that follows the papers will sometimes cover more than one paper.

“A new feature in light of the theme is a panel where Jewish rabbis will discuss the relationship between Jewish people and evangelicals with the council,” Stallard said. That will take place during lunch on Wednesday.

The traditional pastors’ panel will be held during lunch on Thursday and will cover the same topic. It will include the following pastors: Mike Dellaperute, Calvary Baptist Church, Little Egg Harbor, N.J.; Ed Muska, Mount Calvary Union Church, Runnemede, N.J.; and Jason Parmer, Faith Bible Church, Vineland, N.J.

Here are the regular presentations, in alphabetical order by presenter’s last name:

  • Ian Bacon, Calvary University – “The Character of God Vindicated Through the Restoration of Israel on Their Land: An Examination of Ezekiel 36:22-36”
  • Joshua Bailey, Tyndale Theological Seminary – “Examples of Practical Application of the Biblical Covenants for Israel Within Both the Old and New Testaments”
  • Jason Coke, Dallas Theological Seminary – “The Literary Argument of Galatians and ‘The Israel of God’”
  • James Fazio, Southern California Seminary – “From Jesuit Aberration to Mystical Apparition: A Consideration of the Intellectual Influences on J. N. Darby’s Rapture Doctrine”
  • David Gunn, The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry – “Modern Israel and Biblical Israel: A Case for Continuity”
  • Paul Himes, Baptist College of Ministry – “Did the Jewish People Commit Genocide? One More Look at the Syntax of Esther 8:11”
  • Elliott Johnson, DTS (retired) – “An Overview of a Pauline System of Dispensationalism”
  • Cory Marsh, SCS – “From Election to Reception: Toward a Dispensational Israelology from Romans 9-11”
  • Mark McGinnis, Chafer Theological Seminary & Liberty University – “An Uncomfortable but Biblical Response to Antisemitism from Psalm 83”
  • Paul Miles, CTS – “Antisemitism in Russian Political Theory: Translating Ruscist Views on Dispensationalism, Replacement Theology, and the Pentateuch”
  • Ray Mondragon, CTS – “The Roots of Antisemitism”
  • Brian Overholtzer, FOIGM – “The Literal and Consistent Use of the Messianic Psalms in the New Testament”
  • Randall Price, World of the Bible Ministries – “Biblical and Hermeneutical Support for the Modern State of Israel Within God’s Prophetic Plan”
  • Lucas Ramirez, SCS – “The Recipients of Old Testament Covenantal Promises and Consequences: Interpreting Romans 9:4 and Assessing Antisemitic Implications of Competing Theological Frameworks”
  • Jacob W. Reinhardt, The New York Theologian – “Evaluating Criticisms of the Nation of Israel for Antisemitism”
  • Paul Scharf, FOIGM – “Luther and Antisemitism Revisited”
  • Tim Sigler, Ariel Ministries – “Israelology Among the ‘-ologies’: To What Extent Should Israelology Be Used as a Category in our Systematic Theologies?”
  • Mike Stallard, FOIGM – “Should Dispensationalists Be Christian Zionists?”

Previous conferences have been held at Baptist Bible Seminary (Clarks Summit, Pa.), Calvary University (Kansas City, Mo.), College of Biblical Studies (Houston, Texas), Faith Baptist Bible College & Theological Seminary (Ankeny, Iowa), Shepherds Theological Seminary (Cary, N.C.) and Southern California Seminary (El Cajon, Calif.).

Since the closing of BBS, CDH has taken over publishing The Journal of Ministry and Theology, which the school previously produced. It is published online and often includes papers delivered at the annual CDH conferences. JMAT can be found on the CDH website at dispensationalcouncil.org.

Papers from previous years’ conferences, going back to 2019, are also available on the CDH website, and many videos of presentations are included from the years since 2021.

Registration for this year’s CDH is $25, and that price includes two catered meals at the FOIGM headquarters.

For the updated schedule or to register to attend in person or online, visit dispensationalcouncil.org.

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Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Wisconsin, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.