There is a prince in the millennial kingdom. Of course, the Lord is called a Prince many times, but this prince is different. Who is this prince? What will be his responsibilities?
We have at the top of the ruling structure in the millennial kingdom, the Lord Jesus Christ, doing the will of the Father. Under Him, is The Prince.
The Prince is only mentioned in Ezekiel, some 20 times, and a small handful of references elsewhere.
What is a prince?
A prince in a general sense is a sovereign, a chief, a ruler of a nation or a state. He’s also the son of a king or emperor. To me, the perfect definition of a prince is found in Gen 32:28.
God’s talking to Jacob. He says, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men... A prince is a ruling authority who is occupying a position created by God. He has power with God and with men. He has power over men because that position of power was established by God. As Paul would say in Rom. 13:1 For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God, just as the Lord told Pilate, in John 19, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. A prince is a ruler in some capacity and that position of power, not so much the ruler, was ordained by God.
There is also, of course, PRINCIPALITY, which can be a sovereign or a supreme ruler, a prince. A principality can also be the territory of a prince; or the country which gives title to a prince, like the Prince of Wales, which is shorthand for what used to be called the Principality of Wales.
Webster also had a rather fun paragraph with verses about prince in the Bible. He wrote, “In Scripture, this name prince is given to God, Daniel 8:11; to Christ, who is called the prince of peace, Isaiah 9:6, and the prince of life, Acts 3:15; to the chief of the priests, the prince of the sanctuary, Isaiah 43:28; to the Roman emperor, Daniel 9:25; to men of superior worth and excellence, Eccl. 10:7; to nobles, counselors and officers of a kingdom, Isa 10; to the chief men of families or tribes, Num. 17:6; to Satan, who is called the prince of this world, John 12:31, and prince of the power of the air, Eph.2:2.”
Webster highlighted that Christ is called the prince of peace, Isaiah 9:6, and the prince of life, Acts 3:15. I would just add to that thought that Christ isn’t merely a Prince, like when He’s called the Prince of Peace in Isa. 9:6. He is also called in Dan. 8:25, the Prince of princes. He’s King of kings, Lord of lords, and also… Prince of princes. He is also called in Rev. 1:5 the prince of the kings of the earth. He is the Prince of all princes, the prince who is above every prince and every king of the Earth.
So there is the Prince of princes, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then there is the Prince in His kingdom. Who is he? Look at Eze 37:24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. Eze 37:25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
There’s nothing ambiguous about the end of Eze 37:25 …and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. This is also supported in Jer 30:9 that tells us, “But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.” Even Hosea writes in Hos 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king….
I would also point out that we have in these two verses a reference to David as shepherd, king, and prince, all different Hebrew words. We would view a king as the father and the prince as the son, the heir to the throne, but in the OT, a prince was as much a ruler as a king. I think the intent here was to convey in Hebrew the fullness of David’s authority. By saying both king and prince, the idea is conveyed that David’s rule over Israel shall be supreme, albeit under Christ. And by calling him a shepherd, we’re given a sense of the nature of his role.
There was some question in some books as to whether David would be regent, in the sense of the leader of the whole kingdom on behalf of the Lord. We’ve already covered a mountain of verses talking about the Lord Himself personally ruling on this Earth, the Lord personally implementing laws, the Lord personally teaching, personally judging between people and nations, and personally carrying out judgments upon both, including capital punishment. The Lord is clearly ruling His kingdom Himself.
David is, shall we say, Vice President, or King of Israel. The fact that David is called a king does not mean that he will be acting in the place of Christ on His behalf. David is merely King of Israel. Christ is above that. He is God. He is the only potentate. He is king of kings, lord of lords, and also the prince of princes. A fascinating verse I came across was Jer. 33:17. When the Lord sits on David’s throne, Jer. 33:17 tells us that David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel. David wants the Lord to rule. He loves the reign of the Lord. He will never feel compelled to occupy the throne himself. David shall never want another man to ever sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.
Let’s look at David’s role. David will predominantly be in Jerusalem, which will be the center of millennial earth (Isa. 2:2-4; Jer. 31:6; Mic. 4:1; Zech 2: 10-11), the center of the kingdom rule (Jer. 3:17; 30:16-17; 31:6, 23; Ezek. 43:5-6; Joel 3:17; Mic. 4:7; Zech. 8:2-3). Ironically, the city of David, the city that was the center of David’s government will become the center of the global government of David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eze 34:22 Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. Eze 34:24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.
In other passages, the Lord also called Himself shepherd in His kingdom and yet, David here is called a shepherd. The Lord is called a Prince and yet, Daivd is also called a prince. The fact that their titles intermingle as they do may simply mean that David is a reflection of Christ in His rule over Israel. Just as the Lord said that if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father, perhaps the same will be said of David and the Lord in the kingdom. If you’ve seen David, you’ve seen the Lord, and if you’ve seen the Lord, you’ve seen the Father.
Here’s a question. David is the king of Israel in the Lord’s kingdom. Israel will be made up largely of resurrected saints in their glorified bodies. How is it that David will feed them? The Lord said in Eze 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. Does he open up a restaurant? Cooks everybody food? How does he feed them?
Consider Isa 40:11. This is talking about the Lord. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. How does the Lord feed His sheep? Of course, a shepherd would give his sheep physical food, but the point Isaiah seems to be making in this verse is that the Lord, as the shepherd, feeds His sheep by comforting them in the manner with which He cares for them. He continually feeds them. He puts their spirits at peace, at rest without worry by being under His care, by experiencing His loving, gentle guidance. They are fed by being continually exposed to the loving, gentle, righteous leadership of the great shepherd.
I would suggest that for the resurrected saints in their glorified bodies, they don’t just feel continually satisfied in their souls all the time simply because they’re in their glorified bodies. They feel soul-satisfied because they’re continually exposed to righteousness, seeing the righteousness of God living out of the saints around them but especially seeing His righteousness exhibited in all the kingdom leadership. Seeing righteousness in the Lord’s and David’s loving, gentle guidance feeds their souls.
Consider Isa 55:3. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Isa 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
Again, I think we have a feeding here in the sense of the souls of all the resurrected saints in the kingdom getting fed by being given guidance through righteous leadership. You feel satisfied by being given righteous direction from Godly leadership. For the saints, there’s a continual feeding of their souls by being in the Lord’s perfectly righteous kingdom, by observing righteousness everywhere, by seeing righteous leadership, and by observing the rightness of God in all His ways in His leadership. Notice also in vs. 4, how David is called a witness, a leader, and a commander. He is a witness. He will testify to the people about the things of the Lord. He is a leader. He leads by example, and He is a commander. He is one who will be giving commands.
David and the Lord aren’t the only shepherds that will exist in the kingdom. There will be many shepherds. Consider Jer 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Jer 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. Jer 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. Jer 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
Notice the contrast between the shepherds in the kingdom compared to the priests in Jeremiah’s day. The priests in Jeremiah’s day tore the people apart and drove them away. But the shepherds in the kingdom will feed their souls and bring everyone together. The priests in Jeremiahs’s day fed the people with lies whereas the shepherds in the kingdom will feed the people with truth. The priests in Jeremiah’s day were emotionally cut off from the people evidenced by their refusal to visit them after they left, but all the shepherds in the kingdom will always have loving, close, tender relationships between them and their flocks.
Look at Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Notice how this verse is worded. The Lord says, I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
He says here I will raise unto David a righteous Branch. He will bring about the arrival of Himself as the Messiah, the Son of God, out of David’s seed, and He shall be the righteous executive branch who’ll sit on David’s throne. How is that possible? How can God be Creator of all things and yet also be the son of David? How can God fulfill the sure mercies of David by raising up unto David the Son of God who will also sit on David’s throne? How is that possible? We know how. Christ – in His glorious, miraculous incarnation through the virgin birth, God manifest in the flesh, while also being of the seed of David. He’s both the Son of God and Son of Adam. And He’ll sit on David’s throne.
Notice, also, that He says, a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. The righteous Branch raised unto David, the Lord Jesus Christ, He will be ruling. He will personally execute judgment and justice in the earth. Remember how Isaiah told us in Isa 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. David will never rule in His stead, but the Lord declares here and other places that He will personally rule over His kingdom.
David and the Lord aren’t the only princes in the kingdom either. There will be many princes. Look at Eze 45:8 In the land shall be his possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; and the rest of the land shall they give to the house of Israel according to their tribes. Eze 45:9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD.
We have a contrast here between the bad princes in Ezekiel’s day compared to the good princes in the Lord’s day. The bad princes in Ezekiel’s day oppressed the people and stole their property. The good princes in the Lord’s day will serve to protect the people and their property. The good princes are, of course, officers in the Lord’s government, ruling over people, territories, nations.
Notice their responsibilities in vs. 9. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD. The Lord is telling the princes in Ezekiel’s day to do the very things that will be expected of the princes in His day. They are to remove violence and spoil and execute judgment and justice. They will be making decisions about the management of sin with the mortal humans, about removing violence and theft. Them carrying out perfect justice is to function as a deterrent to sin in the kingdom. The predominant responsibility of all those in positions of authority in the kingdom has to do with the management of sin, the management of rebellious mortal humans, in order to maintain peace in the kingdom, in order to show the mortal people the way of salvation and righteousness, and ultimately, to aid the Lord in making His enemies His footstool, to bring them into salvation or carry out their destruction, and all to be done in the manner designed by God the Father.
He also tells them to take away your exactions from my people. In Ezekiel’s day, if a prince wanted a piece of property, he’d levy heavy taxes that the owners couldn’t pay so the prince could snatch that property for himself. And the Lord’s telling them to stop right now. The princes in His kingdom will serve to protect everyone’s property.
Conclusion
Of course, one of the major roles of the Prince in the kingdom is that he will be doing the sacrifices! No prince ever did that! We covered this a few weeks ago in an article on Sacrifices in the Kingdom. I did my best with that subject, but I’ll always be open to other thoughts.
We’ll just summarize here what we covered.
In Eze 45:17 we’re told that he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. Then we read in Eze 45:22 that the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bullock for a sin offering.
If David is the Prince, then how could he prepare for himself and for all the people a sin offering? How do you reconcile that? Why did the Lord submit Himself to water baptism when He was sinless? He was identifying Himself WITH His people so He could make Himself a sacrifice FOR His people, right?
It may be that David is doing the same thing. He’s identifying himself WITH the people so he could do sacrifices FOR his people. David’s role in doing those sacrifices is mostly about managing sin in the kingdom and chastening His people to produce a sanctified walk in their covenant relationship with Him. If there are going to be millions of humans in their sin-corrupted bodies in the kingdom, there has to be law and order. There has to be consequences for sin as a deterrent to maintain perfect peace.
How could the Lord possibly rule this Earth if there won’t be any consequences for bad behavior? The animal sacrifices is how He will, in part, manage sin in His kingdom. That sacrificial system is designed first to be a deterrent that teaches the mortals about sin and about Christ’s sacrifice for their sin in all the same ways the sacrificial system taught the people of Israel back in the OT. Just as it was in the OT, those sacrifices will visually teach them the gravity sinning before the eyes of a holy God.
The sacrificial system will also be a type of memorial in that it’s designed to make the people think about the gravity of what they did so they won’t do it again. Of course, those sacrifices are also designed to teach people the concept of substitutionary atonement. A life for a sin, and we all know Prince David will be talking about the sacrifice that Christ made for all their sins every time he performs a sacrifice on their behalf.
If you commit a sin in the kingdom, you’ll be given a master class on substitutionary atonement, which was already done for you illustrated by those six sacrificial types in Ezekiel. It is a kind of Lord’s Supper for a kingdom people.
Plus, just as those sin offerings in the OT stayed the judgment of God for those sins, so too, sin offerings in the kingdom will stay the judgment of God for those sins. It’s just not a payment for sin. It’s a lesson they’ll have to go through about the payment that was already made in order for them to stay the judgment of God in the kingdom.
And what will be the response of the people be for those sacrifices? Worship.
Eze 46:3 Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons.
While David is doing these sacrifices, in the background, we find the people of the kingdom, worshipping the Lord at the gate. They’re praising God! They’re singing songs of worship while all these sacrifices are being carried out! Here, the sacrifices of the animals aren’t making the people weep over their own sins. The sacrifices of the animals are causing the people to weep and praise God for His sacrifice of love for us! Everyone in the kingdom will fully appreciate the meaning of those sacrifices. The sacrifices in the kingdom are more than just a deterrent to sin that stays the judgment of God while also teaching people about atonement. The sacrifices in the kingdom will be a cause to worship… and to praise Him for all His great sacrifice of love for us as a payment for all our sins.
SUPPLY OF GRACE 