I.　The prophets spoke of David and Christ as one—Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11:

A.　God's response to David in 2 Samuel 7:12 made Christ one with David and with David's seed.

B.　David's house refers to Christ, David's kingdom refers to Christ's kingdom, and David's throne refers to Christ's throne; the kingdom of David is Christ's kingdom, and David and Christ have one throne—Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Luke 1:32; Acts 2:29-31.

C.　"They will serve Jehovah their God and David their King, whom I will raise up for them" (Jer. 30:9); this refers to Christ, who is the real David and who will be the King in the restoration, that is, the millennium—Isa. 32:1; Rev. 20:4, 6.

D.　"I will set up over them one Shepherd, My Servant David, and He will feed them; He will feed them, and He will be their Shepherd…And My Servant David will be a Prince among them"—Ezek. 34:23-24:

1.　The one Shepherd is Christ, who, as the real David, is the real Shepherd of God's f lock and the King of God's people—John 10:11; Heb. 13:20; Isa. 9:7; Hosea 3:5; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:32-33.

2.　When the Lord Jesus comes as the Shepherd to care for us, He comes also as the King to govern us; the issue of the Lord's caring for us as our Shepherd is that we obey Him as our King and come under His kingship and throne within us—Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24.

3.　In relation to Israel, the prophecy given in Ezekiel 34:23-24 will be fulfilled in the age of restoration—Micah 4:1-5.

E.　"Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Jehovah their God and David their King, and they will come with fear to Jehovah and to His goodness in the last days"—Hosea 3:5:

1.　"David their King" is Christ in the millennium.

2.　The last days refers to the age of restoration—Matt. 19:28.

II.　Christ is not only the Root of David (Rev. 5:5), the seed of David (Rom. 1:3), and the son of David (Matt. 1:1)—Christ is also the real David (12:3-4):

A.　In keeping with the principle seen in Matthew 12, that Christ is greater than all the types, greater than all things and persons in the Old Testament that typify Him, Christ is the greater David—vv. 6, 38-42.

B.　The Lord's word in Matthew 12:3-4 implies that He is the real David; David and his followers are a type of Christ and His disciples.

C.　In Matthew 1:6 David is called "the king" because through him, as the conclusion of one age and the beginning of another age, the kingship was brought in; as the real David, the greater David, Christ is such a landmark.

III.　"In that day I will raise up / The fallen tabernacle of David, / And I will wall up its breaches / And raise up its ruins / And build it up as it was in the days of old"—Amos 9:11:

A.　The tabernacle of David is the kingdom and the royal family of David—v. 11; Acts 15:16-18:

1.　In ancient times the royal family and the kingdom were one; David's kingdom was David's royal family.

2.　When Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, that was the fall of the kingdom of David and the royal family of David—2 Kings 25:1-21.

3.　In Amos 9:11 God came in to promise that one day He would raise up "the fallen tabernacle of David," that is, restore the fallen kingdom of David; in that day the kingdom of David and the family of David will be restored, and all the nations will be called by the name of Jehovah—v. 12.

B.　Amos 9:11-12 indicates that Christ will come back to be the real David and will rebuild, restore, the kingdom of His forefather David for the restoration of the entire universe; at that time the kingdom of David will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for eternity—Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Jer. 30:9; Mark 11:10; Rev. 11:15:

1.　This prophecy will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom, in which all the nations will be called by the name of Jehovah and will belong to God and be God's people—Amos 9:11-12; Matt. 13:41; Mark 11:10.

2.　The millennial kingdom will have a heavenly part and an earthly part—Matt. 13:41, 43; Mark 11:10; Luke 1:32-33; Acts 1:6; 2 Sam. 7:12-13:

a.　The heavenly part of the millennial kingdom will be the kingdom of the Father, where the overcomers will reign with Christ as co-kings—Matt. 13:43; Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21-22; 20:4, 6.

b.　The earthly part of the millennial kingdom will be the kingdom of the Son of Man, the kingdom of the Messiah, the tabernacle of David—Matt. 13:41; Rev. 11:15; 2 Sam. 7:13; Amos 9:11:

IV.　As those who are living in the church as the kingdom of God today, we need to know and experience Christ, the real David, as the One who has the key of David—Rev. 1:4-6; 3:7; Isa. 22:22:

A.　David fought for God, established the kingdom, and prepared everything for the building of the holy temple; as the one who represented God in establishing His kingdom on earth, David had a key—the key of God's dominion—1 Chron. 28:1-8; 29:1-9.

B.　The key of David is the key of the kingdom, God's key for ruling the universe—Isa. 22:22; Rev. 3:7.

C.　The real David is Christ, the One who built the church and established God's kingdom, in which He exercises full authority to represent God—Matt. 16:18-19; 28:18; Gen. 1:26:

1.　In His ascension the resurrected Christ is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high as the Leader of the universe, having the authority to rule sovereignly over all things—Acts 2:34-36; 5:31; 10:36; Heb. 1:3, 13.

2.　Christ holds the key of David, that which represents God and opens the whole universe for God—Rev. 3:7.

3.　As the One who has the key of David, Christ has the authority to open and shut so that He may establish God's kingdom, God's dominion, and build up God's dwelling place, God's temple—Matt. 16:18-19.

4.　The ascended Christ has the key of David in order to give the church in Philadelphia, a type of the recovered church, an opened door so that people can enter the recovered church to be transformed into pillars in the temple of God and to be built up as God's city, the New Jerusalem—Rev. 3:7-8, 12.