Q143 : David’s Tabernacle - Experienced in Worship?

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Q143 : David’s Tabernacle - Experienced in Worship?

Dear Tony,

I have been listening to your introduction to Daniela and am anxiously waiting for the actual commentary. Your explanation about the throne of David and the times of the Gentiles is interesting.

I am also interested in the tabernacle of David. I know that there are some in the body of Messiah who are interested in this subject from the point of view that somehow praise and worship can can somehow be a “spiritual” version of the tabernacle of David. I have heard this taught before from the pulpit and had kind of accepted it due to the amazing times I've spent in God's presence during extremely wonderful and amazing corporate worship times. However, I did not realize that this could be tainted with replacement theology, which of course, upsets me greatly.

This Jewish couple has written an articleb refuting commonly propagated ideas surrounding the tabernacle of David and suggested a more accurate treatment of this subject.

What do yo think?


A143 : by Tony Garland

I think your concern about the concept of the tabernacle of David being misinterpreted or reinterpreted in a spiritual way is valid. As you mention, it embraces ideas of replacement theology and spiritualizes the meaning of numerous passages — denying their original meaning to the original recipients — a serious mistake which is often made when interpreting the Biblical text. In essence, this sort of reinterpretation calls into question the very character of God since it makes His original communication to he original hearers misleading and virtually impossible to properly understand in the original context. If this is how God communicates, how are we, as recipients of the NT promises, to really know what God has said to us? What if some others came along after us and reinterpreted truths that we thought God had clearly communicated? What would that say about the nature of God and how might that shake our confidence in what He had revealed to us?

I am in agreement with points being made in the website link you sent me and I fully agree that the tabernacle of David is with reference to a future, literal, reign of the ultimate Son of David upon His return. It is closely aligned with the concept of the times of the Gentiles during which Israel will lack a Davidic descendant ruling on the throne of David (Jesus is presently seated at the right hand of the Father next to His throne, not the throne of David, Rev. 3:21).

While we want to notice typological connections between various passages and what God has said He will do literally, we must not dispense with the literal meaning of various Old Testament passages in our desire to make them apply primarily to ourselves when they do not. This issue of dismissing or reinterpreting Israel's literal promises in favor of a spiritual reinterpretation for ourselves is a form of selfishness and elevates our own preferences above the plainly revealed plan of God. In short: it is a form of Christian idolatry. Although the zeal behind it may be genuine, the ignorance of the Old Testament and the overall plan of Scripture which fuels it is not in the best service of our Lord. Also: it tends to builds the ego of those teaching these supposed spiritual fulfillments as if they have some new insight that the original recipients were just too dull to understand (and most of the rest of us missed).

May the Lord bless you as you seek the truth on these matters.

p.s. - Thanks for your kind words regarding my commentary and course on Daniel. I regret that my schedule has made my forward progress slow to a crawl in the past year. I am fully committed to completing the work, but am unable to say exactly when that might be.

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