Why do the Nations Rage?

The conspiracy of the kings of the earth to unseat the Messiah is applied in the New Testament to the plot to destroy Jesus – Psalm 2:1-6.

The Second Psalm is applied to Jesus by the authors of the New Testament. When were its predictions fulfilled, and is the Messiah reigning today on David’s Throne? Or is the world still waiting for his enthronement in the future? Is the revolt of nations against the Son of God a prediction of a future war between Jesus and earthly governments - (Psalm 2:1-6)?

In fact, the New Testament applies the predictions of the Second Psalm to the events surrounding the death of Jesus, his exaltation to the messianic throne following his resurrection, and the continuing persecution of the Church.

[Photo by Christian Lue (Frankfurt/Berlin) on Unsplash]

In the Book of Acts, when the Temple authorities attempted to suppress the fledgling Church, Peter prayed for boldness to proclaim the Gospel. He declared that the same authorities that were venting their rage against the Church also plotted to kill Jesus, and he applied phrases from the Second Psalm to stress the point:

• “O Sovereign! You are he who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all things that are in it, who, by our father, through the Holy Spirit, even by the mouth of David your servant, said, Unto what end did the nations revolt, and peoples busy themselves with empty things? The kings of the earth stationed themselves, and the rulers were gathered together with one intent against the Lord and his Messiah. For they were gathered, of a truth, in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with them of the nations and peoples of Israel...” - (Acts 4:23-28).

• “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth station themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his anointed” - (Psalm 2:1-2).

Compare also:

• “And taking aside the twelve, Jesus said to them, Behold! We are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things will be finished, which have been written through the prophets respecting the Son of Man. For he will be delivered to the nations, and be mocked, and insulted, and spit upon. And having scourged him, they will slay him, and on the third day, he will arise” - (Luke 18:31-32).

• “When morning came, all the High-priests and Elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, to put him to death. And binding him, they led him away and delivered him to Pilate the governor” – (Matthew 27:1-2).

In the passage from the fourth chapter of the Book of Acts, Peter follows the Greek text of the Septuagint version of the Second Psalm, where the Greek verb translated as “gathered together” is ‘sunagō’, the same term applied by Peter to the priestly leaders who brought the Apostles before the council for examination:

• “It came to pass upon the morrow, that there were gathered together [‘sunagō’] of them the rulers and the elders and the scribes in Jerusalem” - (Acts 4:5-7).

The same authorities that conspired to destroy Jesus “gathered together” to stop the young Church. In doing so, they continued their “revolt against the Lord and his Anointed.” We see the understanding that persecuting the followers of Jesus is the same as waging war against the Messiah elsewhere in the New Testament. For example:

• “Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” – (John 15:20).

• “And he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And Saul said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom you persecute” – (Acts 9:4-5).

• “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Judaea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things of your own countrymen, even as they did of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and expelled us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men” – (1 Thessalonians 2:14-15).

Peter attributed responsibility for the death of Jesus to Herod, Pontius Pilate, the nations, and the people of Israel. They all “gathered together” against the “holy child” when Jesus was rejected and condemned, and so they all became complicit in his death. And later, the same individuals and groups are found persecuting the Apostles of Christ and the Church of Jerusalem. The war against God’s anointed continues…

At the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, the Apostle Paul likewise cites the Second Psalm when he declares:

• “Brethren! Sons of the race of Abraham, and those who among you revere God! This word of salvation has been sent to you. For they who were dwelling in Jerusalem, and their rulers, not recognizing him, have, by judging him, fulfilled the very voices of the prophets which every sabbath are read. And though no single cause of death did they find, claimed they of Pilate that he should be slain. <…> We, therefore, bring the good news to you, as to the promise, which was made to our fathers, that God has fulfilled the same for our children by raising up Jesus, as also, in the second psalm, it is written: You are my son! This day, I have begotten you” – (Acts 13:26-33).

REIGNING ON MOUNT ZION

The Second Psalm links the enthronement of the Messiah and his sovereignty over the nations with the declaration by God concerning His Son:

• “Yet I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. Let me tell of a decree, Yahweh said to me, You are my son! This day, I have begotten you. Ask of me and let me give nations as your inheritance and as your possession, the ends of the Earth. You will shepherd them with a scepter of iron, as a potter’s vessel, you will dash them in pieces” - (Psalm 2:6-9).

The opening paragraph of the Letter to the Hebrews describes how God spoke in His Son, who, “having achieved the purification of sins, sat down on the right hand” of God. His exaltation is connected to his past victory over sin, and the Second Psalm is used to confirm this. The Letter also applies Psalm 110 for this same purpose:

• “Who, being an eradiated brightness of his glory, and an exact representation of his very being, also bearing up all things by the utterance of his power, purification of sins having achieved, sat down on the right hand of the majesty in high places, by so much becoming superior to the angels, by as much as, going beyond them, he inherited a more distinguished name. For to which of the angels said he ever, You are my son! This day, I have begotten you?” – (Hebrews 1:3-5. See also Hebrews 5:5-8).

• “The declaration of Yahweh to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” – (Psalm 110:1).

Finally, the Book of Revelation declares that Jesus is “the Ruler of the kings of the earth.” His exalted position is linked to his Death (“the Faithful Witness”) and his Resurrection (“the Firstborn of the Dead”). The clause in the prologue of Revelation alludes to the Second Psalm, where “The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers took counsel together against Yahweh and his Messiah” - (Revelation 1:4-6, Psalm 2:1-2).

In the Second Psalm, God promised to give his Son the nations and the earth for his inheritance, and he is destined “to shepherd” the nations. The Book of Revelation applies this promise to Jesus in his present position as the Lamb who reigns over Heaven and Earth from the Divine Throne:

• “He who overcomes, I will grant him to take his seat with me on my throne, as I also overcame, and took my seat with my Father on his throne” – (Revelation 3:21).

• “And she brought forth a son, a male, who was going to shepherd all the nations with a scepter of iron. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne” – (Revelation 12:5).

Already, Jesus reigns over the Earth, its nations and kings, and he does so from “his Father’s Throne.”

The New Testament applies the predictions of the Second Psalm to the conspiracy by the Temple leaders and Roman authorities to destroy Jesus of Nazareth, to the persecution of the Church by religious and political authorities, and to the enthronement of Jesus “on Mount Zion” following his resurrection.

The reign of Jesus is a present reality that began following his resurrection. The fulfillment of the Second Psalm began with the betrayal, death, and resurrection of the Nazarene, and it continues as the enemies of Christ wage war against his Church.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Lamb Reigns - (Jesus is the slain Lamb, the true Messiah of Israel sent by God to redeem humanity and Shepherd the Nations)

• The Ruler of Kings - (The Faithful Witness now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations)

• Shepherding the Nations - (Jesus is the promised ruler from the line of David, the King who is shepherding the nations to New Jerusalem – Revelation 12:5)

• Pourquoi s'agitent les Nations? - (La conspiration des rois de la terre pour renverser le Messie est appliquée dans le Nouveau Testament au complot visant à détruire Jésus - Psaume 2:1-6)