By Garrick D. Augustus
July 7, 1996
“In those days there was no king in Israel , but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6. It is an established fact throughout the Bible that the term king is the theological equivalent of God (god), and because of this salient fact, Yahweh had always been regarded, and recognized as the only sovereign over His people Israel. Yes, there were rulers and judges over fifties, over hundreds, and over thousands, but these officers in no way occupied the position of a king among God’s people. They were a peculiar people, unlike the nations of this world. Through Moses, the Lord declared, “Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” Deut. 7:6. Israel ’s peculiarity was evidenced in their diet, their worship, their civil-religious laws, the ceremonial system, their simple Theocratic government and their agriculture, among other significant factors of their lives.
The idea of a king however, an earthly king, was far removed from the mind of a purebred Israelite, because, for them to request a king apart from Yahweh, meant that they wanted to replace the Lord their God as their sovereign God and Ruler, their King, in preference for a god (king) of their own choosing. And this would be the highest form of idolatry, because to chose a king apart from the Lord Jehovah, meant that they would be worshipping such a king! Therefore, to repeat, the title King means God (King = God); And since God is the only one worthy of being worshipped (Rev. 19:10), it follows that the king is also worshipped, that is to say, he is a worshipful being, since he bears the title belonging only to the Eternal God. It should not be difficult to see then, that the appointment of a king other than the Lord their God would be a direct violation of the first commandment which clearly says, “thou shalt have no other gods (kings) before me.” Ex. 20:3. I have always wondered just why did the Lord repeat the first commandment in the second, because they both forbid idolatry, but the Lord had more than idolatry (image worship) in mind when He said, “thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and that is why the second commandment specifically speaks against idolatry in the sense of image worship among His people. The Lord Yahweh was thereby directing the eyes of His people upon Himself as the only true God, the only true King. Thus any other god (king) would stand as a rival to His omnipotent sovereignty.
From whence came then, the desire for a king in this wide world of ours? Who was it that introduced this idea of man ruling over man as his king in the human family? The answer is quickly found in the first book of the Bible, there we learn that Nimrod, the father of the kingdoms of this world, and the father of spiritualism (witchcraft), authenticated the office of king. And from that day on the plains of Shinar until this, the dynasty of kings has never lost its enthronement in the minds the people of God. The spirit of Nimrod, was the spirit of antichrist, and all those who would appoint themselves or their friends as king in the place of God, are themselves antichrists. Of Nimrod the Scripture record is, “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before (against) the Lord. And the begining of his kingdom was Babel ( Babylon —margin)… in the land of Shinar .” Gen. 10:8-10. It was Nimrod, dear reader, that first introduced the system that we today call Christmas, it was Nimrod that pioneered the system of Free Masonry or the Masonic Order, it was Nimrod that introduced Sun-worship to this world of ours, it was Nimrod that first introduced human sacrifice to his gods and goddesses, it was Nimrod who first introduced the system of pornography (sex worship), to the world. It would not be an overstatement to say that Nimdod was the first pope, because he sat in the seat of God to the people, and was worshipped as such. In short, Nimrod was Satan’s viceroy on earth, he was the fountain head from Cain, through whom the diabolical system of idolatry, Occoultic arts and sinister Satanism has been enshrined, nurtured and worshipped.
“The earliest rulers whose names have been discovered in Babylonia , did not bear the title of king at all. In every instance before the time of Nimrod, the word used is one which signifies ‘viceroy.’ The god is king, and the ruler claims no higher authority than that of substitute or servant of his god who is really the king… This points clearly to a time when God was recognized as the only King, and the true Ruler. And when false gods were put in the place of the true God, they were yet recognized as the real kings, and men in places of authority were but their substitutes. This change was so recent, too, that rulers were not yet bold enough to take to themselves the title of king. It was not much longer, however, before this step was taken, One arose who was bold enough to do this and all that it involved. Nimrod was this bold man.” The Empires of The Bible, by A.T. Jones, 1897, p. 50.
As a mark of completeness and historical authenticity, I shall now provide a brief cross-section on the career of Nimrod:
Nimrod was certainly “against” the Lord in all he planned and did. “The mighty hunter against the Lord” let multitudes away from the Creator and laid plans for a world-wide Conspiracy against god. That was the reason behind the Babylonian Mystery cults. Nicholaus was the name he was known by in Greece and that also means “Conqueror of the People.” The New Age Movement And The Illuminati 666, The Institute of Religious Knowledge, 1983, p. 7
Nimrod tried to unite the whole known world of his day into a One World Government that would be anti-God or Antichrist... The city of Babel would become the metropolis of the world and unite its inhabitants under the dictatorial rule of Nimrod. Ibid., p. 18.
Nimrod, who built Nineveh, was worshipped by its early inhabitants under his deified name “Ninus.” He was first to incite people to war with their neighbors after the confusion of the tongues had scattered the early descendants of Noah over the earth. Trogus Pompeius, who wrote of Ninus, states that the first King of Nineveh caused the people to war against themselves. Ibid., p. 19.
But the worship of the True God of Noah, Shem, and Abraham soon became perverted into idolatry by the larger population when Nimrod tried to unite the whole world into a One World Government. And this anti-God movement shall be attempted by some modern Nimrods in our time! Ibid., p. 32.
Now kings of pagan nations often were considered the incarnation of the Sun-god, and to identify with the Sun-god the kings would adopt the name of his god as Jezebel’s father did in 1 Kings 16:31. His name was “Ethbaal” which means “with Baal” or “Baal’s man.” Ibid., p. 43.
This Confederacy between the false religions and the political powers of this world is just history repeating itself. It is another attempt to unite man under one banner leaving the Lord out, as it was in the days of Nimrod. Ibid., p. 172.
Now it was Nimrod who excited them to such an affront and contempt of god. He was the grandson of Ham, the son of Noah, a bold man, and of great strength of hand. He persuaded them not to ascribe it [worship] to God, as if it was through his means they were happy, but to believe that it was their own courage which produced that happiness. He also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his own power. He also said he would be revenged on God, if he would have a mind to drown the world again, for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! And that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers.! The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus, Whiston, Kregel Publications, 1960, p. 30.
Now you see, dear reader, and now you understand that what Nimrod had in mind, and what he has sold to the children of God, is a compacted species of base idolatry, placing himself in the seat of Christ, ruling the nations as though he were God; And this my friends, is the spirit of the papacy, the spirit of antichrist! Then for Bible believing Christians to say today, that God will appoint “a man” other than the Lord Jesus Christ, as “king” in His soon to be established kingdom of glory, is to ask for the reign of Nimrod all over again! The reign that started the building of the Tower of Babel, in defiance to the will of God, and ended in the confusion of the Languages, the divisions among the nations, and the wars and rumors of wars amongst the peoples of the earth! This is what is being clamored for when the demand for a king is made, my friends. To demand “a man” as king in the place of Christ, is to ask for the reign of Satan. And such a kingdom, and such a people, can never ever in this world or in the world to come, represent the Kingdom of glory, nay, rather the kingdom of Babylon, the type of which Nimrod was the first ruler, the first king!
It is well to note that all the kings spoken of in the Bible before the reign of Saul, were only kings over the heathens, the idol worshippers of that day. Never has the office of king been revered among the people of God until they abandoned Yahweh and his Rulership over them, in preference for which they chose to be “like all the other nations” of the world, and so they became like the world, worldly, idol worshippers, the chiefest of whom was their idol king. The Assyrian yoke will not be broken from Israel, however, until idolatry in all its forms is completely given up. See Isa. 31:7. An inspired commentary on this verse says, “If we had no idols then this verse would not be written as it is. What are idols?—An idol is anything that comes between us and God…. from our study today we are able to know and understand that we are in the days when God’s people will cast away all their idols. The great question each of us must now settle is this: Are we personally going to be among those who have cast aside every idol? No one can decide this for you; you alone must decide it for yourself… When we cast away our idols then the Assyrian will fall and the Assyrian yoke will be broken.” The Symbolic Code, Nos. 6, 7, pp. 16, 17.
There was no human king in Israel, and happy were they when the Lord Jehovah alone swayed the royal scepter over their lives, He went before them and fought their battles, he was their sustainer and provider, they lacked nothing, and great were their triumphs. But this theocracy of God would soon reach its demise. In the days of Gideon, when he gained a most signal victory against the Midianites, “the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us [be king over us], both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also; for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you [I will not be your king], neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you [the Lord shall be your king].” Judges 8: 22, 23, brackets were added. The reader should note that Gideon, who succeeded both Moses and Joshua, regarded the Lord God of Jacob, the Lord Jesus Christ alone as King, thus he retorted, “the Lord shall rule over you!”
The truly first king of Israel was not Saul, though he was the first officially appointed king. The first man to call himself as king or ruler over God’s people was the very son of Gideon. And Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal (Gideon, see Chap. 8:35) went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of Shechem, whether it is better for you, either that all the sons of Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you, or that one reign over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh… And all the men of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Milo, and went, and made Abimelech king, by the plain of the pillar that was in Shechem.” Judges 9:1, 2, 6. Abimelech finally took the bait that was being offered to his father Gideon, and went on a war path, killing all but one of his brothers (Judges 9:5), then coronated himself as king over the children of Israel who dwelt in Shechem.
This brother who escaped the blood dripping sword of Abimelech, uttered a most chilling parable against the people of Shechem, thus Jotham “cried, and said unto them, hearken unto me, ye man of Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. The trees went forth on a time to appoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. but the olive tree said unto them, should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honor God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, come thou, and reign over us. but the fig tree said unto them, should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? then said the trees unto the vine, come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, come thou and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, if in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” Judges 9: 7-15.
“Did anybody ever with either safety or comfort sit down in the shade of a thorn-bush? Yet that they do this very thing, or else be burnt, were the only terms of the bargain. That is, they were to put themselves in an arrangement where they were certain to be pricked; and if they refused that, then they were certain to be burnt. And they were so taken with the idea of their own ‘organization’ instead of God’s that they deliberately entered into that unreasonable arrangement. They did make the bramble king over them, when by every right and every sober consideration GOD WAS KING OVER THEM. They rejected God and chose the bramble: and that they rejected God’s Organization, and set up a structure of their own choice, ‘like all the nations,’ and called it organization’…
“But in spite of this frightful outcome, to both sides of the attempt at ‘organization,’ there still lingered the wish to have a king. And in the days of Samuel, again the demand was openly made. ‘Make us a king to judge us, like all the nations.’ 1 Samuel 8:5. The Lord by Samuel PROTESTED solemnly against it all: and outlined before them what would be the evil of the oppressions of their king and their kingdom and their ‘organization.’ But they would not listen, and still insisted, ‘Nay, but WE WILL HAVE A KING OVER US.’ Verse 19. The Lord let them have their persistent way. Yet He declared. ‘They have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” Verse 7. They rejected God, to be ‘like all the nations.’ And speedily they became ‘like all the nations’ THAT REJECTED GOD: and finally sealed it all, and their doom, with the wild and desperate exclamation, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’ What is the meaning of all this? Is there in it any warning, or any lesson, for God’s people in this time or in any time?…Where is any difference in principle between then their call for a king, that they might be ‘like all the nations, ‘and now the like CALL FOR A KING?” What Is The Church by A.T. Jones pp. 7-8.
The people of God had now been quickly slipping away into idolatry, and with their first demand for a king dashed on the rough seas of Divine retribution (Judges 9: 50-57), in the death of Abimelech, they decided to make good on their second attempt at every cost. Thus in the days of Samuel, they again demanded a king, and notwithstanding Samuel’s solemn protest to their ungodly request, and their enlightened confession that “we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king” (1 Sam. 12:19), yet Israel still stubbornly said “nay; but a king (a mere man) shall reign over us.” 1 Sam. 12: 12. And this they did inspite of Samuel’s reminding that “the Lord your God was your king.” 1 Sam. 12: 12. O the mystery of sin, O the depths to which the carnal mind will stoop to satisfy its ungodly desires! It is well that the reader note Israel’s confession of their great “sin” in asking for a king, they saw it as “evil,” antichrist, but they repented not from whoring after their idol king. What an eye opener for the people of God today in their like demand for a king to rule God’s perfect kingdom of peace, purity and invincibility!
Although there was no visible king, in the person of a human being, nay, not even Moses, yet the record borne then was, “the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.” Num. 23: 21. Since Moses was never appointed as king among the people of Israel, who then could this “king” be but the Lord Jehovah? Again we are told, “And He was king in Jeshurun (Israel, Isa. 44: 2, 4), when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.” Deut. 33: 5. The reader is encouraged to see that both the office and the throne that the kings of Israel occupied, from Saul unto Zedekiah, were exclusively reserved for Yahweh alone. And to the people who will inhabit the future kingdom of glory, the Lord declares of them, “Thine eyes shall see the king in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off… For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our king; He will save us.” Isa. 33: 17, 22.
Again, we are told by the Gospel Prophet that the Lord alone is king (See. 1TG #23, p. 8). We have already established that the office which ancient David occupied was in-fact the seat of Christ. And it is for this reason that the bible calls David’s throne, the throne of the Lord, thus, “Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father.” 1 Chron. 29: 23. This fact cannot be overemphasized, David’s throne was “the throne of the Lord,” not the throne of David! And it is for this reason above all others, that David is the type of Christ, the true Antitypical David, the only one authorized by heaven to sit on David’s royal throne in the future of Glory. Luke 1: 31-32.
In a most succinct manner, Alonzo Trévier Jones has encapsulated the very truth we are now studying. The following extract was taken from one of his works on this theme:
Although the people were allowed to have a king, and although in this movement they had virtually rejected the Lord, as Samuel told them, the Lord would not forsake them. He still continued to guide the nation, communicating his will by prophets; and although they had done wrong in demanding a king, the Lord made even the kingship to be an additional element in teaching them his eternal purpose; he made it to them a reminder of the eternal kingdom which he would establish in the accomplishment of his purpose concerning the earth. Saul failed to do the will f God, and as he rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord rejected him from being king, and dent Samuel to anoint David king over Israel; and David’s house, and David’s throne, God established for evermore. When Solomon succeeded to the kingdom in the place of David his father, the record is: “then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father.” 1 Chron. 29: 23. David’s throne was the throne of the Lord, and Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king over the earthly kingdom of God. The succession to the throne descended in David’s line to Zedekiah, who was made subject to the king of Babylon, that perchance the kingship with the kingdom might stand….
And in recompensing this evil upon the head of Zedekiah, the word of Samuel to the people was fulfilled when he told them, “If ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.” For to Zedekiah, and to the kingdom forever after, god gave this testimony: “Thou profane, wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown; this shall not be the same; exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” Eze. 21: 25-27.
The kingdom was then subject to Babylon. When Babylon fell, and Medo-Persia succeeded, it was overturned the first time. When Medo-Persia fell, and was succeeded by Grecia, it was overturned the second time. When the Greek empire gave way to Rome, it was overturned the third time. And then says the word, “It shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” And he whose right it is, is thus named: “Thou…shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1: 31-33.— The Two Republics, A.T. Jones, 1891, pp. 305-307
I say dear friends, the subject of the Antitypical David-Shepherd-King, is one of the clearest and most explained in the Scriptures, and it behooves all to clearly and unequivocally exalt Christ as king David to come, and so shall it be that, “the children of Judah and the children of Israel [will] be gathered together and appoint themselves one head,” even “David their king.” Hos. 1: 11; 3: 5. Yes friends, in the very “place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people,” because of their rejecting the Lord their God as their only king, “there it shall be said unto them, ye are the sons (and daughters) of the living God.” Hos. 1: 10. Get it right once and for all my dear brethren, you will not have a mere “man” to rule over you in the Kingdom of Glory, no, you will have Christ, therefore chose Him today, appoint Him today as your only “king” and you shall never fail of eating from the Tree of Life. The urgency of this matter is of such great import that it requires your urgent attention and devout contemplation, because it is a choice between Christ and “a man.” This is salvation, this is eternal life that we are here contemplating, you cannot be saved in believing the error that a man will be your king in the kingdom of glory, you will be lost, eternally lost, so chose Christ today, appoint Him as you only king!
It is right here that ancient Israel failed, when Samuel told them their choice of a king meant their immediate rejection of Christ, they said Nay, we will have a king anyhow; and when Pilate finally petitioned them, “shall I crucify your King?” They exclaimed to their doom, “We have no king but Caesar!” John 19: 16. Today the like call is being made, and there are many, O so many that are saying by their actions, “we have no king but V.T. Houteff,” while still others plead for some other “man,” with almost none saying we will have Christ to reign over us! Praise God for Heralds of the King Ministries, we have seen the light of Christ’s sole kingship in His kingdom, and as long as time shall further last, and as long as Christ shall provide the means, we shall continue sounding the Clarion Call to the Kingship of Jehovah. If you, dear reader, have seen the truth of David as you have never seen it before, and if you see souls at stake for believing a lie, Won’t you help us in getting this message of Christ to the people of Davidia?
How can we expect Laodicea to accept this error-laden teaching of a man-king, when the Bible categorically denounces such a theology as “doctrines of devils?” Take time to pause and to ponder dear friends. What is the one teaching above all others that has broken Davidia into its warring factions and splinters? What is it? From my analysis of the situation there seems to be one central subject that has been so badly misunderstood by almost all believers, such that it will not cease creating splinter groups until Davidia has accepted Christ and Christ alone as their king David. This one teaching that is further dissecting Divided Davidia into its multitudinous factions is the error that “the David-Shepherd-King” in the kingdom will be a man. And since this erroneous teaching has placed V.T. Houteff in that seat, and since further, V.T. Houteff is now dead, a power vacuum is left in his wake, to the extent that there are not less than a dozen impostors today, each one vying for David’s throne, the throne of the Lord, notwithstanding the plain teaching of the Scriptures that “it shall be given Him whose right it is,” and He shall reign for evermore.
As soon as some individuals hear The Shepherd’s Rod Message, and have gained some understanding of its teachings, these ones feel that they have been elevated to some godlike understanding; and seeing this “vacant throne,” because of erroneous conclusions from their respective teachers, it presents itself to them as something to be grasped, something to be highly desired, and so they form an enclave of believers around themselves who give them worship and adoration, and who will finally appoint them as king over their lives! Has anyone ever realized that Vernon Howell (David Koresh), was also a contender for the Divine throne of David, and that for this reason he called himself the “son of God”? It is also for this reason that he changed his name from Vernon to “David.” Think of it friends, his was the character of most of the kings of antiquity, and undoubtedly, the character of the modern-day office seekers who are desiring the throne of David, the throne of Christ.
As Israel had cried out in sorrow, “we have no king’” and had gone into captivity; so now likewise Judah was obliged to acknowledge that she had no king, and must go mournfully into captivity. Such, so far, is the fruit of their persistent cry to Samuel, “We will have a king.”
With all other things only equal, how could it possibly have been worse, had they never desired any king or ruler but God; nor any government but that of God alone? But, oh, with all things in their favor, how infinitely different would have been the record, had they but been faithful in allegiance to God as their only King, their only Ruler, their only Lawgiver; and so had not been “reckoned among the nations”!
And it is pertinent to inquire, even at this late day of the nineteenth century, Will mankind—yes, will the professed people of God [Davidians],—ever learn this important lesson? The Empires of The Bible, A.T. Jones, 1897, p. 410.
“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is there any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.” Hos. 13: 9-11. Then to ask for a man as king in the place of God, is to ask for the anger of God upon ourselves!
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent. Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts. 17: 30, 31. And He shall reign as King, forever and ever, amen.
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