Bible passage: Psalm 110
Prophet: David
Written: About 1000 BC (about 3,000 years ago)
This article is contributed by Ray Konig, the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.
By Ray KonigPublished: April 28, 2024
Psalm 110 is a densely packed Messianic prophecy that foretold that the Messiah would ascend into heaven, be seated at the right hand of God the Father, and return in the future for Judgment Day.
This psalm, which is introduced as a psalm of David, accomplishes these things, outwardly and deductively, in the span of seven verses. And it establishes itself as a Messianic prophecy in the first verse:
Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.” (Psalm 110:1, WEB)
A plain reading of this verse, with the understanding that David is the author, is that God is speaking of David's Lord, meaning the Messiah, in a predictive way. David lived about 3,000 years ago, which is about 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus.
It then speaks of this Lord as having dominion, as in having one's enemies subdued, which is an attribute that is associated with the Messiah in other prophecies, including Psalm 72:8,11,17; Isaiah 11:9-10; Micah 5:1-4; Daniel 7:13-14; Zechariah 9:9-11.
The second verse of Psalm 110 further confirms that this psalm is a Messianic prophecy:
Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies. (Psalm 110:2, WEB)
In this verse, the rod is a call back to the scepter in Genesis 49:10, which is a Messianic prophecy that reveals that the Messiah would be a Jew who would appear after a succession of rulers from the Israelite Tribe of Judah.
Psalm 110 can be classified as a son of David prophecy, because it is, by default, speaking of the Messiah as an extraordinary descendant of King David, who was ancient Israel's greatest king.
With verse 2's details of rod and Zion, which is another name for Jerusalem, we see that this verse, and the psalm as a whole, is speaking of a promised future king in Jerusalem. Other prophecies in the Old Testament, including 2 Samuel 7:12-16, make it clear that it would be David's descendants who would inherit this throne, which is in Jerusalem, and that one of those descendants would be the Messiah himself.
This concept of classifying some Messianic prophecies as son of David prophecies is introduced and explained in more detail in the book Jesus the Messiah, by Ray Konig.
There are at least 10 prophecies in the Old Testament that outwardly or deductively speak of the promised Messiah as being an extraordinary descendant of King David. They include 2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 7:13-14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Micah 5:1-4, Jeremiah 23:5-6; Zechariah 9:9-11. Each of those prophecies are discussed in Jesus the Messiah.
Verse 6 of Psalm 110 alludes to the Messiah as presiding over Judgment Day, a future event in which the Messiah judges the living and the dead (Daniel 7:13-14, 12:1-2) and presides over an eternal kingdom, known as the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven.
In the New Testament, Jesus makes a reference to Psalm 110:1 and applies it to himself, as the Messiah. He does this near the end of his public ministry, after he is arrested and put on trial by the religious leaders who opposed him:
55 Now the chief priests and the whole council sought witnesses against Jesus to put him to death, and found none. 56 For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony didn’t agree with each other. 57 Some stood up, and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’” 59 Even so, their testimony didn’t agree.
60 The high priest stood up in the middle, and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it which these testify against you?” 61 But he stayed quiet, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
62 Jesus said, “I am. You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky.”
63 The high priest tore his clothes, and said, “What further need have we of witnesses? 64 You have heard the blasphemy! What do you think?” They all condemned him to be worthy of death. 65 Some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to beat him with fists, and to tell him, “Prophesy!” The officers struck him with the palms of their hands. (Mark 14:55-65, WEB)
In Mark 14:62, Jesus refers to Psalm 110:1, as well as Daniel 7:13-14, with the phrase You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of the sky.
With these words, Jesus is saying that he is the Messiah, who is referenced as the Son of Man in Daniel 7:13-14, who will be seated at the right hand of God, as predicted in Psalm 110:1, and that he will return in the future for Judgment Day.
What this means is that Jesus, who knew that he soon would be executed and resurrected, as he himself had predicted several times, would ascend into heaven and be seated at the right hand of God the Father. From there, he would return, at some point in the future, for Judgment Day.
© Ray Konig.
Ray Konig is the author of Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Prophet, Jesus the Miracle Worker, and 100 Fulfilled Bible Prophecies.
Here is Psalm 110:
1 Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
2 Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
3 Your people offer themselves willingly in the day of your power, in holy array. Out of the womb of the morning, you have the dew of your youth.
4 Yahweh has sworn, and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings in the day of his wrath.
6 He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
7 He will drink of the brook on the way; therefore he will lift up his head. (Psalm 110, WEB)