The Third Anointing of David

So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and king David made a league with them in Hebron before the LORD: and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah. (II Samuel 5:3-5)

David is one of the most significant types of Christ to be found in the Scriptures. It was the Spirit of Christ in David who gave the Psalms. Christ is descended from David and possesses the "key of David."

Jesus was hailed by the Israelites as the "son of David." The fact that there were three anointings of David as king has a direct prophetic bearing on the installation of Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.

The first anointing of David was performed by Samuel and was occasioned by the disobedience of Saul (I Samuel 15:22). The events in David’s life after that were similar to what has taken place in the earth since the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and will take place in the future..

The flesh (Saul) still is on the throne of the churches (Israel). Christ (David) has been anointed King by the Spirit of God. Christ still is outside the camp of respectability but He is gathering together His mighty men.

The second anointing took place immediately after the death of Saul. David and his warriors were in Hebron, and the men of Judah came and anointed David king over the house of Judah. David reigned over Judah seven and one-half years before he was anointed king over all Israel.

When David came into power in Judah, he brought four hundred warriors with him (II Samuel 2:3). David’s warriors shared his glory with him. They no longer were in distress, in debt, or discontented. Rather they were the ones who had served the true king during his exile. You can imagine the positions of power and prestige they enjoyed when they returned from the wilderness with David!

So it will be when Jesus returns. His "victorious saints" will be placed in positions of authority and power.

It is our understanding that the second anointing portrays the position of rulership to which the Lord’s victorious saints have been called. This first, partial rulership will come into being at the Lord’s return from Heaven. The Scripture is clear that there will be a rulership assigned to a godly remnant before the remainder of God’s elect is brought to such fullness—if in fact they ever do attain the fullness!

The doctrine of the godly remnant of saints, through whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow Satan and save all Israel, certainly is emphasized in the Scriptures. The division of the Lord’s elect into the more holy and the less holy, the greater in the Kingdom and the lesser in the Kingdom, is presented several times and is prefigured in prophetic symbolism.

The story of Gideon and his three hundred is one of numerous portrayals. The multitude, the seventy, the twelve, and the three on the Mount of Transfiguration is another.

Christ today is calling to Himself from the ranks of Christians of all persuasions those who will serve and worship Him with their whole heart. Although Christ is not served with a perfect heart by all who profess faith in Him, yet there are some in many congregations who are victorious saints. They live for Christ with singleness of heart and mind even though they are surrounded by people who are not as fervent.

Christ is knocking on the door of the heart of every believer. Who will open the door of his life to Jesus and allow Him to be Lord of all? The invitation is to "whosoever will." Wherever people name the name of Christ, there the Spirit is seeking those who will come under the Lord’s discipline.

Peter, James, and John—along with Moses and Elijah—on the Mount of Transfiguration are a type of those among the disciples who will appear with Christ in the fullness of His Glory. Revelation, Chapter 14 speaks of Christians who are "firstfruits."

We do not wish to encourage the development of little groups of believers who spend their time finding fault with all that God does in the large churches. These are not the victorious saints. The victorious saints are found among the most fruitful and diligent of the members of all churches.

Being one of God’s saints is an opportunity open to everyone, not just to the members of a prayer group made up of kindred spirits. Whether or not one is a member of a denomination or a particular church group is of little importance when we are speaking of the ranks of the victorious saints. The important consideration is that we anoint the Lord Jesus King over all that we are and do.

The "overcoming call" is a big move of the Spirit, a grand sweep of all believers, blowing as the breath of Heaven wherever Christians are found. Will you be one of those who will accept Jesus as Lord at this moment, crowning Him Lord of your life? If so, the rewards of the overcomer are yours.

Remember, being an overcomer requires only your belief and obedience. The wisdom and power are from God. The only factor that can prevent you from taking your place with Christ’s heroes of faith is your unbelief. All else stands ready, waiting to be sent to your aid.

If you ask God He will provide the faith that you need plus the desire and strength to obey Him. Ask and receive.

The second anointing of David speaks, in the kingdom-wide sense, of the return from Heaven of our Lord Jesus Christ. At His return, His victorious saints, His "mighty men," those who have made Him Lord of all, will take their places as kings, priests, and judges. They will be as an army following Christ. All rebellion in the earth will be crushed under their feet. The saints will be filled to overflowing with righteousness and praise. They will reign with Christ throughout the thousand years.

It is our understanding that the third anointing of David, the anointing that made him king over all Israel, refers to the fact that eventually every Christian will be brought to the place where Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords over his life and that together all the peoples of the Lord will compose the Wife of the Lamb, the holy city, the new Jerusalem. Every believer, from the least to the greatest will know the Lord.

Another way of interpreting the progressive anointings of David, and an interpretation in agreement with the three deaths and three resurrections of redemption, is that these anointings point toward a progressive capturing of the saint by the Spirit of God.

After the first death and resurrection Christ is anointed King over our life, but we keep Him out in the wilderness while the flesh has its way with us. After the second death and resurrection the flesh dies and we begin to praise the Lord (Judah). The Lord Jesus now is reigning over a substantial part of our personality.

After the third death and resurrection Christ is anointed King over our whole personality. There is not one particle of us that is not under subjection to Christ: not one action, not one word, not one thought, not one imagination.

The first thing David did after being anointed king over all Israel was to capture the fortress Zion, enabling him to control all Jerusalem. Next, he brought the Ark of the Covenant to his city, Zion, and established it there.

As soon as Christ has become Lord of our life, when we have assented to join the ranks of the victorious saints, He speaks to us of the need to make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. He places in us His desire to establish His Glory and Presence in His Body, to establish His Body in Jerusalem, and then to fill the whole earth with His Glory.

Christ is coming with thousands of His saints, a holy remnant, to set up His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. His Glory will be in the hearts of His saints who appear with Him. He will be established with them in the city of Jerusalem.

After that He will increase His dominion over the hearts and lives of all His people, and finally over the nations of saved peoples of the earth. The nations will come to learn the righteous ways of the Lord.

The prostitute, Rahab, and her family represent those who will be saved from destruction when the Lord returns to set up His kingdom on the earth. Rahab was a citizen of Jericho, a city marked for destruction. She and her family were saved by the scarlet cord (portraying the blood of Christ) because of her kindness to the Israelite scouts whom Joshua had sent to spy out the land. (Joshua 6:25).

In like manner, the peoples of the earth who are kind to the Lord’s brothers, especially during the great tribulation, will be considered "sheep" and will be saved in the Day of the Lord.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: (Matthew 25:34,35)

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