Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 3 * PART 4 * BOOK 64
BUT GOD! – (Kingdom of God) – PART 4
MATTHEW 6:33
Well, with this lesson we’ll wind up book 64. In case we have some new listeners, and I’m sure we do have new ones every day, we’re just an informal Bible study. We don’t try to pick any fights with anybody. We don’t try to attack anyone. We’re just trying to help people understand what the Book says. It’s really so plain. I had a lady call the other day and she said, “Why can’t people see it, because if I can see it anybody should see it.” Well, it is just so plain. That’s why we like to compare Scripture with Scripture and not try to twist it as so many do. So anyway, if you’re a new listener, we want to welcome you to get your Bible and follow along with us. Again, we thank our whole television audience from coast to coast for your prayers and your support and for your letters and your concern for us as a family. We’ve had some tough rows lately, health wise, with our family, but anyway, we just appreciate so much your concern.
All right, we’re going to get right back where we left off in the last lesson. We got sidetracked with a question, but we like questions even in our other ministries. We love to have people ask questions. So, I’ve gotten completely off of our format of “But God or But Now” for the last couple of programs. We’re looking at the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, as we saw in our very first program. We’ve got the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, and then later on we’re going to see the Body of Christ as another entity. Both of these are part and parcel, of course, of the overall Kingdom of God.
We’ve been looking at the Kingdom of Heaven all afternoon and in our last program, due to a question, we went back to determine who will go into this earthly kingdom. Well, in our last program we showed that there will be an escaping remnant of Jews who will flee the area of Jerusalem and Judea. They will go out to the wilderness where God will supernaturally take care of them, just like He did Israel under Moses. For three-and-a-half years they will have total Divine protection, and of course, when they see Christ returning with all of His power and glory and defeating the armies of the anti-Christ, they will be ready to accept Him as their long promised Messiah.
I do not believe that they go out as believers. I think they will go out supernaturally protected by God, and they do not become believers until they see Christ return. Here’s my reason. All right, I’ve got the folks in the studio already turned there. So, you in television, turn with me to Zechariah chapter 12 which, remember, is the next to the last book in your Old Testament. Now, jump in at chapter 12 and verse 9. Here again is a reference to these final seven years of tribulation and the return of Christ. Verse 9.
Zechariah 12:9
“And it shall come to pass in that day, (That is the Day of the Lord and the final seven years of human history, as we know it.) that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” Now that’s exactly what we showed in the last hour. That when the nations of the world, under the leadership of the anti-Christ, come to destroy the Nation of Israel and get rid of every Jew on the planet, then of course, God is going to intervene. Now, verse 10, here’s where I get the idea that these Jews out in their place of safety will not recognize, or believe, that Jesus is the Messiah until this point in time. Here it is. God says through the prophet:
Zechariah 12:10
“And I will pour upon the house of David, (That is this remnant of Israelites.) and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications: (In other words, He’s going to literally bring them to the place where they can believe and recognize who He is.) and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, (2000 years ago) and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” In other words, a tearful reunion of someone that they had spurned for generations.
All right, if you turn the page to Zechariah chapter 13, we have much the same scenario. Verse 6, and this all takes place as Christ is returning and defeating the nations of the world and is cleansing the world and getting it ready for His Kingdom. Now, He will supernaturally renovate the planet. I think it’s going to happen so fast, you can’t imagine that the whole planet will be made ready for this Kingdom economy. All right, now here’s the spiritual element.
Zechariah 13:6
“And one (That is of these Jews who have survived the Tribulation. This remnant out in the wilderness.) shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thy hands? (Up until now they haven’t understood.) Then he (the Messiah) shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” So, here is the full revelation of who Jesus Christ really is, and how He has suffered and died for the sins of the whole world, including the Nation of Israel. So, I feel that at the end of the Tribulation, at the Second Coming of Christ, this remnant of Israel will suddenly, to the last person, believe.
Now, I’m going to have to take you back to John’s Gospel to make you understand why I feel that every last one of these Jews in the remnant in the wilderness will become a believer. The last chapter of John. This takes a little explanation. While you’re looking it up, remember there are eight sign miracles in the Book of John. They are all signs. Now, not all miracles are signs, but all signs are miracles. These eight in John are all from the Greek word ‘semeion,’ which meant a sign. So, the first seven sign miracles were before the cross and pertained to Israel’s future. The eighth sign miracle, which we see here in chapter 21, is after the cross. It’s the eighth, so it’s a sign of new beginnings. So, it’s a reference to that which is way out into the future.
John’s Gospel chapter 21 and they’ve been fishing all night. Jesus is on the shore of Galilee. All right verse 5, it’s about the break of day; it’s morning.
John 21:5
“Then Jesus saith unto them, (That is to the Eleven. Judas is gone.) Children, have ye any meat? (Now, to put it in our language, when my little gal goes fishing the first thing I ask her when she gets back is, “Did you catch anything?” And she isn’t much different than the Eleven.) They answered him, No.” Not a one – now, use your mental ability to picture this. Here they are on the shore of Galilee. They’ve been fishing all night with nets. They’ve gotten nothing. Jesus is now on the shore asking the question, “Did you catch anything?” Right now, here’s the miracle.
John 21:6-7
“And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, (or the little fishing boat) and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. 7. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, (Which is a reference always to John, the writer of this Gospel.) saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) (Not stark, I’m sure, but he was probably down to the underclothes or something like that. He grabs his fishing coat.) and did cast himself into the sea.” In other words, they are close to the shore, so he can just jump into the water and wade up to where the Lord is standing.
John 21:8-11
“And the other disciples (the other ten) came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were 200 cubits,) (Now, that’s not very far, and the Sea of Galilee does not drop off that fast, so they were in water that they can wade, I’m pretty sure.) dragging the net with fishes. 9. And as soon as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid thereon, and bread. 10. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which you have now caught. 11. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: (Now, I don’t stop to put the emphasis on the number, although there are some. But this is the part I want you to see. Even though that net was jammed full of huge fish, yet…) and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.”
Now, in other times when they did this, the net broke. Now remember, this is a supernatural sign for Israel, after the resurrection and looking forward to the future. So, what’s the picture? That this remnant of Israel that God is drawing unto Himself, not one will be lost. That’s the picture. So, of this remnant of Israel out there in the wilderness, plus probably a scattering who have survived within the city itself, not a one will be lost. They will all, at His Second Coming, recognize who He is. They will all now be candidates to go into the Kingdom representing the Nation of Israel.
Now, we’ve got to go back to all the way to Deuteronomy 28 to understand that when this remnant of Israel is saved and comes into the Kingdom as flesh and blood people, they will comprise the largest single nation in the Kingdom. Let’s go back to chapter 28 first, and then we’ll look at 30. Now remember, Moses is writing this, so that’s two thousand plus fifteen hundred years; that’s 3500 years ago. And he’s right on. That’s the beauty of prophecy. All right, Deuteronomy chapter 28 verse 13, because this remnant of Israel will be the largest number of any one nation going into the Kingdom. We’re going to pick up the Gentiles in a little bit. Consequently, Israel will be the head of the nations during the thousand-year reign.
Deuteronomy 28:13a
“And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath;…” They’ll be the greatest nation on earth. All right, now come on over to chapter 30, and we find the promises being fulfilled concerning Israel in their Kingdom economy. Let’s just jump in at verse 8.
Deuteronomy 30:8-9a
“And thou shalt return (That is from their dispersion, as we’ve already been seeing it in the last several years.) and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. 9. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body,…” Now, what does that mean? They’re going to have children. They’re going to have a population explosion.
Deuteronomy 30:9b-10
“…in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, (See livestock. Yes, it’s a literal, physical kingdom but without disease, without thorns, or thistles. It’s going to be heaven on earth, remember?) and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: 10. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments, and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” And they’re going to! Israel will come in under the rule of their Messiah King and begin to repopulate the Nation of Israel as it functions in the Kingdom.
All right, now we’ve got to pick up the Gentiles going into the Kingdom, don’t we? Because, after all, when you get back to the Book of Revelation, you’ll find that there are people from every nation and tongue imaginable that have gone into the Kingdom. All right, Isaiah 24. Now, we’ve got the people of Israel. They’re going to go in as flesh and blood. They’ve survived the Tribulation, some of them by sheer survival if they’re up in the area of Jerusalem. But those out in the desert survive because of God’s protection. Now, we’re going to come to Gentiles who have survived by pure – well, we would say in the secular term – by pure luck. But they’re going to survive by God’s providential care. Isaiah 24 and we’re going to start at verse 1 to get the full picture. Again, it’s the Tribulation, Isaiah 24 verse 1.
Isaiah 24:1a
“Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty,…” Due to all the horrors of the Tribulation. Now, what’s that going to entail? Volcanoes. Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Probably meteorite showers. Anything that’s imaginable that God can use from the natural phenomena to literally pummel the planet. It’s beyond human understanding,
Isaiah 24:1b-4
“…and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; (In other words, nobody will escape this wrath of God.) as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. 3. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. 4. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.” Even the super, super rich are not going to escape.
Isaiah 24:5
“The earth (Now remember, we’re not talking about the Middle East, we’re talking about the whole planet.) also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, (Wickedness has compounded.) changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6. Therefore (Because man has gone into total rebellion against God and His Sovereignty.) hath the curse (Which fell when Adam sinned.) devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: (Boy, it’s going to be nuclear winter like you cannot imagine.) therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned (Which, to me, speaks of a nuclear end to it all.) and few men left.” Now, that’s the key. If you don’t mind marking your Bible, highlight that. “Few men left.” Well, what’s the word? Survivors. There will be a few survivors.
Now, you can put whatever percentage on the word “few” that you want to put. Two percent. Three percent. Five percent, whatever. It’ll be a small percentage of the whole that will come through that seven years physically alive. They’ve survived. Now, it stands to reason. Those 144,000 Jews have been out there preaching salvation for the last several years during this time. We know from the Book of Revelation that they’re going to have a tremendous response, but most of those that respond will be martyred just as fast as they profess faith in the Gospel of the Kingdom. So, it’s only going to be those who have survived to the end of the seven years. They’re still alive, physically. But you’re going to have some that are saved and some that are lost.
Now, no lost person can go into the Kingdom, so God has to do something. He has to separate them. He’s going to have to bring in a judgment, discernment. All right, let’s jump up to Matthew again. Now, we can go to Matthew chapter 25. We’ve been in 24 quite a bit, but now we’ll go to the next chapter, chapter 25, and we’re going to drop in at verse 31. Watch the language carefully.
Matthew 25:31
“When the Son of man (Now, that’s Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.) shall come in his (What?) glory, (Power. Majesty.) and all the holy angels with him, (the hosts of heaven) then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:” And where is that going to be? Jerusalem – On Mount Zion, on the very same place where David once sat and ruled. All right, so Christ returns and after the planet is made ready for this glorious heaven on earth experience, He is now established on His throne in Jerusalem.
All right, now verse 32, now remember, we’re in the realm of the supernatural. So don’t try to figure out how this is all going to take place. God can do it. Nothing is impossible with Him. That’s not just doing it frivolously. This is what I mean by the power of God. It’s going to make this thing happen.
Matthew 25:32a
“And before him shall be gathered all nations,…” Now, stop a minute. How many people of all the nations are left? Just a few. But there are probably a few in every sovereign state around the planet. There’ll be a few Chinese. There’ll be a few Indians. There’ll be a few of all the nations of Africa and Europe and South America. There’ll be a few survivors in every nation. I don’t think a one is going to be left out. God is going to bring those few survivors, of all the nations of the world, before Him and His throne in Jerusalem.
Now, like I said, this is a supernatural phenomenon that I can’t explain, but I know it’s going to happen, because the Book says it is. All right, so He brings all the survivors of the Tribulation before Him, but like I told you a moment ago – some are lost – some are saved. So, what does He have to do? He has to separate them. And that’s exactly what He’s going to do.
Matthew 25:32b
“…and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.” Now, that’s not too hard to understand is it? My goodness, the shepherd goes in and he puts the sheep on the right and the goats on the left, and they’re separated. That’s what God is going to do with the believers and the unbelievers.
Matthew 25:34
“Then shall the King (God the Son, Israel’s Messiah) 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:” Now, this isn’t heaven in the heavens, this is the Kingdom on earth. Got it? The Kingdom over which He’s going to be ruling and reigning for a thousand years. But it’s got to be populated, because after all, you’re going to have millions of people at the end of the thousand years.
All right, we’ve already brought in the remnant of Israel, as we saw earlier, that’ll become the Nation of Israel. Here come representatives of the Gentile seed stock from all the nations of the world. Some of them are believers. Some of them are unbelievers. All right, He’s sorting them out. To the believers He says, “Come into the kingdom, or inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Now, these next few verses do not mean that they work for their salvation. It was proof of their salvation, which they had heard from the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. All right, now He’s got the believers set aside, and they are ready to go into that earthly Kingdom.
Now, this is my own idea, and that’s all I can put on it. It stands to reason if by the time we get to the end of the thousand years there are nations all around the planet, all the various tongues and tribes, they’re going to have to all come from these few survivors. So, my idea is that the survivors of England will go back to England. The survivors of America will go back to America. The survivors of China will go back to China. These survivors that are believers will go back to their original homeland and begin to repopulate all the nations of the world. Now remember, we’ve got a thousand years. They’re going to have multitudes of children. So, by the time the thousand years are over, there are going to be literally billions of people on the planet once again, because there’s been no sin, there’s been no death, no Satan to interrupt.
All right, now to the other portion, the lost people, the goats, we’d better pick them up to see their fate. This is the same scenario, but now we’re dealing with the lost, the goats.
Matthew 25:41
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” And again, the proof of their response is that they had no concern about these spiritual things that the others did. So, here is where you get the Gentile citizenry of the Kingdom. You get the Nation of Israel. And the thousand years is now ready to start moving on. Christ is going to rule and reign with a perfect government. It’s going to be like the expression says, “It’s going to be heaven on earth!”