Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 1 * PART 2 * BOOK 74
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE – PART 2
Genesis through Revelation
Okay, once again it is good to see everybody back. For those of you out in television, when I say to have them back—they go out and have a coffee break. It takes a little bit to get this many people served and back in here. We always like to make it known, if you’d like to come in sometime and visit us for an afternoon of taping, that we start about 12:30 p.m., and the cameras roll at 1 p.m. We’re usually out about 4:15 – 4:30 p.m. It’s just a nice afternoon. We’ve got a lot of visitors today. In fact, more than I can take time to point out, but we always like to welcome out-of-state folks.
Okay, we’re going to keep right on going where we left off in Genesis. We’re just going to make a big picture. That is the way a gentleman put it one time when I was in a class in Florida. He said, “Les, I love the way you fill in the big picture.” Well, that’s the first time I’d ever heard it put that way, but that’s so true. You know, people will call with questions, and I’ll say, “Well, sometimes, you know, God gives us enough credit that we can fill in some of these things, as long as you do it scripturally, and just fill in the big picture.” The other one we like to use is connecting the dots. It all fits if you just compare Scripture with Scripture.
So, we’re going to keep going on. After the flood the population starts expanding once again. God has instructed Noah and his three sons and their families to replenish or to fill up the earth, which meant that they were to scatter. Not stay in one place. But, man is always rebellious. Isn’t it amazing? Man never does what God wants him to do. Let’s jump in at chapter 11 verse 1.
Genesis 11:1-4b
“And the whole earth was of one language, (Now remember, it isn’t the whole world as we know it, but for them.) and of one speech. 2. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3. And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime for mortar. 4. And they (the population in general) said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven;…”
In other words, it’s going to be a place of worship. Not that they thought they could build a tower to the Heaven of the heavens, but it’d be a place of worship where they could make contact with what they conceived of as God.
Genesis 11:4b
“…and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered…” Now, do you see the rebellion? In casual reading you miss that. But God said, “Scatter and replenish the earth.” Man says what? We’re not going to. We’re going to stay right here lest we be scattered. All right, then verse 5:
Genesis 11:5-6
“And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” Now, don’t just read that casually.
On what basis could God say something like that? That whatever they imagined they could do it. Why? They’re not that far from the pre-flood civilization, where you’ve heard me say it once, and I know a lot of people doubt me, but I think they had a technology almost equal to our own just before the flood. Because remember, they started out with a super brain at creation. There was nothing that had deteriorated. And they lived 900 years to use all that brainpower. So when I see evidence that at some time in the ancient past there is evidence of computers and internal combustion engines and maps like you can’t believe, then I have to say, yes, I believe that. I think it was before the flood when they had tremendous technology.
All right, so this just makes sense. These are only 200 years removed, so enough of that technology would have been made available and God said it – there’s just nothing to restrain them that they can’t do,unless He does something drastic, which was to confuse the languages. Now stop and think! What is one of the major reasons that we have had such an explosion of technology in the last 50 years?
Well, the whole world has almost again become one language. Because in the scientific world, whether it’s Japan or Europe or America, what is the basic language of science? English. So, we’re just about back full circle. Like here, when they had the advantage of one language, there was almost nothing to stop their ability to invent and so forth. And so the Lord said, “There is nothing that they can’t do.” So He had to interrupt it by confusing the languages.
Now remember, time-wise we’ve got the Flood 1,600 years after Adam, and then 200 years after Noah, we have the Tower of Babel. All right, now we’re going to skip the next 200 years and jump all the way down in this same chapter 11 to verse 31. Here we’re at about 2,000 years after Adam and 2,000 years before Christ. Abraham stands at the midpoint between creation and Christ’s first coming.
Genesis 11:31-32
“And Terah (the father of Abraham) took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees; (Now the Chaldees, remember, were the people of Babylon.) to go into the land of Canaan; (Which is down at the eastern end of the Mediterranean.) and they came unto Haran, (Which is up north of present day Lebanon in present day Syria.) and dwelt there. (That’s where God stopped them.) 32. And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.”
All right, before we go any further, I want you to jump ahead with me to Joshua the last chapter. I think that’s chapter 24. Because I want you to see what kind of a family this was before God intervened. Remember now, that the Tower of Babel began 200 years before. This meant that the whole then-known population had come under the influence of Nimrod, who was the instigator of paganism. The other names of Nimrod are probably Zeus and Osiris and some of those other pagan names. They all referred to Nimrod. He was the beginning of all pagan religions and idolatry.
All right, so this little family that we’re dealing with was no different. Joshua 24 verse 2 and remember the setting. This is Israel now after having gone into the Promised Land. Joshua has helped them occupy it, fought all the battles. It’s time for Joshua to move on and die and join the forefathers. But look what he says.
Joshua 24:2
“And Joshua saith unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers (your forefathers) dwelt on the other side of the river in old time (I think that’s the Euphrates River.) even Terah, the father of Abraham, the father of Nachor: and they (The whole family what?) served other gods.” Plural. So, what were they? Pagan idolaters. Every one of them.
All right, now naturally, especially in the Orient, who is the head of the family? Well, the patriarch, the father. In this case, it was Terah. Now how far do you think Abraham would have gotten separating from idolatry as long as the old patriarch stood there with his power over them? Well, it probably wouldn’t have happened. So, what does God wait for? He waits for Terah to die. All right, now we can move into Genesis chapter 12. This is the way God works, you know. Sometimes He moves in miraculously, but on the other hand, sometimes He just lets things take their course.
So now we come into chapter 12. Terah is dead and gone, but they are still living up there in Haran. They’re out of Ur, but they’re in Haran, which is between Ur and Canaan. Chapter 12 verse 1 and now we can pick up our timeline on the board as well.
Genesis 12:1
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, (back there in chapter 11) Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:” Now why is God laying down those stipulations? To separate them from idolatry. From paganism. He doesn’t say take the family with you, but rather separate from them.
Well, what does Paul write? Same thing. “Be separate.” What does Revelation say? “Come out from among them.” Why? Because a believer cannot consort with the unbelieving world day in and day out and have any spiritual growth. It’s impossible. Now, we’re in the real world. We know that. But you still cannot mingle with the unbelievers and have any spiritual growth. So the concept is always the same: separate yourselves from the gross, unbelieving world. Verse 1 again:
Genesis 12:1-2a
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from they kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: (Now here come the promises and the prophecy.) 2. And I will make of thee a great nation,…” Now we think of Israel today as nothing but just a little tiny nothing in the affairs of the world. But you’ve got to remember, back here in antiquity people were still tribal. There were no real national entities as yet. So, this little Nation of Israel is going to become one of the greatest tribes in that part of the world, before everything starts exploding around them, if I can put it that way.
All right, so they are going to become a great nation in the eyes of antiquity. Even though in today’s world they were pretty small.
Genesis 12:2b-3
“… And I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3. And I will bless them that bless thee, (Now this is a promise that holds today just as much as it did 2,000 years before Christ.) I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; (Now, here comes the prophecy of all prophecy.) and in thee (in Abraham) shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Well, how can you and I living clear up here in the 21st century, clear over on the other side of the world, be blessed by the blessing given to Abraham? Through the work of the cross. Through this Book.
Every word of this Book, yes, including Luke, is written by Jews (Romans 3:1-2). That’s the role of the Nation of Israel. Through the Nation of Israel not only came this Book with all of its prophetic utterances, but though the Nation of Israel came the Messiah, the Savior of the world. That’s what this prophecy is talking about. That through Abraham every nation on earth will be exposed to the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, because nationally speaking He was a Jew. You see that?
All right, now this is prophecy. This is what I’m always maintaining, that there is not another book on this planet that could even come close to this one because of the prophecies. Oh, I want people to know that. The Koran has no prophecy. The Book of Mormon has no prophecy. All these other religious books of the world cannot prophesy events hundreds if not thousands of years before they happen. But this one does. And it’s not pie in the sky, because at the first advent, as I’ve said over and over on this program, over 300 distinct prophecies that were written hundreds of years before were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming.
Otherwise, Zechariah—let me just give you one example. I hope I can find it. Sometimes I feel like I’m walking into a buzz saw, because I may not find it when I want it. But I’m thinking it is Zechariah chapter 9. Zechariah chapter 9. Now this is written almost 500 years before it happened, and this isn’t something that happens every day that someone would say, well, that’s just a shot in the dark. No. This was a unique event. Oh, this is so thrilling. And this is just one out of hundreds that were fulfilled to the last jot and tittle. All got it?
Zechariah 9:9
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; (That’s Jerusalem and the Jews.) shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King (We’re going to be talking about that now. This is the promise in Genesis 12 that out of the Nation of Israel will come a king and a kingdom.) cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, (or a donkey) and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
Well, when did that happen? On the Triumphal Entry. Fulfilled to the last jot and tittle that He came riding into Jerusalem, off the Mount of Olives, across the Valley of Kidron, and up to the Temple Mount on the colt of a donkey. And it was written five hundred years before. King Cyrus, the king of Persia, was named by a Jewish prophet a hundred and fifty years before he was born.
Now, I can take you back to Psalm 22, just for an example now, so that you’ll know what I’m talking about that this is the only Book on earth that can do this. Even the best of the soothsayers, the best of them, can’t get over 50%. That’s their batting average. The best of them and that, of course, is guesswork. That’s all it is. But this is so obvious. Psalm 22 verse 7 and I’ll let you judge for yourself. Who are we talking about? This, of course, was written by King David. And when was King David? A thousand years before Christ. Now, look at these descriptive words in verse 7.
Psalm 22:7-8
“All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8. He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.” Who are we talking about? Isn’t that exactly what they said of Jesus as He was on the way to the cross? Well, if He’s who He says He was, let Him call ten thousand angels. See, this is all prophesied. This is what would happen. All right, verse 9:
Psalm 22:9-10
“But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.” What’s David talking about? The Messiah. All right, now verse 11.
Psalm 22:11-12
“Be not far from me; for trouble is near: for there is none to help. (Now these, of course, are the mind and thoughts of Christ as He was on the cross or going to it.) 12. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.” In other words, all the Roman army and everything that pertains to it.
Psalms 22:13
“They gaped (or stared) upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.” Picture the crowds as He was hanging on the cross. Now, if you know anything about crucifixion, this next verse is a typical description of the suffering.
Psalms 22:14a
“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint:…” See, that’s what crucifixion did. As they hung there, their bones would literally be pulled from their sockets.
Psalms 22:14b-15a
“…my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my being. 15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; (a piece of clay) and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;…” Okay, stop a minute. What was one of the seven statements from the cross? Remember when He said, “Behold, I thirst.” This is why. This is a graphic description of crucifixion one thousand years before it happened.
Psalms 22:16
“For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: (Who are the dogs? The Romans. Who were the rest of them? The taunting Jews. But now don’t stop there.) they pierced my hands and my feet.” You see that, all written a thousand years before it happened. Verse 18:
Psalm 22:18
“They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” Did they do it? Well, of course they did. You know that. They cast lots for His tunic, the one that was supposedly woven without a seam. They cast lots for it. All prophesied. Now that’s just a little sampling. The whole Old Testament is scattered with those kinds of statements. No other book on earth can do that.
All right, now let’s go back to Genesis chapter 12. You got all that free for nothing. I wasn’t planning on that. But see, this is what we have to understand, that this Book is so supernatural. There is no way we can doubt that it is inspired of God, even though men wrote it. All right, back to chapter 12 and the call of Abraham, as we call it. And I want you to see verse 3 again.
Genesis 12:3a
“I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee;…” And history supports that. Any nation or empire that turns on the Jews is going to sooner or later go down to their doom. I think Germany is still suffering the results of Hitler’s hatred for the Jewish people. All right, but the best part of all is this last statement of the verse.
Genesis 12:3b
“…and in thee (In Abraham, because out of Abraham would come Israel, and out of Israel would come the Messiah, and the Messiah would become the Savior of the world.) shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
Now, that’s the beginning of our timeline as we’ve got it on the board. And now we find that from Abraham all the way up, all the way through, and we’re going to follow these from Abraham to the appearance of the Nation of Israel under Moses. Then comes David and then come the prophets. In between we have the Babylonian invasion, the destruction of the Temple, the exile to Babylon, and then all the way up through Christ’s first advent (we’ll be looking at the details in time), then the crucifixion, then 40 days with the Twelve, and then He ascends back to Glory.
Then, according to all the Old Testament and including the gospels and the first eight chapters of Acts, everything was pointing to the next big event in human history, which would be the seven years of what we call Tribulation and the horrors of it, which would trigger the Second Coming. And then in would come that glorious heaven on earth 1,000 year kingdom.
And that’s something that very few church people know anything about. I am aghast at how few church people know anything of this earthly kingdom. You know, I had someone send me a book awhile back, and I know the fellow meant well. He had written it. He had signed it and sent it to me, but what a travesty. I don’t remember the exact title, but the idea of the book was what’s Heaven going to be like? My, a book that thick. What’s Heaven going to be like? Well, I knew right away it had to be a lie, because there is nothing in this Book that tells us what our Heaven, the real Heaven, is going to be like, except for one word. Glorious! You’ve heard me say it. It’s going to be glorious. That’s all we know.
So, what did the guy write about? The earthly kingdom. Every reference that he used was a reference to this glorious kingdom, where the lion will lie down with the lamb and so on and so forth; and tremendous production, with every man living under his own fig tree. Well, those are all things concerning this earthly kingdom. Yes, it’s going to be heaven on earth, but it’s not the Heaven of the heavens that we think of. And this is where people are what I call ignorant of this Book. And it’s sad. There’s no reason for it. It’s because they don’t read. They won’t study. They won’t compare Scripture. And like I’m learning to tell them when they try to make a point of argument, the only reason you don’t see it is because you don’t want to. And that’s what it’s all down to. They don’t want to see. No, they’ll never see it. But if they want to, it’s as plain as plain can be.
All right, so let’s just take a brief run at Abraham and the Nation of Israel coming on the scene, as I always put it. Then after they become a nation and they get into the Promised Land, let’s jump up to Exodus chapter 19. Oh, my goodness, this half-hour has gone already, and I just got started. Exodus chapter 19, now Israel has become a nation. The twelve sons of Jacob have made their appearance. They went down into Egypt, remember, because Joseph was sold into slavery. He was down there and became God’s divine appointment. Pharaoh gave him authority to save the grain through the seven years of plenty to be ready for the seven years of famine. That’s the setting. All right, because of that the famine came to Canaan, and Jacob and the other sons of the family were about starving to death. When they hear there is grain in Egypt, old Jacob sent the sons, all but Benjamin, down to Egypt.
Well, when they get to Egypt to draw their grain, unknown to them who is parceling out the grain? Their brother Joseph. You know, I was reading a book, Carla, yes, I got a good book a while back. It’s from a secular point of view, but yet it just makes it so graphically plain how that Joseph was in total control all of Egypt, especially in the parceling out of the grain during those seven years of famine. So, when the brothers came over from Canaan to Egypt, he was the one that had to deal with them. Well, he immediately recognized them, if you remember, but they didn’t know him. Well, out of that situation then, the whole family is moved into Egypt under the Pharaoh and Joseph as the second man in Egypt. So Israel, as the Scripture says, “became a Nation down in Egypt.”
All right, then after 700-800 years, God raises up Moses. You know the story. Moses goes in and confronts Pharaoh. After the plagues we’ve got Israel coming out of Egypt. All right, they go to Mount Sinai—we’ll pick this up in the next half hour. Remember, God makes promises to that Nation concerning the next several thousand years of human history. All prophesied. All legitimate. And even though it hasn’t all happened yet, we can rest assured that it surely will.