Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 2 * PART 3 * BOOK 74
CONNECTING THE DOTS OF SCRIPTURE – PART 7
Genesis through Revelation
Okay, all of you out in television, come and see us sometime. We have a great time on these Wednesday afternoons. Again, we always like to remind you that we’re so appreciative of all your prayers, your financial help, and your encouraging letters. My goodness, how we love our mail time!
Okay, we’re going to come right on with the theme that we’re showing the attributes of this physical, political Earthly Kingdom over which Christ is going to rule and reign. And all these Old Testament promises will finally become a reality. This isn’t just pie in the sky. This is going to happen, because it’s the Word of God.
All right, we’re going to jump in at Jeremiah 31 and verse 11. Now all of these verses are applicable. They’re all speaking of this glorious coming time for the Nation of Israel. I’m just sort of hitting the highlights. In your spare time read the rest of these chapters.
Jeremiah 31:11a
“For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob,…” Now stop a minute. Will there be any unbelieving Jews going into the Kingdom? No. The Lord made it so plain in John chapter 3 when He was speaking to Nicodemus. What did He tell him? Nicodemus, you should know this. No one goeth into the Kingdom unless they be born again. Or what we call now and I prefer, born from above.
So, there’ll be no unbelievers going into this Kingdom. It’s going to be a Kingdom of righteousness, and it’ll be a righteous government. It’s going to be a righteous environment. We’ll be looking at some more of that when we finally get into the New Testament description of these things. But here we have the redeemed of Israel who will be going into the Kingdom.
Now, let me just throw some numbers at you. We know from Zechariah chapter 8 that one third of Israel is going to come through the fires of the Tribulation and go into the Kingdom. Two thirds are going to be lost. All right, Israel today is around 15 million people. One third means five million. That’s a pretty good chunk of people. That’s more than Dallas or Fort Worth put together. All right, that will be the remnant of Israel going in on the front end. Now then, from all the other nations of the world there will just be a smattering of survivors who are believers that will go into the Kingdom as Gentiles. And that’s what you always have to remember. The millennial reign will be primarily Israel’s thing. They are going to be the head nation of the nations by virtue of numbers. But all the other nations are going to be represented with a few and the population, of course, will grow from all directions. All right, so that’s what we talk about when we speak of the inhabitants of this glorious Kingdom. Okay, now I’m going to start reading in Jeremiah 31 verse 11 again.
Jeremiah 31:11-12
“For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, (or the Nation of Israel) and ransomed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. 12. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow (That same word that Isaiah used – all the nations shall flow into it.) together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; (Are you getting the beautiful description here?) and they shall not sorrow any more at all.” It’s going to be Heaven on earth. Now that’s the only way I can put it. It’s going to be Heaven, but on planet earth, for a thousand years. All right, verse 13.
Jeremiah 31:13-14
“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14. I will satiate (or I will actually fill) the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.” I’m just going to keep reading for a few more verses.
Jeremiah 31:15-16
“Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. 16. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.” In other words, the Jews are going to be coming back from wherever they had been scattered.
Jeremiah 31:17
“And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” The Jews are going to all be where they belong.
All right, now let’s just skip across in this same chapter to verse 31, where we now have the spiritual conditions of the Nation of Israel. Verse 31, this is what we call the New Covenant.
Jeremiah 31:31a
“Behold, the days come,…” Now, I can’t refrain from reminding you, what does that tell us? It’s going to happen. I don’t care how much they scorn or ridicule. You know, Christianity is under attack like almost not since the Dark Ages. Our media hates us, and they falsely accuse us of everything but the truth. And we’re just going to have to learn to live with it, because we’re not going to turn them around.
Jeremiah 31:31
“Behold, the days come, (Because God has promised it.) saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:” In other words, the whole Nation is going to be involved. All the tribes. Not just Benjamin and Judah, all of them. Now verse 32, this new covenant will not be:
Jeremiah 31:32a
“Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke,…” In other words, this is not like the covenant of the Ten Commandments that Moses got at Mount Sinai. This is a totally new agreement between God and Israel.
Jeremiah 31:33
“But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, (In other words, after these last 1,900 and some years of dispersion. After the horrible seven years of Tribulation. After all those years have gone by–) saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” That’s God’s promise. Now verse 34:
Jeremiah 31:34a
“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD:…” In other words, as it was in Deuteronomy. When they got up in the morning, what were they to do? Memorize Scripture. When they sat down for noon time lunch, what where they to do? Memorize Scripture. When they went to bed at night, what were they to do? Memorize the Scripture. In other words, study it. That won’t be necessary, because every Jew will have it automatically. All right, that’s what He means here. Verse 34 again:
Jeremiah 31:34
“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, (It’s going to be a given.) from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Israel is finally going to arrive. Verse 35.
Jeremiah 31:35
“Thus saith the LORD, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:” He’s the Creator, remember? And it’s Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
Jeremiah 31:36
“If (that’s conditional) those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.” In other words, if the universe that’s been there for however long you want to put on it—if you’re a creationist, it’s less than ten thousand years. If you go beyond that, it could be billions of years. But whatever, however long it’s been there it has never deviated. The sun has never moved out of its place. The planets have never moved.
You know, I had an interesting experience. I shared with you in our last taping that we had a couple people come over to visit us from England. We were outside one evening and standing on the deck. It was a beautiful, Oklahoma, clear, starlit night. You city people don’t know what it’s like. The stars were just like they were a hundred yards up. And this Brit said, “There’s the Big Dipper. It’s in the same place as it is in England!” And you know, it is kind of a shocking thing. We know that from textbooks, yes. But to actually hear it from someone – it’s in the same place that it is in England. Well, of course. But has it ever moved? No. It’s exactly like it’s been since creation.
All right, so what God is saying is that it’s just as apt to fall out of its rightful place as it is for Israel to lose their identity. Now you Preterists out there, I know they are listening. I get books from them all the time. One of them even expected me to autograph it. Ha! Sorry, fellows. I will never condone Preterism. Because, you see, Preterism says that Israel disappeared in A.D. 70. Well then, if that’s the case, then the Bible is a lie. Or they’re a lie. Now you decide. But this is what God says. That if the ordinances of creation: the sun and the moon and the stars and the planets and the galaxies; if they disappear or “depart from before me, saith the LORD, then shall the seed of Israel.”
Well, I guess if the universe falls apart, everything goes, doesn’t it? You and I included. But this is what God is saying: that His promises with Israel are just as secure as the universe. Now isn’t that enough? How in the world can mortal men say that this is a lie? But they do.
Jeremiah 31:36-37
“If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above (And we don’t even know where Heaven is. We know it’s there, but we don’t know where.) can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.”
Now isn’t that amazing? So, will God ever give up on Israel? Never! His promises are secure with the Nation of Israel. And I’ll take it one step further. If God can’t keep His promise with Israel, do you and I have any assurance of our salvation? Well, of course not. If He can’t keep His word with Israel, He has no reason to keep His word with me or you. But oh, beloved, He will not break His word with Israel. He will not break His promise with us. We are safe for eternity, because His Word is true. I’ll stand on that until the day they shoot me. His Word is true. All right, now I’ve got to finish the chapter, I think, and then we’re going to move on to another one.
Jeremiah 31:38-39a
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. 39. And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it…” In other words, all these Kingdom promises are going to be fulfilled. All right, verse 40:
Jeremiah 31:40
“And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; (In other words, all of the things that were ravished in those closing days of the Tribulation will disappear. It will never be remembered in this glorious Kingdom.) it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.” All right, now let’s just turn the page. I want to go to chapter 33. Let’s see, I want to drop down to verse 7. You know, I just had a hard time picking out some of these key portions, because it’s all full of these Kingdom promises.
Now, when we get to the New Testament, I’m going to give you a verse that I’ve used over the years. But hopefully, it’ll mean a lot more now than it did before. All right, Jeremiah 33 and we’re going to drop in at verse 7.
Jeremiah 33:7-9
“And I will cause the captivity (or the bringing in) of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, (In other words, by an act of God, and we’ve already seen it. That’s why they’re back in the land. It was providential.) and will build them, as at the first. (Now look at this promise.) 8. And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9. And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.” That is, unto the Nation of Israel.
Well, I’d like to just read all these verses, but I’m afraid people might get a little bit impatient. So let’s just skip on down to verse 12. My, there are some good verses up there. Verse 11: “the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and bride,” and all that makes up a common, ordinary human society. Now remember, they’re not angels. They’re humans. All right, now verse 12:
Jeremiah 33:12
“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.” Now, what are you gathering from this? Seemingly what kind of a society or a community will the Kingdom be? Agrarian.
Have you noticed that? Agrarian. It’s not going to be metropolitan. It’s not going to be urban. It’s going to be agrarian. There’s a verse back there someplace that says, “every man will sit under his own (What?) fig tree.” In other words, there will be orchards. It’s going to be agrarian. We’re going to have the beauty of the country.
Now, I’ve never been a city dweller. Neither has my little wife. And every time we go through one, we just can’t imagine the horror of living in a big city. But you know, when these city dwellers come out and we take them around the ranch, you know what flabbergasts them? All the open space. We can go for miles and not meet a car. Well, they just can’t imagine that. But I think that’s what the Kingdom is going to be. It’s going to be so beautiful. There’s not going to be that beehive of contracted dwellings and so forth. From the language, I get at least, it’s going to be agrarian. Okay, let’s move on. Verse 14.
Jeremiah 33:14-15
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15. In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch (See, there’s that word again. That term of God the Son in the Old Testament. He’s called a Branch, whenever you see that with a capital ‘B’.) of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.”
There’s not going to be any sin. No wickedness. No immorality. It’s going to be glorious. But it’s still going to be in a human environment. Families. Husbands. Wives. And children. But no Satan. No death. No curse. All right, verse 16.
Jeremiah 33:16a
“In those days…” That is during these thousand years. Now, I’d better emphasize. The Old Testament does not put us in a time frame. We have to go to the Book of Revelation to get that. And that’s where we get the thousand years. And after the thousand years, so on and so forth. So always remember that. The Old Testament does not give us a time frame, but the New Testament does.
Jeremiah 33:16-18
“In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. (And again, that’s the Hebrew term Tsidkenu.) 17. For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 18. Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt-offerings, and to kindle meat-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.”
Now, there will be some sacrificial offerings in the Kingdom, and that’s hard to reconcile. And I for one cannot do justice to it, so I just sort of leave it alone. But, yes, there will be a certain amount of animal sacrifice. It’ll be limited, of course, but I think it’ll be a memorial much like our communion table. All right, verse 19.
Jeremiah 33:19-21a
“And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20.Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, (Now, here we come back again to God proving that He will never let go of Israel.) and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; 21. Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne;…”
Now, here is a good statement. When we speak of the throne of David and Christ as a Son of David, this is where the connection comes from. Christ is genealogically the Son of David. We pick that up, of course, in Matthew’s genealogy. So always put those two together, that Christ will sit upon David’s throne as the Son of David, genealogically. Not losing sight of His Deity. All right, verse 22.
Jeremiah 33:22-25
“As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. 23. Moreover, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24. Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.” In other words, I think he’s referring to the two kingdoms before they would be brought together: Israel in the north and Judah in the south.
Jeremiah 33:25-26
“Thus saith the LORD; if my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and the earth; 26. Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, (or their control of his people. He’s going to bring them back.) and have mercy on them.”
Okay, now we’ve got time enough. Let’s jump one more to Ezekiel chapter 36, and I’m going to jump down to verse 24. Now, this is still another prophet. See, we’ve had Isaiah talk about it. We’ve seen Jeremiah speak about it. And now here comes Ezekiel. Probably in our next half-hour we’ll have time to go on up to Daniel. Then in our next taping we’ll take a look at how the New Testament approaches this Kingdom economy. All right, Ezekiel 36 verse 24, and look at the promises here. Oh my, they ought to just give you goose bumps, because we’ve seen some of this already take place.
Ezekiel 36:24a
“For I will take you from among the heathen,…” The Gentiles. Now, I think we looked at that some time ago. In fact, I think in my seminars in Florida I started every one of them with the same verse in Matthew 16, “you can discern the signs of the weather, but you can’t discern the signs of the times.” Isn’t that what I was on? Yeah. And what is the major sign of the times for you and me today? The return of Israel to their homeland. That’s a sign of the times! Because the end-time could not even begin until Israel was back in the land. They have to be there, because that’s where the Lord is going to return and set up His Kingdom. All right, now Ezekiel says the same thing.
Ezekiel 36:24
“For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.” How can anybody deny this? It’s beyond me, but they do. You know how they deny it? I sent you the book. They claim they’re not Jews at all. They’re Czars from the Russian Steppes, and that they simply took over the Jewish libraries and synagogues. That’s what they do with the Scriptures. That’s what they claim, that these aren’t Jews at all. They’re imposters. Well, who in the world would want to be an imposter and step in to all the hatred that the Jews get?
Ezekiel 36:25a
“Then…” Now, they haven’t done it yet. Even though Israel’s back in the land, they’re not experiencing these spiritual blessings yet. They’re still there in unbelief. They’re secular. Many of them are even atheists and agnostic. But they’re in the land, so the rest will come. Don’t worry.
Ezekiel 36:25
“Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” Now of course, the Babylonian captivity, I think, broke them of idolatry. But nevertheless, it’s still in their background.
Ezekiel 36:26-28
“A new heart also (Remember what the covenant was in Jeremiah 31:31? I will put it in your heart. You won’t have to memorize it everyday. It’ll be there. It’ll be a given.) will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, (or my ordinances, or my government) and do them. 28. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be (What’s the pronoun?) my people, and I will be your God.”
Now, do you remember in Israel’s past, when Israel was out in rank unbelief and the prophet or whoever it was that was writing, what would God tell them to call them? “Your people.” He wouldn’t claim them. But the day is coming when once again God will say, “My people.” See, what a difference that makes? To Moses He said, they’re your people. To Daniel He said your people. But the day is coming. That’s why the pronoun is so important here. The day is coming when you shall be, verse 28–
Ezekiel 36:28b-29
“…my people, and I will be your God. 29. I will also save you from your uncleanesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.” In other words, if we get time and get to Amos yet this afternoon. I don’t know whether we’ll make it or not. But what does Amos speak of? That the reaper will follow the planter and the planter will follow the reaper. In other words, it’s going to be a continuous production of food and fiber with no opposition from insects or weeds or thorns. It’ll be easy. No sweat of the face. That’s why I maintain that I think it’s going to be an agrarian economy.