Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 2 * PART 1 * BOOK 79
PART 4 of the MESSIANIC PROPHECIES – PART 1
Psalms 45, 46, and 47
Okay, good to have everybody in this afternoon. I just rehearsed with the crowd here that this is the most we’ve ever had. The camera that was over here has now gone all the way to the back. But anyway, those of you joining us on television, we just want to welcome you to an informal Bible study. We try to keep it simple, and yet we don’t want to over-simplify.
Again, I want to take this opportunity—as I can’t answer every letter, I try to answer those with questions. But all your good letters, how I wish I could answer them, but I can’t. So I have to take this opportunity – thank you, thank you for your kind remarks and for your encouragement and letting us know that the Word is indeed changing hearts and lives across the country. And we want to thank you for your financial help. Now, in spite of all the financial crunch that has gone through, we still had, without any drop, the biggest month ever last month. And all I can do is say, “Praise the Lord,” because we realize that all the people are going through some hard financial times.
All right, we’re going to keep right on in our study in the Psalms today. We’ve had a lot of requests for this over the years, “When are you ever going to teach something from Psalms?” That’s one reason I’m doing it. Yet, I just feel that it’s what the Lord would have us do. And as we always have to do when we look at the Old Testament, we always have to remember that the whole picture was first the sufferingand then the what? The glory that should follow.
All right, Peter puts it so perfectly in his little epistle—I Peter chapter 1. I always like to start with verse 9. Now, we’ve been doing this at the beginning of almost every taping session. I’m getting old, but I’m not senile. I do this on purpose. I want to just drill this in, and maybe after a period of time you’ll actually know it from memory. Because that’s how memory works—if you repeat it and repeat it and repeat it, pretty soon you don’t even have to read it. You’ve got it.
All right, I Peter chapter 1 starting at verse 9—now remember, who is Peter writing to? Fellow Jews. Believing Jews. They’re not the believers of the Age of Grace, but they’re believers in what? The Kingdom Gospel which was that Jesus was the Christ. They’re still under the Law. Nobody has told those Jews to stop Temple worship. The Temple is still operating. It’s not A.D. 70 yet.
So always keep that in mind, that there is not—as I’ve taught it when we put it in the program years back—these little Jewish epistles do not have one word of church language. Not one word and I don’t know how all these theologians can miss that, but it’s a fact of life. Go through there with what we call a fine-toothed comb and you will not find one reference to the Body of Christ. You will find not one reference to salvation through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection as Paul shares in I Corinthians 15:1-4 for us in the Body of Christ! Not one. It’s all for the Jews, whereas our Gospel of Grace is for the Gentiles.
So always be aware (I’ve said it over and over on this program) of what is not said in a portion as well as to what is said. Now, Peter is addressing the twelve tribes. He’s writing to Jews under the Kingdom economy. There’s nothing here of what we learn from Paul. The reason I use this as a kick-off for things in the Old Testament is just that very reason.
I Peter 1:9-10a
“Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. 10. Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently,…” Now stop and think when you read something like that. What does that mean? They looked and they looked and they studied and they searched, and they couldn’t find what they were looking for. That’s what it means.
I Peter 1:10b
“…have inquired and searched diligently, (these same prophets) who prophesied (or foretold) of the grace that should come unto you:” At a later time and we’re going to be seeing that as we go through the Psalms today. Now then verse 11.
I Peter 1:11a
“Searching…” Now, you and I have no idea how the Jewish people—when they’re in a theology situation in Yeshiva—how they will sometimes look at nothing but one verse (if I can believe what I read) one verse maybe for weeks on end trying to see if they can pull something up that somebody else has never seen before. All right, so this is what it means—they searched and they searched. They studied. They contemplated. They meditated.
I Peter 1:11
“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit (That is the Holy Spirit) of Christ who was in them (Now you’ve got to remember, the Holy Spirit inspired every word of Scripture just as much as with Paul or any of the New Testament writers. All right, so these Old Testament Prophets: like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Hosea and all the rest of them–) searching what manner of time the Holy Spirit of Christ within them did signify, when it (He, the Holy Spirit through His inspiration, remember.) testified beforehand (Before anything ever happened. The beauty of Scripture is prophecy.) the sufferings of Christ, (But it doesn’t stop there.) and (What?) the glory that should follow.”
Remember when we first started this series several tapings back—go back with me now to Psalms chapter 2, which I have used over the last thirty years in my teaching as the outline of that Old Testament timeline—the Old Testament timeline that completely knew nothing of this Age of Grace. It knew nothing of Paul and his apostleship—as everything was Jewish looking forward to the time when the King and the Kingdom would reach out to the Gentile world through Israel.
All right, Psalms chapter 2 and always use this, like I said, as an outline of the Old Testament program. Let’s start with verse 4.
Psalms 2:4-5
“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: (Because of their rejecting the Messiah and killing Him.) the Lord shall have them (Jews and Gentiles) in derision. (confusion) 5. Then (the Lord God from Heaven) shall he speak unto them in his wrath, (Not Grace, but rather wrath!) and vex them (He won’t sooth them. He won’t bless them.) in his sore (What?) displeasure.” His wrath, after 6,000 years of letting man do as he wanted, is finally going to fall. And we’re getting closer every day.
My, how the world is getting ripe for this judgment that’s coming. They don’t want to hear it. They like to ridicule. They think I’m some kind of a nut and don’t know what I’m talking about. Well, I’ve got news for them. I’m not a nut. I do know what I’m talking about, because the Book is sure.
Psalms 2:5b-6
“…and vex them in his sore displeasure. (But what’s going to follow?) 6. Yet have I set my king (The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is yet going to be set–) upon my holy hill of Zion.” And where’s Mount Zion? Jerusalem. That’s what we’re going to be looking at now in the next few moments.
All right, turn with me to where we left off in our last taping. We were in Psalms 41. And remember, I’m just looking primarily at what we call a Messianic Psalm. I think I can define that as any one of the Psalms that can be corresponded with a New Testament reference that it’s Jesus of Nazareth that’s being foretold. Not every Psalm is, although some are still definitely Messianic, but not to the point that these special ones that we pick now.
So, 41 was the last of the Messianic Psalms that we had, now I’m going to jump up to Psalms 45. And before the chapter is over, we’re going to see that Israel’s Messiah, the Son of God, the Anointed One, and the one we know in the New Testament as Jesus the Christ is going to be pictured here as the groom. He’s going to be the groom of the bride—the bridegroom. We will start at verse 1. And remember, it’s the groom who is speaking. These are the words of Christ as the Holy Spirit inspired David to write them. They become a reality at some future day.
Psalms 45:1a
“My heart is inditing (or is promoting) a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the (What?) king:…” Now this is the whole concept of Old Testament prophecy. It is this coming King and Kingdom.
You’ve heard it from me for the last twenty years, admonishing that as the keynote of Old Testament prophecy—a coming King and His Kingdom. But before the King could come, what did He have to do? He had to suffer. And after the King would suffer, there had to be the wrath and so forth of God’s judgment upon mankind. So, all the Old Testament is constantly looking forward to the suffering—which, of course, was the work of the cross—and then the horrors of the Tribulation and then the Glory—the Kingdom which would follow. Now back to verse 1.
Psalms 45:1
“My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.” Now that’s a nice way of putting the statement, isn’t it? The tongue that was on the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself was as ready to go as someone getting ready to write.
Now, I’m not a good letter writer. I am horrible. But you know why? As soon as I say Dear Someone and a comma, I go blank. Totally blank. Now some people are terrific letter writers. They can hardly wait to get past that comma. I can’t, because I just turn blank. But that’s not the case here. Here the prophet is speaking of Christ as being ready to speak forth as quickly as someone who is ready to write a letter. Verse 2:
Psalms 45:2a
“Thou art fairer than the children of men:…” What are we talking about? The Messiah. The Coming King. Even though it’s His own words coming through David. Now, I’m going to be repeating that all afternoon; otherwise, you’re going to miss it. King David is writing at what point in time historically? A thousand years before Christ.
And everything, as we’re going to see from New Testament comparison, that was spoken back there in the Psalms was also spoken in His earthly ministry, one way or another. The Holy Spirit inspired David to write the actual words of the Messiah. Am I making that plain? I know that sounds like gobbledy-gook, but I hope it isn’t. And this is the whole concept—that David is writing in the Psalms what the Messiah is actually going to speak and do at His first advent when He brings about the work of the cross.
Psalms 45:2
“Thou art fairer than the children of men: (He’s the Son of God) grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever.” Now, always keep the concept—God is the invisible Triune Godhead. And God the Son is one of those Three. I’m always showing it as He steps out of that invisible Godhead and became visible and so forth. All right, so what we have here, then, is that God the Son is still being blessed by the Godhead, which includes all three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Let me show you where I get the term Godhead. I have to do this scripturally. Keep your hand in Psalms. Jump up to Colossians chapter 2, and let’s drop in at verse 8. I’m waiting until all the pages stop turning. You know, this is what thrills me so in my teaching experience—that everybody has their own Bible. And, you know, we hear it from stem to stern. Why do all of your people have their own Bible? Well, because they’re there to study. They’re not just there to kill time, and how can you study without a textbook? You don’t know how much I appreciate the fact that you come in having your own Bible and follow along with me.
Colossians 2:8-9
“Beware (There’s a warning.) lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, (And that’s most religions, remember. It’s men’s ideas put together, and it becomes tradition. All right, that’s the warning. Don’t follow–) after the rudiments (or the natural things) of the world, and not after Christ. (See how plain that is? But here’s the verse I wanted.) 9. For in him (in Christ, in the Lord Jesus of Nazareth) dwelleth all the fullness of the (What?) Godhead bodily.” The Godhead is an invisible Spirit, but what is God the Son? He’s visible.
And that’s why I’m always putting it on the board. We’ve done it over the years. Here we have the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That’s the Godhead. But whenever God’s dealt with humanity or creation or whatever and in order to come down and do the work of the cross, God the Son stepped out of the invisible and became what? Visible. Tangible. That’s the whole teaching of Scripture. So when we see that God the Son is referring to God, don’t throw God of the Son out of the God concept, because it’s a Godhead of all three Persons.
All right, let’s go back to the Psalms 45. Now, you know, I didn’t intend to do that. So, that’s free for nothing.
Psalm 45:2b-5
“…therefore God hath blessed thee forever. (Yes, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as the Godhead blessed God the Son.) 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. 4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. (Tribulation) 5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.” What’s He referring to? The Tribulation again.
All right, now let’s go back to Revelation. I’ve got to put all this down scripturally so that you get the full picture. Not only is He filled with Grace and Mercy and Truth, but oh, my goodness, He’s also going to be coming as the God of judgment and wrath and the punishment of the human race. Revelation chapter 19 and that’s what all these things are putting together. And that’s what we have to do. I will never stop using as many Scriptures as I can. I don’t care if your thumb does get tired; we’re going to look at as many Scriptures as possible, because that’s how it all comes together.
All right, Revelation 19 starting at verse 11 and this is after the horrors of the Tribulation have run their course. Armageddon is part and parcel of His Second Coming, of course. And we were just there at Megiddo a few days ago. Quite an experience, wasn’t it? To be there where this final battle is going to be fought.
Revelation 19:11-12
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.”
Revelation 19:13
“And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” Just like John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” All right, verse 14:
Revelation 19:14-15a
“And the armies which were in heaven (Now I’ve got some along with this thinking here, but I’ll pass on that for the time being.) followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,…”
Remember how Psalms 45:5 put it? “Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies.” And also in verse 3, “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh.” All right, back to Revelation 19.
Revelation 19:15
“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: (Which, of course, will take place as soon as He sets up that glorious Kingdom.) and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” That’s Armageddon as we refer to it.
Revelation 19:16
“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Now, you can’t get any plainer than that, can you? That’s Christ at His Second Advent.
All right, back to Psalms and let us see how perfectly David pictures it in his own day and time a thousand years before. Again in verse 3:
Psalms 45:3-4
“Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. 4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously (That makes reference to the White Horse, of course.) because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.” And the word “terrible” is just simply that it’s going to be beyond the norm. Now verse 5, this is all part of His fighting the enemy of satanic powers and the human race in general.
Psalms 45:5
“Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.” Now I’m going to jump ahead to Psalms 110 verse 1. I’ll probably give you this verse several times before the day is over, so bear with me. This verse is a reference to His ascension, when He left the Mount of Olives. You know, in our tour of Israel last week, a lot of our people thought the Mount of Olives was the most touching place. Because it was from the Mount of Olives that He walked down and came in through the Golden Gate on Palm Sunday. And it was from the Mount of Olives, of course, that He ascended. That’s what made me think of it. From the Mount of Olives He ascended and went back to Glory. Now Psalms 110 verse 1 is the prophecy.
Psalms 110:1
“The LORD (God the Father) said unto my Lord, (God the Son) Sit thou at my right hand, until (What kind of a word is that? Time word, at some point in the future on a particular month, day, and year.) I make thine enemies thy (What?) footstool.”
What does that denote? They’re under His feet. Little David killed Goliath—what did he do with him? Put him under his foot, didn’t he? Sure. What did it denote? Total defeat of the enemy. All right, that’s what God is going to do with Satan and the hordes of humanity who have been rebelling against Him for 6,000 years.
Well, we’re never going to finish everything I intended to finish, but we’ll go as far as we can. We’ll pick it up in next half hour. Come back to Psalms 45. Now, after the horrors of the Tribulation—when He has totally defeated the enemy, and the human race has come under the judgment and the vexation of a righteous God—now we come into the proof that this is a Messianic Psalm. Verse 6:
Psalms 45:6-7
“Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter (or that denoting kingly power) of thy kingdom is a right (or a righteous) scepter. 7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness; therefore God, thy God, (in other words, the Father) hath anointed thee (the Son) with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” In other words, above the rank and file of Israel.
All right, in the couple of minutes we have left, I think we can do this. Go back with me to Hebrews chapter 1, and this is what ties this in as a Messianic Psalm. Here we have an exact repetition in a New Testament setting. Hebrews chapter 1 and let’s drop in at verse 2. Hebrews chapter 1, let’s drop in at verse 2. The God of verse 1:
Hebrews 1:2
“Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, (Jesus of Nazareth) whom he hath appointed heir of all things, (In other words, when we see back there in Colossians and in Paul’s other epistles that everything was consigned to the Son.) by whom also he made (or created) the worlds;”
Hebrews 1:3
“Who (this same God the Son) being the brightness of his glory, (remember the Transfiguration) and the express image of his person, (In other words, He became the visible manifestation of the invisible God.) and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, (with the work of the cross) sat down (That’s Psalms 110 verse 1.) on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
Hebrews 1:4-5
“Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (That is the angels.) 5. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, (the Scripture says) I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?”
Hebrews 1:6-8
“And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8. But (Here it comes now. Just as we saw in Psalms 45.) unto the Son (Jesus of Nazareth) he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.” And here’s another verse that is a repeat.
Hebrews 1:9
“Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Now, do you see how exactly it was spoken back through the pen of David, and now it comes back to the writer of the Book of Hebrews—that same person, the same Son of God, the same Coming KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.