Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 1 * PART 3 * BOOK 81
THE SON GIVEN DOMINION AND A KINGDOM – 3
Daniel 7:9-14
Okay, good to have everybody back again for program number 3. For those of you out in television, again, we just want to welcome you to an informal Bible study. That’s all we want it to be. It is to learn how to study on your own. And, you know, I don’t attack anybody. I refuse to do that. Because my approach is, if I can show the truth simply from Scripture, they’re going to see the error. And it’s working. My goodness, how we get phone call after phone call.
I had a pastor call just before we left this morning. He said, “Les, I finally see it.” Well, I didn’t have to tell him and brow beat him. The Lord just opened his eyes and he could see it. That’s been my approach, and hopefully I’ll never change from that.
All right, we’re going to continue where we left off in Daniel chapter 7. But we’re going to leave it in just a minute and go back and look at some more references with regard to what God is promising here to the nation of Israel, as well as to the nations of the world once this Kingdom becomes a reality. So, let’s go back briefly to Daniel chapter 7 verses 13 and 14 for a kick-off place.
Daniel 7:13-14a
“I (Daniel) saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man (which is the other term for Christ of the New Testament) came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, (or before God the Father) and they brought him near before him. 14. And there was given him (that is God the Son) dominion, and glory, and a kingdom,…”
And that’s what we’re looking at now for most of the afternoon—that to God the Son was given and promised a Kingdom, not just over Israel, but–
Daniel 7:14b
“…that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: (In other words, under this Kingship of Jesus of Nazareth.) his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Now we always like to emphasize that there is no time factor given in the Old Testament whatsoever. But when we get to the Book of Revelation, it’s what? A thousand years.
All right, now we’re not going to doubt Scripture and say, well, now it can’t be forever if Revelation says a thousand years. Because as we showed in one of our previous programs this afternoon, that when you get to chapter 21, what happens after this 1,000 year kingdom scenario is destroyed? We have a new heaven and a new earth. So I think we’re on the right track to feel that somehow or other (I can’t explain it) this 1,000 year millennial reign of Christ will go right on into the eternal. And what God does with the people…we’ll leave that with Him.
You know, I’m getting more and more all the time—I just tell people I can’t answer that. We’ll just wait until we get there, and then we’ll find out everything that we think we have to know. So we’re showing from the Old Testament, again, like we’ve done many times before, the promises of things pertaining to this Kingdom. Well now, we saw in our last program how that Jerusalem will be the capital of it all.
Now come back to Isaiah chapter 11, a portion of Scripture you’re all acquainted with. But again, it just shows how that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is going to rule the planet with absolute authority. He won’t need a House of Representatives or a Senate. He won’t need a Cabinet. He won’t need advisors. He’s going to be, as God, fully capable of running and ruling this Kingdom by Himself.
Isaiah 11:1a
“And there shall come forth….” Now you know you’ve heard me say it a hundred times over the last years. When the Bible says it shall come to pass, or it’s going to come, what can we rest on? It’s going to happen even though it hasn’t yet. God isn’t through. It’s going to happen. It’s out in front of us. We can see now that it’s getting closer and closer.
How many of you are watching the daily program in Hebrews? I’m just kind of curious. Oh, my goodness, well, now you’ll know what I’m talking about. I caught just a few minutes of it this morning before we had to leave to come up here. Just a few minutes and do you realize that much of what I’m saying back there in 2001 I could have said last week? But this morning’s program just boggled me. I could have said it last week. You’d never know that that was spoken nine years ago. Well, why? Because everything is just coming now to a vortex—what I talked about ten years ago is now. It is still in the same beam, but now it’s getting closer and closer.
Well, the same way with all these Old Testament things. Yes, we’ve talked about them before, but we’re so much closer now than we were when I taught it maybe a couple or three years ago.
Isaiah 11:1-2
“And There shall come forth (It’s going to happen.) a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, (Now we’re speaking of Jesus the Christ. The Son of God. The King.) the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.”
Isaiah 11:3a
“And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear (or the wisdom) of the LORD: and he shall not (Now here it comes. Here’s going to be how He will rule over this coming earthly Kingdom.) he shall not (rule) judge after the sight of his eyes,…”
In other words, now just stop a minute. Whenever there’s a big disaster—whether it’s the flood of the Mississippi, or whether it’s Katrina down in New Orleans—what did they expect the President to do? Well, get off his duff in Washington and get out and see it all firsthand so that he’ll know what the problems are. Right? This One won’t have to, because through His Omnipotent Eyes He’ll know everything that’s taking place in His Kingdom. See? So He won’t have to judge, or come to conclusions, after looking at something.
Isaiah 11:3b-4a
“…neither (will he) reprove (or make any corrections or so forth) after the hearing of his ears: (What he’s heard. He’s going to know everything, see? He’s going to be absolute Sovereign King of Kings.) 4. But with righteousness (See?) shall he judge the poor,…” Here’s where the Beatitudes come into play. The Beatitudes that were spoken on the Sermon on the Mount will finally become a reality in this 1,000 year rule and reign of Christ.
Isaiah 11:4-5a
“But with righteousness shall he judge (or rule) the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of this mouth, (That, of course, was done during the Tribulation.) and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (He did that at the end when He got everything ready for the believers to come in.) 5. And righteousness…” No corruption. No cheating someone out of what belongs to them. It will be total righteousness. No sex trade. No liquor trade. No gambling casinos. All that stuff that pertains to the world of Satan will not be present in this Kingdom.
Isaiah 11:5
“And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” Then here we come to the animal kingdom. I love this, because you all know I love animals. I could read this verse once a day, every day, year in and year out.
Isaiah 11:6a
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,…” Now, do you picture these things? I mean, this isn’t pie in the sky. It’s going to happen. The wild animals are going to co-habit with the domestic animals. The innocent little lamb and the goats and the dogs and the cats and everything are going to be perfectly in conformity with each other, in harmony, if I can use that word. And there is no more curse, no more carnivorous animals.
Isaiah 11:6
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, (Because he’s not looking at it for something to eat.) and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; (For the same reason—that big cat isn’t going to look at a baby goat for his food.) and the calf (That is the calf of the domestic cattle as we know them and as Israel knew them.) and the young lion and the fatling together; and (Then in the midst of all that—what?) a little child shall lead them.”
See? It will be a perfect environment. Children can play amongst what we now call wild, carnivorous animals. They’re all going to be like pets. Now don’t forget what he’s talking about. The wolf. The leopard. The lion. Little kids are going to be able to play with them. Lead them. Gorgeous! Doesn’t that give you a thrill? My goodness, it’s unbelievable.
Isaiah 11:7
“And the cow and the bear shall feed; (That is together.) their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” In other words, it’s going to have the digestive system—instead of needing meat and blood that it gets from killing something, it’s going to have a digestive system that will be able to eat provender such as straw and grass and so forth like an ox.
Isaiah 11:9
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy Kingdom: for the earth (the whole planet) shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, even as the waters cover the sea.” In other words, God is going to be in such total, total control of this heaven-on-earth existence. But now this isn’t Heaven. Like I said in the beginning of the first program this afternoon, this is not Heaven’s Heaven. This is an earth with a heaven-like atmosphere. And don’t ever mix the two.
Now, I’m going to show a little later, maybe not today, but in our next series of four, that we’re going to have some kind of a connection with this Kingdom. But I no longer feel that the Church (the Body of Christ) is going to come back in mass at the Lord’s Second Coming. I used to kind of think that, but not any more. Now, I think we’re going to have a connection with it, so don’t prejudge me until we get there.
All right, so here we have another description of the earth being as perfect as it was before the Fall. All right, now I think for sake of time, let’s just jump all the way up to Zechariah, the next to the last book in your Old Testament, chapter 14. And there it is in language as plain as anyone could hope to read it.
Now by the time we get to Zechariah, we get a clearer view of the fact that this Kingdom cannot come in until the seven years of Tribulation are passed first. We made reference to it with the mortgage and so forth. But now we’ve got a better description in Zechariah even than we have back in the Prophets and so forth.
Zechariah 14:1-2a
“Behold, the day of the LORD (Which we said earlier is the beginning of the seven years of Tribulation.) cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. (In other words, the Prophet and God are speaking to the Nation of Israel.) 2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled,…” It’s going to be awful for the citizens of Jerusalem.
Now remember, while this is taking place, where are the remnant of Jews? Out there in a place of protection. We don’t know where, but he says out in the mountains God is going to protect them for these final three-and-a-half years, supernaturally. Nothing of the Tribulation horrors will touch that remnant of Israel—which, remember, will be about five million people. Now, that’s a good chunk of human beings, and God’s going to sustain them for three-and-a-half years. But for anything that’s left back there in Jerusalem who were not part of that escaping remnant at the beginning of that last three-and-a-half years, it’s going to be awful.
Zechariah 14:2b
“…the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women raped; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” All right, then verse 3, when it looks like there is no hope and Satan and his anti-Christ and their hordes of Gentile armies look like they’re taking everything over.
Zechariah 14:3
“Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, (Who are under the control of Satan and his man anti-Christ, remember. And he’s going to go forth and fight…) as when he fought in the day of battle.” And then after all has been destroyed and defeated, He’s going to show up in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:4a
“And his feet shall stand in that day (After the Tribulation horrors have come to an end.) upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave (separate) in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley;…”
And we know from Ezekiel that through that valley will flow a river of fresh water all the way to the Dead Sea. Enough to totally heal it as we see now in, oh, let’s see, let’s just jump up to verse 8.
Zechariah 14:8
“And it shall be in that day, (When Christ has returned to Jerusalem.) that living waters (fresh water) shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, (That is out to the Mediterranean.) and half of them toward the hinder sea: (Or the Dead Sea, which is east of Jerusalem just a few miles, remember.) in summer and in winter shall it be.” All right, now here’s the verse that I always head for.
Zechariah 14:9
“And the LORD (God the Son, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth in all of His Glory) shall be king over all the earth: (Now be ready to show your fellow church people. Most of them don’t know this. Now some do, but most of them don’t. Now, they like to spiritualize it, you know, and allegorize it. No way. You take it literally. He’s going to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the whole planet, ruling from Jerusalem.) in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”
Well then, thinking of that river of fresh water, I can’t help but think of Ezekiel. So let’s come back to Ezekiel for just a moment before we go into the New Testament. And I think it’s pretty close to the last chapter. Yea, it is. Chapter 47 and this is another one of the supernatural phenomena of the Kingdom. Now those of you who have been to the Dead Sea, or read about it, you know it is so full of salt and minerals that you can’t do anything but float in it.
It is by far the saltiest, most mineralized piece of water on all the earth. Even Salt Lake in Utah is nothing compared to the saltiness of the Dead Sea. But all right, look what’s going to happen. Chapter 47, we won’t take time to read these earlier verses, but he sees a river of water starting out of Jerusalem, and he sees it as it heads out toward the Dead Sea.
Ezekiel 47:8
“Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, (See, that’s where the Dead Sea is from Jerusalem. Down, down, down to the east and down altitude-wise to a couple of thousand feet below sea level.) and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters (That is of the Dead Sea.) shall be healed.” They’ll be made like fresh water. Now verse 9.
Ezekiel 47:9a
“And it shall come to pass, (It’s going to happen.) that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live:…” In other words, along the banks of the river the various trees and the herbs and so forth are going to be just growing profusely, because it now has access to this beautiful freshwater river.
Ezekiel 47:9b-10a
“…and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, (See?) because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed, and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 10. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim;…” Now that pops a question, doesn’t it? Are we going to eat meat in the Kingdom? Now, I said we; I mean the people there.
I’m not sure we’re going to be there that full time or not. But anyway, are people going to eat meat during the Kingdom? Well, not meat, but evidently they’re going to eat fish, because these fishermen certainly aren’t going to catch nets full of fish just to let them rot. So I have to take from this that they are at least going to be eating fish. And we know they’re going to eat figs. They’re going to eat grapes. They’re going to have the fruit and so forth. But evidently, just look what it says.
Ezekiel 47:10
“And it shall come pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.” So, that’s just a little tidbit. You can think about. You don’t have to believe it if you don’t want to, but it certainly indicates that is the prospect.
All right, now let’s jump quickly into the New Testament. I’m going to start with Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17, Honey. Now Christ has already begun His earthly ministry. I think this is probably part of the Sermon on the Mount. Verse 17 of Matthew 5, Jesus is speaking and He says:
Matthew 5:17
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to (What?) fulfil.” Now the casual reader thinks, well, He must be talking about the Cross. No. Not yet. That’s still future. So what’s He talking about? All these promises concerning the Kingdom. All these promises of His being a King and His bringing in the Kingdom.
Now, lest you think I’m stretching the point. Keep your hand in Matthew, I’m not through there. Come all the way up to Acts chapter 3, and let’s drop in at verse 19 first. This is Peter, again preaching to the Nation of Israel in view of this coming Kingdom. The King has already been rejected and crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended back to Glory; but the whole promise is that He’d be coming back and would still be the King over this glorious Kingdom. So that’s Peter’s basis of his preaching. So verse 19, well, no, I’ve got to read verse 18 first.
Acts 3:18-20
“But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. 19. (So,) Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20. And he (God) shall send Jesus Christ, who before (back in the Old Testament) was preached unto you:”
And what would He come for? To be the King! To set up the Kingdom. This is Israel’s prospect, especially now on this side of the Cross. The Blood of Atonement has been shed. He’s been raised from the dead. He’s ascended back to Glory. He’s seated at the Father’s right hand. Psalms 110 verse 1, what does it say? “Come sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” And when would that be? The end of Tribulation! And then He would come be the King.
All right, but now come all the way down through these verses that Peter is using to prepare the Jews for the coming of this King and His Kingdom. All right, now to verse 25. My, just look these carefully. Peter is telling the Nation of Israel—now you want to remember, there’s no concept of the Apostle Paul and the Gospel of Grace. Not a word yet. So all Peter is resting on are these Old Testament promises. And we’re going to go back and look at one of them after this. I have to. But look at verse 25, Peter said:
Acts 3:25-26
“Ye (the Nation of Israel, the Jews of his day) are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26. Unto you first (Israel) God, having raised up his Son Jesus, (in resurrection power, remember) sent him to bless you (Israel) in turning away (How many?) every one of you from his iniquities.”
See, Christ couldn’t come until every Jew had believed who He was, and they didn’t. So, it was postponed. And then, of course, we go on and we have the rising of the Apostle Paul and him becoming the Gentiles’ Apostle. But here we have this promise of this King waiting in the wings to bring in the Kingdom.
All right, now if you’ll flip back to Matthew chapter 5, maybe that’ll help you understand why I think that Jesus isn’t speaking yet of the Cross. He’s speaking of the King and the Kingdom which had been promised ever since, well, like we saw, Abraham. And in our last program we saw that Israel was promised everything in the Book of Exodus. But read the verse again.
Matthew 5:17
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” He came to bring in the Kingdom to Israel.
All right, now I forgot and I skipped back in Isaiah. So come back with me, because we don’t want to leave it out completely. Come back with me to Isaiah 42, because we’ve got to pick up the fact that God hasn’t forgotten about the non-Jewish world which we call Gentiles. Isaiah 42 dropping in at verse 1. Isaiah 42 verse 1. Oh, good heavens, that half hour is gone. Did you know that? Boy, they go fast. Are you ready, Honey?
Isaiah 42:1
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; (Now remember, God is speaking through Isaiah the prophet as he writes to the Children of Israel.) I have put my spirit upon him: (That’s a person.) he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.” Who are we talking about? God the Son. The Messiah, see? And He’s going to rule over Gentiles.
Well, what have we been saying all the way along? He’s not going to be just a King over Israel. He’s going to be the King of the whole planet. Every nation that is on the world today, I feel, will have enough survivors to begin every new nation that we have on the world today into the Kingdom. That’ll be all of the Orient. All of the in-between, the Middle East. All of Europe. All of the Americas, all South America. They’re all still, I feel, going to be represented in this glorious Kingdom over which Christ is going to rule.
All right, down to verse 6 and I guess that will kill this half hour.
Isaiah 42:6
“I the LORD have called thee (That is Israel.) I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, (For what purpose?) to be a light of the Gentiles;”
Well now, what did God promise Moses back in Exodus 19? That every Jew would become a priest of God. Well, Isaiah is putting it in a little different language, but it’s still the same thing.