Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 4 * BOOK 6

RAPTURE: TRIBULATION:

SECOND COMING: MILLENNIUM

Daniel 9 & Genesis 25-26

Once more, as usual, let’s go right back to the Scriptures. I think we’ve had enough for the last several weeks on prophecy and so forth. It gives everyone a little whetting of their appetite. Let’s go back and pick up where we left off in Genesis. Let’s turn now to Chapter 25 You remember several weeks ago, we left off with Isaac receiving a bride from a far country in Rebekah. And he took her back to his mother’s tent, and he loved her; consummated the marriage, and now, of course, the Nation of Israel is on its way. Abraham finally has that son of promise. Ishmael, you remember was not a son of promise. He was a son of the flesh. But Isaac was the son of promise, and now he has his wife Rebekah and we’re ready to move on. In Chapter 25, there is a strange interlude in the life of Abraham. I can’t understand it. But, there are a lot of things I don’t understand. But anyway, after Sarah’s death, Abraham marries again and her name is Keturah. And it’s interesting to note, that ,out of this other wife, Abraham has several more sons. Two or three at least are well known enemies of the off spring of Isaac.

Genesis 25:1,2

“Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bear him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian;…”

Remember how many times the Jews had to fight the Midianites. Well, here’s where they come from. Some time ago I showed how all the families of the Middle East, the Arabs and the Egyptians, are all inter-related? They all come from Abraham. Let’s move on now to verse 5. In spite of these other sons that Abraham had he only had one that he had any reckoning for and that was Isaac:

Genesis 25:5-7

“And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.” Here Isaac is being separated from the all the rest.

“And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years.” That’s 175 years. Remember when we were back here in Genesis, I told you that 5 is the number of Grace in Scripture? Every important figure in Abraham’s birthdays that end in 5, are a unique, high point in his life. More than likely, he received the call out of Ur when he was 50; he got the promise of a son when he was 75; and the son finally came on the scene when he was 100. Now he dies at 175, and everyone of those figures are divisible by the number 5 (a little added interest):

Genesis 25:8,9a,10,11

“Then Abraham gave up the ghost and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah (the cave he bought for his wife Sarah): in the field of Ephron… The field which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi.”

Remember, that even though all these other Arab families have come out of Abraham, or at least his next of kin, yet the only people that are in the line of the Covenant, are Isaac, and later on Jacob and his twelve sons. Now, in verse 12, true to the scriptural format I’ve pointed out since Genesis 1, there’s always the appearance of the natural, or their genealogy, and then the spiritual. First Cain and then Abel. And now, it’s first Ishmael and then Isaac. Then there’s Esau and Jacob. And so, Saul and David, and when we get up to the finality of Paul, it will be the false christ – the Anti-christ, and the true Christ. Watch for it all through Scripture. Now we come to the genealogy of the spiritual line, Isaac.

Genesis 25:19

“And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham begat Isaac: And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.” Remember that I pointed out that he got a bride from a far country. I didn’t like to call them Gentiles just yet, although I guess in reality, they were. They were no longer of the line of Abraham, who now becomes the father of the Nation of Israel.

Genesis 25:21-23

“And Isaac intreated the LORD for his wife, because she was barren: and the LORD was intreated of him, and Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children (twins) struggled together within her; and she said, ‘If it be so, why am I thus?’ And she went to enquire of the LORD. And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb….”

God has all foreknowledge. He knows everything before it happens. Also, I have to feel that He has Sovereign control when He wants to. Even over the children as they are conceived, as it seems to be here. Now the rest of Verse 23:

“…and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people, and the elder shall serve the younger.”

Underline that because, I’ll admit, for years I had problems with the conniving that Jacob and Rebekah did to beat old Esau out of his birthright. But, you see, it was in God’s plan all along, that Jacob should have the birthright and the blessing. Because He foretold it way back here, that the younger would be over the elder.

Genesis 25:24-26

“And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau. And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them.” (Sixty years old, or twenty years after he married her).

Genesis 25:27,28

“The boys grew;…” They are two totally different individuals. They are as different as daylight from dark. One is a hairy individual and the other one is smooth skinned. The one is going to be an outdoors man, probably a rough and ruddy type individual. Jacob, I think is going to be more on the effeminate side. Two totally different people, but, God had said from the beginning, that Jacob would be the one that would be used in the Covenant. Now, let’s read on. “and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” As was so often the case with the old patriarchs, I guess it’s probably a thorn of trouble in a lot of families, even today, when parents make favorites.

“And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison (in other words to satisfy his carnal appetite): but Rebecca loved Jacob.”

Now, can you see the controversy that’s going to be in that home. Every time old Esau did something that would irritate Rebekah, Isaac would stick up for him, and vice versa. These are young men now, they are full grown. Esau is already a hunter.

Genesis 25:29-31

“And Jacob sod (or was cooking) pottage (soup, or just plain old pinto beans): and Esau came from the field and he was faint….” Why? He was hungry. He was about to drop. He’d probably been hunting all day without a bite to eat. He smelled that bean soup and got so hungry that he was about to pass out.

“And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom (which means red). And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright.”

Now, do you see how the overall plan of God is coming into fruition? God said before they were ever born that Jacob would be the one in the line of the Covenant. He would be the one who would rule over the elder. And so, here it comes to fruition. After Jacob says, sell me thy birthright, Esau comes right back and says:

Genesis 25:32,33

“And Esau said, ‘Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?’ And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright to Jacob.”

The first thing you have to qualify back in ancient Israel, is, what was the birthright? Many think it was the estate. That was not the case. That is the blessing. The blessing was the material part of the estate. And to be in the place of the eldest son in Israel, meant that he would receive a double portion of the estate and then the others would get what would be left. So remember, that the blessing was the material estate, but the birthright was a spiritual thing. Go back all the way to Genesis 3:15. What did that say? That the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head, or crush his head. That was the promise of the Redeemer. And then when you come to Genesis Chapter 12, this seed of the woman is going to come through what line? Through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That was a whole spiritual concept that had to be taken by faith.

Here’s where I hope you can get it. Esau was totally destitute of faith, like Cain. Esau saw absolutely nothing to be gained in enjoying this spiritual promise. He couldn’t have cared less that someone would be born out of his lineage who would bring redemption to Israel and to the world. But Jacob had a glimpse, maybe not much; but he had a glimpse that there was something to be gained by being in the line of that spiritual birthright. And the physical, the blessings, which would come later, that, of course, was secondary. But, what I want you to understand is that Esau was destitute of faith and he could have cared less about what these spiritual blessings might entail. Now, go to Hebrews Chapter 12, because you always have to realize that what the Old Testament doesn’t answer completely, most of the time the New Testament does.

Hebrews 12:16,17

“Lest there be any fornicator (or immoral person), or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.” So, even though he was a favorite son of Isaac, even though he was a great outdoors man, and a hunter, what kind of a person was he morally? He was an immoral person. He was destitute of faith.

“For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing (which of course entailed the physical and the fleshly things): he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

I think there’s two ways to look at this and either one, I think, could be correct. Remember when he was crying out to Isaac to go back on his word, and take that blessing away from Jacob and give it to him? And, you remember what the rule was in the ancients? Once something was spoken, it could never be taken back. I think part of the repentance that Esau is pleading for, is Isaac’s. “Dad, can’t you change your mind? Can’t you change the decree?” But Isaac couldn’t. Number one, not only was it the Law of the orient, but God had already foreordained that this is the way it was going to be. And secondly, I think Esau, even as much as he thought he now wanted the blessing, didn’t care about the birthright. But oh, how he wanted that material blessing. And yet he was so destitute of faith that even though he wept bitter tears, he could never bring himself to come to the place where it would have been a step of faith, rather than just simply just being the hunter of the field.

I don’t know if that makes sense to you or not, but anyway, if you’ll come back to Genesis for a moment, always remember that God had foreordained; had foretold that Jacob would be the one through whom the spiritual line would continue and not through Esau. And Esau’s whole problem, from start to finish, was that he was destitute of faith. He could not put any trust in what God said. You know, that’s the problem with a lot of people today. They just cannot believe the Word of God. Well, that’s not God’s fault, and yet they will not, just like Esau, turn around and say, “Yes, I believe it.” They will continue on in their unbelief. Alright, let’s go on:

Genesis 25:34

“Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils (beans); and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau (now watch the language) despised his birthright.”

He didn’t have any need or desire for it, because it was a spiritual thing that had to be comprehended by faith and he had none. It’s the same with people today. They say, “Well I can’t understand that Bible. It’s just a bunch of Greek to me.” You know what their problem is? They’re destitute of faith. You would have to take this Book by faith. And I’ve maintained over the years, and I’ve seen it over and over again, that as soon as someone comes into a saving knowledge of Christ and believes the Gospel, then God opens their eyes of faith and they take this Book and believe it from cover to cover, no questions asked. Why? Because faith opens our spiritual eyes.

Genesis 26:1

“And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar.”

Now, this is interesting. You remember what Abraham did back there when he had that beautiful wife, Sarah? Where did he end up? Down in Egypt. Well, he learned a tough lesson down there, and here we’ve got Isaac coming close to doing the same thing. But Gerar in the Hebrew is a town; like today, one that we would call Lineville, or Bordertown. Because that’s where it was. It was on the border between Canaan and Egypt. And so Isaac doesn’t go into Egypt, but he gets as close as he can. Now, the lesson of course here, even for us as believers, is there is no way we can straddle the fence. You can’t put one foot in the world and one foot in The Lord’s business. But here is this good man, Isaac, and he goes down to the Philistine’s bordertown of Gerar:

Genesis 26:2,3a

“And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:…” This next verse is why we call this segment of Scripture “promise.” God is constantly promising Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob of things to come, if they’ll be obedient. So to Isaac He makes the promise.

“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries,…”

Do you see that? The Arab world thinks they are going to drive Israel into the sea, bless their hearts. I have a heart for the Arab as well as for anybody else. But I’ll tell you what, if they only knew their Scripture, they’d quit fighting about it and resign themselves to the will of God, because God has promised that whole area of the Middle East to the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and no one else. So he repeats it to Isaac here in this verse.

Genesis 26:3b,4

“…and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father. And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries (and here comes the repeat of the Abrahamic Covenant of Chapter 12) and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed….” That’s looking forward to The Messiah, Who would come through the line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the Nation of Israel.

Genesis 26:5,6a

“Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Abraham was obedient and faithful. That’s why Paul lifts him up in Romans as the epitome of a man of faith. He wasn’t perfect; he had his downfalls and failures like we all do. But he was a man of faith. When God spoke, Abraham believed: “And Isaac dwelt in Gerar…”

He didn’t go into Egypt, but he got as close as he dared. And he does the same identical thing that Abraham did. Now, these guys had beautiful wives, evidently:

Genesis 26:7,8

“And the men of the place asked him of his wife and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife, lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.” They were behaving as only husband and wife would behave there in the Orient, and so old king Abimelech put two and two together, and he thought, “She’s not a sister. She’s his wife.”

Genesis 26:9-11

“And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, ‘Because I said, Lest I die for her.’ And Abimelech said, ‘What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.’ And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, ‘He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.'”

Genesis 26:13-15

“And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants; and the Philistines envied him.” See, people were no different then than they are now.

“For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.”

You know, there in the Middle East, a well was everything, wasn’t it? If you didn’t have water, you had nothing. And this was one of the favorite ploys of an enemy, to plug their wells, and that’s what they were doing now to Isaac.

Genesis 26:16

“And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us, for thou art much mightier than we.”

And so we find in the coming verses, that Isaac departs and he goes all the way back over to where Abraham had spent a lot of his time. Isaac will spend his time also in that major city, which in the land of Israel today, Beersheba. Those of you who have been to Israel in the last several years, knowing Beersheba is a thriving university town, even though it’s out there in the middle of the desert. It’s the same Beersheba that we have back here in the Book of Genesis. Well, let’s go on in the chapter and pick up at verse 24:

Genesis 26:24,25

“And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham’s sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.” In other words he settles down:

Genesis 26:27-30,32

“And Isaac said unto them, Wherefore come ye to me (speaking to Abimelech’s servants), seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? And they said, ‘We saw certainly that the LORD was with thee;’ and we said, ‘Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee; That thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good…’ …And he made them a feast, and did eat and drink. And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.” You know what that meant to a Middle Easterner? That was the very staff of life to have water.

Genesis 26:33-35

“And he called it Shebah, therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day. And Esau (and remember we’re dealing with Isaac and now his two sons, Jacob and Esau) was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite:…” Now remember this is Esau:

“Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.”

Do you see what that says? And why did Esau do it? He was destitute of faith. They had been instructed from day one not to consort with the Canaanites. But old Esau, destitute of faith, a rebel from the beginning, goes out and marries two Canaanite women.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 3 * BOOK 6

RAPTURE: TRIBULATION:

SECOND COMING: MILLENNIUM

Daniel 9 & Genesis 25-26

We’ll turn to Zechariah Chapter 14 and we’re going to continue on now with our timeline. The last lesson we saw the return of Christ in glory – the “…KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Not to just go into Heaven and eternity, but to set up the earthly kingdom that’s been promised to Israel since day one. So, I’d like to have you turn with me to Zechariah Chapter 14, where we have yet another picture of the return of Christ, and we might as well start at verse 1. I don’t like to jump in on a verse if I don’t have to:

Zechariah 14:1-4a

“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle;…”

Now, there you have that picture we described in the last lesson, how that the Anti-christ will bring all of the armies of the world there to the Middle East. Mainly to obliterate the Nation of Israel.

“And the city shall be taken (Jerusalem) and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” In other words, when it looks like there’s no hope, let’s read the next verse…

“Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.”

And that’s as we saw in our last lesson – how that He reaps the nations of the world. And He destroys them with the word of His mouth. Verse 4 – and this doesn’t sound like His coming to take the believer and end everything, then take us to Heaven, does it?

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east,…”

That is such a graphic description that there’s no mistaking that it is the literal Mount of Olives in literal Jerusalem. Let’s go back to Acts Chapter 1, because I just want everyone to see that everything that I say, I try to tie to the Scripture. Now, this is after His 40 days; after His Resurrection, and He has been with the 11. Judas, of course, is off the scene, and they have not yet put in his replacement. And so the 11 are assembled with Him. Verse 4:

Acts 1:4-6

“And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”

I know we touched on these verses several lessons ago, but sometimes it bears repeating. Is Jesus going to restore the kingdom once again to Israel? You remember, I always ask the question, “Why did they ask this question?” Well you’ve got to go back to Matthew and maybe we can take the time to do that.

Matthew 19:27,28

“Then answered Peter”and said unto him, (this is during His earthly ministry and all 12 are with Him) ‘Behold we have forsaken all (their fishing nets and their families), and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?” Now, he’s not talking about Salvation. We know from Chapter 12 that they had that. He’s wondering what more is in it for him and that’s so human. And Jesus doesn’t upbraid them for that kind of a question. He answers it very specifically.

“And Jesus said unto them, verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me (referring to the 11), in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory,…“ What does the word `regeneration’ mean? Well, it means made over to what it was in the beginning. In other words, if you have a storage battery and it runs down, what do you have to do? You have to generate it to return it to its original condition. Well, this old planet is going to undergo the same thing as we pointed out last week, as a result of all the cataclysmic action of the Tribulation. The planet earth is actually going to be delivered from the curse and be like it was in the Garden of Eden. It will be beautiful, and it will not have much water area. It will be mostly land mass. Probably not many arid or mountainous areas; it’s just going to be totally habitable and productive. That’s the regeneration he’s speaking of. And then, he’ll be sitting in the throne of his glory, there at Jerusalem, on the throne of David.

Observe what the Twelve have got to look forward to. Read on in that verse: “ye also (the Twelve, and not Judas that’s why Matthias has to take his place in Acts Chapter 1) shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Now isn’t that plain English? You can’t enlarge on that. You can’t spiritualize it. It’s just plain English. These twelve men, when the Kingdom is set up, will rule the 12 tribes of Israel. Now then, if you’ll come back to Acts Chapter 1 for just a second, you’ll see why the Twelve are all hung up on the kingdom. Because for 40 days, it says, Jesus had been talking to them about aspects of the Kingdom, and you remember the promise that they would be ruling the 12 tribes. So now verse 7:

Acts 1:7

“And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.”

Always remember, NEVER in the Old Testament, NEVER in the Gospels, NEVER even here in the Book of Acts, is there a specific indication of the Church Age. Now Jesus knew it, from His Deity side. He knew Israel was going to go back into a dispersion. He knew that He was going to turn to the Gentiles, but He never indicated it. Always watch for that as you study the Gospels or the Old Testament, that there’s not a hint of this 1900 years or so, of what we call the Church Age. And even here, He could have told them they were going to die, and there would be 1900 years or so, and He, would turn to the Gentiles. Then he would return and set up his Kingdom, but He doesn’t tell them that. And Peter never catches on, as I’ve pointed out before. As Peter begins to preach here in the early chapters of Acts, all he can see is that God is going to fulfill the promises made to Israel, and it would be coming in short order. But, that was not to be. We should go on further in the Book of Acts, but we won’t for now. If you will come back to Zechariah, because you all know the verses in Acts, where He ascended; and what did the angel say? “This same Jesus that you have seen go into heaven, in like manner shall come again.” Well, where were they standing? On the Mount of Olives.

Zechariah 14:4

“His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; And half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”

There is going to be a split in the Mount of Olives, so that there will be a river flowing from the Mediterranean, through Jerusalem, and out to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea will no longer be dead, but it’s going to come alive. Now, all of this is on the physical earth. Before we turn away from Zechariah, read verse 8:

Zechariah 14:8,9

“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea (the Mediterranean), and half of them toward the hinder sea (the Dead Sea); in summer and in winter shall it be.”

“And the Lord (Jehovah, The Christ, The Messiah) shall be king over (what?) all the earth.(!)” Not Heaven! And that’s what people can’t seem to see. That when he returns to the Mount of Olives, he sets up his rule from Jerusalem. The Nation of Israel will finally enjoy everything that was promised to Abraham back there in Genesis 15. Those of you who have been with me, now, for the last several months will remember, that territory goes all the way from the Mediterranean clear out to the River Euphrates. Then clear down to the Red Sea, out west to the River of Egypt, and back. That’s the whole Middle East. That will be the homeland of Israel in the kingdom economy. Verse 9 continuing “…in that day, there shall be one LORD, and his name one.” He’s going to be “…KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS,” over this physical, literal, earthly kingdom. Now, if you’ll come back to Isaiah 66 Verse 7:

Isaiah 66:7,8

“Before she travailed (speaking of delivery) she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child (the man child always refers to Christ, The Lord Jesus). who hath heard such a thing? Who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day?”

Absolutely. After the holocaust, and Tribulation, oh, the beauty of that kingdom is just going to come in short order. “Or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” Now what’s that speaking of? Number one; remember we spoke of this remnant fleeing from Jerusalem to the mountains, and God is going to take care of her there for three and one half years? Well now, when the Nation of Israel, which is all that’s really left here in this remnant who fled in the middle of the Tribulation, when they see the returning Christ coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that’s when this Nation of Israel will experience her Salvation. She will suddenly realize who Jesus really is. Now, before we go all the way back to Zechariah again to pick up the language that makes that so plain, you may want to look at Isaiah 51:3, where He will make the earth, again, like the Garden of Eden. Now, back to Zechariah, because we try to put all these things together and hopefully they are making sense to you.

Zechariah 13:6

“And one shall say unto him, ‘what are these Wounds in thine hands?’ Then he shall answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'” Now, isn’t that obvious, it’s just as plain as day. Turn back to:

Zechariah 12:10

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, 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.”

So, the Nation of Israel out there for that 3 1/2 years of protection in the wilderness, when they see Him coming, immediately, the whole nation (and remember it’s a remnant), seeing who He is, will believe. The nation will be born in a day. And now then, the Nation of Israel is ready to come from their mountain hideout, and come back to the land that was promised. Then they will go in as the predominate head nation of the kingdom. Now, I say the head nation. I pick that up from:

Deuteronomy 28:13

“And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them…”

That will finally come to fruition, when saved Israel comes into the Kingdom, and they enjoy their King of Kings and Lord of Lords. All right, what about Gentiles? Are they left out of the picture? Well, not at all. Come back with me then to Isaiah once again to Chapter 24 (I hope you are keeping all of this straight). The Lord returns, smites the nations that have gathered around Jerusalem; the earth will suddenly be renovated like the Garden of Eden. The Nation of Israel is saved in a day. They come back up and begin to occupy the land deeded to Abraham way back in Genesis Chapter 15. And now, we are going to pick up the Gentile nations. Because, after all, The Bible is a Book of nations. And it never stops being a Book of nations. The last chapter in the Book of Isaiah, which takes us into eternity, is still dealing with nations:

Isaiah 24:1-6

“Behold the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; 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. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD has spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.” It won’t help to be a billionaire. They won’t have enough billions to buy their way out of this one.”

“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoureth the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”

There is going to be tremendous holocaust, probably a nuclear effect, but the last words of that verse are what I want you to see and remember – “And few men are left.” In other words, I’ve reminded my classes over the years, whenever there has been a tremendous calamity, even Hiroshima, where we dropped the Atom Bomb, they found right under the center of the bomb, survivors. I know that’s almost unbelievable. We can have tremendous earthquakes, like the one out in Oakland a few years back, and what did they find? Survivors. And so it will be at the end of this seven years, even though it seems utterly impossible, there will be a few people left all around the planet. From every tongue, tribe, and nation there will be a small percentage of survivors.

Come back now with me to Matthew 25. In the few moments we have left, hopefully I can cover this. The number of survivors will be many. The earth is now populated with nearly 6 billion people. We’ve done this in some of our other classes by putting it on the black board. If you take 10% of 6 billion people, how many are still left? 600 million according to my arithmetic. And if you want to go 5%, there would still be 300 million. If you want to go 2¹/2 %, you’ve still got 150 million. There are a lot of people that will survive. You want to remember that during the seven years of Tribulation those 144,000 Jews were preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Many believed and were martyred but some of them survived.Many of them heard it and rejected it. So now, The Lord’s got to deal with it. And here we have it in Matthew 25:

Matthew 25:31-40

“When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:…”

We have already established where that is going to be at Jerusalem.

“And before him shall be gathered all nations: (Plural) and he shall separate them one from the another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:.. And he shall set his sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”

Remember, we are dealing with an eternal God, in an eternal situation, and nothing is impossible. Nothing. All right, he immediately sorts them. With the sheep representing the believers on the right, and goats representing the unbelievers on the left. Let’s go on:

“Then shall the King (see it’s capitalized) say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom (do you see that?) prepared for you from the foundation of the world:…”

Matthew 25:35-38,40

“For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?'”

“When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And the King (CHRIST) shall say unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Now, who are these,” my brethren”? The 144,000 Jews who were preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, during the seven years of Tribulation. They went through privation, They went through suffering. Remember they couldn’t be killed. And so it was just like it was in Nazi Germany with the Jews. Who were the people who gave refuge to the Jews in Nazi Germany? Well, the believers, the Christians. It’s the same way here. These people who respond to the message of the 144,000 young Jews become believers. They minister to their physical needs. Now look what happened to the survivors who didn’t care, the goats:

Matthew 25:41-46

“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: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.”

“Then shall they also answer him, saying, ‘Lord (See they called him Lord, but they’re unbelievers, they’re lost), when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?'”

“Then shall he answer them, saying, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into the life eternal.”

But their life eternal is going to begin in the Kingdom. I don’t have to take you back to John’s Gospel Chapter 3; you all know that verse, when he replied to Nicodemus. What did he say? Except a man be born above, or born again, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, that’s why he had to have this separation. There were survivors of the Tribulation, who were still unbelievers, and they could not go into the Kingdom. Therefore you have the setting of Matthew 25. The believer goes in.

To make a short picture of it, since you’ve got this large group of Jews, going up to be the Nation of Israel in the kingdom, you’ve also got a small smattering of Gentiles. Just a few probably, from every nation around the earth, who were part and parcel of these sheep. They then become the seedstock, if I may use that word, of the Gentile nations in the kingdom. So you have all the nations represented; you have nothing but believers going into it. Christ is The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You have the Twelve disciples ruling over the 12 Tribes of Israel. And ruling with Christ over the whole Kingdom will be the members of the Body of Christ.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 6

RAPTURE: TRIBULATION:

SECOND COMING: MILLENNIUM

Daniel 9 & Genesis 25-26

We’ll be turning to Matthew 24 again as the kickoff chapter. The only reason we teach, is to help people understand what this Book really says. I have always warned my people, and anyone I teach, to be aware of what’s said, as well as what is not said. You can completely adulterate good biblical teaching by simply ignoring portions of Scripture. This is what I’ve found to be the most flagrant of the things that I read, where they just simply ignore certain portions of Scripture that don’t fit their particular teaching. I trust I’m never guilty of doing that. So, let’s start back at Matthew 24 where we were last week. But this time we will come into the first half of the chapter. Here, the Twelve disciples have cornered Jesus, more or less, up there on the Mount of Olives. They start out by saying:

Matthew 24:3-5

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, ‘Tell us when shall these thing be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world (I think a better phrase is the “end of the age.”)?’ And Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many.'”

I’m convinced that Matthew 24 is totally Tribulation ground. I’ve used this analogy so often in my classes. Most of you have participated in a high school drama or something similar. And you know the weeks of preparation that went in before the curtain ever rose. There was practicing to be done; there were props to be gathered; there was advertising that had to be done. Everything was building up for the night the curtain rose. We are witnessing many things today; an increase in earthquakes; an increase in perplexity; in governmental correction, ungodliness, and wickedness in all places. This is not the Tribulation by any stretch of the imagination. But, it is the preparation. Everything is getting set. The stage is being set for the Anti-christ to sign that treaty with Israel, as we pointed out last week. The curtain goes up and out comes the seven years of Tribulation. So Jesus is referring to those seven years:

Matthew 24:6,7

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

In other words, not just fault lines we know about, but all over the world. Now, I want to kick off from verse 8. These introductions of the Tribulation are the beginnings of sorrows. Now, if you have a newer translation, I would think someone’s Bible uses the word “travail.” All these things the opening stages of the Tribulation are simply the beginning of travail.Now, scripturally, the word travail is always associated with child birth. “A woman in travail.” The reason Jesus uses this analogy is because the earth, you see, has been under the curse since Genesis 3. For the last 6000 years we’ve been living under the awful stigma of the curse. But, we know from Scripture that, one day, the curse will be lifted. Jesus uses the analogy of the earth being delivered from the curse. And so the whole purpose of that seven years of Tribulation is to bring the earth to the place of delivery. That’s why he uses the travail.

Now, that helps you understand when you study the Book of Revelation, detail by detail, that as these seven years progress, it is just like a young mother approaching child birth.Her labor pains will start gently and rather far apart. But, the closer she comes to the hour of delivery the more intense the pain and the faster they come. And that’s exactly the way the Tribulation will unfold. As we get to the end of that last three and one-half years the plagues are going to get so awful; cosmic disturbance will be so awful; death is going to be just running rampant. It’s going to be one thing right after another, until Christ appears and that, of course, is the delivery. So, all of these things are the beginning of sorrows. Let’s go back to Revelation. Like I said, this is just a brief overview. I’m in a hurry to get back to Genesis as I’m sure most of you are. But, on the other hand, I don’t want to cut this short and leave anyone hanging by a thread. Now, Revelation Chapter 14.

We know as we approach the final days of this seven-year period, the Anti-christ, now ruling from the Temple in Jerusalem, will put out a call to all the nations of the world. He will tell them to send their armies to the Middle East. And I look at that, as primarily the final effort to get rid of the Jewish problem. And he is going to simply ask the world to come and obliterate the Nation of Israel. And, of course, it’s going to end up in a battle against Israel’s Christ. But I think they are going to primarily gather to get rid of the Jews. And then, just when it seems like the Nation of Israel is doomed, Christ returns from Heaven. Let’s pick it up now from Scripture in Revelation 14, and it’s the battle of Armageddon.

We even see the word Armageddon used quite often by the news media. Although they don’t really know what they are talking about. But, it is a Scriptural term. Armageddon simply comes from a village by the name of Megiddo. If you take a trip to Israel, more than likely the tour bus will take you right around the base of Mount Megiddo. It’s a place where city after city has been destroyed. And you know how they have done over there throughout history. When a city is destroyed, they just level the rubble, and build another one. Another enemy comes in and destroys it, burns it; they level off again and build another. So, all over the Middle East are these mounds, which are called ‘tels.’ They are cities that have been rebuilt many times in the same location without hauling away the debris. In fact, the city of Jerusalem is one. When you walk on the streets of Jerusalem today, if you’ve got a good guide, he will probably tell you that the streets of Jerusalem, on which Jesus walked, are several feet below where you are walking today.

Because Jerusalem has been destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed and rebuilt. Megiddo was one of those. It was just an ideal place to build a city in ancient times – it was a good defensible place. It had good food production, and water. So, naturally, it made a good place to build a city. So, Megiddo sits right on the edge of the plain of Esdraelon, which is just as flat as the floor of this building. It’s several square miles of open area. And the armies of the ancients fought battle after battle on that plain. And so, all these nations of the world will be sending their armies to that area and, I think, by a Sovereign act of God, they’re going to get packed in to that valley; into that very huge, flat plain.

Revelation 14:14-19

“And I looked and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” Whenever you think of farming nomenclature, what does a sickle refer to? A harvest; it’s the clipping of the fruit or whatever.

“And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, `Trust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the Earth is ripe.'” Now, the Greek actually is a little stronger word, it’s more than ripe, it’s almost past harvest time.

“So he that sat on the cloud, thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. “ In other words, the Sovereign God is now coming into the picture:

“And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also having a sharp sickle. And he came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, `Thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.’ And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God,”

Remember we’re talking in an analogy here. The people of the Earth that are still remaining (the armies, etc.), are being gathered just like a husbandman would gather his grapes. We have to keep this back in the setting in which Jesus is talking, or the setting in which the Scriptures were written, when they still gathered the grapes and put them into a huge wine vat. How did they press the juice? They walked on them. And, they would just simply walk and walk and walk, until the juice would just finally find it’s way out and be drained on the bottom. Then they would just catch it in a wine vat. Alright, now this is the analogy. God is harvesting the men, the people of the World, into His wine vat. Most of them are going to be congregating in the valley of Esdraelon or Megiddo.

Revelation 14:19

“And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God,”

Oh, not a big rock winepress, hewn out. Not a cement one; not an oaken one; but which one? The wrath of God! Do you see?! We are so programmed, and rightly so, that God is a God of love, mercy, and Grace; and, indeed, He has been. But, the Scripture literally screams at us that this will not always be the case. There’s coming a day when God is going to say,“Enough!” – even as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah and the Noahic flood. And so, He says, “Enough!” and He gathers them into this great wine vat, and it’s the wrath of God. And then verse 20:

Revelation 14:20

“And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”

“And the wine press was trodden without the city,…“ In other words, northeast of Jerusalem. “And blood came out of the wine press, even unto the horses’ bridles by the space of a thousand six hundred furlongs,…“ that’s about 180 miles. Now, a lot of people scoff at this. They say, “Well, how in the world can such a thing be?” Well, fortunately, since we’re not taking this detail by detail, we can jump in on another little aspect of all this and that would be back in Chapter 16 of Revelation, verse 21. The final plague that falls upon mankind, as we see it here. I think this plague will be associated with this battle of Armageddon.

Let us picture the city of Jerusalem, the Mediterranean Sea, the valley of Esdraelon, and all the way up to Mt. Carmel that comes in over by the port city of Hiffa. In this great flat valley, the armies of the world are seemingly going to be brought in from every direction, like I said a little while ago, by a Sovereign act of God. They’re going to pack them in. Almost senselessly. No great general would ever do that… but they will! As they are packed into that valley, the last of the plagues (the final bowl judgment), will begin. Now, read Chapter 16:21: “…and there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone, that is every hailstone, the weight of a talent (or if you’ve got a margin – that’s 100 pounds).“ Now, we talk about golf ball sized hail, and maybe softball sized, and you know what that can do. It can knock out car windows, or go through house roofs. And they are still only about two or three pounds. Can you imagine hailstones weighing 100 pounds? They will just crush everything they hit. But the Middle East is hot. How long will those hailstones remain as ice…? Not very long.

And so, I look at this river of blood as deep as horses’ bridles as very literal because, you see, with those millions of men packed into that valley, crushed under these hundred pound hailstones, which will immediately begin to melt, what have you got? You’ve got a veritable river of blood! Now, lest you tell me I’m stretching the point, I remember reading that after the battle of Wake Island, our marines had to go in on the beaches and I think we lost something like 7,000 men. The Pacific Ocean was red, as much as two or three miles out from shore. Just from 7,000 casualties. I know that’s a lot of precious people, but here we’re going to have millions. And then with the hundred pound hailstones, indeed, it will be a river of blood running for 180 lengths. Now, I always like to go back and tie in the Old Testament as well as the New. Let’s get this same picture from Isaiah. Let’s go to Isaiah Chapter 63. There’s a lot of people who don’t like to read the Book of Revelation – they say it’s of no account, and there’s no use bothering with it because you can’t understand it anyway. Well, we’ll just go back and see what the Old Testament says, cause it says basically the same thing:

Isaiah 63:1,2

“Who is this that cometh from Edom (Edom is southeast of Jerusalem), with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speaketh in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore (the prophet asked), are thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?” Use your imagination? You get somebody in there barefoot, and they trample that winefat. After a few hours, they’re going to be covered with grape juice from head to foot.

Isaiah 63:3,4

“I have trodden the winepress alone (this is the coming Christ) and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger,…” Now, remember he’s not talking about the blood of Calvary here. He’s talking about the blood of the wrath that is poured out on his victims. And he said, “I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled (or splattered is what the Hebrew word says) upon my garments and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.”

That’s the Second Coming of Christ. If you’ll go back to Revelation once again, we’ll get a different view of it. It is not so much in wrath and judgment upon the gathered armies of the Anti-christ. In Revelation Chapter 19, we see Him coming in His glory – His power. And never lose sight of the fact that after we have been taken out at the end of the Church Age, it will be before the Tribulation begins. And again, someone asked me during the last lesson, “Are you sure we don’t go into the Tribulation?” I’m sure!

I maintain there is no way that the Church can go into the Tribulation for, primarily , one reason. When God began to deal with the Gentiles, the first thing the Apostle Paul made clear was, you are not under Law, you are under Grace. And I’ve always maintained you cannot mix them. I have already pointed out that when the Tribulation begins, Israel will be back under the Law, and God’s premise still stands, you cannot mix Law and Grace. And so, in order for God to deal with Israel under the Law, the Church has to get out of the way. And I maintain that is probably my best argument, as to why will not go into the Tribulation. We have to be out! Several lessons ago, you remember we used the verse in Romans 11:25, that when the fullness of the Gentiles was brought in, then God turns again to the Nation of Israel. That says the same thing – that when the Body of Christ is complete, the last Gentile is saved – God takes it out and He picks up where He left off with Israel.

Revelation 19:11a,12

“And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse;…” “…And 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” “And 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”

There was a White Horse back in Chapter 6, but that White Horse was the fake christ, the counterfeit christ, the Anti-christ. But, here we’ve got the real thing. “And I saw a white horse and he that sat upon him was called,…“ and here are the names of deity, capitalized, “Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war.” “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood”, This, I think, is the reference to His own blood, the shed blood of Calvary. “And His name is called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven, followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword.” You always have to be careful when you study Revelation, because it is always in symbolic language, but every symbolism has a literal truth. Go back with me to Hebrews Chapter 4 because I don’t want you to picture Christ coming with an old iron Roman sword between his teeth.

The sword is something else in Scripture. Hebrews Chapter 4, verse 12 and most of you know, at least partly, from memory, Verse 12: “For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.” So what’s the sword? His Word! Oh, when He spoke at creation, what happened? The universe came into being. When He had everything all prepared, He brought that dust from the ground and He spoke to it, then what happened? Adam appeared. And so, it’s been all through Scripture; everything that God does, is done with the spoken Word.

We had an interesting discussion in our class last night. Faith cometh by, how? By hearing! But we cannot hear until God speaks the Word. And it’s kind of a hard concept for a lot of people to understand, but I try to make it as simple as I can. For example: When did Abram leave Ur of the Chaldees? When God spoke the Word and said to leave Ur. And Abraham left, and what did God call that? Faith! He told Noah to do what? Build an ark. What did Noah do? He built it. That was faith! Then along came Moses, and God gave to Moses the Law. Moses brought it down off the mountain and he said to Israel, “…thus saith the Lord.” And what did they do? They believed it. And so all the way up through Scripture, when God speaks, that’s when He expects us to believe it. In other words, did Noah jump the gun and start building his ark 6 months before God told him to? No, he waited until God said it.

And so it is, in the Age of Grace. God has now told us today, to believe that Christ died for our sins; that He was buried; and that He rose again from the dead. As soon as God spoke it, what did He expect man to do? Believe it! And that’s where faith comes in. But you can’t believe something until God speaks it. Always remember it’s the Word of God that makes things happen. Verse 12 again:

Hebrews 4:12

“The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner.”

Revelation 19:15

“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,” At the Word that He speaks, and as he speaks, millions of troops gathered there in the Battle of Armageddon, will be zapped; they’ll be all done. Satan won’t have a particle of power left. It’s going to be all over. And then read on: “…that with it he should smite the nations:…” as they are represented there in Armageddon.

Are all the areas of the world going to come under these judgments? Absolutely. It is mainly the time of God dealing with Israel, but the whole planet will come under this. Everything. There again, you have to understand that Noah’s flood was universal, and Jesus says in His earthly ministry, that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the coming of the Son of Man. So we have that same application that it’s world-wide, and when He comes, even though it’s to the Middle East, yet the whole planet will come under this judgment. Alright, reading on: “and He shall rule them with a rod of iron:” That sounds like a cruel term, but it isn’t meant to be cruel, it means absolute. When He sets up His kingdom, He is going to rule with absolute power. There’ll be no monkey business, no corruption, no bribery, no disobedience. It’s going to be absolute righteous rule. So don’t let that term “rod of iron” scare you. “And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Now, verse 16. I love it. This is the God we serve. We don’t have to shrink from anybody, because look what He is:

Revelations 19:16

“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

You can’t add anything to that, can you? That is the epitome of His power, and it’s coming. And we’re going to be part of it if we have trusted the Gospel. And we’re going to rule, Paul says, and reign with Him. The Book of Revelation says the same thing. We’re going to reign with Him 1,000 years on this earth. Many people rebel at that. Again, going back to the little booklet I read last night: this author maintained that we were going to come to the Second Coming, then Christ comes, and He takes us to Heaven, and then it’s all over. Well, they have to throw away half The Bible to teach something like that. We know that when He comes, He’s going to be KING OF KINGS and Lord of Lords, and we’re going to rule and reign with Him!

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 6

RAPTURE: TRIBULATION:

SECOND COMING: MILLENNIUM

Daniel 9 & Genesis 25-26

Turn to Matthew 24, for a quick review of our last lesson, where we left off with Jesus telling the Twelve the events of the Tribulation:

Matthew 24:15

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand).”

He makes a tremendous statement that gives veracity to the Book of Daniel — a book that has probably been under more attack by the scoffers and the liberals than any other book in The Bible, except maybe Genesis. But, here in Matthew 24, Jesus puts his stamp of approval upon the prophet Daniel. “When ye therefore,…“ and remember He’s talking to the Twelve; and so He is naturally talking primarily to the Jew. Never forget that this great Tribulation period, the seven years that is spoken of throughout all the Old Testament, is referred to here by Christ. And then, of course, the road map of it is in the Book of Revelation; that seven-year period is primarily, according to Jeremiah Chapter 30, Jacob’s trouble. Which means it is primarily God dealing with the Nation of Israel after all these years of seemingly ignoring them, and yet not really. Because always remember, one of the greatest miracles of the whole human race is the Nation of Israel. They should have been long gone, but here they are after over 4,000 years of history; and more than one government, more than one empire, more than one king has tried to obliterate them. And yet, here they are.

I’m reminded of an anecdote I read years ago that during the time of Bismarck, I think it was, and the Prussian empire, he was an unbeliever and almost an agnostic, had one of his top generals who was a very devout believer. And so, one day as he was conducting his inspection, he came to this general and sneeringly said, “General, tell me why do you still believe The Bible? Tell me in one or two words.” And the general, without a pause, said, “Sir, the Jew.” And you see that is. The proof of this Book is the Nation of Israel. God is not through with them. He is still bringing them back to the land and that’s why we’re seeing this mass emigration into that little postage stamp piece of real estate, because God’s getting ready to again pick up where He left off with His favored nation.

Now, here in Matthew 24, verse 15, He says to the Twelve, “when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (that would be in the Temple) whoso readeth, let him understand.” Let’s go back to Daniel and pick up again those verses that Jesus was referring to, so we can tie it all together. Now, as I was driving up here for our lesson today, I was trying to sort things out in my own mind, because this is not just a short lesson, and we can go on to another subject some other time. We’re trying to teach the whole scope of Scripture from Genesis through Revelation, and not in just bits and pieces; not as a shotgun approach, but we’re trying to tie everything together. And I’ve known in my classes when people have gone through Genesis to Revelation four, five, six times with me; every time they will pick up things that they’ve never caught before. I used to apologize for reviewing, but I don’t anymore, because every time I review, I know that somebody picks up a little bit that they’ve either forgotten, or they’ve never actually tied together. So, let’s look at Daniel 9:24:

Daniel 9:24

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

We’re again dealing with the Nation of Israel; it’s Old Testament, and some may say, “Wait a minute, you mean that the Old Testament isn’t for us?” Of course it is! All Scripture is by inspiration and is profitable. So, we don’t put lines through any of it. But, I maintain that you have to be aware to whom the particular passage was directed. And so, here again, Daniel makes it so plain that “seventy weeks,” or seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, “are determined upon thy people.” God is speaking, of course, through the prophets. So, who are Daniel’s people? Well, the Jew – Israel – the nation. “and upon thy holy city,” (Jerusalem), “to finish the transgression and to make and end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity.” Of course, that all took place at the Cross.

That’s where sin was paid for, and all these things came to their culmination. But, on the other hand, there’s still some time to go on after the Cross and the verse continues on, “…to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” This is not an in depth study on prophecy; we’re still going to go back to Genesis soon. But as I mentioned the last lesson, we’ve had so many requests to go back and spend a little time on end-time things, because we are getting so close to it all. And I agreed heartily, because, when I look at how long it’s taken to go through the first 24 verses of Genesis, I’m honestly convinced that we won’t be here long enough to finish the whole book. We’ll be gone before it’s all gone. So, we are just taking a brief overview.

Daniel 9:25,26

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

So then, here in verse 25 & 26, we see that these 490 years are broken down into a period that would be 483 years. Remember, that Abraham, the beginning of the Jewish nation, began about 2,000 B.C. The Cross would be in the middle. Now, in this passage of Daniel, he is speaking of 483 years that would transpire from the decree from the king, which we find in Nehemiah 2. That decree was found to be dated in 445 B.C. If I remember right, the date was March 14. All you have do is remember a scriptural year is 360 days, not 365. It’s twelve months of 30 days, or 360 days. But you still have to compensate for those 5 days and leap years, so you just punch it out in your calculator, even with our present day calendar, from 445 B.C., archaeologists have found this. It’s not just pulled out of a hat. From 445 B.C. until the year of the Crucifixion, as I calculate it, comes to within about one year. And there can easily be that much difference in calendarization and so forth. So always remember that the Scripture is so accurate. Nothing is guesswork. And if there is a discrepancy, it is ours, not God’s.

So, anyway, Daniel has determined that there would be 483 years from that decree of Nehemiah 2 until the Crucifixion. But, the total years that God was going to deal with Israel was 490. So, if 483 took place up to the Cross, that means there is seven years left. And consequently, most Bible scholars, and those who do a lot of writing, will refer to the seven-year period as Daniel’s seventieth week. Sixty-nine were fulfilled at the Cross. God’s clock stopped, and the last seven years are still ahead of us. They still have to be fulfilled. Now, then, as you go into verse 26, it speaks of a coming prince. “After the threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off (at the Crucifixion),but not for himself,” He didn’t die because of anything He had done. He died for us, “and the people,” (now here’s where you have watch carefully as you read), “…the people of the prince that shall come,…“ Now, the prince that shall come is a small letter “p,” and is the reference to what we call the Anti-christ. Christ is the Prince and He would be capitalized.

But, this prince is a small letter, and it’s a reference to the counterfeit christ, the Anti-christ, and it’s the people out of which he will one day come that will destroy the Temple. And we know that was done by the Roman general, Titus, in 70 A.D. So, that verse tells us at the time of the Anti-christ’s appearance, he will have to come out of the geographical area that comprises the ancient Roman empire. And it’s coming to pass right before our eyes. It’s basically the European Community, which by the end of this year, they hope to be able to call a Federation of Europe, or a United States of Europe. And so, the geographical part of it is already in place; that somewhere out of that revived Roman empire this prince will make his appearance. Then, in verse 27, we find what he is going to do:

Daniel 9:27

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

He is going to make a covenant or a treaty with Israel for how long? One week – seven years! Now, there comes that seventieth week of sevens, or that 483 to the 490. He’s going to sign the seven-year treaty. So on that basis, I’ve taught that when that treaty is signed by the Anti-christ and Israel, that puts God’s time clock back in gear, which stopped back there at the Cross. And there have been an indeterminate number of years since then. But as soon as that man signs a treaty with Israel, God’s seven-year time clock starts running. But, look on in the rest of that verse, at what’s going to happen? And this is what Jesus was making reference to when He said in Matthew 24, “when you see this desolation take place in the Temple, then flee to the mountains.” And here it is. “In the middle of the week”, in other words at the end of 3 1/2 years, “he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease”,or to stop. Now, the first thing you’ve got to ask yourself when you read something like that, in order for Israel to have the Temple worship and have it disrupted, what is Israel going to have to have first? The Temple.

And so, we know that one day soon, some how or another everything is going to fall into place, that Israel will have her Temple rebuilt. And we know from all our news coming out of Israel that they’ve already got young men trained for the priesthood. They’ve already got all the garments of the priesthood hanging on mannequins. They’ve got everything ready, and all they need is the Temple, and that can go up rather quickly with all the technology that we have today. In fact, I saw in the Jerusalem Post, just recently, all of the damage that was done by the scuds and next to it was the picture of the same street today. And do you know what? Everything was rebuilt and you couldn’t tell there had been any damage at all. The streets were new. And they did that in one year!

So, don’t ever shrink and ask how can they build a Temple and get everything going so quickly. It won’t take that long. But in the middle of this seven years, the Anti-christ is going to turn on that nation with whom he made this treaty, and go into the Temple, Daniel says. There he’s going to cause an abomination. And he shall make the Temple desolate. In other words, he’s going to shut it down, and, the reason for that, is he’s going to force Israel to worship him as their Messiah. Now, I think for the first three and one half years, Israel will enjoy the protection of this individual, and they will be so awed by what he is able to do, that they will begin to wonder if he, indeed, is the real Messiah. But then, at the mid-point of that Tribulation, they will suddenly realize that, indeed, he is not The Messiah, but in fact, quite the opposite. I was reading a book the other evening concerning the New Age movement. It’s amazing how gullible people can be. I just can’t understand it. And these New Age people are actually elevating Lucifer and Satan and his man Anti-christ, as the one who will bring in the utopia that the world is looking for. And we know from Scripture, that this man is not going to bring in a utopia; he’s going to bring in the most devastating years that this world has ever known.

Come back to Matthew 24 so we can continue for just a moment to see how Jesus describes these seven years, but in particular, the last 3 1/2. He’s talking about the time from when the Anti-christ goes into the Temple here in verse 15. We covered this in our last lesson so we’re going to take a real brief look at how he now instructs the Jews, living in the area of Jerusalem and Judea, at the time that all of this takes place, to flee to the mountains. In other words, they must get out of the area of Jerusalem and Judea. Then, I gave you a good indication of all the various types of people that will be in that fleeing remnant of Israel. Let’s look at it in Matthew:

Matthew 24:17,18

“let him which is on the house top not come down to take anything out of his house:…” This is probably somebody who is retired and may be fairly well-to-do, with no day-to-day responsibilities.

“Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.”

Here we’ve got the opposite, a younger person who is a laboring person, working every day. And Jesus said to let him not go back to get his clothes, but let him flee.

Matthew 24:19,20

“And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!” You have the young women of a society. Some mothers and some mothers-to-be, but you’ve got a whole cross-section here. Men, women, young children, infants, babies and those that are about to be born.

“But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day;…”

Here’s the reference that Israel will be be back under the Law. That’s another thing many people can’t comprehend – that Israel is getting ready to go back under the old Mosaic Law. Oh, not in it’s purity, as Moses gave it to them, but as it was, perhaps, at the time of Christ. If you know anything at all of Judaism, you know that it was pretty well adulterated, and that’s why Jesus made such a fuss over the way they were conducting themselves in the Temple. But, they’re going to go back under the Law; they’re going to have the Temple worship; and at the mid-point of that last seven years, when you see the Temple desecrated and the abomination, they will flee to the mountains. We don’t know when it will be, because this is a question mark period of time, but we do know that this is going to be seven years. Daniel divided it and Jesus divided it.

Matthew 24:21

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

“For then (in other words from the mid-point on) shall be great tribulation,…” Now, watch the language – “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time,…“ or that time, because He’s speaking of it in the future tense, “no, nor ever shall be.” I do a lot of reading and I think you all know that by now. Recently, I read something that came in the mail and I don’t know what group put it out, they didn’t have their name on it. I’ve got a pretty good idea though. They were maintaining that we’re just simply going right straight on through to the Second Coming. Christ comes and that ends it, and they completely ignore verses like this. But Jesus here is speaking of a time of trouble that this world has never seen, as over against what this particular little booklet was saying, that if the Book of Revelation ever was acted out, it was back in the time of Nero, and some of those in the Roman empire.

What these folks don’t understand is that there has never been a time in human history, not under these Caesar’s, or Hitler, or Stalin, like that which is coming after the Anti-christ turns upon the Nation of Israel. And look what He says, “there shall be great Tribulation like as was not since the beginning of the world, nor ever shall be.” Now, let’s go back and take a look at this in Revelation Chapter 11. I always like to point out that throughout Scripture this seven-year period is always broken down into the two halves. In fact, you might even want to look at Chapter 11, verse 2:

Revelation 11:2,3

“But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” We’re not going to make comment on the verse per se, except to say that the last part of the verse says, “…for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot Forty and two months.” How long is that? Three and one-half years.

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” How long is that? Forty-two months or three and one-half years. Now then, come on a little further:

Revelation 11:13

“And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven,”

This is the exact mid-point of the seven years. Then there’s going to be a tremendous earthquake in the area of Jerusalem. Now, I think we’re all aware that we’re already seeing a progressive increase in the number of earthquakes, all around the planet. They started about 1972 or 1973 and they’ve been increasing ever since. Well, all during this seven years, along with all the other plagues and the wars and famines and pestilence, there’s going to be tremendous, physical upheaval. Much, as it was, during the Flood. Tremendous earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves, you name it. The old earth is going to come under all of this.

This remnant will be these Jews fleeing (as Jesus said they’d better), out of Jerusalem, at the mid-point, and a lot of things happen. When I teach the Book of Revelation, I try to, first and foremost, delineate between all the events at the opening. And then all the major events at the middle, and all the major events at the end. And then fill in. Because that’s the only way you can really comprehend the Book of Revelation. Now, here at the mid-point, there is going to be a lot of things taking place. The two witnesses that have been preaching there for 3 1/2 years, are suddenly going to be killed, laid in the street for three days, and then they are going to be resurrected and taken up so the whole world can see them go.

The Anti-christ is going to move his headquarters down into the Temple in Jerusalem. He’ll defile the Temple, and set up his throne room there and his seat of government. Along with that, Satan is going to be cast out of Heaven for the last time, and so he comes down with all his wicked cohorts – now this all takes place in a matter of hours at the mid-point of this seven years. Along with it, is this tremendous earthquake and the fleeing of the remnant of Israel. That remnant we just saw in Matthew 24. Older people, middle age people, working people, young people – men and women, boys and girls. They’ll be fleeing out of Jerusalem to their place of safety. But they go out in unbelief concerning The Messiah.

Now, pick that up here in verse 13. They gave glory to God. I enjoy reading that Jerusalem Post just to see the attitude, and every week there’s an article in there by one of the chief Rabbi’s of Israel. And listen, they’re getting more religious by the week, over there. And so, the Rabbi’s are speaking of God and of all of His glory, but who are the still rejecting? The Christ! And so, they will not recognize that Jesus was The Christ. And, you’ve got the same thing here in Revelation. They’re going to be fleeing out of Jerusalem. They’re going to give glory to the God of Abraham, but they still don’t know The Christ. Then, let’s pick them up across in Chapter 12:

Revelation 12:5,6

“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” It says that she brought forth a man child, that is the Nation of Israel, “…who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron (and, of course, He is! It’s coming closer now) and her child was caught up unto God and to his throne,” – that was the ascension.

“And the woman fled in the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”

We come back again to this remnant of Israel, fleeing Jerusalem, “…where she hath a place prepared of God, that they (the God head, the Trinity, that’s why it’s a plural pronoun)should feed her there (out in the mountains, how long?) a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” There’s that same number again. Three and one-half years. And it just keeps coming up over and over. So, there’s just no way that we can explain away the fact that. This remnant of Israel will finally flee to the mountains (and I think it will be in the mountains in Moab, probably the ancient of city of Petra). But for 3 1/2 years, God will protect them out here even in their unbelief – don’t forget that. Now, He’s going to protect those remnant Jews who have fled from the area of Jerusalem, much the same way as He did for the Jews under Moses, when they were in the wilderness for 40 years. You all know what happened there. Their shoes and clothes didn’t wear out; they never went hungry; they never went thirsty. God provided everything, and so He will again. Now, if you want to pick that up, carry it across to verse 14:

Revelations 12:14

“And to the woman (that is this fleeing remnant) were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time (one year) and times (plural for two years for a total of three years) and half a time (making 3 1/2) from the face of the serpent.”

Now, let’s go back and cover that statement in verse 14, that she’s given the wings of a great eagle. Let’s go back to Exodus 19, and I think you’re all acquainted, especially if you’ve seen the movie, “The Ten Commandments,” with the fact that Israel did not sprout wings and fly. No Air Force came and picked them up, like some folks like to think they’re going to this time. But, how did they leave? Well, they walked. But, look what Exodus says about it. God is speaking to Moses there at Sinai now, and He says:

Exodus 19:4

“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.”

You can really learn something from this. Whenever you see something in Scripture that you can’t make sense out of, always go back to the place of first mention. And here it is: “I took you out on eagles wings, but they walked.” Again, He’s going to take them out as if they were going on eagle’s wings.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 4 * BOOK 6

FIRST FRUITS: GLEANINGS:

OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS: RESURRECTION

Daniel 12 & 9

Let’s get right into The Book where we left off. Remember, when we were back here in our study of Genesis, we had gotten as far as Abraham sending his servant into a far country to get the bride for his son. That’s what catapulted us into the New Testament for the last several lessons. We wanted to show you how clearly that was a parallel for God sending the Holy Spirit into the world to call out a Bride for His Son, which of course is the Body of Christ. And then, I didn’t feel right about just showing that, and going right back to Genesis without carrying on, at least a brief overview of the rest of the end time events as we see them coming up. The seven years of Tribulation, the return of Christ and the setting up of His kingdom. We’re going to cover that, not so much in detail like we would if we were in a verse-by-verse study in the Book of Revelation, but just to give a little bit of a glimpse of what is immediately, we think, ahead for this old planet.

Let’s go back to Daniel Chapter 9 where in our last lesson we saw 490 years in this complete prophecy concerning Israel. But, 483 years were fulfilled at the Crucifixion, which means there were seven years unfulfilled. And these seven years will have the time clock triggered by the signing of a peace treaty between the Anti-christ and Israel. And so this big push for peace in the Middle East, that we see now is not going to last, even if they sign some sort of a peace treaty. It’s just going to be a make-shift thing. But, the real peace treaty will be with this man, the Anti-christ, who I feel will come up out of the United States of Europe.

You want to remember in 1992, by the end of the year, they hope to have the whole thing put together so that all of Europe will be a federated United States of Europe, even as we are here in America. And then, out of those federated European nations, I feel the Anti-christ will come out of the revived Roman Empire (I know there are others who feel he’ll come out of maybe the Arab nations, the Muslim world). Now, let’s look at Daniel 9:27:

Daniel 9:27

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

“He (this man Anti-christ) shall confirm (or sign) the covenant with many (speaking of many Jews who will be back in the land as they are even now) for (how long?) one week:” (or seven years). Now, the minute they sign that seven-year peace treaty, Israel is going to just lay down her defenses and feel so secure that this man with all of his charisma, and, seemingly, all of his economic and military power behind him from Western Europe, is going to be able to guarantee her safety and her borders. And so, Israel will almost think he is The Messiah. And he’s going to be benevolent. When he signs this seven-year treaty, he’s willing to give Israel permission to have Temple worship. And so if the Temple isn’t built by this time, it soon will be. And Israel will come back under the Law. I think they’ll go back into the sacrifices and the whole nine yards and if you’ll just read a little bit about the mentality in Israel today, you’ll read how more and more, the orthodox are gaining momentum over the secular.

So, this man will sign a seven-year treaty with the Jews, but let’s read on: “In the midst of the week,…“ In other words, at the mid-point, after 3 1/2 years, or 1,260 days, he suddenly is going to turn on the Jew and look what it says, “…he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Now, if you don’t read that verse casually, but read it carefully, in order for something to cease, it has to start. So, what this verse is telling us is that, by the mid-point of the seven years, Israel will have been enjoying sacrificial Temple worship. And with the blessings of the man Anti-christ.

This is why Paul says in 2 Thessalonians that as soon as the Church and the indwelling Holy Spirit is taken out, then shall that wicked one be revealed. Now, he won’t be revealed to the world in general as the awful Satanic individual that he will be 3 1/2 years later. But, he is going to be revealed enough that he will be the one to sign this seven-year treaty with Israel. And it’s a seven-year treaty made in Hell. But, Satan is still lurking in the back ground. He’s prompting all this, but as yet he has not indwelt him (the Anti-christ).

You get to the mid-point, as we see here, at the middle of the week. He causes the sacrifices and oblation to stop and, “…for the overspreading of abominations.” Now, you know what abominations in Scripture are. Those are various human acts that God hates with no ifs, ands, or buts, about it. And this man is going to come in and he is going to defy God at every turn and, “…he shall make it desolate.” Now, again, you’ve got to be a good student of language. What’s the ‘it?’ The Temple! This Temple that Israel will have built and will have been using for worship, he is going to make that Temple desolate. How? “Even unto the consummation (or until the end of that seven years), and all that’s been determined (by prophecy)shall be poured upon the desolate.” or the desolator.

Now, we get from a previous portion of Daniel an historical act by a literal, historical, little king by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes . Now, Antiochus was not a great man as far as world history was concerned, but he was a great man in Scripture because he, like the man Anti-christ (when he over-ran the little Nation of Israel back there in about 200 or 300 B.C.) also decimated and defiled the Temple by sacrificing a sow (a hog) on the altar. And you know what that did to the Jew. It was just a horror to them. I think that’s what this man is going to do, as well. When he comes in to the Temple he will defile and desecrate it. He will perform acts of abomination and it will be epitomized by the offering of a hog on the altar there at the Temple in Jerusalem. Then, in order to pick up what’s going to take place at that mid-point, let’s turn over to Matthew 24. Now, remember, for the first three and one half years, after signing the seven-year treaty, Israel is going to have a relative amount of freedom to worship.

The man Anti-christ will, I think, still be up in his headquarters in Europe. The only thing that Israel is going to have happen, that is really going to put them in a bind for awhile, will be, what I think is the great Russian invasion of Israel. That’s found in Ezekiel 38 and 39. We won’t have time in this lesson to touch on it, except to say that I think the Red Horse of Revelation 6, will be that great Russian invasion. Now, I know a lot of you are probably looking at me and thinking, “But, Russia is all done.” Oh, no they are not! Don’t you believe it!

If you believe in writing to your representatives in Congress, you’d better write and tell them not to lay down our arms because of Russia. We’d better be more on guard than ever before. Now, just for an aside to make you think, and give you something to chew on, I’m always careful to say that this is my own speculation. I can’t prove it from Scripture, and don’t even pretend to. But, I’ve always asked my classes, when I’ve taught the Red Horse of Revelation 6 (I think it is the northern invasion of Ezekiel 38 and 39), I like to ask my class people, “If you were a Russian general or the chief of staff, and you saw that you were getting ready to invade the Middle East, and Israel in particular (as Ezekiel says he will), what’s the first move that you would make before you would do anything?” Well, I know what I would do. I would unload everything I had on North America, because they are the only ones who would have any means of counteracting me. So, this is what I think is going to happen.

I think that just prior to that great invasion of Israel, early, probably within the first year of the Tribulation, the Russians will unload everything they’ve got on America and we’ll be off the scene, because I can’t find America anywhere in prophecy. No where! Prophecy deals only with Western Europe, Russia, the Orient and Africa. So, I personally think, and it’s only conjecture (don’t say that I’ve taught it from The Bible because this is my own idea), that the Russians will still unload, and will wipe us off the face of the map. But, Ezekiel 39 says that, even though God destroyed those invading Russian armies on the hills of Israel, God will destroy them just like He destroyed the Syrians back under Elijah’s time.

God will destroy the Russian armies, but Chapter 39 says a fire shall fall on their homeland, and will annihilate the Russian homeland. Now, again just go back to common sense. If Russia unloads and destroys our North American continent, what have we got out there that can still retaliate? We’ve got a bunch of submarines and they’ll unload everything they’ve got on the Russian homeland, and that will be a mutual annihilation, leaving the Scripture prophecy open, and, I think, in perfect accord, that will transpire. So, don’t worry, if you’re a believer we won’t be here. But, if you’re an unbeliever, there’s a possibility you’ll be left into this seven-year period (I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night because it would scare me to death). Now, you talk about nuclear winter – I think it’s coming. I’m not a prophet of doom. I think I’m as optimistic as most people. But I can see what the prophetic word says. And I can see that certain things have to happen. And then you see, we’re not teaching Revelation, but the next course in Revelation Chapter 6 is the Pale Horse. And that Pale Horse depicts famine and pestilence.

If you knock out the great agriculture areas of Russia and the great food production areas of our middle west, how much has the world got left? Not much. And, with those great areas of agricultural production off the scene, the remaining billions of people in the Orient, those in Europe and Africa, are going to be getting awful hungry. And so, the world, indeed, will come under terrible famine, terrible inflation, as the Russians are seeing now. It can happen when there is a shortage of something. You’ve got runaway prices and nobody can afford what little there is. Now, this is the picture of the opening days of the Tribulation, and like we said, Israel is going to enjoy the blessings of her Temple worship, but she is going to have to put up with this tremendous invasion and at tremendous loss of life.

I’ve had several who argue (friendly), “That just doesn’t fit because Ezekiel says that the Jews are going to be seven years burying the dead and cleaning up the residue of all the equipment that has been destroyed.” Now, to that I think I’ve got the answer. And that is that, all through Scripture, any part of a year (I don’t care if it’s only three days), in Scripture is considered a full year. So, when The Bible says that Israel will be seven years cleaning up the equipment and burying the dead. That tells me that this invasion could take place 10 or 11 months after the Anti-christ signs the treaty, and Israel, according to the Scriptural reckoning of time, would still have the full seven years to fulfill the cleaning up of the mess, and have it all done before Christ returns and sets up the Kingdom.

And so, that time frame doesn’t scare me. But, a lot of people say that it can’t happen in the Tribulation, that it has to be before; otherwise, there’s not enough time to fulfill the seven years. But, always remember that any part of a day, any part of a year, is considered a whole. Do you remember when Jesus gave the parable of hiring those workers for the vineyard? He hired some in the morning and they said they would work for so much. He hired some at noon and they worked for the same amount. And then he hired somebody about an hour before sunset, and how much did they get? The whole days wage. Why? Any part of the day is considered a whole. Any part of a year is considered a whole.

You see, the chronologists were having fits trying to reconstruct time back in the Old Testament because of this very thing. The Old Testament record may say that “so and so” reigned 10 years, and they knew that he only reigned a little over nine. But see, The Bible considered that little part of the tenth year as a whole year, and that’s all the way through Scripture. In fact, that’s my answer for Christ’s being crucified on Friday, and yet can be stated as having been in the grave three days and three nights. Because if He was crucified on Friday, He went into the grave before 6 o’clock that evening, and that was considered a day. Then He was in the grave all day Saturday, and then He came out of the grave after midnight on Saturday, and that fulfilled the three days and three nights. Now, you may not swallow that, but that’s okay. Go back to Matthew 24 and we’ll see what happens when the Anti-christ moves into the Temple in Jerusalem at the mid-point of the seven years:

Matthew 24:15,16

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:…”

Jesus is speaking to the Twelve all through Matthew 24 and 25. And so, as He speaks to the Twelve, He is also speaking to the whole Nation of Israel then as well as when this happens. I maintain that all of Chapter 24 is Tribulation ground. Even the introductory verses, 1-14 are all Tribulation, that is, seven years. Now, it’s not the Great Tribulation (the last half), but it’s the first half and then, when you get to verse 15, He says, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation…“ You remember what Daniel called it? The abomination of desolation! “…spoken of by Daniel the prophet…“ Now, there is proof that Daniel is legitimate because Jesus refers to him as a prophet: “…when you see him stand in the holy place,”that is in the Temple, “…whoso readeth, let him understand. Then let them who be in Judaea flee into the mountains.“ Why? Let’s look in verse 17:

Matthew 24:17-20

“Let him which is on the house top not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes, And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day….”

Do you see how appropriate this is for a cross-section of Jews? Let’s go back and examine these verses. Verse 17: When the Jews of Jerusalem suddenly realize that the Anti-christ is come into their Temple and has defiled it, and has forced them to begin to worship him instead of Jehovah, Jesus said when you see that happen, flee to the mountains. Now, who is going to flee? This is not the 144,000. This is a cross-section of Jews in the area of Jerusalem and Judea. Who are they? “Let him who is on the house top not come down to take anything out of his house.”

Now, I like to ask the question, if you know anything about the Middle East at all, “What kind of people will have their patio on the top of their house?” Well, the wealthy, the retired, those no longer engaged in everyday work. And so here we have the older retired people with probably a little more wealth, and a little more time for ease. They’d better get down off his house top patio and not worry about any clothes in the closet. They’d better get out of town. Now, let’s look at the next one. “…Neither let him who is in the field return back to get his clothes…“ What age group and kind of people do you have doing the every day labor of field work, construction and “what have you?” Well, your younger people. I’m going guess their ages from 25 to 45 years old; men and women both. And they too, had better get out of town and not take time to go back and get their clothes. Let’s move on. Verse 19: “Woe unto them that are with child…“ Now, what have you got? You’ve got your young women – your young mothers-to-be.

And then in the next statement, you’ve got nursing mothers, carrying their little ones. Do you see what a cross-section of society we’ve got here. You’ve got retired people, working people, the young mothers, the mothers to be – it’s a complete cross-section of society. And then verse 20: You remember I told you Israel will be back under the Law? What had they better pray for? Oh, that this isn’t on a sabbath day, because Israel’s Law limited how far they could walk on the sabbath day. So he says, “…pray that it won’t be on the sabbath day.” so that you’ll be free to go that hundred miles or so into the mountains southeast of Israel. I think they will go into Moab. The red rock city of Petra is a distinct possibility.

Matthew 24:21

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

Now, Jesus is speaking, and He knows what he is talking about. For He says then, (when the Anti-christ moves into the Temple and defiles it at the mid-point of the Tribulation),“…then shall be great tribulation (watch the language) such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Listen, there have been some tremendous calamities in this earth’s history. Those of you who have heard me teach the flood, what was it? It was instantaneous cataclysmic destruction. It wiped out everybody. What have the Jews gone through in their history? The most recent, of course, was the holocaust in Hitler’s Germany. When you read some of the accounts of what those people were subjected to, you wonder how a human being could even maintain their sanity. But that was a Sunday School picnic compared to what’s coming. If I were a Jew, the last place I would go would be Israel. But, you see, they go there blindly, with no comprehension of knowing what is coming.

But Jesus said when this last Three and one-half years break, except for these, and I call them the escaping remnant; the group of people in Matthew 24 will flee to the mountains. And once they get there, God is going to protect them just like He did Israel in the wilderness under Moses. He’s going to feed them and protect them from all the ravages of the Tribulation, and they’re going to be there completely safe for three and one half years. But, I always point out that they go out in unbelief. Oh, they recognize the God of Heaven and that there’s a power beyond them, but they still will not recognize The Christ.

And so, they go down into that refuge in the mountains for three and one half years of God’s Sovereign protection, in unbelief. But, all the Old Testament, the Book of Revelation and other areas make it so plain that when they see Christ returning at His Second Coming, this group of Jews, and I have no idea how many it could be, will be saved. Perhaps several hundred thousand or more. But, when they see the returning Christ in all of His power and glory, the Old Testament says, “…shall a nation be saved in a day?” Yes! And that little Nation of Israel, the remnant of course, will suddenly realize that He was the one that they had crucified. Go back to Zachariah Chapter 12:

Zachariah 12:10

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, 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.”

Zachariah 13:6

“And one (of these Jews in the protective area in the mountains) shall say unto him, ‘What are these wounds in thine hands?’ Then He shall answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'”

Now, isn’t that plain? They’re going to see Him, and they’re suddenly going to have their spiritual eyes opened, and they’re going to believe Him, and the nation will be saved in a minute.