Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 4 * BOOK 10

DANIEL’S 490 YEARS

Daniel 9 & Matthew 24

Let’s just come right back to where we left off, Matthew 24. We’ve been talking about Daniel’s prophecy of 490 years. 483 were fulfilled at the time of Christ’s first coming. His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and ascension. But before all that transpired, none of the Old Testament Scriptures gave any indication that the whole prophetic program would not be fulfilled, one thing right after the other. But it would be interrupted or postponed, or whatever word you want to use.

Now as you come into Matthew 24, I’d like to have you pick it apart. I would like you to find even a hint from Jesus that there’s going to be a Church Age. You can’t find it. I’ve tried. I’ve been looking at it for many, many years. There is not even a hint anywhere in the Gospels that there’s going to be 1,900 plus years that God is going to be calling out Gentiles into what we call, the Body of Christ. It’s just never alluded to. Everything is always resting on this Old Testament prophetic program that we have been studying. Now then, Matthew 24, in that same light then, Jesus is sitting upon the Mount of Olives, when the disciples (the twelve) came to him:

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 things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming (in other words, the setting up of your kingdom); and the end of the world (as we know it)?’ 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;…'”

Or “I am the Messiah.” Now stop a minute. Are we already seeing that? Sure we are. But to no extent that it will after that seven years has begun. And remember that just as soon as the Anti-christ signs that seven-year treaty with the nation of Israel, this seven-year Tribulation period is going to tick off, month by month, and day by day. And it will end exactly at the end of the seven years. Now someone asked the question at break, “Well, what will the Anti-christ offer the nation of Israel, that they will sign the seven-year treaty?” Well, what is Israel most hungry for tonight? Peace. They want peace with their neighbors. They want to be accepted into the family of nations of the world. And they have to maintain their defense structure. They have to keep their people taxed to death just to keep their enemies at bay. So if this man comes in, and I think he’ll come out of the European Community with the power of N.A.T.O. behind him. And I think he’ll come in and offer the nation of Israel absolute protection and a sovereignty that no one can approach. He’ll say, “I guarantee your borders. You can dismantle you armed forces. I’ll protect you.” And Israel is going to fall for that, hook, line and sinker. And on top of that, he’s going to give them permission to have their Temple worship. And he’s going to guarantee them freedom in that.

And so they’re going to have no qualms about signing this seven-year treaty. Because like I said a few lessons ago, they’ll almost think he’s the Christ, if they don’t indeed. But as we see Jesus unfold the events of the Tribulation, remember this: even though we are seeing the beginnings of it; we are seeing the great increase in earthquakes; we’re already seeing the potential of famine; and we are seeing famine in some places. Yet it’s nothing compared to what it will be when these seven years begin to unfold. So he says:

Matthew 24:6

“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.”

Now it’s amazing. I feel sorry for the world political leaders. They actually thought that once Russian communism fell apart, that peace was in our hands. There was no more fear of nuclear holocaust. And what have we got? We have more turmoil now, than when the Russian Bear was alive and well. When they begin looking at the problems that are facing our government overseas, it’s mind boggling. And so it’s going to be an explosion of discontent. There’s going to be an explosion of ethnic violence. Hatred that has been lying dormant for years. Kept under the thumb, maybe of totalitarian governments, such as communism was. But look at the dismantled nation of Russia, tonight. Look at all those ethnic groups, as they’re coming to light. They hate one another. So this isn’t hard to believe. Even though the Anti-christ is going to guarantee peace for Israel, the world all around them is going to be under constant conflict of wars and then verse 7:

Matthew 24:7a

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences,…”

And I honestly believe that AIDS is the beginning of it. I don’t think that they’re going to find a cure for it. I think that AIDS is just going to keep everyone’s attention. But I don’t think it’s going to really explode, until they get into the Tribulation, because we are not going to be here! But I think AIDS is just going to explode when the Tribulation begins. And that’s only speculation. I can’t prove it, other than that there will be a pestilence of some sort. Earthquakes, not in the generally expected places, but where? In diverse places. In other words, where they’re not normally accustomed to being. And we’re already seeing that. You read the paper as much as I do. The tremendous increase in earthquakes around the planet since 1970. I think it’s increased, the last I read, 2,200 percent, compared to just 20 years ago. But we’re still not there. But as soon as this seven years begin, then this all begins to crescendo. And here Jesus sort of puts the frosting on the cake:

Matthew 24:8

“All these are the (what?) beginning of sorrows.”

I imagine the word “sorrows” is translated a little differently in the newer translations. But I’m betting that some of them use the word, “travail.” The better translation of this word,“sorrows” is “travail,” because the analogy Jesus uses is the birth pains of a mother approaching delivery. The earth is being prepared for a delivery. So this is why the term is used. This is all the beginning of travail. All of you who have been involved in childbirth, either as mothers in the core of it all, or as fathers as onlookers, know that our wives and our moms, when those first signs of approaching birth occur, were not having severe pains. They were uncomfortable, but they weren’t all that severe. I’ll never forget when our little ones were expected, Iris would say, “Well, I’m beginning to feel it.” And then a few hours later, here would come another pang and she, being a nurse, would know exactly when to go. So I never had to sit in the hospital and wait very long. But nevertheless, when you approach delivery, we all know that the birth pains increase in intensity and in their frequency.

So as you come through this seven years, this is exactly what Jesus likens it to. That the events of this wrath and vexation are going to be relatively light, and maybe far apart. But as you move on through that seven years, they’re going to increase in their intensity. So that by the time you get out toward the end, it’s just going to be unbelievable! And that’s why the last three and a half years, Jesus will refer to as the time of great Tribulation. Because it’s approaching the delivery. Now then, why did He use the analogy of a delivery? Because the world, the earth, is going to be delivered from the curse. That’s the whole idea of this seven years of Tribulation. Satan is going to be paid off. Do you remember several weeks ago when we talked about the scroll in Revelation Chapter 5? The whole picture of Scripture is that Satan is holding the mortgage of the planet. He’s the god of this world tonight.

The curse has been plaguing us since Genesis Chapter 3. But the Tribulation is going to pay off that mortgage. The result of that Tribulation will be the delivery of the planet from the curse. And then you have the Kingdom come in, and you’ll have it revert back like it was in the Garden of Eden. Do you see that? So the earth has to go through its pangs of delivery. Now verse 9. Remember that He’s talking to the twelve, so He is directing most of this primarily to the nation of Israel. And He says to the Jew, in so many words:

Matthew 24:9

“Then shall they (that is, the powers that be. The rest of the world) deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”

Now a lot of people have asked me, “Why have the Jews been so persecuted? Why have they been so hated?” Even today, when the United Nations brings up a resolution concerning Israel, what’s the vote? Several hundred to one or maybe two. The whole world just jumps on them. As soon as anything happens in Israel, it’s front page news. Yet, that same thing could happen anywhere else in the world and the media doesn’t even pay attention. Why? It isn’t because of who Israel, is or what Israel is, except that they are God’s Covenant people. And Satan knows that. And he attacks them constantly, because of their position in God’s overall program. That’s why the Jew is so hated. That’s why he’s so persecuted, because way back there in Genesis, what did God promise Abraham? A nation of people in a geographical area in which He would be their King.

Now here comes the very crescendo that the world’s hated in this seven years. Keep your hand in Matthew. Let me take you back to Jeremiah Chapter 30. Because I say that the Tribulation is primarily, but not exclusively, the time that God is going to be pouring out His wrath and vexation on His Covenant people. Why? Because of their rebellion. Because of their unbelief. Because of everything that they have done contrary to God’s word, and God’s will. And He is going to purify them in order to prepare them for the Kingdom which is just around the corner. Alright, verse 6, to pick up a little more of the flow.

Jeremiah 30:6,7

“Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness(why? For fear. For pressure. The tortures)? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of (who’s trouble?) Jacob’s trouble (see that? It is the time of Jacob’s trouble); but he shall be saved out of it.”

Now, on your way to the New Testament, stop at Zachariah again. That’s that next to the last book in the Old Testament. Zachariah Chapter 13 and verse 8 and 9:

Zachariah 13:8,9a

“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land (that is, the land of Israel), saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein (there’s your remnant aspect that is taught all through Scripture). And I will bring the third part through the fire (what fire? The fire of Tribulation. Testing, see), and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they (what will be the result?) shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is (remember back in Daniel, He called them “Thy people” because He didn’t own them. But here He says, what?) my people:…”

Do you see the difference? Now they are responding in belief and He can call them once again, “They are my people.” Come back to Matthew 24, and let’s find the place where you can see that even Jesus said it’s going to be the worst time in all human history. And it’s still ahead of us. Matthew 24. Now verse 10:

Matthew 24:10

“And then…”

In other words, during this seven years (we’re still in the first 3 ¹/2 until we get to verse fifteen). So in that opening 3 ¹/2 years, they’ve got their Temple worship, and the Anti-christ has guaranteed them freedom of worship. Protecting their border, he thinks. We may see in our next taping that he doesn’t succeed.

Matthew 24:10

“…shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”

Matthew 24:11-13

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many (who is at the head of all false prophets? Satan. So it’s going to be a time of tremendous Satanic influence). And because iniquity (immorality, gross murders and all that destroys a society.) shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold (we have to be careful with verse 13), But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

That’s not salvation we’re talking about. We’re talking about physical survival. We’re not talking about saved from Hell, or saved for Heaven. He’s talking about these that will survive these awful events of the Tribulation. And they shall be saved. Keep your hand in Matthew 24. We’ll come right back. Now let’s go to Isaiah 24, verses 5 and 6:

Isaiah 24:5,6

“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 devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate (because of all the things that are happening to the planet): therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned (and I have to feel that it’s probably going to be a nuclear holocaust in those closing days of the Tribulation), and (what’s left?) few men left.”

There are going to be survivors. Not many, but there are going to be survivors of that seven years of holocaust. Alright, come back with me to Matthew 24 verse 14. Jesus, remember, is speaking. There hasn’t been one word yet understood, except by Himself, about the death, burial and resurrection. Even the twelve have no comprehension that He’s going to die on a Cross. So be careful how you take that next verse because everybody that I’ve heard preach on it has totally taken it out of its context and twisted it all out of shape. And look what it says in light of what I have just said. Jesus has alone revealed that He would go to the Cross. No one understands that. And yet they’ve been preaching a Gospel for three years. Now look what He says in verse 14:

Matthew 24:14

“And this gospel of the kingdom…”

This Gospel of the Kingdom. Not the Gospel of Grace. We preach today the Gospel of Grace that you must believe for your salvation, that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. Jesus Himself revealed that to the Apostle Paul, and Paul alone, in I Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 10:9-10 and many other places in Paul’s writing. But Jesus and the twelve preached the Gospel of the Kingdom which is believing for salvation that Jesus was the Messiah, repentance and baptism. This is found in Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:17, Matthew 16:16, Acts 2:38 and many other Scriptures in the four Gospels and the Book of Acts through at least Chapter 15. So this gospel of the Kingdom:

Matthew 24:14b

“…shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Isn’t that plain? But you have to know which Gospel. Paul tells us in Galatians 2:7-9 that there were two Gospels, one that he (Paul) preached to the Gentiles (uncircumcision) by revelation from Jesus Christ. And the other that John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter and the 12 preached to the Jews or Nation of Israel (circumcision). So as you study, notice who is speaking and who is being spoken to.

Come back for a few pages in Matthew to Chapter 9. Now in just a few lessons, we’re going to be coming into Matthew and we’re going to study it verse by verse, and chapter by chapter. But until then, just take one look here quickly in Matthew Chapter 9 verse 35. And you have to believe The Book, not me:

Matthew 9:35a

“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom…”

Now the Gospel always meant good news. So what was the good news of the Kingdom? Well, what did John the Baptist always begin with? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” That was the good news. The King is here and he’s ready to set up the kingdom. Now in association with the Gospel of the Kingdom, look what also what went with it:

Matthew 9:35b

“…healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

The two went hand in hand. You take away healing, and you take away the Gospel of the Kingdom. You take away the Gospel of the Kingdom and you take away healing and miracles and so forth. Because the two are synonymous. That’s why Jesus performed all those miracles, because He was announcing the Kingdom was at hand. So now let’s come back to Matthew 24:

Matthew 24:14

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come.”

Now let’s come back to our timeline, when the Gospel of Grace is ended and the Body of Christ has to be taken out. The parenthesis has now been closed, even though it has been an undetermined amount of time. When it is ended, the Church has to be taken out, because this is the time of Jacob’s trouble. I told someone the other night, I could stand here and teach you for an hour of all the scriptural proofs that you and I, and all the other believers, will not go into the Tribulation. The number one reason is that you cannot mix God’s dealing with the nation of Israel, on Covenant ground, with the Church. Law and Grace simply will not mix. And you cannot take the Church into Covenant ground. You are going violently against the Scriptures when you do. So in order for God to come back and deal with Israel during the time of Jacob’s trouble. Still on the basis of Old Testament Covenant, the Church has to be out of the way. I can show you, like I said. I could give you verses for the next hour, but let’s go on. Verse 15, Jesus approaches the midpoint of the Tribulation. Look what He says:

Matthew 24:15a

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel…”

And that’s why I spent so much time in Daniel Chapter 9. Do you remember what he said back there in verse 27? That the prince (Anti-christ) is going to make that seven-year treaty. And in the middle of the seven years, he’s going to cause the sacrifice and the oblation to stop, and for the abomination defiling it. Now look what Jesus says. He puts his stamp of approval on that prophecy. And He says:

Matthew 24:15

“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,…”

I think Anti-christ going to come from his position in Western Europe, Rome or Brussels, or wherever it is. And he’s going to come down to Jerusalem and go into the Temple that has been rebuilt, and has been used for the past 3 ¹/2 years or at least part of that time. And he’s going to suddenly turn on the Jew. He’s going to defile the Temple, probably by offering a hog, even as Antiochus did back in 300 B.C. And that’s the abomination that Daniel spoke of, and that’s what Jesus is speaking of. Now Jesus says, “When you see this happen,” and He’s talking to the twelve. So what do you think the twelve thought in their own minds? That this was going to happen in their lifetime. They had no idea that it was going to be postponed and put way out into the future. But it’s still going to happen. So what we have to feel now is that, when He spoke to the twelve, He was leaping the ages, but He was still speaking to the Nation of Israel and not to the Gentile nations. This is Israel’s ground. This is Jewish ground. So He says, “When you see that:”

Matthew 24:15

“…spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand:),”

Now come on down to verse 21. Jesus is unveiling this last 3 ¹/2 years of Daniel’s 70th week.

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.”

Do you see what He’s saying? Any horrible event that you can think of in history is nothing compared to what this last 3 ¹/2 years is going to be. The holocaust of Hitler’s Germany is awful, but it’s going to be nothing compared to this last three and a half years.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 3 * BOOK 10

DANIEL’S 490 YEARS

Daniel 9 & Matthew 24

Remember that we were talking about the fact the Church Age, God going to the Gentiles with what Paul called “His Gospel,” was something that had been hidden from the whole human race. Nobody had any concept of a 1,900 plus years of time where God would go to the Gentiles without Israel. The Old Testament is full of references that Israel had an understanding, that the Messiah would naturally, come to Israel. And through Israel, would bring peace to all the nations of the world. I mentioned before about this Rabbi in theJerusalem Post who had this understanding.

Well, he wasn’t very far off according to the Old Testament concept. Now I’m going to use what the Lord Jesus did Himself as my authority for doing it. You will find in Book 5, Lesson 3, Part I we did a whole lesson on Parenthesis and Dashes. If you will mark them in your Bible as we come to them, it will help you know if a certain thing in this prophetic program has already happened, (-) or is it still future. We’re going to go through Old Testament prophecy that lays out the whole program. And we’re going to show how much was accomplished until the time of Christ’s first coming. The rest still has to be future. As I said, my authority for doing it this way is because Jesus did it. Luke Chapter 4 verse 16. Now this is again in his earthly ministry:

Luke 4:16

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day,…”

I remind all my classes constantly, to never forget that Jesus’ whole three years of ministry was under the Law. People miss that. Everything He taught, said, and did was in accordance with the Law. I emphasize, we’re under Grace, not under Law! But nevertheless, we can come in here and we can learn so much from the Gospels, even though it was all under Law. So He went into the synagogue because He was a Law keeping Jew, in so many words. So He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day (Saturday):

Luke 4:16b,17

“…and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book (or the scroll); he found the place where it was written,”

Now when He uses the words, “He found,” this is where you have to be a stickler for words. When it says, “He found the place,” what does that indicate? He looked for it. He had this portion of Scripture on His mind and for a purpose. So He went through the scroll until He came to this portion of the Scripture which was Isaiah 61. He found where it was written and He reads to the synagogue audience:

Luke 4:18-21

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord (that’s what He read out loud, out of Isaiah). And he closed the book (or the scroll), and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them (as they sat there, marveling at what He had said and done.), This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”

Isn’t that something? Let’s go back to Isaiah Chapter 61 and see what He did. Those Jews in the synagogue knew what He did.

Isaiah 61:1,2

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,…” (-)

Now in the Old Testament, what’s the punctuation mark? Comma. What did Jesus put there? Period. See that. That’s where He stopped. He stopped after reading “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” But, what didn’t He read?

Isaiah 61:2

“…and the day of vengeance of our God;…”

What is that a reference to? Tribulation. This is the 70th week of Daniel. This is the prophecy. There’s no break here in Isaiah. Isaiah has no idea that the seven years is going to be pushed out 1,900 years into the future. Jesus knew. So He stopped exactly where this much prophecy would be fulfilled. And everything beyond that, Jesus knew would be in the future. But the twelve didn’t know it. The Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t know it. The prophets that wrote it didn’t know it. And this is what we have to be aware of. That these things that Paul wrote, were hidden in the mind of God. Now God wasn’t caught off balance and then all of a sudden had to shift gears, and change His program. He knew the end from the beginning, but He didn’t reveal it. He kept it secret from the whole human race until it was time for it to be revealed. This is what we have to understand. Read on. The prophecy said that the day of vengeance of our God, the Tribulation:

Isaiah 61:2a-6

“…to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vine dressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord:…”

You have to stop there a minute. What does Exodus 19 promise the nation of Israel? As they came out of Egypt, they’re camped around Sinai. The Lord told Moses if Israel would keep the commandments, they would be a kingdom of what? Priests. And here it is. Now what’s the program? Christ would come. He would present salvation, the acceptable year of the Lord. Then would come the day of Tribulation, Daniel’s 70th week. And what would follow Daniel’s 70th week? The Kingdom. What’s left out? 1,900 plus years of the Church Age. It’s not in here, but everything else is.

Come to Psalms Chapter 2. Have your pens ready so you can prepare yourself for this. As I give you the next reference, I want you to write it in the margin of your Bible, so that if you want to show this to someone, you can go from reference to reference without having to use a concordance or to tax your memory. Don’t be afraid to write some things in your margin, because after all, this is a Book meant to be studied. Psalms Chapter 2. And I might as well take the first six verses in their context.

Psalms 2:1

“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?

The whole world’s population is in those two statements. The heathen are the Non-Jew world – the Gentiles. The people are the Jews – Israel. Together they say, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.”

Psalms 2:2,3

“The kings of the earth set themselves (the rulers of the Gentile nations), and the rulers (of Israel), take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.”

What’s this about? Rome, Pilate and others in authority, consorting with the high priests and rulers of Israel to crucify the Messiah. In those final days of Christ’s earthly life before He was crucified, what’s the Jews position? When Pilate said, “I see nothing wrong with this man,” they said, “We have no king, but Caesar. Away with this Man. We’ll not have Him to rule over us. Crucify him.”

That’s the prophecy. They’re rejecting His offer of ruling them as a benevolent King. They don’t want any part of it. So they say, “Break his bands asunder.” I’d like to stop a second. Do you see the pronouns here are plural? Where the people say, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” Why plural? Remember what I taught you way back in Genesis Chapter 1, Elohim is a plurality. It’s a Godhead of three, not one. Here’s the reason for the pronoun. Same way back in Genesis 1:26, when God said, “Let us make man in our image,” what are the pronouns? They’re plural. Because Elohim is a Trinity. He’s a plurality in the Godhead. Verse 4. As they were rejecting the offer of Christ’s Kingship and His Kingdom, and they said, “Away with him. Crucify him.” What was the attitude of God, who was in heaven? Read on:

Psalm 2:4,5

“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh (not a laugh of amusement, but a laugh of what? Scorn, ridicule and judgment): the Lord shall have them (the nations of the world) in derision.” (-)

Psalms 2:5

Then (we don’t know how much time, even the Old Testament prophecies, allotted for that verse 4, the time of derision. No hint. But what’s the immediate thing after that? Then, and that’s a time word) shall he speak unto them (the nation of Israel, but also the nations of the world) in his (grace and mercy? No in His) wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.”

What is that? The Tribulation. Daniel’s 70th week. We’ll be looking at the verses now, that describe that awful period of human history. Then we’re going back to Matthew 24 and see what Jesus says about it. The Tribulation has run its course in verse 5. What comes on the scene in verse 6? The Kingdom.

Psalm 2:6

“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” There’s the kingdom. And then, verse 8:

Psalm 2:8

“Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen (or the Gentiles) for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Who’s possession? The Messiah’s, when He rules and reigns here on the earth. He’s not just going to rule and reign over Israel. He’s going to rule the whole world. Now there’s the Old Testament program in a nutshell, plain as day. But I said that we were going to break it in half, or break it like Jesus did. How much of this prophecy was fulfilled at His first coming? Well, up until the verse that speaks of his wrath and vexation, that never happened. God didn’t pour out His wrath in the Book of Acts, did He? God hasn’t poured out His wrath upon the human race. Oh, we have a lot of calamities. We’ve got wars and famine. That’s not the wrath of God. That’s just the evidence of the curse. We know nothing of what it’s going to be like on this planet, when God’s wrath is poured out, especially during that last half of the seven years. That’s going to be the real vexation.

So you can split that whole prophecy right there between verse 3 and verse 5. That first part was fulfilled. The Messiah came, offered Himself as King, and the world rejected Him. And in between that you have to go to Psalm 110:1. Keep your hand here in Psalms 2 for just a second and we’ll come back to it. But now in Psalms 110:1. This took place in the interval between verse 4 and verse 6 in Psalm 2:

Psalms 110:1a

“The LORD said unto my Lord,…”

Now the casual reader won’t see the difference in those two terms, “Lords.” The average reader will just say, “Well what is this? Just one person talking to another?” Well in essence, it is. But I’m going to show you something. The first LORD is all capitalized, but the second Lord is Capital L, but small o-r-d. Now, what’s the difference? If you know your Old Testament terms for Deity, the first LORD is the Jehovah God. And this is one of the few instances where Jehovah does not refer to the Son, as much as it does to the Father. But here we have in essence, God the Father saying to Jehovah Adonay. And Adonay meant “Master,” and that’s why Christ is referred to so often as Master even in the New Testament. He was Jehovah Adonay. So what you have here is God the Father saying to God the Son at the time of His rejection:

Psalm 110:1b

“…Sit thou at my right hand, until…” (-)

And what’s that word, “until?” Time word. Yes, He ascended, and Hebrews tells us that after He had purged us from our sins, He sat down at the right hand the Majesty on high, right in accordance with Psalms 110. And so He ascended and He sat down at the right hand. But He’s only going to stay there until some point in time, when the world is ready for His return. And then you can come back to Psalm 2. Then the LORD says:

Psalm 2:6

“Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill in Zion.”

Oh, it’s been interrupted. But does that mean that the last half isn’t going to be fulfilled? Not at all. It’s coming. It’s going to be just as sure as everything that went before it. I was going to have you write in your margin. Write in here that the next portion of Scripture you want to go to is Psalm 118. But write it here in Psalm 2. Then you go to Psalm 118, to verse 22:

Psalm 118:22

“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” (-)

It doesn’t sound like an awful lot, but that’s loaded. Now, who claimed to be the Stone, and Who was the Stone, the Rock of Offense, that presented Himself to Israel? Jesus! He was to be the Headstone of the corner. But what did Israel do? They rejected Him. They cast that Cornerstone aside, and it became a Stone of stumbling. You can split that verse right in the middle. Because, you see, He has not yet become the Headstone of the corner. That will be fulfilled when He comes back and sets up His kingdom.

So the first half was fulfilled at His first coming. You put a little dash in there and a parenthesis around it, and that’s the last 1,900 and some years. And the last half is yet going to be fulfilled. He’s still going to be the Headstone of the corner. He’s going to fulfill all these Old Testament prophecies. Now then in the margin, write, Isaiah Chapter 9 verse 6. And I’m not hitting all of them by any means. I’m just hitting the ones that are easiest to understand.

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us (the nation of Israel. They’re the “us,” no one else) a child is born, unto us a son is given: (-) and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David,…”

What’s all that in reference to? Well, when He sits upon the throne in Jerusalem and sets up His Kingdom. Again, verse 6:

Isaiah 9:6

“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:…” (-)

That happened at His first coming. But He hadn’t set up His government as yet. He hadn’t set up the Kingdom. So you put a dash in there, because that’s all been pushed out into the future. We don’t know how long from now, but it’s already been pushed out some 1,900 plus years. But the prophecy is that the King would come and He would end up by setting up His Kingdom. Let’s go on to Isaiah 61. That’s the one that we looked at a moment ago, but let’s stop there so you can put your next reference there. Isaiah 61. Put your dash or parenthesis, however you’re marking it, after the word “Lord,” in verse 2. After the word “Lord” where there’s a comma, you put right in there a parenthesis. The rest of that prophecy is even future to our time.

Now go to Joel Chapter 2 and it will be verse 29. Write there Isaiah 61:2, and in Isaiah, write in your margin Joel 2:29. Let’s start at verse 28. This is the same portion that Peter quoted verbatim in Acts Chapter 2, on the day of Pentecost. And again, Peter quoted the whole prophecy because he did not know, that a break would occur before it would be fulfilled.

Joel 2:28,29

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh (that happened at Pentecost): and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” (-)

That happened of course, at Pentecost. Which was in conjunction with His first coming. But you see, Peter went right on and read the next verse as if it too, would be fulfilled. And what does it say?

Joel 2:30-32

“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come (did that happen? No. Then the next verse,). And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance,…”

What’s that in reference to? The Kingdom. So you put a parenthesis back there between verse 29 and 30. Verses 30 through 32 haven’t happened yet. But they’re going to. In this margin, you can write, “Zachariah 9:9,10.” Zachariah is the next to the last book in the Old Testament. I always tell people to go find Matthew and then back up to the left, to Malachi, and right before Malachi you’ll find Zachariah. Now between verses 9 and 10:

Zachariah 9:9

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King (capitalized) cometh unto thee: he is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon the colt the foal of an ass.” (-) (now, did that happen? Sure it did. That was fulfilled on the triumphal entry. Then verse 10:)

Zachariah 9:10

And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the house from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen (Gentiles): and his dominion(or his Kingdom) shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.”

What’s that? The Kingdom. Did it happen? No. Is it going to happen? You’d better believe it. But you see, it’s been interrupted. There’s been a period of time put in there. I have one more in the New Testament, believe it or not. Luke Chapter 1, between verses 31 and 32. Now watch it carefully again:

Luke 1:31

“And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” (-)

Did that happen at His first coming? Absolutely. But then look at the next verse. That didn’t happen.

Luke 31:32

” He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:”

Is Christ sitting on David’s throne tonight? No. That won’t happen until He returns. After the Tribulation has run its course. Then He will return and sit upon His throne in Jerusalem.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 10

DANIEL’S 490 YEARS

Daniel 9 & Matthew 24

Now we will go right back to Daniel Chapter 9 and pick up again where we left off last lesson. Let’s pick up that last period of time. We told you last lesson that the 490 years prophesied for Israel was divided into 3 segments. We covered the first 49 years as being that time of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall. And then the 434 years that went from the dedication of the Temple until the crucifixion of Christ. But we still have 7 years left. Now remember all the reference to this prophetic program makes it sound like all of this 490 years will flow right to the end, with no interruptions, and then the earthly Kingdom would be set up.

In one of the last Jerusalem Post articles written by one of the head Rabbi’s in Israel, the headline read, “Is the end really near?” Even in Israel they realize that it is time for their Messiah. Of course they won’t recognize that He is coming the second time. So this whole article was with regard to what is happening around the world, but especially in Israel. The rabbi recognizes from these same Old Testament Scriptures that when the Messiah comes, whether he is man or God, he wasn’t all that sure on that. But he went on to say “that this Messiah will bring about peace on earth through the Nation of Israel.” I have been stressing that God hadn’t given up on the Gentiles, but would bring them to Himself through the Nation of Israel after the Kingdom was set up.

Now that is the Old Testament. And the Old Testament speaks only of that progressing of events. We will see of course that when Israel rejected it, early in the Book of Acts, what God already had hidden in His mind, but He had never revealed it. No one, not even the twelve had any idea that the Old Testament program would have to wait almost 2000 years for those final 7 years to be completed. Now let’s come in at verse 27 of Daniel Chapter 9, where this prince that shall come out of the Roman Empire who would destroy again the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. This man would come on the scene and will sign a seven-year treaty with the Nation of Israel. Now let’s look at it and we will comment.

Daniel 9:27

“And he (the prince that shall come) shall confirm the covenant with many (Israel) for one week (7 years): and in the midst (or middle) of the week (this is where we get the first teaching that the Tribulation is split in half. It will always be referred to as 3 ¹/2 years and 3 ¹/2 years. Or 42 months and 42 months. In another place it is 1260 days and 1260 days. But it is all a total of 7 years. So this prince in the middle of the week) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,…”

Now we need to stop right here. In order for Israel to be in the midst of sacrifices and rituals and oblation, what does she have to have? The Temple. And today she doesn’t have the Temple and hasn’t had one for over 1900 years. So we know from this prophecy that Israel is soon going to have her Temple. And she will reinstate Temple worship, and will be back under the Law as best she can. It certainly won’t be the law as Moses and Aaron practiced it. But it will be more or less a religion as the Temple worship was at the time of Christ. It was just a form of religion. Remember Jesus went into the Temple and drove out the money changers and livestock. What had the Temple become? A place of merchandise. Profit taking. And much of that, I think is going to come back when they rebuild the Temple. It’s going to be a formal religion, but it certainly will not be the pure system that Moses and Aaron instituted coming out of Egypt.

Anyway, this man Anti-christ as we know him to be, will come into the Temple there in Jerusalem at the middle of the seven years. So all I can say is sometime before that, the Temple will be rebuilt. Whether it’s before the treaty is signed or whether it’s sometime after the treaty is signed. Now another thing that I like to point out: there has been no indication of prophecy or time about the Age of Grace. It’s what we call the calling out of the Body. The Church, however you want to put the nomenclature. Here in this parenthetical period of time, there has been no indication, prophecy-wise, as to how long. So for all these 1,900 and some years, we do not know when it will end.

All we know is that at the end of the Church Age, God is going to bring about another seven years in time. The minute Anti-christ signs that seven-year treaty with Israel, God’s time clock will kick in and will go right down the line for seven years, like it always did back in the Old Testament. Now see, we’re not under that kind of a time frame tonight. We don’t know when the Church Age will end. We don’t know when the Lord will come for the Church. All we know is that it’s imminent. It could be today. It could be tonight. It could be next year. It may be a long time yet. We don’t know. But as things are shaping up, we feel that it can’t be much longer. Now, let’s just read on and then we’ll go and look at the verses in the New Testament. So when he signs that treaty, and Israel almost thinks that he’s the Messiah, he’s going to promise the peace and prosperity that they’re looking for. He’s going to give the the freedom of Temple worship. And to have the practice of it. But in the middle of that seven years, Daniel writes:

Daniel 9:27

“…he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations (we are convinced he will start by offering a sow, or hog, on the altar there in Jerusalem, to defile it) he shall make it desolate (Israel will go under intense persecution. He will try to force them to worship him rather than the God of Abraham.), even until the consummation (now what does consummation mean? It is finished! And so until the end then, all the things that are determined, prophecy-wise), shall be poured out on the desolate.”

Now the King James calls it the desolate, but it makes more sense to put it, “The desolator,” because we know that the wrath of God is going to be poured out on this man, Anti-christ. Let’s go to Matthew 24. We’re going to pick up the Tribulation Chapter in our New Testament. Now the whole Book of Revelation is the road map to the Tribulation. But before we go to Revelation, it’s always a good idea to stop here in Christ’s earthly ministry in the Book of Matthew. And I maintain, and I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I maintain that all of Matthew 24 is Tribulation ground. Everything that is spoken of in here, even though we are seeing the beginnings of it, we’re seeing the stage being set: we’re seeing all the props put in place: we’re seeing the cast coming on the scene. But it hasn’t lifted the curtain. That will come sometime later. But now in Matthew Chapter 24 verse 1:

Matthew 24:1

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.” Now you want to remember the Temple was a whole complex, and the center of Israel’s social fabric.

Matthew 24:2

“And Jesus said unto them, `See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'”

Here is another indication; did Jesus know the future? Absolutely. In this case He’s looking down the pike forty years. Forty years from His statement is when the Roman general Titus and his armies will fulfill this. Now the disciples didn’t know what He was talking about, but He did. And so now read on. Verse 3:

Matthew 24:3

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately (in other words, no crowds to hinder their conversation), saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

Now remember, they understood the Old Testament format. They understood that Christ was here to be their King. Now they didn’t understand the Cross. They had no idea, at this point and time, that he was going to the Cross. Now unless somebody looks at me wondering, turn with me to Luke Chapter 18. Because I constantly get the comment, “Well Les, I’ve never heard this before.” So I have to be careful that I show where I get it. Otherwise, some might think that I’m just dreaming this at night and then just spewing it out as gospel. And I don’t ever want to be accused of that.

So here is the spiritual background of that, when I say that the twelve had no idea as yet that he was going to the Cross. All they understood was that coming out of the Old Testament, the King would come. There would be the Tribulation. They knew that. But they had no idea yet, that He was going to die on a Roman Cross. But then He would set up the Kingdom and then they could go out and evangelize the Gentile world. Now to verse 31. Now this so totally shocks people so often, that I have to use it over and over to make my point.Here we are almost at the end of this three years. They’re up in northern Palestine and are making their way south to Jerusalem, for the Passover, and of course, his crucifixion. So they’ve been with Him now for almost the full three years.

Luke 18:31-33

“Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, `Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets (see, He’s going back to the Old Testament.)concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they (that is, the Gentiles, which of course was Rome) shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.'”

I made a comment one night and people took me wrong and laughed royally. I said, “Now that’s plain English.” I know that Jesus didn’t speak English, so whether it was Aramaic or Greek, nevertheless, it was plain. There was no hidden interpretation here; He put it straight to them. “We’re going to Jerusalem. I’m going to be tortured. I’m going to be misused. I’m going to be put to death, but on the third day I’m going to rise from the dead.” Did they know what He was talking about? Read the next verse:

Luke 18:34

“And they (the twelve, and I’m going to leave Judas in here) understood none of these things (it rolled off of them like water off a duck. They never heard it. Why? Read on): and this saying was (what’s the word?) hid from them,…”

You mean God actually blinded their understanding? Yes. They had no concept, whatsoever, that He would be crucified and that He would rise from the dead. And He said it so plainly and He told them more than once. But they never heard it.

Luke 18:34b

“…neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

Now let’s go to John Chapter 20. Resurrection morning. You all know the account, how that Mary Magdalene had gone to the sepulchre early that resurrection morning. Probably before daylight, for the custom of anointing the Corpse. Now I know that I have some questions. How did she expect to have the stone rolled away and so on and so forth. But whatever, it was customary. So she goes to anoint the Body. But, she gets there and what’s happened? The stone’s rolled away and Christ is gone. Did she immediately say, “Well, the twelve said He’d rise from the dead?” No. She immediately went running and told Peter and John, “Oh the Lord’s gone. His body isn’t in the grave. Somebody has taken Him.”

John 20:2b

“…They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. “

She has no idea that He’s alive. Isn’t that something? And these people had been with Him constantly for three years. Now read on. Peter of course, was shocked. I think Peter was a big, old, lumbering, big footed fisherman. And I hope that when I get to glory, that he doesn’t say, “Now Les, you had it all wrong.” But whatever, that’s the way that I have him pictured. And I think that John was like a track man. I like to picture John as fleet of foot and just a little more finer boned than Peter. And so they both take off running. And you know the account. Who gets there first? Well, John outruns him. But John’s a little timid. And so he stands at the door to that sepulchre, which was a cave, you remember. And he’s a little too timid to just barge right in. But huffing and puffing a few minutes later, who comes on the scene? Here comes Peter. He doesn’t even slow down. He just jumps right in. And he looks the whole thing over:

John 20:5-8b

“And he (John) stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple…”

John has now a little more nerve. And the two of them go in and look the situation over. And the proof is there. This is what He was wrapped in. He’s out of it. That which was wrapped around the Head was folded and laid over in a corner. Read on:

John 20:8b,9

“…and he saw (now what?), and believed. (but look at the next verse) For as yet they (Peter and John and everyone else with them) knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.”

Shocking? Yes. I think it is. In other words, when the followers of Christ saw him hanging on that Roman Cross, was there one of them that could say with victory, “Well listen, this had to happen. So let’s just wait till Sunday morning.” Not one of them. Remember when Jesus joined those disciples on the road back to Emmaus? What was their frame of mind? They had their chin on the ground, didn’t they? “Everything that we thought was going to bless Israel is down the tubes, is all gone; is done. He’s dead.” See, they didn’t know. And you have to constantly remind yourselves that if Israel didn’t know, then nobody knew. Because God certainly didn’t reveal this to the pagan Gentiles.

You have to understand that all these things that Jesus is talking about, they knew from Scripture that He would be the king. They knew that He was going to set up a Kingdom that would glorify Israel. But they had no concept of His being crucified and raised from the dead. And if they didn’t know that, and let me just add one more jot to the whole tittle; they had no idea that there would be some 1,900 plus years of God going to the Gentiles, while Israel was out there in dispersion. No idea whatsoever. Oh, let me show that from Scripture. Come on over into Romans Chapter 16. Now Paul is writing to us Gentiles. He’s writing to the Gentile Church at Rome. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are very, very few, even believers, who know this verse is in their Bible:

Romans 16:25a

“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery…”

Now what’s revelation? Well, just what the word means. A revealing, an unveiling. If a sculptor puts together some work of art and they’re going to dedicate it some day at a public dedication, what do they do with that sculpture? They have it veiled. They have something over it. And then at the appropriate time somebody pulls it off. That’s a revelation; it’s an unveiling. This is exactly what Paul is talking about. That this Gospel of Paul’s was a revelation of a secret. That’s what the word mystery means. It comes from the Greek word, musterion, which is also translated, secret.

Romans 16:25

“…which was kept (what?) secret (how long?) since the world began,”

God is keeping something secret. And He can. He’s Sovereign. Come back to Ephesians Chapter 3. And until we get this concept straight, this scripture is confusing; I know it is. And that is why I think there is so much confusion amongst all of Christendom tonight. Because people don’t take the time to separate things, and they have to be separated.

Ephesians 3:1

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for (who?) you Gentiles (see, not for Israel, but for you Gentiles.),”

Ephesians 3:2

`If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward (we’ll comment on that somewhere down the road. And then he says:):

Ephesians 3:4

“How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (or the secret) [as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read (the letters of Paul), ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.]

Ephesians 3:5

“Which in other ages (or generations, or dispensations or administrations or whatever word you want to use.) was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;” Come down to verses 7 and 8:

Ephesians 3:7,8

“Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”

Among whom? The Gentiles. Now get this. All the way up from Abraham, what have I always put on the board? “Jew only, with exceptions.” But predominantly Jew only. But now who is God dealing with? Gentiles.

Ephesians 3:9

“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery (or the secret), which from the beginning of the world hath been (what’s the word?) hid in God,…”

See, hid in God! Turn over a couple of pages and come to Colossians Chapter 1. This isn’t unique to just one little spot in Scripture. Paul makes reference to it throughout all of his writing, that this whole body of revealed truth had been hid in the mind of God. That’s why Peter and John didn’t understand the crucifixion. This is why Peter comes into the Book of Acts, and he knows nothing of a Gospel based on death, burial and resurrection. Why? Because it was still kept hidden in the mind of God.

Colossians 1:26

“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations…”

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 10

DANIEL’S 490 YEARS

Daniel 9 & Matthew 24

Now get your Bible and let us prove from Scripture just how unique this Book really is, and how miraculous and so interesting to study. We need go go back to Daniel Chapter 9 for a while. It’s a portion of Scripture that is almost impossible to exhaust. And if you ever want to be student of prophecy, this is one of the places you have to start. Because this is the foundation of all the rest of end-time events.

Here is the prophecy in time of a 490 year period, in which God is going to bring Israel all the way from their coming out of the Babylonian captivity, to the coming of Christ to the Nation of Israel, as we know happened in the Book of Matthew. But here in Daniel Chapter 9, it is broken down into three distinct areas of time. We will start at verse 25. And this is clear language. Does God want us to be in a fog on these things? No! The command here is to know these things. Not to be waffling, and not to be carried around on every wind of doctrine. But we can study and know.

Daniel 9:25

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince…”

Now watch that word Prince. Notice it is capitalized. So this Prince is the Prince of peace. the Lord of Lords, and King of Kings Remember the Babylonians in 606 B.C. came and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple, and took the holy things and the people back to Babylon. That was the beginning of the “Times of the Gentiles.” We know they were in captivity there for 70 years as prophesied by Jeremiah. I know this is a little review. So 536 B.C. is the end of the 70 years, when Ezra will be the leader of the Jews to come back to Jerusalem not to build the city, but the Temple. They had to have their Temple worship under the system of law given to Moses. Now you notice in verse 25 it does not refer to Ezra’s commandment to rebuild the Temple, but it refers to another commandment to rebuild the city and the walls. So now we have another element of time and it’s in history. And we find it in Nehemiah Chapter 2. Now this is the commandment that Daniel is referring to in Daniel 9:25. Now here is how chronologers arrive at these various times. Look at what it says:

Nehemiah 2:1

“And it came to pass in the month Nisan (April), in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king (now archaeologists as well as ancient history, have given us a pretty close date of when the twentieth year of Artaxerxes really was. It was in the area of 454 B.C. So in 454 B.C. is the when Nehemiah Chapter 2 comes on the scene. Now let’s read on.), that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king….”

Nehemiah was the king’s servant and was still under that 70 years of captivity. By this time, Babylon has fallen, and the Medes and Persians are running the empire. So rather than being in the palace in Babylon, they are at the palace in Shushan on the Tigress River. Now verse 2.

Nehemiah 2:2

“Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.”

Kings back then didn’t have much concern for human rights. Anything could turn them off and they would just say, “Kill him, he is of no use to anyone.” So Nehemiah was rightfully fearful.

Nehemiah 2:3

“And said unto the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city (Jerusalem), the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?”

Now that all took place when king Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem back in 606 B.C. So it has been laying waste all these years. So the city in most part was still in shambles.

Nehemiah 2:4

“Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request?” Nehemiah was a spiritual man, and so even there as he stands before that pagan king, what does he do? He prays silently. And here again comes this whole idea of prayer. Do you have to be some place on your knees in order for God to hear? Why, no! Prayer is something that we can accomplish anywhere and anytime, even as Nehemiah would not have dared to pray out loud before that king. So he prayed silently from the heart. “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” As he was praying silently, he speaks to the king:

Nehemiah 2:5

“And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.”

Come back to Daniel Chapter 9. This is the time factor then. The only reason we are doing this is to show you that all of this took place explicit in a time factor. That is the beauty of prophecy. That God is in such control of the whole business of human history. He can prophecy these things in time and fulfill it in time. So back to verse 25:

Daniel 9:25

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem (Nehemiah Chapter 2) unto the Messiah the Prince (Christ’s first coming) shall be seven weeks,”

As I said before, this 490 years is divided into 3 segments. Right here is one of them. And it will be seven weeks. These are sevens of years. So seven weeks of years is how many years? 49. So from 454 B.C. subtracting 49 should leave us at 405 B.C. Now we are down to 405 B.C. Historically, this is the year that Ezra’s Temple is finally finished. Now that is over 100 years of rebuilding that Temple. We refer to this Temple as the second Temple. The first one was the one King Solomon built. We American’s wouldn’t stand still for something that took that long would we? They had been working on the Temple from 536 B.C. till 405 B.C. when the Temple was dedicated. Now that is the seven years of that verse Let’s read on), the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

Now if you will go on and read the Book of Nehemiah, you will notice that as they rebuilt the city wall, and began to construct the gates, there was much opposition from the Arabs at that time (no different than it is today). The Arabs gave these Jews so much trouble trying to keep them from accomplishing what they were trying to do, Nehemiah finally says (I believe it is in Chapter 6) that the workers had to work with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. But they got it done. Now in verse 26:

Daniel 9:26a

“After threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,…”

Now that is how many? That is another sixty-two weeks, and that is 434 years. So adding that 434 years with the previous 49 years in verse 25, you have 483 years total, and that brings you to 29 A.D., when Christ was crucified. So from the commandment given to Nehemiah to rebuild the city until Christ was crucified was 483 years. Do you see that I’m trying to show how accurate the Scripture is. I always give people leeway. I’m not saying it had to be just exactly so many years. Because a lot of things come into play when you start dealing in chronology. Always remember that a Biblical year is 360 days. In other words 12 thirty-day months. That is real handy except we have a problem and what is it? We have 365 days and a fraction in every year. So what did the Jews do? Every few years they would correct their calendar and make up for those 5 days. We do it with an extra day every so often, and then every 4 years we have a leap year. Now if you will put a pencil to it or calculate it over a period of 483 years those extra 5 plus days can be quite a period of time. So I don’t get dogmatic and say this is the exact number. But I think you can see already that Scripture is so close, that over the long haul there is very little difference.

So the prophecy was exact again in this instance. But remember in verse 24, it wasn’t 483 years but, instead, 490 years that was prophesied on the Nation of Israel. Now we still lack 7 years for it to be complete and we know now that it must be completed on this side of the Cross. And remember what I have been stressing for the past several lessons. There is nothing in the Old Testament, or even in the Gospels, or even in the early chapters of Acts that indicates there will be 1900 plus years between this and the end of the seven years. Not a hint. So we have to look at it coming out of the Old Testament as they saw it. And that was the 483 years the crucifixion, and then the Tribulation. Now lets read on with verse 26:

Daniel 9:26

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself (Paul tells us He died for us): and the people of the prince (notice it is a small letter “p.” So it is not the same prince that is up in verse 25. So who is the small letter prince? The Anti-christ. It’s the counterfeit christ that we know is going to come on the scene. As far as I can tell, there is no indication of the man of sin, the Anti-christ, anywhere else in Scripture except here in Daniel. Jesus refers to him in Matthew 24, Paul describes him in II Thessalonians Chapter 2. And other than that we know nothing of the Anti-christ till we get to the Book of Revelation. But Daniel is revealing that this seven-year period is also going to be attended by an individual, a man. A prince that shall come. A lesser than God. Let’s read on) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;…”

We know Babylon destroyed the first Temple. Now what empire was responsible for destroying the second Temple? The Romans. Go back to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. How many empires were there? There were four. The head of gold was Babylon. The chest of silver was the Medes and Persians. The belly of brass was the Greeks. And the legs and feet were the Romans. Also remember on the timeline from 606 B.C. until the Cross, all of these empires had come on the scene and had been replaced by the preceding empire. So remember the Roman Empire was responsible for destroying the second Temple. And this little prince will come from that same empire and become the Anti-christ. So this is where we get the whole concept that the Anti-christ will come from some place out of the geography area of the old Roman Empire.

Now the Old Testament doesn’t give us a hint that Rome would fall, disappear and come back. We have to read that between the lines. But when I teach this whole concept that the Roman Empire ended between 300-400 AD and now it is coming on the scene again as the Europe Community over there, we see all the makings of a revived Roman Empire. Even though there have been several hundred years that have passed, how long is that to our God? A snap of the finger. It’s just like it never happened. So this is the concept you must look at. The Scripture looks at the whole picture. And the Church Age was placed in there without any mention whatsoever in the Old Testament. And the Old Testament goes right on as if the same empire that destroyed the second Temple is on the scene for the Anti-christ, because a 1000 years with the Lord is like a day. And the same empire that destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem after Christ, is the same empire that is going to bring forth the Anti-christ. But we don’t won’t to put the cart before the horse; let’s keep everything in order.

Now as we come down to the end of verse 26, this prince that shall come out of the Roman Empire (a revived one now), and his appearance until the end of time as we know it, is going to be nothing but trouble. It is going to be war and desolation. Now that is the seven-year period that Jesus refers to in Matthew 24, where there will be a flood of prophets claiming to be the Christ. Then in Matthew 24, He will bring us up to the mid-point of the Tribulation and he will refer to verse 27 of Daniel. In verse 27, Daniel introduces us to the man who will again kick God’s time clock into gear. And those seven years will begin to roll.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 4 * BOOK 10

PRAYER: PROPHECY: OLD TESTAMENT

Daniel 6 & 9

We’ll pick up where we left off. You’ll remember that we stopped in Acts, and the big concern of the twelve was, “Are you about to restore the kingdom?” And then in our closing minute I took you back to Matthew, where Jesus promised the twelve that they would indeed rule the Twelve Tribes of Israel from Jerusalem under his authority, of course, when the kingdom would be set up. Now with that kind of anticipation, I mean that was the way the Lord left it, “You will rule the twelve tribes. When the kingdom is set up and the earth is regenerated, back like it would have been in the Garden of Eden.” So these guys are pumped up. They had a lot to be looking forward to. Now you come into the Book of Acts. Christ has been crucified and buried, but risen from the dead. He has just spent forty days with them in His resurrected body. And now it’s about the day for Him to be ascending back to glory. And there He is on the Mount of Olives with the eleven. Of course Judas is gone. And now the eleven said:

Acts 1:6

“When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time (right now) restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Now when the word “again” pops in there, you must realize that Israel had reached her glory as a nation under what king? or kings? David and Solomon. And the glory of it had spread to the then known world. And I think that these men understood that even the glory of Solomon was nothing compared to the glory that would be when their Messiah would rule and reign. So they were excited. They were anticipating, and so the question was logical, here in Chapter 1 verse 3:

Acts 1:3

“To whom (that is, the eleven) also he shewed himself alive after his passion (His death, burial, and resurrection) by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to (what?) the kingdom of God:”

For forty days in His resurrected body, what had He been doing? He had been explaining things that up until now, they hadn’t comprehended. Do you remember I showed you way back in Luke Chapter 18 (so that you get an idea of how blinded these men were), how totally unsuspecting that these men were to what was about to happen, in spite of their knowledge of their Old Testament. As I said in the last program, they should have known, but they didn’t. Now Luke 18, beginning in verse 31:

Luke 18:31

“Then he (Jesus) took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.”

Everything that was about to take place had already been foretold. His suffering, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His coming again. It was all back there. Psalms is full of it. I wish some day that I could teach a whole lesson or a series of lessons on the Book of Psalms. The prophetic aspects of the Book of Psalms. It’s all in there. And that doesn’t even mention Isaiah and all the others that we’ve already looked at. Now then, read on:

Luke 18:32,33

“For he (speaking of himself) shall be delivered unto the Gentiles (the Romans), and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:”

Luke 18:33

“And they (that is, the Gentiles and the Jews, of course), shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.” Plain English? Or plain Aramaic, or whatever language that He spoke? As plain as it could be. Look at the next verse:

Luke 18:34

“And they (the twelve) understood (how much?) none (not a word of it. It went off of them like water off a duck’s back. It never registered.) of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”

Now that’s kind of hard to swallow, I know it is, but the Book says it. Consequently, when the crucifixion came on the scene, were they expecting it? No. When He died, they placed Him in the tomb. Did they camp out until that resurrection morning? No. Why not? They did not know. They did not know that He was going to rise from the dead. Maybe they should have, but they didn’t. Why? Because God had sovereignly kept them ignorant of it. That is also the reason they couldn’t have preached the Gospel that saves you and I tonight. (Believing in His death, burial, and resurrection for our salvation. I Corinthians 15:1-4) People write me and tell me, “My, you’ve just opened my understanding.” No I don’t do that. That’s not me. God does that. When you all of a sudden see a scriptural truth, don’t give me the credit for it. Just say, “Well Lord, thank you for opening my eyes.” Because that’s the way it works. He is the one that has to discern or help us discern these spiritual truths. Alright while you’re in Luke, stop at Chapter 24. Remember the verse in Acts 1:3 , “…being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:” Now just for an example here in Luke 24, He comes on the scene in His resurrected body, remember. He’s come out of the tomb and this is during that forty days:

Luke 24:40-42

“And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.”

Now He’s physical. He’s not there in some sort of fog, or like Star Trek, beaming up or down. He was there physically, visible, and they saw the scars in His hands and His feet.

Luke 24:41

“And while they yet believed (what’s the next word?) not (most people read their Bible and they don’t see that little not in there. They didn’t believe it. They still couldn’t comprehend that all this had taken place.) And while they believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? (now the word, “meat,” in the King James, 99 times out of 100 means food.)

Luke 24:42

“And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.”

And what did He do with it? Did He say, “Hey fellas, I don’t need this.”? No. He ate it. When we get into our new estate; when we enter into glory in our resurrected bodies, we are going to have pleasures that this world knows nothing of. Do you know that one of them is going to be eating! And we won’t have to worry about a weight problem. We won’t have to worry about a diabetic problem, or a high blood pressure problem. We’re going to have the pleasures of things. You might say, “Where do you get that?” In the Book of Revelation Chapter 22, paraphrased it says, “The fruit of the Tree of Life will grow on both sides of the river 12 months of the year.” And it’s to be eaten. It’s for us. And that is just one example. So the resurrected body is capable of ingesting food. But the glory of it is there will be no need of sanitation. It’s going to be a chemistry that is totally different then any thing we know of. It will be totally consumed rather than the small percentage we now eat. So Jesus ate. Now verse 44:

Luke 24:44

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me (now look at the next verse). Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,”

It took an act of God. Do you see that? And when He sovereignty ordained that they should understand these things, all of a sudden the lights came on and they began to see this whole Old Testament program as it had been unfolding. And here is the miraculous part of it, contrary to what most of us have had taught and preached at us. There is still not a single hint of the Church Age or of God going to the Gentiles any other way except through this prophetic program. Which I’m still going to confine to the 490 years. 483 up until the Cross. Then the 7 years that were left, could have happened immediately after He ascended, and He would have come back at that time, but Israel didn’t buy it. Israel rejected Him and the program. But nevertheless the 11, soon to be 12, now understood that all of this prophetic program had been fulfilled or was about to be fulfilled. Now back to the Book of Acts.

Acts 1:6

“…Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”

Now if they were out in left field on this question, and were talking about this physical, political, and spiritual Kingdom that we have been explaining, and it was nothing but a spiritual, ethereal thing that is out there in heaven someplace, what would the Lord have said in this next verse? He would have upbraided them and explained to them, “Now listen fellas, you are barking up the wrong tree, you’re not understanding,” but He doesn’t. He let’s them ask that question, and the only thing He refuses to answer is, not the “if,” but the “when.” The Kingdom is going to come but He says, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons.” Or when. Now according to the prophetic program it could have all happened, the Tribulation could have come right in. All of that 7 years has to happen. It could have run its course, and Israel could have had her King. It might never have been explained that way to you before. I want to make you think and study. Now since they don’t know anything but the Old Testament program of death, burial, resurrection, ascension, Tribulation and His return. Now look what Peter does in Acts 2. The Pentecostal Chapter. The Chapter where the Holy Spirit comes down to the Nation of Israel. And do you remember how they were all amazed at hearing in their own language, from whatever part of the Roman Empire they had come for the Feast of Pentecost. And remember it was one of the seven Jewish feast days. They (the Israelites, we find that in verse 13) thought these men were full of new wine. But Peter says, “No way.”

Acts 2:15,16

“For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.”

Remember we looked at these verses in Joel, not long ago, to show that the prophetic program runs constant right on through to the end. Now the amazing thing is Peter didn’t have the foreknowledge to stop where he should have stopped at the end of verse 18 of this Chapter. Because beginning with verse 19 it is all Tribulation talk. Peter couldn’t see 1900+ years of the Church Age. So Peter quotes from Joel Chapter 2 the prophetic program.

Acts 2:17,18

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:”

All of this was happening. This is what Joel was talking about. But Peter doesn’t stop there. So Peter continues in verse 19:

Acts 2:19,20

“And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:”

Did that happen? Has it happened yet? No! But Peter didn’t know that it was going to be interrupted. Peter could see this whole thing coming right down the pike. The Tribulation, the return of Christ, and the setting up of the Kingdom. And then Peter and the eleven could have taken the knowledge of their Jehovah to the ends of the earth. Sometimes I shake people up a little bit. You all know what the Great Commission says in Matthew 28. We call it “The Great Commission.” “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,…” Did Peter and the eleven go? No they didn’t. Were they remiss? No. Because they knew their theology better than most people do today. It wasn’t for them to go to the ends of the earth preaching the Gospel, because they were not to do that under the Covenant until they had the King. And so this is where I can really shock people. Turn with me to Acts Chapter 8. And this is no study on the Book of Acts by any means. But I still want you to see the flow of this Old Testament prophetic program, even as far along as the Book of Acts. We’ve come through His three years of ministry all on Covenant grounds. Israel under the law. Not once did Jesus even hint that the Jews were no longer under the Law. Everything He spoke was to the Jew under the Law. Now Peter comes on the scene, here in Acts, and Israel is still under the Law. And now here in Acts Chapter 8 it is seven years after Pentecost. And seven years is still a long time:

Acts 8:1

“And Saul (the one that became Paul) was consenting unto his death, (Stephen) And at that time there was a great persecution against the church (or assembly) which was at Jerusalem; and they were all (all those Jewish believers. And when the Scriptures say “all” I say it means “all.” Every Jew who had embraced the fact that Jesus was their Messiah was under such intense pressure that they had all left Jerusalem except the apostles) scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except (who?) the apostles.” Everyone else had run for their lives except the apostles. Can you picture that. Here is such an intense persecution of people (Jews) being put to death for their faith because of Saul’s persecution. This is what Paul lives to regret, that he had persecuted those Jewish believers. And they all fled except the very 12 men you would think would be the first to go.

Why were they sitting so tight in Jerusalem when the Great Commission says they should have been long gone around the world with the Gospel. But after seven years they are still in Jerusalem and persecution can’t even drive them out. Now were they derelict in their duties? No. Quite the opposite, they knew that they had no ministry to the ends of the earth until this Covenant program was fulfilled. Their ministry was to the Jew. Now let me show you another verse that comes to mind. Turn to the Book of Galatians. Here Paul is writing to Gentiles at the Church he had established in Asia Minor. It is now the land of Turkey. And this is about 22 years after Pentecost. And now they (the twelve) have called Paul and Barnabas back to Jerusalem on the carpet for having the audacity to go to Gentiles with that which they thought was only for the Jew. And for the sake of time, Galatians 2:1 Paul says.

Galatians 2:1

“Then fourteen years after (that which had taken place up in Chapter 1) I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

Galatians 2:2

“And I went up by revelation (now when Paul uses the term revelation he is referring to the fact that God had revealed to him the necessity to go. So he goes up to to Jerusalem to meet the wheels of Judaism, as I call them. They were the 12, and of the believing Jews. Those who had believed that Jesus was the Christ. They were at the assembly at Jerusalem.), and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles,…”

The prophetic program has been interrupted by now. But I’m trying to show you how Peter confined his ministry to the Jew. So Paul comes to Jerusalem to show the twelve this Gospel that he is now preaching to the Gentiles. Let’s come on down to verse 6.

Galatians 2:6a

“But of these who seemed to be somewhat (now he is referring to the twelve), [whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me; God accepteth no man’s person:] for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me.”

That is a snide remark, because by this time, 22 years after Pentecost, the prophetic program had begun to fall through the cracks. Israel was rejecting it left and right. In the meantime God had raised up this Apostle to the Gentiles. While Israel is going down, the Gentile assemblies are coming up. So this is the setting. Paul says these twelve who still thought they were in the prophetic program, and not even realizing it was falling away from them.

Galatians 2:7

“But contrariwise, when they (the twelve) saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision (Gentiles) was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision (Jews) was unto Peter;”

Now verse 9. And if you can see Peter, James and John going to the Gentiles in this verse, then you read English differently than I do.

Galatians 2:9

“And when James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship (they shook hands. And this is what they shook hands on.); that we should go unto the heathen (Gentiles), and they unto the circumcision.” Or the Jew.

Now isn’t that plain. How can you miss it. Now let’s come back to Acts 3:13. And this follows shortly after the Pentecostal sermon of Acts Chapter 2. I just want you to see that Peter is still aware of nothing but the Covenant prophetic program promised to Israel. And here Peter says:

Acts 3:13

“The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers (does that include Gentiles? Not a one. This is so “Jew only” that you can’t escape it.), hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.”

Acts 3:15

“And killed the Prince of life (does that sound like our message? What do we say? Oh, God loved us and gave Himself for us. He died for our sins. Peter doesn’t say that. Peter says, “You killed him.”), whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

Acts 3:17

“And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers (under Israel’s Law, ignorance could be a loophole.).

Acts 3:19,20

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” And he shall send Jesus Christ…”

For what purpose? To be their King. Then in verse 21, Peter knew that the times of restitution of all things had to take place. That’s the seven years. Now verse 24 and 25:

Acts 3:24

“Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.” The coming of the King and the Kingdom.

Acts 3:25

“Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham,…” You’re the children of the what? The Covenant.