How did Old Testament writers see the flow of events leading up to Christ's return?
Old Testament writers viewed the flow as continuous, with no 1,900-year gap between the 483 years and the final seven. They expected events to move directly to Christ's return, His kingdom, and Israel's role as the vehicle to evangelize the nations. They did not see the church age.
Les explains that Old Testament writers did not understand the 1,900-year gap between the 483 years and the fulfilling of the last seven. They spoke of it as a continuous flow of events until Christ would return and set up His kingdom, and Israel then could have been the vehicle to evangelize the nations. Because the grace-age truths Paul later taught were kept secret in the mind of God, they did not see the church age; otherwise it would not have been a secret. Psalm 2 is another example: the heathen rage, kings and rulers take counsel against the Lord and His anointed, saying they will not let this man rule over them, which was fulfilled when the high priest and Pilate consorted together to put Christ to death.