The parenthesis signifies an interruption in the Old Testament prophetic program — the period of the Church Age — placed between the rejection of the Messiah and God's future wrath.
Les Feldick says Psalm 2's prophetic outline was fulfilled only through verse 3, when Israel and the nations rejected and crucified the Messiah. He therefore places a parenthesis after verse 3 to mark a break in time; verse 5's wrath and verse 6's Kingdom are still future. The missing element inside that parenthesis is the Church, the Age of Grace, which was a secret held in the mind of God until He revealed it.
Psalm 2:1-6 — This is the passage where Les marks his parenthesis, showing what was fulfilled at Christ's first coming and what remains for the future wrath and Kingdom.
Psalm 2 presents a continuous prophetic sequence. In verse 2, the kings of the earth and rulers take counsel together against the LORD and His anointed. Verse 3 records their defiant words: "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us." Verse 4 answers with God's derision, and verse 5 says, "Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure." Verse 6 then declares, "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." The text itself does not label a parenthesis between these verses — the rejection flows directly into God's response and the establishment of His King. The parenthesis is a marking Les Feldick places on the passage to show where the prophetic program stopped and where it will resume.
Les Feldick says he likes to put little parenthesis marks in the Old Testament to show what was fulfilled and what is still unfulfilled. In Psalm 2, he stops after verse 3 because that is as much as happened: the people rejected the Messiah and crucified Him. Verse 5 has not happened even yet, so he puts a break in time between the rejection and God's wrath. The parenthetical period is the Church and the Age of Grace, which Psalm 2 does not mention. Les explains that Psalm 2's prophetic outline knew only the rejection, the derision of the nations, the seven years of tribulation, and then the Kingdom. The Church Age is not in that outline because it was a secret held in the mind of God until He revealed it. The Old Testament says nothing about this parenthetical period of time that we now know is in here, and there was no hint in Psalm 2 of a break of 2,000 years.
Les says the parenthesis is his way of marking where fulfillment stopped. In Psalm 2, readers must stop after verse 3 because that much had happened: the people rejected the Messiah and crucified Him. Verse 5 — God speaking in His wrath and vexation — has not happened even yet, so that spot gets a break in time.
The missing piece in Psalm 2 is the Church and the Age of Grace. Les explains that Psalm 2's outline knew only the rejection, the derision of the nations, the seven years of tribulation, and then the Kingdom. The Church Age "isn't in here" because it was a secret held in the mind of God, and the Old Testament says nothing about this parenthetical period of time.
According to Les, the remaining portions of Psalm 2 are still waiting. Verse 5's wrath and vexation belong to the tribulation, and verse 6's declaration that God has set His King on Zion is the Kingdom. He also connects the vexation and wrath events to the midpoint of the seven years.
Les points to Jesus reading Isaiah 61 in the synagogue: He stopped after "the acceptable year of the Lord" and left "the day of vengeance of our God" and the kingdom promises unread. Jesus knew that the Old Testament program would be interrupted shortly after His ascension, so the vengeance and the Kingdom were postponed to a later day. That is the same principle Les marks with a parenthesis in Psalm 2.
Jesus Stops in Isaiah 61
Les uses Jesus' deliberate stop in the middle of Isaiah 61 to show that the Old Testament prophetic program would be interrupted shortly after His ascension, with the day of vengeance and the Kingdom postponed to a later day.
The Rejection in Psalm 2
Les walks through Psalm 2's opening prophecy: Jew and Gentile reject the Anointed One, and the Godhead laughs at rebellious mankind — the setting for the parenthesis.
Where the Parenthesis Goes
Les explicitly says he puts a parenthesis in Psalm 2 after verse 3 because that is as much as happened; verse 5's wrath is still future, so a break in time sits there.
What Psalm 2 Leaves Out
Les shows that the Church and the Age of Grace are absent from Psalm 2 because they were a secret in the mind of God — the missing content of the parenthesis.
From Wrath to Kingdom
Les identifies Psalm 2:5 as the tribulation and Psalm 2:6 as the coming Kingdom centered in Jerusalem, showing what resumes after the parenthesis.
Vexation and the Tribulation
Les connects Psalm 2's wrath and vexation to the events of the seven-year tribulation, taking the timeline to its midpoint.
No Parenthetical Period in the Old Testament
Les says the Old Testament says nothing about this parenthetical period of time that we now know exists, and no interlude for the Church appears in the prophetic plan.
No Hint of a 2,000-Year Break
Les says no one had any hint of a 2,000-year break; Psalm 2's first half was fulfilled at Christ's first coming and the second half is still waiting.
Psalm 2:1: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Les opens his explanation of Psalm 2 as the prophetic backdrop for the parenthesis.
Psalm 2:2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
This is the rejection of the LORD's Anointed that Les says was fulfilled at Christ's crucifixion.
Psalm 2:3: Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
This defiant statement of the rulers is the point after which Les places the parenthesis.
Psalm 2:4: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision.
God's response of laughter and derision is part of the prophetic picture surrounding the parenthesis.
Psalm 2:5: Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Les says this has not happened yet and belongs to the still-future tribulation.
Psalm 2:6: Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
This verse sets out the Kingdom on Zion that follows the tribulation in the resumed prophetic program.
He says verse 3 is as much as happened: the Messiah was rejected and crucified. Verse 5, God's wrath and vexation, has not happened yet, so the parenthesis marks a break in time between the two.
It represents the parenthetical period of time about which the Old Testament says nothing — the Church and the Age of Grace. This age was a secret held in the mind of God until He revealed it.
No. Les teaches that Psalm 2's prophetic outline goes from rejection to derision to the seven-year tribulation to the Kingdom, and the Church Age is not included in that outline.
No. Les states plainly that God has not yet spoken in His wrath and vexation; that verse is still future.
Watch the Teaching: The Mystery of the Church: Why It’s Not in the Old Testament