Jewish scholars could not see the gap because God had not revealed the Church Age to them; they viewed the Messiah's coming and suffering as one continuous timeline.
Les Feldick uses the analogy of a mountain range seen from a distance, where separate peaks appear as one. Old Testament prophets saw the coming King and the suffering Savior as flowing straight through to the Kingdom, with no hint of nearly 2,000 years in between. Because Israel rejected the King, God interrupted the prophetic timeline with the Church Age — an interval hidden from the Old Testament writers and Jewish scholars.
Psalm 2:1-6 — Psalm 2 shows both the rejection of God's anointed and the King set on Zion in one continuous flow, with no visible time gap.
Joel 2 — Joel 2 presents prophecy of tribulation and the Kingdom without revealing a gap between the Messiah's first and second comings.
Zechariah 14 — Zechariah 14 speaks of the coming of the Lord as King and the establishment of His Kingdom, following the same continuous prophetic timeline.
The Old Testament prophets, writing under inspiration, spoke of the Messiah's coming as King, the tribulation, and the establishment of His Kingdom. Psalm 2 presents a sequence: the kings of the earth set themselves against the LORD and His anointed (verses 1-3), then God's wrath and vexation (verse 5), and then "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion" (verse 6). Similarly, Joel 2 and Zechariah 14 describe the day of the Lord and the King reigning on Zion. These passages give a continuous flow with no explicit statement of a chronological gap between the suffering of the Messiah and His glorious reign.
Les Feldick teaches that Old Testament prophets viewed the two advents of Messiah like mountains seen from a distance — separate peaks appear to be one range, and the distance between them is not visible. He explains that Psalm 2, Joel 2, and Zechariah 14 all presented a timeline where the Messiah would come, be rejected, ascend back to glory, then the tribulation would come, and then the King would be set on Zion. There was no hint that 2,000 years would intervene. That interval — the Church Age — was kept secret by God, so the prophets and scholars could not calculate it. It was only when Israel rejected the King at His first coming that God interrupted the prophetic flow and parenthesized this age of grace.
Les Feldick explains that the Old Testament prophets saw the coming of Christ as King, Israel going through tribulation, and then the Kingdom — all flowing straight through one after another. Psalm 2, Joel 2, and Zechariah 14 all speak of this kind of timeline. There was no consideration of the outcalling of the Church; it was never in the program, and God kept it secret.
Les teaches that the prophets could see the first half of their prophecies fulfilled at Christ's first coming, and the second half still waiting, but they didn't know about the gap between. Even in the four Gospels, the people had no idea that 2,000 years would pass. God did not reveal it to them, so they viewed everything as a single flowing line.
Because Israel rejected the Messiah at His first Advent, God interrupted the prophetic timeline. Instead of immediate tribulation and Kingdom, God called Christ back to glory, set Him at His right hand, and turned to the Gentiles with salvation by grace. Israel went into a dispersion that has lasted nearly 2,000 years.
Les Feldick points out that Jews today, not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, are still looking for the coming of their King. In Israel, billboard signs prepare for the coming of the Messiah. They view it as a first coming, not a return, and they realize signs of the times are building toward it.
What Are the Signs of the End Times? Matthew 24 Explained
Well as your financial help, because after all, this all does take money. But I said from the beginning, I'll never ask for it, I'm not going to plead for it. But the Lord has been providing, and I want everyone to know in my classes as well as out in television, how much we do thank the Lord for that.
Mountain Range Analogy
Les compares the Old Testament prophets' view of the two advents to seeing distant mountains as one continuous range, hiding the miles between them.
No Hint of a 2,000-Year Break
Psalm 2 and other prophecies flow from Christ's coming, rejection, ascension, wrath, and Kingdom with no hint of a 2,000-year interval.
Why Christ Must Reign Until All Enemies Are Under His Feet
They were to have understood from His signs, and His miracles, and His teachings, His compassion, His wisdom. They should have known who He was, that He was the promised Messiah, that He was the Son of God. But you see they never comprehended it. But once all this has been accomplished, He has poured out His wrath on the nations of the world as well as Israel.
Israel's Rejection and Suffering
Israel has suffered nearly 2,000 years because they rejected their Messiah when He was offered to them at His first coming.
Jews Still Await the King
Modern Jews are looking for the first coming of their Messiah, not recognizing Christ, while signs of the times build.
Interrupted Prophetic Flow
Psalm 2's flow was interrupted when Israel rejected the King; God called Christ back to heaven and turned to the Gentiles with grace.
Old Testament Never Considered the Church
All Old Testament prophecies lined up with King, tribulation, and Kingdom, with the Church Age completely secret and absent from the timeline.
Psalm 2:1-2: Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
This shows the rejection of God's anointed — the first part of the prophecy fulfilled at Christ's first coming.
Psalm 2:5-6: Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
This shows the wrath and the Kingdom following the rejection — the second half that remains future.
Les Feldick explains that the Old Testament prophets and Jewish scholars viewed the Messiah's coming and suffering like distant mountain peaks — they looked like one continuous range. God had not revealed the Church Age to them, so they had no way to calculate the nearly 2,000 years between the first and second comings of Christ.
They expected the Messiah to come as King, Israel to go through the tribulation, and then the Kingdom to be established. All the Old Testament prophecies were lined up that way, with no hint of a long interval or the outcalling of the Church.
No. Psalm 2 flows from rejection of the anointed to God's wrath to the King set on Zion without any break. Les Feldick says there was no hint in that Psalm of a 2,000-year interruption.
Watch the Teaching: What Are the Signs of the End Times? Matthew 24 Explained