Yes—because Israel rejected the King and the Kingdom, God set the nation aside and turned to the Gentiles during a 2,000-year interval not revealed in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament program flowed from Messiah's rejection to the Tribulation and then to the Kingdom on Zion. But when Israel rejected Christ, God called Him back to glory and interrupted that flow. Instead of the Tribulation and Kingdom, Israel was sent into dispersion while God began bringing Gentiles to salvation by grace. Christ now sits at the Father's right hand until His enemies are made His footstool.
Psalm 2:6 — God's decree places His King upon Zion after wrath, showing the Kingdom step Israel forfeited when they rejected Christ.
Psalm 110:1 — The 'until' shows Christ seated at the right hand until enemies become a footstool—the period of Israel's setting aside.
Psalm 2:5-6 declares that after God speaks in wrath and vexation, He has set His King upon His holy hill of Zion: "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 places the Tribulation before the Kingdom in the Old Testament program. Psalm 110:1 also pictures the period before the Kingdom: "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Joel 2 and Zechariah 14 likewise look toward the day of the LORD and the reign of the LORD on the earth.
Les Feldick explains that the Old Testament program was a steady flow with no interruption. The Messiah would come, be crucified, then Daniel's 70th week the Tribulation would follow, and then Christ would return to set up His Kingdom on Zion. Israel, however, rejected the King and the Kingdom. In Les's words, "they blew it." God then called Christ back to Heaven, and instead of moving immediately into the Tribulation, the prophetic timeline was interrupted. After Israel continued rejecting the message of Peter and the eleven, God gave up on the nation and set them aside. He turned to the Gentiles with salvation by grace, with no connection to Israel's Law. Within a few years, Roman armies destroyed the temple and Jerusalem, and the Jewish people went into a dispersion that lasted until the twentieth century, when they began returning to the land and became a sovereign state in 1948. Les emphasizes that this 2,000-year interval was never revealed in the Old Testament; the church was a secret kept by God. All the Old Testament prophecies—Psalm 2, Joel 2, Zechariah 14—were lined up with the expectation of the King, the Tribulation, and the Kingdom, not a long gap filled with the church. Christ now sits at the Father's right hand "until His enemies should be made His footstool," and that "until" means He will return to deal once again with His covenant people Israel.
The Old Testament program was a steady flow: the Messiah would come, be crucified, then the seven years of Daniel's 70th week would come, and Christ would return to set up His Kingdom. But Israel rejected the King, and in Les's words, "they blew it." Rather than wrath and tribulation immediately following the crucifixion, God called Christ back to Heaven. Israel continued rejecting, and the sequence was interrupted.
According to the Old Testament program, once the King set up His Kingdom and ruled from Jerusalem, Israel was to go into all the corners of the world and evangelize the Gentiles. The Gentile was to be reached through Israel. That role was set aside when the King was rejected.
No. Psalm 2, Joel 2, and Zechariah 14 all present a timeline in which Christ comes as King, Israel goes through the Tribulation, and then the Kingdom begins. There was no hint of a 2,000-year break. The outcalling of the church was never in the Old Testament program; it was something God had kept secret.
After Israel had seven years of rejecting Peter and the eleven's appeal, God gave up on the nation and set them aside. Within a few years, the Roman armies destroyed the temple and Jerusalem, and the Jewish people went into a dispersion that lasted until the twentieth century, culminating in the modern state of Israel in 1948. Christ was called back to glory to sit at the Father's right hand until His enemies should be made His footstool.
Why Every Jew Was Meant to Be a Priest — Exodus 19
And he said, I've got to share this with you, because I want you to share it with your classes and your program. He said, the rabbis are all excited because they are convinced that we're right at the coming of the Messiah. See? They're right at the coming of the Messiah. And he was so excited, he could hardly spit it out fast enough.
Israel Rejected the Program
Les explains that the Old Testament flow was Messiah, crucifixion, Tribulation, then Kingdom—but Israel rejected it and 'blew it.' This rejection is the starting point for why Israel was set aside.
Sitting at God's Right Hand
Les shows that Israel's rejection sent the expected sequence off track: Christ went back to heaven, Israel went into dispersion, and salvation went to the Gentiles.
Israel's Missed Mission
Les describes Israel's Old Testament role: once the King ruled from Jerusalem, the Jews were to evangelize the nations. That role was interrupted when the King was rejected.
God Sets Israel Aside
Les says that after seven years of Israel rejecting the apostles' appeal, God set the nation aside, which led to the temple's destruction and the dispersion.
The 'Until' of Psalm 110
Les connects the period at the Father's right hand with the 'until' of His enemies being made His footstool, meaning He will return to deal with Israel again.
No Hint of a Gap
Les emphasizes that the Old Testament gave no hint of a 2,000-year break; Peter himself expected the Tribulation and Kingdom to flow right after the crucifixion.
The Church Was a Secret
Les clarifies that the Old Testament prophecies were aligned on King, Tribulation, and Kingdom, and never considered the outcalling of the Church—God kept it secret.
Psalm 2:5: Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
This is the wrath step in the psalm that Les says was expected to follow Christ's rejection.
Psalm 2:6: Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
God's promised Kingdom step—the King on Zion—was postponed when Israel rejected the King.
Psalm 110:1: The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Les cites the 'until' to show Christ remains at the right hand during the present interval before He returns to deal with Israel.
Les Feldick says God set Israel aside, but the language of Psalm 110:1—Christ sitting at the right hand 'until' His enemies are made His footstool—points to a future time when He will deal again with His covenant people. The destruction of the temple and the dispersion were the visible result of this setting aside, not a permanent end.
Because Israel rejected the King, God interrupted the Old Testament sequence. Instead of moving directly from the rejection of the King to the Tribulation and then the Kingdom, God called Christ back to glory and turned to the Gentiles with salvation by grace.
No. Les emphasizes that the Old Testament promises and program never considered the outcalling of the church. It was a secret God had kept. All the Old Testament prophecies were lined up for the King, the Tribulation, and the Kingdom.
Once the King was ruling from Zion, Israel was to go into all the world and evangelize the Gentiles. The Old Testament program was that the nations would be reached through Israel.
Watch the Teaching: Why Every Jew Was Meant to Be a Priest — Exodus 19