No — Israel rejected the Messiah's valid kingdom offer, and because the crucifixion had to take place, the kingdom is postponed until Christ's future return after the seven years of wrath.
Christ came offering Himself as Israel's King, and the offer was real — had the nation believed, the Old Testament promises could have been fulfilled. But God knew they would refuse, and the nation wanted the Kingdom without the Savior. After the crucifixion and resurrection, Christ was taken to the Father's right hand, and the Old Testament program the apostles knew placed the kingdom after the coming seven years of wrath. The kingdom therefore awaits His second coming.
Daniel 9:24 — The Seventy-Weeks prophecy decrees a full 490-year period for Israel's kingdom purposes, showing the prophetic timetable was unfinished at Christ's first coming.
Psalm 110:1 — This verse places Christ at God's right hand until His enemies are subdued — a waiting period that explains why the kingdom was not set up at His first coming.
Daniel 9:24 reveals that a period of seventy weeks — 490 years — is determined for Daniel's people and the holy city, with purposes that include finishing transgression, ending sin, making reconciliation for iniquity, and bringing in everlasting righteousness. That prophetic clock was not completed at Christ's first coming. Daniel 9:26 records that Messiah was cut off, and Daniel 9:27 describes a final one-week period of covenant confirmation and desolation that is still associated with the prophetic end. Psalm 110:1 places the Messiah at God's right hand until His enemies are made His footstool, implying a waiting interval before His rule. In Acts 3:21, heaven must receive Jesus until the times of restitution of all things, which God spoke by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. Together these passages show that the kingdom reign was not intended to be established at the first coming.
Les Feldick teaches that Christ's earthly ministry included a genuine, valid offer to Israel to be their King and set up the promised Kingdom. He stresses the offer was not a pretense — God repeatedly made valid offers knowing they would be refused, as with Adam and Eve in the garden and Israel at Kadesh Barnea. Even so, God's foreknowledge knew Israel would not accept, and had they accepted, God would still have brought about the crucifixion one way or another, because Christ had to die that sacrificial death. The reason Israel rejected the Messiah, Les explains, is that the nation was offered two things: a glorious King and Kingdom and a Savior who would deal with their sin. They wanted the King and Kingdom but wanted nothing to do with the Savior. Because they refused to accept Him, the King was crucified, God raised Him from the dead, and called Him back to glory to sit at the Father's right hand — and that 'until' in Psalm 110:1 points to the future time when He will return to deal with His covenant people Israel. Les emphasizes the apostles of Acts understood the Old Testament program: they knew the next agenda was the coming seven years of wrath and vexation, followed by Christ's return to Jerusalem to set up His kingdom. Once the kingdom was established, Israel's role would be to go into all the world and evangelize the Gentiles. So the kingdom was not set up at the first coming because Israel rejected the offer, leaving the prophetic seventy-week timeline — including its final seven years of wrath — still to be fulfilled before Christ returns to reign.
Les Feldick insists that when Christ came in His earthly ministry, He made a valid offer to be Israel's King and to set up the Kingdom. The offer was not a pretense — it was genuine and legitimate. Les points to God's pattern of making valid offers that He knew would be rejected, such as to Adam and Eve in the garden and to Israel at Kadesh Barnea. Even if Israel had hypothetically accepted the King, Les says God would still have brought about the crucifixion one way or another because Christ's sacrificial death had to happen.
Les explains that Israel was offered two things: a King and a glorious Kingdom, and a Savior who would deal with their sin. The nation wanted the King and Kingdom but did not want the Savior, because receiving Him meant facing their sin problem. God, in His foreknowledge, knew they would not accept, and the offer remained valid even though it was refused. By the time of the account of Lazarus, Les notes, it was evident that they were not going to accept Him.
According to Les, after Israel rejected the King, Christ was crucified, raised from the dead, and called back to glory to sit at the Father's right hand until His enemies are made His footstool. That 'until' points to the future return of Christ to deal with Israel. The apostles — Peter and the eleven — understood the Old Testament program: they expected the seven years of wrath and vexation, and after that, Christ's return to Jerusalem to set up His kingdom. Once the kingdom was established, Israel would evangelize the Gentiles; that was to be Israel's role. The biblical timeline also shows the prophetic seventy-week framework with its final seven years still to come.
The 490-Year Prophetic Background
Les sets the stage for Daniel's Seventy-Weeks prophecy by explaining that 490 years of neglected sabbatical years led to Israel's 70-year Babylonian captivity, giving the prophetic timeline its context.
The Valid Kingdom Offer
Les asserts Christ made a valid offer of the Kingdom to Israel, and even if Israel had accepted it, God would still have ensured the crucifixion because Christ's sacrificial death was unavoidable.
The Hypothetical of Israel's Acceptance
Les raises the classroom hypothetical of Israel accepting the Messiah, underscoring that the question of a postponed kingdom was a real issue even though God's purposes were fixed.
Israel's Position to Accept the King
After the atoning work and ascension, Israel was in a position to accept their King and Christ was ready to return, but Les shows God made such valid offers before — to Adam and Eve and at Kadesh Barnea — knowing they would be refused.
Rejection, Resurrection, and the 'Until'
Israel rejected the King, who was crucified, raised, and called back to glory to sit at the Father's right hand until His enemies are made His footstool — that 'until' marks the future time when He will return to deal with Israel.
The Seven Years of Wrath and the Kingdom Agenda
Peter and the eleven expected the coming seven years of wrath, then Christ's return to set up the kingdom, after which Israel would evangelize the Gentiles — a role Les says most churchgoers do not understand.
Israel's Love of the Kingdom, Not the Savior
Israel wanted the King and Kingdom but rejected the Savior because receiving Him meant dealing with their sin problem — Les compares this to the world today wanting peace and prosperity while avoiding the sin issue.
God's Foreknowledge of the Rejection
God knew Israel would not accept the kingdom offer, but the offer was nevertheless valid; only by the time of Lazarus did it become evident they would not receive Him.
Daniel 9:24: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
This verse defines the complete 490-year purpose decreed for Israel and Jerusalem — the prophetic timetable into which the kingdom was to come.
Daniel 9:26: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Messiah was cut off without bringing in the prophesied kingdom, leaving the prophetic clock incomplete.
Daniel 9:27: And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
The final 'one week' (seven years) — the tribulation — was still future at the first coming, which is why the kingdom awaits a later return.
Psalm 110:1: The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Christ sits at the Father's right hand until His enemies are subdued, showing there is a waiting period before the kingdom reign.
Acts 3:21: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Heaven must receive Christ until the prophesied restoration of all things, confirming the kingdom was not set up at His first coming.
Yes. Les Feldick teaches that when Christ came in His earthly ministry, He made a valid offer to be Israel's King and to set up the Kingdom — it was a real offer, not pretense. God, in His foreknowledge, knew Israel would reject it, but that does not make the offer any less valid. This matches God's pattern of making valid offers throughout Scripture, such as to Adam and Eve in the garden and to Israel at Kadesh Barnea.
No. Les says the Scripture tells us that with God nothing is impossible, so had Israel accepted the Kingdom, God would have brought about the crucifixion one way or another. Christ had to die that sacrificial death — there was no escaping it.
Les explains that Israel wanted a King and a glorious Kingdom, but they did not want a Savior. Receiving the Savior meant dealing with their sin problem, which they were unwilling to do. They did not want anything to do with dealing with sin.
Peter and the eleven knew the Old Testament program, so they expected the coming seven years of wrath and vexation, and after that, the return of Christ to Jerusalem to set up His kingdom. When the kingdom was established, Israel would then evangelize the Gentile world — that was to be Israel's role.
Watch the Teaching: Daniel's 70 Weeks Explained — The 490-Year Prophecy Unpacked