Israel struggles to assimilate because God set Israel apart as His covenant people, and the times of the Gentiles keep the nation under Gentile control until God resumes His covenant work.
God has not canceled His promises to Israel, even though He set the nation aside while dealing with the Gentiles. Les Feldick teaches that Israel is still under the basic control of the Gentiles and is being squeezed tighter and tighter. Rather than disappearing, Israel is being prepared for the day when God will fulfill His covenant promises.
Romans 11:25 — This verse explains Israel's present blindness and points to the future fullness of the Gentiles, which is central to why Israel cannot simply merge into the nations.
Zechariah 8:23 — This verse pictures the future day when Gentiles will again take hold of a Jew and follow him, showing Israel's distinct purpose among the nations returns.
Romans 11:25 declares that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Romans 11:26 declares that all Israel shall be saved when the Deliverer comes out of Sion. Zechariah 8:23 describes ten men from the nations taking hold of the skirt of a Jew and saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. These passages show that Israel's setting aside is temporary and that God's purpose for Israel among the nations is still in Scripture.
Les Feldick explains that Israel has been out of her covenant place since she rejected the kingdom offer. God set Israel aside, broke them off from the fatness of Abraham's root, and placed the Gentile system into the position Israel once enjoyed. Les says Israel is now back in the land as a sovereign state, but the nation is still under the control of the Gentiles: They are still so inadequate and even though they've accomplished a lot, they are still under the control, basically, of the Gentiles. He defines this present era as the times of the Gentiles, a period when Gentiles are overlording Israel and the cup of Gentile iniquity is filling.
Les Feldick describes the times of the Gentiles as the period of history where Gentiles are overlording the nation of Israel. He points out that even though Israel looks like a sovereign state, it cannot last overnight without the permissive and financial aid of the Gentiles. This ongoing Gentile dominance is part of why Israel is not free to simply assimilate into the family of nations.
Les Feldick says the world is rushing to the end-time scenario and Israel is constantly being squeezed tighter and tighter. Some think Israel will cease to be a nation and be pushed into the sea, but Les says that is not going to happen because God has promised to fulfill His covenant promises with Israel. He compares Israel to a nation that is dead among the other nations, but says they are coming back because God is getting them ready for His soon return.
According to Les Feldick, Israel was supposed to be a light to the Gentiles. Zechariah 8:23 pictures the nations taking hold of a Jew and saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. But Israel rejected all that. Because Israel rejected the appeal of Peter and the eleven, God set the nation aside, and in just a few years the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and the Jewish people went into a long dispersion. That rejection explains why Israel is not fulfilling her original role among the nations today.
Israel's Fall Became the Riches of the World
Les teaches that Israel's fall and diminishing opened the door for blessing to flow to the Gentile world, which helps explain why Israel's present struggle is not the end of God's purposes.
Israel Still Under the Control of the Gentiles
Les defines the times of the Gentiles as the period when Gentiles overlord Israel, showing that Israel cannot act as a fully independent nation apart from Gentile permission and financial aid.
Israel Set Aside and Gentiles Brought In
Les teaches that God broke Israel off from the root of Abraham and placed the whole Gentile system into the position Israel occupied, so Israel's distinct covenant role was temporarily set aside.
Israel Dropped Her Prospect of Blessing the Nations
Les says God intended to funnel Israel back into the pagan, polluted stream of humanity to purify it, but Israel blew it and dropped the prospect.
Israel Being Prepared for Christ's Soon Return
Les sees Israel's constant presence in world news as miraculous evidence that God is getting the nation ready for His soon return, so the present pressure has a prophetic purpose.
Israel Is Being Squeezed but Will Not Disappear
Les says Israel is constantly being squeezed tighter, but God has promised to fulfill His covenant promises with Israel, so the nation will not be pushed into the sea.
Israel Rejected the Nations Coming to Jerusalem
Les points to Zechariah's picture of ten men from the nations taking hold of a Jew in Jerusalem, and then says Israel rejected all that, so God turned to the Gentiles.
God Set Israel Aside After Rejecting Peter's Appeal
Les teaches that after years of Israel rejecting the apostles' appeal, God set the nation aside, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jewish people were dispersed until returning in 1948.
Romans 11:25: For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
This verse shows that Israel's present condition is temporary and connected to the times of the Gentiles.
Romans 11:26: And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
This verse assures that God's promised salvation and restoration for Israel are still coming.
Zechariah 8:23: Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
This verse pictures the future day when the nations will again attach themselves to Israel because God is with them.
Les Feldick describes the times of the Gentiles as the period where the Gentiles are overlording the nation of Israel. He says Israel is still so inadequate that she would not last overnight without Gentile permission and financial aid, so the present time is still part of the times of the Gentiles.
No. Les Feldick says that although the Old Testament promises have been put on hold while God deals with the Gentiles, God is still going to fulfill His covenant promises with His covenant people. Israel will not cease to be a nation or be pushed into the sea.
Les Feldick says it is miraculous that a tiny nation is in world news every day. He sees it as evidence that Israel is still God's people and that God is getting them ready for His soon return.
Yes. Les teaches that Israel was to be a light to the Gentiles and that Zechariah pictures the nations coming to the Jew in Jerusalem. But Israel rejected that prospect, so God set Israel aside temporarily and turned to the Gentiles.
Watch the Teaching: Why Israel's Fall Opened Heaven's Door for the Gentiles