The Church is not mentioned in the Old Testament because it was a sacred secret kept in the mind of God, revealed only through the Apostle Paul.
The Old Testament program is built on God's promises to Israel and His Son's rule over the nations. Les Feldick explains that the Church remained a secret in God's mind until the Apostle Paul, so it is not found in Old Testament prophecy or in the Gospels.
Psalm 2:8 — Psalm 2 shows the Old Testament prophetic focus on the Son and the nations, with no hint of the Church.
Psalm 2:12 — This verse calls for trust in the Son and warns of wrath, but never mentions a body of believers called the Church.
Psalm 2:8 declares to the Son, "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Verse 9 continues, "Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." Verse 12 concludes, "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." These Old Testament verses reveal a program centered on the Son's reign over the nations and the judgment that precedes it. They contain no mention of the Church, the Church Age, or a rapture.
Les Feldick teaches that the Church was a sacred secret kept in the mind of God. He points out that the Old Testament is built entirely on prophecy, all directed to the nation of Israel, and that prophecy says nothing about the Church Age or the rapture. The Old Testament program foretold Israel's coming, the Messiah's rejection, the Tribulation, and the Kingdom—but never a long interval of Gentile grace. Les explains that the Church Age is a parenthetical period, an undetermined time that God slipped in between the prophetic program. When the Church is complete, God will take it out in the rapture, before the final seven years of Tribulation, so He can finish His program with Israel. Les emphasizes that the Church and the rapture are strictly Pauline revelations. The Old Testament writers could not mention the Church because it was still a secret in God's mind, and only Paul received the revelation to write about these mysteries.
Les Feldick explains that the Old Testament program, as laid out in Psalm 2, foretold the coming of the nation of Israel through the Abrahamic Covenant, the Messiah's arrival and rejection, the Tribulation, and Christ's return to set up His kingdom. It never gave the slightest hint of the Church Age or the rapture. All prophecy is directed to and connected with the nation of Israel.
God is able to keep things secret as long as He cares to, and the Church Age and the rapture were among those secrets. Les teaches that the Old Testament writers could not mention the Church because it was still a secret kept in the mind of God. Only Paul received the revelation of this body of truth, which is why the Church is never mentioned in the Old Testament or the Gospels.
Les describes the Church Age as an undetermined period of time, a parenthetical interval slipped in between the prophetic program. Throughout Israel's prophetic history, there is not a word about the age of grace or God calling out a people for His name from the Gentiles. When the Church is complete, God will remove it at the rapture, just before the final seven years of Tribulation, and then finish where He left off with Israel.
Since the Church and the rapture were secrets kept in God's mind, they are not found in the Old Testament or in the Gospels. Les emphasizes that only Paul writes of the rapture and of the mysteries that make up the Church's doctrine. This is what sets apart the 'body of truth' revealed through Paul from the prophetic program of the Old Testament.
God's Promises to His Son
Les reads Psalm 2 to demonstrate that Old Testament prophecy centers on the Son's rule over the nations, not on a New Testament Church.
The Secret of the Church Age
Les explains that God kept the Church Age and the rapture hidden, with not even a hint of them in Old Testament prophecy or in Jesus' earthly ministry.
Pauline Revelation Only
Les shows that no prophecy mentions the Church; all prophecy belongs to Israel, and the Church is a Pauline revelation.
The Silent Age of Grace
Les points out that during the entire Old Testament prophetic timeline, there is not a word about the age of grace or God calling out a people for His name.
The Church Unknown to the Old Testament
Les teaches that the Church was completely unknown to the Old Testament, and that after the Church is completed, God will remove it at the rapture and resume His program with Israel.
The Old Testament Program Never Hints at the Church
Les explains that the Old Testament program in Psalm 2 never hinted at the Church Age; it only pictured Israel, the Messiah's rejection, the Tribulation, and the Kingdom.
No Prophecy Indicates the Church
Les emphasizes that all prophecy was directed to Israel and that no prophecy breathes any hint of the Church Age comprised of Gentile believers.
A Secret Kept in God's Mind
Les says the Old Testament writers could not mention the Church or the rapture because they were secrets kept in God's mind, and only Paul received the revelation to write about them.
Psalm 2:8: Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
This verse shows the Old Testament focus on the Son's inheritance of the nations, not on the Church.
Psalm 2:9: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
The context is the Tribulation and the Son's judgment of the nations, not the Church.
Psalm 2:12: Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
Les uses this verse to show the Son is present in the Old Testament, yet the Church is absent.
Because the Church was a secret kept in the mind of God. It was not part of the revealed prophetic program, which focuses on Israel. The Church and the rapture were not made known until the Apostle Paul received the revelation.
The Old Testament prophesies the coming of Israel, the Messiah's rejection, the Tribulation, and the Kingdom. It says nothing about a Church Age or a rapture.
Only Paul writes about the rapture and the mysteries of the Church. The Old Testament writers and even the Gospel accounts do not mention it because it was still a secret kept in the mind of God.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Church Age Is Hidden in the Old Testament