Yes — Israel was dispersed because the nation rejected Jesus as its Messiah, King, and Redeemer, and God sovereignly scattered it into every nation.
Les Feldick teaches that Israel was called out of the mainstream of humanity to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, but when the King came, the nation refused Him. The rejection continued through the Book of Acts until the crescendo at the stoning of Stephen, after which Israel slid into dispersion. In 70 A.D., God sovereignly allowed Rome to destroy the temple and uproot the Jewish people from the Promised Land.
Exodus 19:6 — This verse states the covenant calling Israel failed to fulfill, and the role they lost when they rejected the King.
Acts 7:59 — This is the event Les identifies as the crescendo of Israel's rejection of their Messiah.
The Bible records that God chose Israel out of all nations to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). This calling prepared them to be the channel through which the nations would come to know Israel's God. In the New Testament, Peter made the great confession: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16). But the Bible also records Israel's hostility toward their Messiah. When Stephen testified before the Sanhedrin, the people stoned him, and Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). Scripture shows the nation persistently refusing to accept the King it had been promised.
Les teaches that Israel was called out of the mainstream of humanity through the Old Testament to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. When the opportunity came, however, the nation rejected the King and the Kingdom. A small minority believed Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, but the nation as a whole refused Him and kept rejecting the appeals of Peter and the Eleven after Pentecost. Les points to the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7 as the crescendo of that rejection, and then describes how, about 40 years later, God sovereignly permitted the Roman army under Titus to destroy the temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Israel was uprooted from the Promised Land and dispersed into every nation on earth. According to Les, this was a disciplinary act of God, not a voluntary departure, and it put Israel into spiritual blindness in the same position as the Gentile world. He also notes that the dispersion lasted until the present generation, when Jews began returning to the land and became a sovereign state again in 1948. Les emphasizes that there is no prophecy directed to the church.
Les points to Acts 7 as the turning point. After Pentecost, Peter and the Eleven appealed to the nation to repent of killing their Messiah and to receive the King and the Kingdom, but Israel rejected those appeals out of hand. Les says the crescendo of their rejection was the stoning of Stephen. From that point, Israel 'just slides down into her dispersion,' until the temple was taken away in 70 A.D. and God turned to the Gentiles.
Les teaches that after the crucifixion and Pentecost, Israel continued to reject the Old Testament promises of the King and Kingdom. About 40 years after Pentecost, in 70 A.D., God sovereignly allowed the Roman army under Titus to destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem and to uproot the Jew from the Promised Land. Les is emphatic that the Jewish people did not leave voluntarily: 'God took them out,' and it was a disciplinary act. After 40 years of the Book of Acts, God's patience ran out.
According to Les, Israel lost the temple, the city, the homeland, and their worship. They were dispersed into every nation on earth and moved back into the mainstream of humanity from which they had been called. Les says they were placed in a position of spiritual blindness, no different from the rest of the Gentile world, and the land was left empty to be taken over by anyone who would.
Les teaches that because Israel spent seven years rejecting the appeals of Peter and the Eleven, God gave up on the nation and set it aside. God turned to the Gentiles without using the nation of Israel. Les notes that there is no prophecy directed to the church, and the dispersion continued until the present generation — Jews returned to the land beginning in the early 1900s, and in 1948 Israel became a sovereign state again.
Peter's Confession
Les highlights that a small remnant, represented by Peter, did believe Jesus was the Christ — even though the nation as a whole rejected Him.
Dispersion into the Mainstream
Les says Israel rejected its Messiah and was dispersed back into the mainstream of humanity, placed in spiritual blindness like the Gentiles, and scattered into every nation by 70 A.D.
Rejection of the King and Kingdom
Les explains that Israel kept rejecting the Old Testament promises of the King and Kingdom, so in 70 A.D. God sovereignly allowed Rome to destroy the temple and uproot the Jew into the dispersion.
The Stoning of Stephen
Les identifies the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7 as the crescendo of Israel's rejection; from that point the nation slid into dispersion and the temple was taken away in 70 A.D.
God Sets Israel Aside
Les teaches that after Israel's constant rejection during the Book of Acts, God set the nation aside and turned to the Gentiles; the dispersion lasted until Israel returned to the land and became a state in 1948.
The Lost Role of a Kingdom of Priests
Les says Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, but when the opportunity came they rejected the King and Kingdom, so they were dispersed and lost their temple and worship.
Stiff-Necked and Scattered
Les attributes the disaster to Israel's stiffness of neck and unbelief: the temple was destroyed, the nation dispersed, and the land emptied of them.
Sovereign Discipline
Les teaches the dispersion was not voluntary — God took Israel out of the land as discipline because they rejected Christ, and after 40 years of Acts God's patience ran out.
Exodus 19:6: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
This is the calling Israel was given, which Les says they failed to fulfill when they rejected the King.
Matthew 16:16: And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
This is the confession of the small remnant who believed who Jesus was.
Acts 7:59: And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
This is the event Les points to as the crescendo of Israel's rejection.
No. A small percentage believed, as Peter did when he confessed Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Les uses this to show the majority rejected even though a minority believed.
No. Les says God took them out as a disciplinary act after they rejected everything offered at Christ's first coming. By 70 A.D. the temple was destroyed and the Jews were dispersed into the nations.
Les says the dispersion lasted until the present generation. Jews began returning to the land in the early 1900s, and in 1948 Israel became a sovereign state again.
Les emphasizes that there is no prophecy directed to the church; prophecy concerns Israel's future. After Israel was set aside, God turned to the Gentiles to call out a body by grace.
Watch the Teaching: Biblical Timeline: Creation to Christ's Kingdom!