Will God Restore the Kingdom to Israel? Acts 1:6 Explained

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. It's good to have everybody back in this afternoon, and we're going to go right back to where we left off in our last program, which will be in Acts chapter 1. And we'll pick up at verse 6. Again, for those of you joining us on television, you know we're constantly amazed that almost every day, every week, people call and write that they're catching the program for the very first time. And I have to be constantly aware of that as I teach, that not everyone has been with us now ever since Genesis 1 -1. And Iris and I were just talking about it this morning driving up to Tulsa, that we are now beginning the fifth year. This just doesn't seem possible. But anyway, for those of you that are just recently catching the program, and you'd like to pick up on everything that you've missed, all the past programs are available on videotape, and we've already had twelve of those tapes transcribed. Jerry and Lorna Poole have just really been jumping on that, and so just as quickly as we can get them to the printer. And Keith Decker here in Tulsa has just been doing a fantastic job, we think, of the proofreading and the layout, and he gets it all ready for the printer. And so now we have books 8, 9, and 10 ready to mail out at least by the time this gets on the air. And we just again want to thank everybody that has a part in that. Now for explanation, our videotapes are twelve succeeding programs, twelve half hour programs on one six hour tape. And we call that tape number one. The next twelve programs will be another tape number two, and so forth. And then each one of these individual six hour tapes are transcribed into one book. So tape number one is also book number one, and so forth. And of course I'm constantly amazed that we get such a response from both the tapes, but now the books are catching on. And for those of you who haven't watched or looked at one of these books, we invite you to try one. We merely ask a gift of five or six bucks to cover the cost, we don't attempt to make anything on them. I guess that's all the announcements, isn't it honey? I always have to rely on my other half, you know. Without her I just couldn't move. So anyway, now let's get into the lesson. Again, I'm always so appreciative of our television audience of several things. Number one, when they write I'm always glad that they don't try to make me something more than I am. They just say, dear Les, and that's the way we like it. I always want people to know I'm not a degreed, educated theologian or anything like that. I suppose I'm more like the average Sunday school teacher. That's the way I look at myself. I'm just like your average Sunday school teacher. We don't claim to have any deep theological background or anything like that. But I do feel that the Lord has given me the gift of teaching it in a way that common folk can understand it. And that's of course what makes it all work. So let's begin now where, like I said, we left off in our last program on the baptisms. And I trust I showed it so plainly that from the baptism that Jesus instituted when He said that He would baptize with the Holy Spirit. He was referring to the nation of Israel and looking forward to the day of Pentecost when they would of course be inundated. And that's the best word I can put for baptism, or engulfed is another good word. Because when something is baptized or baptizoed according to the Greek, that's really what it meant. They were engulfed. Homer and Plato used the same word with regard to ships sunk at sea. They were baptizoed. They were just literally engulfed. And then of course you want to remember that in 2 Corinthians 10, Paul refers to the nation of Israel coming out of Egypt and through the Red Sea as having been baptized unto Moses and unto the cloud. Now they weren't baptized in water, you know that. They came across on dry land. So what kind of a baptism was it? Well they were engulfed. They were inundated in the leadership of Moses and in the power and the protection of that cloud. And so always realize that baptism in Scripture does not always refer to water baptism. Well then as we pointed out in the last few moments of our last program then, there is a complete change of operation by the time we get to Paul's letters. And now it's not Jesus who does the baptizing, but it's the Holy Spirit who is the baptizer, and He baptizes predominantly Gentiles of course, and He baptizes believers into Christ. Just a complete reversal. Back here in the Jewish economy it's Jesus baptizing Jews into the Holy Spirit. By the time we get to Paul and the revelation of the mysteries, now we have the Holy Spirit baptizing predominantly Gentiles into Christ. Just a total reversal. Well then you come into verse 6. And remember now we're on the Mount of Olives, with just Jesus and the Eleven. Judas is gone, and the replacement has not come on the scene. And so verse 6 says, And when they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? Now most of you who have been under my teaching for a little while, know that I emphasize good reading. And again I was thinking just this last week, I guess I learned to read at the behest of junior high reading teachers. A good old high school English teacher. And it all comes now to the fore. And here is where I think we've run into so much confusion in the Scriptures, that people just don't read. They just will not see what does it say. We gloss over it, and we interpret it according to what we may have heard over the years, but we really don't take time to read what it says. Now here's a good example. There are two words in here that make all the difference in the world, in this one verse. I haven't got time in 30 minutes. Now in a regular class I would just say, let's take the time and see if you can tell me what it is. Well I'm not going to take time in this 30 minutes, but it's the two words, Restore Again. Now what does that tell you? We're talking about something that has been in the past, aren't we? So when the disciples asked Jesus, are you now going to restore, bring back on the scene, again for the second time, the Kingdom to Israel? Now when did Israel have a Kingdom that they were proud of, and they gloried in? Well at David and Solomon. Remember when Bathsheba came, and saw the glories of Solomon's Kingdom, and what did she say? Well as much as she had even heard, it wasn't a half of what she had now seen. And so it was the glorious Kingdom of Solomon, having followed David, that Israel just constantly was remembering. Now another thing I thought of this last week, as I mull all these things over in my mind, and most of you know I'm a farmer, I'm a rancher, I spend the biggest share of my time out there on the tractor, and that's where I do a lot of my thinking. I make no apology for that. And I couldn't help but think of the verse that Jesus spoke in Luke, I think it's chapter 11, where He says, "...a greater than Solomon is here." And who is He speaking of? Well Himself! And so this whole Kingdom aspect, that some people I know just can't accept, and they will ridicule it and everything else, but yet it's a very fact of Scripture, that this Kingdom concept, that had its beginnings with the nation of Israel, under David and Solomon, and as it reached a pinnacle of glory, such as the world had never seen up until that time, faded off the scene. And so now the disciples use the two words so appropriately, "...Lord are you going to restore again the Kingdom?" Now was the Kingdom of David and Solomon, an ethereal, some kind of an up in the fog, spiritualized Kingdom, or was it for real? Well it was for real. It was a political Kingdom, if you want to call it that. It was a Kingdom here on earth, under the authority of a King. And they're still talking about the same kind of a setup. Are we going to have the Kingdom again? Well they knew they were, but are you now going to do it? Well so let's just take a brief run up through the Scriptures, to again remind ourselves, of how this whole idea of a coming Kingdom, is just part and parcel of the Old Testament. And as you read your Old Testament, I'm sure you'll see this constantly coming to the top. But we haven't got time to look at all of them of course, so I'll usually just hit the ones that are the most evident, and the most descriptive, of this Kingdom concept that God is constantly holding, before the nation of Israel. So from Acts I'd like to have you come all the way back, to 2 Samuel chapter 7. Now as God is dealing here with David, this of course still goes further back, to the Abrahamic covenant, when God had promised Abraham, that out of him would come a nation of people. One day He would put them in the geographical area, of what we know as Palestine, or the land of Israel. And then at the time appropriate, He would bring forth the ruler, or the government, to be over this Kingdom. Now we pick it up in 2 Samuel chapter 7, as God is speaking to David, through the prophet Nathan. And He starts in verse 13, well really earlier, but I'm going to start verse 13 for sake of time. When He speaks of Solomon, He says, Now you're all aware of Solomon building the Temple. And I will establish the throne of His Kingdom, not for 40 years, but for how long? Forever. In other words, this is going to be a perpetual Kingdom. Verse 14, God says, I will be his father, and he shall be his son. Well He isn't just stopping with Solomon, He's talking about the nation of Israel, the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And as Israel has certainly experienced down through history, if he commit iniquity, God says, I will chasten him. I'll spank him. With the rod of men, I'll use other nations. And all you have to do is think back. Isn't that exactly what God has done through history? When Israel became rebellious, and steeped in unbelief or idolatry, God would bring in a conquering nation, and put them in subservience. Then verse 15, But, God says, in spite of all that, even though I'll bring in other nations to punish them, and to put them under their control, but my mercy shall not depart away from him, that is again going back to Solomon, but the whole nation of Israel, as I took it from Saul, now remember Saul was an unbeliever, I don't think we'll see Saul in glory, whom I put away before thee. And then verse 16 continues on to look down through the corridors of time, and God says, And thy house, the house of David, and thy kingdom, the kingdom that really began with David, shall be established forever. Thy throne shall be established forever. Now we know that David didn't live forever. David died and was buried like the rest of them. Solomon reigned 40 years, died and was buried like all the rest. But the forever end of it, of course, refers to when the Messiah, the Eternal Son of God, would come to be the king over this kingdom. Now let's come on up through your Old Testament quickly if you will to the book of Isaiah. And of course Isaiah speaks so much of the coming glory of Israel. Yes, he has to castigate them, he has to scold them, he preaches at them for their iniquities, for their sins, but then he always comes back with a prospect of their glorious future. Isaiah chapter 2, and we're going to start right at verse 1. Isaiah chapter 2, verse 1. I'll give you time to find it. The reason I do this is because I know, at least I like to know, that most of our television audience does the same thing. They're following the references, and I want to give them just as much time to find it as you need. So in Isaiah chapter 2, verse 1, the word that Isaiah, the son of Amos, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, and it shall come to pass in the last days. Now here I have to stop a moment again. You want to remember that the last days for Israel are not the last days for the church. There is that difference. Now the last days for Israel, of course, is when the king comes and sets up his kingdom. They finally come to the fulfillment of all these previous times. The last days for the church is that age of grace from the time of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection until it's removed from the scene and is caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So they are not identical. They're not synonymous, although it's the same terminology. So the last days here is referring to Israel's kingdom. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain, or the kingdom of the Lord's house, shall be established in the top of the mountains. And remember the word mountains, when it's used symbolically, refers to a kingdom. And this is going to be the top kingdom of all the kingdoms. And it shall be exalted above the hills, or the smaller kingdoms. And then what does the last statement say? We've used this verse over and over, down through the last four years. And all nations, plural, of the world shall flow unto it. And many people from around the planet shall go and say, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, not from heaven, from Jerusalem. And then verse 4, And He shall judge, or rule, among the nations. And then the verse that we all know so well, They shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. And we certainly know that that will be the kingdom age. Now then in Isaiah, let's just come over to chapter 9. Remember what we're trying to show is how all the Old Testament prophecies are looking forward to this coming kingdom, that the disciples are now asking Jesus on the Mount of Olives, Are you now ready to bring about the kingdom? Are we going to see again the glory that we had under Solomon? In Isaiah chapter 9, drop down to verse 6 and 7. For unto us, the nation of Israel, a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government... What's the purpose of government? Well to control a people within a geographical area. Now of course they're trying to shove world government down our throat. It's coming whether we want it or not. But normally we think of government as being over a sovereign nation, over a geographical area. "...and the government shall be upon his shoulder," that is this One that is born, this One that was given to the nation of Israel, which of course is the Messiah. "...and then His name shall be called Wonderful," Now watch these are all capitalized. Wonderful, Consular, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, those are all titles of the Christ, the Messiah. And then verse 7. "...of the increase of His government," His rule, "...and peace there shall be no end." And where is He going to rule from? The throne of David. Now David's throne isn't in heaven, David's throne is on the earth. And so again, He will assume the throne of David in Jerusalem. "...and He will establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever." Now watch the language, this is forever and ever, ages upon ages throughout the Old Testament. And I'm going to show the comparison now when we get to the Book of Revelation in a minute or two. And there it's all of a sudden restricted to a thousand years. Well why the difference? Well I'll show it to you when we get back to Revelation. Now then from Isaiah, I'd like to have you come on up to Daniel. Now we can stop at Ezekiel. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. Let's stop at Ezekiel 37. Ezekiel 37. And this of course is a familiar passage, you've all heard sermons and Sunday school lessons on it, where it starts out as the dry bones. And it's merely the nation of Israel that has been out in a dispersion amongst the Gentile nations. No hope. And they can only dream of someday going back up to Jerusalem. And of one day having once again their homeland. But it's all it has been up until of course our own present day. But back here in Ezekiel 37, the prophecy is that these dry bones, in other words the dispersed of Israel, will one day be brought back to life as we have seen now in our own time, back to the land. And this is only precursory of course to that which is to follow. And that would be now as we come on down to verse 15, and we'll see how far we have to go. But in verse 15 of Ezekiel 37, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying again, Moreover thou son of man, take one stick, and write upon it, for Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions. Then take another stick, and write upon it, for Joseph the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions. In other words, he's referring to the nation when it was divided. The northern kingdom, and the southern kingdom. Now he says, put one name on one stick, and one on the other. And then let's just for sake of time come all the way up to verse 19. When they say, what does all this mean? Then verse 19, say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, the northern kingdom, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, the southern kingdom, and make them one stick. No longer a divided kingdom, but once again a singular kingdom. Verse 21, and he tells Ezekiel, Say unto them, that is these Jews who are asking the question, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whether they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation upon the land, upon the mountains of Israel. One king shall be king to them all, they shall no more be two nations, neither shall they be divided in two kingdoms any more at all. And then come all the way down to verse 24, And David my servant shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd. Verse 25, They shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant. Verse 26, Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them. What are all these verses pointing toward? Well the king and the kingdom. When Israel will have been brought back from her dispersion to every nation on the face of the earth. Brought back into their own homeland once again. And then one king, and then of course it will be the son of David. Alright, let's move quickly on to the next major prophet, and that's Daniel. Daniel chapter 2. Now in Daniel chapter 2, those of you who have been with me at all, we know that Nebuchadnezzar has this dream that Daniel interprets. oh let's see honey, I'm going to come in at verse 44. But here in Daniel chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar has the dream of that great image, with the head of gold, the chest of silver, the belly of brass, the legs of iron, and then the feet of iron and clay mixed, which depicted all the great Gentile empires coming down through history. And then in verse 35 of course, we see that the stone not cut with hands will come and destroy all the residue of those previous Gentile kingdoms. And then in verse 35 it says, and it will fill the whole earth. Alright, then as you come to verse I said 44, verse 45. For as much as thou sawest the stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands. Now remember Christ is always the stone in the rock of Scripture. So this is Christ in His second coming. And so as much as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountains without hands, and that it break in pieces, the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter in the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof is sure. In other words, as He destroys the kingdoms of this world, He will set up His own kingdom from which He will then rule from Jerusalem. The next little book after Daniel is Hosea. We made reference to this several weeks ago, but I think again it's worthy of use once more. In Hosea chapter 5 the last verse, and then going into chapter 6. Oh boy, time is just about gone again, and I'm only half way. Well, let's do what we can. Hosea chapter 5 verse 15. I will go and return to my place Now you can almost picture this as Christ Himself speaking it. I will go and return to my place till they, the nation of Israel, acknowledge their offense, their having crucified Him, and seek My face. In their affliction, they will seek Me early. Now the nation of Israel is getting there, closer and closer. Oh how they're beginning to long now for the coming of their Messiah. Now they don't realize of course that He's been here, and He's left, but now chapter 6 shows it prophetically, that's exactly what has happened. Come, verse 1 of chapter 6, and let us return unto the Lord, that's Israel speaking, for He hath torn all He's been chastising them now for almost two thousand years. But they know that He will heal us. He hath smitten, He has been punishing, but He's going to bind us up. And then I love verse 2. After two days, now remember we normally like to think of the day in Scripture as a thousand years, and a thousand years a day, so just put that in here, that after two thousand years He will revive us. And isn't that exactly what He's doing? It's been almost two thousand years now, they've been out there in dispersion, they've been out there under the boot of all the Gentile armies, but now after two days He will revive us, and in the third day, that's the Kingdom, He will revive us, and we shall live in His sight. Well let's go quickly to the last chapter, next to the last chapter I'm sorry, Zechariah chapter 14. Zechariah chapter 14, and here beginning of the chapter of course we have the graphic description of the tribulation, and then the battle of Armageddon, and we'll be using this chapter and verse again when we get a little further in Acts, so I'm going to skip all the way to verse 9, because we're just about out of time. Zechariah 14, drop all the way down to verse 9, and the Lord Jehovah, the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord shall be king over all of heaven, no that's not what your Bible says, He'll be king over what? All the earth. Now if you have a king, what naturally is with it? A kingdom, it's obvious. So the Lord shall be king over all the earth, and that day when He sets up His kingdom, and that day there shall be one Lord, one king you might say, and His name shall be what? One. It's not going to be a democracy, it's going to be a benevolent monarchy. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.