We’ve just finished the book of Hebrews, and now we’re starting book number 53 - and this will be as they’re normally called, the little Jewish epistles of James; I & II Peter; I, II, & III John and Jude. And whether we’ll get all of them into the next twelve programs, I’m not guaranteeing - but we’re going to start in this particular series with the little letter to James. Now, at least this first half hour is going to be exclusively introduction, because I don’t think any portion of Scripture has raised so many questions for us regarding the Grace Age, as this little book of James has (because of its legalism). And, consequently, many people get confused. People will say, "James says you can’t have faith unless you’ve got works. And Paul says you have faith without works. Well, what’s the deal?" We know that Scripture never contradicts for the sake of contradiction, so there has to be a logical, as well as a spiritual, answer for that dilemma.

So the first thing you want to realize is (as I’ve said over and over on the program), with every portion of Scripture that you read, before you even begin to pick it apart, you should ask yourself just two or three simple questions. Who’s writing? To whom is he writing? What are the circumstances around this writing? And this is exactly what we’re going to do before we even start any further introduction. Turn to James chapter 1, verse 1. The very first word, of course, tells you who is writing.

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,…" So it’s James who is writing. Now, we have to qualify again. Most are agreed that this is not the James of the original twelve who was beheaded quite early after Pentecost. But this is no doubt the James who was the half-brother of Jesus. He was the son of Joseph and Mary. He was also the James who became the head man of the Jerusalem church and, consequently, was the moderator of that great Jerusalem Counsel that we delve into over and over as Paul covers it in Galatians chapter 2, and as Luke records it in Acts 15. And those are both the same counsel in Jerusalem, which took place about 51 or 52 AD - over which this James was the moderator and also referred to by the Apostle Paul as a pillar in the Jerusalem church. And so we feel that this James is a legalist, par excellence. When we go back after a while and look at some of the things he emphasized (even after he realized that Paul was the Apostle of the Gentiles), it will come through that he indeed was a legalist. In verse 1 we also see to whom he is writing.

"…to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." Now when you read something like that, the first thing you have to stop and analyze is: Who’s writing it? James. The James who was so intense on the legal aspect of Judaism. James who was the head honcho, instead of Peter, of the Jerusalem Jewish church. The church that you have starting there in Christ’s earthly ministry and so forth. But now, you see, as a result of Saul of Tarsus' persecution, those believing Jews have been scared out of Jerusalem and scattered throughout the then-known world, especially in the eastern end of the Mediterranean.

And so, consequently, they were established in the Kingdom economy. Many of them had probably become believers during Christ’s earthly ministry - others in Peter’s ministry in the early Acts. But then, because of Saul’s persecution. they had to flee Jerusalem, and now they are scattered throughout the Roman Empire. Well, James is concerned about them, as well he should be, because he had, at one time, been the leader of that church. And so he is addressing this little epistle to those Jewish believers.

Now I can’t emphasize that enough. They are Jewish believers who as yet have not heard or understood Paul’s Gospel of Grace that you and I believe for our salvation and, consequently, it can be the legalistic treatise that it is without causing any flack amongst his followers because it was right in line with what they’d been hearing. Alright, in the same way, I’m going to have you turn to I Peter so that you will see that all these epistles now are written in the same flavor. They’re all coming out of the same bolt of cloth. Now, look at what Peter writes in verse 1 of chapter 1 of I Peter. And again, who is the writer? Peter. One of the Twelve. One of the main leaders of the Jerusalem church.

"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." Well, who were these scattered strangers? Again, Jewish believers who had been scattered out from that Jerusalem church because of Saul’s persecution. Well, when you continue on then, John doesn’t make it quite that distinct, but still, when you study the content, it’s all in that same area of thinking. It’s Jews who had embraced Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah but they were still practicing Judaism. The Temple is still operating. That won’t be destroyed until many years later. And so always get the connection that these little Jewish epistles are indeed written to Jewish believers.

I don’t call them Christians because the Bible doesn’t, but many people do. Remember believers were first called Christians at Antioch, and not Jerusalem. So they’re not Christians per se, they are Jewish believers in the Kingdom Gospel, and they believed for salvation that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, but they’re still under the Law. They’re still practicing Temple worship. Nobody has told them not to so they’re not being disobedient. That fact had not been revealed to them yet.

So, James, Peter and John are writing to Jewish believers who have been scattered away from their home area of Jerusalem (and they are also facing hard times). Tribulation is right out in front of them. Now, amongst a lot of people who recognize that these letters are written to Jews, there are still two areas of thought. Some say that these were written to the Jews contemporary with their own day. In other words, Jewish congregations that had been established after they had scattered away from Jerusalem, but before the horrors of the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Titus.

You’ve got to keep your time frame in mind. Now, I’m going to have to go slow or I’ll get myself all fouled up. You see, Pentecost was about 29 AD. Then, from Pentecost until Saul’s conversion, is about 7 or 8 years. Which makes Saul being converted around 37 AD – and he begins his ministry in 40 AD. And then you see from 40 until 64 or 65 AD, when he’s martyred, there’s another 24 years, where Paul is out doing his thing amongst the Gentiles; and during which time he writes his epistles.

But, James is writing probably (as most commentaries that I’ve looked at, they all agree that it’s probably the first bit of New Testament that was ever written. And so he’s probably writing) in the early 50’s, maybe the late 50’s. At least there is no indication that he has any knowledge whatsoever, as yet, of Paul’s ministry amongst the Gentiles. Nothing that alludes to it at all. Peter, on the other hand, will now let us know that he definitely is writing after Paul’s ministry has been completed. And as Paul finishes up, while in prison in Rome no doubt, Peter is martyred shortly after he writes. And we can show that from II Peter then, because I want you to see that we’ve got two tremendous time frames here. We’ve got Jews of the dispersion right after Pentecost, up until the 70 AD destruction of the Temple. But then you leap 2,000 years, up in our own time and, once again, we’re going to have the same kind of Jews facing even worse tribulation, which is the seven years that are still in front of them.

And so these little epistles are written to Jews at both ends of the spectrum. They are written to Jewish believers who are facing the persecution of that day, leading up to the destruction of Rome, of Jerusalem, but also when we leap 2,000 years, it will be Jews who are facing the horrors of the seven-year Tribulation period. And so these little epistles will be appropriate at both ends of the spectrum. Now, as I was driving up here, I was just thinking - this group over here thinks that all this was written to the Jews of Peter’s, James’ and Paul’s day. You’ve got your other group who will say this was written to Jews facing the seven-year tribulation. Well, I’m going to step in where angels fear to tread and say, "Look fellows. You’re both right! They’re writing to Jews of the contemporary time, and also they’re writing to Jews at the end of time."

Alright, here is the only indication that Peter has an awareness now of Paul’s revelations. And I believe that we’ve used these verses a hundred times. II Peter chapter 3 verse 15. And remember, Peter is now writing shortly before he’s martyred, and I think he and Paul were probably put to death at nearly the same time, within maybe a month. Now this is what Peter said:

"And account (or understand) that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; And of course, when we taught Hebrews, I specified that it’s the Book of Hebrews, I think, that Peter is alluding to that Paul had written to the Jews.

"As also in all his epistles, (Romans through Philemon) speaking in them of these things; (that is pertaining to salvation) in which (that is Romans through Philemon) are some things hard to be understood,…" Why? Peter was a legalist!! And just like legalists today, they have a hard time comprehending my message of grace. It just flies in their face. They say, "It can’t be that easy. It can’t be that simple. I’ve got to do something!" Well, that’s legalism and Peter was steeped in that. Peter was steeped in the Law. And so I can see why he writes that in Paul’s epistles of grace were things hard for a good Jew to understand. And then Peter goes on saying that he’s not alone. There are others that are going to be far more guilty.

"…which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest,…" (twist). If they use Paul’s epistles at all, that’s what they’ll do with them. They’ll twist them all out of shape to make them fit their own legalistic doctrine. Alright, Peter gives a warning, then, that they who do that in their unlearned state are in trouble.

"…as they do also the other scriptures, (which, of course, identifies Paul in with all the rest of our Bible) unto their own destruction."

Now, I’m going to put our prophetic timeline on the board - and when I say prophetic, I mean the timeline that comes out of all of Scripture except Paul’s epistles.

Now, as we begin the timeline, we come all the way from Adam - and at 2,000 BC, it really starts getting interesting. And that’s the call of Abraham, or Abram, as we first know him. And out of that river of humanity, we have the appearance of the Nation of Israel, or the Jewish people. Now, find Genesis chapter 12 because we’re going to go back there for a moment – and there we find that Abraham is given the Covenant promises. And the whole idea now, as we come on up through the Old Testament prophets, is that, after Christ is crucified, buried and resurrected, He ascends back to glory forty days afterwards (according to Psalms 110 verse 1), where the Lord says, "Come sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool."

His enemies, then, were to be made His footstool during the seven years of Daniel’s prophecy. Daniel, chapter 9, where he delineates seven years of a treaty made between Israel and the nations of the world. Then in the middle of that treaty Israel is finally turned-on and is persecuted these last three and one half years like never before in all their history. That of course, would bring about, then, the Battle of Armageddon, and then the Second Coming, and Christ finally setting up the Kingdom. Now, many people don’t understand the concept of the earthly Kingdom. But I think those of you who have been listening to me now over the years are beginning to see how the Scriptures proclaim it.

So, coming out of that Old Testament prophecies, Christ came and had a ministry of three years. And I don’t know whether to put it on the board first or show it from the Scripture first. Maybe I should use the Scripture first. That’s more authoritative anyway. So I guess we’ll go ahead and read over in Genesis chapter 12, where it says:

"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2. And I will make of thee a great nation,…" Now you see here’s already prophecy beginning. In fact I always say that true prophecy began here with the Nation of Israel, even though the Lord did give reference to His coming in Genesis 3:15. But true prophecy really starts right here. Here is where God is promising things that will come to pass in the future. That’s what prophecy is and that’s why I’m always holding this Book up above every other book on earth. There is not another book of religion or philosophy or anything you can name that can tell things hundreds and thousands of years into the future and be letter perfect; but this one does.

For example, King Cyrus, the king of Medes and Persia who finally gave the decree to Israel to go back after their 70 years of captivity and rebuild the Temple. Cyrus was named 150 years beforehand in the Word of God. And history substantiates it, so there’s no room for argument. And that’s just one little instance.

Christ’s first coming, all the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning His birth at Bethlehem and His suffering, His resurrection - it was all back there. It was all prophesied and all fulfilled to the jot and tittle. Now, of course, there’s still a lot left to be fulfilled but we can trust that if this much has been, the rest will be. And that’s where we have to place our faith. Now continuing on.

Now I always have to stop on some of these things. We’re so programmed today to think in terms of America and Russia and some of the other great highly populated nations; and then we look at the little Nation of Israel and how could God called them a great nation. Well, you’ve got to remember that back in antiquity, Israel, by the time they came out of Egypt with 5-7 million people, were the largest single group on the planet. And so in the language of antiquity they were a great nation.

"…and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3. And I will bless them that bless thee, (Israel) and curse him that curseth thee: (Israel) and in thee (Abraham! And here’s the part where you and I become intrinsically involved) shall all families of the earth be blessed." What do I mean? Well the Book that you’ve got in front of you, every word of it was written by a Jew, out of the offspring of Abraham. Jesus of Nazareth, our Redeemer, our Savior, our Coming Lord, a Jew, born out of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Alright, so when the Old Testament said that in this man all the earth would be blessed, it was through Israel.

Now, we’re going to leap up several hundred years and come all the way up to Exodus chapter 19. Remember this is all just an introduction to these little Jewish epistles. That’s a long way around but I think it’s necessary because so many people just can’t comprehend why we would have these little Jewish epistles back here at the end of our New Testament that are still directed to the Jew and are still legalistic and have nothing to do with Paul’s Gospel of Grace. That’s what I’m attempting to do. I’m hoping I can make it understandable.

"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." Now Israel had just come out of Egypt and they’re gathered around Mt. Sinai. It’s been a miraculous exodus and now God is making promises again, that they were to be a kingdom of priests. Now what’s a kingdom? Well, it’s a governmental jurisdiction. It’s an area over which there is a given authority. Now, Israel then, is going to be a kingdom, not of just rank-and-file people, but priests. Every Jew would be a priest of Jehovah. Oh, not a high priest that would go in behind the veil, but a go-between. And all the religions of the world have their priesthood, who are just simply go-betweens between the ordinary man out there, as we say in the street, and his god, whether it be Buddha, or Shinto or whatever, they all have their priesthood.

Our Catholic people have their priest. Well, what’s his roll? He’s the go-between, between his parishioner and God. That’s their teaching. Well, every Jew was to have someday become, then, a priest of Jehovah. That’s the promise. Now don’t lose sight of that as we come up through the Old Testament promises; and the whole idea of setting apart the Nation of Israel was to prepare them for this priesthood.

Now, come with me to Isaiah. My, I won’t even get half-way through this all afternoon. I was wondering this morning how in the world I would stretch the Book of James through 4 programs, but I don’t think we’re going to have any trouble. Isaiah 42, and the whole idea of what I’m doing here is to show you that on the basis of the Abrahamic Covenant, the Nation of Israel appears; they are to be the vehicle through whom God would deal with the whole human race by giving us the Word of God. But also by preparing the Nation for the coming of the King and His Kingdom in which time they could evangelize the non-Jewish world.

Now, I’d better stop a moment. You see, most of us can’t quite get it out of our craw, when we look at it in this light, that Jesus told Nicodemus, in John chapter 3, that you must be born again, that unless you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven. Well, you see, we’ve just naturally gotten the idea then, that what Jesus was talking about is that no one could come into this earthly kingdom short of the new birth. Well, that is true. No one is going to go into the kingdom except believers. But in the Old Testament economy that does not become evident. It’s quite the opposite, that Israel would go in and become the subjects of their King of kings and Lord of lords and they, in turn, would bring the masses of the Gentiles to a knowledge of their King and their Redeemer.

That was the Old Testament concept. And that of course, changes when we see that Israel is going to reject it. But if you can, just put that aside for the time being, that nobody but believers can go into this coming earthly Kingdom. We’re going to see here in the Old Testament that Israel would go in and evangelize those around them.

"Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: (now we’re talking about an individual. Who is it? The Messiah. Jesus of Nazareth. Alright) he shall bring forth judgment (or rule or authority) to the Gentiles."

God hadn’t forgotten about the Gentiles even back then. Oh, granted they’re going down the river to their doom by the millions, but God hasn’t forgotten about them. The day is coming, even in the Old Testament program, that Israel would be able to bring the salvation message to all these Gentiles by bringing them to a knowledge of their Messiah.

Alright, now in the last lesson we started the little Book of James, after having finished Hebrews. But I want to take a little extra time to set up the background for not only the little letter of James, but also for the rest of the little epistles at the back of your New Testament – I & II Peter; I, II & III John; and Jude - and then comes the first three chapters of Revelation. They all fit in that same scenario that we’re dealing with; Jewish congregations who are still not under Paul’s Gospel of Grace, but rather the Gospel of the Kingdom that was taught by Christ in His earthly ministry and later by the Twelve.

Now, we finished up in our last program having started with Israel’s promise or prophecy of being a nation of priests out of the Abrahamic Covenant. And then we showed from Isaiah how that the Messiah would come, and that Israel would be the vehicle to take salvation to the Gentiles once they have their King. Now, once you see all of this, then everything begins to make sense. Why were Peter and the Eleven so reluctant to go out into the Jewish world? Well, they knew they couldn’t until they had the King. And until they had the King, they did not have a message for the Gentiles.

Alright, so back up with me now, and we’ll go ahead from where we were in Isaiah 42 as we closed the last lesson, and let’s jump up now to Isaiah 59 and keep building our case that the Nation of Israel is being prepared, at some day in the future, to have their King and His Kingdom, and they would evangelize the world - every Jew being a priest of Jehovah. Now don’t forget that. "And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests" as we saw in Exodus 19:6 in the first lesson.

"And the (what?) Redeemer…" Well what does the Redeemer speak of? Salvation! Redemption! Being bought back from whatever lost state, whether it’s Jews or for us today. We all need a Redeemer.

"And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD." Now again, I always have to stop and remind people – don’t go by the hymn writer. Zion isn’t up in Heaven. Where’s Zion? It’s in Jerusalem. It’s one of the mountains of Jerusalem, Mt. Zion from which David ruled. Alright, so "the Redeemer shall come to Mt. Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob." In other words, what segment of Israel? The believers!

"As for me, this is my covenant with them,…" And then he repeats the new covenant as we have it in Jeremiah 31:31. But I’m not going to go over all that again. Now drop down into chapter 60 and pick up again this whole concept of Israel being the vehicle to go to the Gentile world.

"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." Now again, remembering what we taught at the beginning of the last half hour, when you read a portion of Scripture, what are the questions you ask? Who’s writing? Well, Isaiah, a Jewish prophet. Who’s he writing to? The Nation of Israel. What are the circumstances? Prophecy. Alright, so remember now, Isaiah is writing to the Nation of Israel. And he says, "for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." Upon whom? Israel, the nation. Now verse 2:

"For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, (spiritual darkness) and gross darkness the people: (even Israel was in spiritual darkness. But in spite of all that, God is Sovereign and He can overrule.) but the LORD shall arise upon thee, (now are you getting the language? The Lord’s going to come to whom? The Nation of Israel.) and his glory shall be seen upon thee." Who? Israel.

Now, in Jesus’ earthly ministry, what did He tell the Twelve? "You are the light of the world." He wasn’t talking to us Gentiles in this Age of Grace. He was talking to the Twelve. (Israel) And in the very next statement or maybe it was the statement before, they were also to be the what? The salt of the earth. He wasn’t talking about us. He was talking to the Jews. That was what their prospect was. Now verse 3. As a result of God dealing with His covenant people, we find:

"And the Gentiles shall come to thy (Israel’s) light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Now that’s Israel’s future. It hasn’t happened yet, but it’s going to. But so far as our timeline is concerned – and I see it’s been erased. We realize that people catch us on television by noticing little things that you would never dream of. They’ll see this old blackboard and since we’ve always used a blackboard, we don’t want to change to something else. So, I’ll put the timeline we had in the last lesson back up.

The second thing that people notice with this program is my short-sleeved shirt. It’s become my trademark. I wouldn’t dare come up here in a suit and tie. Our mailbox would be flooded. So we’ve got these little things that Iris and I have learned over twelve years - that this is our program, and the letters say, "Don’t change a thing." So with God’s help, we’re not going to. We’re not going to give in to pressure to get highly technical and all that. We’re just going to keep it nuts and bolts.

So as I go back and re-draw my timeline, you be turning in your Bible to the Book of Zechariah. You’ll find Zechariah is the next to last book in your Old Testament and I’m going to have you look first at chapter 8 verse 20. We started back with Abraham 2000 BC and the covenant promises and out of that came, of course, the Nation of Israel.

Out of the Abrahamic Covenant - and all the Old Testament prophets are talking about Israel’s future, which of course, will lead up to Christ’s first coming and His three years of earthly ministry. And maybe that’s as far as I need to go for now. I may get it erased again before the next program. Okay, now if you’ve got Zechariah chapter 8, this is all in view of this very premise that Israel is to be a nation of priests. But they can’t operate as such until they have their King. Now, am I making that plain? They have to have the King and the Kingdom so that they would now be in that position to be priests of Jehovah.

"Thus saith the LORD of hosts; (that’s God speaking through the prophet) it shall yet come to pass,…" Now again what’s the word I’m using? Prophecy. It’s something out in the future. Do you see that? This is all prophecy.

"…that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 21. And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, (before Jehovah) and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also." In other words, that’s the mentality of their thinking. Let’s go and meet the Lord of hosts, Jehovah. Verse 22:

"Yea, many people and strong nations, shall come (it hasn’t happened yet, it’s future, it’s prophecy) to seek the LORD of hosts (where?) in Jerusalem,…" Now it can’t get any plainer, can it? And when will He be in Jerusalem? When He sets up His Kingdom. That’s where His throne will be, on David’s Mt. Zion. Now verse 23.

"Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days (when prophecy has been fulfilled and the King is on His throne and He’s ruling from Jerusalem. And Israel, remember, is going to be a nation of priests) it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations,…" So what kind of people are we talking about? Gentiles. Every kind of Gentile imaginable. And they’ll be coming to the Jew and they’ll take hold out of all languages of the nations. Reading on:

"…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." Now remember, what is every Jew by now? A priest! Oh, not running around with long robes and all the regalia of Judaistic priests but, nevertheless, in their everyday life role, they’re going to be a go-between to take these unbelieving Gentiles to a knowledge of their King. That’s what’s been promised to them.

Alright, and so they will say to these Jews, "We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you." He is their King. This is Israel’s prospect. That’s why they are yet going to be the most glorious nation on earth, when they have the King. Alright, now just turn the page a little bit in Zechariah and let’s see what’s going to have to happen before they get their King. We find that over in chapter 14. This is one of the terminologies for the tribulation in the Old Testament, the "Day of the Lord." This day of wrath and vexation, as the Psalmist calls it. But in Zechariah 14 we can just start at verse 1. Now we’re going to take it slow. Like I said earlier, I may not even get any further into the Book of James today other than this verse 1, and an introduction of why he says what he says. But we’re going to take it slow so you can catch it all.

"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, (what is that? Prophecy. See, you’re catching on. It’s talking about something out in the future. This is prophecy) and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee." In other words, they’re going to be overrun. Verse 2:

"For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; (now you see that hasn’t happened yet, so it’s still prophecy.) and the city shall…"

In fact let’s just stop a moment. I’ve been talking about the Lord’s coming for as long as I’ve been on television, 12 years. But if I thought the Lord was coming twelve years ago, what do you think I think today? Well it’s twelve years closer. Now, stop and think. Why is every little rogue nation on the planet concerned about making weapons, not of just war, but of what? Mass destruction. That’s what they’re calling them now. Weapons of mass destruction. WMD’s - that’s going to be an acronym here before long - Weapons of Mass Destruction. What in the world are they all getting ready for? Who wants to kill everybody? Well, everybody wants to kill everybody. Why? Because, you see, by the time we get to this scenario right here, that we’re reading about in Zechariah, there will only be a few people left. The vast majority of the world’s population is going to be destroyed and we can see the world getting ready for it. It’s not going to stop. But I’ve always said that the Lord will not permit it until it’s tribulation time and it will be time for the Day of the Lord. But, the whole world tonight is getting ready to destroy itself. Now verse 2.

"For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; (or raped) and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, (in other words, we’re going to be literally overrun by these Gentile armies) and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city." (In other words, it’s just going to almost be total mayhem) 3. Then (just before it’s too late) shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." And of course, as we know from the Book of Revelation this is that last great final battle when the Lord will return and smite those millions of troops that have come in to the Middle East. Alright, now look at verse 4 - after the horrors of the Day of the Lord have come to an end (the tribulation), with the Second Coming.

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east…" (and so on and so forth). Now let’s skip on down to verse 9.

"And the LORD shall be (what?) king…" See, this isn’t gobbledy gook. This is pure language. That after He’s destroyed the nations throughout the wrath and vexation of those seven years of tribulation which, like I said last program, is introduced in Daniel 9 - and He has destroyed the nations except for those who are going to be ready to go into the Kingdom. Now He sets up His Kingdom and He’s going to be King, not just over Jerusalem, not just of Israel, but over what?

Back up if you will to chapter 12 and verse 10. And again, this is prophecy, but this is telling us the various things that have to take place before the Lord can set up His 1000 year earthly Kingdom, after the seven years of Tribulation that is yet to come.

"And I will pour upon the house of David, (who is that? Well, that’s Israel) and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: (not wrath and vexation) and they (Israel) shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." Now that language is a little bit confusing but the best way to clear it up is to go back to when the brethren went down into Egypt to get grain from Joseph. Now you remember when they went down the first time, Joseph knew them, but did they know Joseph? No. But the second time they were made to know who Joseph was. Now if you know your Old Testament, what happened between Joseph and those brothers? What did they do? They wept! They wept on each others necks. Not like we would think here of bitterness, but it was tears of reunion and love and joy to think that all the past had now culminated in that which was all for their own good. Alright the same thing is going to happen when Israel suddenly realizes that this One Who has now returned at His Second Coming is the One Who died for them, who suffered for them and they’re going to recognize Him Whom their forefathers of course had pierced.

Alright, now come back to chapter 13 verse 6. And this all happens pretty much at the same time – at Christ’s Second Coming.

"And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." Now there it is. The nail prints in His hands are going to be the evidence that He is the One that they had crucified. Now, here is where I’m coming to my point. We always have to realize that the whole Old Testament program was prophetically set up to all take place within a matter of a few years. In other words, after His crucifixion, then, we know that forty days later He ascended as we see in Psalms 110 verse 1. The Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. And then there was an undetermined period of time, that I still say is probably around seven or eight years, and then was to come the seven years of what? Tribulation! The Tribulation was supposed to come in and last for seven years, and then Christ would return and set up His Kingdom.

Alright, now, in that time frame then we have the Lord Jesus coming by His birth at Bethlehem, begins His three years of earthly ministry, up and down the Nation of Israel, for three years. Alright, in this three years of His earthly ministry, then, He introduces what I’m going to show you next, what He called Himself the Gospel of the Kingdom. So turn to Matthew chapter 9, and let’s take a look at the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Because you see, prophetically, even if you add up the three years of His earthly ministry and if you want to use six or seven years in here before the actual Tribulation would break loose, and then seven years of Tribulation, we’re still talking in terms of 20 years between the beginning of His ministry and His Second Coming according to prophecy. Do you see that?

Alright now, why can the Old Testament call this approximately 20 years the last days? Oh, isn’t indeed 20 years just a drop in the bucket compared to 4,000? It’s almost nothing. So all the Scripture is speaking of, is these period of times of prophecy as the last days. Even the Apostle Paul, refers to that period of time in which he’s ministering as what? The last days.

Now you’re looking puzzled. I’ll have to show you from Scripture won’t I? Turn quickly to Hebrews chapter 1. Oh my our time is going to get away from us again. And as I pointed out to one of my classes here in Oklahoma the other night, I’m sure you all realize that whenever Paul spoke about the Rapture of the church, who did he include? Himself. He didn’t say, "..and when that day comes YOU." But what does he say? "But when that day comes, WE shall be caught up and WE shall be changed." Paul thought the Rapture was going to be in his lifetime. And it wasn’t until his letter to II Timothy that he realized that he would be martyred. Paul never had a concept that everything wouldn’t be consummated within this little period of time after Christ’s first coming.

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2. Hath in these (what?) last days…" See, "...hath in these last days...." Well, now stop and think. You know I have to do this once in awhile. I’ve just got to stop and think. Let’s do the number aspect to keep everything in the right perspective. Pentecost – 29 AD. Saul’s conversion – 37 AD. After Paul’s three years in the desert, he begins his ministry among the Gentiles – 40 AD. The Jerusalem counsel, when they meet with the Twelve (or at least with Peter, James and John, that’s when Paul and Barnabas go down from Antioch to Jerusalem) – 51 or 52 AD. He starts his epistles around 55-56 AD. The last ones are written from prison in Rome in 64 or 65 AD, and then he’s martyred. Then in 70 AD everything is destroyed by Titus. All of that is in what Paul refers to here then as the last days. Okay, let’s read it again.

"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,…" Now this is the Apostle Paul writing in his lifetime, so when did it have to be? Somewhere between 55 and 65 AD. I think probably around 60 AD when he wrote this Book. Anyway, he was still calling it the last days because, in Paul’s mind, all of this was going to be consummated with the Second Coming of Christ and the setting up of the Kingdom within that 20-year time span. He had no idea that there would be 2,000 years of the Church Age, nor did anybody else.

But all of prophecy, is resting on the Covenant made to Abraham concerning Israel - that out of Israel would come the Messiah. He ministered to the Nation for three years and He opened up to them the Gospel of the Kingdom and they rejected it and they crucified Him. Now come back to Matthew chapter 9 again so we make our point before we close this program. And let’s just drop in at verse 35.

"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people."

Since all of this was promised to Israel, Jesus could not be anything to anybody but the Nation of Israel, because that’s who He had made the promises to. Otherwise, God’s Word wouldn’t be worth anything. Alright, so now then you come across to chapter 10 and here’s where our time is going to run out. Jesus has chosen the Twelve and now in verse 5:

"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, or into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:" Do you see how clear that is? Don’t you have anything to do with Gentiles or the half-Gentiles, Samaritans.

One of our favorite letters that we received contains – "I get my cup of coffee, my Bible and my notebook and sit down and watch Through the Bible." So again, we like to thank our television audience for your prayers, your help and your letters - my it just makes our day.

Now in the first two lessons today we’ve been introducing the Book of James because it’s been such a controversy I suppose through the ages because, of course, it is so legalistic, with all of its works. And remember, there is nothing in the Book of James that even speaks of the Body of Christ, the Church. Nothing of the power of the Resurrection, as we find in Paul’s writings. But, rather, it’s all Jewish and that’s hard for people to swallow, because so many want this letter and the other little letters following it to be Church letters to make their doctrine fit.

And so, this is what we’re attempting to show - why are these little letters written and what’s their purpose? And as Luther reminded me at break time, always remember who wrote it, to whom was it written, why it was written and so forth. But this is a good example of showing that in this little Book, as you’ve seen in our previous programs, the first verse of chapter 1 of James says:

"…to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." So we know it’s written to Jews. Peter opens his little epistle, "….to those scattered," which meant that he, too, was writing to the Jews of the dispersion.

So now what we’ve been doing in the last two programs, in case you’re just catching us for the first time in this series, is to show that everything, all the way from the Covenant made with Abraham and the establishment of the Nation of Israel is to bring us up to the place where Israel would be ready for their promised King and his Kingdom. And as soon as that was established, then Israel could evangelize the nations.

Now I haven’t got time to go and repeat all these things all the time, but remember Zechariah said, "And then shall ten men take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew and they will say, We will go with you for we have heard that God is with you." Well now, that is so obvious, then, that it has to be a scenario where the unbelieving Gentiles are following the Jews to be introduced to their Messiah, their King, the Jehovah of the Old Testament.

Alright now in the last moments of our last program, we jumped on up into Christ’s earthly ministry and we showed then from chapter 9 verse 35 that He went about all the cities of the Nation of Israel, going into their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. Now the word "Gospel," you know as well as I do, means "the good news." So the whole thrust of Christ’s three years of earthly ministry was to proclaim to the Nation of Israel the good news, that the King was now in their midst and he’s offering the opportunity to have the Kingdom. And if He would have the Kingdom, then Israel could become the evangelists and bring in the Gentile world. But, what was Israel’s problem? Unbelief, as always before. And so, in unbelief, they didn’t recognize him as the King and instead they said, "Crucify Him. Away with such a fellow." And one of them said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" You know all those statements. And so they crucified him.

Alright now, you have to realize then that according to my timeline that I had on the board, and I’d better put it back up because every day I have somebody call and they say, "I’ve just caught your program for the first time." Well, you see if I move on not using the timeline then somebody that catches this the next time won’t have the foggiest notion of what I’m talking about. And so, I think that I’m probably recognized in my program material for the timeline, so we’re going to stay with it. Now, after Abraham’s call to come out from among the pagan city of Ur, and he gets the promises that brought about the Nation of Israel, or the people that are known as the Jews - and for the most part, for those 2,000 years from Abram until Christ’s first coming, it was Jew only.

Now granted, there’s always the exceptions, but everything written in the Old Testament concerning prophecy was concerning the Nation of Israel. And as we’ve been seeing now in the last two programs, they were to be a nation of priests. And they were to be a light to the Gentiles. And that one day their Messiah would come and He would be their King, but the Scriptures also foretold His death, burial and resurrection. And that He would ascend back to the Father’s right hand, that’s Psalms 110 verse 1. And then, after an undetermined period of time then would come what Psalms 2 says is the wrath and vexation, describing the seven-year Tribulation period. Now maybe Psalms 2 is a good place to start. Be turning to that as I finish my timeline. Daniel chapter 9 gives us the time frame of this seven years of Tribulation that is yet to come. And then after the wrath and vexation, Christ was to return and set up the Kingdom.

Now I haven’t done that before this afternoon, and maybe I’m remiss - I should have. If you were to take Romans through Philemon out of your New Testament, which are the letters of Paul, and all the Church doctrine, this is what you would have left. If it weren’t for Paul this Old Testament program is the only thing I could teach. These remaining letters are the Old Testament program. Most of you know that. And out of the Old Testament prophecies, we have the Four Gospels, we have Peter and the Eleven preaching in the early chapters of Acts, and they are pleading with Israel because of the wrath to come. And out of that wrath to come would be the return of Christ to set up His Kingdom - which as I pointed out in the last program, when you take these ten or twenty years (between the ascension and His Second Coming), that’s the last days of Scripture. But the writers didn’t know there would be this 2000 years of what we call the Church Age, sandwiched in between. Alright, now you have Psalms chapter 2, right?

"Why do the heathen (the non-Jew people, the Gentiles) rage, and why do the people (Israel) imagine vain things? 2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers (that is of Israel, the religious rulers) take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed,…" In other words Jew and Gentile connived together to reject the Messiah, the Christ. Now verse 3.

"Let us break their bands asunder, (that is God’s rule and control) and cast away their cords from us." You see the pronoun there, I always point out, always refers to the Triune God. Now look at verse 4.

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision." Mans foolishness in rejecting the Anointed One causes the Lord to have a laugh of derision. Now verse 5:

"Then (time word. After they’ve rejected and crucified the Messiah, and the Lord literally laughs at the foolishness of men not wanting Him as their King - then the next event on God’s prophetic calendar is) shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure."

Now I want to take this slow because I’ve read several commentaries in the last year or two where they say everything about Psalms 2 except this. I haven’t read one that shows that this is a prophetic outline of history, but it is. The Messiah would come and He’d be rejected by Jew and Gentile together. And shortly after His rejection would come the wrath and vexation, or what Daniel calls the seventieth week, or what we now call the Tribulation. Then the next verse in Psalms 2 is verse 6:

"Yet (in spite of everything that’s happened, God’s program moves on and what’s the next event?) have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."

So according to Psalms 2 and according to all the prophecies of the Old Testament, what is to follow the seven years of wrath and vexation? The King! "Yet have I set my king on the holy hill of Zion." And so, according to all the Old Testament prophecies, after Israel has had the Messiah, His three years of earthly ministry, His preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom, then was to come the Tribulation, and then the Second Coming and then the Kingdom.

Now with Paul’s letters out of the picture, this would be so easy to understand - that all of it would just come right down the pike. And like I said in the other program, this three years plus probably six or seven, for a total of ten; another seven in here, so somewhere around fifteen or twenty years from His earthly ministry until His return to set up the Kingdom, would just be a few years. So these years right here were the last days. I don’t think you have any trouble seeing that.

Now then, if that is the case, then let’s move on out of Matthew where we have the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom; no let’s stop in chapter 16 briefly because the good news of the Kingdom was actually completely centered on one great fact that they had to believe. And that was, Who is Jesus of Nazareth? Who is He? Well you see, the whole purpose of those three years of ministry and miracle after miracle after miracle was to prove to the Nation of Israel that He was that Messiah. That was the purpose – to validate Who He was.

Now then, Peter and the other Eleven recognized that. You pick that up in Matthew 16. This is Peter’s profession of faith or the fact that he was believing the Gospel of the Kingdom, that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the King of Israel. It’s been a long time since we’ve reviewed some of this so I guess it’s about time, because we’ve got a host of new listeners who have probably missed all of this in the past.

"When Jesus came into the coasts (borders) of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, (The Twelve) saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" In other words, fellas, who do the rank and file of Israel really think I am? Now look at their answer after three years, this is at the end of His ministry. From here they go up to Jerusalem and the crucifixion.

"And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; (Elijah) and others, Jeremias, (Jeremiah,) or one of the prophets." Isn’t that something? Israel’s unbelief that after three years of miracle after miracle after miracle. Now you’ve got to remember we’ve only got just a little tip of the iceberg recorded in Scripture. Just a tip of the iceberg, because what’s the last verse of the Gospel of John say? "And many other works did He do which if it were written, the world couldn’t hold the books." Well I’m sure that’s a play on words, but nevertheless the whole impression is that His miracle working was far beyond what’s recorded in the Four Gospels and yet they could not believe Who He was, except a few.

"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?" Are you going to tell me you think I’m John the Baptist? Are you going to tell me I’m Jeremiah? Who am I? Now here comes Peter’s profession of faith. This is the basis of Peter’s salvation, or all the other Jews that believe in His Messiahship, or His name, or believe the Gospel of the Kingdom - this was the root of it.

"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, (the Messiah, the Anointed One) the Son of the living God." Period! Now let me read it the way most people think it should be read: "Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God Who died for me, Who arose from the dead and I have repented and have been baptized." No, it doesn’t say that. All Peter believed was that Jesus was the Christ. There is not a word about believing in His death, burial, and resurrection as required in Paul’s Gospel for the Church Age. And it wasn’t required of him. All they were to believe was, Who am I? And when Peter said, "You’re the Christ," Jesus was satisfied. In fact, He commends him in the next verse and He says:

Alright now let’s slip into Acts chapter 2, the Day of Pentecost. God the Son has gone back to Heaven. God the Spirit has come down and has manifested himself, but now look what Peter says in verse 22. Now this is just again the skimming, I’m not hitting half of the details, but here we are on the Day of Pentecost. The Jews gathered from every nation under heaven for these feast days. The Temple is still operating, remember and Peter says:

"Ye men of Israel, (how many Gentiles are in there? Not a one! How some can think this is Church language is beyond me.) hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, (for three years) which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23. Him, (speaking of the Messiah) being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God,…," God wasn’t taken by surprise when they rejected Him. This was all in the blueprint before even the creation.

"…ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (or killed) 24. Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." (or held by it)

Any reference to Israel’s salvation yet? NO! It’s not tied to His death, burial and resurrection. So now Peter was going to go back into the Psalms, back into prophecy to show that all the way back here, from David especially, one thousand years BC, David prophesied without understanding of course, what he was writing - but David prophesied that the Messiah would be put to death, He would be buried, death couldn’t hold Him, He’d be raised from the dead. And in Psalms 110:1 shows so graphically that He would ascend back to the Father’s right hand. You all know Psalms 110:1 "The Lord said unto my Lord, come sit at my right hand until (time word) I make your enemies your footstool." Well when will that be? The end of the Tribulation when God will have destroyed the enemy and then He will set up His kingdom.

Alright, so Peter now is showing from the Psalms that everything that has just happened in these last few weeks was fulfillment of prophecy. Not a word about being a salvation for the Nation of Israel. Now you come on down to verse 32:

"This Jesus (who has been crucified, buried and resurrected and ascended back to glory) hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses."

Now goodness sakes, just be logical. Jesus and the Twelve, on top of everything that the prophets had been writing, is talking about a Kingship and a Kingdom - and now all of a sudden the nation has recognized that He’s been put to death; in order for that King and that Kingdom to still be fulfilled, logic tells us, what had to happen to the One they killed? Well, He had to be brought back to life; how else could He fulfill the prophecies? And this is what Peter is proving. Yes, you killed Him but God raised Him from the dead, the Kingdom is still valid. It’s still a valid promise. Alright now with that thought in mind, read on.

"Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, (I just quoted Psalms 110:1) and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." The evidence of the Holy Spirit coming down. Verse 34:

"For David is not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my LORD, (now he’s quoting Psalms 110 verse 1) Sit thou on my right hand, 35. Until…" Now every Jew knew that word "until" was a time word. That after He had sat at the Father’s right hand for a given period of time, He would yet be returning to set up the Kingdom. But according to the Old Testament timeline, how long would it be? Just a few years. Just a few years and He’d be coming right back and establishing the Kingdom. Now remember, I’m taking Paul writings to the Church out of the picture for all this. Now read on:

"Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36. Therefore…" Now whenever you see a "therefore" what do you do? You realize what it’s there for. Because of everything He has just said. That yes, you killed the Messiah, but God raised Him from the dead. He’s up there at the Father’s right hand waiting for the day when He will defeat His enemies and He will return, and you’re yet going to have the Kingdom. That’s Peter’s message. But in order for Israel to enjoy the Messiah and His Kingdom, what did they have to do with the spiritual side? Verse 38:

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent,…" Well now, of what? Having killed and rejected the Messiah. That’s obvious. It was a horrible national sin for Israel to have rejected their promised Messiah. So what did they have to do? They had to repent of it and that’s the message. Repent is the message!

"Then Peter said unto them, (Israel) Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,…" Well, this was a national thing concerning Israel, that they were to repent of having crucified the Messiah Who was now alive and well at the Father’s right hand waiting for the day when He could yet return and give the Nation of Israel her King.

Alright so the admonition for the Jew of Peter’s Pentecostal audience was repent and be baptized. Now wait a minute. Who was the first one that preached that to Israel? John the Baptist! Same thing. The only thing then that they had to repent of was their national sins, of the typical sins of the flesh, adultery, greed, and the various other sins that the Law forbade and of which Israel was guilty. They were to repent of all that and get right spiritually, so that they could have the King and the Kingdom. But they also had to bring about the fulfillment of the prophecies, so they rejected Him, Christ was crucified. But now God still comes back and He’s offering the nation a second opportunity of repentance. "Repent," Peter says.

Now of course, the major sin is having crucified their Messiah. So he says "Repent" and just like John the Baptist, show that repentance with water baptism - no doubt about it, this is water baptism. "And then they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." And, of course, we know that many of them did. Also remember this is still all Israel, so you can never confuse this with the Body of Church that the Apostle Paul shares with us in the Gentile Age of Grace.

Alright, now then, slip over into chapter 3 and if you think I’m pulling your leg when I say that Israel was still being promised the prospect of Christ immediately coming back after the Tribulation had run it’s course (which would be a matter of seven years), and set up His kingdom, then you can’t read Acts chapter 3, because it’s plain as day. Okay, chapter 3 verse 12. They have just healed the lame man much like they did in Christ’s earthly ministry. Nothing has changed, or nothing all that much has changed. And they’re still performing these kinds of miracles and the Jewish leaders are still confounded.

"And when Peter saw it, (the healing of the lame man’s wandering) he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, (how many Gentiles? Not a one!) why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we made this man to walk? 13. The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, (see how Jewish this is? There are no Gentiles in here) hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. 14. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, (One) and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;" Now verse 15.

Now look at the last half of verse 15. Even though Israel killed Him, what did God do? He raised Him up again. Israel isn’t going to stop God’s program.

"…whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses." Any hint of salvation based on His death, burial, and resurrection? Not a word. There’s no salvation attached to that death, burial and resurrection. It’s just a fact for Israel to understand that even though they killed the King, God raised Him from the dead and He is still able to be their King. Now, I’ve got to move on quickly to verses 19 and 20.

"Repent ye therefore, (again of having killed their Messiah) and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing (what would that be? The Kingdom!) shall come from the presence of the Lord; 20. And he shall send Jesus Christ,…"

For what purpose? To be the King. See how simple all that is? Israel is told to repent and God will yet send His Son to be their King.

I received a letter that I would like to have read on the program, but Iris and Laura thought people would think I was bragging and I don’t want to read them with that idea at all. But the lady was 94 years old, and had been in church all her life and just through our program she suddenly realized she had never experienced salvation. She had never understood the Scriptures. She had never believed Paul’s Gospel for her salvation. Oh, she had read her Bible through from Genesis to Revelation, but that’s just so typical.

I wanted to read it to let people know that if they’re experiencing this, they’re not alone. We’ve got people from all walks of life, from all different backgrounds, that are suddenly seeing the Scriptures, not for what I say, but for what the Scriptures say. In fact, I had one gentleman call from Florida just yesterday and he said, "Les, you know what brought me out of darkness into the light? It wasn’t what you said, it was the Scripture that you had on the screen." And I don’t forget that. It’s the Word of God that is powerful. It isn’t what I say or anything like that. And hopefully all I can do is point out what the Scriptures say.

We’re in our fourth program this afternoon, and I’m still trying to introduce the setting for these little epistles here at the end of our New Testament that are addressed to Jews who were believers only in Jesus as the Messiah - which was appropriate at the time they became believers, and it was preparing these Jewish believers for pressures that were to come. Now I trust you’ve opened up to James 1:1, even though we’re not going to stay here long, but let’s just go look at it a minute again for the sake of our television viewers:

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." Notice James is writing to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. In other words, they’re not in Jerusalem anymore, they’ve been scattered out. And as I pointed out in an earlier program, it was because of Saul’s persecution that we see in Acts chapter 8. And we’ll be seeing that soon. But then the purpose for his writing this letter is more or less headlined in verse 2:

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;" Now the word ‘temptations’ is unfortunate. I trust that maybe the newer translations… does anybody have ‘testing’ in your Bible? Okay, that’s what it really should be. It wasn’t temptation to sin, but it was the testing of persecution.

Now again, like I told you in one of the earlier programs, some people will think these letters are written to Jews contemporary with the writers, early Jewish believers, recently scattered out of Jerusalem, which is certainly apropos. But many think that these letters are written to Jews who would be believers during the seven years of Tribulation. Well, I say it’s both. Because you see, these Jews scattered throughout the Roman Empire and were certainly under horrible persecution from their own people as well as from the pagan world. But it’s also going to be a time of testing for Jewish believers who find themselves in the Tribulation.

So remember, these little Jewish epistles at the back are written primarily to encourage Jewish believers under the pressures of persecution and hatred. And when you look at the two possibilities (and that’s why I’ve been putting all of this on the timeline), all of the Old Testament prophecies come right down the pike, one right after the other, with no hint of a 2,000 year interruption of a Church Age.

Consequently, every portion of Scripture, except Romans through Philemon, which are directed to the Body of Christ will be directed to this timeline, and hopefully you’ll all remember that, after the call of Abraham, 2000 BC, we have 2,000 years between Abraham and Christ’s first coming of the Old Testament, which is all Jew only with some exceptions, of course. Nineveh, and Rahab and so forth were some of the exceptions, but all of these prophecies were preparing the Nation of Israel for the coming of their Messiah.

Alright, so Christ comes and presents Himself to the Nation of Israel and His three years of earthly ministry and, in spite of all the miracles and wonders and signs, they crucified Him anyway. But God raised Him from the dead, called Him back to the Father’s right hand (Psalms 110, verse 1). And then as we saw in the last program, according to Psalms 2, shortly after His ascension there would come the seven years of wrath, or as we call it, the Tribulation. Then Christ would return to the Mt. of Olives and set up His Kingdom (promised to Israel), and then Israel could be priests of Jehovah and they, in turn, could reach out to the Gentile world. Now that’s the whole Old Testament program in a nutshell.

Come back now to Acts chapter 3 and I think that’s where we left off, where Peter now is appealing to the Jews of his day, shortly after Pentecost, remember, to repent of having rejected and killed their Messiah. Peter says that He was now alive and He had gone back to the Father, but that He was ready to return and yet bring Israel the Kingdom - but there was one other item that we didn’t have time to cover. So to get us into the flow, let’s repeat where I left off with verses 19 and 20. Remember Peter is addressing the Nation of Israel. There is not a Gentile in the bunch.

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;" Notice that’s not a period, that’s a semi-colon. The thought goes right on in to verse 20. The times of refreshing would come when...

"And he shall send Jesus Christ,…" God would send Jesus Christ. Now, where is He? He’s at the Father’s right hand. Where would God send Him? Back to Jerusalem to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies.

"And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:" But now, Peter says it can’t happen tomorrow, because first...

"Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things,…" Jesus couldn’t just return to the world as it was. He couldn’t return to that sinners’ planet covered with all the wickedness of mankind and set up His Kingdom. So what does He have to do? He has to regenerate it first. He has to cleanse the planet in order for the Kingdom to be set up. And now, that’s why the wrath and vexation is that period of seven years in which God will deal wrath and judgment on mankind, but also to cleanse the planet of all of the stuff that man has brought into the picture and make it ready for His Kingdom.

Now, you’ve heard me allude to this on the program many, many times. By the time we get this glorious heaven on earth scenario, what has to happen to all the garbage that’s on the planet now? It has to go! I don’t know how God’s going to do it, but it’s going to go. And I use this illustration over and over. In all of our travels lately, there is construction, construction, construction. Men are as busy as a colony of ants. And every time I go by one of these sites, I can’t help but think of my going over a hill of ants with my hay machine and just smashing that ant hill to smithereens. Well, that’s what God’s going to do with all of man’s activity. Oh, they’re building and building, and they have to, but it’s just an act of futility because the day is coming when God is going to cleanse the planet of all this stuff.

If you think I’m stretching the envelope, stop and think. Can God have all these nightclubs and these discos and these gambling casinos in His Kingdom? NO WAY! Can He have all the houses of prostitution and the bars and you name it in His Kingdom? NO WAY! Is He going to have all these multitudes now of ungodly, wicked people in His Kingdom? NO WAY! So what does He have to do? They’re going to have to go. It’s going to have to go. There’s going to be peace in the Middle East some day - absolutely there’s going to be peace when He returns. And there will be no argument because He’s going to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But all the rest of that stuff is going to go.

If you think I’m stretching the point (since I’m on that very concept), come back with me to Jeremiah 25 once again. We’ve done it in our Oklahoma classes until I think they see it in their sleep. And well they might. But Jeremiah 25 verse 30, and this is exactly what Peter is talking about in Acts 3. Now as you’re looking it up, let me read the verse in Acts 3 again in your hearing: "Whom heaven must receive as He is ascended and sat down at the Father’s right hand. Whom heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things." Now what does restitution speak of? The same thing as regeneration. And when you regenerate something, what do you do? You make it like it was in the beginning. When you reconstitute something, what do you do? You make it like it was in the beginning. When you restore something. Now my oldest son and his son are getting interested in restoring old cars and stuff like that. They’re not actually doing it but they like to read about it. I like to read about restored tractors and stuff like that. Oh it’s interesting. And what do they do? They take an old piece of junk that they find out someplace and they take it in to their shop and they restore it until it’s just like when it was brand new. Now, that’s restoration.

Alright, that’s what Peter is talking about in restitution. It’s going to be made like it was in the beginning. Regeneration, like it was in the beginning. Now how is He going to make it like it was in the beginning unless He cleanses the planet of everything that is here. And here in Jeremiah 25, is what He is talking about. It’s going to happen! Start at verse 30:

"Therefore prophesy thou (this is telling Israel what’s coming in their future) against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, (what’s that a reference to? His Second Coming, like we saw a few programs back. He’s going stand on the Mt. of Olives) and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; (that is this old planet) he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth." That’s not my idea; I’m not interpreting. That’s what the Book says. He’s going to crush the inhabitants of the earth like those who tread the grapes in the grape vat. Reading on in verse 31.

"…and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth 33. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day (His Second Coming, the end of the seven years) from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, (there will be no funerals) neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground."

And that’s why the birds of prey will be called in to clean up the flesh. That’s what’s coming and the world goes on their merry way as if they’re going to rejuvenate it and make it themselves. No they’re not. They’ll just keep making a bigger and bigger mess every day. The politicians can try all they want - I’ve always said it on this program and I’ll say it again; the Democrats aren’t going to make it right, the Republicans aren’t going to make it right, nor will anybody else until Christ returns.

Alright, back to Acts chapter 3. So Peter, here, just shortly after the day of Pentecost (we’re probably back in 30 AD now), is still preaching repentance and water baptism. Peter wants the Nation of Israel to repent of their sins. Alright, read verse 21, again now, in light of what we’ve just read:

"Whom the heaven must receive (or hold) until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." That’s why I took you back to Jeremiah. Alright now let’s go down to verse 24:

"Yea, (Peter says,) all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold (prophesied) of these days." Peter isn’t talking about 2000 AD. Peter is speaking in about 30 AD and he’s expecting all this to come within the next few years. So that, within a matter of 10 or 20 years, Christ would be ready to return and set up the Kingdom. That’s all Peter knows. He knows nothing of 2,000 years of what we call the Age of Grace. Now let’s read on in verse 25, and this isn’t Church language...

"Ye are the children of the prophets…" Well, I’ve always made the point, to whom was all prophecy directed? Israel - not the Gentile world, but Israel. Now as prophecy is fulfilled on Israel the whole Gentile world will get involved, of course.

"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed." What’s he talking about? When He would return and set up this glorious Kingdom promised to Israel in which there will be Gentiles. They are going to survive the Tribulation, and they’re going to be in the Kingdom, as believers.

So now the setting, then, is getting closer and closer for the coming of the Messiah after the horrors of the seven years of Tribulation, but years are going by, and Peter and the Eleven, as well as the other six that were appointed, are pleading with the nation to yet repent and believe that this Jesus Whom they crucified was the Christ. And years have been going by and they had been preaching their hearts out to these unbelieving Jews.

Now you come all the way to Acts chapter 7, and now we have one of the six that were chosen to wait on tables back in Acts chapter 6. Alright, but now Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit is going to make one last appeal to the Nation of Israel. God is using this man, who was not one of the Twelve, but one of the six to make a last appeal to the Nation of Israel. And we don’t have time to take it verse by verse, but we’ll just hit the highlights. So let’s begin in Acts chapter 6, verse 15.

"And all that sat in the council, (what council? The religious leaders of Israel. All the religious leaders of Israel are now sitting here in judgment of this man, Stephen) looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel."

"Then said the high priest, Are these things so?" (in other words what they were accusing him of) 2. And he said, Men, brethren and fathers,…."

How many Gentiles would a Jew call his father? Not a one. And so Stephen is addressing Jews. And he goes all the way, as Paul does himself, back in chapter 22, back to Abraham, and again, reviews the history of Israel and how God, step by step, was bringing them to the place where He could present their Messiah and their King. Now let’s go all the way up to the end of his message - let’s go to chapter 7 and begin with verse 51, Stephen is now ending up and remember he’s addressing the elite of Israel. And He says:

"Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: (or Spirit) as your fathers did, (back in history) so do ye. 52. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:" 53. Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. 54. When they (this elite again of Israel) heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing (not seated) on the right hand of God,"

And, wow! That threw fear into those Jewish leaders because what verse did they know better than their name and address? Psalms 110:1, "Come and sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." And they understood that when God would subject His enemies to the rule and reign of the Son of God, then He would be able to set up His Kingdom. And they saw it. He’s not seated, He’s standing. What does that mean? He’s ready to come back; He’s ready to pour out His wrath and judgment - and in their fear, I think, and in their nonsensical reaction to that, what did they do? The next verse:

"Then they cried with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, (now that was conviction supreme) 58. And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. 59. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep."

Now verse 1 of chapter 8, and here we have a complete change in the personalities of the Book of Acts. Saul of Tarsus:

"And Saul was consenting unto his death,…"

Now looking again at the timeline as far as we’ve come, all the way up through Christ’s earthly ministry - we saw He was rejected, but God rose Him from the dead; and called Him back to the right hand of the Father, waiting for the day when He could return and yet set up His kingdom.

So in this period of time, between His ascension and the stoning of Stephen is about 7 or 8 years in here - and during this period, Peter and the Eleven plus the six, like Stephen, are pleading for the Nation of Israel to yet accept the fact that the One they crucified was their Messiah, because they could see all the ramifications of the wrath and vexation coming and they were to be ready for the coming of the King and His Kingdom. And so everything that they preach is on this basis, but as we get to where we are right now, in this Age of Grace, all of a sudden God moves in with a whole new character, Saul, who will become Paul and He’s going to send him where? To the Gentiles.

Alright, I haven’t got time, we’ll have to do it in our next program, but when we come back next month, we’re going to draw the second timeline that shows how this prophetic line is now going to be totally stopped right here after the ascension, with the Tribulation and the Kingdom Age all pushed out into the future and we’re going to come into a parenthetical period of time of 2,000 years where God is going to be dealing with the Gentiles in the Body of Christ instead of Israel.

Now in our last taping session, I really didn’t intend to take all four lessons just as an introduction to the book of James. And that introduction isn’t just to the Book of James but all of those Jewish epistles that follow the Book of Hebrews - James, Peter and I & II & III John are all basically written to the Jew and that’s why we call them the Jewish epistles, as well as Jude and Revelation.

I told Laura and Iris this morning, I will probably almost drop a bomb in people’s laps today because I’m going to make a statement that I haven’t made before on television. It’s always been in the back of my mind - in fact, if you’ve seen my series on Revelation, you’ll remember that I did not touch on those seven letters to the seven Churches because I was never convinced that that was Church language. There’s not a word of Church language in them and, consequently, I was also never convinced that the Book of Revelation was not written until 95 AD.

Well, I can no longer agree on the date given for Revelation, and you’ll see why in a little bit. We’re going to come back and take a little better look as our introduction continues on. I’m not going to change anything from what we said before but, you remember, the last four programs we had our Old Testament program, and the prophetic timeline coming out of all the Old Testament prophets on the chalk board. And then we have Christ’s earthly ministry, the three years in here before the cross, where we have specified over the years that Christ ministered only to the Nation of Israel with a couple of exceptions, because of the Covenant promises that were given only to Israel. (Romans 15:8)

Then we are introduced to the rejection of His Messiahship. He’s crucified. He goes back to Glory according to Psalms 110 verse 1 to sit at the Father’s right hand "until" His enemies are His footstool, which would be at the end of the seven years of Tribulation.

So here on the chalkboard, if you leave Paul and his message out of the picture (and by doing that you would leave everything from Romans through Hebrews out of the Biblical picture), this is your timeline we have on the board. Looking at it that way, you’re coming through the crucifixion, the ascension, and then the ministry of Peter and the Eleven - and then they were looking for the Tribulation and the Second Coming, and then the Kingdom, in that order. And remember, that’s the way it’s prophesied in Psalms chapter 2, as there is not a mention of this past 2,000 years of the Age of Grace.

And even the Apostle Paul, who begins his ministry back there at about 40 AD, still was looking for even the out-calling of the Church in his lifetime. He had no comprehension until we get to II Timothy that he was going to lose his life by martyrdom and evidently time would go on. All right, so according to most of the chronologers, and I’m taking a little liberty, I’ll admit that, because not every chronologer is year to year in agreement. There’s usually four, five, six years, sometimes more than that, in their differences. And so I’m just taking a more or less average of the chronology. What we find, then, is that the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the Book of Acts, as well as these little Jewish Epistles of James, I Peter (not II Peter because that was written several years later) and all of these Jewish writings coming on through I & II & III John and Jude, as well as the book of Revelation, were all written in this time frame between 40 and 58 AD, and I’ll show you why in a moment.

By the time that has been pretty much accomplished, then, we have the Apostle Paul and his epistles starting with Thessalonians, the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Roman letter and Hebrews and I Timothy and Titus. And he more or less wrote those in the same period as a lot of those we just mentioned including the Four Gospels and so forth. Paul probably started his earliest letters of Thessalonians probably from about 58 AD, and then he winds up his letters with his prison epistles beginning with Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon (that’s 64 to 68 AD), and then I think at 68 AD we have II Peter and II Timothy. So, here’s where I’m probably going to shock a few people, I think II Timothy is the end of the New Testament writings. That would be the last book written. Now I have to prove that from Scripture don’t I?

Come back with me first and foremost to the Book of Romans. Romans chapter 15 because, even though I may take a little liberty with chronology, I will not take liberty with The Word because that has to be left as it is. In Romans 15 verse 4 is an amazing statement. And I remember when I taught Romans several years ago, I used this verse to indicate that everything that had been written in Old Testament time is what he’s referring to. But now, after these last several years of deliberation and a lot of lost sleep, believe me, I’ve come to a conclusion.

I can show this kind of a time-frame for the Jewish writings, the Four Gospels, and of course Acts is Luke’s account of the activity in that period of time between the ascension and the close of the Scriptural writings. Then you come down to James and I Peter and (I, II, III John) Jude through Revelation, then that completes all of the non-Pauline writings. Now then, look what Paul can say. Since everything else in the New Testament has already been written, now look what the Scripture says:

"For whatsoever things were written aforetime (in other words, before he came into the picture) were written for our (what?) learning,…" And isn’t that exactly what they all are? We never tell people, "They’re inappropriate, don’t read the Old Testament, don’t read the Four Gospels." we never say that. But, all we do say is that you won’t find Church doctrine in the Old Testament. You won’t find Church salvation in the Old Testament nor in the Four Gospels. Those are only found in Paul’s writings. So this verse is so appropriate - that everything written before Paul begins his writings was written for our learning. It’s background, but you can’t go in there and find salvation, and you can’t find the order of church behavior. That all has to come from Paul.

All right, then, I found another verse just several weeks ago that really put the frosting on the cake and I, just about in exultation, said, "Lord thank you!" because this is what I needed. Turn with me to Colossians chapter 1 and this is going to blow you away, I know it is. But you can’t refute it because it’s what the Book says. And let’s just drop down to verse 25. And I invite you folks with your electronic concordances and so forth and Greek, you just check me out. And here Paul writes:

"Whereof I am made a minister, (that is for the Body’s sake up in verse 24) according to the dispensation of God to which is given to me for you to fulfill the Word of God:" If you happen to have a different translation or if you have a margin, what is a better translation of the word ‘fulfill?’ Who’s got it? Complete! What does complete mean? Just exactly what it says! Now read it in that light.

"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you, to fulfil the Word of God;"

One of my Greek definitions went even another step further, ‘to put an end to.’ That says it all. Now you have to stop and analyze a minute then. What did Paul write last of all? II Timothy. Now I hope I’ve got time to do all this because, like I said, I’ve lost a lot of sleep on this particular concept and I want to make sure that I get it across so that people can see where I’m coming from.

All of Scripture, as I’ve pointed out in the last four programs, understood only this one timeline. They had no concept of this 1,000 year Kingdom being pushed out into the future for 2,000 years. Everything was looking forward to the coming of this horrible wrath and vexation, followed by the return of Christ at His Second Coming, and then the Kingdom Age. Now let’s just chase a few of these down. If I don’t finish it in this half-hour, we’ll just pick it up in the next one. Let’s go all the way back to Matthew. We can just start in Matthew 24, and these all are Scriptures that are so obvious, that everything was looking forward to the end of everything, and the coming in of the Kingdom.

Here in Matthew, let’s just look at the last three verses of 23. Now we always have to realize, and never forget, that Jesus of Nazareth WAS God. He never stopped being the Deity. So He knew a lot – in fact He knew it all – but He knew a lot of things that He never revealed. He kept it secret, which was His prerogative. And so you have to understand that, even though He could have given the whole scenario (that this is what’s going to happen and that’s going to happen), he didn’t because of the things that are kept secret. All right, so here in verse 37 we get an inkling that He now sees that Israel is not going to accept the King and the Kingdom, so He says:

"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, (way back in the Old Testament) and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 38. Behold, your house is left unto you (what?) desolate." That doesn’t sound like a Kingdom, does it? Now verse 39.

"For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till (there is a time coming) ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." According to all of prophecy, when will that happen? Well when the Kingdom begins when Christ returns. See? And so Jesus is indicating now that all of these things that have been prophesied are not going to bring in the Kingdom at that time.

I was so thrilled (I think it was in the article Charles gave me), where the gentleman that wrote the article explained all this just exactly like I do, with not one difference of opinion. In fact, Charles said, "You know, I’d have sworn he copied what you wrote." No. That wasn’t the case. We’re just simply both reading the same Book. But, anyhow he made it so plain as well, that when Jesus began His earthly ministry (these three years), and as He was proclaiming that He was the fulfillment of all those Old Testament promises, Israel could have had the King and the Kingdom.

That was their prerogative. They could have had the Kingdom at that time. And how many times have you heard me say, "It was a valid offer." He wasn’t lying. They could have had the King and the Kingdom but they rejected it, which of course God knew they would in foreknowledge. All right, so these Scriptures we just read are where Jesus now is giving us a little indication that He knows what they’re going to do. They are not going to succumb to His offer of the Kingdom, but they’re going to reject Him until the place that they become ‘desolate.’

Now let’s move on into chapter 24, and drop down to verse 3. Here Jesus is sitting on the Mount of Olives speaking to His disciples.

"And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples (that is the Twelve) came unto him privately, (in other words, there was no press of crowds or anything like that. It was just Jesus and the Twelve in a private meeting.) saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (Ages) 4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." So now He starts laying out in perfect accord with Revelation chapter 6 all the events of these seven years. Step by step how that these things would unfold. And when you get to verse 15 He says:

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet,…" Which is the mid-point of the Tribulation. See, He’s got it all right in a row. All right, so he’s speaking of these days of wrath and vexation shortly following everything that is going to happen with association with His crucifixion and His ascension. All right, now then let’s move on over to Luke chapter 21, because I was just wanting you to see how that all of these, what I call these Jewish Scriptures, are all speaking in full accord with the Old Testament prophecies. And let’s just drop in at verse 20. Now I hope those of you on television will bear with me. I’m not going to be in a great big sweat to hurry up and get through the little letter of James - in fact, like Laura knows only too well, I haven’t looked forward to it with a lot of expectation because James isn’t like Genesis and James isn’t like Revelation; it’s just more or less like Proverbs. James just speaks of practical behavior. So, I’m in no great big hurry to get into the Book of James, but on the other hand I felt this was so imperative that our people understand why these things were written the way they were written. It’s because it’s in the fulfillment of the Old Testament. And it has nothing to do with this period of time that you and I are from – the Church Age. That’s going to be totally set apart and insulated. Here in Luke Jesus is again speaking in His earthly ministry. And He says:

"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof (that is, of Jerusalem) is nigh. 21. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. (why?) 22. For these be the days of (what?) vengeance,…" Vengeance. Now, stop and think. How does Psalms chapter 2 put it? "Vexation and wrath." All the same period of time. So now He says these are going to be days of vengeance.

"…that all things, which are written may be fulfilled. 23. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 24. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." And that, of course, will bring in the time of Kingdom, the rule and the reign. All right, now John, in the Gospel of John, speaks almost nothing of those kinds of prophecies so we’re going to go right through John and come on over into Acts. Acts chapter 2 and this is all I want you to see is how all of these letters and writings concerning the Nation of Israel are looking only at the next great event in history, which would be the Tribulation and the return of Christ at His Second Coming. All right, so in chapter 2, and Peter has now stood up on the Day of Pentecost and he tells this crowd who are aghast at the miracles that are taking place...

"For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; (Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled.) 17. And it shall come to pass in the last days,…" In our last session I explained what the ‘last days’ of Scripture were? The last days of Scripture included that period of time from the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry until His Second Coming. That was the ‘last days,’ which was to include not only the crucifixion and the resurrection and ascension, but the coming in of the horrors of the Tribulation and the Second Coming. That was the last days. And over and over Scripture refers to these as the last days. Even Paul will refer to it as the last days.