The Doctrine of Intercalation
These studies are designed for believers in Jesus Christ only. If you have exercised faith
in Christ, then you are in the right place. If you have not, then you need to heed the words
of our Lord, Who said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten [or,
uniquely-born] Son, so that every [one] believing [or, trusting] in Him shall not perish, but
shall be have eternal life! For God did not send His Son into the world so that He should
judge the world, but so that the world shall be saved through Him. The one believing [or,
trusting] in Him is not judged, but the one not believing has already been judged, because
he has not believed in the Name of the only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son of God.”
(John 3:16–18). “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life! No one comes to the Father
except through [or, by means of] Me!” (John 14:6).
Every study of the Word of God ought to be preceded by a naming of your sins to God.
This restores you to fellowship with God (1John 1:8–10). If there are people around, you
would name these sins silently. If there is no one around, then it does not matter if you
name them silently or whether you speak aloud.
Preface: This is a brief examination of the Doctrine of Intercalation. I have alluded to it
several times in the past, as have other doctrinal sites. However, in doing a search on the
internet to find this doctrine posted somewhere, I came up with nothing, apart from the
definition. Therefore, it seemed only reasonable to put at least the basic doctrine online.
However, I should point out that I did this quickly, and this is not as complete as it could be.
1. Intercalation essentially means insertion.
2. Theologically, the term intercalation is used in this way: the Church Age is inserted
into (or, intercalated in) the Age of Israel. That is, the Age of Israel draws almost
to a close, and then apart from any specific prophecy in the Old Testament, there
is a period of time where God runs His household with a slightly different system or
using a slightly different set of rules. This is properly the definition of dispensation,
which means the administration of a household.
1) Our basic dispensations are the Age of Innocence, the Age of the Gentiles,
the Age of Israel, the Age of the Hypostatic Union, the Church Age, and the
Millennium. Some of these dispensations are further and reasonably
subdivided.
2) The entire Old Testament was written before and during the Age of Israel.
The Old Testament contained a lot of information about what was to come
(prophecies) and it included a complete Christology and Soteriology in
shadow form (i.e., a shadow representation of Who and What Jesus is and
how He would save us).
3) God revealed enough information in the Old Testament about our Lord so
that, when He arrived on the scene, one could go to the Old Testament
prophecies and identify Him. Furthermore, after His death on the cross, His
purpose for coming here was also made clear.
4) However, prior to this time, although God certainly saved individuals who
trusted in Jehovah Elohim, the exact nature of Jesus and what He would do
were somewhat obscured. Now, in my opinion, and I think I am accurate
here, God reveal so much information about Messiah to come that we can
look at the gospels and line these up with Psalm 22 or Isa. 53 or Gen. 22
and see a perfect match between type and antitype. However, Satan, genius
that he is, was not able to discern all that would occur when Jesus came.
Specifically, I do not believe that Satan was smart enough to figure out that
Jesus would go to the cross and die for our sins (even though Satan is the
greatest genius of all creatures). For this reason, Satan played a part in
bringing Jesus to the cross. He did it out of hatred—which possibly blinded
him to the truth—and God made this work out for good.
5) What was more or less expected is, Jesus would, after the cross, be King
over all. However, what He did instead was, go up into heaven, send back
the Holy Spirit, and begin a new period of time in human history, known as
the Church Age.
6) This is called by man the great parenthesis. Within the Age of Israel, the
Church Age is parenthetically placed. We have no idea as to the length of
time that the Church Age will run.
7) To be more precise, the great parenthesis is found between the 1st and 2nd
advents of Jesus Christ.
3. The Doctrine of Dispensations is found here: (HTML) (PDF). A short version of
this doctrine put together by someone else can be found here.
4. The Church Age is the intensified period of the Angelic Conflict.
5. The Church Age is intercalated into the Age of Israel. Prior to the Church Age is the
1st advent of our Lord; and after the Church Age is the 2nd advent of our Lord.
Except for some teaching which Jesus did with His disciples, there is no set of
prophecies which tell us that the Church Age is coming.
1) In the 1st advent, Jesus was born of a virgin and lived as the God-man, and
then died for our sins. God the Father raised Him from the dead, approving
His work, forgiving us our sins, and took Jesus up into heaven (the
resurrection).
2) In the 2nd advent, Jesus will return to this earth, at the end of the Tribulation,
and destroy the invading armies around Jerusalem. Then He will reign over
all the earth from Mount Zion.
3) In between these time periods is inserted (intercalated) the Church Age.
That is the time period during which we all live.
6. Peter speaks to this in 1Peter 1:10–12: Even the prophets, who prophesied about
the spiritual blessing meant for you, made careful investigations and persistent
research about this salvation, earnestly trying to find out the time, and the nature of
the times, which the Spirit of the Christ within them pointed to, in foretelling the
sufferings of the Christ and the glory that should follow them. It was made known
to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in their searching for these
things that have already been told to you by those who through the Holy Spirit sent
from heaven brought you the good news. The angels long to take a peep into these
things.
7. This new dispensation and the doctrine pertaining to it is called a mystery by Paul.
The word mystery refers to a private set of doctrines known to a particular group or
fraternity, but are not known outside this group or fraternity. What this means is,
those who were saved in previous dispensations had no idea what would come
about in the Church Age; that God would work with Gentiles or that God would send
the Holy Spirit to live in us (these are two specific doctrines). Rom. 16:25–26
Eph. 3:1–6 Col. 1:25–26
8. In other words, the Old Testament speaks prophetically about the birth of our Lord
and His death, then it skips over the Church Age, and picks with the Tribulation, 2nd
advent and the Millennium.
9. Throughout the Old Testament the advent of our Lord is predicted. However, the
1st and 2nd advents are not clearly distinguished, nor are they presented as separate
events. Had the Jews, as a whole, from our Lord’s time accepted Him and His offer
of the Kingdom, then Jesus would have gone from His 1st advent seamlessly into
His 2nd advent. For this reason, the Old Testament does not distinguish between
these advents, and treats them as one event.
10. The two advents are clearly distinguished in the chart below.
Essentially, what we find in the following passages, are prophecies concerning the advent
of Jesus Christ, where the advents appear to be blended, but, in each case, they are
carefully separated into the 1st and 2nd advents. This observation is clear to us today, but
it would not have been as clear to someone from the Old Testament.
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Rather than simply referencing these passages, I will write them out, distinguish between
the 1st and 2nd advents with different colors of blue, and then give an explanation or
commentary if I believe one is necessary. Usually, but not always, the 1st Advent is found
first and the 2nd Advent is found second.
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Listed below are 25 passages in the Old Testament and 2 New Testament passages
where this is found; and I am certain that there are more.
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The Intercalation of the Church Age Occurs between these Passages
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1st Advent
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2nd Advent
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The Text and Commentary
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Psalm 2:7
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Psalm 2:6, 8–9
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Yea, I have set My king on My holy mount on Zion.
I will declare concerning the statute of Jehovah:
He said to Me, You are My Son. Today I have
begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give the
nations as Your inheritance; and the uttermost
parts of the earth as Your possession. You will
break them with a rod of iron; You will dash them
in pieces like a potter”s vessel.
Here, the 1st and 2nd Advents of our Lord are
mixed. In the 2nd Advent, our Lord will sit as King
over all on Mount Zion; God will give to Him all the
nations as His possession. When He first returns
at the 2nd Advent, He will destroy the nations
plaguing Israel and in open revolt against Him.
In the 1st Advent, Jesus will come as the Son of
God, begotten of man.
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Psalm 22:22
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Psalm 22:23
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I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst
of the congregation I will praise You. You who fear
the LORD, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob,
glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you
offspring of Israel!
Our Lord’s disciples rarely seemed to fear Him or
His great power; however, on the Mount of
Transfiguration, when Jesus was glorified, I
suspect that the disciples who were there
cowered.
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Psalm 96:11–13a
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Psalm 96:13b
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Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and the fullness of it. Let the field
be joyful, and all that is in it; then the trees of the
forest shall rejoice before Jehovah; for He comes;
for He comes to judge the earth; He shall judge
the world with righteousness, and the people with
His faithfulness.
We have a repetition of the phrase for He comes,
which speaks of the 1st Advent and then of the 2nd
Advent. Judgment of the earth describes both the
Tribulation and the judgment of mankind.
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Psalm 98:2–3
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Psalm 98:9
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Jehovah has made known His salvation; His
righteousness He has unveiled to the eyes of the
nations. He has remembered His mercy and His
truth toward the house of Israel; all the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of Jehovah.
Jehovah comes to judge the earth; with
righteousness He shall judge the world, and the
peoples in uprightness.
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Psalm 110:3b
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Psalm 110:2–3a
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Jehovah shall send the rod of Your strength out of
Zion. “Rule in the midst of Your enemies. Your
people offer themselves willingly in the day of your
power, in the holy mountain. Out of the womb of
the morning, to You [is] the dew of Your youth.”
Much of Psalm 110 is about the 2nd Advent of our
Lord; however, this speaks of Jesus Christ in the
Millennium, ruling in the midst of His enemies (all
the nations which surrounded Jerusalem were
enemies of the Jews; and, therefore, enemies of
Jesus Christ).
The final phrase speaks of the Messiah and from
whence He comes—out of the womb of the
morning, to have, like all men, the dew of youth.
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Psalm 146:7–9a
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Psalm 146:9b–10
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[The Lord] executes justice for the oppressed, who
gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the
prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the
blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed
down; the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD
watches over the sojourners; he upholds the
widow and the fatherless, but the way of the
wicked he brings to ruin. The LORD will reign
forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!
The exact point at which we go from the 1st to the
2nd advent might be debatable. However, Jesus
gave food to the hungry and He opened the eyes
of the blind and He caused to walk those who were
lame. When John the Baptizer questions whether
or not He is the Messiah, Jesus gives these things
as proofs of His anointing by God.
At the Great White Throne, Jesus Christ will bring
the wicked to their final ruin. At the Millennium,
and then going into eternity, Jesus Christ will reign
forever.
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Isa. 9:6a
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Isa. 9:6b–7
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For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and
the government shall be upon His shoulder, and
His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace
there will be no end, on the throne of David and
over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from this time
forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of
hosts will do this.
God sent His Son in the form of a man, both fully
man and fully God. He will, in the 2nd advent,
assume all power over the earth.
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Isa. 35:1–4a
6b–10
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Isa. 35:4b–6a
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The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the
desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it
shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and
singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see
the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the
feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious
heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will
come with vengeance, with the recompense of
God. He will come and save you." Then the eyes
of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the
deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like
a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For
waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams
in the desert; the burning sand shall become a
pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the
haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass
shall become reeds and rushes. And a highway
shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of
Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall
belong to those who walk on the way; even if they
are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be
there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there, but the redeemed
shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD
shall return and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they
shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and
sighing shall flee away.
One might argue that this is all a reference to the
2nd’ advent, but Jesus quotes a portion of this
passage to John’s disciples as proof that He is the
Messiah (Matt. 11:2–5). The key is, there is some
overlap in our Lord’s advents, and a portion of this
psalm is applicable to both advents.
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Isa. 40:3–4
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Isa. 40:5
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The voice of him who cries in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of Jehovah; make straight in the
desert a highway for our God. Every valley will be
exalted, and every mountain and hill will be made
low; and the knoll will be a level place, and the
rough places a plain.” And the glory of Jehovah
will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together,
for the mouth of Jehovah has spoken.
The voice crying in the wilderness is John the
Baptizer. Mark 1:3 John 1:23
Although Jesus was glorified on the Mount of
Transfiguration, this will not be revealed to all until
the 2nd Advent.
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Isa. 42:1a
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Isa. 42:1b
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Behold My Servant; I will uphold Him; My Elect in
whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit on
Him; He shall bring forth justice to the nations.
The first portion of this verse is spoken of being
fulfilled in Matt. 12:17–18.
One may certainly interpret the last half of v. 42 to
bringing justice by His death on the cross (the 1st
Advent) as well as removing those who have
rejected Him at the 2nd Advent.
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Isa. 42:2–4a
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Isa. 42:4b
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He will not cry aloud, nor lift up, nor cause His
voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He
will not break, and a smoking wick He will not
quench; He will bring forth justice to truth. He will
not fail nor be crushed until He has set justice in
the earth; and the coasts will wait for His Law.
Jesus Christ did not force Himself upon anyone
during the 1st Advent. The majority of His teaching
required those who listened to follow Him, often to
a quiet area on the outskirts of the city.
The coasts refers to other nations besides Israel,
and they will anticipate and wait for His Law, which
will be delivered to them at the 2nd Advent.
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Isa. 52:14
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Isa. 52:13
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Behold, My Servant will rule well; He will be
exalted and extolled, and be very high. Just as
many were astonished at You (so much was the
disfigurement from man, His appearance and His
form from the sons of mankind).
The Servant of God, His Messiah, will rule in the
2nd Advent; however, He appeared in the 1st
Advent just as any man, without any distinguishing
features. Before the cross, He was greatly
disfigured by the physical abuse of the Roman
soldiers.
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Isa. 53:9–10a, 11
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Isa. 53:10b
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And they made His [Jesus’] grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in His death, although He had
done no violence, and there was no deceit in His
mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD [God the
Father] to crush Him; He [God the Father] has put
Him [God the Son] to grief; when His soul makes
an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring [in
the Millennium, Jesus will see those who have
believed in Him]; He shall prolong His days [Jesus
will rule for 1000 years]; the will of the LORD shall
prosper in His hand [This will be a time of great
blessing]. Out of the anguish of his soul He shall
see and He will be satisfied; by His knowledge
shall the Righteous One, My servant, make many
to be accounted righteous [Jesus will make the
many righteous through His death on the cross],
and He shall bear their iniquities.
Most of Isa. 53 is about Jesus in the 1st advent;
however, this one portion looks forward to His
millennial reign.
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Isa. 59:20
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Isa. 59:21
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"And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in
Jacob who turn from transgression," declares the
LORD. "And as for me, this is my covenant with
them," says the LORD: "My Spirit that is upon you,
and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall
not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth
of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your
children's offspring," says the LORD, "from this
time forth and forevermore."
Jesus, the Redeemer, would come and redeem us
from slavery to our natures. He would pour out the
Holy Spirit upon Jewish believers in the
Millennium, and there would be great
understanding of truth during this time.
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Isa. 61:1–2a
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Isa. 61:2b
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The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because
the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to
the poor; he has sent Me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are
bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all who mourn.
In a synagogue, Jesus quotes the portion of this
passage which applies to His 1st advent, and He
does not quote the final line of v. 2. And then He
said to them, “Today this Scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21). This is
because those in the synagogue were witnesses
to His 1st advent but not to His 2nd.
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Jer. 23:5a
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Jer. 23:5b–6
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Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will
raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King will
reign and act wisely, and He will do justice and
righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will
be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. And this is
His name by which He will be called, Jehovah our
Righteousness.
Jesus is the righteous Branch raised up from
David in His 1st Advent; however, He will not reign
until His 2nd Advent.
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Jer. 33:14–15
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Jer. 33:16
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Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will
fulfill the good thing which I have promised to the
house of Israel and to the house of Judah. In
those days, and at that time, I will cause a Branch
of Righteousness to grow up to David. And He will
do judgment and righteousness in the land. In
those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem
will dwell in safety. And this is the name that will be
called on her: JEHOVAH OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Judah will not be saved nor will Jerusalem dwell in
safety until the 2nd Advent. That He will do justice
and righteousness may be applied to both
advents.
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Daniel 6:27a
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Daniel 6:26
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I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion
people are to tremble and fear before the God of
Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his
dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and
rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven
and on earth.
This is actually a decree of King Darius, which first
speaks of the 2nd advent and then of the 1st.
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Daniel 7:13
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Daniel 7:14
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"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the
clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of
man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was
presented before Him. And to Him was given
dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve
Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which will not pass away, and his kingdom one
that will not be destroyed.
The first verse refers to our Lord being taken into
heaven and being accepted as the atonement for
our sins.
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Daniel 9:24–26
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Daniel 9:27
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Seventy weeks are decreed as to your people, and
as to your holy city, to finish the transgression, and
to make an end of sins, and to make atonement
for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know,
then, and understand that from the going out of a
word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem, to
Messiah the Prince, will be seven weeks and sixty
two weeks. The street will be built again, and the
wall, even in times of affliction. And after sixty two
weeks, Messiah will be cut off, but not for Himself.
And the people of a coming ruler will destroy the
city and the sanctuary. And its end will be with the
flood, and ruins are determined, and war will be
until the end. And he will confirm a covenant with
the many for one week. And in the middle of the
week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to
cease. And on a corner of the altar will be
abominations that desolate, even until the end.
And that which was decreed will pour out on the
desolator.
The one confirming the covenant for one week is
the Beast of the Tribulation. Here, we jump from
the Messiah in the first advent to the
circumstances preceding the 2nd Advent.
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Daniel 11:35
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Daniel 11:36
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And some of the wise shall stumble, so that they
may be refined, purified, and made white, until the
time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed
time. And the king shall do as he wills. He shall
exalt himself and magnify himself above every
god, and shall speak astonishing things against
the God of gods. He shall prosper till the
indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed
shall be done.
The focus here is not upon the Lord Jesus Christ,
but upon his disciples in the 1st advent and upon
the actions of the Beast in the 2nd.
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Hosea 3:4
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Hosea 3:5
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For the children of Israel shall dwell many days
without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar,
without ephod or household gods. Afterward the
children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD
their God, and David their king, and they shall
come in fear to the LORD and to His goodness in
the latter days.
After Judah is first removed from the land, there
will be no more Jewish kings for the Jews. They
will return to the land, but they will be ruled by
others.
The Jews will return to the Lord in the Tribulation
and they will be the primary evangelizing force.
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Hosea 5:14c–15
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Hosea 6:1
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I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and
no one shall rescue. I will return again to my
place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek
my face, and in their distress earnestly seek Me.
Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn
us, that He may heal us; He has struck us down,
and He will bind us up.
In the first portion of this passage, Jesus Christ will
be crucified, resurrected and then taken into
heaven, and He will remain at the right hand of the
Father until His people, in their distress, earnestly
seek Him.
The Jews will return to Jesus Christ, their Savior,
in the Tribulation.
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Zech. 9:9
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Zech. 9:8, 10
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Then I [God] will encamp at My house as a guard,
so that none shall march to and fro; so that no
oppressor shall again march over them, for now I
see with my own eyes. Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous
and being victorious, humble, and riding on an ass,
even on a colt, the son of an ass. And I will cut off
the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from
Jerusalem. And the battle bow will be cut off, and
He will speak peace to the nations. And His
dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the
River to the ends of the earth.
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Malachi 3:1
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Malachi 3:2–3
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Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will
clear the way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you
seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the
Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight.
Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts. But
who can endure the day of His coming? And who
shall stand when He appears? For He is like a
refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. And He shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver. And He shall
purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold
and silver, that they may offer up a food offering in
righteousness to Jehovah.
The messenger being sent in advance is John the
Baptizer, and suddenly, Jehovah (Jesus Christ) will
come to His Temple. The remark about purging is
quite interesting: as Jesus purged the Temple of
the money changers; but at the end of the
Tribulation, He will purge the earth of sin and
human good and restore perfect environment.
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We even have a New Testament passage with the 1st Advent and the 2nd Advent being
placed together.
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Luke 4:16–21
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Jesus did not
read the portion
of this passage
from Isaiah which
spoke of His 2nd
Advent
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And He came to Nazareth, where He had been
brought up. And as was His custom, He went to
the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood
up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah
was given to Him. He unrolled the scroll and found
the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the
Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me
to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of
sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor." And He rolled up the scroll and gave it
back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes
of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He
began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has
been fulfilled in your hearing."
Here, the key is, Jesus read only the portion of the
Scripture which referred to the 1st Advent, and then
He stopped suddenly, before He came to the 2nd
Advent. This is why everyone was looking at Him.
They all knew the passage, and it confused them
that Jesus stood up, read a verse and a half, and
then sat down, mid-verse (or, mid-thought, as it
were).
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Luke 17:22–24,
26–30
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Luke 17:25
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And He said to the disciples, The days will come
when you will desire to see one of the days of the
Son of Man, and you shall not see it. And they
shall say to you, Lo, here! or, behold, there! Do not
go away, nor follow. For as the lightning which
lights up, flashing from the one part under heaven,
and shines to the other part under heaven, so also
shall the Son of Man be in His day. But first He
must suffer many things and be rejected of this
generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so
it also shall be in the days of the Son of Man.
They ate, they drank, they married wives, they
were given in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered into the ark; and the flood came and
destroyed them all. So also as it was in the days
of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold,
they planted, they built; but the day Lot went out of
Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from the
heaven and destroyed them all. Even so it shall
be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Jesus herein describes the [second] coming of the
Son of Man. However, He points out that first, He
must suffer many things and be rejected by this
generation.
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I hope that you can see that, Satan, reading and studying these passages, decides that
his best plan of action is to kill Jesus before He is made King over the earth, thus
displacing Satan. Therefore, when given the opportunity to get Jesus to the cross and
to crucify him, Satan was a willing, if not gleeful, participant, not realizing that the cross
would be the tactical victory which is a turning point in the Angelic Conflict.
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R. B. Thieme Jr. also includes Daniel 2:40 & 41 7:23 & 24 8:22 & 23, but I need to
study these passages before I place them into this chart.
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If we remove the Church Age, the intercalated age, then we have Jesus Christ fulfilling
these prophecies, one right after the other, almost as one event.
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This is what Jesus offered to the children of Israel: He offered Himself as their King; He
offered them the Kingdom of God. Had the Jews accepted Him, He would have died for
their sins and they would have gone into the Millennium (after a Tribulation period).
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Addendum: “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.”
One of the amazing passages of Scripture which clearly delineates between the two
advents is Luke 4:16–21 (the AUN–NT version is quoted below; some pronouns were
capitalized):
Luke 4:16 Jesus then went to Nazareth where He had been brought up. He entered the
synagogue on the Sabbath day, according to His custom, and stood up to read [the
Scriptures].
The reading of the Scriptures by various men was apparently a long-standing custom,
much as some churches have a simple Scripture reading without exposition.
Luke 4:17 The book [i.e., actually a scroll] of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He
opened the book and found the passage where it was written [Isa. 61:1f],
The Lord reads only one and a half verses.
Luke 4:18 “The Holy Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He anointed Me [i.e., specially
chose Me] to preach good news to poor people. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to
those who are captives [i.e., to sin]; recovery of sight to the [spiritually as well as
physically] blind; to set free those who are oppressed [i.e., by Satan] and
Luke 4:19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s acceptance.”
Jesus has read Isa. 61:1–2a, and then He stopped reading. To read such a short amount
of Scripture and to stop in what is the midst of the narrative would have been quite odd.
When He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant and sat down, everyone was
looking at Him.
Luke 4:20 Then He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The
eyes of everyone in the synagogue were focused on Him.
This was surprising. Jesus stood up, read a few phrases, and suddenly stopped. He left
out the latter part of v. 2, which read: ...and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort
all who mourn. That is the 2nd Advent. Jesus read only the 1st Advent portion, and then
He sat down.
Then He briefly explained what He had done:
Luke 4:21 He began speaking to them [saying], “Today this [passage of] Scripture has
been fulfilled as you listened to it.”
All of the people in the synagogue were witnesses to the 1st Advent. What He read to
them, they saw fulfilled right in front of them. They saw Jesus, Who was anointed to
proclaim the gospel to the poor (the needy who needed the gospel), to proclaim freedom
to those who are captive (to sin and to the sin nature), to restore sight to the blind (both
actually and metaphorically); to set free those who are oppressed and the proclaim that this
was the time where it is clear that God would accept His people.
The complete Doctrine of Intercalation may be found here: (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
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The Abbreviated Doctrine of Intercalation
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1. The word intercalation means insertion; and in between the 1st and 2nd Advents
of our Lord is intercalated (inserted) is the Church Age, the time period during
which we live.
1) The 1st advent is the time period when the Lord walked on this earth, and
for at least 3 years of His life, this is known as the Dispensation of the
Hypostatic Union. See the Doctrine of Dispensations: (HTML) (PDF)
(WPD).
2) The 2nd Advent is when Jesus will return, remove all of the unbelievers
from this earth, cast Satan and his angels into the captivity, and then reign
over the earth for a time period known as the Millennium.
2. In the Old Testament and in at least one New Testament passage, the 1st and 2nd
Advents of Jesus Christ are presented as one event.
3. However, between those two advents is the Church Age, which includes the
mystery doctrine, which come primarily from the epistles of Paul. Rom. 16:25-26
Eph. 3:1-6 Col. 1:25-26
4. Intercalation is also called the Great Parenthesis by some theologians like Harry
Ironside.
5. The Old Testament reveals doctrine up through the incarnation of Christ, then
skips the Church Age and reveals the Tribulation, Second Advent and/or
Millennium—often in the same context. Therefore, it was not unusual for Jews
in the 1st century to emphasize the 2nd Advent, but be unable to recognize our
Lord there right before them in the 1st Advent. One might say that they did not
rightly divide the Word of Truth.
6. There are many examples of this in the Old Testament, some of which will be
noted below (the 1st advent will be shown in a brighter shade of color):
1) Psalm 2:6–9 Yea, I have set My king on My holy mount on Zion. I will
declare concerning the statute of Jehovah: He said to Me, You are My
Son. Today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give the nations as
Your inheritance; and the uttermost parts of the earth as Your possession.
You will break them with a rod of iron; You will dash them in pieces like a
potter”s vessel.
2) Psalm 96:11–13 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the
sea roar, and the fullness of it. Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it;
then the trees of the forest shall rejoice before Jehovah; for He comes; for
He comes to judge the earth; He shall judge the world with righteousness,
and the people with His faithfulness. We have a repetition of the phrase
for He comes, which speaks initially of the 1st Advent and then of the 2nd
Advent.
3) Isa. 9:6–7 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the
government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on
the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
4) Malachi 3:1–3 Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will clear the
way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His
temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He
comes, says Jehovah of Hosts. But who can endure the day of His
coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's
fire, and like fuller's soap. And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of
silver. And He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and
silver, that they may offer up a food offering in righteousness to Jehovah.
The messenger being sent in advance is John the Baptizer, and suddenly,
Jehovah (Jesus Christ) will come to His Temple. The remark about
purging is quite interesting: as Jesus purged the Temple of the money
changers; but at the end of the Tribulation, He will purge the earth of sin
and human good and restore perfect environment.
5) Luke 17:22–30 And He said to the disciples, The days will come when you
will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you shall not see
it. And they shall say to you, Lo, here! or, behold, there! Do not go away,
nor follow. For as the lightning which lights up, flashing from the one part
under heaven, and shines to the other part under heaven, so also shall the
Son of Man be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be
rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so it also
shall be in the days of the Son of Man. They ate, they drank, they married
wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the
ark; and the flood came and destroyed them all. So also as it was in the
days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they
built; but the day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from
the heaven and destroyed them all. Even so it shall be in the day when
the Son of Man is revealed. Jesus herein describes the [second] coming
of the Son of Man. However, He points out that first, He must suffer many
things and be rejected by this generation.
7. Intercalation can be found in at least 25 Old and New Testament passages.
8. Understanding intercalation is the key to understanding Luke 4:16–21, which
reads: And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as was
His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to
read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him. He unrolled the scroll
and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me
to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at
liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
[Isa. 61:1–2a] And He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and
sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began
to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus
stopped right in the middle of Isa. 61:2 and sat down. What was fulfilled in the
ears of the hearers was Isa. 61:1–2a, which is the 1st Advent.
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When you see all 25+ passages one right after another, it is clear that this doctrine
cannot be denied.
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