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.


Charts, Maps and Short Doctrines

Preface

Definition

Terms and Definitions

The Doctrine of Intercalation

The Dispensations of Human History (a chart)

The Church Age

The Intercalated (Inserted) Dispensation (a graphic)

The Intercalation of the Church Age Occurs between these Passages

Addendum: “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ears.” (An exegetical study of Luke 4:16–21)

The Abbreviated Doctrine of Intercalation

A Brief View of the Intercalation of the Church Age


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.


These are the technical terms which are found in this study. In looking back on this study, I realized just how many technical terms were found, and to the new believer, they might seem confusing and/or daunting.

Doctrinal Terms and Concepts

1st Advent  

The time period when Jesus was born and had His earthly ministry. This time period extends from His birth to His death, resurrection and ascension.

1st and 2nd Advents of Jesus

When Jesus first came to walk on this earth, that was the 1st Advent. When He returns to destroy the nations who are about to invade Israel, that will be the 2nd Advent. David on the two advents of Jesus Christ (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). (Stan Murrell)

2nd Advent of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ will return to earth at the end of the Tribulation with His saints to destroy the armies gathered against Israel and to restore the earth to perfect environment. (Bible Doctrine Resource) (McLaughlin—which appears to be where BDR got this doctrine from)

Age of Israel

This is the period of time in history where God works through believers in nation Israel. God also worked through the Abraham and those descended from him until nation Israel was established. See the Three Dispensations: The Age of Israel, the Age of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Age of the Hypostatic Union

The time period during which Jesus Christ walked upon this earth. This dispensation acted as a hinge between the Church Age and the Age of Israel.

Angelic Conflict

Before man was created, God had created angels, and some of these angels sinned against God. This conflict, which we cannot see, is a conflict that we are a part of, and our spiritual lives in particular are directly to the Angelic Conflict. See the Angelic Conflict (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Christology

The study of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Basic Christology from the Spokane Bible Church)

Dispensation

A period of time wherein God’s plan for that period of time is very specific and different from other periods of time. That is, the rules for the Church Age are different than rules for the Age of Israel. See the doctrine of Dispensations (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Intercalation

The 1st and 2nd advents of Jesus Christ was taught as one whole event in the Bible. However, intercalated between these two events is the Church Age. See the Doctrine of Intercalation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Millennium

The Millennium is the dispensation of the 1000 year reign of Christ over the earth, following the Great Tribulation, where all unbelievers will be removed from the earth (which is known as the Baptism of Fire). See the Doctrine of the Millennium.

Soteriology

Soteriology is the study of salvation provided for man by the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). (Salvation from Grace Fellowship Church) (Salvation from Maranatha Church)

Tribulation, The

When the Church Age comes to its completion, and the body of believers is raptures from this earth, there is remain a shortened 7 years which time is known as the Tribulation. This is actually the end of the Jewish Age and has many names in the Bible (like the time of Jacob’s trouble). (Doctrine of the Tribulation—Pastor L.G. Merritt) (The Great Tribulation—Cherreguine Bible Doctrine Ministries) (Tribulation Time line [Chart]—Grace Bible Church of Baytown)

 

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.

intercalation.gif

          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.


The Dispensations of Human History (a chart) from GraceDoctrine.org; accessed September 4, 2016.

 

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. (William’s New Testament)

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.       The Church Age is intercalated (or inserted) into the Jewish Age.

10.     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.

          1)       The 1st advent is when Jesus was born as a man, and it continues through His adult minister, His crucifixion, His death, His resurrection and His ascension.

          2)       The 2nd advent occurs at least 2000 years later. Jesus returns to planet earth in His glorified body at the end of the Tribulation, He will destroy the

intercalation1.gif

armies which are surrounding Israel; and He will restore the earth to perfect environment.


The Intercalated (Inserted) Dispensation (a graphic); from DispensationalFriends.org; accessed September 4, 2016.

 

11.     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.

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.

Listed below are 33 passages in the Old Testament and 2 New Testament passages where this is found; and I am certain that there are more.

Your first reaction will probably be, I don’t quite see it in the first few passages. However, after awhile, you will see this pattern emerge, where this pattern is repeated in each of these passages.

The Intercalation of the Church Age Occurs between these Passages

1st Advent

2nd Advent

The Text and Commentary

Num 24:17a

Num. 24:17b–19

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!"

This is a very good illustration of the two advents. There is the incarnation of the humanity of Jesus Christ (also called the 1st advent of Jesus Christ); and then there is the 2nd advent where the Lord destroys the opposing armies and rules over the world. The first part of v. 17 is understated; but, in the rest of the passage, power and authority of Jesus Christ is unmistakable.


Jesus will be descended from Jacob, but He is a long ways off from this prophecy of Baalim.


When He arises as a scepter, that is Jesus as ruling over Israel. Jesus will rule over all of these territories, dispossessing those who have opposed Israel. The enemies of God will be destroyed.

2Sam. 23:1b–2

2Sam. 23:3–7

The proclamation of David son of Jesse, the proclamation of the man raised on high, the one anointed by the God of Jacob, the favorite singer of Israel:

The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me, His word was on my tongue.


Although the first section is David speaking of himself, he is a type of Christ, and therefore, This is Jesus, the anointed One of God, through Whom the Spirit of the Lord spoke


The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, "The one who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God,

is like the morning light when the sun rises on a cloudless morning, the glisten of rain on sprouting grass."

Is it not true my house is with God? For He has established an everlasting covenant with me, ordered and secured in every detail. Will He not bring about my whole salvation and my every desire?

But all the wicked are like thorns raked aside; they can never be picked up by hand.

The man who touches them must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear. They will be completely burned up on the spot.


Jesus Christ will rule over all Israel in the Millennium, having ordered and secured every detail of His plan. And the wicked, He will cast into the Lake of Fire at the end of the Tribulation.

Psalm 2:7

Psalm 2:6, 8–9

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.

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.

Psalm 22:22

Psalm 22:23

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.


We can file this final section under the heading, every knee shall bow. (from Rom. 14:11 and Isa. 45:23)


In these last two passages, you see that this either ends with the destruction of the rebellious or with the rule of Jesus Christ over His earthly kingdom (or both, in some cases).

Psalm 72:4a

Psalm 72:1–3, 4b–11

Give the King Your justice, O God, and Your righteousness to the royal Son! May He judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice! Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness! May He defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! May they fear You while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! May He be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth! In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more! May He have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! May desert tribes bow down before Him, and His enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before Him, all nations serve Him!

There are no poor and needy in the Millennium. These are those to whom Jesus spoke—those who had need of Him.


His dominion to the ends of the earth speaks of the Millennium.

Psalm 72:12–14

Psalm 72:15–17

 For He delivers the needy when He calls, the poor and Him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence He redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may He live; may gold of Sheba be given to Him! May prayer be made for Him continually, and blessings invoked for Him all the day! May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field! May His name endure forever, His fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in Him, all nations call Him blessed!

Delivering the needy and the poor, and having compassion for the weak and the poor describes Jesus in the 1st advent. However, when there is this great abundance of blessing, and His name continues to endure, that is the Millennium, when all nations will call Him blessed.

Psalm 96:11–13a

Psalm 96:13b

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.

In Psalm 96, 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.

Psalm 98:2–3

Psalm 98:9

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.

Psalm 110:3b

Psalm 110:2–3a

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.

Psalm 118:20–23

Psalm 118:24–26

This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.

(Psalm 118) Jesus is our salvation; He is the cornerstone which the builders have rejected.

The second advent is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes (the people did not feel this way about the crucifixion). The success and blessing is when Israel has all her enemies defeated and Jesus reigns from Mount Zion.

Psalm 146:7–9a

Psalm 146:9b–10

[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!

(Psalm 146) 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.

Isaiah 2:5

Isaiah 2:2–4

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

The first 3 verses are clearly references to the Millennian; and v. 5 can be understood as both a warning to believers during the Age of Israel and during the Hypostatic Union, when Jesus is actually on the earth, dispensing light (by means of His teaching).


This passage may not be as clear as the others, since the final exhortation could be given in any dispensation.

Isa. 9:6a

Isa. 9:6b–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.

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.

Isa. 11:1–3a

Isa. 11:3b–5

There shall come forth a root-shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of Yehowah shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear/respect of Yehowah. And His delight shall be in the fear/respect of Yehowah. He shall not judge by what His eyes see, or decide disputes by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek [= grace oriented] of the earth; and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His waist, and faithfulness the belt of His loins.

Jesus comes into this world as a son of David from the line of Jesse. In the 1st Advent, His power and guidance came by God the Holy Spirit, Who rested upon Him.


When Jesus returns, He will judge the earth, destroy with wicked, and reign in righteousness.

Isa. 35:4b–6a

Isa. 35:1–4a 6b–10

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.

Jesus quotes a portion of this passage to John’s disciples as proof that He is the Messiah (Matt. 11:2–5 Luke 7:22). The key is, there is some overlap in our Lord’s advents, and a portion of this psalm is applicable to both advents.

Isa. 40:3

Isa. 40:4–5

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.

Isa. 42:1a

Isa. 42:1b

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.

Isa. 42:2–4a

Isa. 42:4b

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.

Isa. 52:14

Isa. 52:13

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.

Isa. 53:9–10a, 11

Isa. 53:10b

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.

Isa. 59:20

Isa. 59:21

"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.

Isaiah 61:1–2a

Isaiah 61:2b–3

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; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

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. This will be covered in much greater detail at the end of this study.

Jer. 23:5a

Jer. 23:5b–6

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.

Jer. 33:14–15

Jer. 33:16

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.

Daniel 6:27a

Daniel 6:26

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.

Daniel 7:13

Daniel 7:14

"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.

Daniel 9:24–26

Daniel 9:27

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.

Daniel 11:35

Daniel 11:36

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.

Hosea 3:4

Hosea 3:5

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.

Hosea 5:14c–15

Hosea 6:1

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.

Zech. 3:8

Zech. 3:9–10

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree."

The portion about removing the iniquity in the land in a single day could be understood to be a Millennium passage. When the Lord died for our sins, that was made a potential; and in the Millennium, it will become actual.

Zech. 9:9

Zech. 9:8, 10

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.

Malachi 3:1

Malachi 3:2–3

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.

We even have a New Testament passage with the 1st Advent and the 2nd Advent being placed together.

Luke 4:16–21

Jesus did not read the portion of this passage from Isaiah which spoke of His 2nd Advent; He simply stopped reading and sat down. This is why everyone was looking at Him

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).

This comes from Isaiah 61:1–2 already covered above.

This entire incident will be examined more fully below (after the next passage):

Luke 17:22–24, 26–30

Luke 17:25

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.


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The complete Doctrine of Intercalation (it is 25 pages long) may be found here: (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

The Abbreviated Doctrine of Intercalation

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.

When you see all 25+ passages one right after another, it is clear that this doctrine cannot be denied.


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Intercalation means insertion; the Church Age occurs in between the 1st and 2nd advents.

I have come up with 32 Old Testament examples of this, where we find the 1st and 2nd advents of the Lord together in the same passage; but doubtless, there are others.

This is an abbreviated form of the doctrine of intercalation. Only 6 examples of intercalation will be given.

The light blue is the 1st advent; the dark blue is the 2nd.

A Brief View of the Intercalation of the Church Age

1st Advent

2nd Advent

The Text and Commentary

Num 24:17a

Num. 24:17b–19

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!"

This is a very good illustration of the two advents. There is the incarnation of the humanity of Jesus Christ (also called the 1st advent of Jesus Christ); and then there is the 2nd advent where the Lord destroys the opposing armies and rules over the world. The first part of v. 17 is understated; but, in the rest of the passage, power and authority of Jesus Christ is unmistakable.


Jesus will be descended from Jacob, but He is a long ways off from this prophecy of Baalim.


When He arises as a scepter, that is Jesus as ruling over Israel. Jesus will rule over all of these territories, dispossessing those who have opposed Israel. The enemies of God will be destroyed.

Psalm 2:7

Psalm 2:6, 8–9

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.

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.

Psalm 72:12–14

Psalm 72:15–17

 For He delivers the needy when He calls, the poor and Him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence He redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may He live; may gold of Sheba be given to Him! May prayer be made for Him continually, and blessings invoked for Him all the day! May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field! May His name endure forever, His fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in Him, all nations call Him blessed!

Delivering the needy and the poor, and having compassion for the weak and the poor describes Jesus in the 1st advent. However, when there is this great abundance of blessing, and His name continues to endure, that is the Millennium, when all nations will call Him blessed.

Psalm 110:3b

Psalm 110:2–3a

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.

Isa. 9:6a

Isa. 9:6b–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.

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.

Isa. 61:1–2a

Isa. 61:2b–3

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; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

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. This will be covered in much greater detail at the end of this study.

These are 6 examples from the 32 found in the Doctrine of Intercalation (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).


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