Note from Les

Dear friends, Another three months, but not much to report from this end. We realize a lot of you have been experiencing global warming like never before! But first and foremost, thank you for your letters, gifts and prayers. We still read every letter. The Lord continues to bless beyond our fondest dreams. We've received letters from England, Ireland, Europe, Scotland, Africa and South Korea and have come to realize the Internet is being used in a mighty way. I even found out we are on YouTube. I have not seen it but my phone calls keep me informed. As most of you know, I never look at a computer. We also want you to know we appreciate your many prayer requests. We count it a privilege to bring you into the throne room. (Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16) We realize many of you have lost loved ones or have serious problems but remember the rapture is getting closer every day! So pray for us and for one another. All travel plans are on hold until we see how Iris recuperates. But how we miss seeing you!

What in the World?

Rightly Dividing the Word of God - Here we go again! It's on all of our receipts and on all of our books. It is the heart of this ministry. Why? I think I can safely say that I answer 50-75 (average) questions by phone or letter every week and 90% of those can be answered by rightly dividing the Scriptures. I imagine half of all Sunday school teachers and preachers have never even heard of it and of the other half, most think for some reason or other that they disapprove of it. Let me give a good example: Quite a few years ago we had just announced a seminar to be held in Charlotte North Carolina when we got a phone call requesting us to stop at this person's church for a Wednesday night service. I responded that if the pastor approved, we would gladly do so, but otherwise not. We were not on TV in that area yet so the pastor was given a few VCR tapes to view. After reviewing them, he enthusiastically invited us and he and his wife sat on the front of the church, which was filled to the brim and they both took notes exuberantly. The minute the service was over, the pastor came to me and said "If you are ever in the area again, we would like you to come back ". Fast forward a couple or three years and we were making plans for another seminar in Charlotte so I called the same people who invited us originally and they said "Oh yes! We definitely want you back!" So I asked "Same pastor?" Silence. "No –but that doesn't make any difference". "Yes, ask him.” About 30 minutes later I got their dejected answer. The new pastor had said "I would not let Les Feldick within a mile of this church! He's dispensational!“ Very typical. So why do they hate it? It upsets their format of blenderizing all the Jewish sections and ignoring Paul's epistles. The result? Mass confusion. Sort out the confusion and the most often heard response is "It's like someone turned on a bright light!" I just answered a letter from a 20-year-old young man from England with some questions about rightly dividing. I simply enclosed a Coverdale formula for Bible study. Determine who is writing or speaking, to whom is it speaking, and what are the circumstances. Another example: a gentleman called and had a question about the parables. I asked him "Are you a Pharisee?" Taken aback, he said "Why do you ask that?" I simply told him to read Matthew 21: So he did and I heard a very typical answer which was "I never saw that before!" And what does Matthew 21:45 say? And when the chief priest and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them.

Thank You from Iris

Thank you again for prayers and cards, letters and thoughts. My hip pain is really bad and I still use the walker (no fun at all). We are now waiting on a second opinion as to see what to do– wait and remove the screws or have a total hip replacement–sad to say for me but the Lord has promised never to leave or forsake his own, and I have been his own since I was 14. Believe you me, it's a progression to grow but Les's teachings have helped me tremendously and I claim all of the Lord's promises. PTL. I know the Lord answers prayer whether it is yes, no or wait, and it seems as though I need to wait a while longer for my recovery. Continue to pray for me.

The Gospel: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Laura's Note

People have been saying we are getting close to the rapture now for the last 20 years or even since World War II. Despite some talking of the rapture even before that, it can be safely said that the hourglass of time was turned over and the countdown to the rapture truly began when Israel became a nation in 1948. Ever since that time, anyone saying that the rapture is close, is speaking the truth. Even if this present world should continue on until 2048 (God forbid), what is 100 years as compared to 6000? (1948 to 2048 as compared to the 6 day creation until now) It is comparable to last mile of a 60 mile trip. Just as we can watch a storm developing on the radar/weather map on our TV screen out on the West Coast, then watch it as it moves across the western states, then see it as a dark front on the horizon, then watch the storm clouds grow closer until finally we see the sheets of rain moving towards us across the pasture..... knowing that any minute the downpour is going to be upon us. As sure is that is reality, so is the coming rapture. It is proper to say that we will be getting rain soon when we see a huge storm developing on the West Coast, just as it is proper to say we are going to be getting rain soon when we see it moving towards us across the open field. Both are correct, but the word "soon" is relative. The entire three days or so is "soon" relative to, say a year, while we all know the rain is going to be upon us much quicker when we see that front on the horizon than when we see it as a big green glob on the radar screen. And yet there are scoffers when it comes to the rapture. That is okay because we have faith, knowing that what God's Word says is going to happen, is going to happen. It's just a matter of time. For me, I look at all the clues and all I can say is it's going to be soon :-).

The biggest clue: the Middle East Peace Process.

About a month ago, I decided to write about the Middle East peace process in this newsletter. I started collecting every article I could find on the subject and amassed about 60 articles. It has amazed me how things have gone from looking positive to looking negative and back again numerous times in that short timeframe. I think when it comes down to it, the human and logical argument is that a peace agreement can never be reached, while we know that there are supernatural forces that are going to make this seemingly impossible dilemma a doable thing. We who are students of God's word and have faith in what it says, know that at some point – whether in the near future or the distant future – there is going to be a peace treaty forged and we also know that we as the body of Christ will not be here to see it happen. That is why the very idea of the possibility of a peace treaty is exciting to us. I am sure that there were many believers excited as the Oslo accords were taking place, only to be disappointed when the signing took place and yet there was no rapture. The Oslo accords were signed in 1993 and, as near as I can tell, the problems were the very same then as they are now, with the a goal being permanent Palestinian self-governing status to be achieved by 1996. The only visible result of the Oslo that became a reality was the eventual withdrawal of all Israelis, both military and civilian citizens, from the Gaza Strip in 2005 as well as the development of the Palestinian Authority (which was supposed to have Democratic elections but that has basically failed to be the case.) The Oslo accords originally gave the Palestinians control over the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip and there was to be cooperation in almost all matters relating to infrastructure between Israelis and the Palestinians. Sticking point issues were: Jerusalem, The Temple Mount, settlements (both the Israeli settlements in areas to be Palestinian as well as Palestinian settlements in areas belonging to Israel), problems related to Refugees and right of return, security, and borders. The major players in formulating the Oslo accords were Pres. Bill Clinton, PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. By 2000, things were not moving along as laid out in the Oslo Accords in 1993, so there was the Camp David Summit. The main players there were Pres. Bill Clinton, the PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Barak. Basically it was a failure, as no agreements were reached. What is so amazing here is that it has been rumored that Prime Minister Barack was willing to do almost anything the Palestinians wanted except give up East Jerusalem and allow full right of return, yet the Palestinians still walked out the door. For Arafat, it was all or nothing.... so much so that even Bill Clinton stated that Arafat "missed the opportunity" and most knowledgeable critics laid the blame of failure square on Arafat's shoulders.

The next event was the withdrawal of Jews from the Gaza Strip in 2005. 1700 families were uprooted from their homes and businesses and forced out of the Gaza Strip, leaving absolutely no Jewish presence. By 2007, two Arab political parties had risen up and battled for control of the Gaza Strip as well as the West Bank. After a lot of fighting (and an exodus of a lot of Arabs from the Gaza Strip because of the fighting), Hamas – the Muslim brotherhood controlled Political party– ended up with control over the Gaza Strip while Fatah and the PLO maintained control of West Bank politically and in control of what infrastructure was there. Israel and the world has had to support the Palestinian state in every way ever since its inception but especially monetarily. Other Arab nations, the European Union, as well as the United States and others, have pumped millions of dollars into the Palestinian cause, most of which is spent in corruptive ways, leaving the Arabs of the Gaza Strip in poverty and filth where nine years previously the Jews had made it the most productive and beautiful area of Israel. From 2007 until the present, Hamas and other anti-Jewish Muslims have been shooting rockets into Israel from Gaza. It escalated so much that in 2009, "operation cast lead" took place and the IDF came against Hamas, destroying ammunition depots, illegal tunnels, and known headquarters for anti-Israeli militants. Even until present day, the IDF has implemented a policy of "an eye for an eye". If Hamas instigates or allows a rocket to be shot into Israel, the IAF retaliates by destroying a tunnel or known militant hotspot. And yet, seven months ago, United States Secretary of State John Kerry spearheaded a renewed effort for peace. The problems are absolutely no different than they were in 1993. The issues still include where borders are to be drawn, how Israel can maintain her security, how many Palestinians will be allowed in Jewish territory and vice versa, who will control the Temple Mount, what part of Jerusalem will be the Palestinians versus what part will be the Israelis, recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, as well as recognition of the Palestinian state. Right now John Kerry is basically threatening sanctions and boycotts against Israel while bribing the Palestinians with $1.5 billion, trying to bring the two groups to the table and to get something signed. So keep watching as the mid-east peace process unfolds.....it is THE clue!!

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. Zechariah 12:3. There are two things causing Jerusalem to be at the heart of peace negotiation problems. Number one is that both Israelis and the Palestinians want Jerusalem for their capital. Number two is that they both want control of the Temple Mount. Be watching the news regarding this dilemma.

Q & A

Question:

What does "in His image" mean as found in Genesis 1: 27?

Answer:

Let's go back to the creation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:26. God was Triune: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. But each person of the Godhead was also a triune composition of mind, will, and emotion. Now consider – if man was made in God's image, we have to start with that which is invisible, as God the Spirit Being was. Mind, will, and emotion also make up the soul of each human being. Check your Bible and you will find that all three persons of the Godhead have mind, will, and emotion. So also Adam had mind, will, and emotion, even as you and I do. But man was not to be an invisible entity – he was going to be an earthly being. So he needed a body in which to function. Consequently, man is described in I Thessalonians 5:23 triune also but in a different way—regarding the body, soul and spirit. Only the soul and spirit were created in God's image, thus made eternal. The body of flesh was not. It has to die, only to become immortal at Resurrection.

Question:

Why did Old Testament believers go to Hades and not heaven?

Answer:

In the Old Testament economy, even a believer could not go up to heaven, because animals blood could not atone for sin. (See Hebrews 9:11-14.) Therefore, they went down into Hades (Sheol in Hebrew) until Christ’s atoning blood was shed. See Matthew 12:39 and 40, Luke 16:19-31, Ephesians 4:8-10.

So at Christ's work of the cross, after telling the thief that “Today you will be with me in Paradise ", our Lord announced to those in the paradise side of Hades, that that atoning blood had been shed and that he could then take those on the paradise side up to heaven. But now, on this side of the cross, Paul exclaimed in II Corinthians 5:8 "absent from the body, present with the Lord". That means in soul and spirit--waiting for Resurrection day, when all three (soul, spirit, and a new body) come back together, fit for eternity. See first Corinthians 15:51- 53. Remember our original concept in Genesis 1:26. In God's image. How long will God live? All eternity! And so will every human being ever born. John 5:28-29.

Why believe the rapture is close?

Two main reasons: Israel is back in the land and the "two days” of the Gentiles is about up.

New Products

Transcribed Book #33 is now available in Spanish for $6.00.

Office News

We would like to apologize for any inconvenience that may have been caused on those days our office was closed due to weather conditions. We are aware that this winter has been extremely trying for folks all over the country. Thank you for your patience as we do our best to catch up...catching up seems to be the norm around here. On the "flip side” it is a blessing to be so busy because it ultimately means the Word is being spread more and more.

Also, because of the increase in postal rates and the number of international orders we receive, it has become necessary for the ministry to charge postage on foreign orders. It will be no more than the postage on the package being sent and will depend on weight.

Recipe Corner

Recipe for a happy year:
Combine a generous amount of laughter and a dash of friendship with the love of family, zest of a smile, and the joy of living. Blend in 365 days of good health, peace, and prosperity. Enjoy.

Les Feldick Ministries 30706 W. Lona Valley Rd., Kinta, OK 74552
1-800-369-7856 or (918) 768-3218