Yes, I do believe so, and I think HIS-story (history) proves it as it's been nearly two thousand years since Jesus' first coming! One such *gap* is here where Jesus is quoting part of Isaiah 61:
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias {Isaiah}. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. {Luk 4:16-21}
Notice what exactly He said:
1) to preach the gospel to the poor
2) to heal the brokenhearted
3) to preach deliverance to the captives
4) recovering of sight to the blind {part of 4 below}
5) to set at liberty them that are bruised {part of 4 below}
6) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord
Did Jesus fulfill all those things at His first coming? Of course He did! However, Jesus did not quote the entire text! What's missing?
{Isa 61:1-3} The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Notice exactly what was prophesied by Isaiah, through the Spirit of the Lord GOD:
1) to preach good tidings unto the meek {1 above}
2) to bind up the brokenhearted {2 above}
3) to proclaim liberty to the captives {3 above}
4) the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound {4 & 5 above}
5) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD {6 above}
NOT PART OF WHAT JESUS SAID ABOVE,
THUS FUTURE TO THOSE OF HIS DAY
6) and the day of vengeance of our God
7) to comfort all that mourn
8) To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion
9) to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, ...
When Jesus came the first time, He was the One foretold of by Moses:
{Deu 18:18-19} I will raise them up a Prophet {Jesus} from among their brethren, like unto thee {Moses}, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him.
{Jhn 6:14} Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. {Jhn 12:49-50}
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. {Jhn 14:10 KJV}
And, of Jesus' first coming, had Israel accepted Him, He would have given them much joy & happiness. However, they did NOT accept Him at that time, as He knew they wouldn't when He lamented over Jerusalem before His crucifixion:
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! {Mat 23:37 KJV}
This lamentation was also presented to them in the parable of the Householder {God the Father}:
Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast [him] out of the vineyard, and slew [him]. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out [his] vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet. {Mat 21:33-46}
And this testimony from Matthew is also noted in Mark's gospel:
And he began to speak unto them by parables. A [certain] man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about [it], and digged [a place for] the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. And they caught [him], and beat him, and sent [him] away empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded [him] in the head, and sent [him] away shamefully handled. And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him, and killed [him], and cast [him] out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way. {Mar 12:1-12}
Jesus not only reiterated what was past (rejecting and killing the prophets of God) but also what was in His own day (they'd likewise reject and kill Him, the "son"), but He also tells them of the future that would result from their stiff-necked behavior ... that future has been unfolding for the nearly 2,000 years. This is the *gap*. It's otherwise called "the times of the Gentiles":
And they {Israel} shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations {70 AD}: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. {Luk 21:24, read the whole chapter; see also Mat 24 & Mar 13}
Noting, "the times of the Gentiles" is still going on because there are still Gentiles (non-Israelis) trampling the holy temple mount area; and this is NOT the modern-day Jews since they are not even allowed to worship on the temple mount at this point in time. The temple mount is currently under the control of the Arabs, through Jordan. This particular *gap* is also eluded to in a couple of other scriptures:
{Hos 6:2} After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
{2Pe 3:8} But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
So, if *two days* is actually two thousand years ... time is almost up and the *gap* is nearing it's close. On the *third day* (beginning of the third thousandth year) He will raise us up at the "resurrection of the just", which is also known as "the first resurrection" {See Luk 14, Acts 24, and Rev 20}
I do hope you are WATCHING, as we're commanded to do:
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. {Mat 24:42-43}
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. {Mat 25:13}
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. [For the Son of man is] as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch. {Mar 13:33-37}
And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find [them] so, blessed are those servants. {Luk 12:38}
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. {Luk 21:36}
{1Th 5:6} Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.
{2Ti 4:5} But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. {Rev 3:3 KJV}
I think that about covers it. Be a Berean, search the scriptures, trust God's word. Just like His first coming, most were not aware the time was at hand ... so it is with His second coming. He's coming SOONER than most believe!
{Act 17:10-11 KJV} And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
{2Ti 2:15} Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Thanks for reading ;o}
{Jesus is the English transliteration for His Hebrew name: Yeshua (meaning: Salvation). All scripture quotes are King James Version (KJV); I use {curly brackets} to contain my comments within scriptures when I feel clarification might help; Blue text is God speaking in the OT, Red text is Jesus speaking in the NT}
