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“search the scriptures” John 5:39
What is the ‘times of the Gentiles’ and why is it important today?
The ‘times of the Gentiles’ describes a defined period when God permits Gentile powers to rule over Jerusalem and exercise world dominion. The phrase comes from Luke chapter 21 verse 24, spoken by the Lord Jesus, while its prophetic framework is most fully outlined in the book of Daniel.
In Daniel chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great statue made of different materials, each symbolizing successive Gentile empires: Babylon (head of gold), Medo-Persia (silver chest and arms), Greece (bronze belly and thighs), and Rome (iron legs, ending in iron and clay feet). Daniel chapter 7 presents the same empires as savage beasts. Together, these chapters show both the outward splendour of this period of Gentile dominion, yet God’s true evaluation of these empires as predatory and destructive.
Consequently, the times of the Gentiles began in 586 BC with Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. Israel once knew the Lord as their King, but rejected His rule in favour of human leadership, 1 Sam. 8. 7. Moses had warned that persistent rebellion would result in foreign domination, Deut. 28. 36, 37. This Gentile rule was a testimony to Israel’s national failure after centuries of disobedience.
Yet God showed compassion. He raised faithful witnesses during this period, such as Daniel, Esther, and Nehemiah, and even used Gentile rulers like Cyrus to restore Israel to the land. Still, Israel had no king. This period of Gentile rule caused the royal line of David to fade into obscurity until the rightful heir appeared. The angels announced, ‘unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord’, Luke 2. 11. The long-promised Son of David had arrived in humility, identified by the astounding words, ‘Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger’, v. 12.
The Lord Jesus stated that, ‘Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’, Luke 21. 24.1 While Luke chapter 21 partly refers to AD 70, it ultimately points to the future tribulation. According to Daniel chapter 2, the era ends when the stone cut without hands destroys the statue and becomes a great mountain filling the whole earth, vv. 35, 44, 45. Daniel chapter 7 identifies this stone as ‘one like the Son of man’, v. 13, to whom is given an everlasting kingdom, v. 14. The Lord Jesus confirmed that these passages refer to His future return in glory to establish His visible kingdom over the earth, personally reigning from Jerusalem, Luke 21. 27, 28.
The times of the Gentiles reminds us that God remains sovereign over all empires and rulers throughout history, even those exalted in pride, as Nebuchadnezzar learned. The word ‘until’, Luke 21. 24, also confirms that God is not finished with Israel. The Abrahamic covenant remains unfulfilled and will only be fully realized through the personal reign of Christ.2 Until then, Israel, especially Jerusalem, will not enjoy complete dominion of the land in God’s purposes. At the same time, Israel remains under God’s protective care until His promises are fulfilled, ‘for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye’, Zech. 2. 8. This is crucial since Israel is the focus of satanic opposition3 as the true heirs of the Abrahamic promises.4
Meanwhile, the period of the times of the Gentiles has been a time of unparalleled blessing to all nations, described as the ‘riches of the Gentiles’, Rom. 11. 12. We must remember that today the same God who watches over Israel also has a care and compassion for all the nations of the earth, including the enemies of Israel.5
This is particularly significant during the great tribulation when the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem will be desecrated at the time of the abomination of desolation, Dan. 8. 13; 9. 27; 11. 31; Matt 24. 15.
This is an unconditional covenant symbolized in Genesis chapter 15 verse 17 where God alone passes between the divided carcasses of the animals as ‘a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp’.
‘The devil is a dispensationalist’. Since Satan knows that God’s future purposes are for Israel, he will do everything he can to thwart them. The Lord Jesus also has Jewish heritage. To hurt Israel is to hurt Him.
This is qualified, ‘He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ’, Gal. 3. 16. Only through the personal reign of the Lord Jesus over this earth will the covenants to Abraham and David be fully realized.
This truth is evident even in the book of Jonah where we see that God even cares for Israel’s enemies, and especially their little ones, Jonah 4. 10, 11.
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