Times of the Gentiles

1. Times of the Gentiles Lu 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

2. Definition of “Times” • Strongs: 2540 kairos-set or proper time • Thayers: .. a fixed and definite time, the time when things are brought to crisis, the decisive epoch waited for...the right time

3. Definition of “Fulfilled” • fulfilled = Strongs: 4137 pleroo (play-ro'-o); from 4134; to make replete, .. finish (a period or task • Thayers: 4137 pleroo- • 1) to make full, to fill up, that is, to fill to the full, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally; I abound, I am liberally supplied • 2) to render full, that is, to complete ; a) to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, to fill to the brim ; b) to consummate (a number): • 1) to make complete in every particular, to render perfect • 2) to carry through to the end, to accomplish, to carry out, (some undertaking) c) to carry into effect, to bring to realization, to realize

4. The First Dominion • And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion …. Gen 1:26 ASV • This dominion of earth was thus given to Adam and all his race. Adam was perfect and fully qualified to be the lord, ruler, or king of the earth. The commission was to multiply and fill the earth. Had the human race remained perfect and sinless, this dominion would never have passed out of its hands. • There is nothing however in this commission respecting authority over fellowmen, but rather the whole race is given dominion over the earth, to cultivate and to make use of its products for the common good. • The original design of the Creator for earth's government was a Republic in which each individual would share; in which every man would be a sovereign, amply qualified in every particular to exercise the duties of his office for both his own and the general good.

5. The Administration of Angels • Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. • Heb 2:5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. • Prior to the great flood, the angels were permitted to see what they could do to help fallen humanity. But they kept not there first estate. • The record is that God cast them down, that He condemned them to an overthrow—that they might not any longer associate with the holy angels, but must be reserved in <tartarus>—our earth's atmosphere. Here they were imprisoned, not in a special place, but in the sense of having their liberties restrained, "in chains of darkness.” And the flood destroyed there offspring ending there period of administration.

6. Thoughts of Universal Dominion • God’s purpose is declared to Abram to help the sinful, dying race… “in thee and thy seed shall the families of the earth be blessed” Gen 12:3 • This was the earliest suggestion of a national, universal dominion over earth. • This promise to Abraham filled the hearts and minds of his posterity, Israel.. • Israel's hope of attaining universal dominion, not by the choice of the nations to have it so, but by God's choice and power manifested in their favor, seems to have spread to other nations also. • We find that these Gentile kings and peoples accepted their dominions as favors from the gods whom they worshiped. • Under the influence and control of Papacy the Gentile Kings claimed to rule by Divine Right

7. The Typical Kingdom of God • During the Jewish age God organized the people of Israel as his typical kingdom, under: • Moses and the Judges—a sort of Republic —but it was typical only. God was their King. • The more despotic rule of kings after the period of the Judges….especially under David and Solomon, was in some respects typical of the kingdom promised, when Messiah should reign.

8. SEVEN TIMES OF PUNISHMENT UPON THE TYPICAL KINGDOM • Lev 26:3-13 These verses describe the many blessings the Lord will give them if they walk faithfully with him and obey his commandments.. • Lev 14-28 But if they do not obey him, then the troubles which God would allow to come upon them is described. • 4 Places this Seven Times punishment is mentioned. Leviticus 26: 18,21,24,28 • Vs 17 & 18 • 17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you [The Gentiles] shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 18 And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. • Vs 23 & 24 • 23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; 24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

9. Illustrations of this Seven Times • Dan 4 Nebuchadnezzar’s Madness • Nebuchadnezzar’s Image and Daniel’s Dream of the Beastly Governments Dan 2 and 7 • Belshazzar’s feast and hand writing on the wall Dan 5

10. Nebuchadnezzar’s MadnessDaniel 4 • He had a Dream • He had a dream that a great tree grew strong in the center of the earth and reached unto the heavens • The leaves thereof were fair, very fruitful and was meat for all the beasts of the field providing shade for the fowls of the heaven that dwelt there and all flesh by it were fed by it. • Then an holy one appeared • He commanded the tree to be cut down, the leaves and fruit scattered • Only a stump was left with a band of iron and brass • Nebuchadnezzar was given the heart of a beast and the grass was his food.

11. What the dream illustrated.. • Two Pictures • First the world 's 6000 years of Sin has been a period of insanity for mankind (pictured by Nebuchadnezzar) during which man has lost control of his dominion. • Not until the 7000 would they begin to regain thier sanity till as the end of the seventh thousand year day their sanity and their dominion will be fully restored.

12. 5 Administrations • Their appears to be 5 administrations during this seven thousand year period known as the day of rest. • The first dominion under Adam, • The second the administration of the angels, • The third typical kingdom of God, • The fourth period of the Gentile times • The fifth the Reign of Christ.

13. 5 is a significant number • Five is often connected with God's favor and blessing • So here the fifth administration under the head ship of Christ Jesus too whom the first dominion is promised will come Joy, Peace, and Blessing for all mankind. • Micah 4:8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. (KJV) • Both Christ and his bride will be heirs of the Kingdom, the Christ head and body.

14. Prophetic Time... • Times in Scriptures = One Year • A Time or year = 360 days • 7 Times or years multiplied by 360 • = 2520 years

15. A Day for a Year… • Numb 14:33,34 Israel’s forty years of wandering in wilderness was determined by the number of days the spies spent in Canaan, i.e. a day for a year, • Ezek 4:1-8 The period of adversity God announced to Israel through the prophet he said "I have appointed thee each day for a year.

16. Another Proof… • Daniel 9-24-27 speaks of the 70 weeks of favor or 490 days 70 time 7 which when taken in light of it's typical nature represents 490 years • The fulfillment in the midst of the last week of this prophecy as Daniel stated, i.e. Messiah was cut off AD 33 with all favor ending to Israel in AD 36 marked by the conversion of Cornelius. The fulfillment of this prophecy Marked Daniel as a true prophet.

17. A True Prophet • Jeremiah 28:9 ... when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him. • Deut 18:22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, ...

18. Still Another proof to consider… • In Dan 7:25 and 12:7 a period of papacy's triumph is spoken of as being three and a half times or years. • Which when calculated out 360 x 3.5 = 1260 years • Referring to the same period of time Rev 11:2 (42 months) & 11:3 (1260 days). 42 x 30 = 1260 • This is the period from 539 AD when the abomination which makes' desolate was set up add 1260 years (539 + 1260) we arrive at 1799 AD marking the beginning of the Time of the End.

19. At the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses… • These examples than give us confidence in the calculation of the Gentile Times as being 7 times or years multiplied by 360 the length of a prophetic year. • 7 x 360 equals 2520 years as the total length of time fixed as the period under which Israel, represented by Jerusalem in our Lord's prophecy is to be under the control of Gentile Kingdoms. • Where does it begin to count???

20. Cyrus.. • We know from scripture that in the first year of the reign of Cyrus ended the 70 years desolation of the land of Israel as prophecied. (Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10) • It was left desolate after Zedekiah was dethroned by Nebuchadnezzar.

21. 536 B.C • The year of Cyrus’ decree is a date fixed in history as 536 BC. (B79,80), • The "first year of Cyrus" (Ezr 1:1) is not the year of his elevation to power over the Medes, nor over the Persians, nor the year of the fall of Babylon, but the year succeeding the two years during which "Darius the Mede" was viceroy in Babylon after Its fall. At this time only (536 B.C.) Cyrus became actual king over Palestine, which became a part of his Babylonian empire.Easton’s Bible Dictionary • See also Br. Jerry Leslie’s paper “Marking Time”

22. 606 B.C • Cyrus’s command to allow the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem marked the end of the 70 years of desolation. • Jer 25:11 & 12 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations • 536 B. C.+ 70 years desolation • 606 B. C..

23. What happened in 606 B.C. • Zedekiah, Israel’s last king was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar. • Eze 21:25-27 And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shallhave an end, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt himthatis low, and abase himthatis high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him. Cyrus allowed the return of Jews to their land yet they still remained a subservient people

24. The Crown overturned Ezekiel. 21:25-27 Zedekiah’s overthrow... Overturned Babylon to Medo Persion ... Overturned Medo Persia to Greece ... Overturned Greece to Rome ... Holy Roman Empire continued till He comes whose right it is Israel’s True King takes control of Earth’s Kings1914 A.D. Zedekiah’s Overthrow as the Last King of Israel606 B.C 1 B.C. 1874 1878 2520 years

25. Two Remarkable Dreams Nebuchadnezzar's dream is found in Daniel the 2nd chapter and Daniel's view of earthly governments Daniel 7th Chapter . Both refer to this period of Gentile dominion under 4 successive universal empires.

26. And Two views of Earthly Governments • Nebuchadnezzar's view represents how man perceives this rule of men, And Daniel's vision represents the more correct view of how God sees these wicked governments.

27. Man’s perceptions… • “Thou art this head of gold" • The kingdom of Media and Persion is represented in the silver • Greece is represented in the brass • Rome, represented in the Iron • Church and State represented in the Iron mixed with clay

28. Feet of the image… • The true Stone is cut out of the mountain represent Christ's Kingdom • Clay is imitation stone represented the false Kingdom of Christ ruling jointly with the worldly powers. • Jesus said my Kingdom is not of this world yet the Papacy which developed from the church's original purity prostituted itself by uniting with beastly governments while claiming to be betrothed to Christ.

29. God’s view…The Beastly character of each empire • Babylon is represent in the lion with wings of an eagle. • Medo Persion is represented as a bear to which it was told to devour much flesh • Greece was represented by a leopard with four wings of a fowl and four heads. • The fourth beast is so terrible it defies description

30. Our Understanding • These visions of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 refer to the same period mentioned by our Lord in Luke 21:24. • The period of the beastly gentile governments which our Lord called 'the times of the gentiles’ 2520 years in length expiring in the year 1914 AD. • For 40 years the Pastor and the brethren with him preached that the end would come in 1914 now hear what modern authorities have to say:

31. After the War... • As the fighting slowly stops, the haggling over peace treaties begins. Swathes of Europe have been churned and ruined, four empires have fallen, over 8.5 million have been killed and over twice as many wounded from across the globe. New technology has been created, America has risen to prominence as an economic power and new countries are forming in Europe and the Middle East. The world has been irrecoverably changed. • Title: The First World War: A Short Timeline • Author: Robert Wilde • Date: 2003 • http://europeanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/blww1stimeline7.htm

32. A Funeral… • So gorgeous was the spectacle on the May morning of 1910 when nine kings rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England .. .. • Teddy Roosevelt the only elected head of state who was walking at the end of the line • …Together they represented seventy nations in the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, THE LAST . • The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history's clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again" "The Guns of August" written by Barbara Tuchman, Nobel Prize winning historian

33. Another observance… • "A world mesmerized by Science and Progress mocked the mysticism of religious sects which had long predicted that the world would end in the year 1914; fifty years later the world isn't so sure that it didn's end in 1914.“ • An Essay on Time: The Tempo of History, An Analysis by the Editors, THE GREAT IDEAS TODAY, 1963, Brittannica Great Books Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., Chicago, pp. 107.108.

34. The End of the Old World…. • The old world did end in 1914 struck by a mortal blow from the stone cut out of the mountain And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Dan 2:44

35. As predicted … • For 40 years the return of our Lord in 1874 as bridegroom, king and reaper and the end of the Gentile Times due in 1914 was predicted in the writings of the pastor and disseminated by brethren. • And the fact that within 3 years by 1918 every Throne in Europe toppled is strong proof and stamps the pastor's writings as true. • Just as Daniel was shown to be a true prophet.

36. Belshazzar's Babylon • Belshazzar's Babylon is a picture of the anti-typical Babylon, church state system represented in the 10 toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s Image. • “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsen” • Babylon’s days were numbered and they have been weighed in the scales of God's justice and have been found lacking.

37. “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin” • Dan 5:25-27 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. • This is the interpretation of the thing: • MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. • TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. • PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

38. Chaldaic table of measures... • The base unit of their ancient monetary system was the gerah. • Twenty of these gerahs formed one shekel [or, tekel]. • One thousand gerahs made a Minah [or, Mena]. • Peres or Upharsin [the plural of Peres], means division and was used as we use the world half , I.E., a half dollar. It referred to a half Minah, being equal to 500 gerahs. • Mena 1000 gerahs • Mena 1000 gerahs • Tekel 20 gerahs • Upharsin 500 gerahs • Total 2520 gerahs

39. God is an exact time keeper... The handwriting on the wall takes on new meaning —"God hath numbered [the days of] thy kingdom, and finished it.” The number of Babylon's days was not one day longer or shorter. And coincides with the ending of the Gentile Times

40. 9th of Av… • FAST OF TISHA B'AV (Av 9) - Is a day of fasting commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples. • The temple of Solomon destroyed by Nebuchednezzar and the temple of Herod destroyed by Titus of Rome.

41. The 5 Calamities.. • According to the Mishnah (Taanit, 4:6), five specific events occurred on the ninth of Av that warrant fasting: • 1.On this day, the Twelve spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan returned from their mission. .. but 10 of the spies brought an "evil report" (See Numbers ch 13-14) • 2. Solomon's Temple (the First Temple) and the Kingdom of Judah were destroyed by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 (606 we believe)BCE and the Judeans were sent into the Babylonian exile. • 3. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in 70 CE scattering the people of Judea and commencing a two thousand year Jewish exile. • 4. The Bar Kokhba's revolt against Rome failed, and Bar Kokhba was killed, as was Rabbi Akiva and many other important sages of the Mishnah, and Betar was destroyed. • 5. Following the Siege of Jerusalem, the subsequent razing of Jerusalem occurred one year later.

42. Later calamities on 9 Av • A large number of calamities are alleged to have occurred on the ninth of Av:According to the Talmud (Tractate Taanit), the destruction of the Second Temple began on that date and was finally consumed by the flames on the next day -- the Tenth of Av. • The declaration of the Crusades by Pope Urban II in 1095 • The burning of the Talmud in 1242 • In 1290, the signature of the edict by King Edward I expelling the Jews from England • The Alhambra decree was put into effect, leading to the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492 • The First World War started in 1914 • The first killings at Treblinka took place in 1942 • The AMIA Bombing (Asociación Mutua Israelita Argentina) by Arab terrorists on July 18, 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which killed 86 and wounded more than 120.

43. August 1st 1914 Thus August 1st 1914 saw the end of the Gentile Times on the selfsame day of the burning of the 1st temple 9th of AB 606BC 2520 years later and the selfsame day as the burning of the 2nd Temple in AD 70 on the 9th of AB 1844 years later.

44. Anti-Typical Babylon... • Belshazzar's Babylon is a picture of the antitypical Babylon, church state system represented in the 10 toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s Image. Its days too were numbered and they too have been weighed in the scales of God's justice and have been found wanting. God's judgement is; Revelations 18:2-5; Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird…. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

45. The Day of Trouble has begun... • Sealing in Forehead Rev 7 - completed in 1914 • Fourth destination of Elijah & Elisha is reached, I.e. Jordan - 1914. • Winepress Feature began -1914 • Smiting of Image and Crushing of the ten toes began- 1914...

46. What this subject Proves: 1. .. the Kingdom for which our Lord taught us to pray saying .. has begun to assume control .…Gen 49:10; Matt 6:10; Rev 11:15 2. .. "he whose right it is" .. is present as earth's new Ruler" Ezek 21:27 3. ... before the complete disintegration of the rule of imperfect men the church must be complete …..Dan 12:1; Matt 13:41-43 4. ... that Jerusalem will never again be trodden down under the rule of the Gentiles but rather that they are now firmly planted in their land never to be plucked up out of their land again. Isa 33:20 5. ...Israel's blindness will soon be turned away. Rom 11:25 6. ... the 'great time of trouble' will reach it's culmination in a world wide reign of anarchy.. and then will come the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwells righteousness Isa 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13 7. .. God's Kingdom, organized in power existed before the 'end of the Gentile Times' for the very purpose of crushing to pieces ... the nations of the earth. 1 Cor 15:25; Psa 2:6-9

47. The Assurance.. • Dan 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure

48. The Desire of ALL Nations! Hag 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now itis high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.