When Will the Times of the Gentiles Be Fulfilled?

 

Dennis Edwards

Will the Jewish people as a whole find salvation in Christ? Will all Israel be saved, and if so, when? When will the “times of the gentiles be fulfilled?” We will be looking at the last question, before we begin our study of Zechariah 12-14, where we look at the other questions.  We’ll start with Apostle Paul’s words on the subject.

Romans 11:24 “For if you (Gentile believers) were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature (the Gentile culture with its Pantheistic beliefs), and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree (the Jewish culture with its Theistic beliefs): how much more shall these (unbelieving Jewish people), which be natural branches (which were cut off for their unbelief), be grafted into their own olive tree (anew, when they come back to faith)?

Romans 11:25 “For I would not, brethren that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so, all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer (Jesus), and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.’”

The blindness in part which happened unto Israel was at the time of Christ. A small remnant of Jewish people believed that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, received Him, and became sons of God. They were the initial leaders of the new Christian movement. However, the majority of the leaders of the Jewish nation rejected Christ and led the nation astray into unbelief and spiritual blindness, as Paul has written about elsewhere.

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

The minds of the Jewish people are generally still under the veil of unbelief concerning Jesus. However, Apostle Paul seems to be saying that when the “times of the Gentiles” comes to an end, “all” Israel will be saved. Many are, in fact, being saved today. In Israel alone approximately 20,000 of the 9,300,000 population or around 2% of the Jewish people believe on Jesus as Messiah. Messianic Jews incorporate traditional Jewish culture and religious customs into their Christian belief system.

When will the veil be lifted off the eyes and hearts of the Jewish people in general, so that the “remnant” or “all” Israel be saved? Since Apostle Paul has said that Israel would be in blindness in part until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, we must investigate and discern what the “times of the Gentiles” means, and when it will end. Where else in the Scriptures do we find the phrase “the time of the Gentiles?”

The first place we will look is in Luke 21 the parallel chapter to the end-time prophecy on Jesus’ Second Coming found in Mark 13 and in Matthew 24. Jesus used the phrase, “the times of the Gentiles,” when talking about the time of the end and the affliction that shall take place before His “coming in a cloud with power, and great glory.” [Luke 21:27]

Luke 21:20,22,23b,24 “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation is nigh…For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled…For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people…and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

The prophecy continues,

Luke 21:25-28 “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring: men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power, and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws nigh.”

If the above prophecy is still in the future, since Jesus has not come in the cloud to gather His saints to Himself as we see in the parallel chapter of Mark 13 and Matthew 24, then the “times of the Gentiles” has not yet been fulfilled or completed.

In the Old Testament we don’t find the exact phrase, “the times of the Gentiles.” However, in Ezekiel 30:3 it says, “For the day in near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen (Gentiles).” Usually, the “day of the Lord” refers to either the period of the Great Tribulation and Wrath of God, or singularly to the period of the Wrath of God. The Battle of Armageddon found in Ezekiel 38&39 and Revelation 19, with Jesus returning to the earth to take back the kingdom, takes place during or at the end of the Wrath of God.

In the book of Daniel, we find the various dreams or visions of the future by both Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the Lord reveals to him “what shall be in the latter days.” (Daniel 2:28) The different kingdoms mentioned that rule over the earth before the Lord returns to take the kingdom are Gentile kingdoms: Babylon, Medio-Persia, Greece, Rome, the One World Government of 10 nations, partly of iron and partly of clay.  

At the Lord’s coming during the Wrath of God, Jesus sets up the 1,000-year millennium kingdom and the times of the Gentile nations ruling the world comes to an end for that time period.

Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings (of the Gentile kingdoms that rule the world, from Babylon through Antichrist) 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 (Gentile) kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

Daniel’s vision gives us more detail about those kingdoms and especially about the last kingdom of the “little horn,” commonly referred to as the Antichrist or beast. Finally, when the Lord returns at the Battle of Armageddon, “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” (Daniel 7:27) A partial fulfilment of the above prophecy occurs during the 1,000-year Millennium. A more complete fulfilment occurs in the period of the New Heaven and Earth

In Daniel 8 and the second half of Daniel 11, we find more details about that last Antichrist bestial kingdom and his attempt to rule over all the earth. When Christ returns at the Battle of Armageddon, the beast “shall be broken without hand” (Daniel 8:25c), and “come to his end, and none shall help him” (Daniel 11:45b).

It seems, therefore, that we can conclude that the “times of the Gentiles” is the period that the major world empires from Babylon down to the present day have ruled the world. The “times of the Gentiles” will continue on into the final world government of the Antichrist, called the beast, and will only end at Christ’s return when He gives the kingdom to the saints and rules the world from Jerusalem during His Millennial Reign.

Revelation 11:2 “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months,” (or 1,260 days).

Though some scholars have speculated that the “times of the Gentiles” ended when the Jewish nation was born in 1948, the above prophecy from Revelation 11 shows that the Gentiles shall control Jerusalem during the 3 ½ year period of tribulation and that therefore the “times of the Gentiles” has not ended.

Daniel 8:13-14 “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

In the above verses, we see the sanctuary and the host being trodden under foot just as we saw in Revelation 11:2. Here, we are given the length of time of how long the daily sacrifice will take place, including with it, the time of the transgression of desolation. We are told it will be 2,300 days all together. The transgression of desolation seems to be referring to the Great Tribulation period of 3 ½ years, or 1260 days. If the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation together comes to 2,300 days and if the desolation is 1260 days, then the time of the daily sacrifice would consist of the remaining 1040 days. The Jewish people would have their renewed sacrifices during those days.

Daniel 9:27 “And he (the beast or Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (seven-year period): and in the midst of the week (after 3 ½ years) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

Daniel 11:31 “And arms shall stand on his (the beast or Antichrist’s) part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.”

From the above verses, we know that the Antichrist shall stop the sacrifice at the half way point of the last seven years, and place the abomination that makes desolation in the Temple, or holy place. The Gentiles under the Antichrist shall control Jerusalem for that 3 ½ year period of Great Tribulation spoken of by Jesus in His Matthew 24 prophecy of the end-times.  They shall tread it under foot for 3 ½ years as we have seen in Revelation 11:2 and elsewhere. Jesus gave the placing of the abomination in the temple as the sign that the Great Tribulation will begin.

Matthew 24:15&21 “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place [which could mean Mount Moriah or a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem], (whosoever reads, let him understand:)…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Luke 21 is the parallel chapter of Matthew 24. In Luke 21:24 we read earlier, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” We conclude that the “times of the Gentiles” has not ended, but will end when Jesus comes back during the Wrath of God at the Battle of Armageddon and defeats the Antichrist and removes the abomination that makes desolate from the holy place.

Apostle Paul said that the Jewish nation would be in partial blindness or in unbelief “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Rom. 11:25) The “fulness of the Gentiles,” or the “time of the Gentiles” shall be completed or fulfilled at the coming of Christ when He initiates the Millennium kingdom. 

In our next lesson we will look at the prophecies of Zechariah concerning the salvation of the Jewish people at Jesus' return.