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 (Lk. 21:24).
The term, "times of the Gentiles," is only found
once in the Word of God, and that is in Luke 21 where our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself so designates the entire period during which the children of Israel are
wanderers among the nations, and Jerusalem and the land of Palestine are trodden
town by Gentile feet. This expression "times of the Gentiles" covers a
period of time that has now reached to something like 2500 years. It is
symbolized in the great metal image as seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream,
related in Daniel 2, and in another form by the prophet in his vision, related
in chapter 7. It embraces all the ages since God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to
assume world-wide dominion, and delivered His people into his hands as a
punishment for their persistent idolatry. From that day to the present Jerusalem
has been dominated by Gentile powers.
Already everything is being prepared for the solemn events of
the time of the end, the brief period of judgment which is to follow the rapture
of the Church, the period in which the judgments predicted in the third part of
the book of Revelation will be poured out upon this earth. In order to lead up
to this it will be necessary to carry your minds back to the previous acts of
this great drama.
Act One
The beasts of the field and the fowls of
the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them
all. Thou art this head of gold (Dan. 2:38).
When the curtain is rung up, we find Nebuchadnezzar, the
"head of gold," and his Babylonian army overrunning the land of
Palestine, and finally battering at the gates of Jerusalem. Thousands of the
wretched people of Judah are carried in chains to the very land from Abraham, at
God’s command, separated himself, and went forth "not knowing
whither." For seventy years the captive Israelites were embittered by hard
bondage.
Act Two
And after thee shall arise another kingdom
inferior to thee....(Dan. 2:39). When the curtain rises again, the Medes and
Persians are in the ascendancy. This is the silver part of the image. Babylon
has fallen and under the milder rule of the Persians, a remnant of the Jews were
permitted to return to the land of Palestine. There they rebuilt the temple and
the city of Jerusalem was restored, but never on the same scale of magnificence
as in the days of old. For almost a century and a half a measure of liberty is
enjoyed.
Act Three
And another third kingdom of brass, which
shall bear rule over all the earth (Dan. 2:39).
When the curtain rises again, we see Alexander the Great,
after having united the states of Greece, crossing over from Europe, intent upon
avenging the Hellenic states. Alexander is clearly the "he-goat" from
the west who rushes with choler upon the Medo-Persian ram with two horns, and
overthrows completely the authority of the Persians. After his death his great
empire is divided into four parts, and for about two hundred years the
descendants of four of his generals partition the world among them. During the
long period Palestine is almost continually a scene of war and conflict.
Act Four
And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as
iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron
that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise (Dan. 2:40).
As we open our New Testaments, we see the curtain rising on
the Roman empire. In Luke 2:1 we read that "there went out a decree from
Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed". Every country in the
known world was under the sway of the great iron kingdom. The Roman empire was
in the ascendancy when our Lord Jesus Christ was born. This fourth act ended
when the Lord Jesus died on the cross. For these past 1900 years people have
been living as it were between the acts.
Act Five
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 forever (Dan. 2:44).
The fifth act will begin when the Lord Jesus descends from
heaven with a shout to receive His church. When this act begins, you find the
city of Jerusalem in the center of the stage once more, and the Jews are
gathered back to the land of Palestine. I think we may say that God is preparing
all this at the present moment. The curtain is still down, but the stage is set.
It is surely God who has brought Jerusalem to the front. Recent events, in
connection with Palestine and the Jews, tell us with unerring certainty that the
coming of the Lord draweth nigh. At the time of the end, Jerusalem is not only
to be the center of the stage, but the land of Palestine is to be a battleground
for the greatest conflict the world has ever known.
In the West there will arise a ten-kingdomed confederation in
the territory of the old Roman empire, thus reviving it in a new form and
acknowledging the ruler of one of these kingdoms as sovereign of the western
world. This head of the western confederation will make a league with the head
of the Jewish nation guaranteeing to protect them in their land if any enemies
come against them. Then the enemies of the Jews will make an effort to conquer
the land of Palestine for themselves.
The stage is being set. The curtain may go up at any time.
Every Christian may be taken away from the world before tomorrow’s sun arises,
and everything would be in readiness for the last act of the times of the
Gentiles. The darkest days that this world has ever had are just before us.
I would commend to my fellow-Christians the serious words of
the apostle Paul, found in 1 Cor. 7:29-31: But this I say, brethren, the time
is short; it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had
none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as
though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and
they that use this world, as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world
passeth away.