I journey through the pages of scripture, contemplating the sacred words that reveal divine truths and unfold the heavenly narrative of God’s plan. In Luke 21:24, Jesus prophesied future events, foretelling that “Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (ESV). Again, in Romans 11:25, Apostle Paul echoes this phrase, stating, “A partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (ESV). As I ponder upon these texts, I am urged to uncover – what does “times of the Gentiles” truly signifies according to the Bible?
Though the Old Testament does not explicitly mention the phrase, there are subtle indications that seem to align. For instance, Ezekiel 30:3 signifies “a time of doom for the nations,” linking it with the Day of the Lord. Then in the book of Daniel, we see accounts of Gentile world powers and their influence in God’s cosmic design. For example, Nebuchadnezzar’s statue made of different materials (Daniel 2:31-45) symbolizes consecutive Gentile empires that will prevail until Christ returns to establish His dominion. Daniel’s vision of the four beasts (Daniel 7:1-27) also reveals four empires that will reign temporarily until Christ’s eternal kingship. Each of these prophecies climaxes with an allusion to Christ’s kingdom, which means the “times” of these Gentile rulers cover the era between Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire and the glorious return of Christ to set up His kingdom. Thus, we are currently in “the times of the Gentiles” – the age of Gentile supremacy.
The Book of Revelation supplements this interpretation. John’s vision as narrated in Revelation 11:2 establishes that Jerusalem will remain under Gentile rule despite the restoration of the temple. Also, Revelation 19:17-19 details the ultimate defeat of the Beast’s army by the Lord, right before Christ’s millennial reign.
Coming back to Luke 21:24, it signals to a time when Jerusalem is under Gentile control. This epoch began with Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Jerusalem in 588 BC and persists till the present. Romans 11:25 hints at God’s rationale for the Gentile era: the dissemination of the gospel across global boundaries. Notably, in the first century, the extensive use of Greek and the Roman road network facilitated the spreading of the Good News, the accomplishments of the pagan world inadvertently furthering evangelism.
A central theme in Romans 11 demonstrates that with their rejection of Christ, the Jews were momentarily severed from a communion with God, and so the Good News was received joyfully by the Gentiles. Though this temporal hardening of Israel does not exclude individual Jews from salvation, it bars the nation from recognizing Christ as Messiah until His divine blueprint is accomplished. However, when the designated time arrives, God will restore the nation entirely and their faith in Him will be rekindled, marking an end to “the times of the Gentiles” (Isaiah 17:7; 62:11–12; Romans 11:26). My exploration has made this clear to me, that throughout the ebbs and flows of History, under the dominion of Gentiles or the Jews, every unfolding event is following the divine arc, architected by the greatest of all Architects.
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