TIMES OF THE GENTILES:
"Verily I say unto you,
This generation shall not pass away, till all
be
fulfilled." (Luke 21:32)
The
times of the Gentiles has to be kept in it's proper historical
context. Jesus said that "all", including the times of the
Gentiles, would be fulfilled before his contemporary generation had
passed. Dispensationalists go outside the box of "this
generation" in order to teach a futuristic view of Christ's
coming. To do that they have to redefine both "the times of the
Gentiles" and "this generation". Needless to say,
their "1914 or 1948 generation" has proven to be more than just a
little embarrassing.
"And
when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
desolation thereof is nigh . . . and Jerusalem shall be trodden down
of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
(Luke 21:20, 24)
The times of the Gentiles referred to
the treading down, or desolation, of first century Jerusalem, which
Jesus called "the days of vengeance". In other words, it
was God's mission for the Gentiles to bring judgment upon Jerusalem.
This is consistent with past judgments upon Israel, when God brought
Gentiles armies into their land to desolate it.
The whole controversy centers on the
duration of the treading down of Jerusalem. The
Greek for "trodden" is pat-eh'-o (#3961 in Strong's
Concordance), and it means "to trample down underfoot". The
parallel to Lk.21:24 is seen in Revelation 11:2, which says:
"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 (pateho) forty and two
months." Rev.11:2
(Remembering that Revelation and
Matthew 24 deal with the same event) The times of the Gentiles, or
treading down of Jerusalem, entailed no more than a forty two
month period of time, the exact duration of the Jewish-Roman
War. This is in perfect harmony with Daniel 12:7, where the defining
characteristic of "the time of the end" is said to be "the
scattering of the power of the holy people", which we are told
would be accomplished during "a time, times, and a half",
or forty two months.
The parables Jesus told are clear on this destruction and scattering of the Jews as well as who was the orchestrator of the events and the rationale behind it.
Mar
12:9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do?
He
will come (ἔρχομαι
erchomai) and
destroy the husbandmen, and
will give the vineyard unto others.
Matthew
21:
38
But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves,
This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his
inheritance.
39
And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40
When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh (ἔρχομαι
erchomai),
what will he do unto those husbandmen?
41
They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and
will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render
him the fruits in their seasons.
42
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone
which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the
corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
43
Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you,
and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
44 And
whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever
it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
45 And
when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they
perceived that he spake of them.
Luke
20:
13
Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my
beloved son: it may be they will reverence him
when they see him.
Luk
20:14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among
themselves, saying, This is the heir: come let us kill him, that the
inheritance may be ours.
Luk
20:15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?
Luk
20:16 He shall come (ἔρχομαι
erchomai),
and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others.
And when they heard it,
they said, God forbid.
Luk
20:17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is
written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become
the head of the corner?
Luk
20:18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on
whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Luk
20:19 And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to
lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that
he had spoken this parable against them.
The
Lord did come and destroy those husbandmen (leaders) using the Romans
army when they destroyed Jerusalem and killed almost everyone in it.
And He did leave their house desolate and gave the vineyard to others
who would bring forth the fruit. The vineyard represents the
kingdom.
The
timing on this is relevant:
Mat
10:23 But when they persecute you in
this city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye
shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man
be come (ἔρχομαι
erchomai).
Luk
9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which
shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
Mat
16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which
shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming
(ἔρχομαι
erchomai)
in
his kingdom.
This
coming in vengeance, would climax the tribulation and occur in the
lifespan of Christ's own generation. (Matthew 24:34)
Matthew
24:34
Mat
24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun
be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars
shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken:
Mat
24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the
Son of man in heaven:
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see
the Son of man coming (ἔρχομαι
erchomai),
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
-
- - -
Leola
writes
“The word parousia
does not
necessarily denote both "an arrival and a consequent presence";
it commonly denoted just the arrival, such as a terminus or an
end-point of a time period (such as a state of affairs continuing
UNTIL someone arrives). It is trivially easy to find clear examples
of this in Greek literature. The parousia
itself
would then be a sudden change of the situation as opposed to being
itself a duration. That is how it is used in the synoptic
apocalypse. It is used interchangeably with erkhomai,
and is an event that occurs suddenly or unexpectedly. The
comparison of the parousia
to the
Flood of Noah emphasizes the suddenness of the event that will END an
ongoing state of affairs. What was arriving to those on the
earth was the Flood itself; it wasn't "invisibly present"
beforehand. And even if it was, what happened during those
years long before the Flood that made the Flood go from "not
present" to "present"? Don't you see the
problem? "Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and
the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill;
one will be taken and the other left" (v. 40-41). That
pertains to the parousia,
in analogy with the Flood, and it highlights the suddenness of the
event; people would be in the midst of their daily activities when it
happens, just as those before the Flood were in the midst of eating,
drinking, and so forth. The arrival denoted by the parousia
isn't
invisible either; " For
as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. "
(v. 27). Sure there would be a presence after this, but it
isn't one unremarked upon by the world at large. It was going
to be absolutely obvious, with a spectacle in the sky and with a loud
trumpet call from the heavens."
The "great
tribulation" (days
of vengeance) culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD
was a localized coming ercmomai of
Christ in judgment; an event which one could anticipate as to timing,
and escape from on foot...weather permitting and after which the Jews
who were not slain, would be carried off into all nations....all this
in the lifetime of some in Jesus' audience (37 years removed) The
parousia of our Lord
however, was spoken of as future worldwide coming, impossible to
escape by running anywhere, impossible to anticipate as to timing,
where believers will be taken/removed from beds and workplace during
normal times when people will be carrying on as usual just like in
the time of Noah. No signs, no warning, no fleeing and worldwide.
