The Times of the Gentiles
TRANSLATION
(20) “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near. (21) Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. (22) For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. (23) How awful it will be in those days for those who are pregnant and for nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. (24) They will fall by the sword and be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
(25) “And there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. (26) People will faint for terror, apprehensive about what is coming on the world, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. (27) At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (28) When these things begin to take place, stand and lift up your heads, for your redemption is very near.”
OBSERVATIONS
According to the previous segment, the disciples desired to know the answers to two questions: “When will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?” In today’s segment Jesus provided two answers to these questions, one that would be fulfilled soon within a generation and a second that would take place in the far distant future. In speaking about immediate events, Jesus repeated three terms: “Jerusalem” (vss. 20 & 24), “city” (vs. 21), and “Gentiles” (vs. 24). Essentially, he warned the citizens of Jerusalem to flee the city because of the coming devastation which the Romans would bring upon it. This catastrophe took place in AD 70 when General Titus, who would later become emperor, besieged and completely razed the city in the first Jewish-Roman War.
Shifting his focus to the far distant future, Jesus then described the cataclysmic signs that would precede the second appearance of the Messiah who would come “with power and great glory.” While these events will terrify most of the earth’s inhabitants, those who love the Lord will lift up their heads in anticipation because they know that these signs indicate that their redemption is drawing near.
OUTLINE
I. Warning: Jerusalem will soon be destroyed. (20-24)
II. Waiting: The Messiah will someday return in great glory. (25-28)
IDEA STATEMENT
The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy concerning Jerusalem’s destruction within a generation assures us that his prophecy regarding his far more distant Second Coming will also come to pass.
APPLICATION
“The times of the Gentiles” is the name Jesus gave to the period between the destruction of Jerusalem and his Second Coming in glory. If our reckoning is correct, this means that we are still living in “the times of the Gentiles” today. Another frequently used designation for this era is “the Church Age” during which the Gospel is proclaimed throughout the entire world. According to Matthew, Jesus was speaking prophetically to his disciples when he declared, “I will build my church” (Mt. 16:18). The Church Age or “times of the Gentiles” began when the Holy Spirit came to indwell all believers on the Day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2:1-4. Some have called this event, “the birthday of the Church.”
Although the first members of the church were Jewish, people from every tribe and tongue and nation soon began to turn to Christ as Savior and fill the churches. It was Paul, the Apostle to these Gentiles, who wrote the definitive description of the Church in Ephesians 2 using statements like “you (Gentiles) who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13) and “you (Gentiles) are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people (the Jews) and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:19 & 20). After the Romans had destroyed Herod’s Temple and the city in AD 70 and then scattered its Jewish population to the far corners of the earth, Jerusalem was “trampled underfoot by the Gentiles.” It has remained under Gentile domination to the present day even though modern Israel became a nation in 1948 and recently designated Jerusalem its capital city. Some have viewed these events as fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy. Others have been reluctant to identify the present “secular” nation of Israel in this way.
“The times of the Gentiles” has been marked by two dispersions. First, the Gospel has been and continues to be dispersed to the uttermost parts of the earth by the Church. At the same time, the Jews, God’s covenant people, have largely remained a nation dispersed, scattered to the ends of the earth, far away from the City of Zion. However, when the Messiah returns, he will re-gather the nation of Israel and establish his Millennial Kingdom in Jerusalem. At that future moment, “the times of the Gentiles” will at long last come to an end.