3 The Times of the Gentiles

Christ Himself reaffirmed the visions given to the prophet Daniel in the sixth century B.C. in declaring:

Luke 21: 24 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.The times of the Gentiles are that long period of time from the Babylonian captivity (586 B.C.) until the Second Coming of Jesus. During this time the Gentiles have had control over the city of Jerusalem. There have been times of temporary Jewish control over the city.

1. Maccabean Period (164-63 B.C.)
2. First Jewish Revolt against Rome (A.D. 66-70)
3. The second Jewish Revolt (the Bar-Kochba Revolt) against Rome (A.D. 132-135)
4. Since the 1967 Six-Day War, which is temporary, because Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles for at least another 3 ½ years during the Great Tribulation. (Rev 11:1-2)
   Since our study is focusing on the coming Allied Invasion of Israel it is important to direct our attention to the Forth Empire. Both Daniel passages (Chapters 2 & 7) make it clear that the Fourth Gentile Empire begins with the end of the third empire (Greek) and continues until Messiah comes to set up His Kingdom. The Fourth Empire is an Imperialistic Empire. Imperialism is simply a policy of extending a country’s influence through diplomacy or military force. This empire is diverse from all the rest. It goes through five distinct stages. Rome is only the first of the stages. Rome is not the name of the successive stages.