[Roundtable] Is the Time of the Gentiles Fulfilled? ­ Is This the Final Generation?

[Jefferis Peterson]

Is the Time of the Gentiles Fulfilled?  40 Years After Jerusalem Returns to
Jewish Hands ­ Is This the Final Generation?.
(see http://www.scholarscorner.com/eschaton/gentiles.html for reference
links and full scripture references)

I get skittish about end time predictions and dates. The landscape is
littered with those "prophets" who have falsely predicted the end based upon
current events or mathematical time tables, supposedly extrapolated from
scripture. Around 1,000 A.D. the western world went mad with fear and
speculation, and we had our own materialistic vision of the apocalypse with
the Y2K scare of 2000. I remember listening to brother Kenneth Copeland say
on one of his tapes that it would all be "wrapped up" by 1999. Jonathan
Edwards' lesser known works deal with his speculation that he was in the end
times; not to mention the failed predictions of the 7th Day Adventist's
founders and the Jehovah's Witnesses many failed prophesies.

However, there is one prophet I do trust, and his name is Jesus. One of the
clearest sequential prophesies of Jesus is recorded by Luke. (See full
Scripture Luke 21:5-36) When Jesus is asked about the fall of Jerusalem and
the time of his return by his disciples, Jesus talks about both. He first
warns about false messiahs, who say to the people "this is the end." He says
that there will be wars and catastrophes, persecutions, and betrayals, but
that is not the end. Then he tells of Jerusalem's destruction, the "days of
vengeance" against Jerusalem for its rejection of the Covenant and of God's
prophets (Luke 21:22). And then he speaks about the end times, and the great
shakings that come upon the whole Earth before his Second Coming. All those
prophesies are very general and not time specific. However, Jesus does give
one clue, or sign, about the times of the end. He says, "Jerusalem shall be
trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled." (Luke 21:4, NASB) And then he says something very interesting.
He says, "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all
things take place." (Luke 21:32).

If I read this chronology right, Jesus says that the end of the age of the
Gentiles is accompanied by the Jewish re-establishment of Jerusalem, which
is followed by signs in Heaven and Earth, and, that the generation then
living will not die off until the fulfillment of all things takes place. Now
here is the scary part. Jerusalem was recaptured by the Jews in 1967 during
the Six Day War; it is no longer in Gentile hands. And in the Scriptures, a
generation is about 40 years. 1967 to 2007 is 40 years! (Remember though
that Jewish numerology is not exact, but a general number.) Wow! Jesus'
words form the only precise end time chronology in the New Testament. The
only caveat to this 40 year scenario is that, a generation now lives on
average 80 years, and the entire generation won't die off, naturally, for
120 years. So if Jesus meant that the majority of the generation won't die
off, somewhere between 40 to 80 years after the re-establishment of
Jerusalem, we should start seeing the signs of the end in Heaven and Earth.
Of course, with Iran's nuclear intentions, those "signs" could appear much
sooner than later. (As and aside, I find it very interesting that the
Iranian leaders believe that we are in the end of days, that a nuclear
apocalypse will bring in their Messiah, and that they want to start the war
now to set the last days in motion.)

We have to remember that Jesus is Jewish. And he speaks as the Jewish
Messiah, and he stands in the tradition of the prophets to Israel (Mark
6:15). He identifies with the rejected prophets throughout the history of
Israel, he sees himself as one of them, and he sees the coming destruction
of Jerusalem as God's judicial punishment of the people of Israel for their
rejection of the Covenant's messengers:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those
sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a
hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! Behold,
your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you shall not see Me
until the time comes when you say, ŒBlessed is he who comes in the name of
the Lord!'"Luke 13:34, 35, NASB.

"Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers
killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your
fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore
the wisdom of God also said, ŒI will send them prophets and apostles, and
some of them they will kill and persecute,¹ that the blood of all the
prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of
this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who
perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be
required of this generation." Luke 11:47-51, NKJV. (See also Leviticus
26:13-45, esp. verses 25 & 33; Deuteronomy 28:16-68, for historic precedents
& predictions.)

But as with the prophets of old, Jesus also sees and promises a future
restoration of Israel and Jerusalem after the punishment and new Exile. How
could it be that after 2000 years, the nation of Israel is restored?? Has
any people been displaced and dispersed among the nations for such a length
of time without being totally assimilated into the nations of their exile?
And yet, Israel is reborn! Jesus' prophesy has come to pass! Along with
Paul's prophecy about Israel's rejection of the Messiah "until the full
number of Gentiles come in" (Romans 11:25-26), we have two clear prophecies
about the completion of the Gentile age. Both Jews, Paul and Jesus, foresaw
a time of the restoration of the promises of God to the natural children of
Abraham - a promise that is not superceded by the inclusion of the Gentiles
into the promise of salvation.

So, my question to you is: Is the time of the Gentiles fulfilled? And if so,
what could that possibly mean? Are we now at the time of the End? I cannot
make heads nor tails of this prophecy except to expect some great times of
tribulation and miracles. Of course, my interpretation of Jesus' words could
be off for some reason, but I can't seem to make sense of it any other way.
Perhaps if the Jews kick out everyone but the Jews from Jerusalem, we might
have a new start date, but I think if Israel did that, it might be the
actual start the apocalypse!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jefferis Kent Peterson
http://www.scholarscorner.com
jefferis at scholarscorner.com

Feeling Guilty? Are you "Pardoned or Paroled?"
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Such is God's economy: "One man gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers lack." -  Proverbs
11:24