Luke 21:24 “And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Scripture teaches us that there are a number of key events which must take place before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This series is written to elaborate on one of those key events as revealed in the book of Daniel. Daniel was given a vision of the four kingdoms that will be present on the earth when the Lord Jesus returns, and what will happen to each one. And so the subject of this series is to examine what scripture reveals to us about the first three kingdoms, and what will transpire in each one as we draw to the close of the age. Because of its uniqueness, the subject of the fourth kingdom is dealt with in a separate series. Nevertheless this series endeavours to reconcile that which is revealed in scripture about the first three kingdoms, to contemporary events, both past and present, and certain plausible future events as well. Consequently, as we examine what scripture has to say regarding these three kingdoms, it becomes increasingly clear that Daniel’s vision is being fulfilled in our lifetime. God always warns His saints when judgement is about to fall, and He does that so that the saints can take appropriate measures to avoid being caught up in the world’s judgement. Some of the events revealed in this series reveal the impending judgement of God which will impact the lives of millions of people. It is therefore prudent for believers to take note of that which is about to occur in the earth and prepare themselves accordingly.
The context of the above quoted passage of scripture is that the Lord Jesus was teaching His disciples about end time events, and in His teaching He mentioned the future destruction of the city of Jerusalem. That event took place in the year 70 AD, when the Roman army put down a Jewish rebellion in Judea, destroying the city of Jerusalem in the process. In this passage our Lord mentioned that when that event occurred, that it would usher in an era which He called “the times of the Gentiles”. Our Lord also mentioned when that era would end, i.e. it would end when the Gentiles no longer trampled the city of Jerusalem. Jesus teaching took place in the year 31 AD, and by that time Jerusalem had already been “trampled by the Gentiles” for almost one hundred years, for a Roman garrison had been stationed in the city ever since Rome first conquered Judea in 63 BC. In the year 66 AD however, the Jews rebelled against Roman rule, and the Roman garrison stationed in Jerusalem was finally expelled. And so during the period of the Jewish rebellion, which took place between 66 and 70 AD, no Gentiles trampled the city of Jerusalem, because the population living there were 100% Jewish. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD however, the Jewish population in the city dropped to zero. The reason for that was because the Jews living in Jerusalem at the time were either killed or taken into slavery throughout the Roman Empire. Rome then renamed Judea, Syria Palaestina, later simply called Palaestina, and barred any Jews from returning to Jerusalem[1]. And so from that time onwards the city of Jerusalem was populated only by Gentiles. In other words Jerusalem was once again “being trampled by the Gentiles”. Over the following centuries however, the Jews slowly started to return to Jerusalem, resulting in the Jewish population in the city beginning to increase once again. Subsequently, two relatively recent events have occurred which has started the process of bringing an end to the era of the “times of the Gentiles”. The first event occurred in Israel’s 1948 war of independence. The outcome of that war resulted in Jerusalem being located on the border between Israel and Palestine and being split into two parts, one part under Jewish control and the other part under Arab control. And so we see that although the process had begun, Jerusalem had not yet reached the point of no longer being trampled by the Gentiles. The second event occurred in Israel’s 1967 “six day war” with its Arab neighbours. As a result of that war Jerusalem was once again fully incorporated into the state of Israel. Nevertheless, even though Jerusalem was now clearly within Israel’s new borders, the Palestinians still laid claim to the eastern part of the city, including the Islamic holy sites. And so we see that although there has been continued progress, Jerusalem has not yet reached the point of no longer being trampled by the Gentiles. It is important to note however, that both events discussed, occurred through acts of war. And so this brings us to the point in history where we find ourselves today. As we will see in this series, the culmination of the events that are unfolding at this present time will trigger one last global conflict, resulting in both the Palestinians and the Islamic holy sites finally being removed from Jerusalem. This final event will therefore ensure that Jerusalem will no longer be trampled by the Gentiles, thus bringing to a close the era of “the times of the Gentiles” that our Lord Jesus spoke about. It should be noted however, that the fulfilling of this event will not bring us to the close of the age, but it will bring us one step closer to the return of the Lord Jesus.
Michael E.B. Maher
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