Times of the Gentiles

By Dr. Andy Woods

Although the Scripture clearly predicts the reality of the coming third temple in the Tribulation period (Dan 9:27; Matt 24:15; 2 Thess 2:4; Rev 11:1-2), much debate persists concerning how this temple will actually be rebuilt. This article will briefly explore one of these issues.

In Revelation 11:2, John was also told that the outer courts of the temple and the holy city of Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles for 42 months. This is a reference to the Times of the Gentiles which is also mentioned in Luke 21:24. That text says, “…Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” The Times of the Gentiles refers to the time period when the pagan nations of the world are able to influence or dominate Israel and Jerusalem through the application of political pressure. The Times of the Gentiles began when the pagan power Babylon conquered Israel and took the Jews into captivity in 586 B.C. Even after the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity, they continued to be manipulated by more powerful Gentile nations. Rome eventually occupied the land of Israel just prior to the time of Christ and then invaded Jerusalem in A.D. 70. When Israel became a nation again in 1948, she continued to face attack and enormous pressure from her hostile Arab neighbors.

Even after the Jews regained control of Old Testament Jerusalem, the Jews surrendered control of the original temple mount to the Arabic Muslims in an attempt to appease them. The Arabs have remained the present political custodians of the temple mount. Today’s international community continues to place enormous pressure on Israel in an attempt to get her to surrender more of her land to her hostile Arab neighbors. When Revelation 11:2 says that the outer courts of the temple and the holy city of Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles for 42 months, we learn that the pagan nations will continue to dominate Israel and the temple courts during the Tribulation period. This situation will not change until the second 42 months of the Tribulation period have expired and Jesus returns to liberate national Israel and establish His kingdom in Jerusalem. At that point, the Gentile nations will no longer be able to influence and pressure Israel. In other words, only when Christ returns will the Times of the Gentiles be over. Thus, the Times of the Gentiles, or the era when Israel is dominated by the world’s pagan nations, represents the period between the Babylonian conquest of 586 B.C. and the second coming of Christ.

Click on the links below for more info:

• Temple 1
• Temple 2
• Intro to Temple 3
• Temple 3: Not a Spiritual Issue

Modern Jerusalem