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THE END OF
THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES
©
Carlos Padilla, May 2009
The End of the Times of the Gentiles is a prophetic time when
evangelization comes to an end because the fullness of the gentiles will have
come to Christ, because the whole of society will be flooded by apostasy,
because Israel will have been gathered from all nations and brought again to the
Promised Land as a nation in 1948 and because Israel will have full power over
the Temple Mount. But this is a calling to the Messianic Church, I refer to all
those who have received Christ as their Saviour and only Mediator before the
Father, in an individual level and a Church level, to Christians and Messianics
because the End of the Times of the Gentiles begins. A calling, not to believers
– because “even the demons believe, and tremble. James 2:19” – but to the true
disciples of Christ, to those who take their cross everyday and follow Jesus
Christ, a calling to the last mobilization for evangelization before the coming
of the Great day of the Lord, before God’s judgments impact the world, because
this is the commission received by all of us who have known the Lord through His
gift of faith and who have been called in Jesus Christ.
A calling to disciples and elders, pastors and teachers, so
that we all make an effort in coming together for the Salvation of souls, which
is a bigger priority than the rest of the ministries, projects, revelations or
gifts, so that we urgently announce to our neighbour how close we are to the end
of the world, not in order to look for a date, since “of that day and hour no
one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. Matthew 24:36”,
nor to become obsessed with information like many people do and whose souls may
be required of them this night, but because “But you, brethren, are not in
darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 1 Thessalonians 5:4”,
but out of love for our neighbour so that they may have the (in many cases it
will be “another”) opportunity to receive the key to the Kingdom of the Lord for
eternity through the only access Door: Jesus Christ, through faith in the
Gospel, which only true Christians know, not those who follow tradition leaving
the Lord’s Word aside, but those who follow and obey the Lord when they face the
End of the Times of the Gentiles.
THE TIMES OF
THE GENTILES
But, what is the End of the Times of the Gentiles? The Bible,
in its prophecy (totally fulfilled, being fulfilled or yet to be fulfilled – and
every prophecy from the Lord is to be fulfilled, there is no argument against
it), teaches us that there is a time when the gentiles will no longer have power
over Jerusalem - which is the spiritual capital of the world – it will no longer
be trampled (stoop upon) by the gentiles. This event also coincides with the
Jews who were carried captive by the Lord to all nations (land of gentiles) and
who would be, at the end of times, gathered and reunited again in their land, in
the Promised Land, in the Biblical Israel, and in its capital Jerusalem. We will
read about all this in the Bible Texts further along.
On the other hand, in order to identify which prophetic times
we are living in, we also have to look at Jerusalem, a city where world peace
depends on. Whoever has control over this city sets the time we are living in.
When Israel has full control over it, including the Temple Mount, which is the
prophetic place of Jerusalem, which exists to hold the Temple of the Lord, then
the times of the gentiles will be over – if we apply the text of Revelation
11:2. The world is entering the final stage and its last age, and Israel awaits
having their Temple again, to restore the religion of the Old Testament, but
according to the prophecy they will see Him who is the living Temple. No doubt a
series of prophetic events that will be a light to the nations, for the gentiles
who are called by God, for seeing in them – as in ourselves – a heart prompt and
willing, a light over the people of the Lord: Christians and Messianics.
…And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away
captive into all nations. And
Jerusalem
will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the
moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity,
the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men’s
hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are
coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27
Then they will see the Son
of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now
when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption draws near.” Luke 21:24-28.
This passage in Luke explains that the times of the gentiles
start after the Jews were defeated in Jerusalem and led away captive into all
nations, after the destruction of the Temple in year 70 AD, linking gentile
nations to the Temple; and the times end when, first, the Jews re-gain total
control over Jerusalem, including the Temple. Secondly, in Romans 22 the Spirit
tells us that Israel will be saved when the fullness of the gentiles, also known
as nations, people, has come in – this is when the times of the gentiles will be
over. We are now living a time when Israel has returned to their land since 1948
and when the media has allowed for the Gospel to be spread to all nations – or
almost – but above all, we are living in what has been announced in
2Tessalonians 2: apostasy.
…For I do
not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you
should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in
part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The
Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”
Romans 11:25.27.
Precisely the
main task of the Church in the Great Commission which Jesus Christ instructed us
to undertake in Matthew 28 is the development throughout history of our Great
Commission, which is the means to reach the target of the fullness of the
gentiles entering the faith of Christ. However, we need to go to the prophetic
book of the end of times, Revelation, to chapter 11, in order to find an event
that happens once that John receives the revelation to measure the Temple; and
it is precisely the Temple, which does not exist at the moment and which is
different to the Temple in heaven, the one that determines another event where
the gentiles take part trampling the Holy City for 42 months, or 1260 days, or
3.5 years.
On the other
hand, we could say that the end of the times of the Jews and Israel was on the
year 70AD with the destruction of the Temple, which the apostles referred to as
the latter days, referring to Israel, but pending their restoration in Jerusalem
in the end of times.
The beginning of the times of the gentiles in the year 70 AD
when Jerusalem starts to be trampled by the gentiles, until the end of the times
of the gentiles, when Israel controls Jerusalem again and the fullness of the
gentiles has come in. They are two events that coincide in God’s prophetic times
in His Word.
The end of the times of the gentiles gradually develops in
different stages, starting in 1948 with the return of Israel to their land, in
1967 after the six-day war when they took control over Jerusalem and now the
control of the Temple Mount is pending, which is the threshold to the
reconstruction of the Temple.
1948 AND A
70-YEAR GENERATION
2 “Behold,
I will make
Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all the surrounding peoples,
when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall
happen in that day that I
will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would
heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though
all nations of the earth are gathered against it. … 9It
shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all
the nations that come against
Jerusalem.
10 “And I will pour
on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then
they will look on Me whom
they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son,
and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12.
…
1 “In that
day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David
and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for
uncleanness. Zechariah 13.
Since 1948, after the two world wars that were the failure of
the merely human efforts to maintain world peace, without taking God into
consideration, and which mankind tried to amend with the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights; the truth is that those two wars stopped the use of
industrialization, technology, science and medicine, the world has gone from
raising the ruins to benefit from countless advances in a very short period of
time. It has been almost 70 years (one generation according to the Bible: Psalm
90:10) since the return of the Jewish people to the Promised Land in 1948, that
will be in 2018. The latest generation is the one where the Messianic have had a
leading role…Assuredly, I say to you, this
generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place…Mark
13:30, the Word of Yahshua should really call our
attention when He speaks about the result of the preaching of the Messianic for
the Jews to receive the Messiah, with the content of two previous verses: …Now
learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender,
and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see
these things happening, know that it is near—at the doors!... At
this stage everybody knows that the fig tree is Israel, and that the fact that
its branch is tender and puts forth leaves are the pages of the Bible in
prophecy where many of them will receive Yahshua, and awaiting that it produces
figs, that the whole nation receives the Spirit according to the Bible prophecy.
It has taken only sixty years for us to receive in our daily
lives great medical and scientific advances, civil aviation, automobiles,
satellite TV, telephone, mobile telephones, daily press and Internet. Many of
these inventions were already in their preliminary stages before 1948. We have
also seen, amongst so many other things, the biggest evangelization of the world
ever, in terms of number of people reached through all the media we now have
available and which the Apostles would have wished to have. Therefore, “the
gentiles”, the nations, have been reached by the Gospel in an unprecedented way,
and not only gentiles, but also Jews through the preaching of Messianics.
Evangelistic crusades, festivals and concerts in stadiums full of people,
thousands of missionaries, thousands of people listening to the Gospel in the
middle of the wilderness in Africa, in Asia, in China, everywhere in the world.
Millions of Bibles given out and read every single year, the number one book in
all rankings in terms of readers and sales.
These are the facts, but the
current fusion of all media, cinema, radio, television and, lately, Internet,
makes this generation the one that has been massively reached by the Gospel,
until the fullness of the gentiles has come in, and then all Israel will be
saved, says the prophecy in Romans 11:26. All these events have happened over
one single generation, in a spiral of prophetic times at a pace never ever seen
before in the history of mankind. All of this at the end of the times of the
gentiles.
The generation since 1948 until our days is the one to see so
many prophecies related to the Holy Land and Israel being fulfilled; prophecies
that the Church and Israel have been waiting for over almost 2000 years, and now
we see them. And we look at them and we don’t really see that what millions of
brothers have been longing for and expecting to see over the generations, for
those of us now is a miracle come true, but we see it as something normal,
without realizing the true meaning behind it – as it happens only too often.
In order for us to see how close we are to the End of the
Times of the Gentiles, I would like to point it out in Bible texts. This
evidence, just because it is contemporary, because we have it in front of us
since the middle of the last century, it is nevertheless a prophecy fulfilled
that was announced before the times of the Passion of Christ: and it is none
other than the fact that Israel is in the Promised Land since 1948, as a nation
recognized by the United Nations:
In Ezekiel 37:1-4 we find the most astonishing spiritual
description of the restoration of the nation of Israel in the valley of the dry
bones.
1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me
out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and
it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around,
and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very
dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”So I
answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to
these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the
word of the LORD! 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:
“Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6
I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put
breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.”’”
7 So I prophesied as I
was commanded; and as I prophesied,
there was a noise, and
suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8
Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin
covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to
me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus
says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these
slain, that they may live.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me,
and breath came into them,
and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these
bones are the whole house of
Israel. They indeed say,
‘Our bones are dry, our
hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore
prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will
open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves,
and bring you into the
land of Israel.
13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your
graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will
put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and
I will place you in your
own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed
it,” says the LORD.’”
This astonishing Bible text is a calling to the house of
Israel, but the prophecies about the restoration of Israel do not stop here, as
we carry on Reading parts of Ezekiel, who was taken to exile in 597 bC.
…For thus says the Lord GOD: “Indeed I
Myself will search for My sheep and
seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on
the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver
them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the
peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own
land; I will feed them on the mountains of
Israel, in the valleys and in all
the inhabited places of the country.
Ezekiel 34:11-13.
The double prophecy of these Texts is applicable to the
Church, to every person who receives Jesus Christ as the Lord and to Israel as a
nation.
Israel, “Ezekiel 36”, has turned the wilderness which all
nations despised over generations into the Garden of Eden, they have re-built
the ruins, etc. They are only missing the Temple. Messianics have brought the
Gospel to the Jews of this generation, to those who are enjoying the state of
Israel, again in their land, something they could not even think of in times of
the holocaust and shortly after; a miracle.
…For I
will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring
you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on
you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and
from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you
a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to
walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28
Then you shall dwell in the
land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
… …33 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “On the day that I cleanse you from
all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities,
and the ruins shall be
rebuilt. 34
The desolate land shall be
tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. 35
So they will say, ‘This
land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the
wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36
Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have
rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate.
I, the LORD, have spoken
it, and I will do it.”
Ezekiel 36:24-36.
Another prophecy fulfilled is the state of the land of
Palestine as it was before Israel came to it, it was abandoned and desert-like,
and now it is a haven of greenery, producing fruits, wine and oil whose quality
competes in the best international markets. As the Word of God says: … The
desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who
pass by…Incredible evidence of what has happened, the desert becoming the garden
of Eden. But they are still surrounded by enemy nations who hate them.
…And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants
of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication;
then they will look on Me
whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son,
and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah 12:10.
The promises of the Lord are moving. This event is directly
related to the fulfillment of another prophecy. We are close to the completion
of the puzzle of God’s prophetic times and we have few pieces left, which the
Lord continues to provide us, and this event is that the fullness of the
gentiles comes in, the gentiles who have to be saved in the faith in Jesus
Christ, because when that happens…all Israel will be saved…and we will see the
previous Texts being fulfilled about the character of the Jews when, as the
prophecy says, God places His Holy Spirit in them. In fact, Messianic Jews are
the fulfillment of this prophecy, announcing Yahshua as the Messiah who has
crucified for the forgiveness of the sins of Israel and the gentiles, since
whoever believes in Him has eternal life, Him who is the Son of God and who will
return to establish His eternal Kingdom, to which all nations are called, Israel
obviously included. And this is what the Bible says about Israel:
12
Now if their fall is riches for the world,
and their
failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!13
For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I
magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy
those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For
if their being cast away is the
reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?.
Romans 11.
Therefore, it is a blessing that
the Jews are already considering the Son of God, and although many of them still
don’t – the majority – it is a blessing for the whole world that the prophecies
about Israel are being fulfilled.
I have been noticing, and I suppose
that my readers have as well, that there is a worldwide movement of apostasy and
it becomes harder and harder to get people to receive the Gospel and for people
to convert and become Christians, and at the same time many are leaving their
faith: this is known as apostasy. It seems as if we are reaching the end of the
times of the gentiles. Apostasy: 2Tessalonians 2:3: …Let
no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling
away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4
who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is
worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he
is God…There must be a
temple for this to happen.
THE TEMPLE
1
Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise
and measure the temple of God, the altar,
and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is
outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given
to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city
underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to
my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty
days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the
two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:1-4.
The Bible
prophecy hope is set on the Mount of Zion. The court outside the Temple is the
Court of the Gentiles, this is how the Lord calls it in His Word. The two
witnesses are Moses and Elijah, that is to say the Law and the Prophets, the
Torah and the Talmud and the Tanakh. They will be in force with the Temple for
3.5 years and then the world leader who wants to sit in the Temple will kill
these witnesses, will turn their force down, and the nations will exchange
presents and then Israel, according to an interpretation will see that they have
trusted a false messiah and that the physical Temple is not the key, but Him who
is the living Temple that once it was destroyed it was raised again on the third
day. Read the rest of chapter 11 of Revelation.
When John
received Revelation about the events to come, regarding the Temple, its
measurements, the fact that the gentiles would tread the holy city and that he
should not measure the court outside the temple…it was about 20 years after the
temple of Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Roman troops. We can try to
imagine what John felt when he received these revelations, and what the churches
who read about them back then felt when the writings referred to a Temple that
did not exist, which led to understand that it was a future Temple which today,
almost 2000 years after, still has not been built, even though everything is
ready to start. It could probably refer to a Temple in heaven or that Temple
will be built to fulfill the final prophecy or, as there are also many who think
that the temple which will be built is the one in Ezekiel 40 onwards and it is
also the Temple of the millennium.
About the
Temple of Revelation 11, verse 10 tells us that the Temple was in heaven, it
refers to the Temple of heavens, before the new heaven that is the model of the
one that is built on earth, but without the sacrifices, since the Lamb of God is
Christ. The future existence of a third Temple for the restoration of the Law of
Moses by the priests of Israel would be the last event through which Adonai
would show the people of Israel that without His Son Yahshua there is no
salvation nor peace, and that He already came and died on the Cross almost two
thousand years ago. That His Son is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of
the world, of Jews and gentiles.
19
Then the
temple of God was opened in heaven,
and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings,
noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.
Revelation 11:19.
But this is
not the final state for eternity, with a new Temple being used as in the Old
Testament, because the Word says that a new heaven and a new earth will come to
which the new Jerusalem will come down where there is no temple: …22
But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are its temple. Revelation 21.
Additionally, it is obvious that the time we are living in is
already announced in the Bible as a time when a power governing the world would
rise, enemy to the Lord, of everything that the Lord says in His Word, and
opposed to the Lord’s moral. The radical laicism which all governments in the
world have adhered to in favour of evolving towards an antichrist society; the
imminent war in the Middle East, which should include the destruction of
Damascus, the fight over the Temple Mount to build the 3rd Temple of
Jerusalem, all the nations that will surround it, “Zechariah 12 and 14” the
battle of Armageddon; and all of this will lead to the time when, as many
predict, the Mosques will be destroyed because they are the ones that stand on
the Temple Mount in a location where, according to some experts in the matter,
is where the Holy Place stood. The court of the gentiles
was outside. The tunnels that have been dug over the
years underneath the Temple Mount may cause the place to fall – that is the fear
of many – since the mosques would collapse if an earthquake was to strike the
area.
For an in-depth study of the
location of the Temple and its prophetic options you can visit the Temple Mount
website that includes the work of
Dr. Asher Kaufman, retired Professor of
Physics at the Racah Institute of Physics of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem,
on his book “Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood”
http://www.templemount.org
and another website that explains the conclusions:
http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-jerusalem-temple-mount-dome-of-tablets.htm.
And the movement for the reconstruction of the Temple, they already have the
robes for the priests, the vessels and every item they have been able to recover
and recreate according to the exact measures and materials, because all the
details can be found in the Bible:
http://www.infolive.tv/en/infolive.tv-13326-israelnews-jerusalem-special-report-building-third-temple.
It is now when they are completing the materials for the construction, the
priests and the expected arrival of the Messiah
http://www.templemount.org/tempprep.html.
In line with Isaiah 60, on the gentiles’ part we have the Christian
north-American movements in defense of Israel and for the construction of the
Temple according to the prophecies.
The abomination of desolation: Matthew 24:15 – Mark 13:14
(the latter text provides the specific detail: standing where it ought not) is
another key about the Temple. It has always been interpreted by identifying it
with the pagan statue that the Romans placed in the location of the Temple after
70 AD. However, the interpretation could well be that the abomination is
fulfilled because the Temple may be built on the wrong location, since the Text
says: standing where it ought not.
According to the different hypotheses for the construction of
the Temple, a study places the Temple on the same location as the Dome of the
Rock, the famous construction with the gold dome that appears in all the images
of the city. Another study, by Kaufman, places it on the North and he says that
the place of the temple is intact and there is the possibility to build it,
leaving the dome and the mosque as they stand, in the area known as the Court of
the Gentiles, which is outside the temple and that, additionally, may include
the Temple of Ezekiel without the external walls, and that could be built in two
stages, etc. When we see Israel starting to build the third Temple, the times of
the gentiles will be over. But this proposal presents a confusing panorama with
two temples of two religions, and surely there are others who may be thinking
about a cathedral in the South end. The third hypothesis places the Temple on
the South, leaving the North part free, but that would coincide with the
location of the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Jerusalem will be left to the Jews, the Church will have come
to an end in the Great Commission, those who had to be saved will have accepted
Christ and the last time will be for the Jews to reconcile with God receiving
the Son of God as the Messiah, who coming in the clouds will deliver them from
the destruction that all nations will have planned against Israel in the battle
of Armageddon. We are in the transition between the times of the gentiles and
the conversion of Israel.
The end of
the times of the gentiles implies that the Temple Mount in Jerusalem will no
longer be trampled on by any government, ethnic group or religion other than the
Jews. Today the Muslims, who are gentiles, are the ones who stand on the Temple
Mount. For some, this situation has no other purpose than the destruction of the
mosques and the domain of this holy place by the Jews. According to some experts
on the matter, the temple of Ezekiel will be built over the 1000 years. Ezekiel
43:12 says that the whole place will be holiest, therefore there can be no
mosque or any other building, it will be all for the Temple. The Temple of
Ezekiel is often referred to by many as the fourth Temple, but there is great
controversy because it reinstates animal sacrifice, that cannot be in force
after Christ, and certainly not when He comes to earth, neither for the
millennium, whilst Christ is here, neither in heaven, because those who are in
heaven are saved.
The last week of the prophecy of
The Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9:27 would be fulfilled if the Temple
is built again. The conversations for peace in Palestine will enter into a final
phase when they discuss about the capital of the state, or the two hypothetical
estates, Jerusalem, an issue that nobody wants to enter into because it cannot
be fulfilled.
…Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day will
not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is
revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself
above all that is called God or that is worshiped,
so that he sits as God in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God …
The temple must be in place for
that to happen. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
27Then
he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even
until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.
Daniel 9:27.
1 Then I was given a reed
like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple
of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the
court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given
to the Gentiles.
And they will
tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy
one
thousand two hundred and sixty days,
clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11.
Following are two hypotheses about the time of a generation:
1.
1948 + 70 years: 2018. The last week of
years in Daniel 9:27 starts in 2012, which is 7 years, both 2018 and 2012
inclusive.
2.
Although Israel received their land in 1948,
they did not regain control of Jerusalem until the 6 day war in 1967.
1967 + 70 years = 2037. The last week
of years in Daniel 9:27 starts in 2030.
1
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2
Now it shall come to pass
in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be
established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills;
and all nations shall flow
to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach
us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:1-3
BIBLE TEXTS:
18
“ Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well
pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and
He will declare justice to
the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will
anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed He will not
break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to
victory; 21 and in His name Gentiles will trust.” Matthew 12.
…Jerusalem
will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luke 21:24.
18
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying,
“Then God has also granted
to the Gentiles repentance to life.” Acts 11:18.
14
Simon has declared how God at the first visited the
Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. 15
And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:
16 ‘ After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of
David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up;17
So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even
all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all
these things. Acts 15:14-17.
…For
I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you
should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to
Israel until the fullness
of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved,
as it is written: “ The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away
ungodliness from Jacob; 27 for this is My covenant with them, when I
take away their sins.”28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for
your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the
fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Romans 11:25-29.
8
Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the
truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9
and that the
Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy,
as it is written: “ For this reason
I will confess
to You among the Gentiles, and
sing to Your name.”10
And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” 11 And
again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples!” 12
And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse; and
He who shall
rise to reign over the Gentiles, in Him the Gentiles shall hope.”
13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you
may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:-13.
…You know
that you were Gentiles,
carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 1Corinthians 12:2.
…that
the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians
3:14.
1 Then I was given a reed
like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise
and measure the temple of God, the altar,
and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is
outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it
has been given to the Gentiles.
And they will tread the holy
city underfoot for forty-two months.
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy
one thousand two hundred and sixty days,
clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11
It could be
that the two witnesses “the Law and the prophets” are established over 1260
days, meaning that Israel will practice the Torah during that time.
The siege of
Jerusalem by roman troops started in the autumn of the year 66 AD, and lasted
for 3.5 years until the destruction of the temple in the summer of year 70 AD,
but just like Jesus came once and He will return, John receives the revelation
after 70AD, which means that there will be another event in the Temple before
the end.
13
Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white
robes, and where did they come from?” 14 And I said to him, “Sir, you
know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great
tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and
serve Him day and night in
His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. 16
They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike
them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne
will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will
wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:13-17.
(Future)
19
Then the
temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His
covenant was seen in His temple. And there
were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. Revelation
11:19 (Future).
8
The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power,
and no one was able to
enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were
completed. Revelation 15:18 (Future).
…But
I saw no temple in it, for
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city
had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God
illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. 24 And the nations of those
who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth
bring their glory and honor into it. 25 Its gates shall not be shut
at all by day (there shall be no night there). 26 And they shall
bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 But there
shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an
abomination or a lie, but
only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Revelation
21:22-27.
The last Text above is the conclusion of Jewish-Christian
history, one and only nation of the Body of Christ, no more Jew or gentile, and
where we will enjoy the presence of the Lord and where there will be no Temple
but God with us, Emmanuel, who will light up our lives as the Lamb of God. So,
all nations come and be saved to enjoy His blessing all of those whose names are
written in the Lamb’s book of life.
CONCLUSION
The conclusion of this prophetic journey leads us to see
three basic evidences: That we are running out of time to preach to the nations,
because this is the way it has been established; that Israel is receiving the
Gospel, that in that day the Lord will pour His Spirit over them and they will
be saved. That Israel has been brought to the Promised Land in 1948, thus
fulfilling many prophecies. That the projects to build the Temple will make
Israel see that what they need is the true Messiah, Yahshua, the only One who
can bring peace, and not a material building; Yahshua, who will bring the new
Jerusalem from heaven and there will be no Temple inside it because what we must
look for, Jews and gentiles, is to be with the Lord, because He is the Temple
and the Lamb. Revelation 21:22.
It is only now that we have taken the time to observe the
fulfillment of so many prophecies, that we can consider them and receive not
only the Lord’s exhortation to His disciples – because we are the Church – but
about the whole calling, the anointment and the fire from the Spirit so that in
these times, when Israel is about to complete its spiritual settlement in the
Promised Land and when the gentiles are about to complete their entry into the
Faith throughout the world, in every nation on earth, it is when we must make
really strive to evangelize our neighbour; Christians to the gentiles and
Messianics to the Jews, to those who are around us in our daily lives and who do
not know the Lord, people of every nation and language, using every possible
media available, inviting all those who surround us to come to know Jesus
Christ, who loves us to the extent of giving His life as atonement for all.
Before it is too late for those who do not know the Lord,
before the laicist world government that is rising in every country in the world
prohibits preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, before apostasy reaches
everywhere, let us preach Christ non-stop, because Jesus Christ told us to do
so, because everybody needs Him and because God loves all of us. Additionally,
let us continue to help our brethren in the faith in whatever we can all do in
order to keep us strong in the faith and without falling, leaving denominations
and interpretations aside, because they cause division over the times to come,
and let the Church unite in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, until the day of the
Lord comes, because we are living the End of the Times of the Gentiles. Finally,
the Lord asks us to do two things: …follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men…and if we love Him: …feed my sheep…
We are in
debt with our neighbour: we owe them the Gospel, this is why we pray: …forgive
us our debts…because we owe talking about the Lord and His Kingdom to so many
people whom, like us, are called to join in and live with Him in eternity, when
the Lord comes back in the clouds, as long as they repent and
receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.
…When the
Lord comes, will He find faith on earth?...Could it be that because a day will
come when no more gentiles will come in it will be due to the apostasy mentioned
in 2Thessalonians 2 being all over the earth and no more gentiles will convert?
Matthew 24:14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the entire
world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Mark 13:10:
And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. The gentiles.
I hope that
“The End of the Times of the Gentiles” is a reflection of the prophetic age we
are living and the relevance of the fact that Messianic Jews are preaching the
Gospel of Jesus Christ to the rest of the Jews, and the return of the Jews to
Israel in 1948 – having recently celebrated the 60th anniversary –
and the question that in 70 years time from then, exactly one generation
according to the Bible, one generation, the last of Messianic Jews since Israel
returned to the Promised Land according to the prophecy, not only the times of
the gentiles will be fulfilled but also the times of the Jews and the return of
the Messiah. We, the Church, must live in the hope of His rapture and according
to Luke 21:36 pray that we may be counted worthy to escape all these things that
will come. Read John 10:27-29 and 1Peter 1:3-5 in faith.
Those who are obsessed with the date of the end of the world
have been looking for the clues over the centuries: the Ark of the Covenant, its
location, the ark of the Temple, the measurements, the Holy Grail, the Tablets
of the Law, etc. In their spiritual blindness, they do not realize that the New
Jerusalem which comes down from heaven is Jesus Christ, that the Temple of
Jerusalem is Christ and the Church, the living souls in Christ. They do not
realize that the Ark of the Covenant is the Heart of God and that the Tablets of
the Covenant are inside the Heart of God and that the Veil of the Temple is the
flesh of Christ which opened the way for us into the Holy Place, into the
presence of God Father Almighty, and to the Ark of the Covenant of the Blood of
the Lamb. That the Throne is a place where we live and we will live and reign
with God in Christ for eternity and that all this is brought to man in two ways:
when he believes in the Gospel and when he waits for the Great Day of the Lord,
when Jesus Christ returns in the clouds and the heavens open in front of us and
…every eye will see Him … and now that the time comes to an end, then everybody
will understand the meaning of the following words of the Lord Jesus Christ:
…”My house” shall be
called a house of prayer for all nations…Mark 11:17. Let us all sing Psalm
118:26 for the King of kings: Hosanna! Baruj Haba Beshem Adonai. Amen.
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