The
Times of the Gentiles
Luke
21:24
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. NKJV
I.
Times
of the Gentiles
a.
This
expression in general refers to the period of time when Israel’s people and land
are under the control of Gentile nations. It will end with the total destruction
of human government in its final form: a ten-nation confederation headed by a
person known as the Antichrist. His defeat will take place at the second coming
of Christ.
i.
Prophecy
usually deals with God’s covenant with Israel.
ii.
The
Church age-This is the period of time from the Day of Pentecost until Jesus
comes for His Church.
II.
Replacement
theology
a.
The
Church replaces Israel as God chosen people.
b.
For
replacement theology to work Paul’s discourse in Romans 11 has to be dealt
with.
i.
Rom
11:27 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." NKJV
c.
God’s
promise to Jeremiah
i.
Jeremiah
31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
NKJV
d.
Replacement
theology is not a valid Biblical interpretation.
i.
To
separate the nation of Israel from Bible prophecy is a discredit to the text.
III.
The
Statue of Nebuchadnezzar Dan 2
a.
Daniel
says things like, “days to come”, things to come, and, “what is going to
happen.” These terms express the fact that the dream is about the future. It
deals with things that had not happened yet.
i.
In
the king’s dream we have an exact reference point. The head of gold is the
kingdom of Babylon.
ii.
The
empires that follow are not necessarily world empires, but they do all relate to
God’s chosen people.
b.
The
breast and arms of silver
i.
The
Babylonian empire was conquered by the Medes and Persians.
c.
The
belly and thighs of bronze
i.
The
Medes and the Persians held control for a little over two hundred years and was
subdued by Greece and Alexander the Great.
d.
The
legs of iron
i.
As
Hellenistic or Greek civilization waned, a powerful, new, and far greater empire
arose. It was symbolized on the image by the legs of iron (v. 40). Rome absorbed
what the previous kingdoms had controlled and added greatly to these domains. As
you may know, the Roman Empire was divided into two parts: the Eastern and
Western Empires. Rome, which was the capital of the western division, lasted
until A.D. 476, but the eastern division of the empire with its capital at
Constantinople stood until A.D. 1453. And while the empire as such died, a
number of the nations of which it was composed continued to exist as independent
nation-states.
e.
The
ten toes of iron and clay
i.
All
the other empires have risen and fallen, except for this last one. The ten toes.
ii.
First
interpretation: There is progression in this dream as Babylon gives way to
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Then there is the final, loosely knit ruling unit
of the end time. Some Bible scholars believe that as the feet and toes are
extensions of the legs, so this image symbolism suggests that the final ruling
unit will come from the nation-states or peoples from which the old Roman Empire
was formed.
iii.
Second
interpretation: since iron represents Rome on this image, and since the feet and
toes are part iron and clay, this final entity will be composed partly of
old Roman Empire countries, and partly of countries not included in the old
Roman Empire (the clay).
IV.
Remnants
of the Old Roman Empire.
a.
Somehow
and in some form that empire has to continue until the end of days.
b.
Examples
of the Roman culture in the world today.
i.
The
story of Europa, which is where we get the term Europe from.
1.
Europa
was a mortal woman that was raped by the Roman God
Jupiter.
2.
He
disguised Himself as a bull and came down to her.
3.
She
held onto his horns for power
4.
You
will find statues in Europe of a woman hanging onto the horns of a bull.
5.
The
symbol for Baal in the Middle East is a bull. Baal is also the god of
fertility.
6.
A
European Union coin
7.
Her
name appeared on postage
stamps
commemorating the "United
Europe",
8.
The
European Union has also used Europa as a symbol of pan-europeanism, notably by
naming its
web portal
after her.
c.
One
of the emblems of the European Union is the tower of
Babel.
i.
They
believe that Babylon can be rebuilt by all the nations joining together under
one system.
d.
In
America
i.
The
dollar
ii.
The
oblast
iii.
The
eagle, used by the Persians, then the Romans used the symbol for their people
and Senate
iv.
America
starting using the eagle because it was a symbol of Imperial Rome.
v.
We
are patterned after Rome, we are a republic
vi.
Statue
of Liberty-Given by France dressed in Roman robes. She represents the goddess of
justice that the Romans worshiped.
vii.
The
symbols of America are the symbols of ancient empires.
Conclusion:
I want you to understand that the remnants of the Old Roman Empire are alive and
well in the world today.