The Times of the Gentiles
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Dave L
Speaking of 70 AD and Jerusalem’s destruction, Jesus says; “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke 21:24 (KJV 1900)
Many believe 1948 and the Jews moving into Palestine signaled an end to the times of the gentiles. But if we backtrack to the beginning of Israel and those traditionally called Jews, they began as gentiles. And became Abraham’s covenant seed through circumcision. In fact, none of Abraham’s covenant seed had his DNA, only Ishmael then.
So it was always circumcision the sign of the covenant and membership in the community that made one a “Jew”, not birth. If any born did not receive circumcision on their eighth day, they cut them off from the group and they remained a gentile. When Abraham excommunicated Ishmael, he became a gentile even though circumcised as his son.
So Jerusalem being trodden down by gentiles means everything you see today. Trodden down by the uncircumcised. When Jesus abolished circumcision on the cross, circumcision became obsolete and no longer made one a physical Jew or physical member of Israel. He excommunicated all unbelieving Jews. No longer were they Abraham’s covenant seed but gentiles with Jewish ethnicity.
And when Paul’s generation of before Calvary circumcised Jews died off, nothing remained to separate them from the gentiles. From then on they became gentiles by default.
Only the circumcised in heart, believers like Abraham and Paul remained biblical Israel into whom God grafted believing gentiles.
When do the times of the Gentiles end?
Jesus said: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations [gentiles], baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:19–20 (KJV 1900)
Meaning the times of the gentiles including ethnic Jews remain until the end of the world. And from all Paul says “God will save all Israel, defined as believers in Christ.
Your thinking the times of the gentiles that Jesus spoke of i.e. the beast of Daniel and the length of weeks(time) and that they would be in captivity under them ended sometime in the past consider this...
If Rome was in it's final stages of the time it was to hold Judah/Israel in captivity then the Apostle Paul would not have said to them in Romans 13 to still see it/Rome as ordained by God
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+13&version=KJV
If the fourth beast was in it's final state of time of rule over Daniels people that it was stated to rule over them or exist in the world then Revelation 17 would not have said that five were,
one is. and that the 7th was coming(future) or that the 10 kings
have received no kingdom as yet nor would it have said that the 8th was going to ascend out of the pit(future) it would have stated that all those heads and kings were present and at their end.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+17&version=KJV
In Romans 13 the Apostle said to see them as ordained by God, in Ephesians 6:5 he said to obey your earthly masters. In Colossians 3:22 again he says to obey your earthly masters. In 1 Peter 2:18-20 Peter says to obey your earthly masters.
Now this if you consider can only mean that in ad66-70 the Apostles last written testimony in regards to the point in time was exactly where the angel said to John/us in Revelation 17. That is at that time of the rule of domination of the fourth beast of Daniel the 6th head was present and the rest was to unfold in the future.
Now the mistake then is that they did not believe Jesus nor did they pay attention to the Apostles in regards to this issue of whether or not the rule of the 4th beast had yet completely unfolded in it's fulfillment of time. Instead you see they revolted and did not obey God and obey their master(the 4th beast) that was spoken to them.
Now if the image or the mark was present tense in the day when the Apostles stated that the Christians were to obey the masters over them(Rome at that time) then they would then have been saying it is correct to pay dues
https://biblehub.com/interlinear/romans/13-7.htm that is to use the beast mark to pay that with(see Rev. 13:17)
https://biblehub.com/kjv/revelation/13-17.htm
But then it is Scriptural'y clear to see that the Apostles were saying that the 6th head was present in their day and the 4th beast was to continue until the times of the gentile rule was complete.