INSIGHT: The Journal of the Prophecy Society of Atlanta

Volume 1, Number 5 October 1, 2013

The times of the Gentiles have ended!

by Dan Bruce
There is much confusion in Christian circles about the meaning and application of the phrase
times of the Gentiles as spoken by Jesus and recorded in the Book of Luke. The exact usage,
the only place the phrase time of the Gentiles occurs in the entire Bible, can be found in the
Book of Luke, chapter 21, where Jesus prophesied as follows:
Luke 21:20 "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
desolation thereof is nigh. ... Luke 21:24 "And they [the Jews] 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." (KJV).
Notice that the first criterion that Jesus used to define the time period known as the times of the
Gentiles is dispersal of the Jews among the nations. Also, notice that the second criterion Jesus
used to define the times of the Gentiles is that Jerusalem would be trodden down of the
Gentiles, which means that Jerusalem would be under non-Jewish sovereignty and thus under
the control of Gentiles during that time period.
Jesus spoke his prophecy in the year of his crucifixion, 30 CE. Beginning in the year 66 CE, the
first Jewish-Roman War began, and the prophecy began to be fulfilled. The Jews were initially
successful, but the Romans soon began to gain the upper hand in the conflict. By late 67 CE,
Vespasian had recaptured the Galilee, whereupon he started resettling Jews from that area to
various parts of the Roman Empire. Eventually, the entire land of Israel was subdued, with most
of the population exiled. By 135 CE, at the culmination of the Second Jewish-Roman War,
almost all Jews had been removed from Jerusalem and Judea. From then on, the Jewish people
were forced to live among the nations of the world without a nation, and that state of affairs
persisted until the new sovereign and independent Jewish State of Israel was founded in 1948
and the Israeli Knesset passed the Law of Return in 1950.
The Law of Return essentially stated that any Jew anywhere could come live as a citizen in
Israel. With the passage of that law, Jews were no longer led away captive and forced to live
among the nations, as had been the case for almost two-thousand years. The "times among the
nations" for the Jewish people had ended. Then, in 1967 during the Six-Day War, Israel gained
possession of and sovereignty over Old Jerusalem. With the capture of Old Jerusalem and the
Temple Mount, Jewish sovereignty was re-established once again, and both parts of Jesus'
prophecy were fulfilled. The times of the Gentiles had ended.
By the way, if you are one of those folks who thought that the conclusion of the "times of the
Gentiles" would usher in the end of the world or something similar, it didn't. Since you are
reading this article, you are still here on Earth! and since you are, you might want to take a

2013 Dan Bruce All Rights Reserved. ~ www.prophecysociety.org

Page 1

INSIGHT: The Journal of the Prophecy Society of Atlanta

Volume 1, Number 5 October 1, 2013

few minutes to read a bit more about fulfilled prophecies pertaining to Israel and the Jewish
people in my book, Daniel Unsealed (see below).

About Us
The Prophecy Society of Atlanta publishes books and papers about a widely-neglected
topic, sacred chronology, and provides access to Bible-based interpretations of chrono-specific
predictive prophecies that you may not have heard explained in your local church or synagogue.
When you examine our publications, you will quickly discover that the chronologies and
interpretations presented by the Society answer many of the questions left unanswered, or poorly
answered, in the study Bibles and biblical commentaries popular today. Our research and its
resulting scholarship are centered on the Bible, which we believe is the revealed word of the one
true Living God, and it is sustained by the belief that the Bible can be understood by anyone who
is genuinely seeking to understand it with an open mind and a seeking heart. We trust that you
will find our Bible-based discussions thought-provoking and spiritually enriching. If there is
anything you don't understand about our publications, ask us about it. We're here to help you as
you seek to understand the mind of God. read more about us!

Our latest books

Daniel Unsealed
An exposition revealing what the seven chrono-specific predictive prophecies in the Book of
Daniel say about the history of the Jews, Jerusalem, and the Anointed One of Israel.
Paperback, 224 pages (6 x 9); ISBN 978-1489505415. (click here)

Sacred Chronology of the Hebrew Kings

A harmony of the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah, and how the chronologies and histories
of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia synchronize with their reigns.
Paperback, 160 pages (6 x 9); ISBN 978-1489509048. (click here)

Synchronized Chronology
Synchronized Chronology of the Ancient Kingdoms of Israel, Judah, Egypt, Assyria, Tyre, and
Babylon from 1006 BCE to 560 BCE.
Paperback, 36 pages (8 x 11); ISBN 978-1489557773. (click here)

2013 Dan Bruce All Rights Reserved. ~ www.prophecysociety.org

Page 2