UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES 2
We will be going straight to our meditation. We are continuing our study on the topic:" Understanding the times" God is a God of purpose. And the meaning of that is that God does all things after the counsel of His will. Everything God does and the ordering of the events of our world are but reflections of the purpose He has in mind. Now, we know that God's eternal purpose is in Christ Jesus.
Our burden in these ministrations is to cause us to be thoroughly aware of the times we are in, and of the things the Lord is doing in His church, so that we might be better prepared to submit to the Lord's dealings. God expects us to be well positioned to receive the fullness of life, which He has prepared for His people.
Turn with me to Acts 1:6-8, our attention will be on the eighth verse. The context is the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. After his resurrection, for forty continuous days, a little period of time in each of those forty days, the Lord showed himself alive to the disciples. And on the day of His ascension the disciples asked the question that led Him in His answer to give us two things of vital importance in understanding how God programs His works.
Of Times And Seasons
God is a God of time, in the sense that His redemptive purposes are all worked out within specific time frames. After redemption is over, we enter into what we might call "timelessness" or eternity. This is important. So let us read Acts 1:6-8
6When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Jesus told them "it is not for you to know times and seasons, which the Father has set in his power". The Greek word translated "time" here is chronos. Its emphasis is on the time duration, the time interval in which God carries out certain specific activities in relation to redemption. Here in Acts 1, we are given the word in plural form: it is not for you to know times and seasons. So we can say that there are various epochs in God's redemptive dealings with man. This must be clearly understood.
In each of these time periods, the Lord carries out certain activities. The word season in Acts 1:7 is the Greek word Kairos. The emphasis is on the characteristics of a given period, the events that transpire. More specifically, it refers to what God does directly in relation to redemption or what God does in the ordering of the events of human history.
So, there are times and there are seasons. We should know that God works within certain time frames that He has before had marked out. For example when you look at Acts 2:1, it reads this way, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come". There was an event that was to take place, that is, the outpouring of the spirit. But this could only occur when the day of Pentecost was fully come.
God waited for that day. It was fifty days from the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. It is interesting to note that fifty days after the deliverance of Israel from bondage to Egypt, God gave them the ten Commandment. So the Law is to the Old Covenant what the Holy Spirit is to the Covenant. The law was given on the day of Pentecost. So, when the antitype, (the fulfilment of that which the Law was only a shadow of) was to set in, God waited for the actual time.
It is important to know that God works with time as He has laid it out. When we are brought by the spirit of God to have an understanding of a time period in the plans and purposes of God in redemption, then, we are to seek from the word of God, the events that belong to that time period. This motivates us to yield ourselves to the LORD along lines in harmony with His redemptive will.
You may want to take note of these passages. They draw the attention to the importance of time in the dealings of God. Whereas all forms of prophecy are important, time prophecies positively impacts those who are brought into their understanding. For example, in talking about others signs of the times, we are told that there would be wars and rumours of wars. Now, there seem to be no period of human history when that has not been true. But when we come to time prophecies, they show us that certain things can only be fulfilled at the appointed times. May the Lord help us to see what time we are in.
Still in this connection note the following. In Galatians 4:4 we are told that when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son born of a woman, made under the law. God waited until that specific time He had in mind for the Logos to be made flesh. Jesus came forth in due time that He might be the sacrificial Lamb; the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
Also in Titus 1:3, we are told that there are some "due times" in which certain activities are to take place. We have another reference in 1 Timothy 6:15. God has hidden Himself (as it were) in thick darkness, in this sense, that much of His works is not known by mankind except those enlightened by His word. But the time will come when He will show His Almightiness in taking over the affairs of the world in a very direct way. He shall set up the kingdom of His son over the whole earth.
There is yet another reference in Timothy 2:5-6 demonstrating that the various times and season is marked out also for the declaration of what Christ did for us in His death and resurrection.
The purpose of all these is to make us aware that God never does anything in redemption except as it agrees wit the times and season that He himself has before hand marked out. And we can go into several other scriptures to show that God is a God who has programmed the workings of redemption.
And now, let us go to the passage of interest, Luke 21:24. We are using this verse to locate this time period and to note specifically that it is the time when the church age will wound up. After this, the reign of Christ (Head and Body) over all the earth commences. Over a period of one thousand years, the Lord Jesus Christ and the glorified church will reign over the kingdoms of this world. The church age winds up introducing that age. So, come with me to Luke 21:24.
24And 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 Gentles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
In the last edition we showed that the nation referred to here is Israel. Israel "shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations". The scattering of the Jewish nation of Israel took place in AD 70 about thirty-six to thirty-seven years after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. And from that time up till 1948, there was no nation under the heaven called Israel.
In 1948, by a divine working expressed through the committee of nations, the sovereign state of Israel was declared. Quite a number of Jews had moved into their own Land. That was a very important development because Luke 21:24 says they shall be led away captive into all nations. But then, another element was introduced. It says, "and Jerusalem. the physical land called Jerusalem, the centre of their religious and political activities all throughout the Old Testament age, that city, Jerusalem, shall be trodden down of the gentiles, "until.".
We saw earlier that "gentiles" is a word that is used to describe the non-Jewish nations. There are two great races so to speak: the Jewish race and the gentiles. And, we are here told that "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
We saw in the last edition that until Jerusalem comes under the sovereign rule of the nation of Israel, we cannot say with any degree of assurance that the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled or to say emphatically that the end of time is come. That is a key provided for us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It has awaited measurable fulfilment until after the six day war. And in 1974, much of Jerusalem came under the sovereign rule of the nation of Israel. 1974 therefore, marks a very important era in the history of God's dealings with man.
And, please take note that there are three tiers of interest in prophecy: we have the church, we have the nations (the Gentile nations), and we have the Jewish nation of Israel, Our emphasis for now is on the nation of Israel and by extension, the Gentile nations. But when we have by it discovered the time we are in, we will be able to concentrate attention upon the church. We remain very focused on what God wants to pass across to His people. Knowing the times is a means to an end. Our goal is to open up the church to the fullness of the blessings of redemption that Christ is bringing to the consecrated in this hour.
Now, we desire to show when the times of the gentiles commenced. On the authority of Luke 21:24 we also see its end point. Since in 1974, Jerusalem virtually came under the sovereign rule of the nation of Israel, we can say that God was indicating by this, that the end of times of the Gentiles is in full view.
Lets get a little more detail than we did in the past edition. Please turn with me to Ezekiel 21:25-27. From this scriptures (Ezekiel 21:25-27, we can see that the times of the Gentiles ha run over fifty jubilees, fifty periods of fifty years. Over two thousand and five hundred years was given to the Gentiles (the-Jewish nation) to exercise world-wide rule. Let's take the reading again. Ezekiel 21:25-27.
And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come when iniquity shall have an end.
The phrase "iniquity shall an end", suggests two things. First that God pardons iniquity. He brings judgement upon iniquity in order to recover His people and then brings in a season of mercy again. But, there comes a time, because of persistence in doing evil, iniquity is brought to total judgement. And that is what is revealed here.
Leviticus 26 shows that there are five cycles of judgement that God would bring upon the iniquity of the nation of Israel. After these five cycles are exhausted, He will give them over to captivity. So here, they were to go into captivity for seventy years in Babylon. And, in addition, the monarchy was to be brought to an end.
From the time this prophecy was fulfilled six hundred and eight years before the Lord Jesus Christ came in his first advent, there had been no king over Israel. The rule of Monarchs, the period of Monarchy, ended with Zedekiah, the wicked and profane prince under reference here. 2 Chronicles 36 covers all that. But here, Ezekiel was giving the prophecy many years before it happened. Until 608 BC, God dealt with the nation of Israel as a covenant nation. But from that time, God dealt with individuals in that nation according to their measure of faithfulness. Israel ceased to be a covenant nation under God as from BC 608.
And we find the reference to this in Mathew 21:43 when the Lord Jesus Christ told them "The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you and given to a nation that shall bring forth the fruit thereof". So, the church is a continuous reminder to us that the nation of Israel has been sacked. God has raised up another nation, a spiritual nation in its stead, to bring to God what He could not get from Israel. In the twenty-sixth verse, Ezekiel continues
Thus saith the Lord, Remove the diadem, and take off the crown.
The diadem is the glory of the monarchy, while the crown is the very physical evidence of the kingship. And here, Ezekiel says, removed the diadem and take off the crown.
This shall not be the same: .
That is, things shall not be the same anymore in Israel. After the captivity, there were Governors and Tetrarchs, but Israel never had a king. And she was under the Roman Empire at the time the Lord Jesus Christ came in his first advent. So in fulfilment of this prophecy, things were no longer the same with Israel after the inglorious reign of Zedekiah. The prophet continues in verse 27.
Exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high
You will notice that the word "him" above is rendered in italic in the scriptures while the other words are in normal Roman letters. That means that it was supplied by the translators to give the rendering fluency. But the thought is that the "he" that is low is not an individual but the gentile nations.
Whereas Israel has been a peculiar nation unto God, that estate was to be lost. Time was now to be given to the gentile nations to show how much man, plagued with the effect of the fall, can exercise benevolent rule over his fellow man. Can man rule over man and there will be a lasting peace in the earth? That is the great question. And God has shown by the times of the Gentiles that man's rule over man while he is still under the influence of sin, can only end in irredeemable collapse and annihilating castatrophy. But God in trueness plans an intervention.
Now, concerning the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel, the Lord said in verse 27 that He will do it in three consecutive judgements. (And it is in the third judgement that we see the prophecy in verse 25 fulfilled, in the reign of Zedekiah). So the prophets says in verse 27,
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it.
We notice that God used Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to sack the nation of Israel. But he did it in three consecutive battles. From the first time he began his military campaign against Israel to the third and last time spanned a period of twenty-five years.
In the first instance, Nubuchadnezzar went to Israel to destroy the cities of Israel and to carry away some valuable things in the temple. This happened under king Jehoachin, 2Chronicles 36 list out these three separate assaults against Israel. It was at the third campaign against Israel that Israel was completely destroyed, and at that time Zedekiah was king over Israel.
So, in verse 27, it is predicted that in three separate assaults against Israel, the kingdom will be taking away from her.
27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.
The time period in which the Gentiles are to rule over the earth was to be terminated by the crucial entrance into the world affairs of the one who has the right under God to rule the whole earth. This is important. The "he" there who is to come is Christ, Head and body, the corporate Christ: the LORD coming to set up his kingdom upon the earth and the church ruling with him.
The following scriptures are relevant to the consideration of the matter at hand, first; Daniel 2, especially from verse 31 to 45. There we find that four world empires were to emerge during the times of the Gentiles. In Daniel 7, we are shown again these four world empires in another symbolism. It is in reference to these four world (gentile) empires that were divinely permitted to rule over all the earth after God overthrew the kingdom of Israel, that we have the phrase "times of the Gentiles".
The four world empires are the Babylonian empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Grecian Empire, and the Roman Empire, whose reign has been stretched over a long time.
According to verse 23 of 2Chronicles 36, we know that a particular kingdom has set in when it begins to have dominance over all the earth. We also see this in Daniel 2:39. So, we are talking about world empires, not merely a major kingdom, but such kingdom that had a sovereign rule over all the earth. And there has been four such, he last being the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire has had two lives already. And there is in the background the emergence again of that empire. That does not perturb us, because we know that God will destroy it completely when it fully re-emerges. God will install His kingdom over all the earth upon the ruins of these kingdoms.
In interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel simply said "in the days of these kings" (Daniel 2:44) which means that even when a kingdom or empire has lost its sovereign rule over the earth, it remains a power, seeking to re-establish its dominance. But in the days of these kings, God shall set up a kingdom that shall reign over all the earth.
That promised kingdom was inaugurated when the Lord Jesus came in his first advent. He it was who introduced the kingdom of heaven, opening the door for men to be united with Him in the glory of the kingdom. And the kingdom shall be set up (installed) when the perfected church with Christ reigns over all the earth.
That is the first point. In the days of these kings, the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom. It shall be a stone cut without hands (Daniel 2:45). That is the first of two facts we are seeking to establish. Then, the second point: This is drawn from how the kingdom of Israel was overturn by God's judgement in 3 separate assaults until it was completely brought low.
Now, we can show that the first and second world wars were by God, used to forcibly checkmate certain world powers and their tyrannical controls over mankind. We know that the Roman Empire that is again in formation will come to prominence. But the Lord our God will destroy it completely in what might be called the third world war. But, a lot of activities will take place in the church unto her perfection and glorification before that time. And it is the church in power that will signal the final battle. That stone cut out without hands, as the prophet puts it, shall smite and break down completely the remains of the kingdoms of these worlds.
We will close on that note. From 1974 began to be that generation that will witness the fulfilment of all prophetic scriptures. How long is a generation? The longest in scriptures is one hundred and twenty (120) years, the shortest has been forty (40) years. But we know that the Lord will do a quick work and cut it short in righteousness. Our burden is not so much as knowing the time duration. We are more concerned with alerting the church as to the great wok of perfecting the willing hearted which Christ is carrying out on earth today. The earnest expectation of all creation waits for this class of believers to be revealed (Romans 8:19). Beloved arise and continually yield to the Lord's voice and works in these crucial days.
JESUS IS LORD!
Your Brother - 'Segun Ogunfile.
The Writings of Segun Ogunfile 