The Significance of Dani’el Chapter 8
to the Times of the Gentiles
Luke describes this period of time when he wrote: They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (to see link click Ao – The Times of the Gentiles). This can best be defined as that long period of time from the Babylonian Captivity (see Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule) to the Second Coming of Messiah, during which time the Gentiles have complete dominance over Jerusalem. This does not rule out temporary Jewish control of the City until the Second Coming. Such temporary control was exercised during the Maccabbean Period (164-163 BC), the First Jewish Revolt against Rome in 66 AD, and the Second Jewish Revolt (the Bar Kochba Revolt) against Rome (132-135 AD), and since 1967 as a result of the Six Day War. This, too, was temporary, since Gentiles will trample down the holy City for at least another 1,260 days (see the commentary on Revelation Bx – The Tribulation Temple). Therefore, any Jewish takeover of the City of Jerusalem before the Second Coming must be viewed as temporary and does not mean that the times of the Gentiles have ended. The Times of the Gentiles can only end when the Gentiles no longer trample down the City of Jerusalem.246
Chapter 8 makes an important contribution to the main theme of the book, the times of the Gentiles, in that it focuses on the aspect of Jewish persecution. In Chapters 2-7, Dani’el dealt extensively with the Gentile empires that would rise and fall during the times of the Gentiles. Because he didn’t focus on how the Jews would fare during this period, he kept the text in Aramaic (see Ac – Introduction of Dani’el from a Messianic Jewish Perspective: Languages). But as soon as he began discussing how that period of time would affect the Jews, he switched back to Hebrew. Chapter 8 and the remainder of the book show that the times of the Gentiles will continue to be a period of persecution for the Jews.247
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