The Times of The Gentiles and The Great Image

The Times of the Gentiles means that four world ruling Gentile kingdoms will rule over the Jews before the return of Jesus Christ.

The times of the Gentiles will soon be over.

Luke 21:24: “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.”

Romans 11:25, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.”

Revelation 11:2: “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”

The four Gentile Kingdoms that will rule over the Jews before the return of Jesus Christ are revealed to us through Daniel’s description of the Great Image in Daniel 2.

Different body parts of the Great Image in Daniel 2, starting with the head and proceeding downward to the toes, represents the four different Gentile Kingdoms that ruled over the Jews down through the centuries.

Daniel 2:31-33

31 “Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.”

32 “This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,”

33 “His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.”

These four ruling kingdoms are:

1. The Babylonian Kingdom – the head of gold

2. The Medo – Persian Kingdom – the breasts and arms of silver

3. The Greco-Macedonian Kingdom – the belly and thighs of brass

4. The Roman Kingdom – the legs of iron and feet and toes being part iron and part clay

The Fourth Kingdom is diverse from the kingdoms before it.

Daniel 7:7, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.”

Daniel 7:19, “Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;”

Daniel 7:23, “Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.”

How can this be?

The Babylonian Empire was the first Gentile Kingdom to rule over the Jews.

The Babylonian Empire was defeated by the Medo-Persian Empire and the the Babylonian Empire ceased to exist.

The Medo-Persian Empire was defeated by the Greco-Macedonian Empire and the Medo-Persian Empire ceased to exist.

The Greco-Macedonian Empire was defeated by the Roman Empire and the Greco-Macedonian Empire ceased to exist.

All four of these world ruling Empires ruled over the Jews.

The Fourth Kingdom to rule over the Jews, The Roman Empire, was diverse from the other three world ruling Empires.

The first three world ruling Empires that ruled over the Jews ceased to exist after they were defeated.

When the Holy Roman Empire was defeated by Napoleon in 1806, the Empire went underground and was kept alive by the Catholic Church.

This Roman Empire will be resurrected and will rule the world and the Jews once again.

This is how the Fourth Kingdom is diverse from the three other Kingdoms.

The understanding of the Fourth Kingdom of The Great Image is found in the study of the history of the Roman Empire.

The Fourth Kingdom is drastically different from the other three Gentile Kingdoms before it.

The Fourth Kingdom is represented by the two legs and the feet and toes of The Great Image.

Daniel 2:32-33

32 “This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,”

33 “His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.”

The history of the Roman Empire shows that the empire became divided.

The Roman Kingdom became so vast that Emperor Diocletian divided the kingdom into halves with the Eastern Empire governed out of Byzantine (later Constantinople) and the Western Empire governed from Rome.

In 800 ce Pope Leo III places a crown on Charlemagne’s head as he was rising from prayer acclaiming him emperor and launches the concept of the Holy Roman Empire, the western division of the Roman Empire.

The coronation of Emperor Otto I by Pope John XII marks the beginning of an unbroken line of Holy Roman Emperors lasting for more than eight centuries.

In 1453 the Eastern Roman empire is defeated by the Ottoman Turks and ceased to exist.

In 1806 the Holy Roman Empire is defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte and goes underground.

The Holy Roman Empire is kept alive down through the years by the Catholic Church.

This Holy Roman Empire that went underground and was kept alive by the Catholic Church will be revived in the end time and will rule the world under the leadership of The Beast shown in Revelation 13:4-8.

Revelation 13:4-8

4 “And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?”

5 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”

6 “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

7 “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.”

8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

The two legs of The Great Image represent the old Roman Empire becoming divided into the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire.

The Holy Roman Empire will be revived in the end time as a great kingdom and there will be an alliance between the Pope and the Emperor of the revived Holy Roman Empire.

The two feet and ten toes of the Great Image represents the ten kingdoms that will make up this Fourth Kingdom in the time of the end. The old Roman Empire became divided as shown by the two legs and the revived Roman Empire will be divided as shown by the two feet and toes on each foot.

The ten toes on the Great Image represents the ten kings of The Fourth Kingdom which will be on the world scene in the time of the end when the God of heaven shall set up His Kingdom.

These ten toes are the ten horns or kings on The Fourth Beast in Daniel 7.

These ten toes are the same ten horns or kings on the Great Red Dragon in Revelation 12:3, the same ten horns on the Beast that rises up out of the sea in Revelation 13:1, and the same ten horns on the scarlet colored Beast in Revelation 17:3, 12.

Revelation 12:3, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”

Revelation 13:1, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

Revelation 17:3, “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

Revelation 17:12, “ And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.”

The Holy Roman Empire did not cease to exist as did the Eastern Roman Empire at their defeat by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

This empire will be divided as the first Roman Empire became divided.

Daniel 2:41, “And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.”

The Jews will be ruled over once again by the Roman Empire that ruled over them during the time of Jesus Christ.