And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. v24
It all started that day when our Lord Jesus spoke of the destruction of the Second Temple at Jerusalem. "Not one stone will be left upon another.", he told his disciples. This would have caused much concern and anxiety among the disciples. They asked the Lord, "When will these things be? What sign will appear when these things are imminent?" (v 7)
In the next twenty verses, the Lord answered them with a prophecy of a series of startling events that will take place in the last days.
There will be impostors, our Lord explained, false Christs who will come in Jesus name. There will also be wars and commotions, nations rising against one another. And great earthquakes will occur in many places. There will be famines and pestilences, and fearful sights and great sights in heaven!
There will also be severe persecution of Christians, and eventually Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies. The Jews will fall by the sword and will be dispersed as captives to all nations.
Yet in the midst of foretelling all these terrible events, our Lord told the disciples that the end will not come immediately (verse 9), and that the persecutions will actually serve to be opportunities for their testimony (verse 13).
So when will the desolation of the Second Temple be? The answer appears in verse 20, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies . . ." Jesus said.
History tells us that all these things have taken place. Wars and commotions, great earthquakes, famines and pestilences, severe persecution of Christians by kings and by governments, and even the sacking of Jerusalem by General Titus in AD70, resulting in the utter destruction of the Second Temple.
From verse 24 onwards, however, our Lord Jesus appears to be telling the disciples more than what they had wanted to know, for He went on to tell about what will come to pass after that "great desolation" of Jerusalem. He told them that, thereafter, Jerusalem will be trampled upon by Gentiles, before eventually the Son of Man returns in a cloud with power and great glory (v27).
Indeed, by the late 7th century AD, an Islamic shrine called the Dome of the Rock, along with the al-Aqsa Mosque were built on the site of the Second Temple and they are still standing today.
Now, if we ponder over what verse 24b says, we can still see today that Jerusalem is still being "trampled by Gentiles . . .". And our Lord said that this will go on until "the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled". To me, this means that as long as the "trampling " continues, which is ongoing at present, the ultimate end of the world has not arrived yet.
And, like the disciples, may we ask again, "What signs will there be"? What will happen when the times of the Gentiles are complete?
Observe what our Lord says in verses 25 - 28. There will be signs in the sun, the moon and the stars. There will be distress and perplexity on earth in nations. The sea and the waves will be roaring! Men's courage will fail from their fear and expectation of impending doom.
In other words, there will be unprecedented signs.
Verse 26b tells us, ". . . the powers of heaven will be shaken."
This reminds me of the prophecy in Haggai 2: 6 (quoted in Hebrews 12: 26)
For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the LORD our God will shake the powers of heaven one day, yet once more, and then the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man, will return in power and glory. This will happen when the "times of the Gentiles" are complete, when their trampling upon the site of the holy Temple at Jerusalem must end.
For the time being, let us keep ourselves in our most holy faith in the Lord Jesus. Let us be prepared for his return. No one knows when it will take place. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son of man, but only God our Father in heaven knows it (Mark 13:32).
Meanwhile, the trampling of Jerusalem must go on.
