THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. 



17a 



2 Kings XXV. 8, 9, " Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day 

 of the month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchad- 

 nezzar, kmg of Babylon, came Nabuzaradan, the captain of the 

 guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem. And 

 hi' burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house, and all 

 the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house burnt he with 

 fire." 



The late Bishop Moule of Durham, who could scarcely be called 

 a rash man, declared m an address at Cannon Street Hotel just 

 before he died that he believed that we were now near the closing 

 days of this age, and that the Lord Jesus Christ was likely to 

 come to this earth some time before 1934. He would not — 

 neither would I — be dogmatic as to this date : yet we must ?il 

 believe that Daniel's figures must have some significance. 



Personally, I believe *' the rapture of the saints " will take 

 place some time before the Lord Jesus comes to this earth. Many 

 people believe there will be a period of seven years between 

 * the rapture of the saints " and the Second Coming of Christ, 

 and if this is so we must now be on the very verge of " the 

 rapture of the saints. " The Lord Jesus may appear in the air " 

 for His saints before 1927. In presenting these conclusions with 

 regard to the years 1927 and 1934 as being the dates for the 

 Eapture of the Saints and the close of " the times of the 

 Gentiles, " I would be as cautious as possible. • Our Lord definitely 

 forewarned us '* of that day and hour knoweth no man." I have, 

 therefore, only brought this question to the fore that we may 

 realise the solemnity of the days in which we live, and that we 

 seem to be living in the very last days. Surely under these cir- 

 cumstances it behoves us to be waiting, watching, and working 

 for the coming of the Lord Jesus, that we may be ready at any 

 moment to appear before Him. 



Discussion. 



Rev. J. J. B. Coles pointed out that the ordinary explanation 

 of the " Times of the Gentiles " was not supported by a true 

 rendering of the Greek of St. Luke xxi. 24. Moreover, a reference 

 to Rev. xi. Q showed that there would be a future treading down 

 by Gentiles of the Holy City. How then could present events in 

 the Near East be brought forward to prove that the " Times of 

 the Gentiles " are now over.^ . 



The expression " the revival of the Itoman Empire " is not 

 found in Holy Scripture, and is a misleading assumption. Are 

 not North and South America in the world to-day.'^ 



Mr. Theodore Roberts found himself in considerable disagree- 

 ment with the Lecturer, but in agreement with the Rev. J. J. B. 

 Coles, save as to the future world empire being Jewish, a suggestion 



