THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. 



175 



of the Jews by the agency of a power outside the prophetic earth, 

 of which we see a small beginning in the Balfour declaration as to 

 making a national home for the Jews in Palestine. 



At the same time he thought we ^^ught to put ourselves in 

 the place of the Arabs, who having beon in possession for many 

 centuries, naturally resented the incoming of the Jews, who had 

 previously inhabited the land, to displace them, just as we Anglo- 

 Saxons would resent the countrymen of Mr. Lloyd George, as the 

 old inhabitants of Britain, turning us out of England. However, 

 he believed that the Jews must return in order that the prophecies 

 of the last days might be fulfilled, and considered that we ought 

 to regard the beginnings of this return now before our eyes as 

 an indication that the Day of our Redemption was drawing near. 



Lieut. -Ck)l. Hope Biddulph said: — I am in practical agreement 

 with this paper, but would like to point out that the historical 

 theory, if taken alone, does not seem to stand firmly. Thus on 

 page 168 the writer refers to the "beast" of Rev. xiii. as "a 

 man," while the fourth beast of Daniel vii. is " an Empire." 

 Presumably these two beasts are identical, and if this be so, the 

 only way to reconcile the divergent interpretations is to allow that 

 the prophecy may have a double fulfilment, one in which days 

 are years, and the other a literal fulfilment at the end of the age. 



Lord Bacon recognized this possibility when he wrote that 

 " Divine prophecies being of the nature of their autihor, with 

 whom 1,000 years are but as one day, and therefore are not fulfilled 

 punctually at once, but have springing and germinant accomplish- 

 ments throughout the many ages, though the height or fulness of 

 them may refer to some one age." 



With reference to the " Times of the Gentiles," I have always 

 considered that Levi, xxvi., verses 18, 21, 24 and 28, is a very 

 uncertain authority for the " seven times," or Gentile week. We 

 have, however, so many indications of a half week, in 3^ times, 

 42 months, 1,260 days, and 3^ days mentioned in David and Revela- 

 tions, that it is not unreasonable to assume that there is a definite 

 week in prophecy of which these form an integral part. However 

 that may be, it is at least remarkable that from the first siege 

 of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, either B.C. 606 or 604, till the 

 declaration of war with Turkey for the liberation of Jerusalem 1915, 

 and the capture of the city by Lord Allenby 1917, is exactly 2,520 

 solar years ; while the same period measured from the destruction 

 of Jerusalem, b.c. 587, brings us to a.d. 1934, the point at which, 

 according to Dr. Grattan Guinness and other expositors, the Times 

 of the Grentiles are presumed to run out. If this be so, we may 

 expect to see the Jews reinstated in Palestine as an independent 

 sovereign state by 1934. 



