Introduction
We are frequently told by so-called Dispensational and Evangelical Zionist “prophecy experts” that a global “Great Tribulation” is just around the corner—an event in which two-thirds of modern “Jews” in the modern state of “Israel” will perish in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy. These same voices once assured us that the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) spanned from AD 70 to 1967, at which point the prophetic “clock” supposedly restarted. A generation from that date, they said, would bring the rapture—by 2007. Needless to say, that prediction, like many others [namely we are the “terminal generation” from 1948 – 1988 that will see the “rapture” in 1981 or 1988], has failed.
At the same time, prominent Amillennialist theologians insist that the “Great Tribulation” of Matthew 24:21 is not a historical judgment fulfilled in the first century, but an ongoing period of trial for the Church stretching from Christ’s first coming to His second. In this framework, Jesus’ “times of the Gentiles” and Paul’s “fullness of the Gentiles” (Rom. 11:25) are treated as synonymous, both referring to an extended, undefined period now stretching over two millennia.
Yet few passages in the New Testament have suffered more from theological distortion than Luke 21:24 and Romans 11:25. When properly read in context—and interpreted through the analogy of faith—a very different picture emerges. These two passages are not describing the same event, but they are closely related when it comes to an AD 70 imminent time frame of fulfillment.
This article demonstrates that Jesus’ “times of the Gentiles” refers to the limited, covenantal judgment upon Jerusalem from AD 67 to 70, when the Romans trampled the city in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy—a three-and-a-half-year tribulation, or “appointed time,” during which Gentile armies would “tread down” the land of Israel. In contrast, Paul’s “fullness of the Gentiles” speaks of the completion of Gentile inclusion into Israel’s promises–(the Jew/Gentile mystery the Body of Christ)—a redemptive process that reached its consummation within that same generation at the Parousia of Christ and the full establishment of the matured New Covenant. These are not two phases of a 2,000-year interadvental era, but two interlocking aspects of the same covenantal transition: the end of the Old Covenant world and the birth and maturity of the New. Both were fulfilled within Jesus’ declared “this generation”—the “tribulation” and “times of the Gentiles” in the events of AD 67–70, and the “salvation of all Israel” and “fullness of the Gentiles” in Romans 11:25–27, which Paul said in Romans 13:11-12 was “near” in his own day and was likewise fulfilled at Christ’s imminent coming in AD 70.
The Great Tribulation
The Great Tribulation, as described in Matthew 24:21–22 and Luke 21:23–24, represents a pivotal moment in biblical prophecy. While Matthew and Luke offer slightly different accounts, their messages harmonize when examined in context. This chapter compares these passages, explores their historical fulfillment, and draws on contemporary sources like Josephus and the Dead Sea Scrolls to clarify their meaning.
“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Matt. 24:21).
“For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:23-24).
“Now this vast multitude is indeed collected out of remote places, but the entire nation was now shut up by fate as in prison, and the Roman army encompassed the city when it was crowded with inhabitants. Accordingly, the multitude of those that therein perished exceeded all the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the world; for, to speak only of what was publicly known, the Romans slew some of them, some they carried captives,…[1]
And it shall be a time of distress…their afflictions there will have been nothing to equal it from its beginning until its end…”[2]
Matthew writes “great tribulation [Greek thlipsis]” while Luke writes “great distress [Greek ananke].” This is easy to harmonize since The Abbott-Smith Lexicon lists the two as synonyms.
Connecting the Tribulation to Jerusalem’s Desolation
Both accounts begin with “For,” linking the tribulation/distress to the “abomination that causes desolation” and the exhortation to flee Judea (Matt. 24:16–21; Luke 21:21–24). This points to the Roman siege of Jerusalem in AD 66–70, when Christians, heeding Jesus’ warning, fled to Pella to escape God’s covenantal wrath.
Historical records confirm this flight. Josephus notes that “many of the most eminent of the Jews swam away from the city.”[3] Similarly, Eusebius records that the Jerusalem church, guided by divine revelation, relocated to Pella before the war, escaping the destruction that followed:
“The whole body, however, of the Church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella. Here those that believed in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself, and the whole land of Judea; the divine justice, for their crimes against Christ and his Apostles finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of these evildoers form the earth.”[4]
The Roman armies under Cestius Gallus briefly surrounded Jerusalem, then retreated, allowing Christians to escape before Vespasian and Titus returned to complete the siege.
Luke specifies that this period involved God’s “wrath” against “this people” (the Jews) in their “land” (Judea), not a global event. This aligns with John the Baptist’s warning of an “about to” come wrath against the Pharisees (Matt. 3:7, 10–12, GNT).
Hebraic Hyperbole in Matthew’s Account
Matthew, addressing a Jewish audience, adds some commonly known Hebraic hyperbole:
- “…such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (Matt. 24:21).
This language echoes Old Testament descriptions of significant figures and events. Compare this language with:
“Behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you [Solomon] has been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (1 Kings 3:12).
He [Hezekiah] trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him (2 Kings 18:5).
“Before him [Josiah] there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him” (2 Kings 23:25).
Is there a contradiction in the Bible as to which king was the greatest in Israel and or had the most loyal heart for God – Solomon, Hezekiah or Josiah? Or is this common Hebraic hyperbole to stress that these three kings were great within the history of Israel and loyal to God? The latter is obviously the case.
Historic Parallels: Ezekiel and the Olivet Discourse
Perhaps even more applicable is the common Hebraic hyperbole connected with historical judgments upon Jerusalem such as:
“And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again” (Ezek. 5:9).
This refers to the “Day of the Lord” that was “near” in Ezekiel’s time, when God judged Jerusalem through Nebuchadnezzar’s armies around 586 BC (cf. 2 Kings 25; Ezek. 7:7; 33:21). This historical judgment by the Babylonians illuminates the Olivet Discourse by demonstrating not only the use of Hebraic hyperbole but also the employment of common Hebraic apocalyptic language and the literal interpretation of imminent time texts.
| Ezekiel | Matthew 24 / Luke 21 |
| 1). The “Day of the Lord” judgment was manifested through an invading Gentile army (Babylonians). | 1). The Lord’s coming in judgment would be manifested through an invading Gentile army (Romans) (Luke 21:20-27). |
| 2). These historical judgments were described as God figuratively coming on the clouds (cf. Ezek. 30-32). | 2). This historical judgment was described as Christ figuratively coming upon the clouds (Matt. 24:30).
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| 3). There was the darkening of the heavens, sun, moon and stars or de-creation type language describing the fall of these local nations (Ezek. 32:7-8). | 3). The sun and moon would not give their light (de-creation language) describing the fall of Jerusalem (Matt. 24:29).
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| 4). The language of imminence concerning this judgment being “near” and “without delay” is interpreted literally in relationship to the lifetime of the prophet and his contemporaries (Ezek. 7:7-9, 12:22-23, 25; 30:3; 32:7-8). “Near” = 3-5 yrs. / 16-18 yrs. | 4). The language of imminence, such as “near” and “this generation,” is to be interpreted literally and referring to the fulfillment being within the lifetimes of the prophet’s contemporary audience (Matt. 24:32-34; cf. 10:17-23; 16:27-28; 26:64-65). |
| 5). The day of the Lord was called the “time of the Gentiles” because God came in vengeance through Nebuchadnezzar’s army (Ezek. 30:3 NKJV). | 5). The coming of the Lord in vengeance to tread down Jerusalem is called the “times of the Gentiles” because God would come through the Roman armies (Luke 21:24). |
| 6). The prophet uses common Hebraic hyperbole; this judgment was the worst in relation to Israel’s past and future (Ezek. 5:9). | 6). The prophet uses common Hebraic hyperbole (this judgment was the worst in Israel’s past and future) (Matt. 24:21). |
The Devastation of Jerusalem
“They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations” (Luke 21:24)
Luke’s description also depicts the Jews falling by the sword of the Romans and being led captive. Adam Clarke gives a good description of this fulfillment as documented by John Bray,
“The number of those who fell by the sword was very great. Eleven hundred thousand perished during the siege. Many were slain at other places, and other times… Besides those many of every age, sex, and condition were slain in the war, who are not reckoned, but, of those who are reckoned, the number would have appeared incredible, if their own historian had not so particularly enumerated them. See Josephus, WAR, book li. C. 18,20; book iii. c. 2,7,8,9; book iv. c. 1,2,7,8,9; book vii. c. 6,9,11; and Bp. Newton, Vol. li. P. 288-290.
Many were also led away captives into all nations. There were taken at Jotapa, 1,200. At Tarichea, 6,000 chosen young men, who were sent to Nero; others sold to the number of 39,400, besides those who were given to Agrippa. Of the Gadarenes were taken 2,200. In Idumea above 1,000. Many besides these were taken in Jerusalem; so that, as Josephus says, the number of the captives taken in the whole war amounted to 97,000. Those above seventeen years of age were sent to the works in Egypt, but most were distributed through the Roman provinces, to be destroyed in their theatres by the sword, and by the wide beasts; and those under seventeen years of age were sold for slaves.”[5]
The Times of the Gentiles
“…and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Lk. 21:24)
Pat Robertson interprets the “times of the Gentiles” as a sign that took place in 1967, marking out 40 years until the rapture must take place:
“The year 586 B.C. was the time that Nebuchadnezzar took over Jerusalem, and that condition lasted…until the Six Day War that took place not too long ago. When did it happen? 1967. …The Jews took over Jerusalem for the first time since Nebuchadnezzar took it. What is the significance of all this? …At this point of time, a clock began to tick. A generation is 40 years, and a clock began to tick that said there’s 40 years from 1967.”[6]
Of course, 2007 is long gone! Just one of many failed interpretations and predictions from the Dispensational “prophecy experts.”
Other equally forced interpretation of this passage come from the classic Amillennialist position from such men as John Murray or Sam Waldron who see the phrase “Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles…[to refer to AD 70],” but then the remaining of the sentence “…until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” is somehow referring to:
“…the entire interadventual period.”[7]
Contrary to the eisegesis of Dispensational and Amillennial interpretations, the meaning of “the times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24 is best understood through: (1) the immediate context of Luke 21:20–24, (2) the Old Testament fulfillments Jesus references, (3) the use of these phrases elsewhere in the Old Testament, and (4) the parallel in Revelation 11. This approach reveals a straightforward interpretation rooted in historical and biblical evidence.
Immediate Context
The context of Luke 21:20–24 establishes the framework:
- Luke 21:20: Jesus warns his first-century audience (“you”) that they will witness Jerusalem’s encirclement and desolation by Roman armies, fulfilling Daniel’s prophecy.
- Luke 21:21–22: This same audience must flee the city to escape the “days of vengeance,” which will fulfill “all that is written” in the Old Testament, including Daniel’s prophecies.
- Luke 21:23: The exhortation to flee persists, as this period will bring “great distress/tribulation” upon the land(Greek: ge) of Israel and covenantal wrath against the first-century Jews.
- Luke 21:24: These Jews will “fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times [Greek: kairos, appointed time] of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
The clear contextual meaning is that Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles (Roman armies) until the appointed time (kairos) prophesied in the Old Testament for her desolation is fulfilled. This refers to God’s use of the Romans to punish Jerusalem with covenantal wrath over a specific period, not the salvation of Gentiles during an “interadventual period.”
Old Testament Fulfillments
According to the language and context, the OT prophetic books that Jesus most likely has in view would be Deuteronomy 32; Isaiah 63:3 and Daniel 7, 9 and 12.
Kairos: The Appointed Time
In Luke 21, Jesus uses kairos to denote the “appointed time” of Jerusalem’s judgment. He warns that false prophets and messiahs will misinterpret general signs, falsely claiming “the appointed time [of Jerusalem’s end] is near” (Luke 21:8–9). Jesus clarifies that only the Roman armies’ encirclement of Jerusalem will be the sign and mark the true “appointed times of the Gentiles,” leading to her destruction (Luke 21:8, 24).
Moses prophesied that a “perverse and crooked generation” in the “last days” would face Israel’s final “appointed time” of judgment, described as “near” (Deut. 31:29; 32:5, 20–22, 29, 35 LXX). God would come in “vengeance” to “repay” Israel for persecuting his people (Deut. 32:34–43). Jesus identifies his generation as this prophesied one (Matt. 17:17), predicting in the Olivet Discourse that Jerusalem’s “appointed time” and “end” would be “near” within his generation, marked by his coming in “vengeance” (Matt. 24:3, 34; Luke 21:8–9, 24–32).
Daniel narrows Moses’ prophecy to the Roman Empire. In Daniel 7, 9:26–27, and 12:1–11, the “appointed time” for Israel’s “treading down,” “tribulation,” “abomination of desolation,” and “end” spans “three and a half years,” culminating in the “shattering” of the holy people’s power. Jesus invokes this “appointed time” of Rome’s trampling of Jerusalem from AD 67–70 as the “times of the Gentiles” (Dan. 7; 9:24–27; 12:7). Thus, Luke 21:24 can be summarized: “Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles [Roman armies] until the appointed times [kairos], prophesied in Daniel as three and a half years for her treading down or shattering, are fulfilled.”
The Septuagint of Isaiah 63:3ff. depicts Christ coming in “vengeance” to “tread down” (Greek: pateo) Jerusalem and her sanctuary, further fulfilling Luke 21:24 and Revelation 14:18–20.
Times of the Gentiles
Ezekiel declared,
“For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near; it will be a day of
clouds, the time of the Gentiles (Ezek. 30:3 NKJV).”
As Matthew Poole and John Gill observed this “day of the Lord” was “near” and thus fulfilled within 1-18 years by God using the Gentile King Nebuchadnezzar to punish not only Israel but the surrounding nations. Therefore, the phrase, “time of the Gentiles” just like “treading down” (pateo) is an active and limited military campaign whereby God is said to come upon the clouds by using Gentiles nations and armies to execute his judgments.
The Analogy of Faith
Here are some passages that will help us understand what Jesus means by the “times of the Gentiles” and “treading underfoot Jerusalem”:
- “The Lord has rejected all my strong men in my midst; He has called an appointed time against me to crush my young men; the Lord has trodden as in a wine press the virgin daughter [Jerusalem] of Judah” (Lam. 1:15). [The Jewish Targum adds, ‘established a time to shatter…defile the virgins of the House of Judah until their blood…was caused to flow like wine from a wine press when a man is treading grapes and grape-wine flows.’]
- “But do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations (Gentiles), and they will trample the holy city (Jerusalem) for forty-two months (3 ½ yrs.)” (Rev. 11:2).
- “…the one who had the sharp sickle said, ‘Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.’ So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia” (Rev. 14:18-20).
Lamentations 1:15, along with its Targum, reflects on Babylon’s military desolation of Jerusalem in 586/587 BC as an “appointed time” when the Lord “trod” Jerusalem like grapes in a winepress, her blood flowing and her power “shattered.” This describes a specific, limited military campaign, spanning roughly 2–3 years (589–586 BC), not a protracted period of centuries.
Similarly, Revelation 11:2 and Daniel 12:7 depict Rome, the fourth Gentile empire (Dan. 2; 7), trampling Jerusalem for 3½ years, culminating in the “complete shattering of the holy people.” By comparing Scripture with Scripture and recognizing that this event occurred when Jerusalem was “surrounded by armies” in Jesus’ generation (Luke 21:20), we see that Jesus prophesied the 3½-year war from AD 67–70 (Dan. 9:26–27; 12:7). This is not a reference to an extended period from AD 70 to 1967 or the salvation of Gentiles in an alleged “interadvental” era.
Revelation 14:18-20 confirms the treading down of Israel’s land in a winepress with her blood flowing throughout the exact dimensions of the land of Israel. As John Gill points out these would be the known dimensions of the land of Palestine:
“…the measure of the land of Israel, and the common notion of it among the Jews, who make it to be the square of four hundred parsoe: hence they often speak of the land of Israel shaking and moving four hundred “parsoe”, upon some extraordinary occasions; and a “parsa” contained four miles, so that four hundred “parsoe” made a thousand and six hundred miles; and if miles and furlongs are the same, in which sense only the land of Israel could be so large, here is the exact space; for Jerom, who was an inhabitant of it, says, it was scarce 160 miles in length, to which agrees R. Menachem; and it may be observed, that the Arabic version renders the words, “by the space of a thousand and six hundred miles.”[8]
The parallels between Luke 21:24, Daniel’s three and a half year treading down of Jerusalem (Dan. 9:26-27; 12:7), and the three and half years of trampling of the holy city in Revelation 11:2 with Revelation 14:18-20 clearly indicate that the “times of the Gentiles” refers to the Roman campaign against Jerusalem from approximately AD 67–70.
The Fullness of the Gentiles – Romans 11:25
Since many falsely assume the “times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24 is the same event as Paul’s “the fulness of the Gentiles” in Romans 11:25, we will now show even though they are not the same event, they were both fulfilled by AD 70. In short, Jesus’ “times of the Gentiles” is referring to old covenant Israel’s “end” or three and a half years the Romans would be treading down Jerusalem in fulfillment of Daniel, while the “fullness of the Gentiles” or “salvation of all Israel” is referring to God bringing to maturity / completeness / or to fulness the Body of Christ at His “near” “day” of His second coming in AD 70 to bring that “salvation” (Rms. 13:11-12).
Another false assumption in Romans 11:25-27 is that modern “Jews” in modern “Israel” today are somehow connected to old covenant Biblical “Israel” that we see in the OT and NT that are awaiting Christ to come and “save” them with the Gentiles. This question rests on a flawed assumption: that the Jews of today and the modern State of Israel—more accurately called the “State of Rothschild”—are what Paul had in mind when he wrote the Book of Romans. However, this view overlooks key points: (1) In the context of Scripture, the terms “Jew” or “Israelite” and the “nation” of Israel are inseparable from the old covenant. (2) The old covenant came to an end in AD 70, when the genealogical records—essential for identifying tribal affiliations—were destroyed with the Temple. (3) Consequently, it becomes exegetically and logically challenging to recognize a national “Israel” or ethnically and tribally defined “Jews” and “Israelites” after AD 70 in the way Paul intended his first century readers to understand these terms. This is why many Jewish sources or “Jews” are honest and admit today there is no such thing as a “Jewish race,” and that a Jew is simply one who embraces the religion of Judaism. But as we have seen, Christ brought an “end” to the religion of old covenant Judaism in AD 70, so post AD 70, will the real “Jew” please stand up?
The Short Response on Romans 11
Even though God’s old covenant people in their last generation were being hardened and excluded from the coming inheritance, this did not mean that God had rejected old covenant Israel (Rom. 11:1– 2). Although it may have looked like Israel was being utterly cut off in her last generation, the truth was that old covenant Israel was being saved in her last days. God was actually saving “all Israel”—fulfilling His promises to “the fathers”—partly by means of the hardening of its last generation. Here’s how:
By means of old covenant Israel’s transgression/failure and rejection in her last days, riches and reconciliation (through the gospel) were coming to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:18). As Paul said, “They are enemies for your sakes” (Rom. 11:28).
The salvation of the Gentiles was making last days Israel “jealous” so that a remnant was becoming zealous for righteousness and being saved (Rom. 11:2-11,13-14). Paul himself was an example of this believing remnant being an “Israelite,” a descendant of Abraham, and a member of the tribe of Benjamin (Rom. 11:1).
The hardening, or reprobation, of old covenant Israel in her last generation was to continue until the fullness of the Gentiles came in, i.e., came into Israel (Rom. 11:25).
In this manner, or by this process [or through the coming of the Deliverer and His “near” salvation in Rom. 13:11-12], all of the saints of historic, old covenant Israel were going to be saved [resurrected] along with the last days remnant, and with the believing Gentiles who had been grafted into historic Israel. The consummation of this process took place in the Parousia of Christ in AD 70, according to the promises made to the fathers (Rom. 11:26). That is when Israel died, and was raised up a new, transformed Israel. That is when all of the elect (the Old Testament saints, the last days Jewish remnant, and the believing Gentiles) were consummately united in Christ and became the fulfilled “Israel of God.” It was thus that all Israel was saved.
The Longer Exegesis of Romans 9-11 Including Paul’s OT References as Evidence
Basic hermeneutics and most scholars emphasize that when a New Testament author quotes an Old Testament passage, we must consider the full context and theology of the original source.[9] Many overlook the context and eschatology of the Old Testament passages Paul draws upon in Romans 9–11, making it essential to examine them closely. A careful look at these texts reveals the following:
(1) The Old Testament depicts two Israels or Jerusalem’s—one judged and reduced to “a heap of rubble” in AD 70, while the other is spiritually saved or redeemed.
(2) The salvation of the true Israel or Jerusalem comprises the believing remnant of Jews and the believing Gentiles grafted into the fold.
Romans 9
Paul begins by asserting that God’s promises have not failed, highlighting the existence of two prophetic Israels. He explains, “Not all who are descended from Israel [Israel #1: old covenant, natural, or fleshly Israel] belong to Israel [Israel #2: new covenant, spiritual, believing Israel]” (Rom. 9:6). This distinction is foundational to his argument.
Hosea 1–2
Paul supports his case by appealing to Hosea’s eschatology in Romans 9:25–26: “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved’” (Hos. 2:23). “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God’” (Hos. 1:10). Hosea’s eschatology is straightforward: God would divorce the ten northern tribes, driving them from the land—His home—through the Assyrians, effectively ending their corporate, spiritual, and covenantal identity as a kingdom. Yet, He promised that in Israel’s “last days,” He would remarry her, gathering her with Judah under a new covenant, reestablishing His headship. Paul cites Hosea 1–2 to show that Israel’s salvation and restoration had already begun in Christ through the believing remnant and the inclusion of Gentiles, forming the true “Israel.”
Isaiah 10:27–28
In Romans 9:27–28, Paul returns to the Old Testament theme that only a remnant of Jews, not the entire nation, would be saved: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out His sentence upon the earth fully and without delay” (Isa. 10:22–23). Various translations render verse 23 differently—“a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (KJV) or “the Lord will perform the sentence He is concluding and bringing swiftly upon the earth” (BLT)—but the point remains clear. Since the gospel had already reached “all the earth” (the Roman Empire, cf. Rom. 10:18; Matt. 24:14), God would execute judgment on the nation “without delay.” Whether spanning AD 30 to AD 70 (the salvation of the remnant and ingrafting of Gentiles) or AD 67 to AD 70 (the final judgment), this was a “short work.”
Isaiah 1:9
Paul next quotes Isaiah 1:9 in Romans 9:29: “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.” In context, Jerusalem’s majority had grown so corrupt—committing bloodguilt by killing the poor and the righteous remnant (Isa. 1:15)—that God labeled her leaders “rulers of Sodom” and her people “Gomorrah” (v. 10). He offered forgiveness if they repented, but warned of destruction by the sword if they did not (vv. 16–20)—a judgment tied to the “last days” Day of the Lord or “the war” in Isaiah 2–3 (Isa. 2:10, 19–21; 3:25). Here, we see two outcomes intertwined: salvation for the repentant remnant and judgment for the unrepentant majority. The remnant survivors would become “the city of righteousness, the faithful city,” while the unfaithful majority, depicted as a “whore,” would be “burned” in judgment (vv. 21–31). Similarly, in Revelation—set to be fulfilled “shortly” by AD 70—John portrays old covenant Jerusalem (“where the Lord was slain”) as “Sodom and Gomorrah” and an unfaithful “whore,” soon to be judged and burned in the imminent events of AD 67–70 (Rev. 11; 17–19).
Isaiah 28:16
Paul concludes Romans 9:32–33 by citing Isaiah 28:16: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” By referencing Isaiah 28, Paul reminds his Jewish critics that their rejection of the Messiah—God’s cornerstone—was foretold, resulting in a “strange work.” This work was “strange” because God would (1) judge Israel, not Rome, while (2) simultaneously saving the persecuted believing remnant (Isa. 28:5–22). This judgment was not an end-of-world event but akin to God’s past judgments on the Philistines and Canaanites (Isa. 28:21; cf. 2 Sam. 5:19–20; Josh. 10:10).
Romans 10
Paul continues to draw from Israel’s own Scriptures to argue that God’s new covenant plan of salvation makes no distinction between Jew and Greek, while also revealing His rejection of the majority of Israelites in their day.
Isaiah 52:7
In Romans 10:15, Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7: “And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.’” What exactly was this “good news” preached to Israel? Isaiah’s eschatology, like Daniel’s, foretells that after Israel’s prolonged exile under Gentile powers, the Messiah would come to save and resurrect her—spiritually, corporately, and covenantally—“from the dust” (cf. Dan. 12:2). In Isaiah 52:1–2, this salvation is tied to the Messiah’s arrival and the eschatological wedding: “Put on your beautiful garments… for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake yourself from the dust and arise.” Paul demonstrates that Israel’s restoration, as promised in the Old Testament, was unfolding in a way the carnal Pharisees could not perceive—a spiritual resurrection of a new covenant New Jerusalem, saved and “born from above” through faith (John 3:1–18; Ezek. 36:23–29). Isaiah 52, like Ezekiel 36, prophesies a new covenant spiritual salvation:
Spiritual and corporate resurrection (52:1–2)
Spiritual wedding garments (52:1)
Spiritual circumcision for a redeemed Jerusalem (52:1–2ff)
Spiritual “eye-to-eye” vision of God (52:8)
Spiritual salvation or “sprinkling” of the Gentile nations (52:15)
The “good news” inaugurated through the Messiah’s suffering (52:7, 14)
Isaiah 53:1
Paul extends this theme into Isaiah 53, invoking its full theological and eschatological context. Having addressed the remnant’s salvation and their gospel preaching, he writes, “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’” (Rom. 10:16). Not every Jew—nor the nation as a whole—would accept the remnant’s gospel report: that salvation is found only in Jesus, the Messiah, and His “good news” (Isa. 52–53). Isaiah 53:3–12 continues the depiction of the Messiah’s suffering from 52:14 (cf. Ps. 22), and Paul underscores that salvation for Israel hinges on faith in the Messiah’s substitutionary atonement—an atonement designed for the “many” or His believing “offspring” (the righteous remnant and Gentiles), not the entire nation.
Notably, the Hebrew text of Isaiah 53:9 suggests the Messiah would face two “deaths”: “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his deaths, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth” (SLT). Jesus endured not only a violent physical death but also a spiritual separation from the Father—“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27; Ps. 22; cf. 2 Cor. 5:21)—on the cross. His physical resurrection then served as a miraculous “sign” (John 20:24–30), pointing to His victory over the spiritual death and separation inherited from Adam, making Him the first to rise from among the dead into unbroken fellowship with the Father (1 Pet. 3:18; Rom. 6:4–10).
Psalm 19:4
In Romans 10:18, Paul cites Psalm 19:4 to show that the scattered Jews throughout the Roman world had ample opportunity to hear the gospel through his ministry: “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed, they have, for ‘their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world’” (cf. Col. 1:5–6, 23; Rom. 16:25–26). The gospel’s spread across the Roman Empire was like the sun completing its course from east to west, its heat inescapable (Ps. 19:4–6). In Malachi 3–4:2 and Matthew 24:14, 27 (cf. Luke 17:24; 21; see Aramaic English NT or A Faithful Version), after the gospel reached the Roman world, Christ would come as the “Sun of Righteousness” or “daylight shining from east to west” to redeem the remnant and judge the wicked.
Deuteronomy 32:21
Paul then quotes Deuteronomy 32:21 in Romans 10:19: “But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, ‘I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.’” Let’s explore Moses’ eschatology in Deuteronomy 32 and how Paul sees it fulfilled in his generation:
| Deuteronomy 32 | Paul’s Application |
| (1) In Israel’s “last days,” a “perverse and twisted generation” would emerge, with most refusing to believe, becoming a “blemish/stain/spot” (31:29; 32:5, 20). | (1) Quoting Deut. 32:5, 20, Paul identifies the first-century church as living in that “perverse and crooked generation,” yet calls believers the true children of God “without blemish/stain/spot” (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Tim. 4:3–4; Phil. 2:15). |
| (2) During this generation, Israel’s “appointed time” (kairos) and “end” would be “near” (32:5, 20, 35 LXX). | (2) Paul affirms this “appointed time” (kairos) was “about to be,” “near,” or “short” in fulfillment (Rom. 13:11–12; 1 Cor. 7:29; 10:11). |
| (3) God would “make Israel jealous with those who are no people… a foolish nation” (32:20–21). | (3) Paul applies Deut. 32:21 in Rom. 9–11, showing the believing remnant and grafted Gentiles as the true “Israel” or “nation,” provoking old covenant Israel’s jealousy. This “Israel” would be saved and matured at Christ’s coming from Zion in AD 70 (Rom. 9:6–11:25–27). |
| (4) This jealousy is tied to Israel’s “end” and de-creation—her “earth/land” and “mountains” burned and destroyed (32:20–22). Jews saw Jerusalem as resting on seven surrounding mountains. | (4) Paul cites Deut. 32:21 and Isa. 65:1 in Rom. 10:19–20, linking this jealousy to old covenant Israel’s de-creation (Deut. 32:22) and Christ’s coming in vengeance to form the New Jerusalem, maturing the church (Isa. 65:2–17). |
| (5) “Vengeance is mine, and recompense…” relates to God avenging His persecuted children and judging Israel at her “appointed time” when her end was “near” (32:35–43 LXX). | (5) Paul echoes Deut. 32:35 in Rom. 12:19, urging believers to await God’s “vengeance” amid persecution, as the “appointed time” (kairos) of Christ’s “Day” and “salvation” was “near” in AD 70 (Rom. 13:11–12), fulfilling Deut. 32:35–43 with resurrection, vindication, and justice for martyrs. |
God’s promises had not failed despite the majority’s unbelief. Through this hardening, He formed a remnant—a new “people” and “nation.” Paul also reminds them that Scripture foretold their inability to “discern what their end” would be—an “end” (of the old covenant age, not world history) that was “at hand” in their “last days” generation, tied to Christ’s imminent “vengeance” to “judge the living and the dead” (Matt. 17:17; 24:3–34; Phil. 2:15; 4:5; Acts 2:20–40; 1 Pet. 4:5–7, 17).
Isaiah 65:1–2
Paul calls Isaiah back to testify: “Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, ‘I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me [new covenant nation/Israel];’ But of [old covenant] Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people’” (Rom. 10:20–21). Like Deuteronomy 32:21–22, Isaiah 65–66 depicts two peoples/nations/creations—one saved, the other judged:
Old covenant Israel, a “rebellious people” provoking God, faces judgment (65:2–7).
A remnant is spared: “As the new wine is found in the cluster… so I will not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob… possessors of my mountains” (65:8–9).
When God judges old covenant Jerusalem “with the sword,” the remnant eats and drinks while the other hungers and thirsts—one rejoices, the other cries in shame. The unbelievers’ “name” (Jerusalem) is given to the remnant as a “new name” (New Jerusalem) (65:12–16).
This is fulfilled as God covenantally “forgets” the old covenant people / Jerusalem / creation, forming a new covenant people / New Jerusalem / New Heavens and Earth (65:17–25). Paul applies Isaiah 65:17 in 2 Corinthians 5:17, identifying the believing Jew-Gentile church as this “New Creation” or “New Heavens and New Earth”—a covenant people, not a physical transformation of dirt.
Romans 11
In chapter 11, Paul points to himself and the “present time” as proof that God has not rejected His people, nor have His promises failed. As a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, Paul counts himself among the chosen remnant of elect Jews (vv. 1–6). He draws further evidence from Isaiah 29:10 to show that God’s plan always included hardening most of Israel while leading the elect to seek and find salvation in Christ under the new covenant of grace.
Isaiah 29:10
Paul writes, “What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day’” (Rom. 11:7–8; Isa. 29:10). Once again, Scripture reveals a dual reality: when “blind,” unbelieving old covenant Jerusalem is judged and “besieged” (Isa. 29:1–16), it is also “in that day” when “the eyes of the blind shall see” and “Jacob shall no more be ashamed” (vv. 17–24). Paul relentlessly appeals to Old Testament text after text, demonstrating that Israel’s majority would reject the gospel and face judgment, while a remnant would believe and be saved.
Psalm 69:22–23
Paul continues his “blindness” motif, now citing David as a prophet foretelling judgment on unbelievers with the image of God setting a trap: “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever” (Rom. 11:9–10; Ps. 69:22–23). John Gill notes that many commentators link this to the Jews gathered for Passover just before the Romans, as God’s instrument of wrath, besieged them: “…nor is it to be overlooked… that the Passover may be meant by ‘table’; which was their grand yearly feast, and which they were eating when they were surrounded and taken by the Roman army, like birds in a net, or beasts in a trap: and all this as a recompense… for their ill treatment of Christ… giving him gall and vinegar…”[10] The psalm concludes with judgment on these blind persecutors, yet it also promises salvation for the “humble” at the same time (vv. 32–36).
Isaiah 59:20–21
Paul appeals to Isaiah 59 in Romans 11:26. Here in Romans 11 Paul exhorts Gentile Christians that God was breaking off some Jewish branches (those rejecting Jesus as Messiah) and grafting them in as “wild olive shoots” into Israel’s olive tree, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant. Yet, he insists God isn’t finished saving Jews in his day and generation—not ours. Some “natural branches” could still be grafted back in, and their “acceptance,” alongside Gentiles entering Israel’s fullness at Christ’s coming, would bring “life from the dead”—the fulfillment of Israel’s long-awaited restoration or resurrection promises (Rom. 11:19–24).
Isaiah 59’s eschatology breaks down as follows:
Israel is guilty of bloodguilt, persecuting and killing their poor brethren (vv. 3, 7).
Thus, God/Messiah dons “garments of vengeance” to deliver “justice” and “repay His adversaries” (vv. 14–19).
Simultaneously, He comes to “redeem” the righteous remnant or Zion (v. 20).
Paul also applies Isaiah 59 in 1 Thessalonians 5:8–10, linking it to Christ’s Second Coming and the resurrection. He and his contemporaries “belonged to the day” of “salvation” (Isa. 59:16ff.), which would bring resurrection and eternal life—experiencing God’s presence at Christ’s return, within some of their lifetimes (1 Thess. 4:15–17; “we shall not all die”; cf. Matt. 16:27–28). In 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10, Paul assures the church that Christ would come from heaven in wrath to vindicate them from their Jewish persecutors (cf. Acts 17) and grant “relief.” How would this unfold? Recall Psalm 69:22–23: God would “lay a trap” for these persecutors as they gathered in Jerusalem for Passover, then come—via the Roman armies—to “repay” them with the “wrath” they had “stored up” (1 Thess. 2:14–16; Matt. 23:30–39).
Isaiah 27:9
Paul isn’t done with Isaiah, his star witness, citing him again in Romans 11:27. Isaiah 27 links the Messiah’s coming in judgment on Jerusalem to the new covenant’s maturity and the forgiveness of sin: “By this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces… For the fortified city [Jerusalem] is solitary, a habitation deserted and forsaken… In that day… the Lord will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned/gathered one by one, O people of Israel. And in that day a great trumpet will be blown…” (Isa. 27:9–10, 12–13). When the new covenant matures, and sins are forgiven is precisely “when” Jerusalem becomes a “heap” of rubble in AD 70. Other eschatological themes in Isaiah 27 include:
“In that day,” Satan or the “dragon” is judged (v. 1), aligning with Paul’s teaching that “Satan” would be “crushed” “shortly” in AD 70 (Rom. 16:20). Israel’s “death” is a spiritual and corporate reality (v. 7).
Jesus ties the “gathering,” “threshing” (harvest), and “trumpet” resurrection of Isaiah 27:12–13 to His Second Coming in His generation (Matt. 24:30–31, 34). Since Jesus applies Isaiah 27 to His imminent return, it’s unsurprising that Paul uses it to depict Christ’s AD 70 coming to “save all Israel” and remove her sin.
Exegesis of Romans 11:25–27
With Paul’s Old Testament sources in Romans 9–11 showing AD 70 connections, let’s examine Romans 11:25–27:
“I don’t want you to be unaware of this mystery…” (v. 25). Paul confirms in Romans 16:25–26 that this “mystery” is the new covenant gospel uniting Jew and Gentile “in Christ”—once hidden in the Old Testament but now preached to “all nations” in the Roman Empire through his “stewardship” (cf. Col. 1:25–26; Eph. 2:11–22; 3:1–6).
“…a partial hardening has come upon Israel…” (v. 25). This parallels last-days Israel “filling up the measure of her sin” until Christ’s AD 70 vengeance ended her covenant age (cf. Matt. 23:32–36). The “partial hardening” of old covenant Israel would culminate in her final judgment in AD 70.
“…until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (v. 25). The Greek pleroma (“fullness”) here points to Christ’s AD 70 coming from Zion (v. 27) to forgive sin, making the church mature and complete, filled with His presence (cf. Eph. 1:23; 3:19; 4:13). Paul’s eschatological goal is “…God may be all [Father, Son, Holy Spirit] in all [Jew/Gentile]” (1 Cor. 15:28). This “mystery” of Jew-Gentile union recurs in Colossians 1:26–27 as “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” and in Revelation, where the matured New Jerusalem embodies God’s presence at Christ’s “soon” AD 70 return (Rev. 21–22:6–7, 10, 20).
“And in this way all Israel will be saved…” (vv. 26–27). “In this way” refers to the church reaching her “fullness” (v. 25) at Christ’s “coming from Zion” (v. 27), when He filled her with His presence and removed her sin, fulfilling the new covenant. This conflates Isaiah 59 and 27—Christ as “Redeemer” coming “in vengeance” yet to “take away sin”—an event Jesus ties to His generation (Luke 21:20–32; Matt. 24:30–31).
Concluding Romans 9-11 and Paul’s Use of the OT
Paul’s Old Testament citations reveal a one coming of the Lord with a dual result: God judges one Israel, reducing Jerusalem to “a heap of rubble,” while redeeming another Israel or Jerusalem. The believing remnant, alongside Gentiles, forms the true Israel of God, the new covenant people post-AD 70. These texts also present a corporate, covenantal resurrection concept. Paul’s focus on the “redemption of the body” or “salvation of all Israel” as “life from the dead” (Rom. 8–11) centers on new covenant Israel being raised and glorified out of old covenant Israel in AD 70.
Conclusion
Contrary to the assumptions of Dispensationalism and Amillennialism, the Bible does not stretch the “Great Tribulation,” the “times of the Gentiles,” or the “fulness of the Gentiles” across millennia. Instead, when read contextually and in harmony with the analogy of faith, these prophetic markers converge within a single, climactic generation—the last generation of the Old Covenant age, culminating in AD 70.
Jesus’ reference to the “times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24 is not a vague prophecy about modern geopolitical events or the extended Church Age. Rather, it speaks precisely of the 3½-year period when the Roman armies, acting as agents of divine judgment, trampled Jerusalem in fulfillment of Daniel’s vision. This was the appointed time of covenantal wrath—an end, not of the world, but of the Old Covenant world.
Likewise, Paul’s “fulness of the Gentiles” in Romans 11:25–27 does not describe a 2,000-year parenthesis awaiting some future national conversion of modern Jews. Instead, it marks the redemptive climax of the Jew-Gentile union in the one Body of Christ. As the Gentiles were brought into Israel’s promises, and the believing Jewish remnant embraced the gospel, the New Covenant reached its fullness. At the Parousia in AD 70, Christ came to consummate this redemptive work—raising the true Israel of God from the death of the Old Covenant body, forgiving sin, and dwelling among His people.
The “times of the Gentiles” and the “fulness of the Gentiles” are not identical events, but they are inseparably linked in the eschatological architecture of the New Testament. One signifies the judgment and dismantling of the Old; the other, the completion and glorification of the New. Both were fulfilled when “all that had been written” was brought to pass within the time-frame Jesus and Paul clearly declared: this generation. The Church today does not wait for these events—they are the foundation of its very existence.
[1] Josephus The Complete Works, Chapter 9:4, https://ccel.org/ccel/josephus/complete/
complete.iii.vii.ix.html
[2] 1QM 1:11-12
[3] Jewish War 2, 20, 1
[4] Eusebius, History of the Church 3, 5
[5] John L. Bray, MATTHEW 24 FULFILLED, (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1996), 91-92
[6] Don K. Preston, The Times of the Gentiles? Past-Present-Or What? https://donkpreston.com/
the-times-of-the-gentiles-past-present-or-what/
[7] Sam Waldron, THE DOCTRINE OF LAST THINGS AN OPTIMISTIC AMILLENNIAL VIEW, (Free Grace Press, 2025) 355
[8] John Gill, John Gill’s Exposition of the Whole Bible, Ibid., free online at biblehub.com
[9] Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016), 360–61 (emphasis original). Cf. idem, Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness (London: SPCK, 2015), 97. Ian Turner, “Going Beyond What Is Written or Learning to Read? Discovering OT/NT Broad Reference,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, JETS 61, no. 3 (2018): 577–94, p. 577.
[10] John Gill, John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible, Commentary on Romans 10:9, Biblehub.com