For several years past an increased interest has been shown in the study of Prophecy. One feature particularly has engaged the attention of many, the termination of "the Times of the Gentiles." Some think this period will end this year, 1934. This conclusion is based on the supposed length of that period being 2520 years from the date of Nebuchadnezzar's complete subjugation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple in B. C. 586. The method of arriving at this date is by supposing that the seven times which were to pass over Nebuchadnezzar, and the seven times mentioned in connection with Israel's punishment for unfaithfulness to Jehovah, represent seven times of 360 years, a calculation based upon the prophetic year of 360 days, and making a day count for a year, as in the prophecy of the seventy weeks of Daniel (or, 490 years), the period determined upon Daniel's people at the end of which their full blessing is realized in the kingdom of the Son of Man, David's Son and David's Lord.

Now before remarking upon the basis of this calculation, let us be clear as to what takes place at the termination of the period called "the Times of the Gentiles."

It has been stated correctly by one of the chief advocates of this system of prophetic dates:

The Times of the Gentiles is "the long period of history which began with the beginning of the succession of the four great Gentile monarchies revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, and which ends with the close of these four empires, and the manifestation of the kingdom of God….the joint duration of the rule of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome… the period which elapses between the fall of the throne of Judah, in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, and the restoration of the throne by the establishment of it forever in the person of Christ, the Son and Lord of David…the period which, according to prophecy, is to be immediately followed by the establishment on earth of a universal monarchy of a wonderfully different description, by the setting up of the long-predicted, long-prayed-for kingdom of God, the kingdom of the . Son of Man of which Christ so often spoke."

That this is correct Luke 21:24-28 proves, with a number of other passages familiar to the prophetic student, which show that the kingdom of Christ is set up after a time of unequaled tribulation affecting all nations, this time coming in the end of the period of Gentile dominion.

This being so, if 1934 terminates this period and the kingdom follows, as is evident, then this year will witness the public manifestation of Christ in glory in the land of Palestine.

Granting this conclusion for a moment, let us inquire as to what then becomes of Daniel's seventieth week- the last seven years of the 490 years, or seventy determined weeks, at the end of which Israel's full blessing is accomplished.

It is clear that the sixty-nine weeks have expired with the coming of Christ, followed by His crucifixion. But it is not possible to find in the subsequent history up to the present any events or circumstances which fulfil the conditions mentioned as obtaining during the seventieth week. That week, one of seven years like the others, is distinguished by the making of a covenant between a
coming prince of the, Roman Empire and the Jewish people. In His prophetic discourse, the Lord links its events with that tribulation immediately after which the Son of Man comes in power and great glory, that is, the Times of the Gentiles end then and the kingdom is set up in glory. If this is due to take place in 1934, the seventieth week of Daniel began hi 1927. It is evident that not then nor since has any event transpired which fulfils what is said about the seventieth week in Daniel's prophecy.

Even supposing that this week was fulfilled in the past, as some try to show, it is clear that a time of unequaled tribulation precedes the coming of the Son of Man, that this lasts for 42 months, or three-and-a-half years, and while affecting all nations it centers in Pales-.tine, and the Lord speaks of the flight from Judea to the mountains coincident with the setting up of the abomination spoken of by Daniel. It is immediately after these events that the Son of Man comes. If His coining is in 1934 then these events must be sought for during the past three-and-a-half years. But Judea has witnessed no such conditions. Even the present depression has not affected it like the rest of the world, and only last fall it was stated in the Press that Palestine was prosperous while the rest of the world suffered.

These considerations serve to show that it is a mistake to fix 1934 as the terminal year of Gentile Times, and therefore the year of the coming of the Son of Man.

But apart from this the basis of calculation is faulty. Students of Prophecy admit that the prophetic year is 360 days. This is indicated by the various measures of time mentioned, that is, the 42 months, the 1260 days, and the expression, "a time and times and half a time." Thus a year of 360 days is the unit of measure in prophetic time.

On this basis if we allow that the Times of the Gentiles cover 2520 years of prophetic measure, then that is equivalent to only 2484 solar years, since for such a period there is a difference of about thirty-six and a quarter years between the two forms of reckoning. This, of course, is because the solar year is five and a quarter days longer than the prophetic year. Thus, though accepting B.C. 586 as the date for the commencement of the period under consideration, we , cannot be correct in simply adding 2520 years to that date as though the years were of solar measure, and so arrive at A.D. 1934; and if we add the 2484 solar years (the equivalent of 2520 prophetic years) we reach A.D. 1898-an utterly meaningless result. Either method of calculation brings us to a date for the expiration of this prophetic period which is untenable in the light of Scripture. Therefore the attempt to fix this period as being 2520 years appears to be a mistake, and a misapplication of the scriptural statements used to establish it, since it really leads us to no date in connection with which those things are found which Scripture states belong to the end-time of this period.

The efforts to establish prophetic dates in this way has served to bring prophetic truth into disrepute, and often to strengthen the hands of those mockers of whom Peter speaks.

These efforts are aimed at solving "the times or seasons which the Father hath set within His own authority" (Acts 1:7, Am. R.V.). They refer to the' establishment of the kingdom, its restoration to Israel (ver. 6). "The Times of the Gentiles" belongs to those "times or seasons." After the cutting off of Messiah, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus is the last specific event in Daniel's prophetic calendar which has been fulfilled, and the next event in that calendar about which we can be certain, as far as concerns a point of time, is what commences Daniel's seventieth week-the covenant-making already mentioned. With the end of that week Gentile Times terminate and the Son of Man comes. Between that last specific event and the covenant-making which opens the seventieth week, Scripture gives no measure of time. This is set within the Father's authority, and it has not been revealed, though that does not involve the conclusion that it has not been determined in the Father's counsels. Therefore, when, as to date, the seventieth week begins we do not know; but what commences it and the related world-conditions we do know. Many Scriptures furnish us knowledge as to the what, but none as to the when that week of seven years will commence. We cannot determine the date when the Times of the Gentiles will end, but how they will end we are clearly told.

Before the seventieth week commences we believe Christ will come for His Church, according to 1 Thess. 4, after which world-conditions will fully ripen, and the seventieth week be inaugurated by the Roman Prince, the head of the then revived Roman Empire, in a treaty with the restored Jewish commonwealth. The preparation for these things we may discern already in present events in Europe and Palestine. The Jews are looking to the formation of a Jewish State, the re-establishment of Jewish sacrifices, and a new temple in Jerusalem. These are the shadows of approaching events, they indicate the trend of things, they show that the end must be near. To see this is one thing, to attempt the establishment of dates quite another, and we deem this entirely outside the range of Scripture. John Bloore