THE EXPRESSION “THE APPOINTED TIMES OF THE NATIONS” IS FOUND IN THE GREAT PROPHECY OF JESUS. THE BASIC THEME OF THIS GREAT PROPHECY IS GOD’S KINGDOM, AND THIS IS ALSO THE THEME OF “THE APPOINTED TIME OF THE NATIONS. I WILL DISCUSS THE SETTING OF THIS GREAT PROPHECY AND THE MEANING OF THE WORDS, “THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS DRAWN NEAR.”
The expression “the appointed times of the nations” is found only in one place in the Bible, namely, in Luke 21:24, in Jesus’ great prophecy about his return.I will consider the focus of Jesus’ great prophecy.
THE PRESENCE OF JESUS AND THE COMING SYSTEM OF THINGS
We find the question of the disciples in Matthew 24:3:
3 While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence (parousia) and of the conclusion of the system of things (synteleias tou aiōnos)?”
Jesus had told the disciples that he would go away and then come back. The disciples spoke Hebrew, and which words did they use in their in their question? It is likely that they said something like mā ’ōt pānekhā weqets ha ‘ōlam? Literally it means mā (what) ’ōt (sign) pānekhā (your presence/face) weqets (and conclusion) ha ‘ōlam (the system of things?
Matthew translated pānekhā with the Greek words tēs sēs parousias (“the your presence”). The reason why the disciples did not use the Hebrew words bō‘kā (“your coming”) and Matthew did not use the Greek word erkhomai (“to come”) may be implied in Matthew 24:23-27:
23 “Then if anyone says to YOU, ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There!’ do not believe it. “Then if anyone says to YOU, ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs+ and false prophets+ will arise and will give great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. 25 Look! I have forewarned YOU. 26 Therefore, if people say to YOU, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look! He is in the inner chambers,’ do not believe it. 27 For just as the lightning comes out of eastern parts and shines over to western parts, so the presence (parousia) of the Son of man will be.
The disciples expected that Jesus would return as a man to Israel. If he were to come to another place in the country than they were, they wanted to know the sign indicating that he had returned. so, they could start looking for him, just as the quoted verses imply.
The Mishna is a Jewish book which presents the sayings of different rabbis from the time before the common era to the middle of the third century CE, when this book was written. Here we find the belief about ‘ōlam habbā, (“the coming system of things”) where peace and happiness would exist.
According to Luke 18:30, Jesus speaks of “the coming system of things” (‘ōlam habbā), and in Luke 18:34, 35, he contrasts “this system of things” with “that system of things” that is connected with the resurrection. The disciples evidently believed in the coming system of things” (‘ōlam habbā) as other God-fearing Jews did, and they connected this coming system of things (‘ōlam habbā) with the presence of Jesus.
We note the Jesus, according to verse 27, used the same word that the disciples used (Hebrew: pānæ, Greek parousia). By this he shows that the disciples posed a reasonable question. But he shows that he would not return as a man. But his presence would be heralded just like a lightening. But no person would be seen.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRESENCE (PAROUSIA) AND COMING (ERKHOMAI) OF JESUS
It is important not to confuse the two Greek words parousia (“presence”) and erkhomai (“to come”) Both words play an important role in the great prophecy of Jesus. But they refer to different sides of Jesus’ return. One example of the difference is found in Matthew 24:37-39:
37 For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. er. 38 For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; 39 and they took no note until the flood came (erkhomai) and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.
40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned; 41 two women will be grinding at the hand mill: one will be taken along and the other be abandoned. 42 Keep on the watch, therefore, because YOU do not know on what day YOUR Lord is coming (erkhomai).
Jesus compares his presence (parousia) with the days of Noah before the flood, when Noah built the ark and preached for the people (2 Peter 2:5). The presence of Noah before the flood ended when “the flood came (erkhomai) and swept them all away.” Jesus said that “so the presence of the Son of man will be.”
This means that Jesus would return and be present, and at the end of his presence, he will come (erkhomai), and a situation similar to the flood would be the result. Verses 40 and 41 take the illustration of Jesus further. Just as Noah, his wife, his sons and their wieves were taken into the ark and survived the flood, similarly, at the end of Jesus’ presence (parousia), one will be taken along and one will be left. Please note that this situation, which Jesus compares with the flood, is said to be when “YOUR lord is coming (erkhomai).”
Thus, Jesus returns and is present, and during his presence (parousia), different things will happen, like the tings that happened before the flood. At the end of his presence, he will come (erkhomai) in a similar way as the flood came (erkhomai) and with a similar result.
The important point that Jesus’ coming (erkhomai) occurs at the end of his presence (parousia) is expressed by verses 29, 30:
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of man will appear (erkhomai) in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will beat themselves in lamentation, and they will see (horao) the Son of man coming (erkhomai) on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The sign of the Son of man will appear (come) in heaven, and the tribes of the earth will see (horaō) the Son of man coming (erkhomai) on the clouds of heaven. The Greek word horaō can refer to seeing with one’s eyes, or understanding something. In Romans 1:20, we find the Greek word horaō with the prefix kat-, and what is “seen” are the invisible qualities of God. These invisible qualities “are seen” indirectly, by “what he has made (created).” In a similar way the Son of man “is seen,” or understood, indirectly, because of “the sign of the Son of man.”
The point in our context is that “the coming (erkhomai) of the Son of man occurs when he will judge the people at the end of his presence (parousia).
THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAD DRAWN NEAR WHEN JESUS WAS ON THE EARTH
The kingdom of God/the heavens is only mentioned four times in Jesus’ great prophecy, in Matthew 24:14, 25; 25:1, 34; and Luke 21:31. Yet, the kingdom of God and its establishment are the setting and the theme of this prophecy. In order to understand this, we need to look at the preaching of Jesus about the kingdom of God. The first examples of this are Matthew 3:2 (above); Mark 1:15 (middle), Luk 10:9 (below)
2 “REPENT, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near (eggizō).”
15 and saying: “The appointed time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near (eggizō).
9 and cure the sick ones in it, and go on telling them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near (eggizō) to YOU.’
In our context, the verb eggizō (“draw near”) is important. When it stands without an object, as is the case in these verses, the meaning is, “to approach, draw near; to be at hand.” (Mounce). The corresponding substantive eggus has the meaning “near as to place; near as to time; close at hand.” (Mounce).
What did Jesus mean when he said, “the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near”? The nation of Israel, with kings in the line of David, was God’s kingdom in the past. This kingdom was destroyed when Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in the year 607 BCE. From that time, God did not have a kingdom that encompassed the earth.
I showed in Part I of this study that Daniel 9:24-27 describes the appointed time from the year 20 of Artaxerxes I, which was 455 BCE, until 29 CE, when Jesus started his preaching and presented himself as the promised Messiah. According to Mark 1:15, which is quoted above, Jesus referred to this appointed time, and he said that when this time now was fulfilled, it meant that “the kingdom of God has drawn near.”
God’s kingdom is in the heavens, and therefore, it is also called the kingdom of God or the kingdom of the heavens. This means that God’s kingdom is not on the earth. This is a real kingdom, because according to Matthew 18:3, Jesus spoke of those who enter the kingdom of the heavens, and according to 8:11, he spoke of those who will feast in the kingdom of the heavens.
In view of this, how can we understand that the kingdom of God has drawn near here on earth? We can understand this by reading Luke 11:20 (above) and 17:20 (below):
20 But if it is by means of God’s finger I expel the demons, the kingdom of God has really overtaken (fthanō) YOU.
20 But on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them and said: “The kingdom of God is not coming with striking observableness, 21 neither will people be saying, ‘See here!’ or, ‘There!’ For, look! the kingdom of God is in YOUR midst.”
God’s finger refers to his spirit, and the point in 11:20 is that when he expelled demons with the help of God’s spirit, this showed that he had and used the power of God’s kingdom. This meant that God’s kingdom had “overtaken” them. The Greek word fthanō means “advance, make progress, to come up with, come upon.” (Mounce). So, the meaning of Jesus was that his use of God’s power showed that God’s kingdom had come upon them, it was a reality.
According to Luke 17:20, 21, the kingdom of God was in the midst of the Pharisees, because he, who was the king in this kingdom, and who demonstrated that he used the power of the kingdom was in their midst. This accords with the words of Mark 1:15, which has been quoted above, that now when the appointed time had been fulfilled, the kingdom of God had drawn near.
| The words “the kingdom has drawn near” meant that the king of the kingdom, Jesus Christ, was in their midst, and he and his disciples used the power of the kingdom to expel demons and heal sickness. |
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL AGAIN DRAW NEAR
The question of the apostle was what the sign of the presence of Jesus and the conclusion of the system of things (= the time of the end) was. I have already argued that the setting and theme of the great prophecy of Jesus is the kingdom of God. Jesus told one prophetic illustration which stresses this point. We read Luke 19:11-15:
11 While they were listening to these things he spoke in addition an illustration, because he was near Jerusalem and they were imagining that the kingdom (basileia) of God was going to display itself instantly. 12 Therefore he said: “A certain man of noble birth traveled to a distant land to secure kingly power (basileia) for himself and to return. 13 Calling ten slaves of his he gave them ten miʹnas and told them, ‘Do business till I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated+ him and sent out a body of ambassadors after him, to say, ‘We do not want this [man] to become king over us.’ 15 “Eventually when he got back after having secured the kingly power, he commanded to be called to him these slaves to whom he had given the silver money, in order to ascertain what they had gained by business activity.
Why did the disciples expect that the kingdom of God “was going to display itself instantly”? Evidently, because such a situation was described in the book of Daniel, which they knew, where prophecies about God’s kingdom abounds. The disciples most likely had Daniel 7:13, 14 in mind:
13 “I kept on beholding in the visions of the night, and, see there! with the clouds of the heavens someone like a son of man happened to be coming; and to the Ancient of Days he gained access, and they brought him up close even before that One. 14 And to him there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin.
Daniel speaks of “the Son of man,” and Jesus had several times referred to himself as the Son of man. The quotation shows that the Son of man will get kingly power over all the nations. And the disciples evidently expected that this would happen instantly.
Jesus corrected the view of his disciples and spoke about his future return. He was of “noble birth,” and he travelled to a distant land, to heaven. When he had received kingly power (literally: “the kingdom”), he would return and settle the accounts with his servants. This illustration indicates that Jesus’ presence signifies the receipt of kingly power and the establishment of God’s kingdom.
In addition to the book of Daniel, the book that speaks mostly about God’s kingdom is Revelation. And the accounts of the kingdom in this book parallel the illustration of Jesus. This book was written shortly before the start of the second century CE, and the first verse in the book says that its prophecies refer to the future.
I quote Revelation 11:15-17 (above) and 12:7-12 (below):
15 And the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And loud voices occurred in heaven, saying: “The kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who were seated before God upon their thrones fell upon their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We thank you, Jehovah God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king.
7 And war broke out in heaven: Miʹcha·el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death.
12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”
Revelation 11:15 shows that at a particular time after the year 98, when Revelation was written, the kingdom of the world became the kingdom of Jehovah God and his Son Jesus Christ. This shows that Jesus did not have the power of the kingdom of the world when he was on the earth. This aligns with the word in his illustration that he had to go to heaven to receive kingly power. Jehovah God has always been omnipotent with all power, but now, 11:16 says that God “has taken your great power” in connection with the humans on the earth.
Revelation 12:7-12 shows that Satan, the Devil, at a particular time, is thrown out of heaven. And now Jesus Christ has the authority in the kingdom of God, according to verse 10. We also note that Satan is thrown out of heaven and Jesus got the authority in the kingdom of God “a short time” before Satan is bound in the abyss. (Revelation 20:1-3)
The important point in our context is that Jesus says that his second coming means that he will receive kingly power, and that throwing the Devil out of heaven coincides with the point of time when Jesus gets kingly power. Because Jesus will judge his enemies and bind the Devil at the end of his presence, the mentioned “short time” must refer to the same period as the presence of Jesus.
THE GREAT PROPHECY OF JESUS SHOWS THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD HAS DRAWN NEAR
I have previously shown that the presence (parousia) of Jesus begins when he receives kingly power, and that he, at the end of his presence, is coming (erkhomai) and acts as judge toward the humans of the earth and toward the Devil and his demons. I will now show that the setting of the great prophecy of Jesus is that the kingdom of God has drawn near. I quote from Matthew 24:32-36 (above), Mark 13:28-32 (middle), and Luke 21:29-31:
32 “Now learn from the fig tree as an illustration this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, YOU know that summer is near (eggys). 33 Likewise also YOU, when YOU see all these things, know that he is near (eggys) at the doors. 34 Truly I say to YOU that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. 36 “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
28 “Now from the fig tree learn the illustration: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and puts forth its leaves, YOU know that summer is near (eggys). 29 Likewise also YOU, when YOU see these things happening, know that he is near (eggus), at the doors. 30 Truly I say to YOU that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 32“Concerning that day or the hour nobody knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father.
29 With that he spoke an illustration to them: “Note the fig tree and all the other trees: 30 When they are already in the bud, by observing it YOU know for yourselves that now the summer is near (eggys). 31 In this way YOU also, when YOU see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near (eggys). 32 Truly I say to YOU, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.
Let us compare the three important sentences:
Matthew 24:33: he is near (eggus), at the doors.
Mark 13:29: he is near (eggus), at the doors.
Luke 14:31: the kingdom of God is near (eggus).
The similarity in all three instances is the substantive eggys, which I have shown has the meaning “be near; be at hand.” According to Matthew and Mark, what is near or is at hand is “he,” and the reference must be to the closest person that was previously mentioned. This is “the Son of man,” and Matthew and Mark say that the Son of man is near at the doors.
In Matthew 25:10, in the illustration about the five wise and five foolish virgins, the word thyra (“door”) is used in the sense of entering a room. So, what Matthew and Mark say is that the Son of man is present before the doors — which must be a reference to his presence (parousia), and he is ready to go through the door — which he will do at his coming (erkhomai).
Luke does not refer to the Son of man, but to the kingdom of God. So, when the Son of man is “near at the doors” — is present — this means that the kingdom of God is near.
When Jesus was on the earth and said “the kingdom has drawn near (eggizō, the verb corresponding to the substantive eggys)” the meaning was that he, the king in the kingdom of God, was in their midst using the power of the kingdom. However, as the quotations from Revelation 11:15-17 and 12:7-12 show, the heavenly kingdom with power over all other kingdoms would first be established in a remote future compared with the days of Jesus on the earth.
The three phrases that I am discussing show that the presence of the Son of man is the same as the establishment of the kingdom of God. Or, expressed with different words: The “return” of Jesus means that the kingdom of God becomes established — Jesus Christ is now present, and the kingdom of God is present.
This aligns perfectly with the illustration in Luke 19:11-15 about the man of noble birth who would travel to a land far away. And when he had received kingly power, he would return.
The setting of the three sentences that I have discussed is the illustration of the fig tree. When the leaves come, we know that the warm season is near, is at hand (eggys). What we can learn from the leaves of the fig tree is expressed in the following way:
Matthew 24:33:
Likewise also YOU, when YOU see all these things, know that he is near at the doors
Mark 13:29:
Likewise also YOU, when YOU see these things happening, know that he is near, at the doors.
Luke 21:31:
In this way YOU also, when YOU see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.
The key word in all three sentences is “know.” And the point stressed by all three evangelists is that when the followers of Jesus see all the events that fulfills the sign Jesus described, then they would know that Jesus had returned and was present and that the kingdom of God had been established.
Matthew wrote some words that support Luke’s assertion that the kingdom of God has drawn near, albeit from a different perspective. We find the words in Matthew 24:14:
14 And this (houtos) good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end (telos) will come.
We note that the good news of the kingdom that would be preached as a part of the sign is determined by the demonstrative pronoun houtos (this). A demonstrative pronoun must refer back to something, so what does “this” refer to? There was a difference between the preaching of the kingdom by Jesus and his disciples when he was on the earth and the preaching of the kingdom after he had ascended to heaven.
Matthew 4:17 tells that Jesus preached that “the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near, and he instructed his apostles to preach the same message. As I have already shown, Luke 17:21 shows what the reason for this preaching was that Jesus, the king in God’s kingdom, was in their midst.
Matthew 4:17
17 From that time on Jesus commenced preaching and saying: “Repent, YOU people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”
Matthew 10:7
7 As YOU go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’
Luke 17:20, 21
20 But on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them and said: “The kingdom of God is not coming with striking observableness, 21 neither will people be saying, ‘See here!’ or, ‘There!’ For, look! the kingdom of God is in YOUR midst.”
However, when Jesus had ascended to heaven, his followers could not preach that the kingdom of God had drawn near because he was not among them. But as we see from the five quotations from Acts below, after the death of Jesus, his followers only preached about the coming kingdom of God. What did they preach?
According to 2. Timothy 4:1, they knew that the kingdom of God would come in the future because the coming kingdom is connected with the future manifestation of Jesus. Second Peter 1:11 shows that one important aspect of preaching the kingdom of God was that persons who repented and began to serve God could gain entrance into the kingdom of God.
Acts 8:12
12 But when they believed Philip, who was declaring the good news of the kingdom of God and of the name of Jesus Christ, they proceeded to be baptized, both men and women.
Acts 19:8
8 Entering into the synagogue, he spoke with boldness for three months, giving talks and using persuasion concerning the kingdom.
Acts 20:25
25 “And now, look! I know that all of YOU among whom I went preaching the kingdom will see my face no more.
Acts 28:23
23 They now arranged for a day with him, and they came in greater numbers to him in his lodging place. And he explained the matter to them by bearing thorough witness concerning the kingdom of God and by using persuasion with them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.
Acts 28:31
31 preaching the kingdom of God to them and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with the greatest freeness of speech, without hindrance.
2 Timothy 4:11
I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is destined to judge the living and the dead, and by his manifestation and his kingdom.
2 Peter 1:11
11 In fact, thus there will be richly supplied to YOU the entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now we can understand the determination “this” to “the good news of the kingdom” in Matthew 24:14. It was Jesus who gave the sign. This good news of the kingdom, the good news of the kingdom that Jesus preached: “the kingdom has drawn near”; “the kingdom is in your midst” should again be preached as a part of the sign of his presence and the conclusion of the system of things. And, as we have seen, this is supported by Luke 21:31:
31 In this way YOU also, when YOU see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.
When the followers of Jesus saw all the events that together constituted the sign, they would know that the kingdom of God was near. And this message was what they would preach.
Table 1.1 The presence and coming of Jesus
| The presence (parousia) of Jesus | The coming (erkhomai) of Jesus | |
| Matthew 24:14 | Preaching this good news of the kingdom. | The end (telos). |
| Luke 21:31. 32 | The kingdom is near. | All these things occur. |
| Matthew 24:33 | He is near at the doors. | (He is entering) the doors. |
| Matthew 24:37, 39 | His presence (parousia) like the days of Noah. | The coming (erkhomai) of the son of man. |
The contrast in Matthew 24 is between the presence (parousia) of Jesus and his coming (erkhomai) at the end of his presence. During his presence, the good news of the established kingdom will be preached, and “the end” (telos) is the same as his coming. Luke 21 shows that the kingdom is near during his presence — the kingdom has been established. When the last of “all these things” occur, then the end ), has come (erkhomai).
During his presence, Jesus is “near at the doors,” and his coming (erkhomai) means that he enters the doors. The presence of Jesus is a period of time like the days before the flood. Just as the flood took away all those who were not in the ark, the coming (erkhomai) of Jesus will take away the people who are not serving God.
| The setting of Jesus’ great prophecy is the kingdom of God, and that this kingdom has been established. When the disciples of Jesus saw the fulfillment of the composite sign, they would know that Jesus was present and that God’s kingdom was established. One of the things that the disciples should see and understand was “the appointed times of the nations.” The meaning of this is the subject of Part III. |
