Confused About Luke 21

Q

I am confused by Luke 21 and hope you can clarify it for me. Does this chapter concern the Tribulation period? If so, and if we believe the Rapture won’t happen until the ‘times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’ then Luke 21:24 appears to mean the Rapture won’t be experienced until sometime during the Tribulation, and yet that seams to be contradicted in Luke 21:36.

A

Luke 21 contains descriptions of both the 1st century destruction of Jerusalem (20-24) and the Great Tribulation (25-28).

But I think your confusion comes from not differentiating between the times of the Gentiles in Luke 21:24 and the fullness (full number) of the Gentiles in Romans 11:25. The two are not the same.

The times of the gentiles is the period of time from the rise of Babylon in the 6th century BC to the establishment of the 2nd Coming. This is symbolized in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of Daniel 2.

The fullness, or full number, of the Gentiles refers to the predetermined number of believers who will become part of the Church. When this number has been reached the rapture of the church will take place and the Lord will turn His attention again to Israel.