The Times of the Gentiles

By Richard Govier

The captivity of Judah was a turning point in God's dealings with the human race. It marked the beginning of the "Times of the Gentiles." Nebuchadnezzar, a Gentile king, became the initiator of these "times" through visions that began to appear to him in his sleep. He became so upset by these dreams that he threatened to kill the wise men of Babylon if they failed to reveal the meaning of the dreams to him. It was then that the prophet Daniel came to the forefront as an interpreter of dreams and a prophet extraordinaire. His interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream laid the foundation for modern day prophecy.

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Govier
• Release date: Jul 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463596999

Richard Govier

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.After his marriage to his lifetime sweetheart, Christine Ann Golfis, at the Bethesda Missionary College in Portland, Oregon, he attended extension classes at Pierce College and the Portland State college. Touched by the Latter Rain revival that began in the Northwest, the call of God rested continually on their hearts and they were forever seeking means of preaching the Gospel to their generation. They bought a small trailer and began an evangelistic trek across the United States, preaching in small churches that were open to the work and moving of the Holy Spirit. They criss-crossed the United States from Los Angeles to New York and finally settled down in Los Angeles where they both got jobs and attended a church in Long Beach, California. While serving in that church their son, Jeffrey Lee, was born on November 4, 1963.God had spoken through prophetic words that they would be going to a land whose language they would not understand. Going through a dry period in their lives, Richard loaded up a small tent and made a trip to Mount Palomar, to wait on God. After a week of prayer and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart that it was time to fulfill the call to a foreign land. Richard, Christine, and Jeff, set out for Brazil. They had no financial support for this until the night they boarded the ship. God sent a local Christian businessman who committed himself to their support for two years, just enough time to attend language school.It was while attending the Brazilian language school that a missionary visited and introduced Richard to one of Brazil's most notable guitar players, who had recently converted to Christianity. Richard played with him on the banjo and the two began a ministry together that took them to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Richard taught pastors in afternoon meetings, while accompanying his Brazilian friend in large city-wide evangelistic campaigns in the evenings.After serving for ten years in South America, Richard and Christine returned to the United States, primarily to get Jeff into an English-speaking school. Richard pastored churches in York, Pennsylvania, and later in Brooksville, New Jersey. The family eventually moved to Florida where Richard went to work for Piper Aircraft and Page Avjet.Richard loved studying the word of God and, in his retirement years, wrote over thirty books about the unfolding revelations of God in human history. His son, Jeff, published these books one year after his father passed away.

Book preview

THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

Symbols in Daniel and The Book of Revelation

Richard O. Govier

Copyright © 2019 by Jeff Govier

Bible quotations unless otherwise identified are taken from

the King James Version with emendations by the author.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

~~~~~~~~

After reading this book and finding it of value to you, please consider sending a small donation for the the costs of advertising my father's work. Send all donations either by Paypal account name [e-mail] or by mail to:

Jeff Govier, 5511 Lorraine St., Lakeland, FL 33810.

~~~~~~~~

CONTENTS

Introduction

Differences of Eschatology

The Beginning Of The Seven Times

Nebuchadnezzar's Great Image Prophecy

Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy

The Rise and Fall of Constantinople

The Four Beasts Of Daniel Chapter 7

Jerusalem and The Times of the Gentiles

The Times Of The Gentiles – Conclusion

About the Author

I. INTRODUCTION

Babylonian chronology is dated from the accession of Nabonassar in 747 B.C. but the full development of the Babylonian Empire began at the destruction of Nineveh in 606 B.C. This was also the year that the 20 year siege of Jerusalem began. In the third year of the rein of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it (Daniel 1). It was at this time that the prophet Daniel was carried into Babylon. In 605 B.C. Nabopolassar died and his son Nebuchadnezzar took the throne of Babylon. It was under Nebuchadnezzar's reign that the 70 years captivity of Judah began.

A. A Turning Point in History

The captivity of Judah was a turning point in God's dealings with the human race. It marked the beginning of the Times of the Gentiles. Nebuchadnezzar, a Gentile king, became the initiator of these times through visions that began to appear to him in his sleep. He became so upset by these dreams that he threatened to kill the wise men of Babylon if they failed to reveal the meaning of the dreams to him. It was then that the prophet Daniel came to the forefront as an interpreter of dreams and a prophet extraordinaire. His interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream laid the foundation for modern day prophecy. It foretold the successive empires coming in central Europe. The Babylonian Empire was the first of these and Nebuchadnezzar was its leader. His was the head of gold that topped the great imag as it appeared in the king's dream.

B. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Not only did the Times of the Gentiles originate with Nebuchadnezzar, his second dream actually set the time frame for these four world kingdoms. The king saw a great tree in the midst of the earth that provided shelter for the fowls of the air and whose fruit provided sustenance for all flesh. Then he saw an angel come down from heaven who ordered that the tree should be cut down leaving nothing but a stump in the ground. The prophecy given says: Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beasts heart be given unto him: and let seven times pass over him (Daniel 4:15-16).

C. The Interpretation

The prophet Daniel interpreted this dream for the king and explained to him that he would be driven from his kingdom and from association with man, and he would live like a beast in the field until "seven times passed over him." In short, Nebuchadnezzar would become insane and not regain his sanity for seven years. And this was not the whole story.

1. A Week of Prophetic Years

God had chosen Nebuchadnezzar to deliver a message that would affect the entire world. His ordeal with insanity was meant to show, in a symbolic way, the length of time that the Times of the Gentiles would last. The seven times that passed over Nebuchadnezzar during his insanity is actually a gigantic week of years. This gigantic week includes the entire Time of the Gentiles, in which the four great empires (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome) ran their courses. The seven times described in the vision were prophetic times. A prophetic time in scripture is a period of 360 years.

From earliest times, men have used in a system of sorting stars called the zodiac. The zodiac is the name of an imaginary belt in which the sun, moon, and the planets travel. It is divided into twelve equal parts of 30 degrees each. The division into 30 degrees produced a circle of 360 degrees which formed the basis for dividing the year into 360 days. Actually this year of 360 days is a compromise between the lunar year of 354 days and the solar year of 365 and one-fourth of a day. This 360-day year is sometimes referred to as the natural or prophetic year. In biblical language, this 360-day year is called a time. Prophetically a time is a period of 360 years using the key found in Ezekiel 4:6, counting a day for a year. A prophetic time is, therefore, a period of 360 years. Seven times is a period of 2,520 years. We must remember, however, that a time can be measured in three ways: (1) In a lunar year of 354 days; (2) A natural year of 360 days; (3) Or a solar year of 365 and one-fourth days.

D. Time, Times, and Half a Time

The unit of seven times is divided in biblical language by a time, times, and half time. Again using the key found in Ezekiel 4:6 (a day for a year) you have a time of 360 years, two times of 720 years, and a half time of 180 years. Together they equal a period of 1,260 natural years. This period