The expression above appears in the book of Daniel and the book of Revelation. Is there a connection? This writer believes that to be the case. So, what is the meaning of the expression?
There are multiple expressions of time in Revelation. All appear to refer to the same thing. We have 1,260 days, 42 months, and 3½ years which are all expressions for the same length of time. Many have noted the title of our article, also found in the Revelation, is also a representation of the same time. The reasoning is as follows. Time in the singular is one, times in the plural would be two (one plus two is three) and ½ represents the half a time.
But further, what do all these represent? I will make the case for the time represented to be the time between the death of Christ to His Second Coming, i.e., the dispensation in which we now live, the Christian dispensation.
For purposes of our discussion, we need to go back to Genesis 15. GOD is discussing His covenant with Abram. GOD told Abram that his descendants would possess this promised land, but it would not happen until they first were strangers in a land not theirs. This is found in verse 13 and refers to their time in Egyptian captivity. The land promised to Abram was currently possessed by the Amorites.
Verse 16 is our verse of note. GOD said the Amorites would lose their land in time to come but that time was not yet. The reason is found in the phrase, “for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” It would appear GOD waited until the iniquity or wickedness of the Amorites reached a certain level and said that is enough. He then destroyed them.
We next visit a passage in Luke 21. In this text, the destruction of Jerusalem is being discussed. Luke includes an interesting comment that is not found in the other Gospel accounts. In verse 24, we read, “And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” It is generally thought this is a reference to, after the destruction of Jerusalem (which happened in AD 70), the holy city of Jerusalem would be trampled by the Gentiles (the pagan world) until Christ comes again. This would appear to be a reference, like the Amorites in Genesis 15, to the fact there will come a time when the wickedness of man reaches a level for GOD to bring an end to it all.
Thus, the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled would represent the time of the final judgment.
The expressions in the book of Revelation all appear to represent the time of the Christian dispensation. This is the time between the establishment of the New Covenant (brought about by the crucifixion of Christ and the beginning of the church in Acts 2) and the final judgment when Christ comes again. This would be when the iniquity or wickedness of the Gentiles (the world), like the Amorites of old, is complete or fulfilled.
One wonders how close we are to this fulfillment.