There comes a time when a prophecy that has been filled in part is at last fulfilled. When Jesus read his Mission Statement to his people in a synagogue (Luke 4:18), he closed it after “the acceptable year of the Lord” — leaving out “the day of vengeance of our God” (cf. Isaiah 61:2).
The reason why Jesus replaced the comma with a full stop (period) was because “the day of vengeance” would not take place until AD70, when the Romans captured Jerusalem after a three-and-a-half-year siege and destroyed the Temple. A prophecy can be partly filled. The fabled sword of Damocles hung over the man’s head by a single hair. But the vengeance of God hovered over Jerusalem for 40 years, while believing Jews preached salvation by the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus to their people.
In Luke 21:22, 23 we read that Jesus applied the phrase “days of vengeance” and “this people” to the AD70 judgement. In verse 24 we read: “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
The Apostle Paul writes (in Romans 11:25) “blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” These “times” of the Gentiles, this “fullness”, will soon end because “the times of the Gentiles” have just about run their course. Much Bible prophecy will be fulfilled during this “time of the end” and we will be challenged to “hold fast our faith” until the end concludes.
Now, more than ever before, it’s time for us to “look up”! Doing so is good for the backbone!