PCG’s ‘one prophecy’ explanation needs adjustment

Gerald Flurry of the improperly named Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) wrote the following:

One Bible Prophecy That Explains Our World

One biblical prophecy explains the alarming rise of aggressive world powers today. “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 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 of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:20-24).

We are living in the times of the Gentiles. … God focuses primarily on two birthright nations (America and Britain) and one scepter nation (the Jewish nation in the Middle East). He uses Gentile powers to punish His chosen people because of their many sins. …

Prominent on the world scene today are three threatening powers: China, Russia and Iran. …

“And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand” (Luke 21:29-31). The rise of China, Russia, Iran and Germany is like bright new leaves growing on a tree. It is a clear sign showing that Jesus Christ’s return is imminent! (verse 27). The symbolism here is plain. “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away” (verses 32-33).

When we see Gentile powers taking charge on the world scene, we know that we will also live to see the chain of events leading directly to Christ’s return. China, Russia, Iran and Germany will soon plunge mankind into World War iii. Thankfully, God provides understanding of the times of the Gentiles, plus a way of escape from the destruction they will cause. March 20, 2016 https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/13668.18.0.0/one-bible-prophecy-that-explains-our-world

It is, in my view, truly an exaggerated stretch for Gerald Flurry to claim that Luke 21:20-24 explains our world.

We are not really in the final times of the Gentiles, yet we are basically in the final time of Israelite domination. The tiny nation of Israel is in charge of Jerusalem and the USA and UK still dominate the international financial world, while the USA itself has the strongest military. And while that will end (Daniel 11:39; see also USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses) during the time of Jacob’s trouble, it is then that the final Times of the Gentiles will be here.

The Bible shows that the Great Tribulation will initially mainly be directed to those who are descended from Jacob/Israel:

6 Ask now, and see,
Whether a man is ever in labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
7 Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it. (Jeremiah 30:6-7)

25… Gentiles, who do not know You…they have eaten up Jacob, Devoured him and consumed him, And made his dwelling place desolate. (Jeremiah 10:25)

23 ‘Make a chain,
For the land is filled with crimes of blood,
And the city is full of violence.
24 Therefore I will bring the worst of the Gentiles,
And they will possess their houses;
I will cause the pomp of the strong to cease,
And their holy places shall be defiled.
25 Destruction comes;
They will seek peace, but there shall be none. (Ezekiel 7:23-25)

23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:23-24)

2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. (Revelation 11:2)

Notice that Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jesus (whose words are recorded in Luke), and John (who penned Revelation) are talking about the same time. Also notice that “it is the time of Jacob’s trouble” and that the “Gentiles” are dominating. This means those that are descended from Israel or have the name of Jacob (cf. Genesis 48:14-16) will mainly be trampled on. One of the peoples that God says He will use to punish the descendants of Israel, Assyria (Isaiah 10:5-11), are a Gentile people–they will normally lead during the time of the Gentiles. This will be a terrible time.

Here is something else to look at:

In Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 24, He was answering the question abom the TIME of the end of the world, and the second coming of Christ to rule the world.

WHOSE Tribulation?

Next, WHOSE trouble will this be? WHO will plunge the world into it? We have the what and the when. Now notice the who! The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this SAME time of greatest trouble. “For lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Eternal : and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it” (Jer, 30: 3)…

Continue Jeremiah’s prophecy: “For thus saith the Eternal: we have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. A TIME OF WAR! “Alas! for that day is GREAT, so that none is like it. Notice-the same GREATEST time of trouble-so great that NONE IS LIKE IT! Now , upon WHOM? ” .. it is even the time of JACOB’ S TROUBLE but he shall be delivered out of it (Jer. 30: 5,7). It is a world trouble UPON JACOB! …

No WHO is Jacob? …

Who is Jacob today? …

One of the original twelve tribes, Joseph, was given “a double portion,” and became two tribes -Ephraim and Manasseh-so named from the two sons of Joseph. And they were tbe Birthright tribes…

And it was these two tribes who were to bear the NAME Israel: “Let my name be named on them’ said the aged Israel ( Gen. 48:16 ), in passing on the Birth· right promises JUST before his death. And so, in prophecy, the NAME Jacob or the name Israel, often refers to the two great nations descended from Ephraim and Manasseh. These are Great Brirain and the United States. The prophesied YOKE of invasion, defeat in war , and slavery, then, is to fall on Britain and the United States! (Armstrong HW. BRITAIN’S DOOM Prophesied for Common Market Seeking Membership! Plain Truth, July 1962)

Notice also the following, where the remnant of Israel will be shamed, for a time, by Gentiles:

25 “I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. 26 I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27 Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28 And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shall beasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and no one shall make them afraid. 29 I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30 Thus they shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people,” says the Lord God.'” (Ezekiel 34:25-30)

Here are a couple of quotes about the “times of the Gentiles” from the old WCG:

With the second coming of Christ, the “times of the Gentiles” will at last come to an end. (Stump K. The Arab World in Prophecy. Plain Truth, December 1979, p. 38)

Luke 21:23-24: “For sore anguish will come upon the land and wrath on this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword, they will be carried prisoners to all nations, and Jerusalem will be under the heel of the Gentiles TILL the period [Times] of the Gentiles expire.”

That is speaking of WAR — of NATIONAL invasion and captivity. That actually did happen to JUDAH in 70 A.D. But that was merely the typical fore-runner. The climactic major event of this prophecy is yet to occur, just shortly before the coming of Christ!

ALSO a Religious Persecution

Turn again to Matthew 24: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved … For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be … For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs, and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matt. 24:10-13, 21, 24).

This is also speaking individually of truly Spirit-begotten CHRISTIANS who have become so lukewarm, so out of prayerful contact with God, that they will not be accounted worthy to escape all these things. And that phase of this Great Tribulation is very clearly brought out in the opening of the fifth seal of Revelation 6: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev. 6:9-11).

NOTICE that! Here is the GREAT TRIBULATION! And this fifth seal pictures it as a time of martyrdom of saints — of truly converted, begotten children of GOD! (Armstrong HW. The Book of Revelation Unveiled at Last. 1972)

The Great Tribulation itself is not only described in Revelation 6:9-11 (the fifth seal, that seems to occur because the faithful church has suffered martyrdom, cf. Daniel 11:31-35; Matthew 24:9-10), but also in Lamentations, Daniel, and other parts of the Bible. It starts with Matthew 24:21 and Daniel 11:39. Some would call this World War III (WWIII; see also World War III: Steps in Progress and/or watch Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?).

As the descendants of Jacob descend, we are getting closer to the rise and final time of the Gentiles.

We are nearing the final time of the Gentiles and a time of great distress. But not really as PCG misunderstands it.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God Simply calling oneself ‘Philadelphia’ does not make one so (see Revelation 3:7-9), nor does Gerald Flurry calling himself “that prophet” make it so. This article provides many quotes from this group which tries to look faithful.
World War III: Steps in Progress Are there surprising actions going on now that are leading to WWIII? Might a nuclear attack be expected? Does the Bible promise protection to all or only some Christians? How can you be part of those that will be protected? A related video would be Is World War III About to Begin? Can You Escape?
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2026 or 20xx? There is also a video titled The 6000 Year Plan: Is the end of humanity’s reign almost up?
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2018, 2019, or 2020? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede comenzar la Gran Tribulación en 2018 o 2019? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? You can also see the English language sermon videos: The Great Tribulation from the Mount of Olives and Can the Great Tribulation begin before 2020? A shorter video is: Can the Great Tribulation begin in 2018?
The Times of the Gentiles Has there been more than one time of the Gentiles? Are we in it now or in the time of Anglo-America? What will the final time of the Gentiles be like? A related sermon is available and is titled: The Times of the Gentiles.
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse What do each of the four horseman of the Apocalypse represent? Have they began their ride? Did Jesus discuss the any of this? Might their rides coincide with the “beginning of sorrows? Do they start their ride prior to the Great Tribulation? Did Nostradamus or any other ‘private prophets’ write predictions that may mislead people so that they may not understand the truth of one or more of the four horseman? There is also a related YouTube video titled The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Why Does Man Suffer? Herbert Armstrong gives biblical reasons on this topic.
Why Does God Allow Suffering? This is a pdf booklet put out by the old Worldwide Church of God that also answers questions about why God allows war as well as babies to die. Here is a link to a sermon titled Why YOU? Why Do YOU Suffer?
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near? A related sermon is titled The Millennium.