When?

Read: Matthew 24:1-36

The Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14

IN WORD

Jesus told of a time when the Temple would be torn down, and the disciples asked when this would happen. On the surface, it looks like a simple prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem that we now know came in AD 70. Jesus elaborated with plenty of details, most of which could easily apply literally or figuratively to that terrible time. “All nations” is just as easily translated as “all the tribes of the land,” with specific implications for Israel. But at times, the prophecy takes on a more ultimate tone, to the degree that Jesus is clearly referring not only to His coming judgment in the first century but also His second coming for the entire world. Like many prophecies of Scripture, this one has ripple effects that pass through the immediate generation and into the distant future.

So which “end” are we talking about? The end of the age of Israel as the Kingdom? Or the end of the age of human history as we know it? And when does it come? Not even that is clear; Jesus resolutely refuses to designate a day and hour, or even a millennium. But He does give clues. And one of them is that the Good News—not just the gospel of grace as we think of it, but the gospel of the Kingdom—will be preached to all people groups throughout the world before He returns.

IN DEED

In many ways, that has already happened. Every nation (as we define nations) has some Christian witness in it. But some people groups within nations remain isolated without a clear presentation of the gospel or their own translation of Scripture. And though the gospel of salvation has been preached around the world, the gospel of the Kingdom hasn’t. We’re still learning the fullness of the message. All we know is that there is vast work to be done in reaching this world. And it should never stop until Jesus comes back.

Invest yourself in that work in one way or another. Give, pray, seek, preach, teach, go. Jesus made it a priority; the timing of His Kingdom is tied to it. Make it your priority too.

ADDITIONAL READING: Colossians 1:19-23

The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning.

EMIL BRUNNER