The full text of what Jesus said is as follows: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) In other words, Jesus said that the end (His return to set up His kingdom) will not come until the good news of His coming kingdom is preached in all the nations of the world as a witness. The question is, when will this be completed, or, is it already complete?
First, a few comments about that verse. Notice it is the ‘good news of the kingdom‘, not necessarily the gospel of salvation as it is usually interpreted. This gospel of the coming millennial earthly kingdom of Jesus is not widely preached today even from Christian pulpits. Also, the word ‘preached’ means heralded or proclaimed as from a public crier, not merely person to person. ‘Witness” means evidential testimony that is difficult to refute. ‘Nations’ is “ethnos” or gentile races thru ought the known world. When this is completed, the ‘end’ “telos” will come, defined as the uttermost limit of the age. Of course, this process began with the disciples who were commissioned by Jesus Himself to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature….and you shall be My witnesses in all Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8)
So, where are we in this process? In context with Jesus’ order of events in Matthew 24, it seems to culminate late in Daniel’s 70th week perhaps even during the last 3 1/2 years or great tribulation. Certainly, after the ‘beginnings of birth pangs’ (Matthew 24:4-14). There are a couple of somewhat obscure verses in Revelation that bring clarity. “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth-to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people-saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and springs of water’.” (Revelation 14:6-7). Here we see a mysterious angel (messenger) proclaiming the gospel to the whole world just prior to the time when the final judgement from God is poured out on the earth. This seems to be the last major effort from God to make certain all mankind has heard the gospel. Notice the extent of this preaching, as defined by ‘those who dwell on the earth’. “Every nation-ethnicity or race”, “Tribe-offshoots of every race”, “Tongue-every language”, “People-general populace”. This covers everyone! At this point, when the messenger completes his assignment, all the earth will have heard the gospel. This messenger, whoever he is, will see to it that none are left out. Also notice that he “flies in the midst of heaven” to reach everyone. The word heaven here simply means sky, so he obviously travels by air. It seems as though his extensive preaching, done in every human language, is completed in a relatively short time, so he may have some supernatural help. God is merciful and long suffering, not wanting anyone to perish, but all to come to eternal life in Him.
So, my conclusion is that while it can be said that the gospel has already been preached thru ought the world as a witness in all nations, God Himself will make sure the job is complete by sending His messenger to preach the gospel to everyone as a final warning just before He wipes out evil on the earth. Not until then can we say with certainty that this prophecy is fulfilled. Then, as Jesus said, the end will come.
Maranatha, Jim