The Gospel Preached

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).

Jesus has now shifted His focus from the end of the Jewish age to the end of the human age, the age that we are now living in. It will include the coming rapture, 7-year tribulation, and 1,000-year millennial kingdom. During this time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be declared throughout the entire world to the extent that every person will have had heard or read the Gospel and had an opportunity to accept it for themselves.

We may wonder at this, thinking that through all our technological advances everyone will have already heard the Gospel. Not so. There are 3,057 Southern Baptist missionaries serving in the Unites States and territories as of 2020, with 3,604 missionaries serving world-wide. Given the fact that other denominations have missionaries serving the Lord at home and around the world, there are still places on the planet, and individuals in certain people groups, that have not heard the message of Jesus Christ and have not been given a chance to respond to it. How then can these words of Jesus be fulfilled?

We will continue to preach, teach, evangelize, and minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ while we’re still here. After the Lord takes His church out of the earth (the rapture), His Holy Spirit will save, seal, and send 144,000 Jews to evangelize those who remain on earth (Revelation 7:1-8). They will not be harmed by the Antichrist. The Lord will also raise up 2 great witnesses (Revelation 11:1-2) who will testify the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They will be killed, then resurrected and ascend to heaven in front of everyone. God will also send 3 angels (Revelation 14:6-13) to declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of the earth. Plus, there will be the witness of all who are saved from the ministry of the l44,000, the 2 Great Witnesses, and the 3 angels. They will also share the Gospel of Jesus to as many as they can. They will be martyred for their faith, but they will be faithful in declaring the Gospel of Jesus Christ while alive.

Through all of these means the Lord Jesus Christ will see to it that His Gospel has been declared to every person on the planet before the end finally comes. Until then, we have been commissioned by the Lord to Go . . . and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20). So, while the Jewish age came to an end in A.D. 70, this age continues with many opportunities to tell people about Jesus who was crucified, buried, resurrected, ascended, and is coming back to take all who believe in and receive Him as Lord and Savior to His heavenly kingdom.

“Lord Jesus, bless our efforts with power and fruitfulness that we might be laborers in Your harvest, bringing people to faith in You as Lord and Savior. Give us divine appointments to share the Gospel to Your honor and glory I ask, Amen.”

Pastor