"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matthew 24:14)
This is the first sign of the end given by our Lord in answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3)
But this verse is supposed by some to prove that all men will be converted, and that there will then follow one thousand years in which "all shall know [the Lord], from the least to the greatest." (Hebrews 8:11)
But the text does not say that every individual will receive this gospel, or even that all will hear it. It does not state that anyone will be converted and made holy by it, and we find it far from intimating that the world will be converted, and remain so for a period of one thousand years. The text simply states:
1. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world;"
2. "for a witness unto all nations;"
3. "and then [not one thousand years later, nor three hundred and sixty-five thousand, but then] shall the end come."
If we understand the phrase, "this gospel of the kingdom," to be the gospel in the common acceptation of the word, is not the work very nearly accomplished? What continent or island is there where the gospel has not been preached? Where is there a nation that has not heard it? The Bible has been translated into more than three hundred languages and dialects, and has been carried to every quarter of the globe. Wherever the mariner has discovered an inhabited island, or the explorer has found a new tribe, there missionaries have followed with the gospel.
But if the term, "this gospel of the kingdom," be understood as applying to the proclamation of the second advent of Christ, and the establishment of His everlasting kingdom, as the grand consummation of the gospel, the fulfillment is nearly as evident. And it seems necessary so to understand the passage, as it was given in answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3)
There is abundant testimony to show that the good news of the soon appearing of Christ has been preached in all parts of the world. "But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." (Daniel 12:4)
During the present century, the book of Daniel has been unsealed, knowledge of the prophecies has increased, and many have "run to and fro" proclaiming that the advent of Christ is near at hand. In both Europe and America, men of faith and prayer have been led to study the prophecies, and, tracing down the inspired record, they have found convincing evidence that the end of all things is at hand. The Spirit of God has urged them to give the warning, and far and near has been proclaimed the message of "the everlasting gospel," "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." (Revelation 14:7)
In 1821, Joseph Wolff, the well-known missionary to the world, began to proclaim the doctrine of the second advent. Wolff was a German Jew, the son of a rabbi. He early became a Christian, and determined to go as a missionary to his people. After studying at Rome and other places, under the supervision of the Catholic Church, he came to England, and joined the English Church, in 1819. After two years' study, he entered upon his mission, and for twenty-four years he traveled and preached untiringly penetrating as far east as India. Among Jews, Turks, Parsees, Hindus, and many other nationalities and races, he preached the coming and reign of the Messiah.
In Germany, the doctrine of the second advent had been taught in the eighteenth century by Bengel, a minister of the Lutheran Church, who, from the study of the Apocalypse, arrived at the belief that the coming of Christ was near at hand. Through Bengel's writings, many embraced the doctrine of the Lord's soon coming. Colonies of Germans carried the belief into Russia, and it is still largely held by the German churches of that country.
Hundreds of pious men have proclaimed the doctrine in England and America, and publications on the subject have been sent to every missionary station on the globe.
E.R. Pinney, in his Exposition of Matthew Twenty-four, published in the year 1848, says: "As early as 1842, second-advent publications had been sent to every missionary station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky Mountains. We find this doctrine in Tartary, about twenty-five years ago, and the time for the coming of Christ to be in 1844. This fact is obtained from an Irish missionary in Tartary to whom the question was put by a Tartar priest when Christ would come the second time. And he made answer that he knew nothing at all about it. The Tartar priest expressed great surprise at such an, answer from a missionary who had come to teach them the doctrines of the Bible, and remarked that he taught 'everybody who had a Bible might know that.' The Tartar priest then gave his views, stating that Christ, he thought, would come about 1844 AD. The missionary wrote home a statement of the facts, which was published in the Irish Magazine, in 1821. The commanders of our vessels, and the sailors, tell us they touch at no point where they find this proclamation has not preceded them, and frequent inquiries respecting it are made of them."
The Advent Shield, pp. 86, 87, says: "We look upon the proclamation which has been made as being the cry of the angel who proclaimed, 'The hour of His judgment is come.' Revelation 14:6, 7. It is a sound which is to reach all nations; it is the proclamation of 'the everlasting gospel,' or 'this gospel of the kingdom.' In one shape or other, this cry has gone abroad through the earth wherever human beings are found, and we have had opportunity to hear of the fact."
But it will be asked, "Is the news that such a truth is preached a sufficient proclamation to fulfill the prophecy?" (Revelation 14:6-7; Matthew 24:14)
The answer is, "If it was sufficient in the days of the apostles, it is now."
That it was then, is clear from Acts 19:8-10, where Paul preached or taught in Ephesus two years, so that all they in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus. They could not all have heard a sermon, but they heard the sound of the gospel. In this sense, no doubt, the gospel of the kingdom has been preached in all the world.
We still wait for the approaching end. And when the purpose of God in the proclamation of the coming reign of Christ shall be fully accomplished, then will the end come.