The Gospel was Preached in all the World
Before AD 70
Scripture says it even if you don't accept it!
Lets start off by reading Matthew 24:14
Question: When was the Gospel preached as a witness to ALL nations?
Answer: We know it was before 70AD for one very simple reason.
Jesus said it would happen before that generation passed away. Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30, Luke 21:32.
Now that may be convincing to those of us who just simply accept the scriptures but to others, not as convincing, and to those indoctrinated in futurism, not too convincing… so what does the rest of the New Testament have to say about this?
Lets read: Colossians 1:5-6 & Colossians 1:23
Paul says that the Gospel was even preached to every creature under heaven at the time he wrote to the Assembly at Colosse around AD 60–62 and was even bearing fruit in the whole world.
Paul told the Romans when he wrote to them in the mid to late 50s AD, that their faith was being proclaimed to all the nations and throughout the whole world.
Lets read: Romans 1:5-6 & Romans 16:25-26
Question: When the Gospel was preached at Pentecost… who was there to hear it?
Answer: Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
Representatives of every nation heard the Gospel then… in 33 AD at Pentecost or Shavuot in Hebrew was a feast to which people travelled far and wide, they carried the Gospel back to their homelands…. “every nation under heaven.”
You may ask "how this could possibly be…?" well even if I could not explain it, it would still be true because that is how the scriptures define “the Gospel being preached to all the nations” and the scriptures must always interpret the scriptures.
The word for “world” in Matthew 24:14 is “oikoumene” which means the “inhabited earth” which very often in the New Testament simply means the Roman Empire.
We forget that Rome was the “world” of that time, made up of many, many nations. This same word is used in Luke 2:1 about the census that was ordered that caused Joseph and Mary to have to go to Bethlehem. No one teaches that even the Indians on the American continent were ordered to be censused as well….but that is the same word used in Matthew 24:14 – oikoumene.
Also we must remember that the Jews were, and still are, a very colourful and passionate people. Their idioms and means of communication often employed hyperbole and exaggeration for effect. It was part and parcel of that culture. We are being horribly anachronistic when we try to hyper-literalize such things. The Scriptures must tell us how to interpret the Scriptures even if it means we must topple the idol of “literalism” that we have erected today.
Scripturally literal means that we interpret things literally in the sense that they were intended to be understood.
If you were to say that “it is raining cats and dogs outside,” you would literally mean that it is raining very hard. I would not be taking you literal in a proper way if I insisted that you meant that canines and felines were walloping down on our heads.
I am a firm and strong believer in Past Fulfilment often referred to as a preterist because I take the timing passages seriously.
If it were not for the plentiful and clear timing passages in the New Testament I would not be a Past Fulfilment or a full preterist. Today it seems like most people just dive into the what of prophecy and decide what that must mean and then briefly look at the when. I believe that this is improper.
If the prophet clearly limits himself to a certain time frame for fulfilment, we must take that seriously, and if the things do not come to pass when he says that they will, he is a false prophet, with the possible exception of repentance causing the retraction of prophesy of judgment.
Messiah made time statements that IF you still believe that these things are yet to happen in our future would make Messiah a false prophet and a liar and you and I brothers and sisters are done!
Jesus clearly said that the then living generation would not pass away until ALL these things be fulfilled.
We must take that seriously.
We cannot simply say because those things have not taken place, then He must not have meant that unless we have another warrant for interpreting the words a different way.
Jesus leaves us no other options here if the text is brutally honestly examined in context.
For some other examples...
Cyrus the King of Persia said, “The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth.” Ezra 1:2; 2 Chronicles 36:23
David writes, “All nations surrounded me.” Psalm 118:10
God “brought the fear of David on all the nations.” 1 Chronicles 14:17
It is written of Hezekiah King of Judah “that he was exalted in the sight of all nations…” 2 Chronicles 32:23
The Chaldeans are said to “march throughout the earth.” Habakkuk 1:6
“The people from all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph.” Genesis 41:57
“All the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon.” 1 Kings 10:24
“And all the nations shall ser him and his son, and his grandson until the time of his own land comes.” Jeremiah 27:7
Nebuchadnezzar addresses his decree as “the king to all the people, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth.” Daniel 4:1
Now its your turn to get to study to show yourselves approved of God 2 Timothy 2:15
