Verse 10
And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations.
(1) The primary fulfillment of this was in the apostolic age, whereof Paul affirmed that it had indeed been done (Colossians 1:23), and that well ahead of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
(2) the secondary fulfillment will take place before the Second Advent of Christ. As Crain accurately declared:
The meaning of this verse is that it is part of God's eschatological purpose that before the End all nations shall have an opportunity to hear the gospel ... It is a promise that the gospel will be preached, not that it will necessarily be believed.[20]
Bickersteth noted that "The whole face of the earth is now laid open to us; and there is now hardly any part of the world which has not at some time or another received the message of salvation."[21] The great increase of missionary activity over the whole earth today provides a strong suggestion that the world is hastening to the End.
Thus, in the two fulfillments of this verse, the relative scope of the two events (the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end of this dispensation) appears. The apostles' preaching the gospel to all the nations was restricted to the nations known at that time; but the preaching of the gospel to all nations now is a complete and total thing, even including the reading of Genesis from the other side of the moon to everyone on earth!
[20] C. E. B. Cranfield, op. cit., p. 399.
[21] E. Bickersteth, op. cit., p. 198.
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