The Signs of the Times (7): Mass Media

“…And this Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come…”
Matthew 24:14 NIV

As a young man I used to think: before the final nation on earth has been reached with the ‘Gospel of the Kingdom’, my time will be over and gone. That won’t happen in my days!

Until our eldest daughter, who has been in Central-Asia for many years for Christian missions and development work, told us one day: “Sometimes I would come across some Christians in certain villages. And then I asked: who was the missionary that came here? And sometimes they answered: there was no missionary here. But we listened to the radio, and in our own language we heard about Jesus. That has radically changed our lives!”

Then suddenly I realized: it’s happening! For the first time in history! Hundreds of hours every day the gospel is being preached. Satellites, radio and television channels, internet, Facebook, other social media: the electronic highways can reach anywhere. And cannot be stopped. Hundreds of hours every day. In practically every language in the world. Even in areas where missionaries cannot come. Or are not allowed to come. A testimony to all nations! It’s unstoppable.

Then the Lord Jesus says: when that happens, when all the nations of the world are reached by the ‘Gospel of the Kingdom’, then the end will come. Not the end of the world, but the end of this part of world history.

He uses the Greek word ‘aióon’. It means a cycle of time that humanity and the world are going through. An age. A period of time in world history. This phase of world history will then come to an end. Then the next phase of world history will begin.

Now what Jesus literally says is that the Gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations. He doesn’t say that every individual on earth will personally hear it first. And that then the end will come. He does say that the nations will be reached and will be able to hear it, are able to tap into it and connect with it.

He says that the ‘Gospel of the Kingdom’ will go out into the entire world. In order that the nations will know that the Kingdom is coming. And that they must know Who will be the King of that Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God has three stages/phases.

What is the Kingdom? The Kingdom of God is present where Jesus reigns and rules. When He was personally present on earth in Israel, then the signs of the Kingdom became visible around Him. Stage one of the Kingdom of God.

When He ascended to heaven to sit down at the right hand of the Father, He asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit, John 14:16-17; 16:7. And the same signs will become visible, He promised. Not just in Israel, but in the whole world. That is why He sent His Jewish friends into the world, to the nations, Luke 16:15-18. The Holy Spirit now reigns in the hearts of the believers, in His church. Jesus will through His church show the same signs of the Kingdom of God. Not just in Israel, but in the whole world. And He has been doing this by the Holy Spirit for almost 2000 years. This is the second phase of the Kingdom of God. Stage two of the Kingdom of God.

And soon He will come to sit on the throne of His father David in Jerusalem, to reign over the whole world in the midst of Jacob = Israel. His peace will go forth from Jerusalem and will cover the earth, and the nations will train for war no more, Isaiah 2:2-4: Stage three of the Kingdom of God.

Ultimately, in the final phase of the Kingdom, creation itself will be set free from the power of sin and death. Romans 8:18-23. Ultimately there will be a new heaven (Universe) and a new earth in which righteousness will exist forever, and God will be all in all. Stage 3B, one could say! Even the New Jerusalem will come down to earth, Revelation 21:1-5!

When Jesus comes in Glory, from that moment onwards until the very end: His Kingdom will never end, Luke 1:32-33. And His chosen ones will go from glory to glory to glory, and this forever and ever and for all eternity! “…“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love Him…” 1 Corinthians 2:9, Isaiah 64:4.

Do you know Jesus personally? Then you are heading for an incredible future!