An Interpretation of Matthew 24-25 (Part 12)

Dr. Thomas Ice

"Andthis gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witnessto all the nations, and then the end shall come."-Matthew 24:14

As our Lord'sdiscourse approaches the mid-point of the seven-year tribulation, verse 14raises a number of interpretive issues. What exactly is meant by "the gospel of the kingdom?" Is this proclamation still a futureevent? What does "a witness to allnations" mean? What is meant by"then the end shall come?"

The Gospel of theKingdom

Simply put, somebelieve that "gospel of the kingdom" is the gospelor the message about forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, as preachedin the New Testament epistles. Others, like myself, believe that it is more of a technical term thatdescribes the coming of Christ's kingdom, which we know as the millennium.

The Greek word"gospel" is a compound word made up of "good" and "message." "It meant originally the reward givento the messenger, but came to be used for the good news he brought."[1] The word by itself simply means "goodnews." Good news about what? Well that depends upon what is beingtalked about. Here the phrasewould mean good news about the kingdom.[2] Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost explains:

During the time that thepolitico-religious system of the beast is in absolute control, the gospel ofthe kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world (Matt. 24:14). The gospel of the kingdom was preached byboth Jesus and John (Matt. 3:2; 4:17). This was the announcement of the good news that the kingdom wasnear. This message had both asoteriological and an eschatological emphasis. . . . The gospel of the kingdom as preached in Tribulation willhave two emphases. On the one handit will announce the good news that Messiah's advent is near, at which time Hewill introduce the messianic age of blessing. On the other hand it will also offer men salvation by gracethrough faith based upon the blood of Christ.[3]

The word"kingdom" is used 51 times in Matthew. It is a major theme in Matthew's Jewish gospel. Dr. Stan Toussaint has done anexhaustive study of how "kingdom" is used in Matthew and has concluded as follows: "Every time the term kingdom is used theologically in Matthew it refers to thesame thing, the kingdom yet to come on this earth inaugurated and governed bythe Messiah."[4] Specifically Dr. Toussaint has thefollowing comments on Matthew 24:14:

What is this "gospel of thekingdom?" It must be the same goodnews as was described in 3:2; 4:17, 23; and 9:35. Entrance into the coming kingdom was based on repentance;that was and is the gospel of the kingdom. In the context, however, it would also portray the nearnessof the kingdom during the Tribulation period.[5]

Fulfillment Timing

There are threebasic views of when this passage will be fulfilled. They are past, present and future. Of course, preterist believe that it was fulfilled by a.d. 70. Historicists believe that this passage relates to thefulfillment of the Great Commission during our current church age. Futurists believe that it will befulfilled during the seven-years of the tribulation.

Preterist

"Matthew 24:14clearly shows that the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman Empirebefore Jesus returned in judgment upon Jerusalem,"[6]insists preterist Gary DeMar. Hefurther claims:

Theword translated "world" in 24:14 is the Greek word oikoumene . . . It is best translated as "inhabited earth," "known world," or the "RomanEmpire" (Acts 11:28; 17:6). . . . This translation helps us understand thatJesus was saying the gospel would be preached throughout the Roman Empirebefore He would return in judgment upon Jerusalem. In fact, this is exactly what happened, and that is what theBible says happened.[7]

This passage hasnot been fulfilled in the past,[8]as I shall show later. This isprimarily true because the context of Matthew 24 is futuristic, as I have beendemonstrating throughout the exposition of Matthew 24.

Historicist

The historicisttakes Matthew 24:14 as fulfillment of the Great Commission during our presentchurch age. A. Lukyn Williamssays, "So in the present age we are not to expect more than that Christianmissions shall reach the uttermost parts of the earth, and that all nationsshall have the offer of salvation, before the final appearance of Christ. The success of these efforts atuniversal evangelization is a mournful problem."[9] This verse is often used at missionsconferences as a motivation for becoming a missionary. The Great Commission is sufficient,because this passage relates to evangelism during the tribulation, not for ourcurrent church age.

Futurist

I believe thatthis passage will be fulfilled in the future, not during the current churchage, but during the tribulation. Basically, this is true because the context supports a futurefulfillment, since Christ's discourse has not yet been fulfilled.

While it is truethat "world" oikoumen is usedin the New Testament to refer to "the Roman Empire of the first century," itsbasic meaning is that of "the inhabited earth."[10] This compound word contains the prefixfrom oikos that means "house,"thus the "inhabited" or "lived-in" part of the world. The inhabited world could refer to the Roman Empire ifsupported by the context (for example Luke 2:1) since Roman arrogance thoughtthat nothing of significance existed outside of their realm. However, this word was earlier "used ofthe Greek cultural world."[11]

Since the coremeaning of oikoumen is"inhabited world," then the scope of its meaning has multiple possibilitiesdepending upon the referent. Ifthe contextual referent is Roman, then it will mean the Roman Empire as in Luke2:1. However, if its referent isglobal, then it must include the entire world as in Acts 17:31, which says, "He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world inrighteousness." Surely thisspeaks of the whole globe since not a single individual will escape God'sjudgment. Clearly oikoumen can be used globally, even though it may have amore restricted use. The decidingfactor is the context. Thus, ifMatthew 24:24 was fulfilled in a.d.70 then it would have a localized meaning as noted by DeMar. However, if it will be fulfilled in thefuture, then it has the meaning of the entire inhabited world at some futuredate, which would clearly include much more than the old Roman Empire.

Angelic Evangelism

I believe thatRevelation 14:6-7 is a parallel passage to Matthew 24:14. Both speak of global evangelizationduring the seven-year tribulation, leading up to the second coming of Christ toplanet earth. John MacArthur says,

Justbefore the bowl judgments are poured out and the final great holocaust begins,and just before the increasingly rapid birth pains issue in the kingdom, Godwill supernaturally present the gospel to every person on earth. He will send an angel with "an eternalgospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribeand tongue and people," saying, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hourof His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth andsea and springs of waters" (Rev. 14:6-7).[12]

Interestinglyboth passages are mentioned around the middle of the tribulation. This will likely occur at that timebecause it is at the mid-point of the seven years that the beast will requirethe number-six hundred, sixty-six-on either the right hand or forehead of everyhuman being in order to buy or sell (Rev. 13:16-18). Thus, it is important to know that the witness of the gospelis given to every individual in which they are given the opportunity to trustChrist before they take the number. In addition to that, the third angel announces to each individual in theworld that there are consequences to taking the number of the beast. "If anyoneworships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or uponhis hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which ismixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented withfire and brimstone . . . forever and ever" (Rev. 14:9-11).

It appears thatthe tribulation period will be the greatest time of evangelization the worldwill ever see. There will be normalevangelism, like that which we have today. Then there will be the evangelism of the 144,000 Jewishwitnesses (Rev. 7:3-10; 14:1-5), the two witnesses (Rev. 11:3-13), and theangelic evangelism already mentioned. David Cooper explains: "Thepurpose of preaching the gospel during the Great Tribulation is twofold: first, to give all honest-heartedtruth-seekers an opportunity of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ and salvationthrough Him; secondly, to prepare for judgment those who will not receive alove of the truth in order that God might be just in bringing upon them theterrific plagues foretold in Revelation."[13]

Then The End Shall Come

Earlier Jesussaid, "for these things must take place, but that is not yet the end" (Matt.24:6). Now He says, that after thesuccessful preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the entire planet, "thenthe end shall come." "In thebackground is the OT motif of the nations' end-time conversion to Yahweh (Cf.Isa. 2:2-4; 45:20-22; 49:6; 55:5; 56:6-8; Mic. 4:1-3). Here that conversion heralds the end."[14] The end spoken of here is not the endof the end. It means the end ofthe age of the tribulation through the second coming of Christ (Matt.24:27-31). The final end willoccur one thousand years later as the millennial kingdom of Christ comes to itsend.

Conclusion

Since Matthew24:14 is a future event, then the gospel will be preached across the globe asdescribed in Revelation 14:6-7. Both passages are set in contexts that tell us that this globalevangelization will take place just before the middle of the seven-yeartribulation. Craig Kenner says,"Jesus' claim in 24:14 does not imply that all peoples will be converted, butthat the kingdom will not come in its fullness until all peoples have had theopportunity to embrace or reject the King who will be their judge (25:31-32)."[15] This passage was no more fulfilledduring the nativity of the church than was the Great Commission. The prophecy of Matthew 24:14, like allof those in that context, awaits a future fulfilment, specifically during thefuture tribulation. Maranatha!

(To BeContinued . . .)

Endnotes

[1] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), f. n., 67, p. 88.

[2] The exact phrase, "gospel of the kingdom," isonly found in Matthew's Gospel in the entire New Testament (4:23; 9:35; 24:14).

[3] J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works ofJesus Christ: A Study of the Lifeof Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), pp. 400-01.

[4] Stanley D. Toussaint, "The Kingdom and Matthew'sGospel," in Stanley D. Toussaint & Charles H. Dyer, Essays in Honor ofJ. Dwight Pentecost(Chicago: Moody Press, 1986), pp.19-20.

[5] Toussaint, "The Kingdom and Matthew's Gospel," p.33.

[6] Gary DeMar, Last Days Madness: Obsession of the Modern Church (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 1999), p. 88.

[7] Gary DeMar, End Times Fiction: A Biblical Consideration of the LeftBehind Theology (Nashville: Nelson, 2001), pp. 82-83.

[8] I have dealt more extensively with this matter inThomas Ice, "The Global Proclamation of the Gospel," Pre-Trib Perspectives (March 2002), pp. 4-5.

[9] A. Lukyn Williams, "St. Matthew" in H. D. M.Spence and Joseph S. Exell, ed., The Pulpit Commentary, 23 vols, (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1974), vol.15, p. 434.

[10]William F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich, AGreek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Chicago: University ofChicago Press, 1957), p. 563.

[11] Horst Balz & Gerhard Schneider, editors, ExegeticalDictionary of the New Testament,3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,1991), vol. 2, p. 503.

[12] John MacArthur, The New TestamentCommentary: Matthew 24-28 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), p. 29.

[13] David L. Cooper, Future Events Revealed: According to Matthew 24 and 25 (Los Angeles: David L. Cooper Publishing, 1935), p. 63.

[14] W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Jr., ACritical and Exegetical Commentary on The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, 3 vols. (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1997), vol. 3, p. 344.

[15] Craig S. Kenner, A Commentary on the Gospel ofMatthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), p. 572.