End-Times Missions: Then Shall the End Come

2021-12-19

An often-overlooked aspect of eschatology is one of missiology: The Great Commission! The return of Christ has taken so long because God is one “who will have all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus says that one prerequisite for the Lord’s return is this:

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; cf. Mark 13:10)

In the second account of end time events in Revelation, on the eve of the rapture, we read:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. (Revelation 14:6-7)

The Gospel will always be the same: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In those days, there will be an added warning: “for the hour of his judgment is come.”

The return of Christ is slow to happen because of the Lord’s compassion toward humanity. Until the end of time, we are here to preach the Gospel.