131 years ago the following excerpt was written and the writer talks about the gospel having been preached to all the nations at great length. Yet now, 131 years later and the end- meaning Jesus' return- still has not occurred and we can say in all honesty that the gospel has been preached everywhere and then some.
A blurb from the internet-
'As of September 2020 the full Bible has been translated into 704 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,551 languages and Bible portions or stories into 1,160 other languages.'
From <https://www.google.com/search?q=how+many+languages+has+the+bible+been+translated+into&rlz=1C1AVFC_enUS845US845&oq=how+many+languages+has+the+bible+been+translated+into&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512j0i22i30l4j0i10i22i30j0i22i30l3.15585j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>
The excerpt from 131 years ago states the Bible had been translated into 300 hundred languages. We've come so much further than that, especially with the dawn of our electronic devices age.
They believed 131 years ago that all had received the gospel, and yet the whole Bible has been translated into more than double the languages that it had been, so surely they were wrong. Where do we stand now with the translations?
Here is a link to a 2016 article on this very thing..
https://missionexus.org/understanding-why-two-thousand-languages-still-have-no-bible-translation-in-progress/
Bottom line, it's a huge undertaking as there are so many different languages. We live in a world where we have don't have a universal language and most likely never will- however here is a blurb from another internet source.
'It's official! English is an official language in 57 countries in the world, as well as the official and native language of four others. Among these 57 countries, English is also a primary language in 20. This ought to give you an idea of how English became the universal language.'
From <https://www.google.com/search?q=is+there+a+universal+langage&rlz=1C1AVFC_enUS845US845&oq=is+there+a+universal+langage&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i13j0i10i22i30j0i8i13i30l4j0i390l3.6445j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>
And this link that denies that there will ever be a true universal language-
https://www.vice.com/en/article/ezpvx4/why-humans-dont-have-a-universal-language
Having said all this- a lot of these obscure languages are with people who do speak more than one language, people who have access to others who speak a language the Bible has been translated into.
Jesus' words- "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."
The gospel shall be preached… it doesn't say the Scriptures will be translated into every language in the world. The gospel of the kingdom- the good news that Jesus came to bring to mankind- this is what would be preached in ALL the world- Jesus. Has Jesus been preached to all the world, witnessed in all nations? Beyond any of our forefathers imaginations the ability for any word, any news to travel around the world almost instantaneously is truly a reality for us now. For us to say with all honesty that we can believe the gospel has been preached to all the world, is truth.
The end, will happen. This was one message among many other prophetic messages that must be fulfilled before the end. We are given various signs, not a single sign. Throughout our history the various signs have come to pass, and there are more yet to be fulfilled. Could this one have been fulfilled already? I believe it has. The end will come, all prophecies will be fulfilled, every single one.
May God bless us and keep us in His truth, our spiritual eyes opened as we watch and pray, waiting for the return of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord, now and forever! AMEN.
(Excerpt)
EXPOSITION OF MATTHEW XXIV 24 (((Written in 1890 - remember that when reading- 131 years have passed since this was written. History does matter.))))
THE END OF THE AGE
VERSE 13: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
The word end, wherever used in this chapter, refers to the end of the ages, and to nothing else. It is the end associated in the New Testament with the second appearing of Jesus Christ. If it be urged that the word end has reference to the close of mortal life, then we reply that the disciples did not ask their Lord when they should die, but, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" See verse 6. And it would be strange indeed to suppose that the word end, in verse 14, meant death. If any think such a position admissible, let them read it into the text, as follows: And' this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall death come. absurdity!
VERSE 14: "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."
This is the first sign of the end given by our Lord in answer to the question, What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" But this verse is supposed by some to prove that all men will be converted, and that there will then follow one thousand years in which all will "know the Lord, from .the least to the greatest." But the text does not say that every individual will receive this gospel, or even that all will, hear it. It does not state that anyone will be converted and made holy by it, and we find it far from intimating that the world will be converted, and remain so for a period of one thousand years. The text simply states: (I) "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world;" (2) "for a witness unto all nations;" (3) "and then [not one thousand years later, nor three hundred and sixty-five thousand, but then] shall the end come."
If we understand the phrase, "this gospel of the kingdom," to be the gospel in the common acceptation of the word, is not the work very nearly accomplished? What continent or island is there where gospel has not been preached? Where is there a nation that has not heard it? The Bible has been translated into more than three hundred languages and dialects, and has been carried to every quarter of the globe. Wherever the mariner has discovered an inhabited island, or the explorer has found a new tribe, there missionaries have followed with the gospel.
But if the term, "this gospel of the kingdom," be understood as applying to the proclamation of the second advent of Christ, and the establishment of his everlasting kingdom, as the grand consummation of the gospel, the fulfillment is nearly as evident. And it seems necessary so to understand the passage, as it was given in answer to the question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?"
There is abundant testimony to show that the good news of the soon appearing of Christ has been preached in all parts of the world. During the present century, the book of Daniel has been unsealed, knowledge of the prophecies has increased, and many have "run to and fro" proclaiming that the advent of Christ is near at hand. In both Europe and America, men of faith and prayer have been led to study the prophecies, and, tracing down the inspired record, they have found convincing evidence that the end of all things is at hand. The Spirit of God has urged them to give the warning, and far and near has been proclaimed the message of the everlasting gospel," "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come."
In 1821, Joseph Wolff, the well-known missionary to the world, began to proclaim the doctrine of the second advent Wolff was a German Jew, the son of a rabbi. He early became a Christian, and determined to go as a missionary to his people. After studying at Rome and other places, under the supervision of the Catholic Church, he came to England, and joined the English Church, in 1819. After two years' study, he entered upon his mission, and for twenty-four years he traveled and preached untiringly penetrating as far east as India. Among Jews, Turks, Parsees, Hindoos, and many other nationalities and races, he preached the coming and reign of the Messiah. In Germany, the doctrine of the second advent had been taught in the eighteenth century by Bengel, a minister of the Lutheran Church, who, from the study of the Apocalypse, arrived at the belief that the coming of Christ was near at hand.
Through Bengel's writings, many embraced the doctrine of the Lord's soon coming. Colonies of Germans carried the belief into Russia, and it is still largely held by the German churches of that country. Hundreds of pious men have proclaimed the doctrine in England and America, and publications on the subject have been sent to every missionary station on the globe. E. R. Pinney, in his "Exposition of Matthew Twenty-four," published in the year 1848, says:–
"As early as 1842, second-advent publications had been sent to every missionary station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky Mountains. We find this doctrine in Tartary, about twenty-five years ago, and the time for the coming of Christ to be in 1844. This fact is obtained from an Irish missionary in Tartary to whom the question was put by a Tartar priest when Christ would come the second time. And he made answer that he knew nothing at all about it. The Tartar priest expressed great surprise at such an answer from a missionary who had come to teach them the doctrines of the Bible, and remarked that he taught 'everybody who had a Bible might know that.' The Tartar priest then gave his views, stating that Christ, he thought, would come about A. D. 1844. The missionary wrote home a statement of the facts, which was published in the Irish Magazine, in 1821. The commanders of our vessels, and the sailors, tell us they touch at no point where they find this proclamation has not preceded them, and frequent inquiries respecting it are made of them."
The Advent Shield, pp. 86, 87, says:– "We look upon the proclamation which has been made as being the cry of the angel who proclaimed, 'The hour of his judgment is come.' Rev. 14:6, 7. It is a sound which is to reach all nations; it is the proclamation of 'the everlasting gospel,' or 'this gospel of the kingdom.' In one shape or other, this cry has gone abroad through the earth wherever human beings are found, and we have had opportunity to hear of the fact."
But it will be asked, Is the news that such a truth is preached a sufficient proclamation to fulfill the prophecy? Rev. 14:6, 7; Matt. 24:14. The answer is, If it was sufficient in the days of the apostles, it is now. That it was then, is clear from Acts 19:8-10, where Paul preached or taught in Ephesus two years, so that all they in Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord Jesus. They could not all have heard a sermon, but they heard the sound of the gospel. In this sense, no doubt, the gospel of the kingdom has been preached in all the world. We still wait for the approaching end. And when the purpose of God in the proclamation of the coming reign of Christ shall be fully accomplished, then will the end come. (End Excerpt)
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