The Gospel mission of the first centuryBy Barry Dupont

May 28, 2011   |   Category: Fulfillment 101

The gospel mission is prophesied by Jesus:
Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Mat 24:14 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 gospel of the kingdom would be preached in all the world unto all nations and this would signal that the "end" was closer that the end was imminent.

Most Christians are quite familiar with this verse and concept of a worldwide gospel mission that when competed would indicate a growing expectation of the prophesied "end". What most Christians do not realize is that there is a "context" to this "all nations" and "whole world" that is particular to the first century. A context and and a setting that is clearly explained and indicated within the New Testament writtings.

But first of all we should analyze this "mission" a little closer from the vantage point of the "gospels".

Matt. 24:14 is not the only verse to mention this mission with the Gospels.

The mission prophesied by Jesus as he prepares his diciples:
Mat 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

So the context here is one of "councils" and "synagogues". Sound's like what we are reading in Acts.

Here we have more of the same:
Mat 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against [their] parents, and cause them to be put to death.
Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the END shall be saved.
Mat 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the son of man be come.

We are assured that the gospel would be preached to all but that does not mean that the diciples themselves would have time to go through all the cities of Israel. Probably however Jesus is speaking a little bit on the hyperbole side of things to make a point about imminence, concerning the "end" being of that generation. The point however is that there is framing for this "gospel mission" and the imminence that would frame it.
Not that we have nailed it down tight yet, just something to keep in mind as we try to understand the "context" and "setting" of this gospel mission and of this coming "end". Not from modern "tradition" but rather from the text alone.

Some more of the same:
Mat 23:33 [Ye] serpents, [ye] generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Mat 23:34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and [some] of them ye shall kill and crucify; and [some] of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute [them] from city to city:
Mat 23:35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, all these things shall come upon this generation.

A challenging text for sure. We have a mention of "hell" which is the Valley of Hinnom out side of Jerusalem, and we have a summation of all the blood of all the righteous that was shed going all the way back to the time of Adam. Then we have the point made that all this would take place in that generation.

So we have tied that mission and the subsequent persecution to that generation. And that such was not just about the history of Israel as a nation but rather had implication covering the whole of eschatological history back to the time of Adam.
Let's not get too side tracked here with the "hell" issue. We can cover that one at another time. So let's try and stay on subject concerning this mission and the context which frames the mission and "end".

Before we move on let's not neglect the next two verses in Matthew 23:
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

The gospel mission as foretold in the gospels continued:

NKJV
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Mat 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age." Amen.

In the above text we have the gospel mission. It is to be preached to "all the nations". And we have an assurance of Jesus being with them to bring them through this time that being even to the "end".
Mar 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

So in Mark's account we have "all the world" and "every creature".

So far we have a mission to "all nations", "all the world", and "every creature". And then the "end" would come.

While Luke is not giving us any new information he does repeat what we have already heard:

Luk 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
Luk 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Luk 24:48 And ye are witnesses of these things.

Now we being in Acts:
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Same principle again, "unto the uttermost part of the earth". And then Jesus is taken up into heaven.

So they are going to begin in Jerusalem. The mission will eventually encompass all nations and the whole world.

So they return to Jerusalem and wait for what the Father had promised.

Now hopefully you understand the context here in Acts 2 as the Holy Spirit descends and they speak in tongues. Let's see who is there:

Act 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
Act 2:6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

Wow! The every nation under heaven gospel mission has already started and we are only in Acts 2!!!! Now they were not from what we know as "Iceland" or the aborigines of Australia or even from what we now know is "Britain". But they are the all nations under Israel's "heaven". Their covenantal sphere of influence.

Not that this is not enough to proclaim that the gospel had been preached to all nations but it is an introduction a beginning to that mission and it is starting at Jerusalem. They do not yet know that the Gentiles could become partakers of Israel's "spiritual things" without circumcision, but it is still a start. So we have a "beginning at Jerusalem" where devote men for the Jewish religion have come from every nation under heaven. What a start!

So Peter gives a sermon and he begins with explaining the pouring forth of the spirit and the empowering:
Act 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

Well that explains then what was happening. They were already in the "last days" and well into their Gospel mission that would in those last days be preached to "all nations" and then the "end" would come.

Act 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls.

Indeed, what a great start! Three thousand souls where then "added" as Peter had told them to save themselves from that "generation".

Know we know that Jesus has said to the Pharisees and such that he would send them prophets that they would persecute and kill. Well that gets started Acts chapter 7.

The "elders" and the "council" are upset with Steven.
Act 6:14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
Act 6:15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

They were missing a point that Steven makes clear a little latter:
Act 7:47 But Solomon built him an house.
Act 7:48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,
Act 7:49 Heaven [is] my throne, and earth [is] my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what [is] the place of my rest?
Act 7:50 Hath not my hand made all these things?

We can begin to ask the question, if these are the last days, and they are, the last days of what? Did Jesus not tie in together the "end" and the destuction of Jerusalem and the temple? Did he not tie in the gospel mission as a preaching to all nations and "then the end"?

It seems to me that we are beginning to form a "setting" a "context" for the "all nations" and for that "end" in "that generation".

So that if Paul for example were to declare that the gospel had been preached to all nations then the Expectation of the end would grow. The anticipation in connection to a prophecy shorting imminence would increase.

While Jesus has said that they did not know then the day of the hour they sure did know the "generation" and they were also given very important signs that they were to connect to a growing anticipation. One of those signs was that the gospel would be preached to the whole world.

Now of course we know that Steven kept preaching until they got very angry and the carried him out of the city and stoned him to death.

So now we are going to skip the persecution that we see in the book of Acts as we all know it's there. Yes from city to city and so an and so forth. It's there for the reading.

Let's go forward a few years to Paul's writtings:
Let's date it early fifties for the sake of Argument. Maybe then about 16 years before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. About 12 years before the Jewish wars in 66AD.

Rom 1:4 And declared [to be] the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
Rom 1:5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

Is that a fluke, an exaggeration, a mere "expression"?

Rom 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
Rom 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Does that sound like a mere figure of speech? Again?

It sounds like what Jesus said they were supposed to do concerning that gospel mission:
Jesus: (Mat 28:19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations"
Jesus: (Mat 28:20) "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you"

Paul: "made known to all nations"
Paul: "for the obedience of faith".

Is it possible that both Jesus and Paul are making the same points in same first century setting about the same gospel mission and Jesus said get it done and Paul is indicating that the mission has now gone out to the whole world as promised.

Rom 1:7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called [to be] saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.

This is not the only place that Paul speaks of such a thing.

Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
Rom 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 10:18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the end of the world.

What does Jesus say in Acts 1:8?
"ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth"

And Paul: "and their words unto the ends of the world"
Pretty close isn't it? Most of this almost word for word.

Jesus:
"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

Paul:
Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and [be] not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, [and] which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Col 1:5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
Col 1:6 Which is come unto you, as [it is] in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as [it doth] also in you, since the day ye heard [of it], and knew the grace of God in truth:

And so a then growing anticipation and expectation concerning the "end":

Tts 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tts 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tts 2:13 looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

The anticipation was growing. The gospel which was to be preached to all nations, to the whole world from the vantage point of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), and so then "then the end" would come was then, in the time of Paul's writtings some 16 years or so from the "end" preached to all nations, the whole world.

Could these be different missions? Different world? Different nations? Can we really simply just gloss over this harmony this consistency this clarity?

If this conflicts with "traditions" or "orthodoxy" maybe it's time to question "orthodoxy". Maybe the "Christian culture" that we have today is built upon things that went way of track shortly after when we can see the "end" was supposed to be.

Maybe Paul was right and many of our present day expectations are wrong.
Maybe the end of the world was the end of the old covenant world?
Would that make sense?
But that's for another occasion.
What we are seeing is a "world", an "all nations" within the sphere of Israel's influence.
It is the Holy City that is at the center of this "end".

Jer 23:39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, [and cast you] out of my presence:

Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Mat 23:36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!
Mat 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Hbr 13:14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.

Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.

It is the temple made with hands that one stone shall not be left upon another.
Mat 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The end of the "world", the end of the "age" is the end of the old covenant world. Also called "fulfillment".

The Gentiles are being grafted into Israel's spiritual things.

Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Rom 15:26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Rom 15:27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.

Much more could be said about this subject and how the Gospel was for the Jew first! That all of the Apostles where Hebrews. The point being made here albeit very briefly is that this "world" that is the "all the world" where the Gospel has been preach in the time of Paul is the "old covenant world" of Israel's influence.

All the reasons as to why this is are too lengthy to discuss here in this little section concerning the first century gospel mission. However we should be getting a "feel" for this point that is being made in the New Testament scriptures. It's very much about the ending of the old covenant system even that from pre Israel back to Adam but it is being "fulfilled" within Israel's sphere of influence as one's being entrusted with the oracles of God. A fulfilled "revelation" if I may say so?

In closing:
We have every reason to try and dismiss this harmony, this clarity, to gloss over this consistency of context and setting that we find throughout the New Testament of a fulfilled mission and a fulfilled "end of the age". We have every reason to try and get around this in favor of "orthodoxy", "tradition" and even "church history beyond AD 70". It's a lot to swallow! A lot to accept for sure if we are coming to the table of context from a position of "orthodoxy" and "tradition".

The idea that "fulfillment" has been behind us for 2000 years? Who could believe such a thing?

Well maybe we could! But if you do it won't be because you honor orthodoxy above "context".

Yes of course this is just one piece a much larger puzzle and yes it's true that what we have learned in traditional circles just won't fit into this!

So do consider it just "one piece" of a larger picture. On then to the other pieces!
However perhaps we could agree that the consistency and clarity and harmony of the structure of this one piece of the larger picture looks very clear and discernible for what it clearly is saying.

The gospel mission of the first century was the fulfillment of what Jesus had promised earlier in his ministry and they were then in the time of Paul expecting the then promised "end".