Are we about to complete the Great Commission and unleash the End Times?
The Great Commission, most famously recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, was Jesus’ final instruction to His disciples before His resurrected body ascended into heaven.In Matthew 28:18-20, after gathering them on a mountain in Galilee, He said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”Since that command was given roughly 2,000 years ago, generation after generation of faithful Christians have been bringing the gospel message to every corner of the world. Today, that mission is nearly complete, says entrepreneur, Christian ministry leader, and author Douglas Cobb, who just published a book on this subject titled “The Sprint to the Finish: The Global Push to Complete the Great Commission in This Generation.”Less than 100 unreached people groups remain; Bible translation organizations project that 100% of the global population will have access to the Bible or key parts of Scripture by 2033; right now, mission networks are planting churches in the last untouched regions on Earth.We are inching ever closer to fulfilling the Great Commission — a precursor to Christ’s final return.On this episode of the “Steve Deace Show,” Deace and Cobb discuss this question: Are we living in the generation that will finish the mission Jesus gave His church? “Jesus said in Matthew 24:14: ‘This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come,’” Cobb recites.“As I read the Bible, it’s one of the most, if not the most, direct promise about the timing of Jesus’ return. He’s given us a mission to take the gospel to the whole world, and when we’re finished with it, that will open the door to His return. I don’t think He’ll come back until we’ve done that,” he tells Deace.But the crazy thing is, we’re on the verge of doing it. The people alive right now might just be “the ones that finish this race,” Cobb says.“Based on my understanding, I think we’re within a year or two of seeing the ‘every nation’ finish line crossed, and what I mean by that is, gospel work begun in every people group,” he continues.According to the Finishing Fund — an organization Cobb started to accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission — the list of unreached people groups who “do not have a gospel program, a gospel effort under way” is “well under 100,” he says.“The folks who work on Bible translation — the second finish line — have set 2033 as their deadline for the completion of the Bible in every language on the planet. And another group that I’m a part of, the ACHIEVE Alliance ... [is] pursuing the ‘every place’ finish line, and similarly, they are working toward a 2033 goal for that effort of a church in every place everywhere,” he adds.“We’re down to under 10 years on all three finish lines.”To hear more, watch the video above.Want more from Steve Deace?To enjoy more of Steve's take on national politics, Christian worldview, and principled conservatism with a snarky twist, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.
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