NOTE: All comments in brackets [ ] or in parentheses ( ) as well as highlighted text (bolded and/or in blue) are from the author of this study.
Bible quotations are in maroon.
In your Bible it is said in Mat 24:3; 14 that the Gospel will be preached in all the world, and that after this has been done, the end shall come.
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
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.
The “end of the world” and the sign of Christ’s coming are mentioned in Mat 24 and because of this, the conclusion has been made by many that the end of the world would occur at the same time as or shortly following Christ’s 2nd Coming.
Let’s first review what it is Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA) taught the Worldwide Church of God (WCG).
“The End” According to HWA
Before continuing on with this study I think it would be useful to briefly review what HWA taught the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) as these teachings form the context and background against which the Scriptures are read by the former members of this organization and most of the false churches of God that came into being following the death of HWA and the destruction of the corporate body of the WCG.
Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA) taught the membership of the Worldwide Church of God when it existed that he was its human level administrator but that its living head was Christ.
Col 1:18 And he [Christ] is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
That was always very clear in HWA’s mind and he often mentioned it to the members of the Church. He also frequently said that his teachings reflected the level of understanding given him of the Scriptures at that point in his life and that possibly, there were errors in what he taught. He always urged the Church to prove all things with their Bible and if any of his teachings should be shown to have been wrong, they were not to be followed. He did not ever set himself up as the criterion of truth for the members and always urged them to prove his teachings with their Bible and to not follow what he taught if the Bible did not support it. HWA did not set out to intentionally mislead the Church.
And so it is, based on his then understanding of the Scriptures, that HWA taught that he had been raised up to preach the Gospel to the world and that once this had been done the “end” would come. The “end” according to HWA was that following Christ’s 2nd Coming, He and the resurrected saints would rule over flesh-and-blood human beings during the Millennium. The resurrected saints would lead worldwide reeducation campaigns in the true values of life as a preliminary step to bringing the vast majority of mankind to conversion except a few stubborn individuals that would continue to resist God. God’s perfect law administered by a perfect government over a world population which to a very large extent would become converted would result in what HWA called the wonderful “world tomorrow” of peace, safety, security, abundance and happiness. It should be noted that the expression “World Tomorrow” is not to be found in the Bible; rather, what the Bible speaks of is the “world to come” which is not the same thing as what HWA was talking about. Christ said that “in the world to come” men receive eternal life.
Mar 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
Luk 18:30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
The “world to come” is the Kingdom of God which will fully come into being at the end of God’s 7,000 year plan of salvation for mankind after the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Last Great Day and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. It is not the time of the Millennium where men do not receive eternal life.
When Jesus spoke of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and of “the end” that would come after the Gospel had been published among all the nations, according to HWA, it meant that God would establish His Kingdom on this present earth over flesh-and-blood human beings during the Millennium after Christ’s 2nd Coming and that the end mentioned by Christ to His disciples would be the end of the government of men over men during the thousand year rule of Christ and His saints on this earth.
This gives rise to a number of important questions which we will explore in this study:
- What is the good news or gospel?
- Who are the nations to which the gospel must first be preached/published before “the end” comes?
- Why must the gospel first be preached before “the end” comes?
- How will it be preached in all the world and published among all nations?
- What is “the end” mentioned in Matt 24 and Mark 13?
Let’s start by looking at what the Bible says happens at Christ’s 2nd Coming.
Purpose of Christ’s 2nd Coming
We know that Christ said He would come again to Israel as He had done the first time and this, for the purpose of making a New Covenant with Israel and Judah reunited as the one country Israel upon its return from its 2nd captivity in the end time.
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jesus will spend 3 ½ years confirming the covenant with the nation of Israel in existence after His 2nd Coming.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
At His First Coming to Israel (not to the world— Mat 15:24 ), Jesus’ 7 year ministry to Israel was cut off after 3 ½ years when He died on the stake as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of mankind so there is another 3 ½ years of His ministry to Israel that needs to be completed.
Act 3:20 And he [God the Father] shall send Jesus Christ, [to you Israel (Act 3:22 quoted below)] which before was preached unto you;
Act 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
The “times of restitution of all things” occurs at Christ’s 2nd Coming to the remnant of end-time Israel returned from captivity among the Gentiles when He confirms the covenant with them (not the world). All things have to be restored to end-time Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh) who has been living as gentiles and have lost their language, religion and national identity. This work of restitution also will include Judah who never accepted Christ and put him to death as a false prophet and who also totally rejected Paul (Act 13: 45-46) who was sent to them to teach them the truth given the disciples by Christ.
Act 3:22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things [you will understand Him while you were not able to at His First Coming because you were not given access to God’s Spirit] whatsoever he shall say unto you.
God the Father will raise up a prophet unto Israel from their brethren or brothers i.e., he will be a member of Israel and we know more specifically, that this member of Israel, is Jesus Christ who is of the tribe of Judah.
Act 3:23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear (refuse to believe) that prophet, shall be destroyed [will not become part of God’s spiritual nation of Israel and lose their salvation] from among the people.
This prophet is Christ who at His Second Coming to Israel (not to the world) will spend 3 ½ years confirming the covenant with an end-time Israel returned in a Second Exodus from its 2nd captivity among the gentiles to their Promised Land.
When Christ comes back to this earth, it will be to the remnant of the end-time physical nation of Israel who will have been brought back by Christ from their captivity and resettled in the original Promised Land. It will be the time of the calling and redeeming of Israel spoken of by Paul.
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Rom 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: [all of Israel will be offered salvation but not all of them will take God up on His offer (Act 3:23)] as it is written, There shall come out of Sion [Israel] the Deliverer, [Act 3:22] and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
Rom 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. [of those who repent and believe]
Christ will restore all things to end-time Israel returned from captivity among the Gentiles but when that occurs, it is at the start of the Millennium which is to last 1,000 years not including the 100 years of the Last Great Day.
Is the “end” as HWA said, the time when the governments of men would end and be replaced by the government of God ruling over flesh-and-blood men on the earth during the Millennium?
But what about another condition which Christ said first needs to have been fulfilled before “the end”? Christ said the Gospel must first have been published among all nations before the “end”.
Does all nations mean only those nations that would exist when God would raise up a man to preach it to them? What about the nations that came before that man and those that will come after his death? How will they hear the Gospel?
And why is it essential that all nations be given to hear the Gospel?
Why the Gospel must first be Preached to all nations?
Christ in Matt 24:14 and Mark 13:10 tells us that before the end, the Gospel must first be published/preached among all nations.
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.
Mar 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Why?
The following several Bible verses tell us why.
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
1Co 4:15 For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
Php 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
If the Gospel is the means whereby men may be saved through believing it and changing their lives in order to follow it (repenting), then it would be necessary for all the nations to come to know it. And, of course, when we say nations, what is actually meant is, individuals within nations as salvation is a personal and individual matter between God and the called out one. God does not call nations to repentance and belief but individuals.
So, how will the Gospel be preached to all the nations of the world?
Why and How Gospel to be Published Among all Nations
In Mark 13:10 we are given the following information.
Mar 13:10 And the gospel must first be published among all nations.
Who are all the nations among which the gospel must first be published? Do they exist at a certain point in time and once the gospel has been published to them, the end comes. If so, what about the nations that existed prior to these nations and what about those that will come after them?
In Matt 24:14 it is added that the gospel will have been preached in all the world before the end comes.
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.
So, all nations have to have heard it. How will that happen? Will it be the work of a man or many men? Will it be by spirit beings such as angels? Or, will it be Christ with the resurrected saints at His 2nd Coming ruling over the governments of this world and teaching the nations? And, supposing it was Christ and the First Resurrection saints who are to teach the nations during the Millennium what about the nations that have died before Christ’s 2nd Coming? How will they have the Gospel published or preached to them?
If believing the Gospel and repenting are the means to salvation, would it be sufficient for it to be preached only to those nations that existed in the days of HWA ?
Did Christ in Matt 24 say that the Gospel only had to be preached to those nations that would exist immediately prior to His 2nd Coming?
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.
Since all nations in all the world have to have heard the Gospel before “the end” will come, the preaching of the Gospel was not to be a one-time thing done by a specific person to the nations in existence at the time when this person preached it. If it were, then only those who heard the Gospel in the days of HWA can be saved; all the other nations that came before and those that will come after are lost.
Since the people making up these past nations that have existed on the earth are dead and those that will constitute the nations that are yet to come still haven’t been born, then how is the gospel message to be made known to them before the closing off of the 7,000 years of God’s plan of salvation if they are to have any hope of salvation?
Who will be able to reach each and every individuals in the nations that have died before HWA and those not yet born when he died. Remember that it is individuals who are converted, not nations; the Gospel message has to reach them.
So, when and how can the Gospel of the Kingdom of God be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations?
Who Teaches true Christians?
Let’s start off by determining who it is that teaches those that are called and chosen?
The process starts off with the holy spirit being called God the Father calling men (John 6:44; 65) to repentance and belief. It is an individual and personal process where God the Father gives the called out one sufficient information for that person to come to the point where they realize that they have to make the decision to either go back into the world or follow their calling.
If the called out one decides to follow his calling, then Christ who is the holy spirit personage who is God the Father’s Spokesman to mankind (to those who accept their calling) and the Spirit of truth (John 14:17) that entered into the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, will come and dwell in the minds of those who by accepting their calling have become chosen.
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18 I [Christ] will not leave you comfortless: I [Christ] will come to you.[and all true Christians]
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
The Comforter that came to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost and that would be in all those that would become converted over the centuries of God’s plan of salvation for mankind, is the glorified Christ, the holy spirit being in the Godhead called the Word, the Spokesman and the Logos.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Joh 7:39 (But this spake he [Christ] of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
The Comforter, the Spirit of truth could not be given at the time when Christ spoke these words because He had not yet returned to His Father and to the glory He had as the Word, the Logos and God the Father’s Spokesman to God the Father’s chosen ones.
If the Holy Spirit is a separate and distinct spirit being in the Godhead then there would be no need for Christ to first have to be glorified before the Holy Spirit could be given to true believers and John 7:39 would not be in your Bible.
Anciently, God spoke to the fathers of the physical nation of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob) by the prophets but now since the glorification of Christ, the giving out of God’s Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the foundation of His Spirit-begotten church or spiritual nation of Israel made up of converts from the nations of the world, He speaks to truly converted Christians by His Son, the Word and Spokesman who was made flesh and who ascended back to His Father after His resurrection to the glory He knew as the holy spirit the Word who dwelt in eternity with the holy spirit God the Father.
Heb 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
The Bible is the Word of God in writing preserved unchanged through the centuries for God’s Spirit-begotten Church who are the only ones that can understand it through the presence in their minds of the holy spirit being called the Word and God the Father’s Spokesman to His chosen ones who teaches them all things.
Joh 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Jesus said He would manifest Himself to His disciples after His death, resurrection and ascension to His Father, and by extension, to all true Christians throughout the ages.
Joh 14:22 Judas saith unto him [Christ], not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
How would He do that?
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
God the Father and Christ, the only two holy spirit beings currently in existence and who have existed for all eternity, will come and live in true Christians who love Christ and keep His words.
As an aside please notice that the Scriptures do NOT say that Christ and His Father and a third entity or being called the holy spirit will come and dwell with true believers. So how is this supposedly third entity or personage in the Godhead part of the salvation process? How is it the means used by God to bring men to salvation as upon conversion there is no mention of a thing called the holy spirit dwelling in men’s mind and making it possible for men to understand God’s spiritual truth? The obvious answer is that no such being has ever existed. The existence of the holy spirit as a separate and distinct being in the Godhead is from the minds of unconverted men unable to understand the Bible in its spiritual dimension.
Now going back to the topic being discussed.
Christians are the living stones of God’s temple (1Pe 2:4-5). The Father is in Christ and Christ in the Father (John 14:10) and the two of them, in all true Christians (John 14:20; 23). Christ is the Spirit of truth that comes to all true Christians and teaches them all things as they study their Bible. This is how Christ manifests Himself to true Christians.
Joh 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Christ pointed out to the Pharisees that the Scriptures that they held to be the truth (the Old Testament) says that they all shall be taught of God. As we have just seen, God the Father calls men to salvation and when they accept their calling, God the Father’s Spokesman to those who follow their calling, the resurrected Christ, the Word becomes responsible for teaching them all things.
1Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
Notice that John is not saying that the reason the congregations of God’s Church in Thessalonica know to love one another is because he, John taught them to do so but rather it is because they are taught of God to do so.
In the latter days, the days in which true Christians are living, there are no more prophets (Heb 1:1-2) and God teaches His chosen ones through His Son, God the Father’s Spokesman to His chosen ones, who works in the minds of the truly converted and gives them understanding of God’s spiritual truth which is otherwise unknowable as they study their Bible.
NT Christians are all taught of God i.e., the God personage and holy spirit being called the Word. He is the Comforter and Spokesman to God the Father’ chosen ones.
God the Father calls men on an individual basis and His Spirit is then with them (not in them) opening their minds for the first time to truth they had always rejected and to which they had always been hostile (Rom 8:7). If the individual accepts God the Father’s calling by making the commitment to try to obey Him to the best of his abilities in all things then he becomes chosen and the holy spirit personage called the Word then enters him (dwells in his mind) and becomes responsible for teaching him all things by opening his mind to understand the words of the holy Bible which before were impossible for him to understand in their spiritual dimension.
God’s plan of salvation does not depend on men to teach other men spiritual truth as Paul makes clear to the Corinthian churches.
1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
Increases in spiritual knowledge and understanding come from God and more specifically, the Word who is the Spokesman to God the Father’s chosen ones (Heb 1:1-2) and the holy spirit personage in the Godhead who works in the minds of the truly converted to give them more knowledge and understanding as they study the Word in writing, God’s holy Bible.
The Bible is the means whereby — in the last or latter days of God’s plan of salvation for mankind — God’s truth, through God the Father calling men and the Word dwelling in the minds of the truly converted, will be taught to the nations that will exist during the Millennium and to the ones that will come up during the Last Great Day.
It is the means by which the Gospel will be published/preached/taught to all nations so that individuals upon belief and repentance may be saved if they follow their calling and remain faithful.
God will have His Church during the Millennium and the Last Great Day as it was never to die out (Mat 16:18) and if there are times when it becomes an organized entity visible in the world, it will teach the fundamental truth of God’s church to the newly-converted with God’s spirit (the Word) giving new converts the spiritual understanding of what is taught them.
God makes it clear that He is the One building His Church and that it is not the work of men.
Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
This was God telling Zerubbabel that His temple, not the physical one that was under construction to replace the first one that had been destroyed but the spiritual one in which God and the Word live, is built by God’s Spirit not by the might or power of men. The truly converted are its living stones (1Pe 2:5 quoted below) and conversion is by God’s Spirit. God the Father and, God the Father’s Spokesman to the truly converted, Christ (the Word) work together as the builders of God’s holy temple.
Christians are the result of God’s work.
1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase [the growth]
1Co 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his [God’s, not man’s, workmanship], created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Christians collectively are built up into a spiritual house by God.
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, [they are being built up into a spiritual house, God’s spiritual temple in which God the Father and the Word dwell; God is doing the building, not men, by calling men to conversion] an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
The Gospel will reach each and every person that has ever lived in all the nations of the world: the current ones, the ones that have passed away and those that are yet to come, by God the Father calling individuals in those nations and by the Word who is God the Father’s Spokesman teaching all things to those who follow their calling. It will be by the holy spirits beings called God the Father and the one called the Word and Spokesman that all of mankind that has ever existed will be given their opportunity for salvation by being given to know the Gospel and to repent and believe it or not.
The success or failure of God’s plan of salvation or its administration does not and has never depended on men including the preaching/publishing of the Gospel to all the nations of the world. And, as we have just seen, preaching the Gospel to all nations is not something that could ever be done by men. The nations of men will exist on the earth throughout the 7,000 year plan of salvation and no single human being whose lifespan is some 100 years and often less could ever be able to preach the Gospel to them.
And, this is very important to realize, even when there is an organized true church of God in existence with pastors, elders and deacons, the spiritual understanding of their teaching to new converts is by the holy spirits of God the Father who calls men and that of God the Father’s Spokesman to those who follow their calling, the resurrected Christ, the Word.
Once the Gospel will have been preached in all the world to all nations past, present and future then “the end” spoken of by Christ will come.
Before getting into what is the end there are a few more topics that have to be covered that will contribute to our understanding of what is the end.
How Many Called and Chosen Remain Faithful?
Salvation is a lifelong process requiring that the chosen ones be steadfast in maintaining contact with God through prayer, study of their Bible, meditation and Godly (not social) fellowship with other true Christians when contact is possible with them.
How well do men respond to the holy spirit being God the Father’s calling and how well do they endure in the faith according to your Bible?
It was generally thought that all but the most stubborn and wicked individuals would be saved which was somewhat reassuring as none of us see ourselves as being like that. But what does the holy spirit being called the Word who is God the Father’s Spokesman to His chosen ones tell us about what men do with their calling and to what extent they remain with the truth?
Christ tells us plainly that many are called but few are chosen (Matt 22:14); and of the few that are chosen, few remain faithful (Matt 7:13-14; 2 Tim 4:3-4; Gal 1:6; 2Pe 2:1).
Mat 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
The many called are not chosen after having been given knowledge of the truth because they choose to continue living their lives in the world as they did before being called. They lose their salvation.
Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Of those that have been called and have chosen to submit themselves to God it is the many who take the way of compromise with the ways of the world wanting to keep a foot in the world and a foot in the church; not wanting to fully let go of their former false beliefs and trying to reconcile them with God’s spiritual truth. In every case, the world wins out and the individual finds himself back in the world while still attending worship services but no longer being a member of the body of Christ. Christ makes it clear that one cannot serve two masters (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13). They lose their salvation.
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
The truly converted will not endure sound doctrine. They will get tired of being corrected by the Scriptures and exhorted to greater obedience to God in their daily lives. They will seek other teachers who have messages that better correspond to how they want to live their lives and who will reassure them that they are basically good people and that their salvation is assured. They lose their salvation.
Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Paul here tells the Galatians congregations of God’s Church that he is greatly surprised that so soon after having been taught the Gospel, they are now believing another Gospel. In other words, they had in a short period of time fallen away from the truth they had received from Paul.
2Pe 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
Here Peter warns the Church that there will be false teachers that will come into the Church pretending to agree with its teaching but who in private discussions with Church members will teach them falsities or heresies which the many will believe. Those believing the false doctrines of these false teachers will be the many and they will continue to call themselves Christians and cause the truth taught by God’s Church to be viewed as false teachings.
If we will allow ourselves to believe these clear Scriptures then this means that a very large number of individuals would either refuse their calling or turn away from it after having accepted it. Then this means that even during the Millennium (Joel 2:28) and the Last Great Day when all are called (John 7:37-38) it is the many that will refuse their calling or turn away from it after having chosen to obey God.
The result is that though all will have been called, it will be the very few who will remain faithful and consequently, it is the many that will be unconverted during the Millennium and during the Last Great Day. It then follows that the governments of men over men would continue on the earth until the Great White Throne judgment as there would always be a very large number of unconverted men for whom it is impossible to be subject to God’s law (Rom 8:7) and to whom God’s spiritual truth cannot be taught. Equally important, God’s government cannot be exercised over the unconverted. God will only rule over those who voluntarily accept to be ruled by Him (Rom 8:14).
Therefore, the “end” spoken of by Christ cannot be the time when Christ and the resurrected saints after His 2nd Coming will take over the governments of this world given that during the Millennium and the Last Great Day it is the many that will not be converted and that God will not force men to become converted nor can he rule over the unconverted.
A great deceived multitude as the sand of the sea
Do we have any other indication in the Bible that, indeed there will be no massive and sustained conversion of the nations during the Millennium and by extension, during the Last Great Day.
In the book of Revelation we are given knowledge of the spiritual status of the world that will exist right after the end of the Millennium? Let’s see what the Scriptures say happens when Satan is released from the bottomless pit.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Who is this great multitude whose number is as the sand of the sea and who is deceived by Satan into encircling the camp of the saints and the beloved city (Jerusalem) with the intent of conquering it only to be miraculously destroyed by God? Where do they all come from if all through the Millennium, following God’s Spirit being poured upon all flesh, there was near total conversion of the nations of the world? If this is what will happen then during the Millennium it means there will have been generation after generation of deeply converted and zealous Christians living exemplary lives of commitment to God with the continuing assistance of Christ and the resurrected saints responsible for the education of the masses and administering God’s government over the nations. If this is how things will be during the Millennium then how can we explain this great multitude of Satan-deceived individuals from the four corners of the earth whose number is as the sand of the sea that arises shortly after the end of the Millennium?
Did all these supposedly fully converted and full of zeal Christians living in ideal surroundings at a time when the nations of the world, but for a few individuals, are deeply converted and are being taught by Christ and His saints, all of a sudden lose their conversion by becoming deceived by Satan as soon as he is loosed from the bottomless pit?
But, Christ says that the elect, those that are called and chosen, cannot be deceived.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very [even the] elect.
If the elect could be deceived, then it would no longer be possible for God to judge them because they would no longer know the truth. A man deceived does not know he has been deceived; if he did, he wouldn’t be deceived. Recall that the world is not now under judgment (1 Pe 4:17) because it does not know the truth being deceived by Satan (Rev 12:9). Only those who have been given to know the truth are under judgment.
Who then are those who are deceived and who are those that can be deceived by Satan?
As made clear by Rev 12:9, all those who have not been called, are deceived by Satan. But what about those who have been given to know the truth when God called them and who are no longer deceived? Can they again become deceived or spiritually blind as they were before their calling?
Your Bible makes it clear that it is possible for those who have known the truth to knowingly and voluntarily turn away from it. God will not force man to choose life nor will He force man to remain with the truth. He urges man to choose life but will not force him to do so and if after having chosen life, he chooses to return into the world, God will respect his knowingly taken decision. The truly converted do not fall away from the truth because they again become deceived by Satan; they do so by their own knowingly and freely taken decision fully aware that there is no possible coming back.
Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
Heb 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
Heb 6:6 If they shall fall away,[were converted and knowingly and voluntarily turn away from the truth] to renew them again unto repentance; [to again have a converted mind] seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
The only conclusion that one can come to is that these people who are in number as the sand of the sea — a very great, uncountable multitude from the four quarters or corners of the earth — had been called but either refused their calling or after having accepted it turned away from it. When they do so God’s Spirit leaves them and they again become spiritually blind and deceived by Satan and, as stated in Heb 6:4-6 God will not call them a second time. They have had their one and only chance to be saved; Christ will not be sacrificed a second time to renew them unto repentance.
This great multitude of unconverted individuals deceived by Satan when he is released from the bottomless pit and who are destroyed by God, are from the nations in existence shortly after the end of the Millennium.
This means that people though all called during the Millennium will for the greatest part have refused their calling or have turned away from it and be unconverted. It also means that all during the Millennium, the vast majority of people will be unconverted and it will be impossible to teach them God’s truth and for God rule over them.
The Millennium ends and just before the Last Great Day begins and the unconverted of the Millennial nations living at the end of the Millennium are destroyed by God before the Last Great Day begins.
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Yes, God will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh during the Millennium but, if you will believe your Bible, it will be the few that will become and remain converted during the Millennium as made evident by the great multitude of unconverted individuals at the end of the Millennium and Christ’s own words that it is the few that become and remain converted. As we have seen, this is how it was in the First Century Church of God, it is how it is now and it is how it will be during the Millennium and the Last Great Day if we will believe our Bible.
Very unfortunately and very sadly, salvation is not going to be a thing of the many.
“The End” of What?
It has been previously been explained in this study that the end of the world or the end as understood by HWA cannot occur during the Millennium or the Last Great Day as mankind for the most part will remain unconverted and that God cannot rule over the unconverted (Rom 8:14). The disciples would also have know this having been taught by Christ and this we can know by what Peter wrote as we will shortly see. The disciples question about the end of the world then had to do with something else than what would be the time Christ would come back and rule over the flesh-and-blood nations of the world assuming this were to be possible.
In 2nd Peter 3, Peter, who was personally taught by Christ, is writing to the Christian congregations of his days in response to their concern about those who were saying the following:
2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
Scoffers were saying that Christ’s 2nd Coming was not something to be believed as things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. Peter gives them the following answer:
2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
The current heavens and earth were created by the word of God as is plainly told us in Psa 33:6; John 1:1-3; Col 1: 15-17 and other Scriptures.
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
And in 2Pe 3:7 the following information is given us.
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
In other words, the current heavens and earth are being kept in existence by the one who created them (the Word) until the time comes for their existence to end by fire consuming them. And, this verse tells us that this happens at the time of the perdition of ungodly men i.e., after the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Last Great Day has occurred and the goats, those who do not inherit salvation, (this is the time of perdition of ungodly men) are consumed by the Lake of Fire that engulfs the earth and burns up the earth and then the heavens.
Peter and the other disciples knew there was a time coming when the current heavens and earth will pass away or come to an end.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
The day of the Lord mentioned here is not the “day of the Lord” of Revelation 1:10 and of Rev 8 where God begins to intervene directly in the affairs of men with the blowing of the 7 trumpets.
Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
In 2nd Pe 3:10 the day of the Lord is when the heavens and the earth are burnt up i.e., the time following the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Last Great Day when the Lake of Fire burns up the wicked, the earth and then the heavens.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
This is also the time spoken of by Christ in Mat 10:28.
Mat 10:28 And fear not them [men] which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: [in this instance, destroy the spirit in man that goes back to God at the time of death and which God will use in the resurrection to glorified spirit life of those that have died in the faith; if the spirit in man is destroyed no resurrection is possible] but rather fear him [God] which is able to destroy both soul [the spirit in man] and body [the physical material body with which we are all born] in hell. [eternal death i.e., the second death from which no resurrection is possible. (see Mal 4:1, last part, quoted below.]
Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, [when the goats are separated from the sheep at the end of God’s 7,000 year plan of salvation for mankind] that shall burn as an oven; [the Lake of Fire burning up the wicked, the ungodly men and the heavens and the earth] and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. [no means of living again, the spirit In man destroyed by God, the second death]
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name [those called, chosen and faithful] shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; [the time of the resurrection and transformation of God’s faithful saints (the resurrection of those who died in the faith during the Millennium and the transformation of those resurrected on the Last Great Day and who are alive at the time when God separates the goats from the sheep] and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
And in Malachi 4:3 we are told when this is going to happen; it is the time when the glorified saints will tread down the ashes of the wicked that will have been burned up in the Lake of Fire.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked [the ungodly men spoken of in 2nd Pe 3:7]; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, [the day of the Great White Throne Judgment] saith the LORD of hosts.
This is the time of the Great White Throne Judgment, different aspects of which, we find mentioned in Matt 25: 31-34 and in Rev 20:11-15. Let’s start off with Matthew 25.
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, [at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment] and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: [the Great White Throne]
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom [this is the time when God’s called, chosen and faithful servants of the Millennium are resurrected to glorified spirit existence and become part of God’s Kingdom and when the Last Great Day (LGD) saints who are alive (all of them will be alive at the end of the LGD (Isa 65:20) are transformed into glorified spirits] prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Recall that God’s chosen and faithful ones from the day of Pentecost onward became glorified spirit beings and the Bride of Christ at Christ’s 2nd Coming and are not part of the Great White Throne Judgment.
Now, let’s continue with Rev 20.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Those cast in the Lake of Fire are the goats of Matt 25 who do not inherit salvation; they suffer the second death in the Lake of Fire and become ashes under the feet of God’s saints (Mal 4:3). God’s saints are the sheep or God’s chosen and faithful servants whom God transforms from flesh-and-blood human beings into glorified spirit beings when at the end of the Great White Throne Judgment He calls them to inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world.
Keeping this information in mind, let’s go back to 2nd Peter and verse 13.
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Peter tells the congregations of the true Church of his days and us today, that regardless of what the scoffers say that the current heaven and earth will go on as they are because, after such a long time, nothing has changed, that we (true Christians), according to his promise (that of Christ to the disciples and true Christians that would come after them), look for new heavens and a new earth that it yet to come and in which will dwell righteousness.
The current world and universe will cease to exist and be replaced by a new one in which dwells righteousness i.e., in which there is no wickedness. The righteousness in it will be God’s righteousness found in each and every one of its members who are human beings called, chosen and faithful who have become glorified spirit being who can no longer sin.
1Jn 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten [conceived but not yet born] of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
And we know that no man can enter into the Kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:3-6) i.e., until he is resurrected as a glorified spirit being who can no longer sin.
Those who are begotten of God in this life as human beings continue to be sinners and have to keep themselves from sinning as best they can (last part of 1Jn 5:18).
1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
And finally, another critically important point to keep in mind which has been made all along in this study is that God will NOT rule by force over mankind for the purpose of bringing them to conversion against their will. The only individuals over whom God will rule are those that freely and self-willingly consent for God to do so after coming to the knowledge of the truth.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
God’s Holy Spirit only ever leads; it does not force anyone to follow its lead.
Knowing and understanding this, and keeping in mind all the things that have been explained so far, what would then be the end of the world mentioned by Christ in Matt 24 and when would it occur?
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The End of the World
HWA taught that t the “end of the world” is the time when Christ and the resurrected saints would put an end to the governments of men by taking over the governments of this world and ruling over flesh-and-blood men. But Christ tells us plainly that many are called but few are chosen and of those who are chosen, few remain faithful. This is what has been happening since the Day of Pentecost as made clear in the many different Scripture we have reviewed.
It is also what has happened in the days of HWA as made evident by what happened after his death. The Worldwide Church of God became part of the religions of this world and those who left it, became members of one of the many false churches of God that came into being under the leadership of men who in many instances, were leaders in the WCG in the days of HWA. Following the destruction of the WCG, it was the few who remained with the truth and the many that departed from it. This is what has been happening since the foundation of God’s Church on the day of Pentecost unto our days and this situation will continue during the Millennium and during the Last Great Day; the many will be unconverted; the governments of men will continue to exist and God’s church will be the little flock most of the time invisible to the world and unknown by it as it has been from the beginning.
The end of men’s government over men during the Millennium is not “the end” spoken of by Christ nor is the Millennium the time of a new world order where Christ will rule over flesh-and-blood men as most will be unconverted though all will have been called and God will not forcefully rule over the unconverted.
The time when “the end” or the “end of the world” mentioned in Matthew 24 comes, is after the third resurrection when flesh-and-blood human beings no longer exist and there are only glorified spirit beings left i.e., God’s saints who collectively with God the Father and Christ constitute God’s eternal kingdom.
The “end” that is to come is the end of this present earth and heavens and of flesh-and-blood men at the time of the coming of the Lake of Fire after the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Last Great Day. This is the time when the world to come in which men receive eternal life arrives. A new heaven and a new earth are created and the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven. The “end” is the time when God’s Kingdom is established after the current heavens and earth are destroyed and there are no longer any flesh-and-blood human being s alive.
The disciples would have known from Christ teaching them that there was a time coming when the current physical/material universe would end and be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. We can know this simply through the following verses:
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord [This is not the events of the 7th seal of the book of Revelation which often referred to as “the day of the Lord.” It is the time when the heavens pass away at the end of God’s plan of salvation.] will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
The day of the Lord of 2 Pe 3:10 occurs at the end of the Last Great Day when the Lake of fires fills the earth and then the universe which is burnt up to be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. And, interestingly, it will take those then living by surprise; it will come as a thief in the night, they will not be expecting it.
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto [being eager for it to happen] the coming of the day of God, [the time when God’s plan of salvation will come to an end and His Kingdom will be established] wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? [following the Great White Throne Judgment]
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless [regardless of what the scoffers are saying] we, [truly converted Christians who know the truth of the Gospel] according to his [God’s] promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. [This is the message of the Gospel, that men can become glorified spirit beings and become part of God’s Kingdom when it is established as the end of His plan of salvation.]
God’s promise is the good news or gospel that there would come a time when the governments of men would be replaced by God’s Kingdom at the end of God’s plan of salvation for mankind which coincides with the end of flesh-and-blood men and of the current heavens and earth.
The end of the world the disciples were asking about was not when the end of the governments of man over man would happen but rather, when would be the end of the current material universe or when would the new heaven and the new earth be created and the Kingdom of God established.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, [those who have become glorified spirit being; at that point in God’s plan of salvation the Lake of Fire has consumed all the wicked and all the others are glorified spirit beings and members of God’s Kingdom] and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
God created man for the purpose of reproducing Himself. Mankind was not to go on forever; God’s plan was to last 7,000 years plus the 100 years of the Last Great Day. At the end of God’s plan of salvation, there will no longer be any need for men to continue existing and God will bring an end to mankind and to the current heavens and earth.
This is “the end” the disciples were asking Christ about; it was not about what would be the time when the governments of men would end and Christ would take over rulership of the kingdoms of this earth. God’s kingdom cannot be seen by flesh-and-blood men and most of humanity will remain unconverted after having been given to know the truth and God will not rule by force or any other way over those who reject His calling or turn away from it after having accepted it. Man’s government over man will continue until the end of the Last Great Day and then “the end” will come.
The end of mankind and of the world occurs at the time of the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Last Great Day when the wicked are consumed by the Lake of Fire and God’s faithful saints become glorified spirit beings; the current heavens and earth are replaced by a new heaven and a new earth; God’s Kingdom is established with the New Jerusalem coming down to the new earth.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
At that time there are no more flesh-and-blood men alive; the men mentioned in Rev 21:3 are glorified spirit beings who are part of God’s Kingdom.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The end has come, the former things have passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
God’s 7,000 year plan of salvation for mankind is over and God’s Kingdom has fully come into being.
God's Spiritual Nation 