Christianity Is Prophesied To Fail The Great Commission

[myth-one.com]

Certain prophetic events must occur before the end times and the Second Coming of Jesus. One such event is the gospel must be preached in all the world. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 commands Christians to complete this task. With the Internet and our worldwide communication systems of today, many believe The Great Commission will soon be realized and quickly followed by the Second Coming! The Second Coming of Jesus is described in Revelation chapter 19. The fulfillment of the Great Commission is described only five chapters before the description of the Second Coming:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

Shortly before the Second Coming, God sends an angel to fulfill this prophecy so the end times can occur. But if an angel fulfills the Great Commission, then man failed in this effort! God sends an angel to accomplish this work which was assigned to Christians! I believe Christians fail to fulfill The Great Commission because most do not even understand the good news of the gospels. The bulk of humanity suffering eternally in hellfire is definitely not the good news! How can they teach what they do not know?

Why are your thoughts as to why we will fail in this effort?

[jeremiah]

I have thought about this myself, and it is interesting. But I have come to the conclusion that Christ said to preach, not that the preaching will "bring about the end" and it is all our doing, unfortunately that is what we are taught, that we have the power. But it is God who is in control anyways of it, after all, it is his project. Christ told us to make disciples, not converts anyways. It is the Spirit which opens the person up, not us. We need to stop using the way of our words to try to convince people that they need God. Again, unfortunate that that is taught. I've stopped believing this. All I have to do is live my life, becareful of what I believe, love others as I love myself, love God with all of my being, etc. All that through the Spirit and God's grace. And wherever I feel and know I am being led, thus I should go and say and do. And that's just simply put. We need to stop thinking that it is all ours and we do it, that is not it at all. But that's just me. We are not prophesied to fail it, what is being prophesied is that God is finishing what he started.

[myth-one.com]

Hello Jeremiah,

Several predicted events must occur before the end times. For example, God's chosen people will be gathered together a second time to form a nation:

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left... and he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isaiah 11:11-12)

"In that day" indicates near the end times, and ensign indicates a national flag. After World War II, the scrappy Jews who survived the war years returned to the land promised to Abraham and formed a nation in 1948. Likewise, the gospel must be preached in the entire world before the end of this age, the age of man, occurs:

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. (Matthew 24:14)

Gospel means the good news of Christ and His teachings in the scriptures. The "great commission" commands Christians to spread the gospel among all nations:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

However, even with satellites and television, will we ever spread the true gospel among all nations and fulfill the great commission? Obviously not, since God has to send an angel to fulfill this prophecy before the end of this age can occur:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. (Revelation 14:6)

You are correct that mankind cannot bring about or hasten the coming of the end times. But the good news must be preached in all the world before the Second Coming. The fact is that man will never accomplish this feat which was assigned to him! An angel sent from heaven completes the Great Commission shortly before the Second Coming, otherwise the prophesy would never have been fulfilled and the Second Coming could not happen!

[jeremiah]

Exactly. So the interesting question which you presented is a good one. So why don't we? Is it due to the world influncing us? Is it due to the lack of Christians unwilling to let go of what they hold dear? Or is it simply God finishing what he started? Definately a question that really hints at conviction and can make a person rethink how they think about salvation. Maybe Christians who feel like that they are in control of that have to realize that they aren't and learn to submit to God and his Will in the world?

So then, do you think that this could be a hint the second coming as well as a few other verses in Revelation (14:9-16)?

[myth-one.com]

Exactly. So the interesting question which you presented is a good one. So why don't we?

I believe man fails to fulfill the Great Commission because most of our Christian evangelists do not even understand the good news of the gospel! The vast majority of mankind suffering in hellfire for eternity is definitely not good news! So Christians have generally not been spreading the true good news of the gospels! Most Christians teach that man is born as an immortal soul living within a physical body. When the body dies, the soul lives on eternally in heaven or hell. This is not good news!

When God sends the angel to fulfill the great commission in Revelation 14:6, it will not only be the first time non-Christians have heard the true good news, it will be the first time many Christians have heard it also.

[jeremiah]

Exactly. So the interesting question which you presented is a good one. So why don't we?

I believe man fails to fulfill the Great Commission because most of our Christian evangelists do not even understand the good news of the gospel! The vast majority of mankind suffering in hellfire for eternity is definitely not good news! So Christians have generally not been spreading the true good news of the gospels! Most Christians teach that man is born as an immortal soul living within a physical body. When the body dies, the soul lives on eternally in heaven or hell. This is not good news!

When God sends the angel to fulfill the great commission in Revelation 14:6, it will not only be the first time non-Christians have heard the true good news, it will be the first time many Christians have heard it also.

So, what exactly entales this good news? What is it do you think that the majority of Christians are missing and more specifically, the Christian evangelists?

[myth-one.com]

So, what exactly entales this good news?

In one verse, it can be summarized as follows:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

What is it do you think that the majority of Christians are missing and more specifically, the Christian evangelists?

There is no major difference between any of the larger Catholic or Protestant denominations' basic beliefs. These common erroneous basic beliefs are:

1) Man is born as an immortal soul living within a physical body.

2) If man accepts Jesus as his Savior prior to his death, his soul immediately goes to heaven for eternity when his physical body dies.

3) If man does not accept Jesus as his Savior, his soul immediately goes to hell for eternity when his physical body dies.

4) At the resurrection, man's eternal soul is merged back with his resurrected eternal physical body.

The Bible teaches that you are an immortal soul. Your soul is eternal and will live forever. In other words, the real you -- the part of you that thinks, feels, dreams, aspires; the ego, the personality-- will never die. The Bible teaches that your soul will live forever in one of two places -- heaven or hell. If you are not a Christian and you have never been born again, then the Bible teaches that your soul goes immediately to a place Jesus called hades, where you will await the judgment of God. The moment a Christian dies, he goes immediately into the presence of Christ. There his soul awaits the resurrection, when the soul and body will be rejoined.

Notice that every belief following the first is a direct result of the first false belief, man's immortality! That is, if man lives forever, he must reside somewhere. Therefore, beliefs two and three assign homes to man's immortal soul. Christian theologians assign heaven as the eternal home of those who believe in Jesus Christ. All others are condemned eternally to hell. However, spiritual bodies such as the soul do not experience pain. It is simply not fair that nonbelievers live for eternity in hell with no corporal punishment! Therefore, belief four reunites the soul with an incorruptible physical body at the resurrection. This physical body can suffer pain but never die. Now nonbelievers can experience excruciating pain every second for eternity. Ah, that is now a complete and perfect system!

However, obvious questions arise due to the above theology. How does it benefit God for the majority of mankind to burn eternally in the fires of hell? How does this equate with "God is Love"? Does God truly love us or hate us? Do these false teachings drive more people away from the church than are saved by the church? Where might one discover the true teachings of Christianity? The true good news of Christianity can be found in the scriptures. With the one exception of Jesus Christ, the following list details the possibilities for every human who has ever been born or ever will be born according to the Bible:

1) Each human is born as a mortal being into the kingdom of man. This birth is of water.

2) If a human accepts Jesus Christ as his Savior at anytime while that human is living, that human becomes an heir to eternal life.

3) After Jesus returns to the earth, the heirs to eternal life will receive their inheritance when born again as spiritual beings which live forever. This is a spiritual birth.

4) Those humans choosing not to accept Jesus will be cast into the lake of fire and suffer their second death. Since they were resurrected as physical bodies and not spiritual bodies, they are not saved from the fiery second death in hell.

5) All humans are now dead at this point. Those born again as spiritual bodies are no longer humans. They are spiritual children of God who will now rule and maintain the earth under their Lord and brother, Jesus Christ, forever and ever.

Thus, based on the scriptures, the possibilities for each individual human are definitely not as horrible as we have been taught for nearly two thousand years! The true good news of the Gospels is infinitely better than we have ever been told! Those accepting Jesus as their Savior are given everlasting life while those rejecting Him perish quickly. Or the short version:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

[InTheFlesh]

There's no need to go out and spread the good news!

"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"

The words of Jesus have already reached out to the entire world.

"But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world"

[myth-one.com]

There's no need to go out and spread the good news!

"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"

The words of Jesus have already reached out to the entire world.

"But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world"

Very interesting verses, InTheFlesh.

But I say , Have they not heard ? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. (Romans 10:18)

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; (Colossians 1:23)

I believe it would be fairly easy to show that the gospel had not been spread to the entire world during the time of Paul. For example, the Mayans and Incas in Mexico and South America probably knew nothing of Jesus. So my guess is that Paul is speaking of the known world. That is, the world as known to him at that time. And that is exactly what this is, MY GUESS.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)

If the Great Commission is read as teach all nations and baptizing all of mankind, it becomes an impossibility anyway. The scriptures state that many will take the way leading to destruction while only the few will take the narrow path leading to everlasting life. So only a relative few would require baptizing. I believe every human will be taught the true choices, but only those accepting Jesus (the few) will require baptizing.

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: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Revelation 14:6 does not mention baptizing at all, but only the teaching or preaching:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. (Revelation 14:6)

And since this has to be accomplished by an angel shortly before the Second Coming, my conclusion would be that Paul talks of his world, or the "known" world at that time. If it had already been accomplished by man, God would not have to sent an angel to accomplish this prophesy.

[InTheFlesh]

Paul specifically stated:

"which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven"

When you consider scripture, you can't look at it like it's limited to Paul's knowledge. The writings of Paul are the words of God. And saying that God didn't know of the entire earth is (IMO) silly.