The Gospel preached to the whole world
By Elizabeth Prata
“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).
Twelve years ago the Gideons organization marked their 100th year of giving out Bibles.
Gideons mark 100th year giving Bibles: “Nearly 76.9 million Gideon Bibles were given out in nearly 85 languages in 187 countries last year [2008]. Close to 1.5 billion Bibles have been distributed since 1908, when the Gideons first began to place Bibles in hotel rooms.
Did you know that when you make an order of any kind from Amazon, a portion of that can be dedicated through Amazon Smile to an organization of your choice?
“When you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates 0.5% of your eligible purchases – at no cost to you. AmazonSmile offers the same products, same low prices, and same services as the Amazon you know.”
Mine goes to The Gideons.
* There are 260,000 Gideons and Auxiliary members in more than 9,000 local groups worldwide.
* Approximately 1.3 billion Scriptures have been distributed worldwide since 1908, and more than 500 million Scriptures were distributed in just the last 10 years.
* 70.7 million Scriptures were distributed last year.
* On average, more than two copies of God’s Word are distributed per second.
* Distributed in 183 countries. [How many countries are there in the world? The generally accepted answer is: 195.]
There is nothing more important than connecting people with the Word of God. Thank the Lord for the work of the Gideons. Do you have a spare Bible? Most Americans have several. Is there someone you know who doesn’t have one? How about carrying a spare Bible in the car, just in case you meet someone on the spot who is willing to receive the gospel? That did happen to me once. It was and still is a gratifying moment to hand the willing receiver his own Bible. It just might make an eternal difference.
Most people think the verse that says ““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) means that when the Gospel has been preached by us to all nations, tribes and tongues, that it triggers the Lord’s return. It does not mean that. In the end of the end, GOD proclaims the everlasting Gospel to all nations. He does this by his 144,000 witnesses of Revelation 7 and Revelation 14, by the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11, and by an angel flying at Midheaven. This happens in the Tribulation.
And I saw another angel flying in midheaven with an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people; (Revelation 14:6).
Bibles, sharing the Gospel, making disciples, scripture proclaimed are all still our job. I value the Gideons, and I value and respect anyone who consistently teaches and preaches in these deceptive and turbulent times, including my own elders, who are wonderful. I’d suggest buying a few extra Bibles while we still can. Amazon and other booksellers are removing material from their stocks with which they disagree, such as rebuttals to social justice or transgender issues. Bibles will likely be next. Pray for our leaders and pastors and elders.
Isn’t God amazing. He curates his own plan, energizes it, and sees that it will be fulfilled. At some point in the future, every creature, nation, and tongue will hear the everlasting Gospel.
Keep in the scriptures, it’s our anchor point. Consider Amazon Smile. Carry a spare Bible. And Fear God. 🙂
