The Honor and Glory

On the Mount of Olives, Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). Think about the church at that time. It consisted of a small number of people who believed that Jesus was special but didn’t understand His mission. His inner circle, meanwhile, consisted of a ragtag crew who would flee when Jesus was arrested. And all this was happening in a world dominated by the Romans, who would be hostile to the faith for centuries.

And yet, Jesus knew that His good news gospel would reach the entire world. Considering the circumstances when He said these words, it was an amazing prediction. Today, Christianity, in one form or another, is the largest and most widespread religion on the earth, with adherents in nearly every country. About one-third of the world claims to be Christian.

It explains why people from so many different nations, even ones that don’t exist today, will reside in the new heavens and new earth. God said to Abraham, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18). That’s “all the nations of the earth,” past, present, and future, would be blessed.

Israel itself was so blessed that it, ideally, should have been a light to the Gentiles about the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth—and its Redeemer. “The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isaiah 60:3). That Israel of old didn’t live up to its calling is true, but that failure was overcome in the long run. Because of Jesus, God would save all those who would be saved, no matter where they were from.

And, as we see in this text, that is what happened. Christ on the cross brought salvation to the nations; the honor and glory that they bring with them came from His work alone.

Lord, I thank you for what the cross has given to the whole world.

For Further Study: Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Acts 26:23.

Key Bible Texts

And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. (Revelation 21:26 KJV)