Matthew 24:3-14
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars... For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows... 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.”
King James Version
Jesus' answer to the disciples on the Mount of Olives, listing the signs preceding the end and promising the worldwide preaching of the gospel before the end comes.
Fulfillment References
Mark 13:1-37 Luke 21:5-36 Daniel 9:27 Revelation 6:1-8
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalApostolic theology reads the worldwide gospel witness as the Spirit-empowered mission of Acts 2:38 believers, continuing until the literal return of Jesus.
JewishThe discourse echoes the Jewish 'birth-pangs of the Messiah' (chevlei Mashiach) — wars, famine and upheaval expected before redemption; Judaism applies such hopes to a still-awaited Messianic age.
CatholicRead on two horizons: a near reference to Jerusalem's fall (AD 70) and a far reference to the end of the world and Christ's return.
ProtestantCommonly seen as a layered prophecy — the destruction of the Temple foreshadowing the final tribulation before Christ returns.
OrthodoxUnderstood as describing the trials of the Church throughout history and intensifying before the Lord's glorious Second Coming.
DispensationalThe signs describe the future seven-year tribulation for Israel; v.14's gospel witness precedes the end, after the Church's rapture.
AcademicCritical scholars note Mark 13 (Matthew's source) as a Jewish-Christian apocalyptic discourse shaped around the AD 66-70 crisis.
Scholarship & Sources
'This gospel... preached in all the world... and then shall the end come' (24:14) is read of the first-century mission (cf. Rom. 10:18; Col. 1:23) or of a yet-future global evangelization. The AD 70 / end-time / both question governs the whole discourse.
Open the full interactive entry →Cross-references, Hebrew/Greek, Dead Sea Scrolls notes, study tools and multi-tradition analysis in the interactive explorer.
Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.