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A similar view is expressed by William Hendriksen: (56:3) 'the kingdom', that is, of the reign of God in heart and life, by grace and through faith. (New Testament Commentary 855) (56:4) (2) The greatest debates have been over how much of the world is intended by 'all the world'. It might seem to be a simple matter to take this verse literally, except that Paul, the greatest missionary of Christ, himself proclaimed that the Gospel 'was preached to every creature under heaven' (Col. 1:23). Paul quoted Psalm 19:4 and asserted that the message had 'gone out to all the earth', in fact, 'to the ends of the world' (Rom. 10:18). Also, the Book of Acts (2:5) records that the Apostles preached the Gospel to Jews from 'every nation under heaven'. (56:5) Paul's statements have led some commentators to conclude that Jesus' prophecy may have been fulfilled at an early date; some even argue that 'the end' does not refer to the end when Christ returns but, rather, to the destruction of Jerusalem, meaning that the Gospel had been preached to all nations before AD 70, but this point is greatly debated.
(56:6)
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