We are on the threshold of the Great Tribulation.
He will preach it through whatever means, by whatever agency, and in whatever time He has already ordained. This prophecy could not have been fulfilled until after the rise of Britain and the United States as world powers in the 19th century and the formation of the Jewish state of Israel in the 20th. Dr. Brown Answers Your E-Questions (including, Has Matthew 24:14 Been Fulfilled; and a reading of The Rhyme of the Modern Parishioner) By lofradio Aug 20, 2010 / 17 Comments Tweet
This good news will be preached in all the inhabited earth to all the nations … In verse 3, the perspective changes entirely. Has Matthew 24 Been Fulfilled? Although the prophecy about the tearing down of the temple (v. 2) occurs in a contemporary setting, the prophecy regarding the abomination of desolation and the Great Tribulation does not.
It is also important to notice that the context of this prophecy was not A.D. 70.
It is also important to notice that the context of this prophecy was not A.D. 70. Matthew then reports more of the discourse: "And 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" (Matt. Matthew 24:14. It is going to be fulfilled soon, for Israel has been regathered, the nation has been re-established, and the nations of the world are coming together against the Jewish state. Matthew 24:8 "All these [are] the beginning of sorrows." Basically, the linchpin or pivot point for me has become Matthew 24 as well as the parallel passages in Mark 13 & Luke 21 having happened and been fulfilled when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD and not needing “multiple fulfillments” or having another temple in the future built and then destroyed again. Matthew 24:29-30 Fulfilled in A.D. 66: Immediately after Florus entered Jerusalem with the Roman Army, the Abomination that causes Desolation, and the Romans slaughtered over 3000 People in Jerusalem, Jesus Came on the Clouds of Heaven and the Sun and Moon were Darkened and a Falling Star was Seen Fulfilling Matthew 24:29-30.
Here again, we could say that this part of the prophecy has been fulfilled. “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).
The reason why we still think Jesus returns after the "Great Commission" is completed, despite "the End" referring to the Old Covenant crumbling with the Temple, is rooted in two tough-to-interpret statements Jesus makes: (1) Matthew 24:30 talks about the "Son of Man coming on the clouds" and (2) Matthew 24:14 says the Gospel must be preached to all nations first. Lest the idea seem outlandish, consider that Israel and the United States are perhaps the most maligned and criticized nations on earth.
Accordingly, as will be brought out in later discussion, the interpretation regarding Matthew 24:15-31 as being specifically the end time and related to the second coming of Christ is far preferable and permits a literal interpretation of the prophecy.