The Apostle Paul was inspired to write:
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18)
Yes, this is comforting, but when will this happen?
Notice what Jesus taught:
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31)
So, Jesus returns after the tribulation is over.
Notice what precedes the end:
14 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. (Matthew 24:14)
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:21)
So, the end, the Great Tribulation per Jesus’ words in Matthew 24:21, starts after the gospel of the kingdom of God is sufficiently preached to the world as a witness.
But that preaching also must bear fruit–as we will see, a lot of Gentile fruit.
Notice the following:
14 … [T]he apostles Barnabas and Paul … 27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. (Acts 14:14,27)
3 So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. (Acts 15:3)
Well, that was in the past.
What about after the writing of the New Testament?
Did Jesus indicate that a lot of Gentiles were going to be called?
Yes.
Notice the following from Jesus:
27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.” (Luke 13:27-30)
Gentiles will be among the rulers in the Kingdom of God. Yes, massive amounts of Gentiles will later be called in the age to come (see also Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation)–but Romans 11:25 shows that many need to be brought in BEFORE Jesus returns.
The Apostle Paul tied in the calling of Gentiles in with the “mystery of Christ”:
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles — 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, (Ephesians 3:1-6)
Gentiles are fellow heirs with Israelites.
Are more Gentiles going to be called in this century?
Yes.
Romans 11, verse 12:
Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
Once the fulness of the Gentiles comes in, it will set the stage for Jesus’ return and His Kingdom!
In Romans 11, verse 25, the Apostle Paul wrote the following:
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25)
Before going further, consider that according to Jesus, it is the Laodiceans that are wise in their own eyes (cf. Revelation 3:14-18)–and the bulk of the Laodicean Christians that do not properly accept the fulfillment Romans 11:25 as being necessary.
The Apostle Paul also wrote:
14 … Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16)
Many today, instead of forbidding it like the Jews, downplay and/or ridicule reaching Gentiles in places like Africa and Asia. But, they do not seem to understand that the Bible teaches that WE MUST INSTRUCT MANY (cf. Daniel 11:33) INCLUDING GENTILES!
So, unlike some that have tended to overlook Gentiles, prophecies related to the descendants of Israel as well as the descendants of Gentiles is included in our free online book: Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?
In the second century A.D., Irenaeus of Lyon, who claimed to have received some of his doctrines from Polycarp of Smyrna wrote:
God has made the Gentiles, whose salvation was despaired of, fellow-heirs (Against Heresies, Book I, Chapter X)
It is not possible to name the number of the gifts which the Church, [scattered] throughout the whole world, has received from God, in the name of Jesus Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and which she exerts day by day for the benefit of the Gentiles (Against Heresies, Book II, Chapter XXXII)
God did purpose to take from among the Gentiles a people for His name (Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter XII)
God has justly rejected them, and given to the Gentiles outside the vineyard the fruits of its cultivation. (Against Heresies, Book IV, Chapter XXXVI)
God shall enlarge unto Japheth, and he shall dwell in the house of Shem, and Ham shall be his servant. That is to say: In the end of the ages he blossomed forth, at the appearing of the Lord, through the calling of the Gentiles, when God enlarged unto them the calling; and their sound went out into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. The enlarging, then, is the calling from among the Gentiles, that is to say, the Church. (A Discourse on the Demonstration of Apostolic Preaching. Chapter 21)
So, the idea of reaching Gentiles did not die out after the writing of the New Testament.
Getting back to the Apostle Paul, he wrote:
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:26-27)
So, in the sequence of Romans 11, we see the full number of the Gentiles will come into the faith (Romans 11:25), prior to Jesus’ return (Romans 11:26).
The late Pastor General of the old Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, taught the following about Romans 11:25:
Now I want you to study carefully one of the most wonderful, important chapters in all the Bible — the 11th of Romans. … Verse 23 says those who abide not still in unbelief shall YET receive salvation. … Now study carefully beginning verse 25: “Blindness in part is happened to Israel [HOW LONG? Forever? No — note it], UNTIL the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” — the end of this age during which God is calling a people from among the gentiles to bear His name (Acts 15:14). And so, says Romans 11:26, “all Israel SHALL BE SAVED [how?]: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” The Deliverer, Jesus Christ, is coming again!
When He comes, the gentile times will be over — the BLINDNESS will be removed from the Israelites — and their opportunity — their FIRST chance — of salvation will then come to those whom God had blinded! This is at the time when He comes to REIGN on HIS THRONE — the throne of David, with the saints made immortal reigning and ruling with Him — and the time is DURING THE THOUSAND YEARS!
Notice verse 31. These blinded Israelites have not now, in this age, received mercy, that through the mercy of the gentiles saved in this age, they MAY, THEN, obtain mercy and salvation. How? Because these saved gentiles will then be kings and priests, assisting in this wonderful Work! (Armstrong HW. Where Will The MILLENNIUM Be Spent? Tomorrow’s Word magazine, September 1971, p. 5)
25: “Blindness in part is happened until Israel”-HOW LONG? Forever? No-note it-“UNTIL the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” -the end of this age during which God is calling a people from among the Gentiles to bear His name (Acts 15: 14). … These blinded Israelites have not now, in this age, received mercy, that thru the mercy of the Gentiles saved in this age, they MAY, THEN, obtain mercy and salvation. How? Because these saved Gentiles will then be kings and priests, assisting in this wonderful work! (Armstrong HW. Where Will The MILLENNIUM Be Spent? Plain Truth, February-March 1954 , pp. 4-5)
(25) For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel [or that part of Israel, meaning the great part, the big part — all but a few, have been blinded. It’s the big part actually] until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. [Or the number of Gentiles to be converted becomes complete — as other translations have it] (Armstrong HW. Romans 11-13. Bible Study, June 27, 1980)
Clearly, we are much closer to the time when all the Gentiles are to come in to later be kings and priests than when those articles were published (see also: Christians are to Rule).
More of the Gentiles had to be called and converted– and that is happening now!
The CCOG has over 7,500 Gentile congregants as of mid-2022, which compares to about 300 or so in early 2014 and a dozen or so in 2013. CCOG has been the fastest growing x-WCG COG in the 21st century.
For more on how we reach Gentiles and those of Israelite descent, check out the CCOG Multimedia page.
Jesus said:
14 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. (Matthew 24:14)
29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. (Luke 13:29)
Notice this points to people all over the world, not just the west, but also the north, south, and east.
Those scriptures support the view that multiple languages being used to reach people before Jesus returns–and that is also specifically pointed to in Revelation 7:9,14:
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, … These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, (Revelation 7:9,14)
The Bible points to the use of multiple languages being used to reach people before Jesus returns.
We have had our English booklet, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God, translated into over 1000 languages and dialects. Never before in history has a booklet on the good news of the coming kingdom of God been translated into as many languages as we have done in the CCOG.
Sadly, many people are affected by prejudices and other factors which stop them from acting on the truth and supporting the reaching of the Gentiles.
Jesus taught that the end does NOT come until the ‘Gospel of the Kingdom of God‘ reaches enough nations (Matthew 24:14) and, based on Paul’s writings, we also see that “the full number” (as the NIV, NLT, BSB, CEV, GNT, HCSV, ISV, and NET Bible, put Romans 11:25) of Gentiles God wants in this age come in.
Notice also the following which points to Gentiles, and then those of Israel:
25 As He says also in Hosea:
“I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘ You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:
“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
The remnant will be saved. (Romans 9:25-27)
In CCOG we are reaching Gentiles and non-Gentiles (cf. Romans 9:27, 11:23-24; see also What is the Ezekiel Warning?).
And that is why we have been the fastest growing xWCG church in the 21st century.
Here are some comments related to the fullness of the Gentiles by the old Radio Church of God:
” For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25). God has a TIME SCHEDULE He is working out. (Armstrong GT. When You Die–Then What Happens? Plain Truth, June 1967, p. 22)
Isaiah 11 … The Gentiles are going to seek God (verse 10) and Israel and Judah are going to be gathered THE SECOND TIME from the heathen nations (verse 11). This could not be speaking of any “spiritual Israel.” The last verses in this chapter speak of men crossing rivers and highways as they leave the Gentile nations and return the second time to the land of promise. This is the time spoken of by Paul. “Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27). Here is GOOD NEWS! Here is part of the gospel message. Blindness is happened to Israel, not forever, but until the full number of Gentiles who are to be converted in this age comes into the Kingdom. Then Israel shall be forgiven and the vast majority of Gentiles shall seek God. (Hoeh H. The Coming UTOPIA… Wonderful World of Tomorrow. Plain Truth, March 1957, p. 6; see also Hoeh H. The Coming UTOPIA… Wonderful World of Tomorrow. Tomorrows World, May-June 1970, p. 22)
Since the end of the age with Jesus returning does not come until the full number of Gentiles comes in, shouldn’t reaching more Gentiles be part of the final phase of the work? And if so, should not preparations and efforts be done now–consistent with the short-work of Romans 9:28 (see also Preparing for the ‘Short Work’ and The Famine of the Word)?
While the Two Witnesses (Revelation 11:3-9) and the messages of the three angels (Revelation 14:8-11; see also The Final Phase of the Work) will be reaching Gentiles during the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord, the way that Romans 11:25 is written shows that Christians are not to wait for that alone, but to also participate in that now. The Apostle Paul (“the apostle to the Gentiles”–Romans 11:13) and the other apostles realized that in the Book of Acts (cf. Acts 11).
We in the Continuing Church of God believe that is so and have been pouring in resources to do into reaching Gentiles, including impoverished ones (see also How does the Continuing Church of God differ from other Sabbatarian COG groups? and the free booklet: Is God Calling You?).
Those Gentiles converted in this age will assist the tens of billions of Gentiles that will come up in the second resurrection. As “kings and priests” they will help govern and teach. Because of their physical and culturally heritages, they will tend to be more acceptable to the resurrected Gentiles. Yes, we teach that God has a plan for the Gentiles (and non-Gentiles too!) who not called in this age (for details, check out the free online book: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation).
By the way, it should be mentioned that we did not go out and seek growth from Gentiles per se. Basically, what we did was to put out websites, articles, literature in multiple languages, sermons, and messages to reach around the world (Matthew 24:14, 28:19-20), and various ones contacted me. We are also on commercial radio in Africa, television in the African nation of Ghana, and shortwave radio in northern Africa–plus we are on AM radio in Europe, plus shortwave radio covering much of North America and eastern Asia (for details check out CCOG Multimedia).
To reach those that we can in this age, we have literature in over 1000 languages (including sub-languages) and have numerous websites:
CCOG.ORG Continuing Church of God The group striving to be most faithful amongst all real Christian groups to the word of God. This page has links to literature in hundreds of languages.
Congregations of the Continuing Church of God This is a listing of congregations and groups of the Continuing Church of God around the world.
Continuing Church of God Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Africa, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Canada, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
Continuing Church of God, Europe, Facebook page This has news and prophetic information.
CCOG.ASIA This page has a focus on Asia and has various articles in Mandarin Chinese as well as some in English, plus items in numerous other Asian languages.
CCOG.IN This is a website targeted towards those of Indian heritage and has Indian language translations of certain CCOG literature.
CCOG.EU This is a website targeted towards Europe. It has materials in multiple European languages.
CCOG.NZ This is a website targeted towards New Zealand and others with a British-descended background.
CCOGAFRICA.ORG This is a website targeted towards those in Africa.
CCOGCANADA.CA This is a website targeted towards those in Canada.
CDLIDD.ES La Continuación de la Iglesia de Dios. This is the Spanish language website for the Continuing Church of God and has articles in español/castellano.
PNIND.PH Patuloy na Iglesya ng Diyos. This is the Philippines website Continuing Church of God. It has information in English and Tagalog.
Continuing Church of God Multimedia page. What are many of the ways the Continuing Church of God is reaching people around the world to fulfill the commissions from Jesus in Matthew 24:14 and 28:19-20? What about literature, personal visits, the internet, radio, and television?
Bible News Prophecy radio. This is an audio version of the Bible News Prophecy videos on one of our internet stations as well as our radio broadcasts in English. The BibleNewsProphecy.net website also has information about our international radio presence for Europe, Asia, and North America. That page is also available as a mobile app.
Bible News Prophecy International radio. This has links to our non-English language online radio station as well as materials in multiple languages.
We also have audio and video channels, such as the following:
Bible News Prophecy channel. Dr. Thiel has produced hundreds of videos for the BibleNewsProphecy channel. You can find them at them on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/BibleNewsProphecy, plus also on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/channels/biblenewsprophecy as well as on Brighteon at https://www.brighteon.com/channel/ccogbnp
Bible News Prophecy online radio. This has an audio version of the Bible News Prophecy videos. It is also available as a mobile app.
BibleNewsProphecy Podcast. This has audio-visual podcasts of the Bible News Prophecy channel. It plays on i-Phones, i-Pads, and Windows devices that can play i-Tunes.
CCOGAfrica channel. This has messages from African pastors in African languages such as Kalenjin, Kiswahili, Embu, and Dholuo.
CCOG Animations channel. The Continuing Church of God has some animations to teach aspects of Christian beliefs.
CDLIDDSermones channel. This contains messages in the Spanish language.
ContinuingCOG channel. Dr. Thiel has produced video sermons for this YouTube channel. Note: Since these are sermon-length, they can take a little longer to load than other YouTube videos. Here is a link to a short intro: ContinuingCOG Channel.
Furthermore, CCOG ministers have reached out and physically visited potential brethren in Mexico, South America, India, Europe, the Philippines, Africa, the Caribbean, and wherever we see that Jesus seems to have opened a door (cf. Revelation 3:7-8). We now have congregations in many of those areas (see also Congregations of the Continuing Church of God).
The Apostle Paul wrote we were to “imitate him” (1 Corinthians 11:1). He also wrote that he strove to be “a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles” (Romans 15:6), and he praised “the churches of the Gentiles” (Romans 16:4).
We in the Continuing Church of God are serious about supporting Romans 11:25.
We are doing more than giving a witness to Gentiles, we are having Gentile conversions around the world. To a major degree, we have been the fastest growing Church of God in the 21st century because of that.
God has opened the door to reach Gentiles (Acts 14:27), Philadelphian Christians are to go through that door (Revelation 3:7), and the full number of Gentiles must come in before Jesus returns (Romans 11:25).
The full number of Gentiles will be converted in this age before Jesus returns!
We have a video sermonette on this subject as well on our Bible News Prophecy YouTube channel:
The Apostle Paul wrote that the return of Jesus should be a comfort to Christians. But when, according to the words of Jesus and the Apostle Paul will Jesus return? What is the relationship of Matthew 24:14 to the Great Tribulation? Is only a witness needed for Jesus to return? Or do the full number of Gentiles need to come in first? What will be the role of Gentiles converted in this age after Jesus returns to establish the Kingdom of God? What have Church of God leaders written about Romans 11? What does the Bible teach must happen before Jesus returns? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.
Here is a link to our uploaded video: Gentiles and When Will Jesus Return?
The Continuing Church of God also has this sermon on its ContinuingCOG channel:
1:12:27On September 26, 2021, Bob, Joyce, and David Thiel flew to Puerto Rico to meet with Spanish-speaking supporters of the Continuing Church of God who were gathered together for the Feast of Tabernacles. The Thiels encountered numerous tests and trials there as well as on their return to San Luis Obispo, California. In this sermon, Dr. Thiel mentions specific trials he and his family encountered on that trip including losses of electrical power, automotive failures, airline problems, and more. He also quotes scriptures from the Apostles, Peter, Paul, and James that Christians should expect trials and have the faith to not rebel like the ancient children of Israel did. Vaccine-complaints are discussed in the light of Jesus’ words in Mark 16:15-18 as well as Revelation 3:7. Dr. Thiel discusses some of the steps being taken and planned to reach more Spanish-speaking people. He also quotes Romans 11:25 and discusses the importance of not just being a witness to the world related to the gospel of the Kingdom of God, but also the necessity of the full number of Gentiles being converted before Jesus returns. He also quotes various leaders once in the old Radio/Worldwide Church of God on this topic. Dr. Thiel discusses that God will offer all salvation in this age or the age to come and that Gentiles being called and converted in this age will help the billions that will come up after the second resurrection. Dr. Thiel quotes the Apostle Paul who wrote, “God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”
Here is a link to the video sermon: Puerto Rico, Trials, and Triumphs.