Can you guess who's missing here?

Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-- we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!-- Acts 2:9-11

Who's missing here? I don't see any references to China, India, Russia, South America, or the United States. What gives?

The above nations mentioned are described as "every nation under heaven" (v.5). Have we missed an important truth here? Could it be that what we call "The Great Comission" has already been accomplished? Before you answer, look for clues from Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 1. Can you find where, according to St. Paul, the Gospel had been preached? I'll wait here while you look.

Back already? Did you read Colossians 1:23b? So, why are we busting our heinies and spending oodles and oodles of dollars to accomplish something that was already accomplished in the first century? Didn't Jesus say that when this was accomplished "the end" would come (Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10). Has "the end" already taken place? I have a hard time believing that the Gospel would be preached to all nations back in the first century, but the end doesn't come for an indefinite amount of time. 2000+ years, to be exact.

If "the end" hasn't occured yet, then everything that was written in the Scriptures would have been irrelevant to those who first received the message. I think that's because we've been taught to expect the cataclysmic destruction of the planet. It could be that that's not what "the end" meant.

Have we been essentially waiting for something that has already taken place?

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