Gr. oikoumenē, “the inhabited world” (see on Luke 2:1), in contrast with aiōn, “world,” considered from the viewpoint of time (see on Matt. 24:3). Thirty years after Christ spoke these words Paul affirmed that the gospel had gone to all the world (Col. 1:23; cf. Rom. 1:8; 10:18; Col. 1:5, 6; 8T 26), confirming the literal fulfillment of this prediction in his day (see DA 633). However, Paul’s declaration was true in a limited sense only (see The Church at the Close of Paul’s Ministry). The complete fulfillment of this prediction of our Lord is yet to be realized (see AA 111).
The glorious progress of the gospel throughout the world during the 19th century and the first half of the 20th cheers the heart of every earnest and conscientious Christian to believe that the complete fulfillment of the promise of ch. 24:14 is soon to be realized. The era of modern Christian missions is generally thought of as beginning with the work of William Carey in 1793. The century and a half since his historic mission to India has witnessed the greatest conquests of the Christian faith since the days of the apostles.
Hand in hand with foreign missions have gone the translation and circulation of the Scriptures. Whereas the first 18 centuries of the Christian Era saw the Bible translated into only 71 languages, the next century—the 19th—saw the total climb to 567. By the middle of the 20th century the number had grown to over 1,000. There are but few peoples in the world today who do not have access to at least some part of Scriptures in their own tongue.