When Will Jesus Return?

This passage from George Ladd was recently quoted by David Platt in his excellent sermon on the sovereignty and God and global missions. It concerns Matthew 24:13, in which Jesus says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14 ESV).

This statement has often raised questions like "Does this mean Jesus can't come back yet?" "How will we know when all nations have been reached?" "Can we know?" etc. Without dismissing them, Ladd cuts through those questions in this statement:

God alone knows the definition of terms. I cannot precisely define who all the nations are. Only God knows the exact meaning to evangelize. He alone will know when that goal is fulfilled. But I do not need to know. I know only one thing: Christ has not yet returned; therefore, the task is not yet done. When it is done, Christ will come. Our responsibility is not to insist on defining the terms; our responsibility is to complete the task. So long as Christ does not return, our work is undone. Let us get busy and complete our mission.

-George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom (1959 A.D.)