ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the third millennium of Christianity, in an era of Internet and cable television, the Great Commission-the mandate to preach the gospel throughout the world-takes on new meaning. Jesus’ words are embedded in the midst of a passage known as the “Little Apocalypse,” which describes the signs and events that will accompany the Last Days. Alongside the familiar warnings of apocalyptic terror-wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, and plagues-we find this fascinating suggestion that when the mission of preaching the gospel to the nations is completed, the time of the End will be at hand. The authors of the gospels could scarcely have imagined the global media network by which the gospel of the kingdom would be transmitted. Nor could they have anticipated how Jesus’ words, understood as both a prophecy and a command, would be put into practice by today’s evangelists. The earliest Christians would surely regard modern media as many Christians do today-as an endtime miracle, both a compelling sign of the fulfillment of prophecy and an instrumental tool for the imminent completion of the divine plan.
