We are Getting Close to One Sign of the End Times being Fulfilled
At the Museum of the Bible in Washington DC is an exhibit on the status of the Bible being translated into the heart languages of people around the world. There are about 7,000 spoken languages around the world (some have no written language), and as of 2023 there are only about 700 languages which have had the Bible translated into the OT and NT. There are about 1700 languages which only have a NT, and about another 1000 that have portions of the Bible completed. However, this leaves about half the languages around the world without any Bible available in their heart language to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and know God’s Word.
A cooperative group of Bible translation ministries known as illumiNations, has set a goal to make the Christian Bible accessible to all 7,000 languages around the world by the year 2033. This may seem overly ambitious however in one year alone (2022-2023) 600 languages have moved from “In Progress” to “Portions”, and 446 languages have moved from “Not begun” to “In Progress”. With cooperation and advancements in technology, the Bible is being translated in record time.
Jesus gave us the mission to “go and make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 28:18-20), and “to go into the world and preach the Good News to everyone” (Mark 16:15). If illumiNations accomplishes their goal, then by 2033 the Good News of Jesus will be made available to every language group around the world. Jesus said that one of the signs of the end times, which would precede his return was that “the Good News about the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all the nations will hear it, and then the end will come” (Mt. 24:14). With the Bible being translated into native languages, we are getting closer to this sign being fulfilled. Although, just because the Bible is available doesn’t mean it will be in every persons hand (whether written, or audio form for those who are illiterate). Our next task will be to distribute the Bible worldwide. Also, Jesus didn’t say his return would immediately happen upon the Good News being proclaimed throughout the world, just that this will precede it. But with all the craziness happening around the world, it does make one wonder about how close we are actually getting to that Day. 
