God's timetable of the ages may be rapidly nearing the countdown toward Christ's return. God's great plan, for which He created the world and man, has been delayed and frustrated by the long reign of sin and Satan since Adam's fall. But according to the Bible, the delay of Christ's return is not so much because God is patiently waiting for the world to repent as because He is patiently waiting for us to lead them to repentance (2Peter 3:9). This is further emphasized by the fact that, of all the conditions and signs that must precede Christ's coming, perhaps only one remains to be fulfilled: "This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come" (Matthew 24:14).