Old Testament and missions
- Genesis 12:1-3 (repeated in Gen. 18:18, 22:17-18, 26:24 and 28:12-14)
- Exodus 9:14-16 -- purpose of the plagues
- Exodus 19:6 -- Israel was to be a "kingdom of priests"
- Numbers 14:21 -- glory of Lord fills the whole earth
- Deuteronomy 4:6-8 -- show your understanding to the nations
- Deuteronomy 10:19 -- "You are to love those who are aliens"
- Deuteronomy 28:10 -- "all the peoples on the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord"
- Deuteronomy 32:1 - "Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth."
- Joshua 4:24 -- "so that all the peoples of the earth might know"
- 1 Samuel 2:10 -- "The LORD will judge the ends of the earth."
- 1 Samuel 17:46 -- "the whole world will know there is a God in Israel"
- 1 Kings 8:41-43, 59-60 (also in 2 Chronicles 6:32-33) -- "so that all peoples of the earth may know your name" (Solomon's prayer at dedication of temple)
- 2 Kings 19:15 -- "Hezekiah prayed . . . : O LORD, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.'"
- 1 Chronicles 16:31 "Let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, The Lord reigns!'"
- 1 Chronicles 16:24 -- "Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples"
- 2 Chronicles 6:33 -- "so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you"
- Psalm 2:7-10 -- "You are my Son . . . I will make the nations your inheritance"
- Psalm 7:7-8 -- "Let the Lord judge the peoples"
- Psalm 8:9 -- "How majestic is your name in all the earth!"
- Psalm 18:49 -- "I will praise you among the nations"
- Psalm 22:26-28 -- "all the families of the nations will bow down"
- Psalm 19:1-4 -- "their words to the ends of the world"
- Psalm 22:27 -- "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord"
- Psalm 24 -- "The earth is the Lord's"
- Psalm 33 -- "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"
- Psalm 45:17 -- "The nations will praise you for ever and ever"
- Psalm 46:10 -- "I will be exalted among the nations"
- Psalm 47 -- "God reigns over the nations"
- Psalm 48:10 -- "Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth"
- Psalm 49:1 -- "Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world"
- Psalm 50 -- "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets"
- Psalm 57 -- "I will sing of you among the peoples"
- Psalm 59:13 -- "It will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob."
- Psalm 65:5-8 -- "the hope of all the ends of the earth . . . where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy"
- Psalm 66 -- "All the earth bows down to you . . . Praise our God, O peoples"
- Psalm 67 -- "your salvation among all peoples"
- Psalm 68:32 -- "Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth"
- Psalm 72 -- "all nations will serve him"
- Psalm 72:9 -- "the desert tribes will bow before him"
- Psalm 72:17, 19 -- "All nations will be blessed through him . . . May the whole earth be filled with his glory"
- Psalm 77:14 -- "you display your power among the peoples"
- Psalm 82 -- "all the nations are your inheritance"
- Psalm 83:18 -- "You alone are the Most High over all the earth."
- Psalm 86:8-13 -- all nations will come and worship
- Psalm 87 -- the register of the peoples
- Psalm 96 -- "sing to the Lord, all the earth . . . Declare his glory among the nations"
- Psalm 97 -- "The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice"
- Psalm 98:3 -- "All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God."
- Psalm 98:9 -- "He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity."
- Psalm 99:1-3 -- "He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name"
- Psalm 102:15 -- "The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory."
- Psalm 102:22 -- "when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord"
- Psalm 105:1 -- "make known among the nations what He has done"
- Psalm 106:8 -- reason for dividing the Red Sea
- Psalm 108:3 -- "I will sing of you among the peoples"
- Psalm 108:5 -- "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth."
- Psalm 110:6 -- "He will judge the nations,"
- Psalm 113:3 -- "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised"
- Psalm 117 -- "Praise the Lord, all you nations"
- Psalm 126 -- "it was said among the nations"
- Psalm 135 -- "our Lord is greater than all gods"
- Psalm 138:4 -- "may all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord"
- Isaiah 2:3 -- "Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.
- Isaiah 6:3 -- "They were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'"
- Isaiah 11:9 -- "fill the earth with the knowledge of the Lord"
- Isaiah 11:10 -- "in that day a Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples, the nations . . ."
- Isaiah 12:4 -- "Make known among the nations what He has done"
- Isaiah 24:16 -- "From the ends of the earth we hear singing: Glory to the Righteous One.'"
- Isaiah 25:6 -- "the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples"
- Isaiah 42:4 -- "in His law the islands will put their hope"
- Isaiah 42:6 -- "I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles."
- Isaiah 34:1 -- "Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples!"
- Isaiah 37:16 -- "O Lord Almighty . . . , you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth."
- Isaiah 42:4 -- "He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."
- Isaiah 43:6 -- "I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'"
- Isaiah 45:6 -- "from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting men may know there is none besides me."
- Isaiah 45:22 -- "Turn to me . . . all you ends of the earth"
- Isaiah 49:1-6 -- "I will make you a light for the Gentiles"
- Isaiah 49:22 -- "The Sovereign Lord says: "See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples."
- Isaiah 52:10 -- "The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God."
- Isaiah 56:7 -- "my house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations"
- Isaiah 59:19 -- "From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere His glory."
- Isaiah 60:3 -- "Nations will come to your light"
- Isaiah 62:11 -- "The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth"
- Isaiah 66:19 -- "They will proclaim my glory among the nations"
- Jeremiah 3:17 -- "All nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord"
- Jeremiah 16:19 To you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good."
- Ezekiel 36:22-23 -- "The nations will know I am the Lord"
- Daniel 2:47; 4:1-2; 6:25 -- "Surely your God is the God of gods"
- Daniel 7:13, 14 -- "all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him"
- Jonah's story -- the missionary book of the Old Testament [ e-book on Jonah ]
- Micah 1:2 -- "Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it."
- Micah 4:2 -- "Many nations will come"
- Micah 5:4 -- "His greatness will reach to the ends of the earth."
- Habbakuk 2:14 -- "The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the water cover the sea"
- Zephaniah 2:11 -- "Nations on every shore will worship him"
- Zephaniah 3:9 -- "Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord."
- Haggai 2:7 -- "Desire of all nations"
Zechariah 2:11 -- "Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people"
- Zechariah 8:20-23 -- "Many peoples and inhabitants of many cities will come"
- Zechariah 9:10 -- "He will proclaim peace to the nations"
- Zechariah 14:9 -- "The Lord will be king over the whole earth."
- Malachi 1:10-11 -- "My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun"
New Testament and missions
- Matthew 4:8-11 -- Temptation of Jesus
- Matthew 6:9-10 -- The Lord's prayer
- Matthew 10:18 -- "On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles."
- Matthew 13 (Ezekiel 17:23) -- parables of sower, weeds, mustard seed, fishing net
- Matthew 24:14 -- the gospel will be preached in the whole world
- Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15 - The Great Commission (which many say is a re-statement of God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12) [ Rev. Susan Fitkin's reflection on the passage ]
- Mark 11:17 (Isaiah 56:7) -- a house of prayer for all nations
- Mark 13:10 -- "the gospel must first be preached to all nations"
- Mark 16:15 (see Matthew 28:19-20)
- Luke 2:32 -- "a light for revelation to the Gentiles"
- Luke 10:2 -- "harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few"
- Luke 10:27 -- "love your neighbor as yourself"
- John 3:16 [ text of verse ]
- John 12:32 -- "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."
- John 21:4-14 -- some Biblical commentators have said the 153 fish equals the number of all the tribes and nations which the ancients thought existed on earth
- Acts 1:8; 2:5-12 13:47 (Isaiah 49:6) -- witnesses in all the earth
- Acts 3:25 -- "He said to Abraham, Through your offspring, all peoples on earth will be blessed.'"
- Acts 9:15 "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings."
- Acts 11:18 -- "They praised God, saying, So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.'"
- Acts 13:47 -- "I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 49:6)
- Acts 14:27 -- "They reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles."
- Acts 28:28 -- "Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"
- Romans 1:5 -- "We received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to obedience."
- Romans 3:29 -- "Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too."
- Romans 10:12-15 -- "How can they hear?"
- Romans 15:10 "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." (Deuteronomy 32:43]
- Romans 15:11 "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples." (Psalm 117:1)
- Romans 16:26 -- So that all nations might believe
- 2 Corinthians 4:15 -- "grace that is reaching more and more people"
- Galatians 3:8 -- "The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: All nations will be blessed through you.'" (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18)
- Galatians 3:14 -- "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles."
- Ephesians 1:10 -- "To bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ."
- Ephesians 2:11-19 -- "you are no longer foreigners and aliens"
- Philippians 2:10 -- Every knee shall bow
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16 -- "to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved"
- Hebrews 6:13-14 -- God's promise to Abraham
- 2 Peter 3:9, 12 -- "not wanting anyone to perish"
- 1 John 2:2 -- "He is the atoning sacrifice . . . for the sins of the whole world"
- Revelation 5:9 -- "you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation"
- Revelation 7:9 -- Every tribe, tongue, people and nation
- Revelation 14:6 -- "The angel had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth -- to every nation, tribe, language and people."
- Revelation 15:4 -- "all nations will come and worship before you"
- Revelation 21:23-24 -- "The Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light"
Into whatever groups we divide humanity -- races, nations, languages, cultures -- it is clear that God loves all of them and wants people from all those groupings to be reconciled to Him.
"The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" -- Luke 10:2 (New King James Version)
