Christians, Was the Gospel Preached to All Nations at Pauls Time?

Here are passages that indicate perhaps so:





from the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul became a minister" (Colossians 1:23)





"...My gospel... has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations..." (Romans 16:25-26)





So my question is: Do you view this as meaning the gospel preached at this point already to ALL nations? Or is Paul referring to something else?





How do you interpret this?|||Perhaps it meant all **known** nations at that time.|||Didn't Jesus tell him not to go to the orient and preach there?|||Not everybody was born at that 'time' so we are STILL preaching to the 'nations' he was referring to in the first place!!|||Back then there wasn't but so many nations. The remainder of the world hast not yet been discovered so I'd say "yes" or at least to most of them nations around that time.|||I believe this is talking about the gospel and prophecies that were preached to everyone about the coming of Jesus. I think all nations knew of God and were familiar with the scriptures of the coming Messiah. Our commission now is to preach that those prophecies have been fulfilled in Jesus.|||During the time of Paul, had some of the disciples yet reached North and South America and Australia? I think not.