Generally there are two opinions regarding the interpretation of this phrase. Some commentators hold that the emphasis on the apostle Paul reaching Rome (Acts 19:21; Acts 23:11; Acts 25:1 – 28:31) suggests that the end of the earth is connected with this event.1 However, others believe that it refers to the farthest reaches of the inhabited world known at the time.2
This would be the regions of Scythia in the North, Gaul and Spain in the West, India and China in the East, and Ethiopia in the South. If the phrase is an allusion to Isaiah 49:6, then the end of Acts with Paul in Rome (Acts 28:31) is not the fulfillment of the apostolic task but just a new starting point for further proclamation.3
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”