But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 1 Peter 4:7
Most biblical scholars estimate that Peter wrote his first epistle during or near the year AD 60. That makes it more than 19 and a half centuries ago! So was Peter wrong to say that the end of all things is at hand? If you are reading this, it is obvious that the end of all things has not occurred. No, Peter wrote this statement under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so he could not possibly be wrong. So we have to determine what Peter – and the Holy Spirit – meant with such a reminder of an imminent end of all things related to time and sense. This is important because, until the end comes, we are to be sober and watchful unto prayer.
First, let us look at the eternal perspective. Eternity’s unending passage of that which transcends time is not something that you and I can understand. We are so accustomed to clocks and calendars that we can’t imagine any other medium of existence. All we know is that eternity is without beginning nor end. And when we place the 19 and a half centuries since our text was penned against the scale of eternity, we can see that the end of all the things we know and see is at hand. In fact, we can see that the centuries are very short and fleeting. It may seem long to us, but to the God of eternity, the end is at hand.
Next, let us look at the personal perspective. As we grow older, we can relate to Jacob’s observation when he was 130 years old, ‘Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been’ (Genesis 47:9). During his lifetime, Jacob, like his father and grandfather, obtained great wealth and possessions. But they took none of those possessions with them, neither into the cave of Machpelah where they were buried nor into the next life where their spirits dwell. Just as the end of all things came to them, so will the end of all things come for us. ‘For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.’ (1 Timothy 6:7).
And finally, let us look at the prospective perspective. It is this perspective that enables us to view all of the things around us with a willingness to let them go. You may remember the story of a canvasser who was urging an old miser to make a donation, saying ‘You can’t take it with you’. To which the miser replied, ‘Then I ain’t going!’. What the miser failed to realize is that, for the Christian, nothing we have here is worth anything compared to what awaits us in the Glory. Even the gold that we have here would fail the grade for paving stones in Heaven. And earth’s diamonds and pearls are too tiny and inferior to be considered for Heaven’s gates. So the end of all things here will mean the beginning of better things there. And for us, the end of all things here occurs as soon as we hear our Lord’s shout calling us home.
The end of all things is at hand. What will be disaster for the unredeemed will be Glory for you and me. – Jim MacIntosh