LIVING ORACLES-1 “The End Is Near”
1 Pet. 4:7 The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
1 Pet. 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
1 Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
1 Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1 Pet. 4:11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,
When Peter announces that the end of all things is near he surely does not foresee the passing of two millenniums during this end-time period. However it’s fairly common to mistake Peter’s pronouncement as the issuing of a divine timetable. It’s typical to react to this verse with a kind of lock-the-doors-and-wait-it-out mentality. But Peter was referring to the fact that in the resurrection of Christ and subsequent outpouring of the Spirit, God had completed the release of all provisions man would ever need to come back into right relationship with Him. There was no more development to look for in bringing man back to God. Heaven had fully deployed its treasure in Jesus, and the next great event would be the end of sin’s reign with the full manifestation of Jesus’ kingdom on Earth.
Peter declared that Earth had entered its final period before full restoration. A state of grace now exists as man has been handed ALL that he needs to come into sonship with the Father. Think about it: the door is open, the Holy Spirit is here, the way has been paid and sin’s obstacles cleared. All excuses have become cancelled as the Father has unleashed every necessary bounty and benefit for the lost to be recovered. There has not been one significant operational addition made to earth from Heaven, since the resurrection of Jesus. Not one has been needed, for all things have been given in Christ!
Rom. 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
2 Pet. 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Col. 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
You can’t name one necessity that the Father has not already given to the Earth, in His Son Jesus. God is no longer hidden, He’s revealed. His will is no longer a mystery, it’s clearly known. And all this, God has done without wiping out His opposition! God has presented Himself without eliminating His enemy, so that man might make a clear and distinct choice. In this period of grace the introduction Of God’s kingdom is not the integration of God’s kingdom with that of fallen man. The Earth is currently home to two incompatible kingdoms: that of Christ and the defeated kingdom of darkness.
Peter’s announcement compels Christians to understand all this and adjust to living victoriously against the opposition. Because we have entered this place in time, he encapsulates the simple elements for a victorious Christian and a successful church in his text:
Prayer
Fervent Love
Hospitality
Spiritual Gifts
Divine Utterance
And he places these ingredients into a very definite focus. The whole aim for the successful believer is to glorify Jesus Christ. God has put every necessity at our disposal to give what is due Him, to whom all glory belongs.
“ so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Stay On The Path!