“But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7).
As our world spirals into decadence and blatant Satanism, many people are wondering if we are in the last days. We see wickedness like never before in our lifetime, including:
The celebration of Satanic rituals on stage at the 2023 Grammies;
Drag queen story hour pop-ups across the country;
Egregious laws promoting wickedness and marginalizing Christianity;
Historical statues replaced with Baphomet or other demonic entities; and
Fear, uncertainty, misinformation, censoring of the truth, loss of our God-given freedoms, and so much more.
It’s as though Satan has been unleashed at a major scale to wreak havoc on our nation and the world without restraint.
The End of the World as We Know It
Are we finally seeing the end-time events that will lead to the “rapture” of the church and the Return of Christ?
There are numerous Old and New Testament prophecies that give us clues. Of course, no one knows the day or hour.
But we can’t deny that we’re seeing earthquakes, wars and rumors of wars, signs in the sky, lack of love, and an increase in hatred — all the things we’ve been taught would proceed the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But . . . wait.
Can we just back up a bit and put a little historical perspective on the Bible and 1 Peter 4:7?
Do We Even Know What We’re Talking About?
FYI: I believe the Book is 100% reliable, the Word of God, and the final say in all matters of life and godliness. The Bible is truth. But . . . we cannot ignore the fact that Peter wrote his two epistles 2000 years ago. So we have to ask: “Was the end of all things REALLY ‘at hand’ 2000 years ago?” Or was Peter foretelling an event that was meant for our generation?
I think it’s both — but in the words of Inigo Montoya, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
What word? The end.
Not So Fast. Not So Fast!
Peter clearly said the end of all things was at hand. But does that mean he was talking about the end of the world? If so, he’d be a liar at worst and a spreader of misinformation at best. Why? Because the earth is still here 2000 years later. It is a certainty that “at hand” does not mean 2000 years in the future.
ἐγγίζω engízō, eng-id'-zo; from G1451; to make near, i.e. (reflexively) approach:—approach, be at hand, come (draw) near, be (come, draw) nigh.
This word is used to describe something that is very near or soon to happen. Not something that’s going to happen in two millennia.
Here are some other usages of engízō in the Bible.
Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven was “at hand” and it was — in His day. He paid for the Kingdom on the cross; received the Kingdom at his exaltation; empowered the Kingdom at Pentecost; and established the Kingdom at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. We are not waiting 2000 years for the Kingdom. We are in it now (Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:9), though we are working to see its full manifestation (Matthew 6:10) at a future date.
When Jesus was in the Garden praying, He rose up and said to His disciples: “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is “at hand,” and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.” The encounter with Judas was very soon after Jesus spoke the words — not 2000 years later.
When Paul neared execution, he wrote to Timothy, saying, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is “at hand.” Paul was not going to be on death row for 2000 years. His death was imminent — when he wrote his letter.
However, it’s equally true that Peter would not use the phrase “the end of all things” if something very significant was not about to happen — unless he was telling another whopper. So what was Peter referring to when he wrote, “The end of all things is at hand”?
The End of What?
I believe the immediate context unequivocally refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Temple system, and the gathering together of the citizens of New Jerusalem and the New Temple. “Behold, I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
With the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, “all things” would end — to enable the church of Christ to grow without the dead, done-away-with Temple System and those hypocrites that would “travel land and sea to win one proselyte and …make him twice as much a son of hell” (Matthew 23:15).
Matthew Henry concurs. Commenting on 1 Peter 4:7, he writes, “We have here an awful position or doctrine, and an inference drawn from it. The position is that the end of all things is at hand. The miserable destruction of the Jewish church and nation foretold by our Saviour is now very near.”
And it was. “1 Peter was written in late AD 65.”1
Can You Feel the Anticipation?
The New Testament bursts with anticipation of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem and the current world power structure. When God judges men and nations, the Bible uses words like “coming” to demonstrate that He is going to judge (1 Chronicles 16:33; Psalm 96:13; Psalm 98:9, etc.). Often, these judgments are associated with clouds (Ezekiel 30:3; Isaiah 19:1; Jeremiah 4:12-14; etc.).
Contrary to current consensus, not all references to the coming of Christ refer to His final return. This was once well-understood by Christian theologians and commentators. However, modern Christianity has become fixated with a very new doctrine called Dispensationalism which turns the Word of God upside down, slices it in two, and deceives people into thinking that Satan is the ruler of this world and wins down here.
If you still believe Satan is the ruler of this world, please read Is AntiChrist Alive and Well? and learn the words to Christ Reigns as King of the World.
Many of the verses which refer to the coming of Christ and the coming of the Son of Man are spoken while Christ, the Son of Man, is still on earth. This coming of Christ is said to be “soon” “at hand” “near” “at the door” — atheist Bertrand Russel said these verses were absolute proof that the Bible wasn’t true because Jesus “certainly thought that his second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at that time. There are a great many texts that prove that.”2
Coming Judgment not Second Coming
Jesus never said that His “Second Coming” or His “Return” was “at hand” “near” “at the door” — rather, Jesus was talking about a judgment “coming” upon Jerusalem when He prophesied:
“Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Mark 13:2).
“On you [Scribes and Pharisees, and hypocrites] may [will] come all the righteous blood shed on the earth….See! Your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:35,38).
“The blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation” (Luke 11:50-51).
Jesus testified that all those things would come upon that generation — the generation alive while Christ was on earth in the flesh walking and talking to real people. And it did come upon that generation — the generation living when Christ prophesied — just as He promised. Plus, Jesus warned His people to be watchful, saying, “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it [the destruction of Jerusalem] is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation [the one He was speaking to — not some imaginary “fig tree” generation] will by no means pass away till all these things take place. This warning is just like Peter’s warning in our passage: “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7).
Additional Proof Berean-Style
You may wonder why I am so confident that Peter, Jesus, and other New Testament writers were NOT talking about the Final Return of Christ in these urgent passages, so I will offer additional proof besides the time indicators already mentioned that establish these events as near, not off into an unknown future date — and would come upon the generation listening to Jesus.
There were many Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of the Kingdom that needed to be fulfilled before Christ could physically return to earth, including the conquering of all Christ’s foes in time and space before His Return (Psalm 110:1; Acts 3:21, I Corinthians 15:24-26; Hebrews 10:12-13). Nearly every writer in the New Testament discusses the topic of Christ ruling NOW from heaven until His enemies are destroyed as promised in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament is a book of victory. Almost every passage talking about the Kingdom and the New Heavens and New Earth are connected with Christ’s First Advent, not His Second.
For example, Isaiah 9:6-7 says:
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
The first part of this verse has been fulfilled: The God Child was born. Yet, notice that the second part of the verse is in PROCESS of being fulfilled from Christ’s birth and onward. And lest we think man can mess up God’s plans to bring an increase of justice and righteousness to the earth — God promises that the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish it.
A Zealous and Jealous God
We are seeing God’s zeal play out before our eyes. The Christian church has blown it down here once again, handing over the Kingdom to Anti-Christ instead of claiming the crown rights of Christ over every sphere. Read more about that here: Is Anti-Christ Alive and Well?
“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow” (1 Peter 1:10-11).
What glories? All the promises of God are Yes and Amen in Christ.
Isaiah 9:6-7 is merely one passage among MANY that tell of the glories that will appear because of Christ’s First Advent. Read about the present blessings we have in Christ here.
Shortly before his execution, Paul wrote to Timothy, saying:
But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Which Scripture Was That, Exactly?
What Scripture did Timothy have as a child to make him wise unto salvation? He had the Old Testament — for the New Testament was still being written.
Jesus said it this way (quoting Deuteronomy 8:3), “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
If we look merely to the New Testament to understand the Kingdom of Christ, we can be led to believe all we have to expect is doom and gloom. And indeed, doom and gloom were “at hand” for those living 2000 years ago. However, if we read the Book the way it was intended — as one cohesive book from cover to cover — we can be sure that God wins down here.
Yes, there will be times of doom and gloom again. We are living in such a time. But the Old Testament (and New alike) provides us the promise that we will see HOPE at the end.
“For whatever things were written before [Old Testament Scriptures] were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
To be “Berean,” we must study and believe the entire book. The Old Testament is our foundation. Praise to God.
What Can We Infer About the Passage?
Is the end of all things at hand?
Earlier, I mentioned that 1 Peter 4:7 had application to our present generation. Matthew Henry draws the same “inference” from the passage.
We are living in times that closely mimic the events preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, the fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, and the flood in the days of Noah — we cannot but conclude that God is in the process of a “coming” judgment upon the earth.
Will this judgment end history? No. It is impossible. There are too many prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled before Christ returns to receive His spotless bride. However, we should expect to see some major shaking of the cosmos until the people of earth repent, especially Christians.
If we do not repent, I suspect many will perish. It’s happening already. May God have mercy on His elect!
I highly recommend Dr. Phillip Kayser’s series on Revelation. It has opened my eyes to what’s happening in the world since 2020 and before and beyond. His series is worth binge-listening to. It is life-changing. Stop everything else and go through it today.
And never forget the Cross of Christ means VICTORY for planet earth. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish it.
Do you believe?
https://kaysercommentary.com/Sermons/BibleSurvey/57%201%20Peter.md