This study is from an on going online Daily Bible Study at:
DailyBibleStudy.Org | Daily Bible Study Index Page | Daily Bible Study Online E-Book Library
1 Peter 4:7
7 But [de] the end [telos] of all things [pas] is at hand [eggizo]: be ye [sophroneo] therefore [oun] sober [sophroneo], and [kai] watch [nepho] unto [eis] prayer [proseuche]. KJV-Interlinear
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. NASB
The, ‘end of all things,’ carries two meanings. The first is the generally accepted meaning, which refers to the end of the dispensation of our Church Age. This is commonly called the end of the world, as well.
The second meaning is the end of your own personal life here in this world.
Both meanings apply here.
Unless you are very old, then even the day and hour of your death is not known, but everyone knows that you are on the plank, and walking ever so slowly to its edge.
But for most of us, the date of our death is an unknown. Most of us will live to beat the old age averages. Some will be caught by surprise in some accident, or by some physical ailment, etc., and leave this world sooner than expected.
And as for the end of the world, Jesus said it best.
Matt. 24:36-39
36 ‘But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37 ‘For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 ‘For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. NASB
The deity of Christ, knows the date and hour, but the humanity of Jesus, does not know the fixed and certain date, that has been set by God the Father, in His divine decrees.
In Peter’s day, before Jesus revealed our current dispensation, the common knowledge of the end times was that:
the Messiah would come into the world at the end of the age of Israel,
that He would secure salvation,
that the Tribulation of seven years (Satan’s last rebellion) would occur,
and then Christ would promptly establish His Kingdom (which is the Millennium or one-thousand years of His rule),
followed by the final judgments and the eternal state.
What was hidden from the Old Testament, was the existence of out current dispensation, which is called the Church Age. Our dispensation was inserted into history and it interrupted the dispensation of the Age of Israel.
That dispensation (the Age of Israel) has seven years remaining in it. Those seven years have been postponed until after our dispensation is completed.
Our dispensation will end with the Rapture.
And just as the days of Noah were ignored as people kept on having parties, weddings and such as their final judgment was approaching, so too, in our current dispensation, the general population of the world will not take note of the many signs of the approaching judgment of the Tribulation.
We do not know the year, day, or hour of the Rapture, but it is really not relevant to our spiritual life.
We are supposed to live our life, in doctrine, growing in grace and spiritual preparation as though each day is going to be our last day here.
The Rapture could occur tomorrow, or it could occur a century from now. Your life could end tomorrow, or you could live for many more decades. In either case, the day of your final breath is irrelevant. What is relevant is whether you will be prepared for your eventual and certain evaluation before Christ.
Your preparation comes from your daily study of the Word for God, and your subsequent advance toward spiritual maturity. That is your priority and objective in life.
The signs that we are nearing the end, is as long as your arm. But, remember that all of those signs are mentioned in the Bible as trends, not specific events (increase in numbers of nations, increase in earthquakes, increase in apostasy, etc., etc., etc.). Most of these trends will occur over several generations, and therefore the date of the Rapture can never be specifically known.
Personally, I don’t think that the Rapture will occur until after the world population has grown to enormous numbers, perhaps fifty or a hundred billion of people, as opposed to the current population of seven billion. If that is correct, then the Rapture will not occur for a century or more. But then this is only a guess. None of us really knows, nor will we ever know.
But one thing is certain, and that is that the world will not have a nation upholding the banner of Christian principles, when the end finally does arrive. And we have seen movement to very anti-Christian philosophies in our own country and throughout the world, just in our own current generation.
Things were bad in the world when Noah was given his instructions, and then he had only a hundred and twenty additional years remaining before judgment. I would just bet that history will move a bit faster in our day, but then who knows!
All that this means is that there will be an end, of your life or of history, and that you will stand before the Lord perhaps sooner than you think. Will you be ready? Or, will you ignore all of this and continue in your ‘I’m doing all that I need to do,’ attitude, with no real sense of urgency for your own spiritual status.
