CONSIDERING THE END -- Monday:
"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." (1 Peter 4:7
The Holy Spirit employs a vocabulary conducive to watchfulness, faithfulness, and readiness. If you will "hear what the Spirit saith to the churches," He will leave you looking toward the future – "THE END." His analysis of the past always fortifies the need to prepare for the future. His probing of the present is in order that men may cultivate their souls for the future. Take away the future, and there is no reason for the past, or point to the present. It is what is coming that validates and gives meaning to the past and present! As the Spirit declares, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1 Cor 15:19).
A common expression. The expression "the end" is a common one in the Word of God. It not only represents an appointed time, but is a focus of revelation. Whatever subject or circumstance is being addressed, Scripture always speaks in view of "the end."
NOAH'S DAY. A prelude to this emphasis was seen in Noah's day. God revealed to this holy man, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh . . . " NRSV (Gen 6:13). There was going to be an abrupt termination to things as they were; they would be brought to a grinding halt.
ISRAEL'S BONDAGE. The consummation of Israel's bondage in Egypt was also referred to as an "end." "At the end of four hundred thirty years, on that very day, all the companies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt" NRSV (Ex 12:41). In these cases, a conclusion of one era occurred, as well as the beginning of another. That is the way God works. What is more, what follows the conclusion is always "better" for those accepted by God – ALWAYS!
THE PSALMIST. The Psalmist was motivated by a consideration of "the end." "Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end . . . My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end" (Psa 33:33,112).
THE PROPHETS. The prophets often announced the conclusion of God's tolerance of wickedness in His people. One of the most telling expressions of this Divine reaction is iterated by the prophet Ezekiel. "Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. The end is now upon you and I will unleash my anger against you. The end has come! The end has come! It has roused itself against you. It has come!" NIV (Ezek 7:2-3a, 6). The Lord told Daniel the words of his book were "closed up and sealed until the time of the end" NIV (Dan 12:9). He also told the prophet he would be advantaged at "the end." "As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance" (Dan 12:13, NIV). The Divine manner is seen in these statements.
THE LORD JESUS. Jesus spoke of "the end" repeatedly, uprooting men from the distractions of the present, and tearing them away from unlawfully clinging to the past. His words are as salient today as they were then. We will find it to our eternal advantage to give heed to them. "But the one who endures to the end will be saved . . . the harvest is the end of the world . . . so shall it be in the end of this world . . . and then shall the end come . . . lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world . . . but the end will not come right away." NIV (Matt 10:32b; 13:39,40; 14:14; 28:20; Luke 21:9). You cannot listen long to Jesus without becoming aware of "THE END."
THE APOSTLES. The Apostles also spoke with "the end" in perspective, a view all too often absent from contemporary preaching. "He will also strengthen you to the end . . . Then comes the end . . . if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end . . . if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end . . . show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end . . . Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end . . . To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end" NIV (1 Cor 1:8; 15:24; Heb 3:6, 14; 6:11; 1 Pet 1:13; Rev 2:26).
THE POSTURE OF FAITH. Faith, by its very nature, anticipates an end – a conclusion. There is an appointed "END" to persecutions and sufferings. The conflict with sin will end. Our earthly probation and orientation for glory will conclude. Confinement to seeing "through a glass darkly" will terminate, and we will "know as we are known." Were it not for the anticipation of "the end," life would become intolerable, and we would "faint" from spiritual exhaustion. Almost without exception, those who despair of life have failed to contemplate "the end" – the eternal destiny to which they have been appointed by the grace of God. Good teaching is delivered with "the end" in perspective. The godly teacher will not drape the cloth of temporality over his teaching. He will preach and teach with eternity in view, thereby giving his listeners the advantage.
A theology that does not leave men with an acute awareness of "the end" cannot be from God! When individuals are left anchored to this world and focusing on life in the body, they have been greatly handicapped. It is tragic that such results are often produced in the name of the Lord. The role of spiritual leaders is to prepare men for "the end," which is inevitable. This does involve the past and present, but they are always subordinate matters.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that, for Your children, everything connected with the curse will finally end, while true life shall continue on.