The Beginning

The End of All Things

Part 1

#178.05

"The end of all things is at hand..." (1 Peter 4:7).

From time to time quite a number of us have been puzzled by certain scriptures. One of those has been "The end of all things is at hand." The puzzle lies between this statement and knowing what the term "at hand" means; which is, near, very soon, close by, the hour is upon us, etc. Peter said that the end was at hand, and discounting technology and living conditions in many parts of the world, there has not been much of a change with things since those words were written nearly two thousand years ago. With this type of contradiction, we cannot help questioning the apostle's claim. If what he said was true, then why have we not seen the end of all things? How can we reconcile verses like this with what we see? Namely, man's rule has not ended. Tyranny and worldwide oppression are still with us. Sin, sickness, suffering, and death have not ended. Fragmented humanity has not ended. Creation is still shattered like a broken crystal. And the first Adam has not come to a full end. Therefore, with the evidence presented, are we at liberty to contend with the apostle's voice of authority and say all things have not ended? Perhaps so, but before we do, let us look a little further into the matter.

In the Beginning all things were a corporate whole, complete, and unfragmented; but that was not God's end purpose. There had to be a manifestation of the whole, and from the initial fragmentation, there has been a processing toward that goal, which is realized in -- the End. It all originated in the Beginning, it all came out of the Beginning (it all became fragmented from what it was in the Beginning), and it all has been progressing toward the End, back to the Beginning! Therefore, since the Beginning, Jesus Christ, is at hand in you and me and in all the world, the End of all things is truly at hand! It was at hand when Peter made that statement, and it is at hand today; for wherever the Lord of Life is, the End is at hand.

We have wondered about similar statements as well, such as, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God..." (2 Cor. 5:17-18). What do we think about this? Have all the old things really passed away and become new? And are all things of God? Again, how can we reconcile verses like this with what we see? It has not been easy, to say the least, and since neither of these scenarios have taken place, at least from outward appearances, they are often said to be speaking of spiritual things.

I am sure we have a general grasp of what is being said; but for clarity's sake we may need to take in hand our grammatical shovels and add to our comprehension concerning these sometimes hard to understand verses. It is not always an easy task to translate from the Greek to another language and get the full meaning; but we will note some things that will help. The tense of the verbs -- are passed away and are become new -- is in the indicative, aorist, active. With this we will amplify these verses in order to convey more accurately what the Greek reflects:

"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things HAVE passed, ARE passing, and SHALL CONTINUE to pass away; behold all things HAVE become, ARE becoming, and SHALL CONTINUE to become new. And all these NEW THINGS are of God." You see, there is a transition, inner working, progressive action of the old things passing away, as well as a transition, inner working, progressive action of the new things coming into place. This shows a little of what the aorist voice is. It is action in the simplest form. It is undefined and does not distinguish between complete or incomplete action. Therefore, if the aorist action is indistinguishable, we cannot say that all the old things have passed away, or that all things have become new. That is why the translators said are passed away, and are become new. Such is not a totally accurate way of translating it; but it is as close as the English language affords.

Of course, it is all the NEW THINGS that are of God. The sweet blossoms of life are the things of God, not the degradations of death. We should not ascribe every jot and tittle of corruption being an anointed act of God. He is certainly responsible for all things; for it was God who took the woman from the man, fragmented the whole, separated the dove from the serpent and left her weak and prone to temptation. He also made man subject to vanity, not willingly on man's part, but by God who subjected him because of a greater thing than what he was before the fragmentation; but He is not the author of all things. If he was, it would be the Spirit of holiness that would be instigating every conceivable thing that the lust and greed of man's carnal mind might conjure up. Not by any means are those things of God; but rather, they are of man while under the influence of the fragmented traducer, commonly known as the devil. Moreover, the context makes it clear what things are of God. They are the NEW THINGS! Many Greek scholars, and most of the Bible translations, also render the verse as the new things. Only five out of the sixteen various Bible translations I have checked in my own library render it as the KJV has it. The others unanimously say that it is the NEW THINGS that are of God.

Indeed, these new things are of God, and no other. He is the only power in heaven or earth that can make the old new, the dead alive, the unlovely lovely. None of the things of our old life will ever be conquered except by the power of Christ. The new things dethrone and take the place of the old. It is the same vein of thought we find in Revelation 21:5 "...Behold, I make all things new." The Greek tense is the indicative (it is done), present, active of, "Behold, I have made and I am making all things new." It is the process of the past and present with the old becoming new, and this process will continue working in us until all things are made new in and by Him -- the End of all things.

There is an key point that we should understand. Although God creates both darkness and evil, there is no darkness or evil in Him at all. For "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5.

We can use a child's father as an example. He may bring a foreboding darkness upon his son's rebellious heart and soul as he swings his evil rod of correction upon his hinder-parts; but the father's act stems from love and understanding. Although the father brings momentary evil upon his son, he is not evil, but good! And it is the same with God. The evil rod of correction, the dark power of death and corruption, the devil of man's carnal mind is in the hand of God to say go or stay -- but there is no darkness, death, or corruption in Him whatsoever.

Understanding is a great virtue to possess as we walk this pathway of sonship. To know that He permits, even directs, evil to invade our lives helps a great deal. With understanding we will not cast such a servile shadow upon God by thinking He sits high upon His throne and simply lets things happen. It is neither by chance, human design, nor that of evil forces which bring evil into our lives, even though they are all instruments of evil.

Let us keep it always in the forefront of our minds that there is no evil force, source, say, or sway that has free will upon our lives. When the travesties of life sweep over us, it is made possible only by God, such as it was with Job. No power can circumvent His purpose in our lives, and we should know by now that although he delights in our good health, family well-being, and prosperity, there are times when those good things become evil. That is, they can hinder our development. When they do, He may touch our comforts of life, and His bountiful supply of opposition will be called evil.

There must also be opposition in our lives to ever expect to gain strength enough to endure all things to the End. Without it we would remain as weak as a lamb and unaggressive as a dove; but with the ongoing opposition, coupled with the indwelling Spirit of Christ, the reverse becomes our lot in life; namely, the lion is fused with the lamb, the serpent with the dove, and we become powerfully meek. The point is, it takes the heat of the race for this to take place. An old couch potato, for instance, who knows all there is to know about track from watching sports on TV will never be expected to jump up and run a twenty-six mile marathon race. He wouldn't last much more than twenty-six yards before doubling over with side-cramps, much less twenty-six miles. Before he could perform such a trying feat, he would have to be subjected to the evil opposition of daily training for painfully long periods of time, and so it goes with the elected sons of God who are pressing on to be overcomers.

We should never think it strange when all hell is breaking loose in our lives; for that evil is for good. Once it has worked God's eternal purpose -- weakness is swallowed by strength, cowardice is overtaken by valor, faith overshadows unbelief, theology loses ground to reality, winking the eye at sin is routed out by godly vengeance, the short-sword of destruction is replaced by the three-fold cord of construction, the crushing fist opens as love consumes hatred, and the temporal is swallowed by the eternal. Truly, beloved -- In Christ and through hell is the end of all things, and it is still at hand!

God has a glorious purpose, and every opposing force in our lives works toward that purpose. It is part of the process and it is all working together for our good. Without it we would remain as the first Adam in the Garden. We would be lacking in experience and character. We would be immature, unlearned, weak, and ignorant.

Let us know that we are eternal beings made subject to the academics of adversity. We are in the school of our lives, the university of hard knocks, the race of the ages, and every lesson in the baptism of fire helps to prepare us for eternity. Even so, we will still do anything in our power to remain in these dying bodies, to live one moment longer, to take one more mortal breath. There is something in us that longs to be free and ascend always into that which we truly are; but the pull of earth continues tugging at our heart's strings. If our minds are turned toward that eternal realm of life, we will hear the enlightening words of the late Sheldon Vanauken. In his book, A Severe Mercy, he wrote:

"If, indeed, we all have a kind of appetite for eternity, we have allowed ourselves to be caught up in a society that frustrates our longing at every turn. Half our inventions are advertised to save time -- the washing machine, the fast car, the jet flight -- but for what? Never were people more harried by time: by watches, by buzzers, by time clocks, by precise schedules...

"If we complain of time and take such joy in the seemingly timeless moment, what does that suggest? It suggests that we have not always been or will not always be purely temporal creatures. It suggests that we were created for eternity. Not only are we harried by time, we seem unable, despite a thousand generations, even to get used to it. We are always amazed at -- how fast it goes, how slowly it goes, how much of it is gone. We aren't adapted to it, nor at home in it. If that is so, it may appear as a proof, or at least a powerful suggestion, that eternity exists and is our home."

We certainly have a love/hate relationship with time, an element wherein we find ourselves embracing it with every fiber of our being, as if it is the only thing we have to cling to for existence, while our inmost being longs to go home where time is no more. We are caught between two worlds warring against one another. The eternal is warring to swallow the temporal, while the temporal is hell-bent on hanging on to our worn-out bodies forever. What a dichotomy! What a grave struggle for dominion between the two! On one hand Jesus said that if He was lifted up (on the cross) that He would draw all unto Himself, which would bring an end to all things carnal, while on the other hand, to this day Adam continues to say in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will be like the most High." This is the way of the fragmented man, he is self- inclined, self-motivated, self-built. To sum it up, he is the self-made god of this world, and he is out of balance. He is double minded and never comes to the knowledge of the truth which is at hand.

But praise God! The fragmentation of all things ends by overcoming the I will syndrome and living in His will. It is in and by Christ that we and the rest of the world are defragmented and made whole. It is in Him that every subtle, aggressive, ravenous beast is joined again to the ones that are gentle, harmless, and sacrificing. The simplicity of it is, every fragmented creature ends in Him, whether mellow or mean. It is a mandate! For they are held as firmly by the law of circularity as little red apples are held by gravity, and as soon as their grip weakens, they are pulled instantly to the source of the power. The law of circularity wins over, as it will with all things. It is a law that has a strong hold on everything, on each particle and fragment, and once they lose their resistant grip, the force of the higher law instantly pulls each one in its own order into the End. Until that becomes a fact, the process which is working in every man must finish its course.

On one hand, it is clear that the process continues, while on the other, we are left with questions concerning a number of verses that seem to say that things are already done, finished, accomplished, and made new. For example, "...God...calls those things which be not as though they were." Rom. 4:17 , and "...the works were finished from the foundation of the world. Heb. 4:3. To open slightly heaven's window of understanding, let us note an experience of an anointed vessel, one of those in the forefront of revelation today, our friend, Alyce McPherson:

"During the church age the ministry has declared Christ, but Christ will soon declare Himself! He will appear out of the midst of a people , sons of God who will be the voice or divine expression of their father.

"This appearing will be in perfection. A people will be seized. They will be caught up into His Spirit and will be forever one with Christ.

"I have been behind the veil. Christ Himself appeared out of the midst of me and totally seized me into a glory I have never experienced before. He came from the inside out and was in total control. I was inside Him and found myself experiencing a oneness with Christ Himself. I felt His great love and compassion for mankind and I saw all things finished in Him. Understand what I am saying ; all things are finished in Him! In the realm of spirit He has finished what He was sent to do. Now He has seated Himself in a position, high above all principality and power. This position will never be usurped by any other power for He has put all things under foot. He will come as a thief out from the midst of man, binding the strong man of the house and taking full control, as He catches man up into the glory behind the veil of our flesh. We will never again return to the beggarly elements of earth's consciousness for we will be enveloped with the mind of Christ.

"I did not stay there, but I was there. While I was there I was able to function in the realm of earth and accomplish the necessary things of life, but my mind was His mind, seated in the heavens. My whole being was bathed in pure love for His creation. There was no respect of persons in this place in Him.

"When I was released again to earth's consciousness, I asked Him why I could not stay. His answer was, "I took you behind the veil, so that you could spy out the land I'm taking you to, and now you are to bring back the report to creation."

"I knew why He was willing to give His life in the flesh and return as the seed of a quickening Spirit. It was to take up the greater glory of indwelling all mankind as the life principal of a new creation in the earth. A seed after His own planting. A people who would declare His generation. The glory of this appearing will never pass away nor be defiled by man. It is a place prepared in the midst of man himself. This place is the Christ in man and will soon emerge from the inside out and swallow up death in victory. A people will walk upon the earth with the mind of Christ in total control, putting down all rule and authority." -- End quote.

This total control is the End of all things not only in the body of Christ, but is the beginning of the end in all things of the earth. When all rule and authority ends in the presence of He who is the End, all rule and authority will likewise end in the Same. He is the Goal, the Godhead, the End, of all things whether they know it or not.

With the light being shed abroad in the hearts of simple-minded people like you and me, understanding dawns, and that light will continue to shine unto the perfect Day. As that light penetrates the darkness, we can wholeheartedly say amen to: the end of all things is at hand (1 Peter 4:7), now in the end of the world (Heb 9:26), and old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor. 5:17-18). We can now see that these statements are true and presently very relevant.

For instance, the end of the world does not speak of the earth burning to a crisp, or the world of humanity coming an end. The Greek word for WORLD in Hebrews 9:26 is the plural aionon, which means ages, eons, eras, periods of time. It is referring to the former ages and not the world of humanity or the earth where humanity lives. With the advent of Jesus, the crucifixion, ascension and His coming again at Pentecost -- the previous ages ended with everything that marked them as being distinct from all others. For example, the age of the Law was marked by the administration of the Law along with its rituals and sacrifices. That age prevailed during its designated time, as did the others that were allotted to them. Those worlds, or ages, were brought to an end by Jesus. He who is the End fulfilled and dissolved every shadow that pointed to Him. Moreover, on a personal level, the end of the world speaks of the end of the age, or ages of anyone who is one with the Lord. The old ages of the old man ends. Although the end of them all comes, the person does not cease to exist; but rather, the new life rises out of the old and lives anew in Christ. The old age of an individual dies and ends at the dawning of the new. I guess you could call it a New Age, and when that happens to people, would they be New Agers? Ha! We could have fun with that, but will refrain as we continue.

Let us notice a word in our text verse (1 Peter 4:7). The word is, end, and comes from the Greek telos which means: "to set out for a definite point or goal...the point aimed at as a limit, that is, the conclusion of an act or state...(termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically an impost or levy (as paid."

Jesus is both the Beginning and the End. As the Beginning He set out for a specific point a goal, which was the End. He had a definite point at which He aimed, and that point was the ultimate limit, the conclusion of the act of that which was in Him in the Beginning. The End is the termination of the Beginning, the result of what was in Him before it was put in the earth. The End is the purpose. It is the process fulfilled. The End is the bill paid in full. That which was levied against Him, the penalty for all sin, death, and hell of creation was paid in full. His death was the redeeming conclusion, the full price paid for the salvation of all. In His own blood He signed the document of release from prison for all who came out of Him from the Beginning! Because of His death, the power of His resurrection, and His eternal presence at hand, all things are being drawn, literally, dragged back to Him (John 12:32).

Jesus was at hand when Peter wrote, "The end of all things is at hand..." and He is still at hand. He will continue to be at hand as long as there is a soul in all creation to be saved. Jesus is the Beginning of the End of all things. In Him all things were created, in Him all things consist, and into Him all things are brought back. He paid the ultimate price, and every fragmented thing will end in its unfragmented goal, the goal which was firmly set a long time ago in Jesus -- the Beginning and End of all things!

To be continued.

Elwin R. Roach