The End is Near
One of the kindest, most gracious, revelations God can bring to you is this: the end is near.
It may strike you as strange at first, but one of the kindest, most gracious, revelations God can bring to a person is this: the end is near.
When we speak of the end, we speak of three:
The end of the age, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come…heaven and earth will pass away.” Matthew 24:14,35
The end of your life, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27-28
And the end of a thing, “Everything has its appointed hour, there is a time for all things under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3 (Moffat Translation)
The end resounds with finality and indeed it is as conclusive as it sounds. The end of all has been decided. The Lord has spoken, He has created, ordered, predestined, and established the ‘end from the beginning.’
“For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” Isaiah 46:9-10
He does not change and His words will be no means pass away. The end is inescapable and it is at hand.
So then, desire to see the end from the beginning?
If the end is near and inescapable, then can you not see the wisdom in desiring to see it revealed, in other words, to live in light of it?
This desire for a greater revelation of the end has been a constant prayer from men of God over the ages, perhaps most famously by Jonathan Edwards, “Oh God, stamp eternity on my eyeballs!”
Not surprisingly then, the enemy has been working for centuries to blind us to just such a revelation. Leonard Ravenhill put it this way, “You don’t think the devil is a clever guy? How he never shows you the end, he only shows you the beginning!”
We’ve heard these tempting ‘beginnings’ for quite some time, but we are not those who are deceived or led astray. Instead, we are those, like Joseph, who knew their God, and could prepare for the end from the beginning:
The feasting will come to an end, let’s save
The famine will come to an end, let’s share
And so we declare, in preparation:
The day of the false prophets is coming to an end, those who say, ‘Peace, Peace,’ or even more recently, ‘Grace, grace.’
The day of taking our cues from culture, athletes, celebrities, billionaires and philosophical thinkers is coming to an end.
The day of the ‘You Only Live Once’ mentality is coming to an end. These are the type who claim this life is all we have so we better make the most of it, and in doing so they deny the resurrection of the dead. As Paul contrasted for us, “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’” 1 Corinthians 15:32
Indeed, we are not like these who despise the word of the Lord, as Saul did. For he despised and as a result, the end caught him surprised and unprepared:
“Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.
As Samuel turned away, Saul caught at the skirt of his robe, and it tore. Then Samuel said to him, ‘God has today torn the kingdom of Israel from you, and given it to a neighbor of yours, a better man than yourself.
The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.” 1 Samuel 15-16
Instead, we are those who, ‘awake to righteousness, and do not sin.’
The Greater Revelation
We are left then with one conclusion, for those who are able - Seek the Lord while He may still be found, that you may make your end in the only One who has no end.
“Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand…Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” James 5:8,9
For there is a greater revelation than ‘the end is near’ and it is this - Jesus is Lord.
“No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3
“Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:17
Seek Him, the eternal One - not a destination, not a result, not a benefit, seek Him!
“The worst thing you can ever ask an unbeliever is, ‘Do you want to go to heaven?’ The end is not in seeking self-preservation. The end is I want Him!” Paul Washer
And once we have found Him, we put our energy into this command - endure, “Indeed we count them blessed who endure…But he who endures to the end shall be saved…And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Common reason tells us to start from the beginning, today I implore you with a different path: start with the end in mind.
In love,
Derek