What is it that makes life worth living? According to the Apostle Peter it is Jesus’ sacrifice of His own life which has redeemed us from the useless way of life handed down to us by our forefathers. In chapter 1 of his first letter, verses 20 through 21 Peter writes about Jesus, “who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of times for your sake, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.”
In the beginning of his letter Peter wrote that the followers of Christ were chosen through the foreknowledge of God. Here we learn that even before the world was created it was known that Jesus would be our savior. If we reject the savior who has been chosen from eternity, then where else can we turn?
What can we learn from Peter when he says that Jesus was “revealed at the end of times”? One lesson is that just because we cannot always see what God is doing, it does not mean that He is not doing anything. Jesus has been concerned with our salvation from eternity, but until He came to earth as God’s Son His work remained hidden. In John 5:17 it is written, “…Jesus answered them, “My Father is still working, so I am working, too.”” We may not always be able to recognize the hand of God working in our situation. But He is at work whether He discloses it or not. Another lesson is that God waits for the right time to reveal His plan. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “For while we were yet weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6) Do we wait patiently until it is “the right time” for God to reveal His works, or do we try to take matters into our own hands?
What does the expression ‘end of times’ mean? When we study the Bible we find that the history of mankind is divided into three periods. The first is known as the Patriarchal Age. During this period God revealed only a few glimpses of His eternal plan. The central message of God’s revelation during this time could be summarized by the words, “A Savior is coming.” And though God is concerned about all people, during this period He chose to work mainly through one family line – that of Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. During the next period God chose an entire nation as His own. This is why we call it the Jewish Age. It was during this period that God gave the Mosaic Law to the Israelites and revealed more of His plan through the prophets. The message during this period was mostly conveyed by type and prophecy. Its main purpose was to teach people about sin, the futility of trying to earn salvation and what the Savior would be like. This why the Mosaic Law has been called a teacher. In Galatians 3:24 Paul writes, “…the law has become our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The third period is called the Christian Age because in it God chose to completely reveal His plan through Jesus Christ. This third period is different from the preceding periods in three important ways. 1) The scope of the message: Before God spoke to only a few people. Now, God’s message of salvation is not restricted to certain families or to one nation. His message is for all people and all nations. As it says in Acts 17:30-31, “The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.” 2) The focus of the message: While the message in the first two periods looked forward to the coming of the savior, the message of the Christian Age is that the savior has already come. 3) The character of the message: Previously people were told about God. But now, God has shown Himself to us in the form of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance…” Jesus himself said, “…He who has seen me has seen the Father…” (John 14:9) and, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
In is very appropriate to call the Christian Age the “end of times”. For one thing, there can never be a more complete revelation of God than the one He has already given through Christ. Also, the words of Jesus will never be supplanted or done away. He said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.” (Luke 21:33) Another reason these are the “end of times” is because there will never be another savior. If we reject Jesus as our savior there is nowhere else to turn. There is no other way to be saved. We cannot hope for another revelation. The Scripture says, “There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved!” (Acts 4:12)
Peter writes that it is through Jesus that we come to believe in God. While God is the object of our faith, Jesus is the means through which we come to know and have faith in God. This allows us to test the claims of men. If someone claims to know God, we can ask them, “How well do you know Jesus?” If someone is not a follower of Jesus then it is impossible for them to have a complete faith in God. The Apostle John wrote, “Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:23) Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) This is appropriate, for as we have already seen: “His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power…” (Hebrews 1:3) We all need to ask ourselves whether our faith in God is a complete one. We can do this by asking how strong our faith in Jesus is. Are we truly one of His followers?