In this writing we will be considering the biblical term, “at hand.” This term comes from the Greek word ggizo. It means to make near, approach, be at hand, nigh or draw near, to become nigh, or to be drawn nigh. We can see from this that it means present, nigh, or close by. It is the same Greek word that is used in various portions of the word of God

Before beginning in 1 Peter 4:7, we need to look at some background information. The epistle is written to the elect of God. Peter knew that the generation to whom he was preaching was an elect generation. In fact, he tells them in 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Peter, by the Holy Spirit, was doing two things here. First, he was showing the transition from the nation of Israel to the new nation that was now being formed in the kingdom of God under Jesus Christ. Secondly, he was informing them that they were a chosen generation. The things that were happening to them were for a divine purpose. During the time that First Peter was written, the people to whom he was writing were being killed and persecuted by their own people. They were being terrorized constantly by those of the Jewish religion because they had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. God had brought about all of these things to fulfill something. They were a peculiar people. For a while they walked in both the law and the New Testament.

Until the temple and all the elements were destroyed, those who had been subject to the law and had the circumcision in the flesh were still accountable to that order. After the final destruction of the temple in AD 70, they were released from that order. They were waiting for this end to come so that the order which controlled their life after the natural would no longer control their life in the Spirit. You might think they were free because they were Christians. Consider how it is with us. Even though we are free in the Lord and have been forgiven of our sins, many times in the natural we must serve the punishment of sin because the natural law has not forgiven us. The law of the Spirit of life and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament has forgiven us, but we are fought outwardly by the flesh because the flesh does not understand, nor recognize, the forgiveness that Jesus has brought about for us. Our government came against a couple of preachers who had national television ministries. The people of the nation allowed the government to do whatever they wanted to do with them. Yet, both of these preachers had repented of their wrong doings. By repenting and asking forgiveness of the Lord, the things which they did were put in the sea of forgetfulness. That may seem strange for us to understand because our natural mind wants to continue to condemn them for what they did. In the natural, they suffered loss. Their ministries, their financial security, and even personal freedom was lost, but the end results was that they survived. They are going on as long as their hearts are in the right place with God regardless of what natural man may think. The natural is able to judge us, but it is not able to condemn us.

Peter was given three keys to the kingdom of God. The first key was used on the day of Pentecost to open the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to the Jews. About three years later the second key was used that opened the door to the Samaritans. They were able to come in through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. About five years later, he opened the door to the Gentile world. The Gentiles were the largest receivers of the Gospel. That caused Christianity to spread throughout the world. Some years later the largest Christian church in the world was a church in Ethiopia. So the Gospel was spread. Peter had used the keys to the kingdom for the Jews first, next the Samaritans, and then the Gentiles.

In the fourth chapter of First Peter, verse seven we read, “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” You wIll always hear, because of recent events that often occur (whatever they might be, wars or earthquakes or pestilence), preachers say this is the beginning of the end. You will find that there are many ends that do come in time. Different things come to an end. There has been an end to past societies even in my day. During the sixty plus years I have lived on this earth, many changes have taken place in the way things are done. There have been changes in music, the highway system, communication, and changes in the way people conduct business. These changes come as present methods become obsolete and a new and better (hopefully) way is found to do things. In order for the new to come in, the old has to end. There was a time we would go to a pharmacy to get some aspirin, a hardware store for our nuts and bolts, and a clothing store for shirts or socks. Now we can go to one store for all of it and pick up our groceries at the same time. Things change. The new takes over, the old ends, and time goes on. I can remember great store chains that used to be in operation across this nation. A new type of store began to appear and the old eventually disappeared. There was a change. In modern times we see it more and more often.

Things come to an end, but that does not mean the new thing is the best. We are living in a new society. We are told that what happened on September 11, 2001, will forever change the way we live. There could be an awakening in the minds and hearts of people to know that we are coming to an end. This is not the final end any more than that was the final end. It was the end of something that was dominating the lives that the Lord wanted to deliver His people from that they might come out and serve Him. Peter was telling them to watch.

In Matthew 3:2-6 we read, “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.” A change was taking place. The silent years of the voice of the prophet had passed. Now there was the voice of the prophet according to Isaiah's prophecy declaring repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, meaning that it is going to come and touch you, and you will be able to touch it, if you will. Later John sees that kingdom coming. He says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world.” speaking of Jesus. In Jesus was the fulness of the kingdom of heaven. The Apostle Paul writes, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” Colossians 2:9. All the power of God the people needed was in Jesus. All they had to do was reach out and touch Him. Only a few did, but the few that did were made whole.

Matthew 26:45 tells us, “Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.” The hour is at hand, we know this to be immediate. It will tell us in the next verses, “Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” Now someone is at hand. Verse 47 and 48, “And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.” Here was Judas, already come, at hand. This is the same Greek word.

When Jesus says in Mark 1:15, “ ... The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” He was saying to them that the kingdom of God was present for them to reach out and touch. “At hand” meant the kingdom of God was in the immediate present. It was there for them to receive. It goes on to say, “repent” and “believe the gospel.” This is a clear indication that it was the gospel of the kingdom of God that was being referred to. They could receive it, it was at hand. It is not somewhere off in the future or in the eons to come, but right at that time, at hand.

It is used again in Mark 11:1, “And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples,” “When they came nigh,” is translated from the same Greek word that “at hand” is translated from. So what is it revealing here? We definitely know that it is revealing that time, that day, when they approached Bethany.

Luke 10:8-12, “And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.” Here Jesus tells the disciples that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto them. He had sent his disciples forth with power. They went into the cities with the power of the gospel, the kingdom of God. Man puts too much emphasis on the kingdom of God being some event off in the future denying the church the power of God. The church is the city of the kingdom. God and Jesus are the temple.

Now we are ready to begin at 1 Peter 4:1, “'Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.” The suffering that Jesus did eliminated sin. As we suffer the will of God to be done in our lives, the sin that could be imposed upon us is eliminated. Verse five says, “Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.” Everyone is expecting to see the great white judgement seat of God. They think that hundreds of thousands of people will be gathered there and God is going to judge each one of them one at a time. When the Bible was written, there was no such thing as the order of our courtrooms today. These were created in the dark ages. The quick and the dead. That is what happens when you come before the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He told the disciples how it would work when the cities they went to were confronted with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who accepted the Gospel would be judged and put in the place of the quick. They would be given the new life of the Spirit. Those who did not receive it would be forever lost in trespasses and sins among the dead. They would be forever lost and cut off from God.

1 Peter 4:6, “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” How many of us would think of going to the city morgue and preaching to the people laid out on the slab. They have ears but cannot hear, they have eyes but cannot see. In Ephesians the second chapter Paul says, “Ye who were dead in trespasses and sins.” Here it is speaking of those who under the law were dead in trespasses and sins because the law judged them for their acts. So the gospel was preached in all of the world to those who were judged as dead under sin. Those that received Jesus were given the new life of the Spirit.

1 Peter 4:7 “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” Peter was telling them that something was getting ready to end, and it was at hand. Here again the same word is used for “at hand” that was used in the phrase, “When they came nigh” in Mark 11:1. Peter encouraged them to be sober. If it was going to be two thousand years later, why would he tell those people to be sober? Sober does not mean without the influence of liquor. It means to think rationally. He also instructs them to watch and to pray. When we become blind and no longer want to see or understand what is happening, we are classified among the dead. The watch is very important. Last night the Lord woke me up so that I would “watch unto prayer.”

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.” Share with each other. Charity is that great agape love that gives and receives. It covers a multitude of sins. Bitterness, envy, strife, contention, and hatred do the opposite. They revive sin and unbelief. Jesus said if you believe God, believe me also. He was saying, you cannot only believe there is a god, but you must also have confidence in the God that is in Me. I want to tell you that for what we as a nation are approaching, and for what we as a church are approaching, we are going to need each other. We are going to need each other more than we have ever imagined. We will have to trust in the Lord.

“Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” A sister in the Lord shared some soup with Sister Joyce. She showed hospitality and Sister Joyce received it. As we travel, people share their homes and living rooms and front porches with us and we enjoy sharing the word of God with them.

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Of course, the good gift of God is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what makes our salvation full. First minister that, than share gifts with each other. We must be good stewards with what God has given us. It is important because it doesn't just belong to us as individuals. We must be good stewards.

1 Peter 4:11, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” If you are going to speak, speak what God gives you to speak. Speak in the name of the Lord. Jesus was not a man of many words. But when He spoke, it had a profound effect on those to whom He spoke.

Verse 12, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.” The Spirit-filled church in the United States should not think the things which are occurring today are strange. The crisis that we feel, and the fears and anxiety that our nation may feel, are not a strange thing. These things happen. The Lord said in His word that there would be wars and rumors of wars. The end is not yet. Ever since He spoke that, there have been wars and rumors of wars. Even before He spoke that, there were wars and rumors of wars. It is something that will always be on this earth. Some will always say, “0h no. The kingdom of God is going to come in and this earth is going to become a beautiful paradise again and everything is going to be wonderful.” If you are in Jesus Christ, you are already living in a paradise He has prepared. It is a place of safety, a strong tower, a city of refuge in the keeping power of Jesus Christ. The natural continues to be the same no matter what man projects. When you hear “peace and safety,” which we were hearing projected to us a lot before September 11, 2001, note that the Bible says this a warning of sudden destruction. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). During political campaigns all we hear about is  the great flourishing economy. But man has not the power to produce peace nor prosperity. When man tries to do it, he causes indebtedness. He extends himself beyond his livelihood. Man makes a way for credit (provision beyond what God has supplied) and then will not forgive it when it gets out of control.

1 Peter 4:13, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” There will come a glory out of these trials and tribulations. People always ask, “Why does God do these things?” It was not God who fell in the garden of Eden. It was man. It was not God who fell into sin. It was man. It was not God who needed a law imposed upon Him. The law had to be imposed because of man, and death came because of man. God is life and truth and reality. There is no telling what the people of this country could have done had they served Jesus and not themselves. There is the attitude if God doesn't do just what we want, get the doctor in, buy some insurance, get the government to rescue us. Elect a president to do what God could not do. How could a human being do what God cannot do? When our hearts change and when our lives change, God blesses. We can be blessed of God. I want to encourage you to not curse your blessings. When we start bad-mouthing the place we live or the car we drive or our job, we have cursed it. If we will bless these things and give thanks to Jesus for them, we will see great blessing come upon them.

Stanley Rankin