The End Is at Hand: Living Under the Reign of the Ready Judge

This blog post is adapted from a recent sermon I preached on 1 Peter 4:4–7. It brings together two central points from that message, specifically aimed at addressing and refuting a preterist interpretation of verses 5 and 7.

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

When Peter writes that Christ is "ready to judge the living and the dead" and that "the end of all things is at hand," he is not offering a failed forecast of the end of history nor suggesting the imminent destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. Rather, he is grounding the believer's hope and exhortation in the theological reality inaugurated by Christ's resurrection and exaltation. These statements reflect not a soon-to-be-localized crisis, but the dawning of the final era in redemptive history. Christ stands enthroned, having completed His mediatorial work on earth, and is now fully equipped to execute final judgment.

Peter’s language in verse 5 is deliberate: “But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5). The Greek phrase τῆ ἕτοίμως ἐχόντι κρῒναι refers to Christ's present readiness. The adverb ἕτοῖμως indicates not merely future intention but current posture. Christ, now seated at the right hand of the Father, possesses all authority in heaven and on earth (cf. Matthew 28:18). This is not a readiness that waxes and wanes with historical circumstances, but one eternally secured and inaugurated by the resurrection.

This readiness is also profoundly Christological: God appointed "a man" (see Acts 17:31) to be the judge of the living and the dead, and that office could only be fulfilled by the incarnate, risen, and ascended Lord Jesus Christ. It was not until the Son took on human flesh, accomplished the decisive acts of redemption in His death and resurrection, and was exalted to the Father's right hand that He stood in readiness to judge. The judgment of all creation was entrusted to the glorified God-man, not as an abstract principle, but as a concrete reality grounded in redemptive history.

Theologically, this is entirely consistent with the Reformed understanding of Christ’s kingship. As the Westminster Confession of Faith 8.4 teaches, "On the third day he arose from the dead, with the same body in which he suffered; with which also he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth at the right hand of his Father, making intercession; and shall return to judge men and angels at the end of the world." His readiness is not a prediction of proximity but a declaration of His enthronement.

Furthermore, Peter identifies the scope of the judgment: "the living and the dead." This phrase encompasses all humanity—those alive at His return and those already in the grave. The universal jurisdiction of Christ is a central confession of the faith, as summarized in WCF 33.1: "God hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world, in righteousness, by Jesus Christ."

In verse 7, Peter continues, "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers" (1 Peter 4:7). Again, the language is not narrowly historical but eschatological. The Greek text reads, Πἰντών δὸ τῶ τέλος ἔγγικεν. The noun τέλος (telos) does not merely signify termination but the consummation or goal of history. It is not the end of an era or the collapse of a city, but the final stage of God’s redemptive plan.

The verb ἔγγικεν (perfect tense of ἐγγίζω) further strengthens this point. The perfect tense indicates that the end has already drawn near and continues to be near. This is not a soon-to-expire window, as if Peter were predicting a few years from his writing, but an inaugurated reality that remains pressing. Ironically, those who argue that "at hand" refers to a short-term chronological nearness overlook the force of the perfect tense, which communicates a present and continuing nearness already in effect.

This interpretation is consistent with how "at hand" is used elsewhere in Scripture. John the Baptist declared, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2), and Jesus proclaimed, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). In neither case did "at hand" mean an event coming in a few years; it meant a divine reality breaking in now. These are theological declarations, not calendar estimates.

Christ has died, risen, and ascended. The church now lives in the final phase of redemptive history, not awaiting its beginning but anticipating its consummation.

This understanding is reaffirmed in WCF 33.3, which teaches that the precise timing of Christ’s return is hidden that men “may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may be ever prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen."

Therefore, Peter’s exhortation is not based on an impending national judgment but on the abiding theological truth that Christ reigns and will return. Remember that Peter’s letter was not addressed primarily to believers in Jerusalem, but to Christians scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia — Roman provinces across Asia Minor, far from Judea (1 Peter 1:1). The fall of Jerusalem would have had little direct impact on these believers. Moreover, nowhere in Peter’s letter is there any indication that he is warning about Jewish political events or treating the destruction of the temple as the ultimate climax of redemptive history. Peter speaks far more broadly: "the end of all things" — πάντων, all things — not simply the end of Jerusalem.

The end has drawn near not because of Roman armies but because the kingdom of Christ has been inaugurated. This is not a prediction of an imminent, world-ending crisis or a local judgment tied to one generation, but a declaration that God's redemptive plan has advanced to its final and climactic phase. Christ, having been enthroned through His resurrection and ascension, is presently ready to judge. The Judge is ready. The goal of history stands near. Believers must therefore live with self-control and sobriety because the King is already enthroned today. 1 Peter 4:5–7 calls the church to live in light of this eschatological reality: the reign of Christ and the nearness of the end demand our watchfulness and faithfulness now.