Monday, January 23, 2006
1 Peter 1:20-21 He (Jesus Christ) indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
THE LAST TIMES
With every passing day we come closer to the end of time, the Last Day. Since we are now living in the twenty-first century, people in many places are thinking and talking about time and the passing of time. As we continue our reading of the first letter of Peter this morning, let us take note of how our Lord's apostle speaks about time -- and eternity.
Jesus Christ was foreordained or chosen by God to be the world's Redeemer a long time ago, yes, even before the foundation of the world. Before there even was a world and before there were people on this world, God had already picked His Son to redeem the world by His blood. God knows everything that will happen before it happens, and so He knew that the world He created would be corrupted by Satan, introducing sin into His perfect world. Then when it happened and man did fall into sin, God's plan of redemption was already in place. It had been in place from eternity, yes, from the foundation of the world. God's plan of salvation was not something that God drew up on the spur of the moment after man sinned, but it was something that had already been carefully worked out in advance.
And then at exactly the right time according to God's plan, Christ was manifested or made known to people on earth. Peter says: "manifest in these last times for you." It is certainly fitting that we mark our years from the time of the coming of Christ. Before He came to earth and became man, it was BC, Before Christ. Since He came, it is AD, that is, anno domini, in the year of our Lord. Ever since the Son of God visited our earth in the person of Jesus Christ, we are living in the last times. The central event of all history is the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Ever since that event we are living in the last times, and we are looking for our Savior to return and bring all time to an end. Will it be in the twenty-first century that He comes? Or will He wait even longer than that, perhaps as far away as the year 3000? We don't know. He has not told us. We need to be ready at any time, at all times. After all, we are living in the last times.
