The End of Things

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen." (Romans 11: 36 NIV)

"Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live." (I Corinthians 8: 6 NIV)

These verses affirm that God is the source or "first cause" (or "material cause") of all things. But, they also affirm that God is the "efficient cause" of all things. All things are "through him," or "through Christ." They also affirm that the "end" (or 'destiny') of all things, or the "final cause" or "final reason" for all things, is God.

"End" is from the Greek word "telos" and means "end," or "purpose," or "goal." It is the root of the term "teleology," the study of purposiveness. It is the study of aims, purposes, or intentions. Knowing the goal or final purpose of anything is of great value in understanding all other prior causes, be they their first cause, or secondary or lessor causes, or instrumental causes.

Lord God is the reason for all things. This is stated so clearly that it ought not to be denied. Yet, man, in his blindness, sees difficulties accepting such a proposition about God. But, he is indeed the "first cause" of all other causes. Without the first cause, no other secondary cause would exist.

God himself too is the "final cause" of all things. His own self pleasure is the reason for all things. All things exist for his pleasure and for his pleasure alone. All exists to exhibit the glories and perfections of God. God has a single purpose for all things, although that purpose has many inferior or secondary ones. Paul spoke of "the eternal purpose which God purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Ephesians 3: 11)

Lord God has an "end" or final destiny for his creation. He intends that it fulfill his purpose and "end up" as he intended. The question that every man must ask himself is this:

"What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?" (Job 6: 11 KJV)

"LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am." (Psalm 39: 4 KJV)

In other words - "What is MY destiny, Lord?" Everyone has queried himself about this matter.

Some deny that God has "destined" them at all, believing that they are totally "on their own" in a world of chance, and of accident and random occurrence. Some take a position somewhere in the middle. Certainly Job and the Psalmist believed that they had an "end" or destiny. Certainly they did not believe that they were the sole or first causes of their own destinies, for then they would not be asking Lord God for information about their destinies.

"For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end." (Luke 22: 37 KJV)

"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." (John 18: 37 KJV)

Jesus is the only man who knew his destiny. He knew that his life was full of meaning and purpose, of eternal significance.

"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." (I Peter 4: 7 KJV)

By the "end" of all things, we are to think of the "conclusion," or the "fulfillment" of a purpose or design. It was the vision of this "end" or "final cause" that moved the first cause to put into effect all secondary causes.

"Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof." (Ecclesiastes 7: 8 KJV)

As good and pleasant as is a dream or a goal, the actual realization of it is far better.

"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power." (I Corinthians 15: 24 KJV)

"The end." We know, in stories, how that could signify either something good or something bad. There are good endings and bad endings. The "end" or "final destiny" of all things is yet future and is connected with Christ and his sovereign rule.

"Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light." (Amos 5: 18 KJV)

All do not share the same destiny in life nor in death. All men have an eternal destiny, but only some have a glorious destiny. The return of Christ will be a time when the wicked are severed from the righteous and when each receives his end or destiny.

"When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end." (Psalm 73: 16, 17 KJV)

"...then I understood their final destiny." (NIV)

The godly Psalmist, for a while, envied the wicked prosperous man. It was a painful thought that the wicked seemed to prosper and that the good seemed to suffer the most. But, he was enlightened in the matter when he was made to consider the eternal destinies of each. The wicked receive their good in this life, and suffer eternal loss in the next. With the righteous, it is the very reverse.

"But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned." (Hebrews 6: 8 KJV)

The burning of garbage, of weeds, briers, and thorns, is a picture of the destruction destined for those who are finally judged as "wicked" by the Lord, for those unjustified and guilty souls.

"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (I Peter 4: 17 KJV)

Well, that is what determines it. The destiny of the one who has believed and obeyed the gospel is quite different from the end or destiny of the one who has rejected and disobeyed it.

"Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things." (Philippians 3: 19 NIV)

Those who have rejected the one living and true God, and his Son, the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, are they who have made themselves, and their lusts, or stomachs, their gods, and so their end will be the same as with briers and thorns.

"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (I Peter 1: 9 KJV)

"Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace." (Psalm 37: 37 KJV)

The "end" or "destiny" of the believer in Jesus is glorious! Immortal beings who know nothing but fulfilled joy and peace! Who know no evil!

"I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22: 13 KJV)

Jesus is the "Alpha" or "first cause," being God and one with the Father and Holy Spirit. He is also the "Omega" or "final cause" (reason) for all things. The destiny of every man and all things lies in their relation to Jesus the Son of God.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (Jeremiah 29: 11 KJV)

This is what God now, through the gospel, says to all men, to sinners who are condemned under his just and holy law. He says to every condemned sinner to come to him and acknowledge his guilt, and to look to Jesus and his sacrificial death on the cross, and to accept him as Lord and Savior, and then be assured of forgiveness of sins and of promise of eternal life. These are good thoughts, and kind intentions, that God has announced to all men in the gospel.

Will you receive Christ as Messiah and Son of God today? Will you trust in his righteousness alone?