1. 1 Peter 4:7 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

How much does Peter encompass with the term “all things”?

1 Peter 4:7 (ESV)

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

The English term “all things” is comprehensive and so excludes nothing. With that understanding, Peter’s phrase would include all the physical things God created (we might think of trees, birds, rocks, etc.), as well as the activities that people do, including the list of vices mentioned in 1 Peter 4:3. All such things and activities will reach their “end.” Yet we should note that the term Paul uses can also be translated to refer to “all people.” In 1 Peter 4:5, Peter had spoken about the need for all to “give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead,” which is clearly a reference to all people. For all things as well as all people the end is at hand.