diff --git a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/remote/Cluster.scala b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/remote/Cluster.scala
index 01cb988924..88807f3ba1 100644
--- a/akka-remote/src/main/scala/remote/Cluster.scala
+++ b/akka-remote/src/main/scala/remote/Cluster.scala
@@ -267,7 +267,9 @@ object Cluster extends Cluster with Logging {
 
   def foreach(f: (RemoteAddress) => Unit): Unit = clusterActor.foreach(_.foreach(f))
 
-  def endpoints: Array[RemoteAddress] = clusterActor.end
+  def endpoints: Array[RemoteAddress] = clusterActor
+  .getOrElse(throw new IllegalStateException("No cluster actor is defined"))
+  .endpoints
 
   def start(): Unit = start(None)