The Lord will unveil this salvation “in the last time.” Peter uses the phrase not to refer to the entirety of the New Testament dispensation (Acts 2:17; 2 Timothy 3:3) or even the narrow slice of time just before Christ comes back, but in this instance he uses it to describe precisely the moment of his coming. That, finally, is the moment when the inheritance today being preserved in heaven will be revealed for all to see and for the reborn to enjoy. Today the saints look forward, eagerly, to that inheritance. But for now life remains a (desert) journey, complete with suffering.
5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.