1 Peter 1:5

who by the power of God are guarded through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

"The word guarded here is a military term,"[13] Christians are garrisoned by the power of God and are safeguarded by the Father himself. Of course, the Christians themselves, under the terms of the Father's will, contribute to that safety. How? The next phrase explains how.

Through faith ... This cannot bear the meaning that the Christian's sole act of believing provides any safety. "Faith" as used here means "staunch fidelity" as well as trustfulness.[14] Barnes summarized the thought of this verse thus:

The idea is that there was a faithful guardianship exercised over them to save them from danger, as a castle or garrison is watched to guard it against the approach of an enemy.[15]

A salvation ready to be revealed in the last time ... Despite the fact of many New Testament writers using the expression "the last days" to mean the Christian dispensation, "the last time" here has reference to the final judgment day when Christ will raise the dead and summon all people to the judgment of the White Throne. As Wheaton noted:

In these verses salvation is seen in all its tenses (past, present and future), Christians have been born anew by the mercy of God, are being guarded by the power of God, and look forward to obtaining complete deliverance from all evil in the last time.[16]

[13] Ibid., p. 23.

[14] A. J. Mason, op. cit., p. 389.

[15] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, Peter (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1953), p. 114.

[16] Archibald M. Hunter, op. cit., p. 92.