At the Critical Moment

1 Peter 1

Vs. 5 - “ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ” - “in the last time”, “in the last critical moment”

Vs. 11 - “εἰς τίνα ἢ ποῖον καιρὸν” - “into who (what) or what manner of time”, “unto who or what kind of critical moment”

Vs. 20 - “ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων” - “in (on, upon) the last times”, “in the furthest of times”, “in the very last of times”

In 1 Peter 1, Peter has a certain number of thoughts that he repeats throughout the chapter. And it is clear that whatever he meant by these three phrases, he intended them to parallel each other - they all refer to the same thing. What they refer to can be determined by looking more at the chapter.

In vs. 20 he is bracketing time at its extreme points, the beginning and the ending of history: “προεγνωσμένου μὲν πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, φανερωθέντος δὲ ἐπ᾽ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων δι᾽ ὑμᾶς”. Christ was foreknown before the very beginning of time, and was made manifest (or made to shine forth) at the very end of time. And for Peter, that very end at least included the first century, the time in which he wrote.