From Expectation to Dispensation: Peter’s Prophetic Shift

From Expectation to Dispensation: Peter’s Prophetic Shift

There’s a subtle but powerful dispensational insight in the way Peter’s letters frame the coming of the Lord. At first glance, 1 Peter and 2 Peter might seem like spiritual bookends—both speaking to suffering saints with hope—but a closer look reveals something far deeper: a prophetic shift, one that traces the unfolding of God’s plan from Kingdom expectation to grace dispensation.

“But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” —1 Peter 4:7 (KJV)

In 1 Peter, written during a time when the offer of the Kingdom was still fresh in Israel’s memory, Peter urged the Kingdom believers to live with urgency. His words echo the question posed in Acts 1:6, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” The apostles anticipated the imminent return of Christ in glory—to reign as King and fulfill the promises of Israel’s restoration. But Jesus answered, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons…” (Acts 1:7)—a subtle indication that something else was about to unfold.

As Israel’s national rejection of their Messiah deepened, that Kingdom expectation was deferred. Not abandoned—but postponed. And in that divine pause, God revealed the mystery kept secret since the world began: the dispensation of the grace of God, entrusted to Paul for the Gentiles (Ephesians 3:1-6). A new heavenly calling emerged—the Body of Christ—not born of Law, lineage, or national covenant, but by faith alone, through grace alone.

Fast forward to 2 Peter, and the tone shifts.

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise… but is longsuffering… not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” —2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)

Now, the return of Christ is not imminent in the same sense—it is delayed. Why? Because God has opened the floodgates of grace to all nations, inviting all men, Jews and Gentiles, to justification through in the cross work of Christ before His prophetic clock resumes. Peter, though an apostle to the circumcision, affirms what Paul teaches with humility (2 Peter 3:15–16), recognizing that the delay is not slackness, but salvation.

Dispensational truth helps us rightly divide this timeline. The expectation of the Kingdom wasn’t wrong—it was divinely suspended so that a hidden, heavenly purpose could flourish. Peter’s two letters become theological landmarks: the first pointing toward a soon-coming King, the second validating the suspension of the prophetic Kingdom dispensation and the extended mercy of the dispensation of grace.

The promise remains. The Kingdom will come. Christ will return in power and glory. But for now, the call is not to mount a throne—it’s to extend His grace, 1 Timothey 2:4. And when His purposes are complete, the Kingdom program will resume.

So, we live in the grace period: between what was “at hand” and what’s been “held back”—trusting that God’s delay is never denial, but always purposeful.

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” —Romans 11:29 (KJV)

And still—His coming will not tarry forever.

A conversation with a non-Dispensationalist, initiated by this post which asked if Paul taught about fasting.

A conversation with a non-Dispensationalist, initiated by this post which asked if Paul taught about fasting. I post it here because I believe it contains valuable information for people who are learning to study the Word and who are seeing the need to rightly dividing the scriptures.

REACTION:

This is part of the problem with Dispensationalism — we have the clear teaching from Jesus Himself that fasting is an essential part of spiritual life (not to mention unambiguous historical records of periodic fasting being normative going back to the very earliest days of Christianity), and then Dispensationalists come up with excuses to disregard it all.

RESPONSE:

My post does not forbode fasting. It simply informs that it is not an obligation, nor a necessity, nor a means, under grace.

The 4 Foundational Cornerstones of the Christian Faith

The 4 Foundational Cornerstones of the Christian Faith

ROMANS is the foundation book in Paul’s epistles. It is the book that firstly, establishes 'the faith', the doctrine that provides us with a fundamental knowledge of God's will and purpose for us as grace believers today, and secondly, that 'stablishes' a grace believer, meaning that it lays a foundation of truth, or principle, that helps us to be grounded and stable in our faith, and guides our walk to complement Gods will and purpose for us, not only here on earth, now, but also in the life to come, our heavenly destination as the Body of Christ.

If one takes a step back from the details in the Roman epistle, and looks at the contents from an overview perspective, one will see four key principles emerge. These four key principles are of great importance. As the title of this post suggests, they are the four cornerstones that keep the foundation of our faith stable. Without any one of these cornerstones, our Christian faith will be unstable and ineffective. Anything that we build upon this foundation will be shaky and problematic, and our growth in the doctrine of 'the faith', will be hindered, weakened, or even completely stunted. Needless to say, recognizing these four key foundational principles, and gaining an intimate knowledge of them, are crucial.

Fundamental Concepts of ‘Rightly Dividing’ the Truth

Fundamental Concepts of ‘Rightly Dividing’ the Truth

It always saddens me why so many people resist the dispensational interpretation of scripture. In addition, most of these people reject the idea BEFORE they have even understood what dispensations are. I’m not being judgmental, …just realistic, as I’m speaking from experience! They are influenced by someone who dismisses it, or their church resists it, and then they build barriers against it, all without even investigating what it is really about.

Was Jesus Christ a Dispensationalist During His Earthly Ministry

Was Jesus Christ a Dispensationalist During His Earthly Ministry?

Article by Shawn Brasseaux

Opening Statement

Dispensational Bible study has its critics—and that is no secret. Allegedly, we who “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) are “Bible choppers,” “church splitters,” “troublemakers,” among other names. Additionally, we are told, “I do not follow some man such as the Apostle Paul, I follow Jesus!” Immediately after stating thus, our opponents flee to Matthew through John, the Lord Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry (which they assume is Christianity for today), and proceed to denounce us as “heretics” for “taking away” from Jesus’ words. They have made some serious accusations against us, so do we have Biblically-based answers for them? In this, our special-edition 900th Bible Q&A article, we examine this matter in light of God’s Word. “For what saith the Scriptures?”

See the full article on Shawn's site here, including the opening statement, the conclusion, and 3 conclusive proofs that Jesus Christ divided the scriptures during His earthly ministry.

Why Mid-ACTS? (Part 1)

The Journey Begins (Part 1)

I've been fortunate to grow up in a Christian home, and throughout my many years as a Christian I've been exposed to several different denominational churches; from Methodist to Full Gospel, then Pentecostal, leading into the Charismatic and eventually Baptist, with some minor exposure to more traditional churches throughout this lengthy journey. Looking back on this time, it's sad to say that only the last four years, from the writing of this article, have I come to learn of dispensationalism and the process of rightly dividing the Word of truth.