▸ AUTHOR: The early church universally acknowledged the authenticity and authority of 1 Peter. It is likely that Peter used Silvanus as his scribe (5:12). This epistle was addressed to Christians throughout Asia Minor, indicating the spread of the gospel in regions not evangelized when Acts was written. It was written from Babylon (5:13), but scholars are divided as to whether this refers literally to Babylon in Mesopotamia or symbolically to Rome. It is probably the latter as tradition consistently indicates that Peter spent the last few years of his life in Rome.
▸ TIME: c. A.D. 63–64
▸ KEY VERSES: 1 Pet. 4:12–13
▸ THEME: First Peter was probably written to the Roman provinces of Turkey at the beginning of Nero’s persecutions of Christians. Its primary message is one of comfort, hope, and encouragement. He asks the readers to hold fast to the faith in the midst of the coming persecution. In these letters we get a picture of a mature Peter who has incorporated Christ’s crucifixion and death and resurrection into his thinking about suffering. He fully understands, and even looks forward to, the glory that is to come after the sufferings of this life.