I was flipping through the introductory pages of Joel Green's commentary on 1 Peter when I came across an interesting passage talking about how Peter must have been equating Rome as the spiritual Babylon, with its authority to rule and sanction a potpourri of religions. An equally interesting idea dawned on me in the form of a question that goes like this. "Was Peter imaging the current situation of the Christians as somewhat similar to that of the Jews when they were exiled to Babylon?"
This is interesting because one would definitely ask the question of should not the Christians be ruling the world if the Messiah has come and established God's kingdom or rule? This was the Jewish expectations in the first century that could have resulted in the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah since he, in their eyes, would have been deemed to have failed in overthrowing Roman rule, which was the vital sign of the establishment of God's kingdom.
More interesting is the question of "Was Peter answering the same question to believers that he was writing too?". Were they, some would obviously have been Jewish believers, asking the same question mentioned above?" And even more exciting is the question of what possible answers or solutions was Peter formulating in his mind in responding to their questions and how this reflected his understanding of God's continuous historical dealing, first with the Jews and then with the body of Christ consisting of both Jews and Gentiles.
Was Peter thinking of God's promise to Jeremiah and the fate of Israel before and after the exile to Babylon? Was Peter equating the current situation under Roman rule with that of the Jews in Babylon? Was Peter trying to tell that the current situation under Roman rule was like the same promise that God has delivered through Jeremiah to the remnants who were captured and exiled to Babylon until the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy to once again restore the Jews to the land of Israel? Was Peter telling the early Christians how to understand God's dealing with them with this Old Testament imagery? That the Christians were the remnant of Jews that God has promised to save and sent to exile until the time of the restoration which was to be understood as the second coming of Christ. Was Peter acting the role of Jeremiah in telling them that they should accept the current Roman rule and prosper, in spiritual sense, in the Roman Empire just as the Jews did at Babylon?
So many questions and I think this is an interesting way to understand the letter. Perhaps this could also explain our situation right now that we should act as the remnant that God would use in our current Babylonian system until the time of restoration. This would be an extremely difficult and exciting time if we are to use the examples of God's dealings with the Babylonian empire during the time of the exile until the ascension of Cyrus as God's chosen king and deliverer for the Jews.
This is interesting because one would definitely ask the question of should not the Christians be ruling the world if the Messiah has come and established God's kingdom or rule? This was the Jewish expectations in the first century that could have resulted in the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah since he, in their eyes, would have been deemed to have failed in overthrowing Roman rule, which was the vital sign of the establishment of God's kingdom.
More interesting is the question of "Was Peter answering the same question to believers that he was writing too?". Were they, some would obviously have been Jewish believers, asking the same question mentioned above?" And even more exciting is the question of what possible answers or solutions was Peter formulating in his mind in responding to their questions and how this reflected his understanding of God's continuous historical dealing, first with the Jews and then with the body of Christ consisting of both Jews and Gentiles.
Was Peter thinking of God's promise to Jeremiah and the fate of Israel before and after the exile to Babylon? Was Peter equating the current situation under Roman rule with that of the Jews in Babylon? Was Peter trying to tell that the current situation under Roman rule was like the same promise that God has delivered through Jeremiah to the remnants who were captured and exiled to Babylon until the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy to once again restore the Jews to the land of Israel? Was Peter telling the early Christians how to understand God's dealing with them with this Old Testament imagery? That the Christians were the remnant of Jews that God has promised to save and sent to exile until the time of the restoration which was to be understood as the second coming of Christ. Was Peter acting the role of Jeremiah in telling them that they should accept the current Roman rule and prosper, in spiritual sense, in the Roman Empire just as the Jews did at Babylon?
So many questions and I think this is an interesting way to understand the letter. Perhaps this could also explain our situation right now that we should act as the remnant that God would use in our current Babylonian system until the time of restoration. This would be an extremely difficult and exciting time if we are to use the examples of God's dealings with the Babylonian empire during the time of the exile until the ascension of Cyrus as God's chosen king and deliverer for the Jews.
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