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First Peter, part 1

1 Peter is a pastoral letter written to encourage believers facing social pressure, marginalization, and suffering. Its central message is: Stand firm in grace while living as holy exiles. The epistle was probably written shortly before Peter’s martyrdom in 67 A.D. According to Eusebius the fourth-century church historian, he was crucified in Rome about the time that Paul was beheaded.

The Great Fire in Rome (64 A.D.) was blamed on the Christians, and this is when Rome began to persecute Christians actively. Paul and Peter were both arrested in 66-67 and executed in Rome.

In Ecclesiastical History 2.25, Eusebius writes:

“It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero.”

Eusebius was quoting from Origen’s commentary on Genesis, written in the early third century. That commentary has been lost, so only a few fragments are preserved from it through direct quotations from later writers who had read Origen’s commentary. In Ecclesiastical History 3.30 Eusebius quotes Clement of Alexandria (from the late second century) as saying:

“They say that the blessed Peter, seeing his wife led away to death, rejoiced because of her calling and return home, and called to her very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name, saying, ‘Remember the Lord.’”

This suggests that Peter’s wife was martyred, that Peter witnessed her execution before he himself was martyred, and that he encouraged her in faith.

As for Emperor Nero, he committed suicide in June of 68. The Roman War against Judea, which had commenced at Passover of 66, was paused until a new emperor might consolidate power. Vespasian, the general conducting the Judean war, ultimately took power in late 69, and then the war was resumed at Passover of 70. During the interim, the church in Jerusalem evacuated the city and moved to Pella, a town east of the Jordan River.

Peter’s epistle was written at the start of these turbulent years.

Peter Wrote to Chosen Exiles of Israel

1 Peter 1:1, 2 begins,

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered [diasporas] throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen [eklektos, “elect, chosen”] ² according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

The NASB separates “aliens scattered” from the word “chosen.” However, the Greek text reads: ἐκλεκτοῖς παρεπιδήμοις διασπορᾶς, “to the chosen sojourners of the dispersion.” It reflects divine judgment written in the law of tribulation in Deuteronomy 28:64,

⁶⁴ Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you will serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known.

In other words, if the Israelites persistently violated the covenant and forsook His laws, God would eventually scatter them into other nations. The Greek text refers to this as a diaspora. This occurred when God raised up the Assyrians to conquer and resettle the Israelites in the land that came to be called Gamir between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

The Israelites were called Gamirra by the Assyrians. The name was derived from Beth-Ghomri, or Bit-Humria, “House of Omri,” which was what they called Israel. (See the Black Obelisk of Shalmanezer.)

These Gamirra-Israelites multiplied greatly while in exile. Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, who lived at the same time as Peter, wrote in his Antiquities of the Jews, XI, v, 2,

“Wherefore there are but two tribes in Asia and Europe subject to the Romans; while the ten tribes are beyond Euphrates till now; and are an immense multitude, and not to be estimated by numbers.”

Josephus obviously knew where they were located, but because they were no longer known by the name Israel, having no country of their own, they were called by other names. After 600 years of exile, these ex-Israelites had greatly multiplied and had spread west into what is now called Turkey. These are the provinces where Peter found some of them in his missionary travels. Those who turned from following false gods to become believers were able to return to a covenant relationship with God and become, once again, “chosen,” even while remaining in exile.

The Foreknowledge of God

1 Peter 1:2 says that these believers had returned to God “according to the foreknowledge of God.” He was probably referring to the prophecies about the restoration of the House of Israel. Isaiah, in particular, has much to say about this. Unfortunately, many Bible teachers assume that this is a promise to the Jews and that Zionism fulfills the promise of the “return” of Israel. However, these promises were to the House of Israel, not to the House of Judah (“Jew”).

Isaiah’s use of the word “return” was not about a physical relocation of people to the old land. It was about returning to a covenant relationship with God—repentance. Zionism did nothing to change their relationship with God, because they failed (as a whole) to repent and to accept Jesus as the Messiah. At best, they became more religious in their attachment to the Old Covenant, which, after being broken, became “obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13). The New Covenant is the only path back to God, and this is not established by relocating one’s home.

Nonetheless, God’s “foreknowledge,” as set forth through the prophets, made it clear that the Israelites who had been exiled to Assyria would indeed return to God by means of the New Covenant. Zionism is the counterfeit of this promise, established by those who reject the only way to a genuine covenant relationship with God. Peter himself says that the prophecies come “by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood.”

The Blood of the Covenant

Moses literally sprinkled the people with blood under the Old Covenant. Exodus 24:7, 8 says,

⁷ Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” ⁸ So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

The people had good intentions, but they were incapable of being obedient as they had vowed. Hence, that covenant was broken with no way to repair it. That is why Jeremiah 31:31 speaks of a new way, a new covenant. This New Covenant was God’s vow, not man’s vow. Whoever vows is the one who is required to keep it. But the New Covenant applies only to those who submit to the authority of the Mediator of that covenant—Jesus Christ. Most people will live and die without doing so, but in the ages to come, God will bring all men to repentance so that they too may come into a covenantal relationship with Him.

Peter wrote to a few believers in exile—first fruits of a greater harvest in the ages to come.