1 Peter: Odd Life, Good God Sýnishorn

Seemingly everything in our life pulls us toward rebellion. We have a seed of rebellion from Adam that causes us to trend toward pride, rebellion, and defiance. Making matters worse, for those of us who live in America, our entire nation was the result of independence from authority – something that has both positive and negative implications. In the 60’s and 70’s, an entire counterculture arose based upon protests, sexual deviancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and self-expression. 

Today, we even expect teenagers to rebel against their parents as a rite of passage. The result is defiance, debt, and destruction across our entire culture. The countercultural emphasis of Peter’s entire argument in this section is that God is our ultimate authority, and that God works through imperfect authorities in our lives and that a major part of Christian maturity is learning how to relate to authority.  

In 1 Peter 5:13, Peter says he is writing from “Babylon,” but the language is probably metaphorical rather than referring to the former capital of Nebuchadnezzar’s empire. Hundreds of years prior, Babylon was a godless place that held and abused God’s people for some seventy years until, in the days of Daniel, God liberated them. Returning there for no reason would be like a formerly tortured prisoner of war taking a long journey some 700 miles back to the cell of their torment to simply hang out. It makes no sense. Babylon was the last place God’s people wanted to be, and was for Jews at that time, the same kind of place that an abandoned concentration camp would be for Jews today. 

Furthermore, by Peter’s time, the ancient city of Babylon was a sparsely inhabited ruin as God had promised (Isaiah 14:23). In Revelation 16:19 and 17:5, “Babylon” is used as a cryptic name for Rome, and Colossians 4:10 and Philemon 24 (most likely written in Rome) show that Mark was already there with Paul. Babylon was as bad as it got and therefore became the nickname for any godless, forsaken place.  

The reason that ancient Babylon, and later, Rome, are called  “Babylon” is that the same demonic spirit was at work in both places seeking to establish a counterfeit kingdom to war against the Kingdom of God. This also explains why, at the end of history, Revelation 14:8 reports, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.” Revelation 17:5 speaks of “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” Revelation 18:2 says, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit...”. Behind all godless worldly demonic culture from sexual sin to the porn industry, human trafficking and drug and alcohol addictions, to cartels and crime syndicates propped up by godless governments, is a demonic spirit named Babylon. Once Jesus returns to destroy her, all that she has created crumbles. When Peter says he’s writing from Babylon, he’s making it clear the church is up against a godless, demonic culture.  

Reflection:

1. How does Jesus model for us submission to divine and human authority?   

2. Which people in authority over you can you pray for? Which people under your authority can you pray for?    

3. How can we join you in thanking God for His authority over you that has let you “die to sin,” “live to righteousness,” and “healed” something broken in you?