Bnl it Peter wrote from Babylon on the Euphrates, at what period was the epistle written? The epistle to toleration in theory, i- yet swayed by strong preju- itself contains no raati rial- for fixing a precise date. [| dices, and prone, from position and policy, t" lav or and does nol by it^ allusions clearly point to the Neronian protect the dominant superstition.
churches addressed by Peter, his salutation was natu- rally included by the apostle. Nilvanus, by whom the epistle was sent- if the same with the SilvanUS mentioned in the greetings 1 Thess. i. I : 2 Thess. i, ! seems to have left Paul before the epistles to Corinth were written. He may have in some waj become con- nected with Peter, and, as the Silas of the Act-, he was acquainted with many of the churches to whom this epistle was Miit. The terms "a faithful brother as I suppose" (the faithful brother as 1 reckori)do not im- ply any doubt of hi- characti r, hut are only an addi- tional recommendation to one whose companionship with Paul must have been known in the provinces enumerated by Peter.
But Schwegler ascribes the epistle to a lati r period — to the age of Trajan: and of course denies ii- apostolic authorship (Nack-ajwstol. Zeitalter, ii,22). The argu- ments, however, for so late a date an- v en inconclusive. lie tii-t of all assumes that its language does not tally with the facts of the Neronian persecution, and that the tone i- unimpassioned- that Christians were charged with definite crime under Nero— thai hi.- persecution did not extend beyond Pome— that it was tumultuary, and not. as this epistle supposes, conducted by regular processes, and that the general condition of believers in Asia Minor, as depicted in the epistle, suit* the age of Trajan better than that of Nero. The reply is obvious — that the tranquillity of tone in this epistle would he remarkable under any persecution, lor ii is that of calm.
heroic endurance, which trusts in an unseen arm. anil ha- hope- undimmed by death : that the pcr.-i cution of Christians simply for the name which thev hole w as
there i- no allusion to judicial trial in the epistle, for the word airoXoyia does not imply it: and that the sufferings of Christians in Asia Minor as rc> rred to or predicted do imt agree with the recorded facts in Pliny's letter, for according to it they were by a formal inv.s- tigation and sentence doomed to death (Huther, p. 28). The per-ccu ii.. ii- referred to in this epistle are rather such a- Christians have always t" encounter in heathen countries from an ignorant mob easily tirrcd
to violence, and where the civil power, though inclined
persecution; it rather speaks of evil ami danger suffer- ed now, but with more in prospect. Suffering was en- dured and wa- also impending, and yet those who lived
Supposing this epistle t" hav e he. n written at P.ahy- lon. it is a probable conjecture that Silvanus. by whom
it wa- transmitted to those churches, had joined Peter
PETER (FIRST EPISTLE OF) 19 PETER (FIRST EPISTLE OF)
after a tour of visitation, either in pursuance of instruc- tions from Paul, then a prisoner at Rome, or in the ca- pacity of a minister of high authority in the Church, and that his account of the condition of the Christians in those districts determined the apostle to write the epistle. From the absence of personal salutations, and other indications, it may perhaps be inferred that Peter had not hitherto visited the churches; but it is certain that he was thoroughly acquainted both with their ex- ternal circumstances and spiritual state. It is clear that Silvanus is not regarded by Peter as one of his own coadjutors, but as one whose personal character he had sufficient opportunity of appreciating (v, 12). Such a testimonial as the apostle gives to the soundness of his faith would of course have the greatest weight with the Asiatic Christians, to whom the epistle appears to have been specially, though not exclusively addressed. The assumption that Silvanus was employed in the composition of the epistle is not borne out by the ex- pression "by Silvanus I have written unto you," such words, according to ancient usage, applying rather to the bearer than to the writer or amanuensis. Still it is highly probable that Silvanus, considering his rank, character, and special connection with those churches, and with their great apostle and founder, would be con- sulted by Peter throughout, and that they would to- gether read the epistles of Paul, especially those ad- dressed to the churches in those districts : thus, partly with direct intention, partly it may be unconsciously, a Pauline coloring, amounting in passages to something like a studied imitation of Paul's representations of Christian truth, may have been introduced into the epistle. It has been observed above [see Peter] that there is good reason to suppose that Peter was in the habit of employing an interpreter; nor is there any- thing inconsistent with his position or character in the supposition that Silvanus, perhaps also Mark, may have assisted him in giving expression to the thoughts sug- gested to him by the Holy Spirit. We have thus, at any rate, a not unsatisfactory solution of the difficulty arising from correspondences both of style and modes of thought in the writings of two apostles who differed so widely in gifts and acquirements.