1 Peter 5:13

"She" probably refers to the church in the town where Peter was when he wrote this letter (cf. 2 John 1:1; 2 John 1:4). The Greek word for "church" (ekklesia) is feminine, though the word ekklesia does not appear in 1 Peter. Some commentators have suggested that Peter referred to his wife. [Note: E.g., Robertson, 6:135.] But this seems unlikely to me since none of the other epistle writers in the New Testament referred to their wives. God chose the church together with the believers to whom Peter sent this epistle.

"Election is . . .: (1) the sovereign act of God in grace whereby certain persons are chosen from among mankind for Himself (John 15:19); and (2) the sovereign act of God whereby certain elect persons are chosen for distinctive service for Him (Luke 6:13; Acts 9:15; 1 Corinthians 1:27-28)." [Note: The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 1337.]

"Babylon" may refer to Babylon on the Euphrates River. [Note: McGee, 5:714; E. Schuyler English, "Was St. Peter Ever in Rome?" Bibliotheca Sacra 124:496 (October-December 1967):317.] However this seems more likely to be a veiled, metaphorical reference to Rome where Peter spent the last years of his life. [Note: Kelly, pp. 218-19; Blum, p. 212; Goppelt, pp. 373-75; Michaels, p. 311; Robertson, 6:135; et al.] The technical name for this figure of speech (i.e., a code name) is atbash. We know that John "Mark" was in Rome (Colossians 4:10). But why would Peter have called Rome Babylon? Probably he did so because Rome was the capitol of the pagan world. The Christians had come to think of Rome as Babylon. Babylon on the Euphrates was then in decline, but it was formerly the world center of godlessness. The Bible uses Babylon as a symbol of ungodliness as well as the name of a real town (cf. Revelation 17-18). Similarly the name Hollywood is both a literal town name and the symbol of the industry for which the town is famous.

". . . Babylon [in 1 Peter] becomes a beautiful symbol for the capital of the place of exile away from the true inheritance in heaven." [Note: Davids, p. 203. Cf. 1:1, 17; 2:11.]

John Mark was Peter’s protégé. Many scholars believe Mark wrote his Gospel in Rome and that Peter’s influence is apparent in what he included in that record of Jesus’ life and ministry. There is considerable evidence for this in the second Gospel.