This week marks the final passage of 1 Peter, where Peter gives a few final greetings and closes. You can find it in 1 Peter 5:13-14.
This final passage can be broken into four easy portions for discussion. Each of them provides valuable insight into the early church and those who served as leaders.
She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings
The first phrase is the most ambiguous of them all. There are a couple of different possibilities as to what Peter is referring to here. It is worth noting that Peter’s choice of words is almost identical to that of John’s in his final words of 2 John, “The children of your chosen sister send their greetings.” Both John and Peter focus on the fact that we have been chosen by God as a central focus in much of their writings, as Peter did in 1:1-2. This provides a nice set of bookends for Peter’s letter.
One other item in this phrase bears some scrutiny. Peter refers to Babylon. There are a couple of possibilities. It could be the major city that existed in Mesopotamia, the literal Babylon. It could also be a reference to a less well known town of the same name in Egypt. Most likely, Peter uses it like John does in Revelation, as a veiled reference to Rome. With Peter’s historical connection to Rome, this seems the most plausible.