1 Peter 5:8-14

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your fellow believers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.



Dig Devotional

I think that most guys, deep down somewhere in their psyche, think that if they really were put in a situation where they had to fight a lion with their bare hands in order to protect their family, they could take the lion out. Most guys really do think that way deep down. I know I did. Until a cool, rainy fall day about seven years ago. We were virtually the only people at the zoo on this afternoon and as we walked into the lion’s area, I noticed that the lion had his face pressed directly up against the glass. I was able to lean over the railing and get my face about a foot away from the lion’s and was amazed as I could literally stare into the eyes of this lion. I forgot, however, that in the animal kingdom, staring into an animal’s eyes is interpreted as a challenge to dominance. Well, the lion didn’t like it and suddenly, with a burst of power and speed that I had never seen in my entire life, leapt up on his hind legs, pounding the glass with his front paws and roaring a thunderous disapproval of my actions. My immediate reaction was to nearly go limp, then to quickly run away just in case that glass broke. I realized at that moment that I stood no chance at all of fighting against a lion. If that glass had broken, I was as dead as could be.

Peter gives us a wonderfully descriptive image, as he brings his letter to a close. He compares the ever-dangerous Satan as a lion on the prowl. I don’t know if there are any Christians who think that they could stand up to Satan if they really needed to, just as I thought I could stand up to a lion, but Peter’s point is that Satan is not to be taken lightly. He is every bit as dangerous as an angry lion and Christians must constantly be on guard.

Because of the subversive and counter-cultural life that true Christians have been called to, we must be constantly alert and of sober mind when it comes to evil and temptation. This is in direct opposition to the standard states of those who are opposed to God who are groggy and quite willing to get drunk on the temptations of the world. Constant preparation is absolutely necessary because we have an enemy who is constantly searching to ensnare victims. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Peter, no doubt, chooses the imagery of Satan being like a lion for its descriptive quality as a predator that searches for the weak, the isolated, and the unaware. Describing the ultimate enemy of God’s people as a beast, however, is a common biblical theme. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and allowed sin into the world by listening to the beast (the Serpent). They became less than human by being separated from God, as they became beasts themselves, complete with the mark of rebellion that would be visible on their foreheads (Gen. 3:19). A later picture of the Fall is seen in the life of Nebuchadnezzar who was, like Adam, given the power, strength, and glory of the kingdom. Yet, due to his pride, he was judged and became a beast (Dan. 4:33). Man’s rebellion against God is also depicted in the Bible as the rebellion of beast against man. The persecutors of Christ at the crucifixion are called "dogs," "bulls of Bashan," and likened to "roaring lions" (Ps. 22:12-16). In the Old Testament, all unclean animals represented rebellion against God. Under the symbolism of the Covenant, beasts represent the Satanic nations, and were strictly forbidden to be eaten. To eat unclean animals was to eat the Satanic lifestyle. The prophets often described pagan nations as terrifying beasts making war against the people of the Covenant (Ps. 87:4; 89:10; Isa. 51:9; Dan. 7:3-8, 16-25). The enemy of God’s people, then, has always been the beast; this was nothing new to first-century Jews. This is continued in the book of Revelation in John’s depiction of the two beasts, who are ultimately connected to the age-long enemy of the Church, the Dragon that is Satan.

What is the best way to avoid this prowling lion? It is simply to resist him and his temptations. Peter is no doubt specifically referring to the temptation to walk away from the faith during persecutions and difficult times, but the strategy of resistance rings true for any temptations that the devil might bring our way. That’s the way Satan works. He attacks us through the temptations of our mental lives, looking for permission, in effect, for his further attacks. He entices, but we give way to that temptation and invite him further into our thought life. This is why resistance is the way to stand firm in the faith. We must, says Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:5, "take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ."

The believers in Asia Minor need not be worried that they have done something wrong to bring on the persecution that has come their way. What they were experiencing was part of the Christian life. There were fellow believers throughout the world that were undergoing the same kind of sufferings that they were. So, not only was what they were going through normal for the Christian life at the time, it was also worth it. They would suffer a little while (by which Peter is not referring to the duration of time of their present suffering but rather the suffering that they must endure during the temporal present age as opposed to the eternity of the age to come), but the God of all grace, has called them to something far greater than the sufferings of a fallen world. It is the vocation of Christians to be willing to endure hardships and trials for the sake and benefit of others but that suffering is not pointless. God has called Christians (called is the New Testament terminology for God’s offer of salvation to humans) to share in His eternal glory, available in the life of Christ. It is God who will restore human beings in Christ to their originally intended status (Ps. 8) and make them strong, firm and steadfast.

As Peter brings this letter to a close, he informs his readers that he has procured the help of Silas, a faithful brother. He uses language that could lead us to interpreting that help in one of three ways. It could simply be that Silas helped Peter by delivering the letter to its recipients, but it could also mean that he dictated the letter to Peter or even ghostwrote the letter using Peter’s thoughts and teaching. Given the stylistic variations between the first and second letters ascribed to Peter, is quite possible that he had assistance in writing one or both of his letters.

Peter sends his final greeting from the church, chosen by God together with them, from where he is writing. Peter cryptically calls this place Babylon, which had become a common early church symbol for a city standing in rebellion and opposition to God. It has been standard biblical interpretation to assume that Peter (and John in the book of Revelation) was referring to Rome. I believe a better explanation, however, is that Babylon does not refer to Rome here or in Revelation but to Jerusalem itself. Despite the fact that most have supposed this to be Rome, but it seems far more likely that it was Jerusalem from where he was writing. Jerusalem is where Peter lived and exercised his ministry (Acts 8:1; 12:3; Gal. 1:18; 2:1-9; cf. 1 Pet. 4:17). As Peter sends greetings from Mark and Silas (1 Pet. 5:12-13), it is important to remember that both of them lived in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12; 15:22-40). It is also true that the Revelation focuses on Jerusalem and only mentions Rome to the degree that she is related to Jerusalem. As you read through chapters 17 and 18 of Revelation, the evidence that Babylon is Jerusalem will become overwhelming. Israel continued to stand in opposition to God’s new movement and His people and so Jerusalem could rightly be identified as Babylon. They, conversely, are the true people of God and should greet one another with an affectionate kiss of love and go in peace, for no better reason than because they are in Christ.



Devotional Thought

Do you view Satan appropriately as Peter presents him here? Do you see him as a potentially dangerous predator but also as an evil force that can be resisted through the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit. We make equal but opposite errors when we give Satan too much credit or not enough.