Peter gives much the same advice that Paul did in letters he wrote to a pair of churches in the same area: Ephesus and Colosse. Most Bible experts say Paul was probably in Rome from about AD 60 to 62 awaiting trial when he wrote those two letters. Perhaps Peter visits him there, hears what’s happening in Turkey, and decides to add his advice in a separate letter to all churches in the region. Silas, the man who helps Peter write this letter, is also one of Paul’s associate ministers.

So that’s another possible source of information for Peter. Peter, like Paul, says Christians should submit to people in authority. Instead of being instigators and troublemakers, Christians should be easy to get along with.

Citizens must respect the authority of the head of state. Emperor Nero is probably running the Roman Empire at the time, reigning from AD 54 TO 68. This makes Peter’s advice especially jarring. For during the last four years of Nero’s depraved life, he orders Christians in Rome arrested and killed in the arenas.

Peter’s reasoning is that the best way to silence critics of Christianity is to live honorable lives.