Thoughts on I Peter 5:13
She who is in Babylon, elect together with you, greets you; and so does Mark my son. NKJV
According to the Roman Catholic Church, which claims that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome (Pope), Babylon is used in I Peter 5:13 as an alias for Rome. However, there is no evidence that Peter was ever in Rome. The book of Acts never records Peter traveling to Rome, and despite sending his greetings to 26 people by name in Romans 16, the Apostle Paul never mentions Peter.
Furthermore, Paul was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 26:17; Rom. 11:13, 15:16; Gal. 1:15-16; I Tim. 2:7)—not Peter (Gal. 2:7-8). According to several ancient manuscripts, Peter was buried on the Mount of Olives and, in 1953, an ossuary box, bearing the inscription “Simon Bar-Jonah” (see Mat. 16:17) was found in a tomb on the Mount of Olives.
The Babylon from which Peter wrote is literally Babylon of Assyria, the metropolis of the dispersion of the Jews, to whom Peter wrote; and where as the Apostle of the Jews (Gal. 2:7-8), he resided since there lived in Babylon a large number of born again Jews in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Psa. 87:4).
Bethel Bible Church Hawaii 