After the opening of the letter in 1:1-2, what follows until 4:11 reads more like a sermon than a personal letter. From 4: 12 to the end, it reads more as a personal letter to people who need encouragement in difficult situations. As I: I 2 indicates this letter was intended to be circulated amongst many church congregations and a look at a map of Asia Minor shows that the order of the provinces named indicates a circular route by which the letter could be sent from province to province by messenger. In the circumstances in which we suggest the letter was written, a more personal letter would not have been appropriate; it is similar to a modern encyclical letter intended for a wide readership. If the letter was written when the church in Rome was either aware that trouble might break upon them or had just experienced this, we can understand that Peter wanted to warn and encourage other churches in hostile or potentially hostile situations. Hostility in Rome to the Christians could soon be imitated elsewhere. We can also understand that Peter wanted to share with these churches the teaching on holy living and the new life of the Christians which he had shared with so many others in his apostolic ministry but which he could no longer give to them in person, as he grew old. It was the task of Silas to put Peter's teaching into the form which it takes in the letter. Much of what is said in the letter 'could have been regular instruction given to candidates for baptism, or the kind of sermon given on the day of baptism, but its impact through the letter is sharpened by its association with persecution.