This book explores 1 Peter against the backdrop of apocalyptic thought within early Judaism and Christianity, especially the concept of messianic woes (an expectation that a period of suffering and tribulation would preface the coming of the Messiah). It focuses upon 1 Peter's most eschatologically charged passage, 4:12-19, and argues that the messianic woes pattern shapes both this pericope as well as the book as a whole.
"On the basis of careful and extensive research on the concept of messianic woes in the relevant texts of early Judaism and its application in early Christianity, Mark Dubis makes as persuasive a case as I know for seeing in the messianic woes a key category for the theology of 1 Peter. This book is clearly written and carefully argued and will need to be taken seriously by all who are interested in 1 Peter and its rich but much neglected theology." (Paul J. Achtemeier, Herbert Worth and Annie H. Jackson Professor of Biblical Interpretation (Emeritus), Union Theological Seminary in Virginia)