The Second Epistle of
PETER
Author: Traditionally Peter
Date: A.D. 65–68
Theme: Remaining True to the Biblical Faith
Key Words: Know, Knowledge, Promise
Author and Date. This letter gives instruction and exhortation from the apostle Peter as he nears the end of his life (1:1, 12–15). According to early church tradition, Peter was martyred in Rome during the reign of Nero. If the tradition is reliable, then his death occurred before A.D. 68, when Nero died.
Many New Testament scholars question Peter’s authorship of this letter, primarily because it differs in style and thought from 1 Peter and because there is little evidence from the early church fathers supporting Peter as the author. Some scholars maintain that an author passed on apostolic teaching after Peter’s martyrdom by writing in his name, suggesting that this was an accepted literary practice in the first century. However, conservative scholars usually hold that Peter wrote both epistles attributed to him, explaining the differences by Peter’s use of an amanuensis (stenographic reporter) other than Silvanus (1 Pet. 5:12), or by his writing the letter without scribal help. In addition, certain references in 2 Peter indicate Petrine authorship: The author identifies himself as Simon Peter, an apostle (1:1); he claims to have been with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration (1:16–18); he had written a previous letter to the people to whom 2 Peter is addressed (3:1); and he uses many words and phrases similar to those found in 1 Peter. These factors point to 2 Peter as a genuine work of the apostle Peter.
Background. Whereas 1 Peter encourages Christians facing opposition from the world, 2 Peter warns Christians against false teachers within their fellowship who would lead them into apostasy. Fidelity to the apostolic teaching is the main concern (see especially 1:12–16; 3:1, 2, 15, 16). Heretical teachers will appear (2:1, 2) and in fact are already on the scene (2:12–22). They deny the Lord, exhibit a sensuous life-style, and are destined for destruction. They ridicule the idea of the Lord’s return. These characteristics fit the Gnostic heresy, which developed more fully in the second century, but whose roots were fixed in the first century.
The author evidently has a specific community in mind (3:15), and if that community is the same as that addressed in 1 Peter (see 3:1), then this letter was intended for Christians somewhere in Asia Minor.
Content. The answer to encroaching error is steadfastness through growing in the knowledge of the Lord. The letter opens and closes with the theme of cultivating Christian maturity (1:2–11; 3:14–18). “Knowledge” in 2 Peter is more than intellectual perception. It is an experience of God and Christ that results in moral transformation (1:2, 3; 2:20). This is the true gnosis (knowledge), which combats heretical Gnostic influence. The basis for that knowledge is the Scriptures, called the “prophetic word” (1:19–21) and the apostolic teaching (3:1, 2, 15, 16).
Chapter 2 gives a lengthy description of and warning against the false teachers. Apparently they at one time had “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2:20).
The last chapter emphasizes the Second Coming, an object of attack by scoffers, and explains why this hope is yet unfulfilled. It also assures the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord’s return and teaches that its expectation should motivate Christians to godly behavior.
Personal Application. The concerns of 2 Peter are also concerns of the contemporary church as it counteracts worldliness and humanistic philosophy. There are still false teachers who deal in half-truths regarding the Christian faith, and this letter provides a clear response to them.
Christ Revealed. The deity of Christ is evident in the way that God and Christ are closely linked in 1:1, 2. God knows Christ as His “Son” (1:17). The divine purpose and activity are centered in Jesus Christ, as His grace and power are given to believers (1:2, 3, 8; 2:9, 20; 3:18), who are to look for His Coming (1:16) and the arrival of His eternal kingdom (1:11).
It is the Scriptures that assure the believer of a destiny with Jesus Christ (1:16–21; see also 3:1, 2).
The Holy Spirit at Work. The only direct reference to the Holy Spirit is in 1:21, which describes the Spirit’s work in “moving” the human authors of the prophetic Scriptures, which in turn disqualifies any “private interpretation” (see note on 1:20). However, the Spirit is obviously at work in providing the “divine power” that makes possible growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ (1:2–8; 3:18).
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible
PETER
Author: Traditionally Peter
Date: A.D. 65–68
Theme: Remaining True to the Biblical Faith
Key Words: Know, Knowledge, Promise
Author and Date. This letter gives instruction and exhortation from the apostle Peter as he nears the end of his life (1:1, 12–15). According to early church tradition, Peter was martyred in Rome during the reign of Nero. If the tradition is reliable, then his death occurred before A.D. 68, when Nero died.
Many New Testament scholars question Peter’s authorship of this letter, primarily because it differs in style and thought from 1 Peter and because there is little evidence from the early church fathers supporting Peter as the author. Some scholars maintain that an author passed on apostolic teaching after Peter’s martyrdom by writing in his name, suggesting that this was an accepted literary practice in the first century. However, conservative scholars usually hold that Peter wrote both epistles attributed to him, explaining the differences by Peter’s use of an amanuensis (stenographic reporter) other than Silvanus (1 Pet. 5:12), or by his writing the letter without scribal help. In addition, certain references in 2 Peter indicate Petrine authorship: The author identifies himself as Simon Peter, an apostle (1:1); he claims to have been with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration (1:16–18); he had written a previous letter to the people to whom 2 Peter is addressed (3:1); and he uses many words and phrases similar to those found in 1 Peter. These factors point to 2 Peter as a genuine work of the apostle Peter.
Background. Whereas 1 Peter encourages Christians facing opposition from the world, 2 Peter warns Christians against false teachers within their fellowship who would lead them into apostasy. Fidelity to the apostolic teaching is the main concern (see especially 1:12–16; 3:1, 2, 15, 16). Heretical teachers will appear (2:1, 2) and in fact are already on the scene (2:12–22). They deny the Lord, exhibit a sensuous life-style, and are destined for destruction. They ridicule the idea of the Lord’s return. These characteristics fit the Gnostic heresy, which developed more fully in the second century, but whose roots were fixed in the first century.
The author evidently has a specific community in mind (3:15), and if that community is the same as that addressed in 1 Peter (see 3:1), then this letter was intended for Christians somewhere in Asia Minor.
Content. The answer to encroaching error is steadfastness through growing in the knowledge of the Lord. The letter opens and closes with the theme of cultivating Christian maturity (1:2–11; 3:14–18). “Knowledge” in 2 Peter is more than intellectual perception. It is an experience of God and Christ that results in moral transformation (1:2, 3; 2:20). This is the true gnosis (knowledge), which combats heretical Gnostic influence. The basis for that knowledge is the Scriptures, called the “prophetic word” (1:19–21) and the apostolic teaching (3:1, 2, 15, 16).
Chapter 2 gives a lengthy description of and warning against the false teachers. Apparently they at one time had “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2:20).
The last chapter emphasizes the Second Coming, an object of attack by scoffers, and explains why this hope is yet unfulfilled. It also assures the fulfillment of the promise of the Lord’s return and teaches that its expectation should motivate Christians to godly behavior.
Personal Application. The concerns of 2 Peter are also concerns of the contemporary church as it counteracts worldliness and humanistic philosophy. There are still false teachers who deal in half-truths regarding the Christian faith, and this letter provides a clear response to them.
Christ Revealed. The deity of Christ is evident in the way that God and Christ are closely linked in 1:1, 2. God knows Christ as His “Son” (1:17). The divine purpose and activity are centered in Jesus Christ, as His grace and power are given to believers (1:2, 3, 8; 2:9, 20; 3:18), who are to look for His Coming (1:16) and the arrival of His eternal kingdom (1:11).
It is the Scriptures that assure the believer of a destiny with Jesus Christ (1:16–21; see also 3:1, 2).
The Holy Spirit at Work. The only direct reference to the Holy Spirit is in 1:21, which describes the Spirit’s work in “moving” the human authors of the prophetic Scriptures, which in turn disqualifies any “private interpretation” (see note on 1:20). However, the Spirit is obviously at work in providing the “divine power” that makes possible growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ (1:2–8; 3:18).
Jack W. Hayford, Spirit Filled Life Study Bible
