second peter

Background

Authorship.   By direct claims and indirect allusions this epistle bears many marks of being the work of the Apostle Peter. In addition to the author’s self-introduction, he claims to have been one of the apostles (3:2), a witness of the Transfiguration (1:17–18), informed by the Lord concerning his death (1:14; cf. John 21:18–19), and acquainted with “our beloved brother Paul” and his writings (3:15–16).

All this is met, however, with the formidable objection of the paucity of external support for Petrine authorship. In fact, 2 Peter is “the least attested book in the New Testament.”[1] There is no clear extant reference to 2 Peter among second century writers. From the third century a few authors make mention of it, all apparently affirming its authenticity. Not until the fourth century does clear and strong Petrine affirmation come. It was then that Eusebius noted that the historical support for Petrine authorship was weak, and Jerome also indicated that some disputed it. He himself, however, supported it, as did Athanasius, Augustine, the Council of Laodicea, and the third Council of Carthage.

This long delay in affirming authenticity could possibly be explained by the brevity of the letter, its narrow circulation, and the healthy skepticism the early church maintained against the problem of spurious pseudonymous writings.

Aside from the external considerations many reject the letter’s authenticity on internal grounds. It is suggested that the personal allusions in the book appear more forced than natural.  Included among these are the compound name Simeon Peter (1:1), the Lord’s prediction of Peter’s death (1:14; cf. John 21:18), and the reference to the Transfiguration (1:16–18). The first argues more strongly in fact for authenticity, since a forger would not take that kind of unusual liberty. Likewise the Transfiguration account would surely not display variance from the authentic gospel records unless penned by an actual eyewitness. The question of the Lord’s prediction of Peter’s death is ambiguous. At any rate there is no need to insist on literary dependence upon the gospel.

Some suppose apparent historical problems preclude Petrine authorship. When he mentions the letters of Paul (3:15), it need not mean that there was in circulation an attested corpus of his works, but only that these churches were familiar with some of them. While some contend the false teachers in view must have been the second century Gnostics, such a notion is entirely gratuitous. False teachers dogged Paul’s trail following his first missionary journey (cf. Galat. 1:6ff). The reference to the passing of “the fathers” (3:4) might conceivably refer to the apostles. It would must more naturally mean, however, the ancient Jewish patriarchs. And while the mention of “your apostles” (3:2) might seem a strange expression from an apostle, it could quite understandably be used to designate the particular missionaries that had brought the gospel to this area.

Problems of literary, stylistic, and theological natures are also raised. But these are especially subjective and carry little weight. Besides which they all admit of alternative explanations, supportive of Petrine authorship.

Alternative proposals for authorship must all boil down to pseudonymity, which is unacceptable for canonical Scripture. And the question of canonicity is adequately answered by the care with which the church fathers dealt with it, rejecting the inferior pseudonymous works, the Gospel of Peter, the Preaching of Peter, the Acts of Peter, and the Apocalypse of Peter. Though the problems with Petrine authorship are numerous, they are not really weighty.

Date of composition.   Peter remarks that his physical death, traditionally placed in 67 or 68, is imminent (1:14). He also refers to Pauline epistles (3:15f). A date of 66 or 67 fits these data very well.

Place of writing and Destination.   Since tradition claims Peter was martyred in Rome, it is probably safest to place him there as he wrote this letter (cf. also 1 Peter).

If 2 Peter 3:1, where he says this is his second letter to this audience, refers to 1 Peter, then the destination is obviously the same provinces of Asia Minor (cf. 1 Peter 1:1). Otherwise it is an open question.

Purpose.   Peter is clearly absorbed with his pastoral responsibility in view of his impending death. Realizing that the age of the apostles will soon pass (barring the rapture), he means to leave a statement for those Christians to whom he will have no other opportunity to minister, including succeeding generations. His negative focus is false teachers who deny the Lord’s return and final judgment, and advocate a godless lifestyle, capturing the unwary in their web. Positively he calls for diligence to progress in sanctification, especially in the light of the Lord’s unannounced return.

Argument

In his salutation Peter emphasizes the “like faith” of his readers, setting up the contrast to the false teachers (1:1). The first chapter is a positive statement on Christian growth, while the second is a negative statement against pseudo-christian teachers. Since God has adequately supplied all that is required for believers’ growth in sanctification (1:3–4), it is incumbent on them to apply themselves diligently to the cultivation of Christian virtues (1:5–7). In this way they would be assured of their ultimate salvation (1:8–11).

Peter acknowledges that this is not new teaching, and he justifies his correspondence by the value of reminder and the news that he expected soon to die (1:12–15). The reliability of the message he supports by noting his own witness of the Transfiguration (1:16–18) and by turning his readers to what he considers an even greater witness—the Scriptures, which come from God himself (1:19–21). It is in these Scriptures that the “precious promises” by which the readers grow are found.

The false teachers and their followers are next described so as to arm these saints against them (2:1–3). Their judgment is sure, while the security of the believers is preserved (2:4–9). Peter exposes not only their true character (2:10–17), but also their deceptive tactics (2:18–19) and the threat they pose to others (2:20–22).

The message spoken by the Lord’s servants is true (3:1–2) and cannot be invalidated by the delay in the Lord’s return, as the scoffers mockingly suggest (3:3–4). Peter’s reply to their arguments is as much to reassure his readers as to refute the opponents (3:5–7). He follows it with a positive explanation of God’s delay coupled with a reaffirmation of the certainty of the judgment and a warning of its unannounced arrival (3:8–10). Peter then turns to charge his believing readers, first in the light of the certainty of the coming judgment (3:11–13), then in the light of its temporal delay (3:14–18). His ‘bottom line’ is a reiteration of his opening appeal that they should be steadfast and grow.

Outline

I. Salutation  1:1–2

II. Growing in the Christian life  1:3–21

A. The call to grow  1:3–11

1. The basis of growth  1:3–4

2. The elements of growth  1:5–9

a) The list  1:5–7

b) Their value  1:8–9

3. The seriousness of growth  1:10–11

B. The means of growth: the Scriptures  1:12–21

1. The value of Scripture  1:12–15

a) The mortal witness of the apostle  1:12–14

b) The undying testimony of the Word  1:15

2. The trustworthiness of the message  1:16–21

a) Eyewitness report of the Transfiguration  1:16–18

b) Scripture  1:19–21

(1) Its greater value  1:19

(2) Its divine source  1:20–21

III. Being wary of false teachers  2

A. Introduction  2:1–3

1. Their rise  2:1

2. Their following  2:2

3. Their methods  2:3a

4. Their end  2:3b

B. Their judgment  2:4–9

1. The example of God’s past judgments  2:4–8

a) Angels  2:4

b) The world of Noah’s day  2:5

c) Sodom and Gomorrah  2:6–8

2. The assurance of God’s future judgment  2:9

C. Their description  2:10–22

1. Character  2:10–17

a) Irreverent  2:10–11

b) Ignorant  2:12

c) Perverted  2:13–14

d) Covetous  2:15–16

e) Barren  2:17

2. Appeal  2:18–19

3. Regression  2:20–22

IV. Anticipating the Lord’s coming  3

A. The need for a reminder  3:1–2

B. The problem of mockers  3:3–7

1. Their skepticism  3:3–4

2. Their ignorance  3:5–7

C. The certainty of the coming judgment  3:8–10

1. The Lord’s patience  3:8–9

2. The Lord’s unannounced coming in judgment  3:10

D. Exhortations in light of the coming judgment  3:11–13

1. Holiness  3:11

2. Expectancy  3:12–13

E. Exhortations in light of his delay  3:14–18

1. Peace  3:14

2. Appreciation of the saving purpose of delay  3:15–16

3. Steadfastness  3:17

4. Growth in grace  3:18