Abundant Joy

Second Peter starts with an introduction of “Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ…”  when I started my blog on 1 Peter, I did an entire post on who he is. You can find it here. I Peter 1:1a – Abundant Joy I will give a brief recap. Peter was one of the first disciples to be called by Jesus. Peter understood early on who Jesus was. In Luke 5:8 we read, “When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, ‘Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!’” Matthew 16:15-16 says, “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” He denied Jesus three times, but Jesus restored him to fellowship. After Jesus’ resurrection, and when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost, we begin to see a new Peter. He was emboldened to preach Christ no matter the cost. This is the Peter who wrote the letter to the churches in Asia Minor- Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia (1 Peter 1:1).

As I began my studying of second Peter, I was surprised to see that there was some question about his authorship of this letter. Some commentators think it was written later. I am going to list several reasons why, with the counterarguments that the authorship truly belongs to Peter.

One of the reasons given is the differences in style between the two letters. But one scholar, Homer K. Ebright, author of The Petrine Epistles, explains that the similarities between the books are as striking as the differences. They are both filled with words that occur only once in the New Testament. Ebright writes that the differences are not between 1 and 2 Peter, but between these books and the rest of the New Testament. There are also words that are found in both letters. One example is in the opening. He uses the same phrase “May grace and peace be multiplied to you” in both. Kenneth O. Gangel points out another in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. He writes, “The term aretas (“praises”) in 1 Peter 2:9, and arete (“goodness”) in 2 Peter 1:3 are forms of the same unique word and refer to the moral excellence and goodness of God.”

There are a couple of other reasons that commentators give for a later dating of second Peter. One is that the false teaching that Peter is addressing is 2nd century Gnosticism. Therefore it couldn’t have been written by Peter, who was martyred in 66 or 67 AD. Paul warns of similar things in his letter to the church at Colossae. Jude, in his letter, “found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all” (Jude 3). These heresies were nothing new. The first century Christians had many heresies with which they were dealing. And one other thing that I will address here is Peter’s calling the letters of Paul Scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-16. The people who argue for a later date say that Paul’s letters would not have been called Scripture at an early date. Douglas Moo writes in 2 Peter, Jude from The NIV Application Commentary, “Other New Testament texts suggest that the words of the Lord and certain New Testament books were being regarded as scripture from an early period.” Even in 1 Peter, we see that he is familiar with Paul’s writing.

Here are the reasons I believe that Peter is the author of 2 Peter. First is the claim right at the beginning. “Simeon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ…” The author claims to have been a witness to the transfiguration of Christ (1:16-18). In chapter one, verse 14 he says this: “…since I know that I will soon lay aside my tent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me.” Jesus had told Peter he would die a certain kind of death (John 21:18-19). Peter mentions having sent a prior letter (3:1). Lastly, it was accepted as part of the canon of Scriptures. The early church fathers believed it was authored by Peter.

Peter wrote this letter for a very different reason. He wrote his first letter to a church that was going through persecution. He was teaching them that their hope was in Christ. They would go through suffering, but they had the assurance of eternal life. The danger for the readers of his first letter was from outside the church. Now, he is warning his readers about danger coming from within. He warns his readers to guard against false prophets and false teachings, something that we must guard against even more today. He then reminds them that Christ will return.

Peter had ended his first letter in “Babylon”, a euphemism for Rome, and it is likely that is where he wrote this letter. Peter knew that the end of his life was near. Although the exact year is unknown, he was martyred sometime between 66 and 68 AD about the same time as Paul, during the reign of emperor Nero. He knew his end was near, and he wanted to get this information out. He wrote, “And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure” (1:15).

Peter knew that there would be apostasy within the church. He knew that there would be false teachers that would spread destructive teachings. Nothing has changed! The message of 2 Peter is so relevant for us today.

Grace be with you!