2 Peter Triple Team Teaching

Author:

Simon Peter the Apostle.

There is some question to this because, like Jude, 2 Peter was not accepted into the canon of Scripture until late in the fourth century ,but the evidence to support Petrine authorship fairly strong.

It says it was written by Peter. (2 Peter 1:1)

Peter had written 1 Peter to the same recipients. (2 Peter 3:1)

The author was very familiar with Paul’s writings that had been sent to the same recipients and we get the idea He knew Paul very well because He calls him “our beloved brother Paul.” (2 Peter 3:15-16)

The author says he was an eyewitness to the transfiguration of Christ. (2 Peter 1:16-18)

The author was aware of his impending death and Peters death was predicted by Christ. (2 Peter 1:13-14; John 21:18-19)

Some of the very early church fathers quote from 2 Peter in their works.

Papyrus 72 (dated to around the third century) shows that 2 Peter was very well known in Egypt.

Clement of Alexandria had 2 Peter in his Bible and wrote a commentary on it.

Date:

AD 61-68

2 Peter and Jude: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Date, Place of Writing, and Destination

According to tradition, Peter suffered martyrdom near the end of Nero’s persecution. Because Nero died in A.D. 68, Peter’s death must have taken place before that time. Second Peter appears to have been written shortly before the apostle’s death (1:14), perhaps in A.D. 67 or 68. Peter does not say where he was when he wrote this epistle. But since his death was imminent, and he was martyred in Rome, he probably wrote it while in prison there.

Audience:

2 Peter 1:1 NKJV

“To those who have obtained like precious faith with us...”

2 Peter 3:1 NKJV

1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder),

This letter seems to be sent to the same people that 1 Peter was addressed too. They were scattered all over Asia so this would have been a circular letter (general epistle).

Purpose:

To discourage the people from listening to false teachers by stirring them up to remember what they already knew.

The beginnings of what grew into antinomianism and gnosticism were already afoot in the early church and were popping up all over the Roman empire.

Antinomianism is a teaching that abuses God’s grace as a license to sin. (This teaching is around today)

Gnosticsim also abused Gods grace and taught that there was “secret” knowledge to be gained and you could ascend to a higher spiritual plane.

Keyword or Theme

Know or Knowledge appears 16x’s in the book.

Peter wants his believers to know the scriptures.

To know who these false teachers are and what their heresies are.

To know the “day of the Lord” will soon appear.

Why Study 2 Peter

Christians constantly need to be “stirred up,” or “awakened” from spiritual apathy. The COVID pandemic has created a great sense of apathy amongst the body of christ when it comes to the local church.

Becoming backslidden happens in tiny incremental steps. It happens because we are prone to forget what we already know.

We know that the return of the Lord is drawing close and we need to be ready.

We just finished 1 Peter.