A Simple Introduction to 2 Peter

This post is a simple, one-page introduction to the New Testament letter known as 2nd Peter. I wrote this as a study handout for a Sunday-morning adult Bible class that I teach occasionally.

In this study, I set out to resist the reputation of 2nd Peter as a "paranoid" or "combative" rant characterized by "mud slinging." Instead, I approach 2nd Peter as a letter in which the enemies of truth should be taken seriously, and according to which truth and goodness will defeat error and ungodliness when the Lord's people "double down" on their commitment to develop virtue (2 Peter 1:3-11) and grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (3:18).

Who Wrote This Letter?

The writer identifies himself as “Simon Peter” (1:1). If our translations were more exacting, they would have it "Simeon," a rare spelling for the Apostle’s name (the only other occurrence is found in Acts 15:14). In 2 Peter 1:16-18, the author recalls his experience of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-7). According to 3:15, he seems to know very well the man he calls “our dear brother Paul.” And, the author refers to the writing of Paul as “Scriptures” (3:16). We can only imagine that Peter and Paul had reconciled after their public controversy reported in Galatians 2:11-21.

To Whom Was the Letter Written?

The recipients of 1 Peter are identified as Christians living in what we might call a five-state region: "Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1). 2 Peter is different. The letter is addressed in a much more universal way: it is to “those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours” (2 Peter 1:1). This is a bit of a puzzle since 2 Peter 3:1 might lead us to believe that 2 Peter was written to the same group as the first letter.

  

When Was It Written?

2 Peter 1:12-15 makes it clear that Peter wrote this letter not long before he died. A broad and consistent tradition has it that Peter was executed outside the city walls of Rome during the reign of the particularly cruel and depraved Emperor Nero. That likely happened around the year 66. An educated guess is that 2 Peter was written in 65.

Why Was It Written?

Here we might compare 2 Peter to 1 Peter. In his first letter, Peter instructs his readers about how to deal with outsiders who misunderstand and persecute Christians (1 Peter 4:4, 12). But in 2 Peter, he’s teaching them how to deal with insiders who are evil and who teach what is false (2 Peter 2:1; 3:3-4). The beginning and the end of 2 Peter suggest that, when it comes to spiritual warfare, “the best defense is a good offense” (see 2 Peter 1:3-11 and 3:17-18). This is the central the theme of our study.

P.S. The more extensive and detailed introduction to 2 Peter linked here comes from the NIV Study Bible.