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Introduction
to the Second Epistle of Peter
I.
Writer
The writer called himself “Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle
of Jesus Christ” (1:1), i.e. the
same author with the first epistle of Peter (see 3:1; 1Pet.1:1). The writing
style of the two epistles were distinctly different, and probably it was
because the first epistle was written by Silvanus (see 1Pet.5:12) and the
second by Peter or another anonymous saint. That is why there are considerable
differences between the two epistles in terms of the literary form.
Simon Peter was the first disciple among the twelve disciples.
He was originally called Simon, and the Lord gave him another name Cephas (in
Aramaic), Peter in Greek (John1:42). He is often called Simon Peter in the
Bible (see Matt. 16:16).
Both Cephas and Peter mean “stone” in the original.
By such alteration to the name, the Lord may reveal a truth that men are
useless dust before they are saved (see Gen.2:7) but His salvation will
transform men into living stones (1Pet.2:5). The Lord Jesus is the foundation
of the building of the church (1Cor.3:11), and He will build more people that
have been saved ---- all the living stones, namely, the church ---- upon this
rock (Matt.16:18) for a habitation of God in Spirit (Eph.2:22).
The Lord entrusted the key of the kingdom of the
heavens to Peter (Matt.16:19) and asked him to open the door of salvation among
the Jews and the Gentiles (see Acts2:40-42; 10:44-48). Peter’s mission was
consistent with his work when he was called by the Lord. At that time, when he
was casting a net into the sea, the Lord Jesus called him and said, “Come after
me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt.4:18-19). Therefore, the ministry
of Peter was to gain a multitude of men to be materials of the building of the
church (see Acts2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 10:44).
Peter was an inborn leader, who was often the first
to speak and act and took the leadership (see John21:3) and was also often
rebuked by the Lord thereby (see Matt. 14:28-31; 16:22-23; 17:4-8, 24-27;
26:33-34). However, after the three-and-a-half-year training and discipline of
the Lord, especially after the Lord’s resurrection, Peter appeared to be born
anew and had been transformed into another man by the revelation and teaching
through the Spirit for forty years (Acts1:2-3), thus becoming a true spiritual
leader who was humble and bold and stable and easy to work with others in one
mind (see Acts 3:1,12; 4:13; 11:17; 12:17; 15:7-11).
II.
The Time and Location the Epistle was Written
Since it was said that Peter was killed by the
tyrant Nero (54-68 AD), obviously, this epistle was written not long before
Peter’s being martyred. Therefore, this epistle was inferred to be written in
III.
The Recipients
Peter mentions that
“I now write to you this second epistle” (see 3:1), so the recipients of this
epistle must be the same with that of the first epistle ---- i.e. to “the pilgrims of the
Dispersion in
IV.
The Motivation for Writing this Epistle
Since Peter at that time foresaw that he would be
martyred for the Lord, he wrote this epistle to remind the church to keep the
true faith and grow in the grace and knowledge (see 1:12-15; 3:18) so as to
face with the impending crisis ---- there would be “false teachers” who would
secretly bring in destructive heresies (see 2:1).
V.
The Importance of this Book
This epistle provides important materials for the
defense of the true faith (2:1-3:13) as well as particular spiritual knowledge:
1) steps of things pertaining to life and godliness (1:5-7); 2) knowledge about
the secret of the Scriptures (1:19-21; 3:2, 15-16); 3) secrets of the last day
and judgment (2:4, 9; 3:7-10); 4) the heavens and the earth will be dissolved
by fire (3:6-12);
VI.
Main Structure and General Description
The knowledge of the Savior
Jesus Christ makes us partakers of all things pertaining to life and godliness.
Therefore, we have to give all diligence in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ and add more and more so as to go abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of Him. And the way of obtaining such knowledge is to pay heed to and
remember the words in the Scriptures and to be firmly convinced of the Lord’s
promise instead of being deceived by the heresies brought by the false teachers.
Therefore, we will be without spot and blameless.
VII.
Special Points
This epistle has the
following special points:
1.
It is one epistle of
“the common epistles”, which is not written to one particular church or person,
but to all Christians.
2.
It is an epistle of
defending the heretical doctrines. In the early church time, the church had
already been attacked by heresies.
3.
It is an epistle
that emphasizes the importance of knowledge. According to the original, words
like “know” and “knowledge” have appeared for sixteen times in this epistle.
4.
It is an epistle
proving that the Scriptures are of the inspiration of the Spirit. “Scriptures”
means the collection of the words inspired and breathed by God.
5.
It is an epistle
written by the apostle for the circumcised (Gal. 2:7-8). The quotations and
illustrations are much familiar to the Jews.
VIII.
Its Relations with Other Books in the Scriptures
1. Its relation with
the Old Testament: a) Peter takes Noah
(Gen. 6-8) and Lot (Gen. 19) for example to show that God will save those who
are godly and perseverant; b) Peter takes Balaam (Num.22) for example to
illustrate the actions of false prophets and to warn believers not to imitate
him.
2. Its relation with
the Second Epistle to Timothy: the
two epistles have the following similarities: a) this epistle is the final
epistle of Peter, and the Second Epistle to Paul is the final epistle of Paul;
2) both of the two epistles alert believers to the false teachers (2Pet.2;
2Tim.3); c) both of the epistles mention the “divine inspiration” of the
Scriptures (2Pet. 1:20; 2Tim. 3:16) and the holy Scriptures are the only weapon
of resisting heretical teachings; d) both of the epistles have mentioned they
will be martyred for the Lord (2Pet. 1:13-15; 2Tim. 4:6) and face it calmly.
3. Its relation with
the Epistle of Jude: at least fifteen
verses in the whole twenty-five verses of the Epistle of Jude have partly or
even completely appeared in the Second Epistle of Peter. Besides, many
concepts, words and terms in the two epistles correspond to one another.
Therefore, some Bible scholars infer that this epistle probably is written by
Jude and he quotes extensively from this epistle in the Epistle of Jude written
by Jude himself.
IX.
Key Verses
“As His divine power has given to us all things
that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us
by glory and virtue” (1:3).
“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these
things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless”
(3:14).
X.
Key Words
“Know”, “knowledge” (1:2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14, 20;
2:9, 10, 20, 21, 21; 3:3, 17, 18);
“Be multiplied to”, “add to”, “grow” (1:2, 5, 5, 6,
6, 6, 7, 7, 10; 3:18);
“Promise” (1:4; 2:19; 3:4,
9, 13);
“Diligence” (1:5, 10; 3:14);
“These things” (1:8, 9, 10, 12, 12, 15; 3:14, 16,
17);
“Sure”, “be established”, “steadfast” (1:10, 12;
2:14; 3:16, 17);
“Remind”, “Be mindful of” (1:12, 13, 15; 3:1, 2);
“Holy” (1:18, 21; 2:21; 3:2, 11);
XI. Outlines of the Book
Theme: Grow in the True Knowledge
A. The source, profits and nature of the true
knowledge (1:1-4);
B. The pursuit of the true knowledge (1:5-11);
C. The connotation and premise of the true
knowledge (1:12-21);
D. The enemy of the true knowledge ---- the
false teachers and their heretical doctrines (2:1-22);
E. The end of the true knowledge ---- be
dissolved by fire or abide forever (3:1-13);
F. Be diligent in the growth of the true
knowledge (3:14-18);
──
Caleb Huang《Christian Digest Bible
Commentary Series》
Translated by Mary Zhou