2 Peter - Introduction

This is a podcast discussing the book of 2 Peter in the Bible. It is believed to be written by Peter, but there are some differences in style and content compared to his first letter. The letter addresses false teachers and emphasizes the importance of knowledge and faith. Peter, who is close to death, encourages readers to remain grounded in their beliefs. The letter was written to believers who were facing persecution, possibly in Rome. The purpose of the letter is to strengthen their faith and combat false teachings. The introduction of the letter emphasizes that all believers, regardless of whether they personally knew Jesus, have obtained a precious faith. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at bab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are beginning to look at 2 Peter, and starting with this general epistle, or in other words a letter from somebody other than Paul, to the end of the Bible, we are entering into a different era of scripture. Paul's letter to 2 Timothy probably fits into this category, because it was his last letter that we know of, before his death in AD 62ish. The disciples thought that Jesus was going to come in their lifetime, but as the apostles were dying, the realization that Jesus' return, or the parousia, would be delayed. By the time this letter is written, most people believe that Paul has been put to death by Nero in Rome, James was martyred in Jerusalem around AD 62, Nero burned Rome in AD 64-65 and blamed the Christians. It is believed that Peter may now be imprisoned and close to death. If you remember when we studied Acts, we talked about how the church leadership changed as it grew. The first leaders were the apostles, then they added deacons, Acts chapter 6, then in chapter 11 of Acts we see the apostles and the brethren, and in verse 30 of chapter 11 we see the elders. In verse 17 of chapter 12, Peter was arrested by the Jews for his faith, and God did a miracle and released him by an angel, and Peter went to the church and said, report these things to James and the brethren, then he left and went to another place. By this time, the apostles had moved out of Jerusalem, and now James, the half-brother of Jesus, was the main leader at that church. Now it is near Peter's death, and he is encouraging his readers to be grounded in the knowledge of who Jesus is, which will protect them from false teachers. Most of the first generation of people who lived with Jesus, who walked and talked with Jesus, who saw the miracles, who felt his touch, who heard his voice, are passing away, and now the second generation, those who have only heard the stories of Jesus, need to continue the faith. Also keep in mind that in AD 70, the Romans burned Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, and it was at this time that Christians were no longer considered a sect of Judaism, but their own religion. During this time, various letters from Paul and other apostles were being gathered, and the church leadership began the process of figuring out whose letters should be considered scripture like the Old Testament and which ones should not. With that in mind, I want to discuss some of the difficulties with 2 Peter. When I re-read 2 Peter, my first thought was, this doesn't sound like 1 Peter. Now the traditional view is that Peter wrote it because the letter says it was from him, and I hold to that view, but why does it sound so different? Let me share with you my class notes as to the problems of it being written by Peter. 1. The way Peter addressed his second letter is different than the first letter. 2. The style of writing is different. 3. The writer used Hellenistic religious terms. 4. The reliance of Jude. What that means is that chapter 2 of Peter has a lot in common with the small letter of Jude. Michael Green said in his commentary, for the 25 verses in Jude, no less than 15 appear in whole or in part in 2 Peter. 5. 2 Peter is the only book in the New Testament that addresses the skeptics that say the parousia will not happen. 6. 7. The letter seems to say that Paul's letters have already been collected and that they are regarded as scripture. 8. In chapter 3 verse 2 it says your apostles and then 9. It was one of the last letters to be accepted in the canon because it was not accepted by some of the apostolic fathers. Now for me, when I look at these arguments, these would be my answers. 1. Peter addressed his second letter differently because he is now imprisoned and is close to death. 2. 3. About the style and terms being different, I think the concept of him having a scribe who wrote his letter could address those issues. 4. With the reliance of Jude, some possibilities are that 2 Peter was written first and then Jude or vice versa, or they both had a common other letter or book that they were referencing, or Jude was Peter's scribe, which it's likely that Silas was the scribe for the first letter, and then Jude wrote a letter to a different group of people gleaning from Peter's letter. 5. He addresses the skeptics of those who doubted Jesus' return because it was an issue that had come to his attention. 6. With number 6 and 7, Paul's letters being collected was a process and by this time, especially after Paul had died, they became even more precious. We know when we studied 1 and 2 Corinthians that he had written at least two other letters to them and they did not seem to be worthy of being kept as scripture. 7. Then with number 8, your apostles, it could just simply be that Peter wanted to remind his readers that it was not just Peter's word but all of the apostles that they were to heed. 8. Then with number 9, it was one of the last letters to be accepted in the canon, but it was accepted, along with James, and that is good enough for me. 9. Saying all of that and believing that Peter wrote this letter, we look for clues to answer the who, what, when, where and why questions. In chapter 3 verse 1 it reads, This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. First Peter began, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who were chosen. This is the area of modern day Turkey. It was mentioned that it probably was to both Jews and Gentile believers who had scattered to the area because of persecution for their faith. When we studied Acts, we learned that when Stephen the first deacon was killed, that caused Christians to scatter from Jerusalem, Acts chapter 8 verse 1. Also in Acts chapter 18 verse 2 we read that Aquila and Priscilla came to Corinth because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome, and that would include Jewish Christians. Now it was not just the Jews who were attacking Christians, but Romans who also began to persecute people of faith, so it seems that the second letter is addressed to the same people. It was believed in first Peter that he was in Rome and that he used the term Babylon in chapter 5 verse 13 as a code word for Rome due to the persecution. It is believed that Peter was still there and now close to his death. This may also be a reason for his address being different, Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. It could be that he was enslaved for the gospel which would put the date around 66-68 AD. Nero's persecution was from AD 62-68. Now why did he write this letter? If you remember, first Peter had a focus on hope in the midst of persecution. The purpose for the letters was to encourage the believers to stay faithful to Jesus. According to Michael Green, the keynote of first Peter is hope, of second Peter, true knowledge. This second letter especially addresses false teachers, which is why it is so important for believers to know what they believe and to know why they believe it. This is one of the main reasons for this podcast because as Christians who were not eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ, we believe what we believe because of the truth found in scripture and our faith in Jesus Christ. Jews and Christians are both people of the book. The only difference is that Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah and has fulfilled the Old Testament promises found in scripture. In this letter, the word knowledge or a form of the word occurs 16 times in the three chapters. In second Peter chapter 1 verses 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16 and verse 20. In chapter 2 it is found in verse 9, 20, 21, 21 again. And then chapter 3 it is found in verse 3, verse 17 and verse 18. Douglas Moo said, by focusing on knowledge at both the beginning and the end of the letter, Peter draws special attention to it. The framing of material by beginning and ending on the same note is called inclusion and it is used widely throughout the New Testament. Ray Summers said, in contrast to first Peter, this has been a neglected book, that is to be lamented because the book has a very remarkable message. Today we are just going to look at the first four verses of chapter 1, the introduction to the letter. Verse 1, Simeon, which is the Hebrew name for Simon, Simon Peter, a slave and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal privilege with ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. If you remember, Peter's name was Simon until Jesus changed his name to Peter in Matthew chapter 16, verse 18, I also say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Peter means rock. He is both a slave of Jesus Christ and an apostle of Jesus Christ and he is writing his letter which reminds them that they have the same faith as Simon Peter the apostle. In Greek it is actually, to those who obtained like precious faith with us. Do you remember what one of Peter's favorite words was in first Peter, precious. In first Peter chapter 1 verse 7, it was a faith more precious than gold. Chapter 1 verse 19, the precious blood of Christ. Chapter 2 verse 4, Jesus was chosen of God and precious. Chapter 2 verse 6, elect and precious. Chapter 2 verse 7, the precious value. And now second Peter chapter 1 verse 1, believers that have not seen Jesus have also obtained like precious faith. Our faith is just as precious as his faith. In the gospel of John, after Jesus' resurrection, the first time he appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not there. He missed it. A whole week went by and even though the disciples had declared that they had seen the Lord, he said unless I see in his hands the imprint of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe. This is found in John chapter 20 verse 25. Jesus came a second time and this time doubting Thomas was there, Jesus said, reach here with your finger and see my hands and reach here your hand and put it into my side and do not be unbelieving but believing. Thomas answered and said to him, my Lord and my God, Jesus said to him, because you have seen me, have you believed? Blessed are those who did not see and yet believed. This is found in John chapter 20 verses 27 through 29. Ladies, we are a part of that blessed group just like those who received this letter were. Our faith is just as precious as those who saw Jesus. Peter used the word precious one more time in verse 4 when he spoke of God's great and precious promises. The use of the word precious also helps affirm to me that Peter did write this letter. Then Peter continued that this faith comes through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. In the New Testament it was doubting Thomas that first declared Jesus as both Lord and God. Here Peter is doing that too. Jesus is both God and our Savior. Peter then gives his greeting in verse 2, may grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Here Peter gives the typical Gentile Christian greeting of grace, as well as the Hebrew greeting of peace, which in Hebrew is Shalom. How is grace and peace multiplied in a believer's life? Through knowledge, and not just any knowledge, but knowledge about God and of Jesus our Lord. With the use of the word and, Peter is saying through knowledge about God the Father and of Jesus our Lord. Then verse 3 is thought to be the key verse for the letter, for his divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Believers of Jesus, those who are eyewitnesses and those who are not, are all given everything they need to live a godly life, and it comes through knowledge of Jesus who called us, whether in the flesh or those who didn't see, by the spirit of Jesus, and he's called us by his glory and his goodness. Now in this English translation, this is a verse by itself, but in Greek the sentence continues with verse 4, which goes like this. As his divine power has given to us all things which pertain to life and piety, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue, through which he has given to us the greatest and precious promises, that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world through lust. This leads us to the second point that Peter addresses in this letter. Christians should continue in virtues of Christ as we prepare for Christ's return, no matter how long we must wait. Let's look at these verses backwards. Lust brings forth corruption in this world. To escape that, we need to be partakers of Jesus' divine nature. How do we do that? Through these, through the greatest and precious promises that came from Jesus, who is glorious and virtuous, and through his glory and virtue he has called us, and we recognize that by knowing him, and when we do that, we have all we need to live like Jesus, but that can only be done through his divine power as he gives it to us. As believers in Jesus, we have everything we need to become like him, but it can only happen if we spend time to know his greatest and precious promises, which are found in scripture. So ladies, if you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart and fall into corruption in the world through lust of the flesh. Instead, let's be women who receive the gifts Jesus gave us through his death and resurrection, through his divine power, and let us live the divine nature that Jesus died to give us. Let's be women of faith. Until next time, and thank you so much for listening.