CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Second Letter of Peter

Orientation

It has been called the ugly stepchild of the New Testament. Whole books have been written about why it should not even be in the New Testament. And yet, Peter’s fiery second letter contains a message that, if properly absorbed, could radically transform the church.

Its message is grounded in Peter’s eyewitness testimony of the glory of Jesus, and it projects forward to Christ’s certain return on the day of the Lord. In between these two events, believers must live with confidence in both, rejecting false teaching and avoiding the sinful excesses of this world, which is soon to be purified through the fire of judgment.

The Historical Origins of 2 Peter

The Authorship of 2 Peter

Second Peter has the dubious honor of being the letter in the New Testament whose authorship is most doubted by scholars. Though the letter claims to be written by “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1:1), and includes personal remembrances (1:13–14, 15–16), scholars doubt that Peter is the author for several reasons. First, the language seems to be that of someone formally educated rather than a fisherman from Galilee. Second, the early church struggled to accept 2 Peter, noting its disputed authenticity. Third, Peter mentions Paul’s letters in 3:15–16, which some scholars think refers to a collection of his letters, which would have developed only after Peter’s death. Fourth, the false teaching that Peter opposes is regarded by some to be the Gnosticism of the second century.

Nevertheless, each of these criticisms is overstated, and reasonable responses are available. As with other disputed letters in the New Testament, we should not be quick to dismiss the opinion of the early church, which struggled with such considerations carefully and was much closer to the time of writing than we are. Sometimes modern scholarship suffers from “chronological snobbery” (as C. S. Lewis called it), thinking that our forebears were less intelligent or more gullible than we are. But should there be any chronological snobbery with respect to the authorship of 2 Peter, it should favor the ancients, not us.

Exploration—Reading 2 Peter

Confirm Your Calling and Election

READ 2 PETER 1:1–15

Peter introduces himself as “Simon Peter” (some manuscripts have “Simeon Peter”), a servant and apostle of Christ, and writes to those who share in the same faith through “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (1:1). Peter begins by claiming that Christ has given believers everything they need for a godly life (1:3), including great and precious promises that allow believers to “share in the divine nature” and escape the corruption of this world (1:4).

Does Peter Call Jesus “God”?

The short answer is yes. The longer answer is more complicated. When Peter refers to “our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (1:1), he may mean “our God, and our Savior Jesus Christ,” keeping God and Jesus distinct. But because of a rule of Greek syntax (known as Granville Sharp’s Rule), both the phrases “our God” and “Savior Jesus Christ” refer to the same person. In other words, Peter does in fact directly refer to Jesus as God. (See also the sidebar “Our Great God and Savior” in the section on Titus in chap. 21.)

What Does It Mean to “Share in the Divine Nature”?

Peter says that God, through his great and precious promises, has enabled believers to “share in the divine nature” (1:4). The Eastern Orthodox Church has always regarded this phrase as pointing to the deification of believers, meaning that we somehow become like God. This is sometimes misunderstood to mean that we become divine ourselves, but that is not correct. “Deification” means that believers share in fellowship with God in a profound sense, which is also Peter’s most likely meaning. He says that we become partners or companions with the divine. This means that believers share in a deep life of fellowship with God.

As such, believers ought to live according to goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love (1:6–7). These things will make believers fruitful rather than shortsighted and blind (1:8–9). In this way, they will confirm their calling and election and will avoid stumbling, entering with confidence into the eternal kingdom of Christ (1:10–11). Peter’s job is to remind his readers of these things for as long as he lives, knowing that his time to die is coming soon (1:12–15).

The Structure of 2 Peter

Eyewitness Testimony, Not Invented Myths

READ 2 PETER 1:16–21

Peter reminds his readers that what they learned about the coming of Christ was not cleverly created myth, but rather he and the apostles were eyewitnesses of Jesus’s majesty (1:16). Then Peter recounts his experience of Jesus’s transfiguration, when he, James, and John saw Jesus appear in radiant glory alongside Moses and Elijah, and they heard a voice from heaven say about Jesus, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!” (1:17–18; cf. Matt. 17:1–9).

Figure 26.1. The Transfiguration of Christ by Titian [Wikimedia Commons]

The Transfiguration

Three Gospels record the story of Jesus’s transfiguration (Matt. 17:1–9; Mark 9:2–10; Luke 9:28–36). Jesus took his closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, up on a high mountain where Jesus was “transfigured” in front of them, with his face shining like the sun and his clothes dazzling white. Then Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. These are two of the most significant figures from Israel’s history, as the giver of the law (Moses) and possibly Israel’s greatest prophet (Elijah). The effect of this gathering was to present Jesus in esteemed company, thus revealing his greatness. But when a voice from heaven is heard, Jesus alone is singled out as God’s Son, pleasing to him, and as the one to whom others must listen (Matt. 17:1–5). This is quite something, considering who else was standing there—Jesus’s authority surpasses even Moses and Elijah. One famous figure notably absent was King David. The implicit point might be that Jesus is the new David, God’s anointed king.

Peter also appeals to the prophetic nature of Scripture, referring to what we call the Old Testament. He has seen its prophecy strongly confirmed in Christ (see, e.g., 1 Pet. 2:21–25), and believers ought to pay attention to it. Prophecy comes from God, as the prophets were led by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:19–21).

Warnings about False Teachers

READ 2 PETER 2:1–22

The main body of the letter consists of Peter’s warning about false prophets and teachers who spread destructive heresies, denying the Lord, living crooked lives, and who will be condemned (2:1–3). Peter then launches a long account of God’s acts of judgment in the past, not sparing fallen angels, or, at one point, the whole world (except for Noah and his family), or the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:4–8). But amid these acts of judgment God rescued the righteous, such as Noah and his family (2:5) and Lot (2:7–8), and therefore he knows how to rescue the godly while bringing judgment on evil (2:9–10a).

Figure 26.2. The Burning of Sodom (formerly The Destruction of Sodom) by Camille Corot [The Metropolitan Museum of Art. H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929]

False teachers are not afraid to slander God’s glorious ones and, as “creatures of instinct,” will be destroyed and paid back for the harm they have done (2:10b–13). They are full of adultery, seduction, and greed and are under a curse (2:14). They walk in the footsteps of Balaam, the mad and wicked prophet who required rebuke by a donkey (2:15–16; cf. Num. 22:22–35).

Such false teachers make empty promises, like springs without water, promising freedom but are themselves slaves of their own desires (2:17–19). Though they came to some sort of freedom through Christ, they got themselves tangled up again in the slavery of the world, which puts them in a worse situation than they began with (2:20–21). They are best described by the proverb “A dog returns to its own vomit” (2:22; cf. Prov. 26:11).

2 Peter and Jude

There is an incredibly strong connection between 2 Peter and the Letter of Jude (the penultimate book of the New Testament). In fact, most of Jude—nineteen out of twenty-five verses—is used in 2 Peter. Most scholars agree that 2 Peter has used Jude as a source, since the shorter document (Jude) is more likely the source for the longer (2 Peter), rather than the other way around. However, while the thoughts of Jude are used in 2 Peter, the wording is different, so that Peter has shaped the content for his own purposes. The following table shows where Peter has used Jude as a source:

2 Peter	Jude
2:1	4
2:2	4
2:3	4
2:4	6
2:6	7
2:9	6
2:10	7b, 8
2:11	9
2:12	10
2:13	12a
2:15	11
2:17	12b, 13
2:18	16
3:1–2	17
3:3	18
3:14	24
3:18	25

Remember the Day of the Lord

READ 2 PETER 3:1–13

Peter turns from warning about false teachers to encouragement regarding the day of the Lord. He wants his readers to remember the words of the holy prophets (in the Old Testament) as well as what Jesus has commanded them through his apostles (3:1–2). In particular, they need to know that people will doubt that Jesus will return, scoffing at the idea because he hasn’t come back yet (3:3–4). But just as God judged the earth through the flood (Gen. 6–9), so he has reserved a day of judgment in the future, in which the heavens and earth will face fire and the destruction of evil (3:5–7).

Instead of doubting God’s promise that this day is coming, believers should realize that for the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day (3:8). He is not delaying, but is showing patience so that more people will come to repentance before it is too late (3:9). That day will come suddenly, unexpectedly, and the heavens and earth will be radically cleansed of all evil (3:10). Thus, believers ought to live according to holiness and godliness as they wait for that day, which will see the dawn of a new heavens and new earth, filled with righteousness (3:11–13).

Will the Universe Be Destroyed?

Peter uses very strong wording to depict what will happen on the day of the Lord: the heavens will pass away and the elements will burn and be dissolved (3:10). This seems to parallel Revelation 21:1 (cf. Isa. 66:22), but it contradicts Paul, who says that the creation will be renewed rather than replaced (Rom. 8:18–22). Elsewhere Peter uses the image of the flood to depict the destruction of the world (1 Pet. 3:18–22), but even there the world is actually cleansed of its sin rather than destroyed and replaced. Since God promised never to flood the whole world again (Gen. 9:11), here Peter uses the image of fire (2 Pet. 3:10). But it should be understood in the same way: sin will be judged and the world will be cleansed through this “fire.” Peter’s language is rhetorically strong to make a point about the radical cleansing that will take place, but it should not be pressed literally. God will renew his creation.

Wrapping Up

READ 2 PETER 3:14–18

Having reassured his readers of the trustworthiness of the apostolic witness, warned them about false teachers, and reminded them about the coming of the day of the Lord, Peter concludes his fiery second letter with some final exhortations. While believers wait for that day, they should make every effort to live without blemish and in peace (3:14). The patience of the Lord results in the salvation of others, as the apostle Paul has written. Peter acknowledges that some of Paul’s writings are difficult to understand (!), but he also affirms their status as sacred Scripture (3:15–16). He wants his readers to be on their guard so that they are not led astray and so that they grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (3:17–18). Amen!

Implementation—Reading 2 Peter as Christian Scripture Today

Peter’s second letter sometimes gets a bad rap. Most think that it was not written by the apostle Peter, it borrows heavily from Jude, and it is obsessed with warnings about judgment and false teachers. But this is unfair. This letter calls believers to escape the ungodly world through faith in Christ and by looking forward to the final judgment of evil. The coming day of the Lord helps believers to fix their eyes on the endgame and not get caught up in the desires and sin that so easily entangle us. The letter reminds believers of the eyewitness testimony that grounds their faith in Christ, and it allays their doubts about the apparent delay of his return. It is a deeply eschatological letter that ultimately is about Christian hope.

The church today certainly can benefit from 2 Peter’s eschatological outlook. Too often the (Western, especially) church forgets that Christ will one day return. The day of the Lord, if considered at all, is regarded as a far-off event that bears little relevance to life here and now. Peter challenges this shortsightedness and reminds us that the day is coming, and the fact of its coming ought to affect our lives dramatically.

By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. 1:4
For we did not follow cleverly contrived myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; instead, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 1:16
There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves. 2:1
Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance. 3:8–9

Christian Reading Questions

Read all of 2 Peter. Write up a list of the characteristics of false teachers and compare them to the characteristics that Peter expects believers to exhibit.
Read Matthew 17:1–9 and 2 Peter 1:16–18. What role does Jesus’s transfiguration play in Peter’s argument?
Read 2 Peter 2 and the Letter of Jude. Are you convinced of their relationship? Why or why not?
How does the day of the Lord affect your own life? Is it something that you think much about? Why or why not?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX The Second Letter of Peter

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Second Letter of Peter