General Epistles · New Testament
2 Peter
c. AD 65–68
- Section
- General Epistles · New Testament
- Events span
- c. AD 65–68
- Written
- c. AD 67
- Author
- Peter the Apostle
In his final letter, Peter warns against false teachers who deny the truth and mock the promise of Christ's return. He calls believers to grow in godly character, to trust the prophetic word confirmed at the Transfiguration, and to remember that the Lord's apparent delay is his patience.
Historical setting: The apostolic church facing false teachers; the Second Temple still standing (just before its fall), with Nero persecuting Christians.
Key themes
- Growing in godliness
- Warning against false teachers
- The certainty of Christ's return
- The trustworthy word
- God's patience
The letter's message
- Add to your faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, and love, confirming your calling
- The prophetic word is sure, confirmed by the eyewitness glory at the Transfiguration
- False teachers will arise and be judged, as in the days of Noah and Lot
- Scoffers will mock the promise of Christ's return in the last days
- The Lord is patient, not slack; the day of the Lord will come like a thief
Key lessons
- Faith is meant to grow; believers add to it virtue, knowledge, self-control, and love, making their calling sure rather than remaining stagnant. 2 Pet 1:5–10
- Scripture is trustworthy, not “cunningly devised fables”; it came from God through the prophets and apostles, confirmed by eyewitnesses. 2 Pet 1:16–21
- Because this world will be dissolved and the day of the Lord will surely come, the real question is not its timing but how we live now, in holiness and godliness. 2 Pet 3:11–12
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Critical scholarship view
Where mainstream critical scholarship dates or attributes this book differently from the traditional view above.
- Written
- c. AD 100–110 (often considered the latest New Testament book)
- Author
- Anonymous (pseudonymous), c. early 2nd century