2 Peter Introduction
12/28/24 2:51 PM
Solitary Man
solitaryman.substack.com
Jer 36:27 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
Jer 36:28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.
Sigh.
Just call me Baruch. I had completed the introduction to 2 Peter, and was working on chapter one. A few days later, I noticed that I had mistakenly overwritten the introduction! Woe is me! I will take this as a sign that the devil does not want me to do this (or conversely, I suppose it just may be a sign of my age and absent mindedness). In any event, here is round 2.
First off, some try to claim that a different author wrote 2 Peter from 1 Peter. Church fathers did not refer to this letter by name until the beginning of the 3rd century. The Greek is different, some say inferior. I Peter 5:12 states that Peter used a scribe. Either Peter himself wrote this second letter, or perhaps a different scribe would account for the difference in Greek used. We know that 2 Pt 3:1 states that this is Peter’s 2nd letter to his audience, identified by 5 different regions in what is now modern day Turkey (Asia Minor) in 1 Pt 1:1.
One last obvious point to consider. If 2 Peter was forgery, written by a false teacher, then that would be the height of absurdity, forging a letter by a false teacher whose nearly sole purpose is to warn against false teachers! Nuff said.
Peter was in prison at the end of his life, put there under Nero. The apostle makes it clear that he knows that he is about to die (1:14). A strong historical tradition concerning Peter’s death indicated that he died under Nero. Nero died in 68 AD, so this would place this letter being written in 67 or 68 AD.
1 Peter was is a manual to help suffering Christians. 2 Peter focuses on false teachers. There is a virtually diametrical focus on the return of Christ. 1 Peter reminds the persecuted ones that Christ’s return is imminent, to give them a reason to cling to hope. 2 Peter deals with scoffers who claim that Jesus will never return, and that everything continues as it always has. Peter responds by explaining that any delay in Christ’s return is to give mankind every chance to repent. Therefore the first letter emphasizes the fact that Jesus may return at any moment, while the second letter provides an explanation as to why he has not yet come.
This brings up a key point. The word of God is so varied and multifaceted, that, depending on the text chosen, one can argue several different aspects of the same event. Here, we see the timing of Christ’s return having 2 separate truths spoken of it, that, to the casual reader, seem almost contradictory. To the serious student of the bible, they are in fact complimentary. As another example, we can speak of God’s character as love, or as wrath, depending on what truth you are trying to get across. Love, when we speak of the Father sending his Son to die on behalf of all men. Wrath, when we speak of God’s attitude towards unrepentant sin.
The content of this second letter does not identify a specific cult or identifiable group of false teachers, but rather their general characteristics. They deny Christ and twist the Scriptures. They bring true faith into disrepute. And they mock the second coming of Christ. But Peter was just as concerned to show the immoral character of these teachers as he was to expose their teaching. Thus, he describes them in more detail than he describes their doctrines.
At the time of my writing this, the church in the west (especially America) seems to be experiencing a wave of scandal and exposure. Billion dollar ministries are being exposed for the apostates that they truly are. I think all know of whom I speak. Indeed, even a cursory examination of the lineup of charlatans that regularly appear on that network should have given us a clear signal that it would only be a matter of time before Jesus would deal with this blot on his name in a most direct fashion. Thus it behooves us to take a deep dive into this most relevant of books, as we will see that there is indeed nothing new under the sun. The characteristics that identified the false ministers in Peter’s day are just as evident today.
This is a most sobering text. It is not the only one to emphasize this truth. In fact, the book of Jude could be considered a sister publication, the themes being so closely related. We will see that Peter spares no thought for the false one’s feelings, as the language used leaves no doubt as to where Peter stands regarding these enemies of the cross. Paul and John also have ample warnings in their writings over false brethren, so this is not a fringe topic by any stretch of the imagination.
If heresy was so prevalent in the first generation church, then think about what that means for the church 2000 years later! We Protestants love to mock and condemn the Catholic church, for all the extra biblical doctrines that they have developed and embraced. But let us remember that they have been in business for almost 2000 years, whereas the vast majority of all other denominations have a history of 200 years or less. And think of all the false teachings that have accumulated outside the Catholic church! We need look no further than in virtually every denomination and movement of God. Some are out and out cults right from the get go, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormonism. They are in no way, shape or form part of the body of Christ, so we are not dealing with those. They are outside the church, just as any other pagan religion. But how many began with heretical underpinnings, such as the prosperity gospel? Or the Jesus Only Pentecostal movement? While there are true believers in groups such as these, the foundational doctrines of groups such as this imperil the souls within to a far greater degree than any of them suspect. Most others begin well, but over time add compromises that become errors that eventually turn into heresies. Think of any so called mainline denomination, such as the Lutheran, Anglican, Episcopalian, Methodist, etc.
False teachers and false doctrine is not something to be swept under the rug. Though most of us have suffered under the hand of a religious spirit in one form or another, that does not mean we should fall into the other ditch and ignore bad teaching altogether. How can we truly grow up into Him, who is the way, the truth, and the life? Without truth, we cannot become Christ like, no matter how nice a guy (or gal) that you may be.
The idea of knowledge appears in some form up to 16 times in these 3 short chapters. The King James used the word knowledge in 1:2,3,5,6,8, 2:20 and 3:18. We shall explore the significance of this when we examine the text itself.
So there we have it. A short introduction to a short book. Enjoy the brevity of the introduction, as I am afraid to inform you that the commentary itself will suffer from no such ‘shortcoming’!
May the Lord truly bless our endeavours as we examine this book for ourselves.
God bless
Solitary Man
