Who wrote 2 Peter, and when?
Peter the apostle. About AD 64–68, shortly before Peter’s death.
The letter names Simon Peter, refers to the writer's approaching death (see 2 Peter 1:14), and recalls standing on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured. Traditionally Peter wrote it from Rome about AD 64 to 68, near the end of his life. This is the most questioned authorship in the New Testament. The early church was slow to accept the book, the Greek differs sharply from 1 Peter, and much of chapter 2 overlaps with Jude. Many scholars therefore think a follower wrote it later in Peter's name, a practice that was not always seen as dishonest at the time. Others defend the traditional view, noting that a different secretary would change the style.
Who was 2 Peter written to?
The same churches as 1 Peter, now threatened from within by false teachers.
The letter says it is a second one to the same readers (see 2 Peter 3:1), which points to the scattered churches of Asia Minor addressed in 1 Peter. Their trouble has now moved indoors. Where the first letter dealt with hostility from outside, this one deals with teachers inside the church who promise freedom while living for money and sex, and who mock the idea that Jesus will return. Years had passed, the first generation of believers was dying off, and nothing visible had happened. That delay gave the mockers their argument and left ordinary Christians wondering whether the promise had quietly expired.
What was happening at the time?
Peter knows his death is near and writes a final reminder. False teachers were denying the Lord’s return, promising freedom while living in greed and immorality. Peter answers with the eyewitness authority of the transfiguration, the reliability of prophecy, the certainty of judgment on the ungodly, and the explanation that the Lord is not slow but patient, not willing that any should perish.
Why was 2 Peter written?
To warn against false teachers and scoffers and to call believers to grow in knowledge and holiness as they await the day of the Lord.
Peter writes a farewell reminder. He wants believers to grow, listing qualities that build on faith and end in love (see 2 Peter 1:5-8), because people who are growing are harder to deceive. He defends what they were taught by pointing to eyewitness memory and to prophecy that came from God rather than from human imagination. Then he takes the false teachers apart with a long list of past judgements, and answers the mockers by explaining that God measures time differently and is holding back out of patience, wanting people to repent (see 2 Peter 3:8-9). The letter keeps the Bible's forward look alive, pointing towards new heavens and a new earth where righteousness is at home.
How to read 2 Peter today
Read chapter 1 first, then chapter 3, and come back to chapter 2 afterwards, since the middle chapter is a long, angry description of false teachers that can be heavy going on its own. Read Jude alongside it and notice how much they share. Watch the link Peter draws between knowing Christ better and standing firm. Some examples in chapter 2 come from Jewish stories outside the Old Testament, so do not treat every detail as a separate doctrine. Do not use the warnings as labels for people you simply disagree with. While reading, pray for patience with God's timing, and for people still waiting outside his mercy.
The key verse in 2 Peter
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Passages worth knowing in 2 Peter
- 2 Peter 1:3-11
Add to your faith
Partakers of the divine nature; make your calling sure.
- 2 Peter 1:16-21
Eyewitnesses and the prophetic word
Holy men spoke as moved by the Holy Spirit.
- 2 Peter 2
False teachers
Their judgment is certain.
- 2 Peter 3
The day of the Lord
It will come as a thief; grow in grace.
The main themes of 2 Peter
- Growth in grace
- The reliability of Scripture
- False teaching
- Judgment
- The Lord’s patience and return
An outline of 2 Peter
| Section | Chapters |
|---|---|
| Growing in grace and knowledge | 1 |
| False teachers exposed | 2 |
| The day of the Lord | 3 |