2 Peter 3:15-16, Ignorant and Unstable People
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
//Unlike 1 Peter, the epistle of 2 Peter was not widely accepted or even known in the early church. The first definitive reference to 2 Peter is in the third century. Church fathers in the third and fourth century gradually came to believe it was written by the apostle Peter, and thus it found its way into the canon of the Bible.
But could it have really been written by Peter? The letter is an explosive denouncement of heresy, and the wicked teachers who introduced that heresy. The end of the world hadn’t arrived as expected, which encouraged scoffers, and worse yet, people who wrongly interpreted scripture to imagine that, when Jesus and Paul promised immediate fulfillment, they meant immediate fulfillment. Such a denouncement of heresy would hardly need proclaiming before, say, the war of 70 A.D.
To bolster his opinion, the writer of the epistle refers to “our dear brother Paul” and the “other Scriptures.” In other words, by the time of 2 Peter’s writing, Paul’s letters had already been collected and distributed as scripture! Much of 2 Peter is borrowed from the book of Jude. It is, basically, a rewrite and expansion of Jude. Jude may have been written near the end of the first century; if so, 2 Peter was likely penned in the early second century.
This letter certainly could not have been written by Peter himself, who died, according to tradition, around the year 67 A.D.
6 Comments
Leave a Reply to Tunji Babatope Cancel reply
Fantasy Football, Anyone?
Put on the whole uniform of the Team, that ye may be able to stand against the blitz of oncoming linebackers. Don the hip pads of truth, the shoulder pads of righteousness, the cleats of preparation. Don’t forget the facemask of faith and the helmet of salvation. Then clutch the pigskin with much Spirit, for that is what the Play Book of your Coach in Heaven demands.The River of Life
Twice before Lee Harmon has written about Christian topics, once on the gospel of John and once on the book of Revelation. But the question people keep asking him is this: As a liberal Christian, why do you care so much about the Bible? Others wonder whether he is truly a Christian at all.
The Way It Happened
|
|
| Revelation: A love story gone awry. | The Gospel: A love story set aright. |
What really happened 2,000 years ago? How did a persecuted minority of end-time believers known as Christians, with their dreams of Armageddon and a conquering Messiah named Jesus, evolve into the largest religion in the world? Author Lee Harmon explores the period in which the New Testament was written in his books about John's Gospel and Revelation.
(Bloggers: you may be eligible for a free review copy! Just contact us.)
Connect With Me!
A Top-100 Christian Blog
Named an Exceptional Website for Christian Theologians
Our Top Book Picks
Selected by The Dubious Disciple as Best Religion Books. Don't miss these!
Subscribers:
Twitter Followers
Facebook Fans
16806 Blog Members
354 Circles
603 Goodreads Friends & Fans
The God Show
Lee Harmon interviewed on The God Show about the History Channel's miniseries The Bible and Lee's latest book, John's Gospel: The Way It Happened.
About Lee
Hello! I'm an author, historical Jesus scholar, book reviewer, and liberal Christian, which means I appreciate and attempt to exercise the humanitarian teachings of Jesus without getting hung up on any particular supernatural or religious beliefs.
The Bible is a magnificent book that has inspired and spiritually fed generations for thousands of years, and each new century seems to bring a deeper understanding of life’s purpose. This is true of not only Christianity; through the years, our age-old religions are slowly transforming from superstitious rituals into humanitarian philosophies. In short, we are growing up, and I am thrilled to be riding the wave.
I avidly read all thought-provoking religion titles. New authors: I'd love to read and review your book!
Contact me here.
About Leslie
Hi! While Lee writes the articles and reviews the books, I edit, organize, and maintain the blog. The views expressed here are Lee's but I'm his biggest supporter! :-)
The writer does say he was there for the transfiguration.
2Pe 1:17-18
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
If it wasn’t Peter, who was it? James or John? Why would they masquerade as Peter? Why would someone else?
Hi Elle, the majority of scholars, but by no means all, consider the book to be psuedonymous–that is, written in Peter’s name. There are other reasons that I didn’t mention above: It refers to a prior letter, but there are linquistic differences between it an 1 Peter. It seems in places to be a response to 2nd-century gnosticism. And it just doesn’t have any support among early church fathers.
It was common then to write in the name of a known teacher or prophet, usually one already dead, and it was not considered tricky or forgery. This lent credence to one’s writing, prepared a proper stage and setting, and honored the original man. The New Jerusalem Bible 1, discussing the pseudonymous writing of Timothy and Titus describes this style of writing in this way:
“The best explanation may be that the Pastoral Epistles are letters written by a follower of Paul, conscious of inheriting his mantle and seeking to give advice and instruction for the administration of local churches. This adoption of a revered name in such circumstances was a literary convention of the times.”
Your wrong and your liberal stance will afford you no such liberty….
Your wrong and your fundamental stance will afford you no such intelligence…
lol!
Those who had experienced the truth even the Lord Jesus Christ himself, will consider all these dubious write ups of demented minds as hogwash