PETER, SECOND EPISTLE OF

to understand how he supplanted St. Paul so soon in the capital as the chief Apostle. Evidently the tradi-tion of a 25 years' episcopate has no historical basis, but St. Peter probably came to Rome after St. Paul, and died perhaps in the Neronian persecution of 64, or possibly later. It is in the highest degree probable that St. Peter wrote this Epistle from Rome before A.D. 64. R. A. Falconer.

PETER, SECOND EPISTLE OP.— This Epistle cannot rank with 1 Peter as a Christian classic; indeed, very many would agree with JUlicher that '2 Peter is not only the latest document of the NT, but also the least deserving of a place in the canon.' Nevertheless, it strilces a pure Christian note in its passion for righteousness.

1. Contents. —

_(i.) Greeting and exhortation, 1'-". The Epistle opens with a salutation from Simon Peter to readers who, through the righteousness of God, have been admitted to the fSl

grivileges of the Apostolic faith. His prayer for increased leasing upon them, through the knowledge ofGodandJesus our Lord, is based on the fact that by the revelation of His glorious excellence His Divine power has made a godly life possible for us, and has given nch promises of our ulti-mately sharing His nature, when we have escaped from this present world perishing in its lust (w.^-^). They are therefore urged to en rich their characterwi til virtues, because only from such a soil will a full Imowledge of Jesus Clirist grow; and entrance into His eternal Kingdom depends upon forgiveness of sins, and the zealous effort of the believer to mal£e the gospel call effective by a hfe of virtue (w.'-"). (ii.) The sure witness to the gospel, w.^^-^. The Apostle will hold himself in readiness to remind his readers of the truth; and since.his death may be sudden, he will endeavour to leave them a trustworthy memorial of his teaching; for, unlilce the false teachers, Peter was an eye-witness com-

Eetent to set forth the power and tlie return of the Lord, aving seen the Transfiguration on the Holy Mount. He also heard the Divine voice that confirmed prophecy, to which they must pay heed, since it was given by the Spirit; but prophecy having such an ori^n can be interpreted only oy the voice of God, not by private opinion.

(iii.) Thefalseteachers, ch. 2. An invasion of false teachers is foretold. These men will subvert the gospel of redemption from sin, and'cause apostasy in the Church. But their doom at the hand of a righteous God, is no less certain than that of the angels who sinned, or the antediluvian world, or Sodom and Gomorrah; though now also, as then, the few righteous will escape (w.^-*) . Sensual, irreverent,brutish, and ignorant of spiritual things, they destroy even the sacred Christian feasts by their revelry, and, Uke Balaam, seek, for their selfish purposes, to lead their victims into fornication, delud-ing recently converted believers with a false doctrine of freedom. Had these apostates never known the truth, it would have been better for them (w."-^).

(\v,)Waminff against scepticism as to the return of the Lord, ch. 3. He reminds his readers that it was foretold as a sign of the end that mockers would deny that the Lord will return, but that both the prophets and the Lord proclaimed a day of Final Judgment. The memory of the Flood should be a waming to the scoffers (w.'-'). God's delay is intended to give opportunity for repentance, and His purposes, though slowly maturing, will be brought to pass without waming; but the Day may be hastened Dy holy Uving and godliness. This is the teaclung also of Paul, whose gospel of grace some are seeking to distort into licence. Safety Hes in watchful-ness and in growth in the grace and Imowledge of Jesus Christ (w. »-i8).

2. Situation o£ the readers. — Were it not that 2 P3' seems to refer to 1 Peter, no definite information would be found in this letter as to the locality of the readers. It appears to be an Epistle designed to counteract a par-ticular error affecting a district rather than one Church. It may be inferred that the readers were Gentiles (1') , and were being misled by distortions of the Pauline doctrine of grace (S'^- «), though the Churches were undisturbed by any echoes of the Jewish-Christian controversy. Indifference to Christian morality, inducing a dulled spiritual sense, has made them liable to apostasy under the influence of false teachers who are about to invade the Churches. Some are already at work among them (213-18). They seem to have taken advantage of the privilege of porphecy to spread their libertinism, and to

PETER, SECOND EPISTLE OP

have turned the sacred love-feasts into bestial carousals, holding out, especially to recent converts, the distorted promise of Christain freedom. They satisfied their own avarice and lust, and sco£fed at moral responsibility, teaching, it would appear, that there is no resurrection of the body or judgment to come, by playing upon the deferred Christian hope of the Return of the Lord. Apparently they were all of one type, and so wicked as to be compared with the worst sinners of the OT (21. 6. ». 16). There is no evidence of any speculative system like those of the 2nd cent. Gnosticism, but there are features in common with the practices of the Nicolaitans of the Churches of Pergamum and Thyatira (Eev 2"-"), though no mention is made of idolatry. A greater affinity may be traced with the Sadducaic spirit of portions of the Jewish and semi-pagan world, where scepticism as to spiritual realities went hand in hand with practical immorality. The cities of Syria or Samaria would be a not improbable situation for the readers of 2 Peter.

3. Ptirpose of the Epistle. — It is a mistake to confine the purpose of 2 Peter to the refutation of one error, as, e.g., the denial of the Parousia. It is a loud appeal for godly living and faith in the affirmations of the gospel. Scripture, and the Christian conscience. God's promises of mercy and threatenings of judgment are Yea and Amen. The writer aims to impress on his readers: (1) that saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is granted only to the virtuous heart; (2) that Jesus Christ is a present power for a godly life, and is certain to return for judgment; (3) the hideous character of the false teachers and the self-evident doom of themselves and their victims; (4) that delay in the Return of the Lord must be used for repentance, for that Day will surely come.

4. Literary afSnities. — (o) The OT. — Though the direct quotations are few (Ps 90' in 3' and probably Pr 26" in 2?^, with remmiscences of Is 34* in 3", and Is 65" 6622 in 313), the real indebtedness of 2 Pet. to the OT is very great in the historical examples of ch. 2, and in the view of Creation, the Flood, and the Day of the Lord (3''- '■ '). The infiuence of Isaiah is manifest (cf. Is 13'-" 341 61» 661"- with 2 P 3'- "); and the use of Proverbs may perhaps be seen in 2 P 2" (Pr 10" 21« 25«) and in 2 P 2a (Pr 1228 16"- =').

(6) Book of Enoch. — It cannot be doubted that Enoch 91 10«-« 18"-21 has influenced 2 P 2'- ".

(c) The Gospels. — The most obvious references are in 2 p 116-18^ which agrees fundamentally, though not precisely, with the Synoptic narratives of the Trans-figuration, and in 1", which seems to point to the incident in Jn 21'8- ■». The Synoptic eschatology also, along with OT prophecy, has infiuenced 2 Peter (ct. Mk 13"- »■ 2«' " II and 2 P 3i"-i2; Mt 19^ 25=', Lk 2128-28 and 2 P 312. 13). Mt 112'- 29 || and the parable of the Sower (Lk S'"- ") throw much light on 2 P I2-8; and Mt 1228- 23 a-a on 2 P 219-2'.

(d) The Pauline Epistles. — Of these there are very few traces, though 2 P V may be compared with 2 Co 5'; 2 P 2" with Ro 6"8; 2 P 3" with 1 Th 3V 522, and 2 P 3" with Ro 2' 922. There are verbal similarities with the Pastoral Epistles, but probably they do not involve anything more than a wide-spread similar atmos-phere. According to 3'5' ", the author seems to know all St. Paul's correspondence, but he shows astonishingly little evidence of its influence.

(e) Jude. — One of these Epistles must have been used by the author of the other, but there is great diversity of opinion as to the priority, the prevailing view at present being apparently in favour of the priority of Jude, though Zahn and Bigg are strong advocates of 2 Peter. The question is really indeterminable, and, apart from the external testimony of the one to the other, has little bearing on the authorship.

(/) 1 Peter. — (i.) Differences. These are many and serious. 1 Peter is written in fluent Hellenistic Greek

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