Date and Place of Writing.
Since Peter mentions Pauline literature and deals with questions regarding the Lord’s return, some feel the book demands a second-century date and thus could not have been written by the Apostle Peter.
The mention of Paul’s letters in
2 Peter 3:16 has given rise to the assumption that the author was referring to an organized collection of epistles that were recognized by the church at large as authoritative. F. H. Chase has written, “It is impossible to suppose that a collection of St. Paul’s epistles had been made and that they were treated as Scripture during the lifetime of St. Peter” (A Dictionary of the Bible, ed. James Hastings. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1902, s.v. “Peter,” 3:810). However, Peter’s statement (
2 Peter 3:16) need not refer to the entire body of Pauline literature but merely to those letters with which Peter was familiar. Certainly Peter, living the last few years of his life in Rome itself, would have had occasion to read several of Paul’s letters as they circulated among churches throughout the Roman world.
Two references in 2 Peter give some indication of the date of the epistle. In
2 Peter 1:13-15, Peter indicated that the time of his death was near. The traditional date for Peter’s death is late A.D. 67 or early A.D. 68. The reference to Paul’s epistles in 3:16 would seem to indicate a date some time after A.D. 60. Since 1 Peter is normally dated around A.D. 64, 2 Peter may be conservatively placed some time after the writing of 1 Peter and before Peter’s death, between A.D. 64 and 68.
The text of 2 Peter suggests no specific place for its composition. However, since 1 Peter was written in Rome and Rome is traditionally held to be the place of Peter’s crucifixion, it is reasonable to assume that 2 Peter was written in Rome as well.
Destination.
Peter was writing to Christians (1:1) to whom he had written before (3:1). If
2 Peter 3:1 refers to 1 Peter, then he was writing to the mixed Jewish and Gentile churches of “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (
1 Peter 1:1). If, however, he referred to a letter no longer extant, then the destination of 2 Peter cannot be determined.
Occasion and Purpose.
Peter was both a concerned pastor and a champion of theological orthodoxy. This final impassioned plea to grow in Christian maturity and guard against false teachers was precipitated by the fact that His time was short (1:13-15) and that these congregations faced immediate danger (2:1-3). He desired to refresh their memories (1:13) and stimulate their thinking (3:1-2) so that they would remember his teaching (1:15). He carefully described the characteristics of mature believers and challenged them to make every effort to grow in grace and knowledge (1:3-11). Credentials of true teachers were given to help the readers be discerning students of God’s Word (1:12-21). Peter cautioned them against false teachers and exposed their evil characteristics (chap. 2). And he encouraged his readers with the certainty of Christ’s return (3:1-16).
The purpose of 2 Peter is to call Christians to spiritual growth so that they can combat apostasy as they look forward to the Lord’s return.
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). Vol. 2: The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (862). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Linear Mode
