Bible Discussion Thread

INTRODUCTION TO 2 PETER (Part 3):

Peter wrote his second letter also from Rome right before 67 A.D. as he wrote it right before his death. Nero, the Roman Emperor, died around 68 A.D. That's how the scholars get the estimation of the date which it was written because it was written before Nero's death, and after 63 A.D. and his death was imminent, so they believed it was around 67 A.D. that he wrote this second letter.

It is a letter of urgency. Peter knows he's about ready to die. Can you imagine walking with the Lord between 35 and 40 years, being one of the original apostles that the Lord has chosen, having been through all that he had been through with the Lord, and learning how to walk with the Lord, and then realize that his death is within a day or two.

And he wants to put everything he knows, the warnings, and the cautions out to the church before he dies. He wants to leave behind the very essentials of the Christian faith. And that's what 2 Peter is.

V. THE PURPOSE OF THE LETTER:

First Peter was written to warn the believers about the threat against the Church from the outside world.

Second Peter was written to warn the believers about the threat against the Church from inside the church, the false teachers, and the false teachings. And we see that in-depth when we get into the letter.

VI. THE THEME OF THE LETTER:

The theme of the letter is persecution and suffering. Peter wrote in order to warn the believing Jews in the DIASPORA that the persecution against the Church is going to intensify.

And so, around the 64 to 65 A.D. time frame, when Paul was put to death, that is when Nero set Rome on fire, and He blamed it on the Christians.

VII. THE STYLE OF WRITING:

When Peter quotes from the Old Testament, he quotes from the Septuagint which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew text. The Septuagint was written in Alexandria, Egypt around 300 B.C.