{"id":5689,"date":"2018-01-06T19:02:09","date_gmt":"2018-01-07T01:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5689"},"modified":"2018-01-06T19:02:09","modified_gmt":"2018-01-07T01:02:09","slug":"reminder-2-peter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/06\/reminder-2-peter\/","title":{"rendered":"A Reminder — 2 Peter"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jack Wilkie<\/strong>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn last month\u2019s \u201cDigging Deeper,\u201d we looked at Peter\u2019s first epistle. Written in approximately 64 A.D., it focused on the persecutions that the Christians of the first century were facing. In his second letter, Peter focused on the other major problem that the early church\u00a0was facing. As we can see from\u00a01 John (a letter written about thirty years later),\u00a0the earliest forms of Gnosticism\u00a0were\u00a0gaining ground in response to the spread of Christianity. Other false teaching existed at the time as well, but one major teaching that was addressed numerous times in the New Testament was the misunderstanding of Jesus\u2019 return\u00a0and the afterlife.\u00a0So, Peter decided to\u00a0write\u00a0these Christians to remind them that they already knew the truth and that they should use it to stand firm against the false prophets in the world.\u00a0<\/span>
\nBackground Information<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>
\nOf all of the twenty-seven New Testament books, none has had its authorship questioned as much as 2 Peter.\u00a0The two main charges against his authorship were that it wasn\u2019t confirmed and directly quoted by the early church as many of the other books, and that the style and content matched Jude more than 1 Peter. However, there are numerous reasons to assume that the letter is authentic. One commentator addressed the issue early church quotation by saying that \u201cthere are possible or probable traces of 2 Peter in\u00a01 Clement (95\u00a0A.D.), 2 Clement (150\u00a0A.D.), Aristides (130\u00a0A.D.),\u00a0Hermas\u00a0(120\u00a0A.D.),\u00a0Valentinus\u00a0(130\u00a0A.D.),\u00a0and Hippolytus (180\u00a0A.D.).\u201di<\/span>\u00a0Stylistically, the letter isn\u2019t an exact replica of 1 Peter, but similarities exist and 2 Peter is far more credible than every other\u00a0pseudepigraphical\u00a0writing attributed to Peter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nAs for the date, history tells us that\u00a0Peter wrote his first letter\u00a0in 63-65 A.D. and that he was killed before 68 A.D., so this second letter would have to date back to either 65, 66, or 67 A.D. While he doesn\u2019t open the letter by addressing his audience in the same way as he did in 1 Peter 1:1,\u00a0many point to the statement in 3:1 where Peter mentions that this is the second letter he is writing to the intended audience as proof that he was writing to the same group of readers.\u00a0<\/span>
\nKey Themes<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>
\nAny time a writer gives a purpose statement as Peter did in 3:1-2, we should take note of it and see the rest of the letter with that point in mind. \u201cBeloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in\u00a0both of\u00a0which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior.\u201d So, Peter wanted his readers to be mindful of the things they had heard. Why? So they would be knowledgeable about the\u00a0Truth and confident that they could rely on the Scriptures and commandments they had received. Why did they need to have that knowledge and confidence? So they could stand strong against false teaching.\u00a0<\/span>
\nKey Verses<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>
\nOf course, 3:1-2 is the most important section for understanding the book.\u00a0Another purpose statement of sorts can be found in 1:12-15. In this section Peter noted that his goal was that he could remind them of the\u00a0Truth so well while he remained on earth that they would continue to use those teachings after he was gone.\u00a0<\/span>
\nSome\u00a0of the verses in the book cover both\u00a0of the major\u00a0themes. Consider 1:19-21, where Peter ensured that the Scriptures could be trusted, that they should be given attention, and that they\u00a0will not be changed based on what men say.\u00a0Another is 3:17-18, where two commands are given\u2013\u2013be on your guard against unprincipled men and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ.\u00a0<\/span>
\nKey Words<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>
\nBecause of the focus on false teachers and the need to be prepared to refute them,\u00a0knowledge<\/i>\u00a0dominates the text of 2 Peter as a keyword. It appears in some form (know<\/i>,\u00a0known<\/i>,\u00a0knowing<\/i>, or\u00a0knowledge<\/i>) seventeen times, or sixteen depending on your translation. Along with\u00a0knowledge<\/i>, the word\u00a0remind<\/i>\u00a0is an important one as Peter repeatedly states his goal of reminding them of what they know. Finally,\u00a0diligent\/diligence<\/i>\u00a0occurs four times, showing the urgency and necessity of the work set before us.\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn an age that is rife with religious teachings of every sort and thousands of different belief sets, we need a constant reminder to be diligent to grow in knowledge of the Word and stand firm in it. With these principles of 2 Peter in mind, I hope you\u2019ll take some time to go verse\u00a0by\u00a0verse in this book and work to grow your knowledge by digging deep.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jack Wilkie \u00a0 \u00a0 In last month\u2019s \u201cDigging Deeper,\u201d we looked at Peter\u2019s first epistle. Written in approximately 64 A.D., it focused on the persecutions that the Christians of the first century were facing. In his second letter, Peter focused on the other major problem that the early church\u00a0was facing. As we can see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[45,66],"tags":[1304,1207,1289,1145,121],"class_list":["post-5689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-think-excerpts","tag-2-peter","tag-digging-deeper","tag-february-2013","tag-jack-wilkie","tag-study","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nA Reminder - 2 Peter - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/01\/06\/reminder-2-peter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Reminder - 2 Peter - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jack Wilkie \u00a0 \u00a0 In last month\u2019s \u201cDigging Deeper,\u201d we looked at Peter\u2019s first epistle. 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