2 Peter

2 Peter

While the letter of 2 Peter is most likely written to the same group of churches in Asia Minor that 1 Peter was addressed to, the circumstances leading Peter to write are quite different. This letter was most likely written between 65-67 A.D. In the 3-5 years between 1 and 2 Peter the Christian faith experienced a heightened level of difficulties. False apostles and teachers were proliferating and leading many people astray. Persecution of Christians had also intensified and in some areas become an issue of state policy. It is likely that Peter himself penned 2 Peter as a Roman prisoner awaiting execution. Whether or not that was the case, we do know that his own impending death was a primary motivation for Peter's writing (see 2 Peter 1:13-15). Peter, the Apostle and Pastor whom Jesus personally commissioned to tend and feed his sheep, is seeking to stir believers up toward faith and faithfulness as they endure suffering, scoffing, and false teaching as they wait patiently for the return of Christ - a return that seemed too delayed to be real for some critics. While we live in a very different world, many of these challenges are more relevant than ever. My prayer is that the Lord will use this short letter to stir us up as well. In Christ, Travis