Introduction:
In part one of this study we learned a little about who Peter was, how important he was, and the fact that he was not infallible.  These things help us to learn of the penman of these two great epistles.  In this lesson we will learn a little bit of historical standpoints as well as so final details of the work of Peter.

I.  How do we know Peter was the Penman?

A.  Inspiration proclaims he was the author:

1.  I Peter 1:1 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”
2.  II Peter 1:1 “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:”

B.  There are many similarities to Paul’s Epistles, how do we know Paul did not author I and II Peter?

1.  Similar greetings are found in some of Paul’s writings:

a.  Romans 1:7
b.  I Corinthians 1:3 
c.  II Corinthians 1:2
d.  Galatians 1:3
e.  Ephesians 1:2
f.  Philippians 1:2
g.  Colossians 1:2
h.  I Thessalonians 1:1
i.  II Thessalonians 1:2
j.  I Timothy 1:2
k.  II Timothy 1:2
l.  Titus 1:4
m.  Philemon 1:3

2.  Note some of the similarities of chapter one of I Peter with the some of the books penned by Paul:

a.  I Peter 1:3 and Ephesians 1:3
b.  I Peter 1:5 and Ephesians 1:19
c.  I Peter 1:14 and Ephesians 2:3
d.  I Peter 2:1 and Colossians 3:8
e.  I Peter 3:1 and Ephesians 5:22
f.  I Peter 5:8 and I Thessalonians 5:6
g.  I Peter 5:14 and I Corinthians 16:20; Romans 16:16
h.  I Peter 5:1 and Romans 8:18
i.  I Peter 1:21 and Romans 4:24
j.  I Peter 11:13-14 and Romans 13:1-4

3.  Paul could not be the penman not only because Peter claims such, but also because Peter references Paul (II Peter 3:15).
4.  There are also several similarities from II Peter to the book of Jude.

A.  Location – Peter in Babylon with Marcus [John Mark] (I Peter 5:13).  Not sure where he was when writing II Peter.
B.  Date – since John Mark was with Peter we know that this Epistle was written after the Colossian letter (AD 62-63).

1.  John Mark was with Paul during the writing of the Colossian letter (Colossians 4:10).
2.  Four or five years later John Mark was in Asia Minor (II Timothy 4:11) coming to Rome with Timothy upon Paul’s request.

a.  So, sometime between 63 – 67 AD John Mark would have been with Peter and thus the dated is fixed there.  According to Historic accounts 64-65 AD would be closer to exact.
b.  Most would agree that the Second Epistle was also penned within a couple of years of the first epistle because Peter died according to history in 67 AD.  The second epistle proclaimed his life was near end (II Peter 1:14), just as Paul did in his letter to Timothy (II Timothy 4:6-8).

C.  Historic background:  

1.  Nero was persecuting Christians, which explains the context mentioning persecution often.

a.  Nero was nightly burning Christians as torches in his garden.
b.  Peter starts off on this note (I Peter 1:6-10).

2.  Nero gives control of Cesarea to the Greeks in 66 AD, which began a Jewish revolt. 

III.  Understanding a little more about the penman

A.  Peter learned the lesson of humility as taught by the Lord (John 13:1-6 and I Peter 5:5).
B.  Peter was the first to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1 – 11:18).
C.  Peter was an elder (I Peter 5:1-2).

1.  Again showing he was married, but also he would have had other qualifications that would let us learn more of this beloved apostle (Titus 1:6-9 and I Timothy 3:1-7).

Conclusion:
History dates the death of the Apostle Peter at 67 AD, and as stated in lesson one it would be a violent death.  We surely can learn a great deal from our studies of the two epistles he penned.  We can also make notes of the great changes and growth in this Apostles’ life.

Copyright 2002 by Brian Yeager may be reproducted for non-commercial purposes at no cost to others.