The Second Epistle of St Peter (2 Peter)

The Second Epistle of St Peter, in the Vulgate Epistola II Petri, is the Apostle's farewell. He knows that "the laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand," and he writes so that the faithful may "frequently have after my decease" a remembrance of what he taught (2 Peter 1). In three short chapters he sets out the ladder of Christian virtue, bears witness to the glory he saw on the holy mount, unmasks the false teachers who will trouble the Church, and answers those who mock the promise of Christ's return.

It stands among the seven Catholic Epistles, after the First Epistle of St Peter and before the First Epistle of St John, and it is a near kinsman of the Epistle of St Jude, with which it shares a long passage on the false teachers.

Who wrote 2 Peter?

St Peter, Prince of the Apostles. The letter names him at its head: "Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained equal faith with us" (1:1). The writer then speaks as only Peter could. He recalls that our Lord foretold his death, "according as our Lord Jesus Christ also hath signified to me" (1:14), which is the prophecy of John 21. He was an eyewitness of the Transfiguration: "this voice we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount" (1:18). He calls this letter his "second epistle" (3:1), joining it to the first, and he speaks of "our most dear brother Paul" (3:15) as an equal.

The ancient witness came more slowly than for most books. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the epistle is first echoed rather than quoted, with Theophilus of Antioch (about 180) the one clear witness of the second century. Clement of Alexandria commented on it; Origen accepted one epistle of Peter as acknowledged and a second as "doubtful"; St Methodius of Olympus quotes it as Peter's. Eusebius records that the second epistle was disputed, "yet, as it has appeared profitable to many, it has been used with the other Scriptures" (Church History III, 3).

St Jerome reports that many doubted it "on account of its difference from the first in style" (On Illustrious Men 1), and he gives the answer in his Letter 120 to Hedibia: the two epistles differ in style because St Peter, as need required, used different interpreters, as he used St Mark. By the fourth century St Athanasius, St Cyril of Jerusalem and St Gregory Nazianzen received it, and Jerome placed it in the Vulgate.

The Pontifical Biblical Commission issued no special decree on 2 Peter. The Church's judgement stands in her canon, defined at Trent, which names "two [epistles] of Peter the apostle." Many modern scholars hold that a disciple wrote it in Peter's name after his death; the Church receives it, with the Fathers and the councils, as the Apostle's own. For his life and martyrdom, see our article on St Peter, the Apostle and First Pope.

When was 2 Peter written, and to whom?

Shortly before St Peter's death in Rome. Challoner reasons from the text itself: the words "this second epistle" and "the laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand" show "that it was written a very short time before his martyrdom, which was about thirty-five years after our Lord's Ascension." St Jerome places the martyrdom in the fourteenth year of Nero, that is about AD 67; the Catholic Encyclopedia, which dates 1 Peter to the end of 63 or the start of 64, puts the second letter just after it and before the Apostle's death. Like the first, it was written from Rome.

Because St Peter calls it his second epistle to the same readers (3:1), it went to the churches addressed in the first: the faithful "dispersed through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1), Christians of Asia Minor, most of them converted Gentiles. Its occasion was the rise of teachers of loose morals who denied the second coming of Christ.

What is 2 Peter about? A summary

The ladder of virtue and the apostolic witness (chapter 1)

Chapter 1 opens on the gifts of God: "all things of his divine power which appertain to life and godliness, are given us," and through his promises we are "made partakers of the divine nature" (1:3-4). Faith is only the first rung. St Peter commands the faithful to add to it, "employing all care," virtue, knowledge, abstinence, patience, godliness, love of brotherhood and charity (1:5-7); whoever lacks these "is blind, and groping, having forgotten that he was purged from his old sins" (1:9). Then come the farewell, the memory of the Transfiguration, and the rule on interpreting prophecy (1:20).

The false teachers and their judgement (chapter 2)

Chapter 2 foretells "lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them" (2:1), and who "through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you" (2:3). God's past judgements are their warning: the angels that sinned, cast down to hell; the old world drowned in the flood while "Noe, the eighth person, the preacher of justice" was saved, as in Genesis 6; and Sodom and Gomorrha burnt to ashes while "just Lot" was delivered, as in Genesis 19.

Yet "the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly from temptation" (2:9). The heretics are portrayed without mercy: "fountains without water," followers of "the way of Balaam of Bosor" of Numbers 22, promising liberty while "they themselves are the slaves of corruption" (2:17-19). The chapter ends on the fate of the apostate: "their latter state is become unto them worse than the former" (2:20).

The scoffers and the Day of the Lord (chapter 3)

Chapter 3 answers the mockers of the last days who ask, "Where is his promise or his coming?" (3:4). As the world that then was perished by water, so the present heavens and earth are "reserved unto fire against the day of judgment" (3:7). God's delay is mercy: "one day with the Lord is as a thousand years" (3:8), and he waits, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance" (3:9). The day "shall come as a thief," the elements shall melt, and "we look for new heavens and a new earth... in which justice dwelleth" (3:10-13). The Apostle closes by commending the letters of St Paul, warning against those who wrest them, and bidding us "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (3:18).

Themes and the Catholic reading

Partakers of the divine nature. No verse of the New Testament states more boldly what grace is. Grace is not a mere favour shown from outside. It makes us "partakers of the divine nature" (1:4), and St Thomas cites this verse when he teaches that grace, as a participation of the divine nature, is something prior to and beyond the infused virtues (Summa I-II, q. 110, a. 3). Pope St Leo the Great draws the same conclusion in his first Christmas sermon, read at Matins of the Nativity: "Christian, acknowledge thy dignity, and having been made a partner of the divine nature, do not return to thy former baseness." Our article on sanctifying grace explains the doctrine.

Faith that works. St Peter does not let faith stand alone. "Labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election" (1:10). The Council of Trent quotes this verse in its decree on justification (Sess. VI, ch. 11) under the name of "the prince of the apostles," against the claim that faith alone saves and that the commandments cannot be kept. The virtues of 1:5-7 rise from faith to charity, as in our pages on the theological virtues.

Scripture, the Church and private interpretation. In 1:20-21 St Peter teaches both the divine origin of Scripture, "the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost", and its proper interpretation. Challoner's note is plain: "This shews plainly that the scriptures are not to be expounded by any one's private judgment or private spirit," but by the Spirit whom Christ left "to remain with his Church to guide her in all truth." The warning of 3:16, that the unlearned "wrest" St Paul's epistles "to their own destruction," makes the same point. Trent forbids anyone to interpret Scripture "contrary to that sense which holy mother Church hath held and doth hold" (Sess. IV), and Leo XIII builds Providentissimus Deus on that teaching.

The Transfiguration. St Peter's proof of the Lord's coming in power is what he saw on Thabor, told in Matthew 17: "we were eyewitnesses of his greatness" (1:16), and the prophets confirm it, "a light that shineth in a dark place" (1:19).

The last things. Chapter 3 is the plainest text of the New Testament on the end of the world by fire and the new creation, foretold in Isaias 65 and shown in Apocalypse 21. With the angels "drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell" of 2:4 (the Vulgate has in tartarum), it teaches that hell is real and judgement certain. See the Four Last Things and what God says about the end times.

Famous verses of 2 Peter

2 Peter 1:3-4. "He hath given us most great and precious promises: that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1). The foundation of the doctrine of grace.

2 Peter 1:5-7. "Minister in your faith, virtue; and in virtue, knowledge..." and so up to charity: the ladder of Christian perfection.

2 Peter 1:10. "Labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time." Quoted by Trent.

2 Peter 1:20-21. "No prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. For prophecy came not by the will of man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost." The classic text on the inspiration of Scripture.

2 Peter 2:4. "God spared not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, to be reserved unto judgment" (2 Peter 2). On the fallen angels and hell, see does hell exist?

2 Peter 2:22. "The dog is returned to his vomit: and, The sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire." St Peter applies the proverb of Proverbs 26 to those who fall back into the sins they had left.

2 Peter 3:8. "One day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3), an echo of Psalm 89 (90): "a thousand years in thy sight are as yesterday."

2 Peter 3:9. "The Lord delayeth not his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance." The Vulgate reads ad poenitentiam reverti, and the Douay keeps "penance."

2 Peter 3:10. "The day of the Lord shall come as a thief, in which the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat." The same image our Lord and St Paul use for the Last Day (1 Thessalonians 5).

2 Peter 3:18. "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and unto the day of eternity. Amen." The Apostle's last written words.

Its place in the canon and the liturgy

2 Peter is one of the seven Catholic Epistles, so called because most are addressed to the faithful at large: James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, and Jude. It is one of the New Testament books once doubted in some churches, which the Fathers call antilegomena. The Peshitto, the old Syriac version, left it out, and Tertullian and St Cyprian do not mention it.

The doubt was settled in the fourth century: the Roman synod under Pope St Damasus in 382 counted two epistles of Peter, as did the African Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), the Council of Florence and, definitively, the Council of Trent in its fourth session (8 April 1546). Protestant Bibles kept it too, under the same name. The Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate number its three chapters exactly as modern Bibles do. On the English translation we use, see the Douay-Rheims Bible.

In the 1962 Missal, 2 Peter 1:16-19 is the Epistle of the feast of the Transfiguration on 6 August, beside the Gospel of Matthew 17:1-9. In the Roman Breviary the epistle is read at Matins on the Friday and Saturday after the Ascension: 1:1-15 on the Friday and the whole of chapter 3 on the Saturday. The first nocturn of the Transfiguration is also taken from 2 Peter 1:10-21. You can pray these offices in our Breviary and find the feasts in the liturgical calendar.

How to read 2 Peter

Read the whole epistle in one sitting, about a quarter of an hour, then a chapter a day. Read Jude beside chapter 2, and Matthew 17 before 1:16-19. Keep the Latin beside the English: divinae consortes naturae (1:4) and propria interpretatione (1:20) carry the doctrine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote 2 Peter?

The Church holds that St Peter the Apostle wrote it. The letter names "Simon Peter, servant and apostle of Jesus Christ" (1:1), claims to have witnessed the Transfiguration (1:16-18), recalls Christ's prophecy of Peter's death (1:14) and calls itself his "second epistle" (3:1). It was doubted by some in the early centuries, but it was received by the Fathers of the fourth century and defined as canonical by the Council of Trent among "two [epistles] of Peter the apostle." St Jerome explained its different style by Peter's use of different interpreters.

When was 2 Peter written?

A short time before St Peter's martyrdom in Rome, as he says himself: "the laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand" (1:14). St Jerome dates the martyrdom to the fourteenth year of Nero, about AD 67; the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia places the letter just after 1 Peter (63-64) and before the Apostle's death.

Who was 2 Peter written to?

To the same faithful as the first epistle (3:1): the Christians of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia in Asia Minor, most of them converts from paganism. St Peter wrote to strengthen them against false teachers who lived loosely and denied the second coming of Christ.

What is 2 Peter about?

It is St Peter's farewell to the Church. Chapter 1 exhorts the faithful to add virtue upon virtue to their faith and recalls the Transfiguration and the inspiration of Scripture. Chapter 2 warns against false teachers and their punishment. Chapter 3 answers those who mock the Lord's return and describes the Day of the Lord, the burning of the world, and the new heavens and new earth.

How many chapters are in 2 Peter?

2 Peter has three chapters (61 verses), the same in the Douay-Rheims, the Vulgate and modern Bibles. Verses often searched as "2 Peter 5:7" ("casting all your care upon him") belong to 1 Peter 5, which has five chapters.

What does 2 Peter 3:9 mean?

It explains why Christ has not yet returned. "The Lord delayeth not his promise... but dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance." The delay is God's mercy, giving sinners time for conversion and penance; it teaches that God sincerely wills the salvation of all, though not all will accept it.

Is 2 Peter 3:10 referring to the rapture?

No. "The day of the Lord shall come as a thief" refers to the Last Day: the visible return of Christ, the general judgement and the end of this world by fire. The Catholic Church has never taught a secret rapture before that Day. Christ comes once in glory to judge the living and the dead, as the Apostles' Creed professes.

Is 2 Peter a forgery?

The Church does not hold it to be one. Its authenticity was questioned by some in the early Church, as Eusebius and St Jerome record, and many modern critics deny it. But the letter's own testimony, the witness of Fathers such as St Methodius, St Athanasius and St Jerome, and the definition of Trent have led Catholics to receive it as inspired Scripture written by St Peter.

Read the whole of 2 Peter verse by verse, in Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. The Holy Bible, Douay-Rheims (Challoner), preface and notes to 2 Peter; the Clementine Vulgate; Eusebius, Church History III, 3; St Jerome, On Illustrious Men 1 and Letter 120 to Hedibia; Pope St Leo the Great, Sermon 21 on the Nativity; St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-II, q. 110, a. 3; Council of Trent, Session IV (1546) and Session VI, ch. 11; Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus (1893); Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Epistles of Saint Peter"; Missale Romanum (1962), feast of the Transfiguration; Breviarium Romanum, Friday and Saturday after the Ascension and 6 August.