The Second Letter of Peter

The delay. The first Christians lived in expectation of the Lord's return. As the first generation died, some began to ask, "Where is the promise of his coming?" (3:4). If nothing ever changes, they said, there is no judgment to fear. That is the question this letter faces.

False teachers. Chapter 2 describes people inside the community (2:1) who promised liberty while being slaves of corruption (2:19), who twisted Paul's letters (3:16), and who despised authority (2:10). They "will exploit you with deceptive words" for gain (2:3). We do not know their names. Some scholars see the early signs of movements that were later called Gnostic, and others think of people influenced by Greek thinkers who denied divine judgment. The letter does not say.

Paul's letters already gathered. Peter calls Paul "our beloved brother" (3:15) and says that his letters are hard to understand, and that some twist them "as they do the other scriptures" (3:16). This is a precious witness that Paul's letters were already being read with the Scriptures, and a warning against reading the Bible by oneself alone.

The Church's tradition. The letter names "Simeon Peter" (1:1). It claims the Transfiguration as the writer's own memory (1:16 to 18), recalls the Lord's word about his death (1:14; compare Jn 21:18 to 19), and calls itself his second letter (3:1). The Council of Trent (1546) received it as one of "two of Peter the apostle". St Athanasius in 367 lists it with the other catholic letters, and Jerome placed it in the Vulgate.

Honest doubts, already in the ancient Church. This is the letter of the New Testament that was received most slowly, and the Fathers say so openly.

• Origen, as quoted by Eusebius (Church History 6.25), says that Peter left "one acknowledged epistle; perhaps also a second, but this is doubtful".
• Eusebius (3.3; 3.25) places it among the disputed books, while noting that it "has appeared profitable to many".
• St Jerome writes (Illustrious Men 1) that many consider it not by Peter "on account of its difference from the first in style". Elsewhere, as the Catholic Encyclopedia records, he explains the difference by Peter's use of different interpreters.

A scholarly note. Traditionally the letter is by Peter, perhaps through a helper. Many scholars today think that a disciple wrote it after Peter's death, in Peter's name and as his testament, a form known in that age. They point to its Greek, to its use of Jude (compare 2 Pet 2:1 to 18 with Jude 4 to 16; the Catholic Encyclopedia also judges that 2 Peter depends on Jude), and to the mention of "our ancestors" having died (3:4). The Church has not settled the question of the human hand. She has settled that the letter is inspired and canonical. Its authority rests on that, as God's word, and not on the outcome of this debate (Dei Verbum 11; Catechism 105 to 107).

• Sharing God's life. God has given us promises so that we "may become participants of the divine nature" (1:4). The Catechism quotes this when it explains why the Word became flesh (460), and on grace, Baptism and the sacraments (1129, 1265, 1996). We do not become God by nature. We are drawn by grace, as adopted children, into his life. The Eastern Fathers love this teaching, and St Athanasius is quoted on it in the same paragraph (460).
• Grace and effort together. God "has given us everything needed for life and godliness" (1:3). So "make every effort" to add virtue to faith, and so on up to love (1:5 to 7; Catechism 1812 on the theological virtues). This follows the Catholic teaching on grace: all starts from God, and the human response is itself moved by grace (Catechism 1996, 2001 to 2002).
• Apostolic witness, not fables. "We did not follow cleverly devised myths" (1:16). The faith rests on what witnesses saw and heard: the Transfiguration (Catechism 554).
• Scripture and its reading. Prophecy is "a lamp shining in a dark place" (1:19). "No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation" (1:20), because people spoke "moved by the Holy Spirit" (1:21). Dei Verbum 11 cites these verses in its teaching on inspiration, and Dei Verbum 12 teaches that Scripture must be read in the Spirit in which it was written, within the living Tradition of the whole Church. The warning of 3:16 belongs here too.
• God's patience is mercy. "The Lord is not slow about his promise ... but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance" (3:9). The Catechism quotes this to teach that God predestines no one to hell (1037), and in explaining "Thy will be done" (2822).
• God's time. "With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day" (3:8). The verse is about God's patience. It is no code for calculating the end, and it must never be used to set a date. The Father alone knows the times and seasons (Catechism 673).
• New heavens and a new earth. The fire of 3:10 to 12 is strong language from the prophets. The goal is renewal: "new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home" (3:13; Catechism 671, 1043, 1405; see 1042). The letter draws from this a way of life: "leading lives of holiness and godliness" (3:11).
• True liberty. "People are slaves to whatever masters them" (2:19). Those who promise liberty without virtue are themselves in chains.
• The rescue of the just. God "knows how to rescue the godly from trial" (2:9), as with Noah and Lot, and the fallen angels stand under judgment (2:4; Catechism 392). The stress falls on rescue as much as on judgment, and the letter shows that God cares for the upright in a corrupt place.

"False prophets also arose among the people" (2:1). This refers to the warnings in Israel's own Scriptures, spoken by Israel's own prophets, and it is no charge against the Jewish people.

• God and Saviour. The opening speaks of "our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (1:1), and the closing gives glory to him "now and to the day of eternity" (3:18). This doxology is addressed to Jesus himself.
• The Son on the holy mountain. The Father's voice names him "my Son, my Beloved" (1:17; Catechism 554).
• The Master who bought us. Even the false teachers are said to deny "the Master who bought them" (2:1). His death reached those who now turn against him.
• The morning star. He is the dawn that rises in the believer's heart (1:19).
• The coming Lord. "The power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1:16) are the heart of the Apostles' message. The Transfiguration is a foretaste of that glory.

The Catechism cites 1:4 many times: 51 (God's plan), 460, 1129, 1265, 1692, 1721, 1812, and with 1:3 at 1996. For 3:13 see 671, 1043, 1405, for 3:9 see 1037, 2822. For the fallen angels 2:4 appears at 392.

The Fathers, in substance. St Irenaeus and St Athanasius teach what this letter says: the Word became man so that human beings might share God's life (Catechism 460). St Jerome is frank about the difference in style, and still receives the letter.

Benedict XVI gave no catechesis on this letter that we could find. His audiences on Peter in 2006 (17 May, 24 May, 7 June) give the portrait of the Apostle.

In the liturgy.

• Latin. 2 Pet 3:8 to 14 on the Second Sunday of Advent in Year B. 2 Pet 1:16 to 19 is the second reading on the feast of the Transfiguration. On weekdays it is read in the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time in Year II.
• Syro-Malabar. In the 2026 to 2027 calendar we examined it is read on weekdays: 2 Pet 1:12 to 21 in the season of the Dedication of the Church, 2 Pet 3:14 to 18 in Denha, 2 Pet 2:4 to 10 and 2:11 to 17 in the Great Fast.
• Syro-Malankara. In the same year: 2 Pet 1:3 to 11 on the Sunday of the Message to Zechariah, 2 Pet 3:8 to 13 on Aneede Sunday (the commemoration of the departed faithful), 2 Pet 1:16 to 21 on the Transfiguration, 2 Pet 3:1 to 7 on the Third Sunday after the Transfiguration.

Short enough for ten minutes. Read it after 1 Peter if you can, and with Jude beside chapter 2. Then, over three days:

• Day 1: chapter 1. Dwell on 1:4 and walk slowly up the ladder of 1:5 to 7.
• Day 2: chapter 2. It is a hard chapter. Ask what liberty really means, and notice the rescue of Noah and Lot.
• Day 3: chapter 3. Read it in Advent, or whenever God seems slow. Then pray 3:18.