not to be lightly set aside; he asserts himself to be the .Apostle St. Peter 80 plainly and repeatedly that it is hard, on the hypothesis of imitation, to acquit him of deliberate falsehood, and to regard the Epistle as an innocent attempt to strengthen the influence of a good and holy writing by investing it with apostolical authority. We have to deal, not only with direct asser- tions, as eh. i. 1 and 12-18; eh. iii. 1, 15, 16; but also with indirect reminiscences and allusions, such as the use of the word O€A.Hf(w ( eh. ii. 14, 18), which points back to St. Peter's early occupation; the evident refer- ences in eh. ii. and iii. to that solemn discourse of th"l Lord upon the Mount of Olives, which, it seems, was heard only by St. Peter and three other apostles (see Matt. xxiv. 11, 12, 24, 29, 30, 43) ; the constant recollec- tion of the solemn charge which the Lord had given him, "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren; " three times in this Epistle that word uT~pi(ov seems to be in the writer's thoughts (see in the Greek, eh. i. 12; iii. 16, 17). Again, there is considerable weight in the negative evidence for the early date of this Epistle implied in the absence of references to the more developed heresies of the second century. A writer of that date, dealing, as St. Peter does, with the false teachers of his time, must have shown, at least unconsciously, an acquaintance with some of the various forms of Gnosticism. It would have been difficult for him, when describing the tremendous circumstances of the day of the Lord, to suppress aitogether his knowledge of the fall of Jerusalem-the great catastrophe which in our Lord's prophecies was so closely associated with the end of all things. And probably in a writing of that date we should find at least some indications of the more complete ecclesiastical organization of the time. Another important element in the evidence for the authenticity of this Epistle is its own intrinsic power and beauty. We have several Christian writings of the second century ; they a.re precious for many reasons ; we should be very sorry to be without any one of them. But the value of them all put together is as nothing compared with that of this Epistle. They are such books as good men might write now; full of piety and holiness, but not beyond the reach of men endued with the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. But is there any man living, however wise and holy, who could write an Epistle like this ? Could any of the sub-apostolic Fathers whose writings have come down to us have produced anything to be compared with it ? The books of Holy Scripture and human compositions lie in different planes ; they do not bear comparison. There is an inde- scribable something in the Word of God which appeals to the human nature which God created, to the conscience which bears witness of him-some- thing which tells us that the message comes from God. The Second Epistle of St. Peter possesses that authority, that holy beauty, those notes of inspiration which differentiate the sacred writings from the works of men. xiv INTRODUCTION TO
II. INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLE. Some critics call in question the integrity of the Epistle. Some regard the second chapter as an interpolation from St. Jude. Lange enlarges the supposed interpolation, making it extend from eh. i. 20 to eh. iii. 3. One holds the first chapter only to be genuine ; the critical discernment of another pronounces for the first twelve verses of the Epistle and the con- cluding doxology. This want of ag1·eement is a strong argument against the attempts to disintegrate the Epistle. There is no evidence whatever in favour of the theory of interpolation from manuscripts or versions or a.ncient authority of any kind. Neither is there any trace of such interpo- lation in the Epistle itself. The writer sums up the substance of his teaching in the last two verses : " Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from yonr own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the k:nowlege of our Lord and Sa.vionr Jesus Christ." He keeps these two purposes in view throughout; he passes from one to the other by simple a.nd natural transitions. Such differences of style as may be found in the different sections of the Epistle can be accounted for by change of subject a.nd in part by the influence of St. Jude. There is no such difference as to warrant the disintegration of the Epistle.
Ill. REA.DERS: TIME,A.ND PLACE OF WRITING.
The Epistle is addressed generally to "them that have obtained like precious faith with us." But vers. 12 and 16 of eh. i. seem to imply some acquaintance, either personal or by letter, with those to whom the apostle is writing ; and in eh. iii. 1 he identifies them with the readers of his First Epistle. The dangers to be apprehended from the false teachers threatened other Chnrches besides those of Asia Minor; therefore the apostle gives his letter a more general character, probably intending it for a wider circula- tion. But he addresses principally the readers of the First Epistle. The spiritual dangers to which they were now exposed were more to be dreaded than the persecutions of which so much bad been already said; therefore now he dwells upon the errors and evil practices of the false teachers, not on tbe sufferings which were gathering round the Church. The apostle was looking forward to the putting off of his earthly taber- nacle. His martyrdom may have taken place about the year 68; probably this Epil!tle was written not long before. The1·e is no evidence of any sort which can help ns to determine the place of writing; the apostle may have been at Babylon, or at Rome, or at some intermediate point in the journey between the two cities. THE SECOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. IV