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Introduction: Gunther Bornkamm in his work The New Testament: A Guide to its writings (p. 127) says of II Peter that it is “hardly to be mentioned in the same breath with Hebrews. . . . It is no longer the expression of a living faith, not even the few impressive phrases that it contains are enough to deceive the reader. The date of II Peter is quite late, somewhere in the middle of the second century, which makes it the latest document in the New Testament.”
Raymond Brown is not a great deal kinder in his New Testament Introduction where he states that the pseudonimity of II Peter is more sure than of any other NT work. (p. 767) Thus the authorship and canonicity of II Peter, and by implication Jude is a serious question.
Authorship- this is the most important critical issue in the book. • External evidence- • The contrast with I Peter- the book is usually rejected as having been written by Peter for two reasons: Language and thought • The Relationship with Jude- • The teaching about Paul- This argument is often held to tell decisively against Peter as the author of the book.
Date- as is well known by now, the book’s date will be affected by the question of authorship, or vice versa. In this case I agree with CM that the book should be dated to around 67-68 A.D.
The message of the book • An exhortation to progress in virtue 1:3-21 • The polemic condemnation of false teachers 2:1-22- • The delay of the second coming 3:1-16- as mentioned above this was a serious problem for the early church as a result of the misunderstanding of the doctrine.
