2 Peter 3:1

CHAPTER 3

There is here a continuation of the discussion of the great apostasy to occur in the "last days" (2 Peter 3:1-7), revelations concerning the "day of the Lord," with refutation of the mockers (2 Peter 3:8-13), and exhortations to stedfastness, and the doxology (2 Peter 3:14-18).

This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; and in both of them, I stir up your sincere mind by putting you in remembrance; (2 Peter 3:1)

Beloved ... This word is somewhat of a keynote in this chapter, occurring here, and in 2 Peter 3:2,14,15,17. It contrasts with the vehement pronouncements against the false teachers and mockers.

The second epistle that I write unto you ... There is no good reason for supposing the reference to be anything other than a citation of 1Peter. The arguments that seek to use this as evidence of pseudonymity and a late date are without any value, and are founded upon a total misunderstanding of what Peter meant by "remembrance," viewing it as an assertion that the content of the two letters is the same! Such a view, in its own right, is preposterous; for Peter indicated immediately, as again in 2 Peter 1:12, that he had in mind their remembrance of the whole corpus of Christian truth as revealed not only by the holy apostles but by the prophets of the old dispensation as well. Such views are the fruit of a myopic unawareness of the breadth of revelation characteristic of both of these epistles. As Kelcy said, "It has been generally held that this refers to 1Peter, and it is not necessary to think otherwise."[1]