PETER-PETERS. 



181 



the bishops of Rome. The theory of his advance in | Apostles. (3) The high character of the letter itself, 

 knowledge and piety, indicated in the New Testament (4) The superiority to the writings of a later age On 

 and accepted in this article, ' accords with the final this rock most of the destructive criticism destroys 

 word of exhortation from his pen : "But grow in the itself. (5) The fact that it claims to be written by 

 grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus | Peter, and the moral impossibility of such a document 

 Christ Pet. iii. 18, R. Vers.). (M. B. R.) j being the work of a wilful forger ; this argument de- 



ER, EPISTLES OF. I PETER. The genuine- rives additional strength from the reference to the 

 ^eeVol XVIII ness ^ ^' s ' etter has only been assailed j transfiguration (chap. i. 17, 18), and the words "we 

 P 697 (p 710 k v t ' lose who !? uve a preconceived the- did not follow cunningly devised fables" (chap. i. 16). 



Am. Ren.). orv f l . ne origin of the New Testa- 

 ment writings. The external authority 

 is very strong, reaching back to the sub-apostolic age. 

 The internal evidence is equally so, for the coincidence 

 of thought and expression with other New Testament 

 writings proves nothing against it. (Sec the various 

 theories noticed in the ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA.) 

 It seems to have been written from Babylon, and to 

 Christians in Asia Minor. Some think "Babylon" is 

 a mystical name for Rome, but as the most probable 

 date is A. D. 63, just before the persecution under 

 Nero, and as it is unlikely that Peter had visited Rome 

 at that date, the term is better understood in its nat- 

 ural sense. The contents accord alike with the gospel 

 as set forth in the other apostolic writings and with 

 the character of the apostle. It should be added that 

 the passages respecting the descent of Christ into 

 Hades (iii. 18, iv. 6) have occasioned much discussion, 

 and that at present the possibility of salvation bejng 

 offered to those who have died without accepting 

 Christ is based upon these passages by some theolo- 

 gians. 



2 PETER. This epistle presents peculiar clifficul- 

 ties. 



Despite the lack of early testimony and its omission 

 from the Syriac version, (6) There is a general recogni- 

 tion of its genuineness and canonicity in those ages 

 when such questions became prominent. (7) Were it 

 the product of a later age there would be more posi- 

 tive evidence of coloring from that age ; for example, 

 the particular form of heresy against which it was 

 aimed would be readily recognized in some error prev- 

 alent in the second century. But no such identification 

 is possible. (8) No motive for forging such a letter 

 can be discovered. (9) While the " subjective test " 

 in itself proves nothing, yet in view of all the above 

 considerations the practical value of. the epistle to 

 Christian people for so many generations has much 

 weight in determining whether it should be classed 

 with the other New Testament books. It ought not 

 to be classed with them, if its claims respecting itself 

 are false. 



3. The epistle seems to have been addressed to the 

 same circle of readers in Asia Minor as the First 

 Epistle (2 Pet. _iii. 1), and to this view no objection 

 can be raised, if the genuineness be accepted. The 

 errors it combats were those that might be naturally 



Doubts about the genuineness of the Pauline } developed in the region and among the people for 

 epistles are usually of modern origin, but from early whom the First Epistle was designed. Persecution 

 times this epistle has been "disputed" (so Eusebius). 

 Jerome refers to doubts, and Calvin (in his commentary 

 on this epistle) suggests that it was written by one of 

 Peter's disciples, by his command. Even those who 



believe that Peter wrote it must confess that " it is, 

 perhaps, the least attested writing of the New Testa- 

 ment (Gloag, Introduction to Catlutlic Epistles, p. 

 204). Yet, despite the weakness of the early testi- 

 mony, even in the case of this " least attested writing," 

 the preponderance of probability is in favor of the 

 genuineness of the epistle. 



1. The objections. {I) The want of early testimony ; 

 (2) the allusion to Paul's epistles (2 Pet. iii. 16), as a 

 whole, implying a late date ; (3) the differences in 

 style and diction from the first epistle ; (4) the oppo- 

 sition to Gnostic errors of a later date than the apos- 

 tolic age ; (5) especially the striking correspondence 

 between chap. ii. and the Epistle of Jude. In regard 

 to (1) it may be remarked that this is purely negative 

 evidence. Alter all doubtful allusions are omitted, 

 there yet remains strong positive testimony to its gen- 

 uineness. The allusion to the epistles of Paul does 

 not furnish a strong argument against this epistle. 

 The reference may be to a few of the former, not to a 

 complete collection. Paul had certainly, before the 



is implied in one letter, heresy in the other ; but this 

 does not involve a different circle of readers, nor does 

 it make against the genuineness of the later epistle. 



4. The design of the epistle is twofold: (1) to warn 

 against error and the teachers of it ; (2) to exhort the 



readers to advance in holiness. This appears in the 

 closing paragraph (chap. iii. 17, 18), as well as in the 

 structure of the epistle. While we cannot definitely 

 identify the false teachers referred to, it is still more 

 difficult to identify them as the errorists of a later age. 

 A number of the New Testament epistles indicate 

 incipient heresies, and the growth of error has always 

 been rapid. It should be noticed that the correspond- 

 ence with the Epistle of Jude is in the description of 

 the false teachers (2 Pet. ii.). 



It enunciates no specifically new teaching, breathes 

 the spirit of the apostle whose name it Dears, and 

 furnisnes a fitting valedictory of the venerable man 

 who was awaiting the martyrdom predicted by his 

 Master(John xxi. 18, 19). (M. B. a.) 



PETERMANN, AUGUST (1822-1878), a German 

 geographer, was born at Bleicherode, April 18, 1822. 

 He was educated at Nprdhausen and in 1839 entered 

 the geographical institute at Potsdam, where he 

 assisted in preparing Bergham's Physical Atlas and 



earliest date to which this epistle is assigned, written also prepared the maps or A. Von_ Humboldt's Asie 

 several letters to Asia Minor, the region to which this j Centrale. In 1845 he went to Edinburgh to_ super- 

 letter was addressed. The differences of style between 

 this and the first epistle do not seem to be greater 

 than those existing in the case of the acknowledged 



Pauline epistles. All arguments from such premises 



are notoriously precarious, especially when the docu- charge of Justus Perthes' ^geographical institute at 

 ment in question is so brief. The errors combated Gotha. Here he founded his monthly Mttheilungen, 

 are not necessarily those of a later age than that of the which still remains the highest authority in current 

 apostles. The correspondences with the Epistle of geographical literature. His activity was not confined 

 Jude present the most serious difficulty. The current | to gathering, cojidensing, and criticising the researches 

 of opinion now sets in favor of the view that the 



intend A. Keith Johnson's edition of the Physical 

 Atlas. In 1847 he established himself in London, and 

 contributed geographical articles to various publica- 

 tions. In 1854 he returned to Germany and took 



Epistle of Jude was earlier, and that this letter is de- 

 pendent on that. But many holding this view still 

 accept Second Peter as genuine. 



2. Evidence of Genuineness. (1) The similarity of 

 style and sentiment to the First Epistle, notwithstand- 

 ing the acknowledged differences. (2) The similarity 

 to the speeches of Peter recorded in the Acts of the 



of travellers. He directed and promoted the explora- 

 tion of the less known parts of the earth, especially 

 Africa and the Polar regions. His mans are of the 

 highest excellence. In 1876 he visited the United 

 States. He died by his own hand at Gotha, Sept. 25, 

 1 878 



PETERS, CHRISTIAN AUGUST FRIEDRICH (1806- 

 1880), a German astronomer, was born at Hamburg, 



