The book can be outlined as follows:

1. Cultivation of Christian character: Holiness (chapter 1).
2. Condemnation of false teachers: Heresy (chapter 2).
3. Confident of Christ’s return: Hope (chapter 3).

II Peter - Standing Firm in Truth

• I Peter deals with problems from the outside (persecution from unbelievers); II Peter deals with problems from the inside (defection from within the church).
• Although Peter did not name the location from which he wrote his second letter, it was probably written from Rome.
• Peter knew that his time on earth was limited (1:13-14), so he wrote about what was on his heart, warning believers of what would happen after he was gone, especially about false teachers and the unchanging truth of the Gospel.
• A clear biblical description of the divine-human process of inspiration is found in chapter 1, verse 21: “But holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
• Tradition states that Peter was crucified in Rome during the persecutions of Nero sometime in late A.D. 67 or early A.D. 68, when he was approximately seventy-five years old.
• It seems to have been written to both Jewish and Gentile Christians.
• It was written to warn the believers against false teachers who would enter the flock. These teachers were proud of their position, promoted sexual sin, and advised against keeping the Ten Commandments
• There is strong evidence that the Apostle Peter wrote II Peter himself.
• II Peter is a very important book for the twentieth century because it deals with the very issues we need to be reminded of today. These are:

1. We need to remain firm in the truth given to us by the prophets and our Lord (chapter 1).
2. We need to be warned about those who lead us away from the word of truth (chapter 2).
3. We need to be reminded that the world will one day end when the Lord returns (chapter 3).

•  Those who scoff at the thought of future judgment will find, like Sodom and Gomorrah, that ignoring God’s Word will ultimately lead to destruction! The warning for believers is clear in Chapter 3: “Be not ignorant” (v. 8), “be diligent” (v. 14), and “beware” (v. 17).