In Christianity, the First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. Doubt has been cast on the Second Epistle of Peter since early times, but this First Epistle was accepted with less difficulty into the Biblical canon. The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... The Gospel of Matthew (literally: according to Matthew, Greek: Κατα Μαθθαιον) is one of the four Gospel accounts of the New Testament. ... The Gospel of Mark is traditionally the second of the New Testament Gospels. ... The Gospel of Luke is the third of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament, which tell the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the sequence of the canon as printed in the New Testament, and scholars agree it was the fourth to be written. ... The Acts of the Apostles, (Greek Praxeis Apostolon) is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. ... The Epistle to the Romans is one of the epistles, or letters, included in the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. ... See also: Second Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ... See also: First Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible New Testament. ... The Epistle to Galatians is a book of the New Testament. ... The Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New Testament, traditionally said to be written by Paul at Rome about the same time as that to the Colossians, which in many points it resembles. ... The Epistle to Philippians is a book included in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Epistle to the Colossians is a book of the Bible New Testament. ... The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, also known as the First Letter to the Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, also known as the Second Letter to the Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. ... This article or section should be merged with Second Epistle to Timothy The First Epistle to Timothy is a book of the canonic New Testament, one of the three so-called pastoral epistles (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and the Epistle to Titus). ... This article or section should be merged with First Epistle to Timothy The Pastoral Epistles are often considered together, as each throws light upon the others. ... The Pastoral Epistles are often considered together, as each throws light upon the others. ... The Epistle to Philemon is a book of the Bible in the New Testament. ... The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbreviated Heb. ... The Epistle of James is a book of the New Testament, best known for its teaching that faith without works is dead (James 2:26 KJV). ... The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible. ... The First Epistle of John is a book of the Bible New Testament. ... The Second Epistle of John (normally just called 2nd John or 2 John) is a book of the Bible New Testament. ... The Third Epistle of John is a book of the Bible New Testament. ... The brief Epistle of Jude is a book in the Christian New Testament canon. ... Visions of John the Evangelist, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... The New Testament, sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written after the birth of Jesus. ... The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible. ... The Biblical canon is an exclusive list of books written during the formative period of the Jewish or Christian faiths; the leaders of these communities believed these books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people (although there may...

Authorship and date

The author identifies himself in the opening verse as "Peter, an apostle of Jesus", but modern scholars are skeptical that the apostle Simon Peter, the fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, actually wrote it, due to the urbane cultured style of the Greek and the lack of any personal detail suggesting contact with the historical Jesus of Nazareth. It contains about thirty-five references to the Old Testament, all of which, however, come from the Septuagint translation, an inconceivable source for historical Peter the apostle. The Septuagint was a Greek translation created at Alexandria for the use of those Jews who could not easily read the Hebrew and Aramaic of the Tanakh. The historical Simon Peter in Galilee would not have heard Scripture in this form. Peter's own amanuensis was the evangelist Mark, according to Clement of Alexandria and other early Christian writers. According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside_down, as shown in this painting by Caravaggio. ... The Sea of Galilee with the Jordan River flowing out of it to the south and into the Dead Sea The Sea of Galilee is Israels largest freshwater lake, approximately 53 kilometers (33 miles) in circumference, about 21 km (13 miles) long, and 13 km (8 miles) wide; it... The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. ... The Septuagint (LXX) is the name commonly given in the West to the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) produced in the third century BC. The Septuagint Bible includes additional books beyond those used in todays Jewish Tanakh. ... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية, transliterated al-ʼIskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the Al Iskandariyah governate. ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also spelt Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... // Name Originates partly from latin meaning martial. ... Clement of Alexandria (Titus Flavius Clemens), was the first member of the Church of Alexandria to be more than a name, and one of its most distinguished teachers. ...

One theory is that it was written by the Silvanus who is mentioned towards the end of the epistle: "By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written unto you briefly" (5:12). In the following verse the author includes greetings from "she that is in Babylon, elect together with you," taken for the church "in Babylon", which may be an early use of this Christian title for Rome, familiar from the Apocalypse of John. "There is no evidence that Rome was called Babylon by the Christians until the Book of Revelation was published, i.e. circa 90-96 AD," say the editors of The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, who conclude however that Babylon on the Euphrates was intended. Silas or Silvanus (flourished 1st century) was an early Christian who was a companion of Paul and Peter. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... The Revelation of St. ... Babylon is the Greek variant of Akkadian Babilu, an ancient city in Mesopotamia (Location: 32°32′11″ N 44°25′15″ E, modern Al Hillah, Iraq). ...

Some scholars reject both Peter and Silvanus as authors, and date its composition during the reign of the emperor Domitian (AD 81 - 96), from its reference to persecution of Christians, which had not occurred until the persecution under Nero, in which Peter was martyred himself. Titus Flavius Domitianus (24 October 51 – 18 September 96), commonly known as Domitian, was a Roman emperor of the gens Flavia. ... Many Christians have experienced persecution from both non-Christians and from other Christians during the history of Christianity. ... Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (December 15, 37–June 9, 68), born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called (50–54) Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman Emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. ...

If Silvanus himself wrote this work, then it could have been written at a much later time; yet both bishop Polycarp (Phil 1:3; 8:1; 10:2), who was martyred in 156 and Papias allude to this letter, so it must have been written before the mid-2nd century. Though it is also cited by Irenaeus and Tertullian in the West, the First Epistle of Peter is missing from the Muratorian Canon, of ca 170 AD. The obvious inference is that it was not yet being read in the Western churches. This would have been a curious omission if 1 Peter were available, for 1 Peter, the First Epistle of Clement and the Shepherd of Hermas are the three writings that most clearly place the bishops of Rome in the position of instructing the other churches. Polycarp of Smyrna (martyred in his 87th year, ca. ... Papias (working in the 1st half of the 2nd century) was one of the early leaders of the Christian church, canonized as a saint. ... Saint Irenaeus (ca. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... Among Christians, the Muratorian fragment is known as a copy of perhaps the oldest known list of New Testament books that were accepted as canonical by the churches known to its anonymous compiler. ... The Epistles of Clement often referred to as 1 Clement and 2 Clement were not accepted in the canonic New Testament but they are part of the Apostolic Fathers collection. ... The Shepherd of Hermas is a Christian work of the first or second century which had great authority in ancient times and was considered by some as one of the books of the Bible. ...

Audience

This epistle is addressed to "the strangers scattered abroad", though it otherwise appears to be addressed to Gentiles rather than to the Jews of the Diaspora. Five of the provinces of Asia Minor are listed. The author counsels (1) to steadfastness and perseverance under persecution (1-2:10); (2) to the practical duties of a holy life (2:11-3:13); (3) he adduces the example of Christ and other motives to patience and holiness (3:14-4:19); and (4) concludes with counsels to pastors and people (ch. 5). An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of persons, usually a letter and a very formal, often didactic and elegant one. ... Look up Diaspora on Wiktionary, the free dictionary The term diaspora (Ancient Greek διασπορά, a scattering or sowing of seeds) is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the...

The Epistle takes pains to allign itself with Paul. Its object is to confirm its readers in the Pauline doctrines they had already been taught. The origins of Pauline Christianity lie in the teachings of Paul of Tarsus, who declared himself the Apostle to the Gentiles, and its development in his circle and among his followers. ...

The "Harrowing of Hell"

The Epistle contains the remarkable assertion "For unto this end was the gospel preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (4:6) This passage, which has no support or parallel anywhere else in the New Testament, occasioned the later interpolation into the Apostles Creed, "He descended into Hell" which was not in any of the early versions quoted by Tertullian, and which eventually gave rise to the Christian myth of the "Harrowing of Hell" which flowered in elaborated anecdotal medieval imagery. The Apostles Creed (in Latin, Symbolum (Credo) Apostolicum), is an early statement of Christian belief, possibly from the first or second century, but more likely post-Nicene Creed in the early 4th Century AD. The theological specifics of the creed appear to be a refutation of Gnosticism, an early heresy. ... Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, anglicized as Tertullian, (ca. ... Christian mythology is a body of stories that explains or symbolizes Christian beliefs. ... The Harrowing of Hell is the traditional English name for an event affirmed in the Apostles Creed, which says simply that Jesus descended into Hell (or Hades). ...

External links

Online translations of the First Epistle of Peter:

• Early Christian writings: 1 Peter
• 1 Peter at Bible Gateway of Gospel Communications (various versions)

Related articles:

• The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: 1 Peter
• Easton's Bible Dictionary 1897: First Epistle of Peter