JESUS WILL RETURN PETER’S SECOND LETTER _HILDA BRIGHT AND HELEN POCOCK_ ABOUT THIS LETTER THE WRITER Peter wrote this letter. His name used to be Simon, but Jesus changed it to Peter (John 1:42). Simon had his own business. He caught fish. But Jesus called Simon to be a *disciple. Jesus gave... [ Continue Reading ]
In those days, the author put his name at the beginning of a letter. Also, people started letters with a greeting. Here, the author called himself ‘Simon’ Peter. He described himself as ‘a servant and an *apostle of Jesus Christ’. ‘Servant’ means a slave who served a master. Peter was being humble.... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter wanted his readers to have more *grace and peace from God. ‘*Grace’ and ‘peace’ were the usual Christian greetings in a letter. Peter prayed for the same things in 1 Peter 1:2. Paul always prayed for these gifts for the Christians to whom he wrote. (See, for example, Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus calls people to trust him. His *glory and goodness attract people. ‘*Glory’ refers to his excellent moral character. He is a holy and wonderful person. ‘Goodness’ refers to all that he does. Everything that Jesus does is perfect. He never does anything that is wrong. Jesus has shown us what Go... [ Continue Reading ]
When Christians know Jesus personally, they receive the nature and character (*glory and goodness) of Jesus. Their old nature goes. They are like new people (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul said, ‘Now it is not I who live. But Christ lives in me’ (Galatians 2:20). We do not become God, but God lives in us... [ Continue Reading ]
A Christian’s character begins when he trusts God. The Bible calls this ‘*faith’. ‘Add’ means to add very generously. Goodness is one of Jesus’ qualities (see verse 3). So a Christian should become more like Jesus.... [ Continue Reading ]
The false teachers claimed to know special secrets. However, they did not know the difference between what is right and wrong. So, Peter wanted Christians to know more and more about Jesus. Then they would learn what pleases him. And they would understand what the *Lord desires (Ephesians 5:17). Wh... [ Continue Reading ]
In chapter 1 verse 10, Peter referred to Christians as ‘my brothers and sisters’. Jesus said, ‘Whoever does what God desires is my brother and sister and mother’ (Mark 3:35). This does not refer to a physical family. Christians are part of God’s family. God is our father. John said that whoever love... [ Continue Reading ]
Christians must develop these qualities. Then they will know Jesus better. They will also become mature Christians. They will be active, not lazy. They will be useful. ‘Useful’ actually means ‘full of fruit’. (See John 15:1-7.) It reminds us of the story that Jesus told about the seed in Matthew 13:... [ Continue Reading ]
Any Christian who does not have these qualities is like a blind person. He is not physically blind. His mind cannot ‘see’ (that is, understand) what God requires. Such a person has forgotten that God has forgiven his *sins. Otherwise, he would become a stronger Christian. V10 Therefore, my Christia... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Be very eager’ means the same as ‘work hard’ in verse 5 and ‘try hard’ in verse 15. Peter urged his Christian family to show true qualities of character. God had invited and chosen them. Their good character was the evidence. ‘Chosen’ describes God’s action. ‘Invited’ means that they had to reply t... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus will give Christians a great welcome into his *eternal *kingdom. Again, Peter used Jesus’ full title (see verse 8). People enter this *kingdom as soon as they accept Jesus as their king. But God’s *kingdom will only be complete in the future. This will happen when Jesus returns to this world i... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter did not think that his readers were weak Christians. They already knew the true *gospel message. They may have heard this message from Peter himself in his first letter. They may have heard it from Paul or from other Christians. Peter did not want them to forget it. There were false teachers w... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter and the other *apostles had told people that Jesus would return. The *Greek word for ‘return’ means ‘the splendid arrival of a king’. It describes the way that Jesus will return. He will have great *glory and power. The false teachers said that this was not true. They said that Peter and the *... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter, James and John saw God the Father give ‘honour and *glory’ to Jesus. They did not see God. But they saw a great cloud which was full of bright light. They heard the voice of God, which came from the cloud. It showed how much God loves Jesus. God’s words ‘This is my Son whom I love’ are like t... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter, James and John were with Jesus on the ‘holy mountain’. This mountain was either Mount Tabor or Mount Hermon. It was ‘holy’ because God spoke there. God spoke to Moses when he gave his law to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:23). God spoke to the *prophet Elijah there as well (1 Kings 19:8-18).... [ Continue Reading ]
Peter explained why people could trust the *prophets’ message. Jeremiah 23:16 says that the false *prophets of the *Old Testament spoke ‘from their own minds’. They did not speak words that came from God. But the true *prophets did not make up their message. They did not decide what to say. True *pr... [ Continue Reading ]