The second epistle in my mind is a description of the capstone reward for living in a faithful way in the midst of trials and tribulations. What is in store for the faithful?

If you'll live the way that the Lord wants you to,

there is an exceeding great reward,

and that's the Second epistle of Peter,

along with Peter's discussion of false teachers

in chapter two and then chapter three

is a brief discussion of the Lord's glorious return, the Second Coming.

This is apparently written by Peter also from Rome as death approaches.

He mentions in 2 Peter, Chapter 1,

14, quote, knowing that shortly I must put off this

my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me."

But you get the impression that Peter knows that the end is approaching and

maybe even has the inkling that it's approaching because of the

persecutions enacted by Emperor Nero. We know for example that Peter is

with Paul in Rome as the end occurs.

And we know that Peter asks

to die in the same way that his Lord and Savior died,

except in a much more humiliated way.

And I'll just read these two passages from the church historian Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, who is really our best secular source, not a scripture source, but

are a secular source of the history of the early church.

In fact, some people would say, well, he's really the only source, but this is his comment in his history of the church.

Quote, study records.

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