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In his second epistle, probably written several years after Paul�s death, Peter in passing referred to Paul�s epistles as Scripture (II Peter 3:15). This is consistent with the presumption that the Pauline corpus was in being and sanctioned as Scripture for the Church. "There are some things in them," wrote Peter, "hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the rest of the Scriptures" (II Peter 3:16 RSV). This reference to all Scripture included the Hebrew Scriptures and the existing collection of apostolic writings such as Matthew and Luke.
Reference to Paul�s epistles as "Scripture" confirms that those of Paul�s epistles to be preserved in the Scripture had been selected and assembled into a collection with Scriptural authority, and the church-at-large had been made aware of that fact. When Peter sent his second epistle, he did not make an announcement of a compendium being constituted, but he simply referred to certain of Paul�s writings in establishing his point (II Peter 3:15-16) and his intent to be diligent that at any time after his death they would be able to call "these things" to mind (II Peter 1:14-16). By Peter�s death, assuming Peter included his two epistles, only the writings of Jude and John remained to be included as recognized Scripture of the church.
Polycarp, a Byzantine bishop of Smyrna and the acknowledged leader of the Gentile Greco-Roman bishops in the east but not of the Judeo-Christian bishops, expressed his knowledge of various of Paul�s Scriptural writings and attested to his knowledge of the Scriptures. While Polycarp wrote many letters to congregations and individuals, all perished except one preserved in an edited version.
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The epistle of II Peter confirmed that the churches of Asia Minor were not only firmly established in the truth of God (II Peter 1:12) but that Peter, Paul, and all the apostles were unified in their theology, doctrine, and purpose. "Beloved," wrote Peter, "I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior..." (II Peter 3:1-2 NKJV).
The indication by Peter in his second epistle that his own death approached (II Peter 1:14) provides little but speculation regarding his death. The circumstances of his death are unknown. There is no evidence that the apostle Peter died in Rome or anywhere in Italy. In all probability he died at Babylon in Mesopotamia after he authored his second epistle.
Peter's death possibly occurred around CE 77, but the actual date and placeF1 is really not known. Following Peter�s death events moved to a climax. After the fall of Jerusalem, the church experienced a period of declining zeal. Many had expected Jesus Christ to return and establish his kingdom during the height of the battle for Jerusalem. Instead Jerusalem fell to the Romans, and the temple, a symbol of the old covenant, the Romans destroyed. Much of the book of Hebrews anticipated this very problem.
F1In 1953, Italian archaeologist Bellarmino Bagatti excavated an ancient cemetery at Dominus Flevit in Jerusalem where he found an ossuary dating to the first century CE bearing an unusual Hebrew inscription. It appears to read tnwy rb wrxmv (Shimon Bar Yonah) translated Simon son of Jonah paralleling the Greek Simw Bariwa of Matthew 16:17. While there is some difficulty in discerning the last four characters they appear to read tnwy (Finegan 1992:368-369).
Taken from The First Christians by Michael P. Germano and edited for the worldwide web.
Copyright �1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2000 by Michael P. Germano. All Rights Reserved.
Page last edited: 11/28/04 08:44 AM
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