1 Peter
by Giuseppe De Fabris, 1840
1 Peter 1.1 Strangers on the earth παρεπίδημος – parepidaymos – strangers in a new country… this is all pre-earth life if you compare it to Hebrews 11.13. Only other place this occurs is 1 Peter 2.11 – Peter is warning us to not be like the world around us! To me, this word is a clue that Peter is writing to a group of people who need to recognize that they are not from this world, rather, they are from the heavens. This is a pre-earth reference, and Peter is warning us not to become too comfortable here. We are “strangers,” we do not belong here, because we are of a royal priesthood and are a peculiar people!
Hebrews 11.13 The “Faith” chapter
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
1-2 Peter as a temple text
1-2 Peter have so much to do with temple, temple worship, and coming into the presence of God. Briefly we can outline some components that relate to the temple here in this text. 1 Peter does start by making an allusion to our pre-earth life, the fact that we are “strangers” to this world, and that our inheritance is waiting for us in the presence of God. All of the references in 1-2 Peter that have to do with the dead hearing the gospel can be related to the temple.
1 Peter 1.4 – your inheritance is waiting for you
1 Peter 1.16 – Be Holy – see also Leviticus 11.44-45 and Exodus 19.5-6. Both Exodus 19 and Levicus 11 are texts that relate to the temple, where God is inviting the Israelites into his presence, to his place of holiness. All of these are temple related texts.
1 Peter 1.23-2.2 Being born again, newborn babes – as the text begins with the idea of holiness, inheritance, and coming back to God, the readers are reminded to be “born again” (1 Peter 1.22-23) and to “be as newborn babes” (1 Peter 2.2), something that hints towards newness, being clean, and something that could be associated with a new beginning, washed and clean, prepared to be brought back to our heavenly home.
1 Peter 2.4-9 Stones, building, stone of stumbling versus corner stone… verse 9 Royal Priesthood. These texts are related to the temple in a number of ways. Stones and building metaphors abound in temple literature, and the author is comparing the Saints to stones, as well as reminding them that Jesus is the chief corner stone, a stone of stumbling to those that rejected him. When I read things like this, I am reminded of the foundation stone that existed in the temple, where the Ark rested. This stone is a symbol of our coming back into the presence of God, to have our lives “built upon the rock,” as it were, with our foundation on Christ and his gospel. It is an invitation for all of us to be pieces of the metaphorical temple in heaven, to become miniatures of Jesus, “rocks” or “stones” fit for the kingdom of God. (see also: 1 Corinthians 3.16-17; D&C 124; Helaman 5.12; Psalm 71.3; Psalm 94.22; Jacob 4-5)
In 600 B.C., Nephi and his brother Jacob, frequently refer to Jesus Christ as a “rock” or “stone.” Jacob similarly taught that Christ was “the stone” on which we “might build a safe foundation” and lamented that the Jews had “rejected this sure foundation” (Jacob 4:15–17). In Jacob 4-5 Jacob was making a powerful and beautiful word play when he declared that the “Only Begotten Son” would be the “stone” that was rejected (Jacob 4:11, 15). The Hebrew word for son is ben, while the Hebrew word for stone is the similar-sounding eben. When Jacob referred to the stone, he was, at the same time, referring to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The author of 1-2 Peter is doing the same here. The stone is Christ, and these stones are the building that will become the heavenly temple.
In the words of Daniel McKinlay, “The consecrated stone motif is found in 1 Peter 2.4-8, and, as scholars have noted, those verses contain temple imagery. This passage deals with the relationship between master and disciples. Jesus is the greatest living stone, as well as the chief cornerstone… the Church knows that Christ is the cornerstone on Mount Zion that supports her… the true Israel is formed of those who belong to the ‘spiritual temple’ which is built upon Christ, the living stone… this story of Jesus is also the story of each Christian. As Jesus is the cornerstone of a new temple, so Christians are called to be ‘living stones… built into a spiritual house’ (2.5).” 1
1 Peter 2.10 – quotes Hosea 1.9 and 2.23
Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. (Hosea 1.9)
23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God. (Hosea 2.23)
1 Peter 2.13 – 3.7 Submission to Powers that Be
Saints to Empire – 1 Peter 2.13
Servants to Masters – 1 Peter 2.18
Saints to the world – 1 Peter 2.20
Why? Because Jesus did! – 1 Peter 2.21-24
Wives to husbands – 1 Peter 3.1-6
Husbands to wives – 1 Peter 3.7
1 Peter 3.15 Be Ready to Give an Answer for Your Faith in Christ
Take Suffering! – 3.5, 3.9, 3.14, 3.17, 4.13-16, 4.19
The Purpose of Suffering -Four things– 1 Peter 5.10 It makes you: Perfect, stablished, strong, and settled. I love this verse. It seems to be at the very heart of the message of this text.
Peter’s Martyrdom – 2 Peter 1.14-15
Here, the author of 2 Peter writes about the upcoming martyrdom of Peter. Traditionally it is believed that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome under the order of the Roman emperor Nero – which leads us to this question: what evidence exists regarding Peter’s crucifixion and death? When did this happen?
The tradition that Peter was executed began with the reference to the form of his death in John chapter 21, in which Jesus told Peter, “I assure you: When you were young, you would tie your belt and walk wherever you wanted. But when you grow older, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will tie you and carry you where dou don’t want to go.” John reported, (probably after Peter died) “He said this to signify by what kind of death he would glorify God.” So the idea that Peter was crucified (stretch out your hands) came from John, but this does not include the location or the physical position of his crucifixion.
Eusebius (AD 325) claimed in his Ecclesiastical History that all the apostles were martyred except for John. 2
The early church fathers are unanimous in claiming that Peter died in Rome, by crucifixion, during the persecution of Nero in AD 64. As for crucifixion upside down, that is also testified to, but the evidence is weaker for this particular form of crucifixion. The apocryphal Acts of Peter is the earliest reference to crucifixion of Peter upside down.
We read the following from The Acts of Peter:
But now it is time for thee, Peter, to deliver up thy body unto them that take it. Receive it then, ye unto whom it belongeth. I beseech you the executioners, crucify me thus, with the head downward and not otherwise: and the reason wherefore, I will tell unto them that hear. And when they had hanged him up after the manner he desired, he began again to say: Ye men unto whom it belongeth to hear, hearken to that which I shall declare unto you at this especial time as I hang here. Learn ye the mystery of all nature, and the beginning of all things, what it was. For the first man, whose race I bear in mine appearance (or, of the race of whom I bear the likeness), fell (was borne) head downwards, and showed forth a manner of birth such as was not heretofore: for it was dead, having no motion. He, then, being pulled down -who also cast his first state down upon the earth- established this whole disposition of all things, being hanged up an image of the creation (Gk. vocation) wherein he made the things of the right hand into left hand and the left hand into right hand, and changed about all the marks of their nature, so that he thought those things that were not fair to be fair, and those that were in truth evil, to be good. Concerning which the Lord saith in a mystery: Unless ye make the things of the right hand as those of the left, and those of the left as those of the right, and those that are above as those below, and those that are behind as those that are before, ye shall not have knowledge of the kingdom. This thought, therefore, have I declared unto you; and the figure wherein ye now see me hanging is the representation of that man that first came unto birth. Ye therefore, my beloved, and ye that hear me and that shall hear, ought to cease from your former error and return back again. For it is right to mount upon the cross of Christ, who is the word stretched out, the one and only, of whom the spirit saith: For what else is Christ, but the word, the sound of God? So that the word is the upright beam whereon I am crucified. And the sound is that which crosseth it, the nature of man. And the nail which holdeth the cross-tree unto the upright in the midst thereof is the conversion and repentance of man. (The Acts of Peter, XXXVII-XXXVIII)
Note how once Peter is hung upside down on the cross, he continues to teach his audience about Jesus, the fall of man, and encourages his audience to repent of their sins! Even in death, Peter testifies of Christ and invites his hearers to repent of their sins. To me this is inspiring, however you view The Acts of Peter.
The earliest reference to the martyrdom of Peter comes from the letter of Clement of Rome (about AD 90). He said, in his Letter to the Corinthians, “Let us take the noble examples of our own generation. Through jealousy and envy the greatest and most just pillars of the Church were persecuted, and came even unto death… Peter, through unjust envy, endured not one or two but many labours, and at last, having delivered his testimony, departed unto the place of glory due to him.” (Clement, The Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians)
Clement doesn’t give us a lot to go on, but does imply that Peter was executed.
Ignatius, in his Letter to the Romans about AD 110 claimed that Peter was bishop of Rome. Irenaeus of Lyon, about AD 180, agrees that Peter served in Rome. Tertullian, about AD 195 declared “But if you are near Italy, you have Rome, where authority is at hand for us too. What a happy church that is, on which the apostles poured out their whole doctrine with their blood; where Peter had a passion like that of the Lord, where Paul was crowned with the death of John (the Baptist, ie. by being beheaded). Dionysius of Corinth, also about AD 200 “You (Pope Soter) have also, by your very admonition, brought together the planting that was made by Peter and Paul at Rome and at Corinth; for both of them alike planted in our Corinth and taught us; and both alike, teaching similarly in Italy, suffered martyrdom at the same time” When Eusebius reported the crucifixion of Peter and the beheading of Paul in Ecclesiastical History, he was passing along the tradition which was the opinion of the church for hundreds of years.
Today in traditional Christianity, it is commonly held belief that Peter’s body is contained in a crypt below St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. From the evidence that we have in historical sources, it is fair to say that Peter was crucified in Rome when Nero was the emperor, who died in 68 A.D., making Peter’s death prior to this date, probably 64-65 A.D. As for his crucifixion upside down, this is also found in history, though in one ancient source which is probably less reliable that the Apostolic Fathers Clement, Ignatius, and Irenaeus, as well as later Christian writers Tertullian and Eusebius.
2 Peter 1.16-19 Peter’s Witness
Peter talks about the Mount of Transfiguration – see also Matthew 17 – “This voice we heard!” -2 Pet 1.18
The More Sure Word of Prophecy – 2 Peter 2.19 – cross reference this with D&C 131.1-5
2 Peter 1.20 Private Interpretation – What is Scripture?
Scripture is whatever the message of the Holy Ghost has for you! See D&C 68.1-5
1 My servant, Orson Hyde, was called by his ordination to proclaim the aeverlasting gospel, by the bSpirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the ccongregations of the wicked, in their dsynagogues, reasoning with and eexpounding all scriptures unto them.2 And, behold, and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth—3 And this is the aensample unto them, that they shall bspeak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.4 And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the aHoly Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the bpower of God unto salvation.5 Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.6 Wherefore, be of good acheer, and do not bfear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I cwas, that I am, and that I am to come.
2 Peter 2.1-5 Heavenly Beings sent to Tartarus
In Latter-day Saint theology it is generally understood that fallen angels are demons who joined Lucifer in his rebellion against God in the pre-earth life, or what some Latter-day Saints call “The Pre-existence”… 2 Peter and Jude tell a somewhat nuanced story of the fallen angels based on their understanding of the text of 1 Enoch.
For . . . God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into Tartarus ταρταρώσας and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment. (2 Peter 2:4)
And the aangels which kept not their bfirst cestate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the djudgment of the great day. (Jude 1.6)
Second Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 are nearly identical in their description of fallen angels being cast out of heaven, but there are differences that help us figure out what is happening in this text, at least from the ancient authors of the text.
Jude 6 defines what 2 Peter 2:4 means by the angelic sin. These sinning angels “left their proper dwelling.” Second Peter doesn’t say they were in league Satan, or that they did anything in Eden. It tells us they left their designated realm of existence and did something in another realm. But what did they do?
Both 2 Peter and Jude compare the sin of these angels with the Sodom and Gomorrah incident, where the sin involved sexual immorality (2 Pet 2:7; Jude 7). Second Peter also connects it to the time of Noah. There is only one sin involving a group of angelic beings in the entire Biblical text that correlates with immorality, and it coincides with the story of Noah in Genesis, and it also involves immorality! This account is detailed for us in Genesis 6:1–4, where the “sons of God” or Bene Elohim בְנֵי־הָֽאֱלֹהִים leave the realm of heaven, their natural dwelling place, and come to the earth (a state outside of their normal station) to father children (what the author calls Nephilim, or giants) with the daughters of Adam. This is the story of the giants in text of Genesis 6, and if you are a careful reader of the Old Testament, you will find the giants popping up throughout the narrative of the entire Old Testament. These texts (along with 1 Enoch) have a tremendous influence on the authors of many of our New Testament texts, but to those that are unfamiliar with 1 Enoch, many of these connections become lost to us.
Who are the “sons of God” who sinned?
Two important characteristics in 2 Peter and Jude point us to Genesis 6:1–4.
First, “sons of God” is a specific phrase used elsewhere in the Old Testament of angelic beings (Job 1.6; 2.1; 38.7; Psalms 89.6; Deuteronomy 32.8).
Second, both 2 Peter 2.4 and Jude 1.6 clearly tell us that these angels are imprisoned in chains of gloomy darkness—in “hell” until judgment day.
While it is true that Genesis 6:1–4 never tells us what happened to the sons of God who sinned, (other than they made a race of giants), Jewish literature from between the Old and New Testaments do. All Jewish collected works that comment on Genesis 6:1–4 agree that it was angelic beings who sinned and who were bound and thrown into the Netherworld, and this is the stuff that makes up the commentary regarding fallen angels being cast down, spirit prison or Tartarus, and the conflict in the ancient world when Noah was spared (2 Peter 2.1-5; 1 Enoch 18:14–19:3). 3
In the book of 1 Enoch the villainous sons of God of Genesis 6:1-4 are not only called angels—they are called Watchers.4 The link back to the Mesopotamian apkallu is obvious and distinct. The apkallu were, according to the Mesopotamian religious teaching, a group of sages who possessed great knowledge, descended from the Gods in heaven. In Babylonian mythology, they were the ancestors of their (Babylonian) kings, and the Babylonians received their culture and tradition from the apkallu and their descendants. Editors and creators of the text of Genesis disagreed, and portrayed these apkallu in a negative light. They viewed Babylonian knowledge as having demonic origins, especially due to the fact that the apkallu were so intertwined in Babylonian myth. Giants are related to these apkallu, and so in the text of the Old Testament, the giants are portrayed in a negative way, specifically as a polemic against the enemies of Israel – Babylon. If we understand that this is going on, we can better understand the Old Testament and we can see how the writers of 1 Enoch understood this tradition and included so much of this story into their text. 1 Enoch 6 (and other references throughout this text, see endnote 2) spells out how the Watchers and their offspring were the source of demons (from a Jewish perspective):
And it came to pass, when the sons of men had increased, that in those days there were born to them fair and beautiful daughters. And the Angels, the sons of Heaven, saw them and desired them. And they said to one another: “Come, let us choose for ourselves wives, from the children of men, and let us beget, for ourselves, children.”
And they took wives for themselves and everyone chose for himself one each. And they began to go into them and were promiscuous with them. And they taught them charms and spells, and they showed them the cutting of roots and trees. And then Michael, Gabriel, Suriel and Uriel, looked down from Heaven and saw the mass of blood that was being shed on the earth and all the iniquity that was being done on the earth.
And the women bore giants, and thereby the whole Earth has been filled with blood and iniquity. And now behold the souls which have died cry out and complain unto the Gate of Heaven, and their lament has ascended, and they cannot go out in the face of the iniquity which is being committed on the earth.
And the Lord said to Gabriel: “Proceed against the scoundrels, and the reprobates, and against the sons of the fornicators. And destroy the sons of the fornicators, and the sons of the Watchers, from amongst men. And send them out, and send them against one another, and let them destroy themselves in battle; for they will not have length of days.
And now, the giants who were born from body and flesh will be called Evil Spirits on the Earth, and on the Earth will be their dwelling. And evil spirits came out from their flesh, because from above they were created, from the Holy Watchers was their origin and first foundation. Evil spirits they will be on Earth and ‘Spirits of the Evil Ones’ they will be called. 5
Most English translations say the angels were thrown into “hell”—the most frequent translation of the Greek word “Hades.” However, 2 Peter has the angels chained in “Tartarus” (Τάρταρος). This is the name of the prison of the divine giants in the classical Greek story, Hesiod’s Theogony. Jewish writers also used this word for the dark, gloomy Netherworld.
While these passages are certainly strange to modern readers of the text, they announce that how the ancients viewed angels and demons are somewhat more complex than modern readers of the Bible believe. These verses are key to comprehending how the Old Testament and New Testament writers viewed many things. The Old Testament texts speak throughout of giants, and many of these otherwise strange and fantastic texts make more sense when we see them as a polemic against the apkallu Mesopotamian religious belief. I will write about these ideas in future posts.
The New Testament writers understood Genesis 6.1-4 and 1 Enoch, and the connections between these texts. They knew that the story in Genesis 6 was directly related to the stories of the fallen angels in 1 Enoch. They used these ideas to help to explain the origins of evil, the spiritual battle we face here on earth, and the way Jesus is portrayed in Matthew 16-17. I will write in a later post how these two chapters in Matthew must be read through the lens of 1 Enoch to see Jesus as a mighty warrior, coming to claim his throne in the face of the demons who were once angels of light. Understanding Jewish Second Temple literature is crucial if we want to really see the nuances of the New Testament, and 1 Enoch really throws light on Jude, Peter, and Matthew’s writings! This is a polemic, an attack against demons, against Israel’s enemies, and against the forces that oppose all that is light and truth.
A Latter-day Saint Perspective
Of course, from the perspective of the revelations of the Restoration, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have access to a whole flood of light relating to these texts in the canonized Christian Bible as well as in extrabiblical literature such as 1 Enoch. From the Doctrine and Covenants, we read the following:
Adam, being tempted of the devil- for behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency; and they were thrust down, and thus came the devil and his angels; And, behold, there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which place is hell. (D&C 29.36-38)
And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him- he was Lucifer, a son of the mornig. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning! … we beheld that Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ – Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about. (D&C 76.25-29)
Balaam cast in a bad light – 2 Peter 2.15 – Is Balaam a good guy or a bad guy? Well, it depends! Are we reading the first editions of this story, or a later redaction? You can read this article, where I get into the multiple editions of the story of Balaam as we read it in both the Old and New Testaments. From a New Testament perspective, Balaam is certainly cast in a negative light, but there was an earlier version of the Balaam story that is in our canonized scriptures where he acts in a way that is positive. How did this happen? What evidence is there that this is the case? Check out the article!
2 Peter 2.9-22 The Ungodly and False Teachers
2 Peter 3 Why hasn’t the Second Coming happened yet?
2 Peter 3.9 – Peter wants “all to come to repentance!” –I Love this! Cross reference this with 2 Nephi 33.12 and Romans 8.34-35
2 Peter 3.16 – Some of Paul’s stuff is hard to understand! I love how Peter tells his readers that some of Paul’s writings are hard to understand. I have certainly felt this way over the years! Peter gives us hope!
Notes
- Daniel B. McKinlay, Temple Imagery in the Epistles of Peter, as found in chapter 18 of Temples of the Ancient World, edited by Donald Parry, Deseret Book, 1994.
- Eusebius, Church History: Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in Praise of Constantine, New York, The Christian Literature Company, 1890, Oxford and London, Book III, Chapter 1, p. 132. See also: Michael Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers in English, writes: Eusebius says in Church History, “Thomas was allotted Parthia, while John received Asia, where he made his residence and died in Ephesus.” page 312.
- I really appreciate this website, as it gives the text of 1 Enoch, while at the same providing the texts in both the Old and New Testament that are either quoting 1 Enoch, or that 1 Enoch was influenced by, depending on how these things are dated. As I have read scholarship on this topic, I have found a wide discrepancy on all kinds of dating schemes about 1 Enoch as well as both the Old and New Testament texts. My opinion on these dates changes as I gain new information, and so to me, this is a complicated thing. I do want to post the aforementioned verses from 1 Enoch 18-19 here, with the references. I find reading these references useful in the discussion at hand.
1 Enoch 18.14 And like a spirit questioning me, the Angel said: “This is the place of the end of Heaven and Earth; this is the prison for the Stars of Heaven and the Host of Heaven. (Revelation 20:7)15 And the stars which roll over the fire, these are the ones which transgressed the command of the Lord, from the beginning of their rising, because they did not come out at their proper times. (Revelation 12:3-4, 7-9; Matthew 25:41) 16 And He was angry with them, and bound them until the time of the consummation of their sin, in the Year of Mystery.” (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6, 13; Revelation 10:7)
1 Enoch 19
1 And Uriel said to me: “The spirits of the Angels who were promiscuous with women will stand here; and they, assuming many forms, made men unclean and will lead men astray so that they sacrifice to demons as gods. And they will stand there until the great judgment day, on which they will be judged, so that an end will be made of them.(Genesis 6:1-2; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation 12:9; Romans 1:18-23; Colossians 2:18; Deuteronomy 32:16-21; 1 Corinthians 10:20; Revelation 9:20; Psalm 106:36-38; Hosea 13:2; 2 Chronicles 33:1-7, 9; 1 Kings 14:9; 2 Kings 17:16-17; 2 Kings 21:3, 5-6; 2 Kings 23:4-5; Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 19:4-6; Proverbs 15:8; Proverbs 21:27) 2 And their wives, having led astray the Angels of Heaven, will become peaceful.”3 And I, Enoch, alone saw the sight, the ends of everything; and no man has seen what I have seen.
4. Amar Annus, “On the Watchers: A Comparative Study of the Antediluvian Wisdom in Mesopotamian and Jewish Traditions,” Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 19.4 (2010): 277-320.
5. 1 Enoch 6:1-2; 7:1; 9:1, 9-10; 10:9; 15:8-9. See also these references in 1 Enoch, translation from J. H. Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, vol. 1.