1. Addressed to Christians in general, not to a specific church.
2. Acceptance and Authorship - James was one of the seven antilegomene. The epistle was accepted by 397AD by Origen, Gregory, Jerome, Clement of Rome, Epistle of Barnabas, and Polycarp. Internally, he only calls himself James. He could be one of four, but scholars settled on the one in Acts 15, the brother of Christ.
3. The theme of I Peter is suffering, probably written about 65AD.
4. II Peter was one of the seven antilegomene. It has less historical support for authorship than any other New Testament Book. Clement of Alexandria accepted it. The internal evidence is stronger than the external evidence.
5. II Peter is probably earlier than Jude, but they are very closely related. Jude and II Peter, Chapter Two, deal with apostasy. It tries to encourage believers about the return of Christ.
6. Jude is one of the seven antilegomene. Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus, and Tertullian accepted it. The occasion of the writing is to warn against false teachings. Peter is probably 75AD, but no one really knows.
Tom of Bethany "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John 5:12)
Index to Selected Essays And Book Reviews
Lesson 28 - The Book of Hebrews
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