The Second Epistle of Peter is placed by Eusebius among the writings
whose genuineness had been called in question by many, and it is not to
be denied that there were differences in the early church concerning
its right to a place in the Canon. Yet it seems to have been quoted by
several of the Fathers in the second century, and in the third the
great Origen went so far as to write a commentary upon it. It was
finally received by all the churches except the Syrian, in whose
translation of the New Testament it was not embraced. Among the modern
critics some have rejected it upon various grounds, but others not less
able, such as Olshausen, Alford, Bruckner, and Schaff have pronounced
it genuine. Upon the whole it seems probable that it was written by him
whose name appears in the salutation, but written some time later than
the first, near the close of his life, and specially directed against
certain heresies which were beginning to appear. If there is some
indefiniteness concerning the authorship, there is still more
concerning the time and place where it was written. It contains no data
for forming a conclusion. [370]