Acknowledging the Divine Benefactor: the Second Letter of Peter

Acknowledging the Divine Benefactor is a sociorhetorical interpretation of the Second Letter of Peter. Using multiple interpretive perspectives and emphasizing the pictorial dimensions of 2 Peter, Terrance Callan understands the letter as making the following argument: since Jesus Christ has given his followers benefits, including the promise of sharing in divine nature, they need to make a proper return for these benefits by living virtuously; and this in turn will enable them to receive the fulfillment of the promise. The occasion of the letter is that Peter's death is near. He writes so the addressees can remember his teaching after his death. The author expounds this teaching because some people do not await the future fulfillment of Christ's promises and so do not emphasize the need for virtuous living.