The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible. The text identifies the author as "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to Peter the Apostle, but most critical biblical scholars consider the epistle pseudepigraphical (i.e., authored by one or more of Peter's followers in Ancient Rome, using Peter as a pseudonym) Scholars estimate the date of authorship anywhere from 60 to 150 AD. The original text was written in Koine Greek. Authorship and date According to the Epistle itself, it was composed by the Apostle Peter, an eyewitness to Jesus' ministry. If (this second epistle) alludes to 1 Peter, the audience of the epistle is the various Churches in Asia Minor in general (see ). The date of composition has proven to be very difficult to determine. Taken literally, it would have been written between 65–68 AD because Peter was martyred around 68 AD by Nero and also because Peter references his approaching death in ("since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me"). The questions of authorship and date are closely related. Scholars consider the epistle to have been written anywhere between c. AD 60-150, with "some reason to favour" a date between 80-90. Dates suggested by various authors include: c. 60 (Charles Bigg) 63 (Giese, Wohlenberg) 64 – 110 (Davids) Mid 60s (Harvey and Towner, M. Green, Moo, Mounce) c. 70 or 80 (Chaine) 75 – 100 (Bauckham, perhaps about 80 – 90) 80 – 90 (Duff) c. 90 (Reicke, Spicq) Late first or early second century (Perkins, Harrington, Werse) c. 100 (Schelkle) 100 – 110 (Knoch, Kelly) 100 – 125 (James, Vogtle, Paulsen) 100 – 140 (Callan, perhaps about 125) 130 (Raymond E. Brown, Sidebottom) 150 (L. Harris) The scholarly debate can be divided into two parts; external and internal evidence. The external evidence for its authenticity, though feasible, critics have been presented, mainly in the conclusions, much of this debate stems from Professor Robert E. Picirilli's article "Allusion to 2 Peter in the Apostolic Fathers", which compiles many of the allusions by the Apostolic Fathers of the late first and early second centuries, thus demonstrating that 2 Peter is not to be considered a second century document. Despite this effort, scholars such as Michael J. Gilmour, who consider