Summary
Summary of The Apocalypse of Peter
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Jesus shows Peter the afterlife
The Apocalypse of Peter presents Jesus showing the apostle Peter what happens after death. Written under Peter's name by an unidentified author, it is among the oldest Christian works to describe heaven and hell in detail. Its images give concrete form to questions about judgement, punishment and hope.
The text was composed in Greek, but its fullest surviving account is in Ge'ez, the language of Ethiopia. This longer Ethiopic form carries the vision, while shorter Greek fragments give scholars another version to compare.
Key idea 2
Warnings begin with voices of deception
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Key idea 3
Every person faces judgement for deeds
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Key idea 4
Punishments mirror the sins committed
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Key idea 5
The righteous receive light and rest
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Key idea 6
The mountain connects glory and judgement
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Key idea 7
Respect did not secure biblical acceptance
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Key idea 8
Judgement and hope belong together
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Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love early Christianity, visions of the afterlife and Dante's roots, and anyone curious about texts outside the Bible.
What this book is
The Apocalypse of Peter is an early Christian text in which Jesus shows the apostle Peter what happens after death. It was written under Peter's name, by an author we cannot identify. Most scholars date it to the first half of the second century, within a few decades of 100 to 150. It was composed in Greek, probably in the eastern Mediterranean, and it is among the oldest Christian works to describe heaven and hell in detail.
This summary follows the longer Ethiopic form of the text. It survives in the Ge'ez language of Ethiopia. Scholars compare it with shorter Greek fragments, the best known found in a grave at Akhmim in Egypt in the 1880s. In about nine minutes you will hear how the book is arranged, what Jesus tells Peter about the last days, what punishments the author pictures, what rest he promises the righteous, and why the book was once read in churches and later set aside. Let us begin with the scene on the Mount of Olives, where the disciples come to Jesus with a question.
In this summary
- 1Disciples ask Jesus about the endFree
- 2Christ comes and the dead are raised
- 3Hell is shown as fitting punishments
- 4The righteous receive rest and light
- 5The vision on the holy mountain
- 6Why the text was read, doubted and set aside
Key point 1 of 6
Disciples ask Jesus about the end
The Ethiopic text opens on the Mount of Olives. The disciples come to Jesus and ask about the signs of his coming and of the end of the world. This setting echoes the great speech about the last days in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Peter speaks for the group and carries the questions forward.
Jesus warns them first about deceivers. Many will come in his name, he says, and claim to be the Christ. The author treats such false teachers as a real danger for the believers of his own day, and he describes them in harsh terms. Scholars see here a community under strain, uncertain which voices to trust.
Jesus also gives a lesson from the fig tree, a picture he uses in the Gospels too. In this text the tree is taken to stand for Israel, and its budding is a sign that the end is near. The reading is a sign of how early Christians connected the story of Israel with the coming judgement. Some scholars link the passage to the unrest of the Bar Kokhba revolt, though that link is debated.
The opening matters because it fixes the book as a teaching given to the disciples and passed on for the good of others. Peter is told to share what he has seen and heard, but to keep certain knowledge from sinners so they do not sin more. The frame turns a set of warnings into a revelation, and it prepares the listener for the vision of judgement that follows.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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Check yourself
What makes judgement just in the vision?
Right. “The author stresses that judgement is just, because each person is weighed by what he or she has done.”Not quite. “The author stresses that judgement is just, because each person is weighed by what he or she has done.”
How are the punishments in hell arranged?
Right. “The principle is that each punishment matches the sin.”Not quite. “The principle is that each punishment matches the sin.”
Why was the text left out of the New Testament?
Right. “No one reason explains the outcome, and historians describe a slow process and not a single decision.”Not quite. “No one reason explains the outcome, and historians describe a slow process and not a single decision.”
Questions about The Apocalypse of Peter
What is the Apocalypse of Peter about?
It is a vision in which Jesus shows Peter the coming judgement, the punishments of the wicked in hell and the rest of the righteous in a place of light. It also includes a scene on a mountain.
Is the Apocalypse of Peter in the Bible?
No. Some early churches read it and an ancient list of books mentions it, but many leaders doubted that Peter wrote it. It did not become part of the New Testament as most churches fixed it.
When was the Apocalypse of Peter written?
Most scholars date it to the first half of the second century, around 100 to 150. It was written in Greek. The Ethiopic form we have today is a later translation through Arabic.
What is the difference between the Greek and Ethiopic versions?
The Greek survives in fragments, notably the Akhmim codex found in Egypt in the 1880s. The Ethiopic version is longer and begins with the disciples' questions on the Mount of Olives. They differ in places.
Did the Apocalypse of Peter influence Dante?
Scholars see it as an early source of the idea that punishments in hell match the sins. That idea appears later in the Apocalypse of Paul and in medieval visions, and it reached Dante through such traditions.
