The second Peter is a letter of warning and encouragement.  First Peter deals with persecution the church was facing from outside. But the second Peter deals with problems the church was facing  from the inside from the false teachers.  It was a time of persecution and suffering. First Peter was written to encourage Christians to remain faithful despite their suffering. The epistles of Second Timothy, Second Peter and Jude have much in common.  In second Peter,  believers are warned against false teachers.  This epistle reminds the believers of the importance of supplementing their God given faith with seven spiritual virtues. The false teachers are sensual, arrogant and covetous. They scoff at the thought of future judgment. Peter warns believers that  heretical teaching can lead to immoral behavior. In this general epistle, Peter exposes the danger of false teaching and encourages believers to grow spiritually. Peter urges them to keep close watch on their personal life and be on guard against false teaching.  Peter reminds believers who are going through severe trials the importance of adding to their faith virtue, knowledge and steadfastness. This second epistle may have been written close to the martyrdom of Peter in about A.D. 67.