Editing Apocalypse of Peter (section)

==Influences, genre, and related works==
[[File:Bodleian fragment Apocalypse of Peter MS. Gr. th. f. 4 (P).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.05|The fragment of the Apocalypse of Peter held by the [[Bodleian Library]]|alt=Photograph of parchment]]
As the title suggests, the Apocalypse of Peter is classed as part of the genre of [[apocalyptic literature]].  The Greek word {{transliteration|grc|[[apocalypse|apokalypsis]]}} literally means "revelation", and apocalypses typically feature a revelation of otherworldly secrets from a divine being to a human&mdash;in the case of this work, Jesus and Peter.<ref>{{harvnb|Beck|2019|pp=22–25}}.</ref>  Like many other apocalypses, the work is [[pseudepigrapha]]l: it claims the authorship of a famous figure to bolster the authority of its message.<ref name="ehrman-fcf" />  The Apocalypse of Peter is one of the earliest examples of a Christian {{transliteration|grc|[[katabasis]]}}, a genre of explicit depictions of the realms and fates of the dead.<ref>{{harvnb|Ehrman|2022|pp=1, 71–72}}.</ref>

===Predecessors===
Much of the early scholarship on the Apocalypse was spent on efforts to determine its predecessor influences.  The first studies generally emphasized its roots in [[Hellenistic philosophy|Hellenistic philosophy and thought]]. {{transliteration|grc|Nekyia}}, a work by [[Albrecht Dieterich]] published in 1893 on the basis of the Akhmim manuscript alone, identified parallels and links with the [[Orphism (religion)|Orphic religious tradition]] and Greek cultural context.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dieterich |first=Albrecht |author-link=Albrecht Dieterich |date=1893 |title=Nekyia: Beiträge zur Erklärung der neuentdeckten Petrusapokalypse |trans-title=Nekyia: Contributions to the understanding of the newly-discovered Apocalypse of Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/nekyiabeitrgezu01dietgoog |location=Leipzig |language=de |publisher=B. G. Teubner |isbn=}}</ref>  Plato's {{transliteration|grc|[[Phaedo]]}} is often held up as an example of the Greek beliefs on the nature of the afterlife that influenced the Apocalypse of Peter.<ref name="Adamik2003" />  Scholarship in the late 20th century by [[Martha Himmelfarb]] and others emphasizes the strong Jewish roots of the Apocalypse of Peter as well.  Apocalypses were a popular genre among Jews in the [[Timeline of the Second Temple period|era of Greek and then Roman rule]].  Much of the Apocalypse of Peter may be based on or influenced by these lost Jewish apocalypses, works such as the "Book of the Watchers" (chapters 1&ndash;36 of the [[Book of Enoch]]), and 1st&ndash;2nd-century Jewish thought in general.<ref name="himmelfarb">{{cite book |first=Martha |last=Himmelfarb |author-link=Martha Himmelfarb |date=1983 |title=Tours of Hell: An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=0-8122-7882-8 |pages=8–11, 16–17, 41–45, 66–69, 127, 169–171 }}</ref><ref name="Bremmer2003">{{cite book |chapter=The Apocalypse of Peter: Greek or Jewish? |last=Bremmer |first=Jan |author-link=Jan N. Bremmer |editor1-first=Jan N. |editor1-last=Bremmer |editor1-link=Jan N. Bremmer |editor2-first=István |editor2-last=Czachesz |title=The Apocalypse of Peter |date=2003 |publisher=Peeters |isbn=90-429-1375-4 |pages=1–14}}</ref>  The work probably cites the Jewish apocalyptic work [[4 Esdras]].<ref name="maurer664" />  The author also appears to be familiar with the [[Gospel of Matthew]] but no other [[gospel]]s; a line in chapter 16 has Peter realizing the meaning of the [[Beatitude]] quote that "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."<ref name="bauckham168">{{harvnb|Bauckham|1998|pp=168&ndash;176, 208&ndash;209}}.</ref><ref name="bauckham-figs" />

The Apocalypse of Peter seems to quote from [[Ezekiel 37]], the story of the [[Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones|Valley of Dry Bones]].  During its rendition of the [[ascension of Jesus]], it also quotes from [[Psalm 24]], which was considered as a messianic psalm foretelling the coming of Jesus and Christianity in the early church. The psalm is given an interpretation as a prophecy of Jesus's entry into heaven.<ref name="VanRuiten2003">{{cite book |chapter=The Old Testament Quotations in the Apocalypse of Peter |last=Van Ruiten |first=Jacques  |editor1-first=Jan N. |editor1-last=Bremmer |editor1-link=Jan N. Bremmer |editor2-first=István |editor2-last=Czachesz |title=The Apocalypse of Peter |date=2003 |publisher=Peeters |isbn=90-429-1375-4 |pages=158–173}}</ref>

The post-mortem baptism in the [[Acherusia|Acherousian lake]] was likely influenced by the Jewish cultural practice of [[Last offices#Bathing the dead|washing the dead]] before the corpse is buried, a practice shared by early Christians.  There was a linkage or analogy between cleansing the soul on death as well as cleaning the body, as the Apocalypse of Peter passage essentially combines the two.<ref name="Copeland2003">{{cite book |chapter=Sinners and Post-Mortem 'Baptism' in the Acherusian Lake |last=Copeland |first=Kirsti B.  |editor1-first=Jan N. |editor1-last=Bremmer |editor1-link=Jan N. Bremmer |editor2-first=István |editor2-last=Czachesz |title=The Apocalypse of Peter |date=2003 |publisher=Peeters |isbn=90-429-1375-4 |pages=91–107}}</ref>

While much work has been done on predecessor influences, Eric Beck stresses that much of the Apocalypse of Peter is distinct among extant literature of the period, and may well have been unique at the time, rather than simply adapting lost earlier writings.<ref>{{harvnb|Beck|2019|pp=27–28, 79–80}}.</ref>  As an example, earlier Jewish literature varied in its depictions of [[Sheol]], the underworld, but did not usually threaten active torment to the wicked.  Instead [[Annihilationism|eternal destruction]] was the more frequent threat in these early works, a possibility that does not arise in the Apocalypse of Peter.<ref name="jost2024">{{cite book |chapter=Judgment, Punishment, and Hell in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Apocalypse of Peter |last=Jost |first=Michael R. |title=The Apocalypse of Peter in Context |date=2024 |series=Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 21 |editor-first=Daniel C. |editor-last=Maier |editor2-first=Jörg |editor2-last=Frey |editor3-first=Thomas J. |editor3-last=Kraus |url=https://www.peeters-leuven.be/pdf/9789042952096.pdf |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-5208-9 |pages=132–152 |doi=10.2143/9789042952096 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Contemporary work===
In the beginning of the book, Jesus, who had been resurrected, is giving further insights to the Apostles. This is followed by an account of Jesus's ascension.  This appears to have been a popular setting in 2nd century Christian works, with the dialogue generally taking place on a mountain, as in the Apocalypse of Peter.  The genre is sometimes called a "dialogue Gospel", and is seen in works such as the [[Epistle of the Apostles]], the [[Questions of Bartholomew]], and various Gnostic works such as the {{Transliteration|grc|[[Pistis Sophia]]}}.<ref name="bauckham168" />

Among writings that were eventually canonized in the New Testament, the Apocalypse of Peter shows a close resemblance in ideas with the epistle [[2 Peter]], to the extent that many scholars believe one had copied passages from the other due to the number of close parallels.<ref>{{ublcb|For an example of support of 2 Peter preceding the Apocalypse, see {{harvnb|Bauckham|1998|pp=290&ndash;303}}.
|For an example of suggesting that the lost original version of the Apocalypse of Peter contained no such references to 2 Peter, and that the 2 Peter parallels were probably the result of later editing, see {{harvnb|Beck|2019|pp=12–14, 93–94}}.
|For an example of support of the Apocalypse of Peter preceding 2 Peter, see: {{cite book |last=Frey |first=Jörg |author-link= |editor-first=Jörg |editor-last=Frey |editor2-first=Matthijs |editor2-last=den Dulk |editor3-first=Jan |editor3-last=van der Watt |editor3-link=Jan van der Watt |chapter=Second Peter in New Perspective |date=2019 |title=2 Peter and the Apocalypse of Peter: Towards a New Perspective  |location= |publisher=Brill |pages=7–74 |isbn=978-90-04-39954-9 |ref=None}} }}</ref><ref name="bremmer2024">{{cite book |chapter=The Apocalypse of Peter, 2 Peter and Sibylline Oracles II. Alexandrian Debates? |last=Bremmer |first=Jan |author-link=Jan N. Bremmer |title=The Apocalypse of Peter in Context |date=2024 |series=Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 21 |editor-first=Daniel C. |editor-last=Maier |editor2-first=Jörg |editor2-last=Frey |editor3-first=Thomas J. |editor3-last=Kraus |url=https://www.peeters-leuven.be/pdf/9789042952096.pdf |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-5208-9 |pages=153–177 |doi=10.2143/9789042952096 |doi-access=free }}</ref> While both the Apocalypse of Peter and the Apocalypse of John (the [[Book of Revelation]]) are apocalypses in genre, the Revelation of Peter puts far more stress on the afterlife and divine rewards and punishments, while the Revelation of John focuses on a cosmic battle between good and evil.<ref name="nta2" />

===Later influence===
[[File:Eugène Delacroix - The Barque of Dante.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.28|''[[Dante and Virgil in Hell]]'', an 1822 painting by Eugène Delacroix.  Dante very likely read the [[Apocalypse of Paul]] and references it in ''[[The Divine Comedy]]''; the Apocalypse of Paul was heavily influenced by the Apocalypse of Peter.<ref name="bremmer2009" /><ref name="silverstein1935">{{cite book |last=Silverstein |first=Theodore |author-link=Theodore Silverstein |date=1935 |title=Visio Sancti Pauli: The history of the Apocalypse in Latin, together with nine texts |url= |location=London |publisher=Christophers |pages=3&ndash;5, 91 |isbn=}}</ref>|alt=Painting of Dante and Virgil]]
The Apocalypse of Peter is the earliest surviving detailed depiction of heaven and hell in a Christian context. These depictions appear to have been quite influential to later works, although how much of this is due to the Apocalypse of Peter itself and how much to lost similar literature is unclear.<ref name="elliott" /><ref name="himmelfarb" />

The [[Sibylline Oracles]], popular among Roman Christians, directly quotes the Apocalypse of Peter.<ref>Specifically [[Sibylline Oracles]] Book 2, verse 225 and following.  See {{harvnb|Collins|1983|pp=350–353}} for a translation.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Beck|2019|pp=84–88}}.  {{harvnb|Adamik|2003}} is a dissenting opinion that suggests that the Sibylline Oracles are not quoting the Apocalypse of Peter, but later microscope analysis of the Rainer fragment has suggested that the alternative transcription Adamik's argument is based on is not accurate; see {{harvnb|Beck|2019|pp=84–88}} and {{harvnb|Kraus|Nicklas|2004|p=126}}.</ref> [[Macarius Magnes]]'s {{lang|la|Apocriticus}}, a 3rd-century Christian apologetic work, features "a pagan philosopher" who quotes the Apocalypse of Peter, albeit in an attempt to disprove Christianity.<ref>{{harvnb|Buchholz|1988|pp=29–34}}</ref>  The visions narrated in the [[Acts of Thomas]], another 3rd-century work, also appear to quote or reference the Apocalypse of Peter.<ref>{{harvnb|Buchholz|1988|pp=53–54}}.  For a dissenting opinion, [[Martha Himmelfarb]] argues that both the Acts of Thomas and the Apocalypse of Peter are drawing on the same early Jewish traditions to explain the similarities.  See {{harvnb|Himmelfarb|1983|pp=12–13}}.</ref>  The bishop [[Methodius of Olympus]] appears to positively quote the Apocalypse of Peter in the 4th century, although it is uncertain whether he regarded it as scripture.<ref name="Jakab2003" />{{NoteTag|A contested example of influence is in [[Theophilus of Antioch]]'s ''Apology to Autolycus''.  [[Gilles Quispel]] and [[Robert M. Grant (theologian)|R. M. Grant]] argued that a line in it might be loosely quoting the Akhmim version of the Apocalypse of Peter: a description of an Eden-like place of light and exquisite plants.  Dennis Buchholz does not find this argument convincing; while it is possible Theophilus was familiar with the Apocalypse of Peter, descriptions of paradise involving both light and flowering plants were common in the era, and seen in common sources such as the Book of Enoch.<ref>{{harvnb|Buchholz|1988|pp=48–50}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Quispel |first1=G. |author-link=Gilles Quispel |last2=Grant |first2=R.M. |author2-link=Robert M. Grant (theologian) |title=Note On the Petrine Apocrypha |journal=Vigiliae Christianae |volume=6 |issue=1 |date=1952 |pages=31–32 |doi=10.1163/157007252X00047 }}</ref>}}

The Apocalypse of Peter is a predecessor of and has similarities with the genre of [[Clementine literature]] that would later be popular in [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]], although Clement himself does not appear in the Apocalypse of Peter.  Clementine stories usually involved [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Clement of Rome]] having adventures, revelations, and dialogues together.  Both Ethiopic manuscripts that include the Apocalypse of Peter are mixed in with other Ethiopic Clementine literature that feature Peter prominently.<ref name="Pesthy2003">{{cite book |chapter='Thy Mercy, O Lord, is in the Heavens; and thy Righteousness Reaches unto the Clouds' |last=Pesthy |first=Monika  |editor1-first=Jan N. |editor1-last=Bremmer |editor1-link=Jan N. Bremmer |editor2-first=István |editor2-last=Czachesz |title=The Apocalypse of Peter |date=2003 |publisher=Peeters |isbn=90-429-1375-4 |pages=40–51}}</ref>  Clementine literature became popular in the third and fourth century, but it is not known when the Clementine sections of the Ethiopic manuscripts containing the Apocalypse of Peter were originally written.  Daniel Maier proposes an Egyptian origin in the 6th&ndash;10th centuries, while Richard Bauckham suggests the author was familiar with the [[Arabic Apocalypse of Peter]] and proposes an origin in the 8th century or later.<ref name="maier2024">{{cite book |chapter=The Ethiopic Pseudo-Clementine Framework of the Apocalypse of Peter: Chances and Challenges in the African Transmission Context |last=Maier |first=Daniel C. |title=The Apocalypse of Peter in Context |date=2024 |series=Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 21 |editor-first=Daniel C. |editor-last=Maier |editor2-first=Jörg |editor2-last=Frey |editor3-first=Thomas J. |editor3-last=Kraus |url=https://www.peeters-leuven.be/pdf/9789042952096.pdf |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-5208-9 |pages=153–177 |doi=10.2143/9789042952096 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="bauckham147" />

Later apocalyptic works inspired by the Apocalypse of Peter include the [[Apocalypse of Thomas]] in the 2nd&ndash;4th century, and more influentially, the [[Apocalypse of Paul]] in the 4th century.<ref name="nta2" /><ref>{{harvnb|Buchholz|1988|pp=65–70}}.</ref>  One change that the Apocalypse of Paul makes is describing [[particular judgment|personal judgments]] that happen immediately after death and decide whether a soul receives bliss or torment, rather than the Apocalypse of Peter being a vision of a future destiny that will take place after the Second Coming of Jesus. Hell and paradise are both on a future Earth in Peter, but are another realm of existence in Paul.<ref name="Jakab2003" /><ref name="fiori">{{cite book |last=Fiori |first=Emiliano B. |chapter='Close and yet so faraway': The Apocalypse of Peter and the Apocalypse of Paul |title=The Apocalypse of Peter in Context |date=2024 |series=Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 21 |editor-first=Daniel C. |editor-last=Maier |editor2-first=Jörg |editor2-last=Frey |editor3-first=Thomas J. |editor3-last=Kraus |url=https://www.peeters-leuven.be/pdf/9789042952096.pdf |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-5208-9 |doi=10.2143/9789042952096 |doi-access=free }}</ref>  The Apocalypse of Paul is also more interested in condemning sins committed by insufficiently devout Christians, while the Apocalypse of Peter seems to view the righteous as a unified group.<ref>{{harvnb|Beck|2019|pp=104–105}}.</ref>  The Apocalypse of Paul never saw official Church approval. Despite this, it would go on to be popular and influential for centuries, possibly due to the high esteem in which it was held among medieval monks.  [[Dante Alighieri]]'s ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' would become extremely popular and celebrated in the 14th century and beyond, and was influenced by the Apocalypse of Paul.<ref name="nta2" /><ref name="silverstein1935" />  The Apocalypse of Peter thus was the forerunner of these influential visions of the afterlife: Emiliano Fiori wrote that it contains the "embryonic forms" of the heaven and hell of the Apocalypse of Paul,<ref name="fiori" /> and [[Jan N. Bremmer|Jan Bremmer]] wrote that the Apocalypse of Paul was "the most important step in the direction that would find its apogee in Dante".<ref name="bremmer2009">{{cite journal  |last=Bremmer |first=Jan |author-link=Jan N. Bremmer |date=2009 |title=Christian Hell: From the Apocalypse of Peter to the Apocalypse of Paul  |journal=[[Numen (journal)|Numen]] |volume=56 |issue=2/3 |pages=298–302 |jstor=27793794 |doi= 10.1163/156852709X405026}}</ref>