The Apocalypse of Peter, also called the Revelation of Peter, is an early Christian text of the 2nd century and a work of apocalyptic literature. It is not included in the standard canon of the New Testament, but is classed as part of New Testament apocrypha. The Apocalypse of Peter is mentioned in the Muratorian fragment, a 2nd-century list list of books thought to be canonical in Christianity. The Muratorian fragment expresses some hesitation on the work, saying that some authorities would not have it read in church. The text is extant in two incomplete versions based on a lost Koine Greek original: an edited Greek version and an Ethiopic version, which diverge considerably. It is influenced by both Jewish apocalyptic literature and Hellenistic philosophy from Greek culture. The Apocalypse of Peter is the earliest-written extant document depicting a Christian version of heaven and hell in detail.
The fragment of the Apocalypse of Peter held by the Bodleian Library
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians. Apocalypse is a Greek word meaning "revelation", "an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling".
The Book of Daniel is one of the earliest instances of apocalyptic literature within the Abrahamic traditions.