Crisis in the Church is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the Church has always been--and probably always will be--involved in some kind of crisis. Even in the apostolic period, which is regarded by many as the Church's golden age, there were serious crises coming both from the outside, as in 1 Peter, and from the inside, as in Jude and 2 Peter. The three short New Testament letters treated in 1 Peter, Jude, and 2 Peter illustrate the problems early Christians faced, as well as the rhetorical techniques and theological concepts with which they combated those problems.