¹³I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

Peter is a realist. He knows his remaining days on earth are limited. While he and the other apostles initially expected Christ’s return soon, even during their lifetime, the reality set in that such would probably not be the case. (We leave for theologians the study of biblical teaching on the imminence of Christ’s return.) Peter had already had a sneak preview of Jesus’ coming, as he mentions in the next few verses of this letter, referring to the Mount of Transfiguration.

So he wants to prepare his readers for the time coming when he would be gone. Rather than retiring after thirty years of ministry, he wants to use his remaining time to remind them of the truths that had already been taught them. “Earthly dwelling” does not refer to a physical building; it is a figure of speech for the time while Peter is physically alive. The biblical view is that we dwell in our bodies here and now, but then we will gain new bodies in the resurrection (Phil. 3:21, also 1 Cor. 5:42–44, 2 Cor. 5:6, 8).

We don’t know how much longer Peter lived after writing this letter, but he was convinced that his death would be soon. This certainty seems to have come by special revelation from Jesus Christ. Paul, likewise, had a sense of his imminent death (2 Tim. 4:6), and he reflected back on a fight well fought. Both apostles, though, continued to fight, that is, to serve the Lord and His people until the end of their lives on earth.

God was at work in them to ensure that their teaching would be preserved, as Peter here desires. The (original) apostles were God’s official and set-apart witnesses of all that Jesus taught (see Acts 1:8, 21–22), to establish the foundation of truth for all Christians to build their lives on. The Lord had promised them that the Spirit would both give them supernatural recall of the life and teachings of Christ, and also supplement their witness with additional knowledge (John 14:26, 16:13). Paul, who came later, was recognized by them also as an apostle (Gal. 2:7–9); he was, in fact, an eyewitness of Christ as well (1 Cor. 15:8) and proved to be gifted as an apostle (2 Cor. 12:12).

Now, toward the end of their lives, the apostles did not appoint successors to bring new truths, but they made every effort to leave a written record for believers to remember so that we would build our lives on the foundational apostolic teachings (see Eph. 2:20).

Lord, thank You for the foundation of apostolic truth in Your Word!