Peter wrote his second epistle shortly before his death. In fact, he told the brethren that “the laying aside of [his] earthly dwelling [was] imminent” (2 Peter 1:14). Though not recorded in the Bible, historical accounts suggest that Peter was crucified in Rome.* Over the next several years, all the apostles would depart from this life, with most of their deaths resulting from persecution. Eventually, these brethren would be without Peter and any of the other apostles.

Today, we also have no living apostles.** Like the brethren at the end of the first century, we live in the world without personal direction from the ones chosen to be the “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We work to teach others without the ones commissioned by the Lord to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). We carefully study the words they wrote as they revealed “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:10-16) without the ability to hear them teach or to ask questions to help our understanding.

It might seem as though we are at a disadvantage. For the Christians living in the last part of the first century, the prospect of losing access to the living apostles may have felt the same. However, in this letter written near the end of his life, Peter assured them (and this applies to us as well) that they had everything they needed to serve God and obtain His promises.

Let us notice what Peter said about this just in the verses leading up to his statement about his death being “imminent” (2 Peter 1:14). What would they still have after the time of the apostles? What do we still have?Continue Reading