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2 Peter 1:14
14 Knowing [eido] that [hoti] shortly [tachinos] I must [esti] put off [apothesis] this my [mou] tabernacle [skenoma], even [kai] as [kathos] our [hemon] Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos] hath shewed [deloo] me [moi]. KJV-Interlinear
13 And I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, NASB
Nearly forty years prior to this letter, Jesus had told Peter that he would die in his old age, John 21:18-19. And now that he was old, he probably knew, as we will all know when we get old, that his life was nearing to its end.
Peter does not imply that he had knew information regarding his death, but only that he knew that his life was much closer to being over, because he was getting older.
That means he had less and less time to spend on teaching and writing his letters. This should be obvious.
However, Peter has stressed the importance of each person’s responsibility in advancing in their spiritual life. And with that, we can gather that it is to each of our best interests, to get with a Bible study program for our own preparation for eternity.
Time is short, and was short for Peter back then. But now, Peter is no longer here and the message is not referring to him, but to each of us.
Time is short, and that is the message that we should get into our little heads. Whether you agree with it or not, you do not have much time left on this earth. If you have a day left or several decades, also makes no difference. Your time is short, because by ignoring doctrine and your spiritual growth, you are setting a precedent of indifference, that is extremely difficult to correct, the longer you keep on being indifferent.
You could choke on a piece of food at any meal or snack. You could get caught up in an accident on any day. You could be the innocent victim of some sort of weird situation. Or you can live your daily life for years.
In any case, your attitude toward doctrine today, will determine the status of your spiritual life.
Procrastination is extremely dangerous and not smart, especially when you know that you are trading your eternal future for something now, that has absolutely no value to you.
The dwelling being traded away is given in terms of changing clothing, trading one set of clothes (your physical body), for another set of clothes (your next body).
The real you, is in your soul. Your physical body is nothing more than a set of clothing, which you wear around your life. Your physical body is not human life, but only biological life. And it is sustained by the presence of your human life which resides within your soul.
And just as old clothes are discarded, so too, you will discard your physical body for a better one, one day. Actually it will be God who makes the trade. When that occurs, you do not know. Peter did not know. So, your death may be imminent. You have no time to waste, even if you do in deed live several more decades.
