The author identifies himself as "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to Peter the Apostle, but some writers argue that it is the work of Peter's followers in Rome between the years 70 and 100.

[8] The shared passages are:[9] As Christians have obtained the "power" and "promise" for their resources, Peter urges that they "make every effort" (verse 5) to achieve the goal, that is "to grow to be like Jesus", following the steps towards it (verses 5–7):[17] Emphasis is shown through repetition of information already known: Bengel speaks of the writer "emphatically repeat[ing]" his message.

[16] Reference to Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1–12; Mark 9:2–13; Luke 9:28–36) The King James Version adds wording, "the prophecy came not in old time".

[22] E. H. Plumptre argues against the additional word 'the': "the article before 'prophecy' in the Greek simply gives to the noun the generic sense which is better expressed in English by the absence of the article".

[23] Duff relates such 'prophecy' to the Old Testament;[24] Plumptre suggests that the meaning of 'old time' is "wider in its range than the English words, and takes in the more recent as well as the more distant past, and is therefore [also] applicable to the prophecies of the Christian ...