2Pe 1:18 | KingComments | STEP | . Peter leaves no doubt that the coming of Christ in majesty is a reality. Any doubt that might arise about this, he radically represses. That doubt could be spread if his readers would listen to the false teachers who claim that that coming is a devised tale. There are also today many Christians, also leading scholars, who declare such a coming of the kingdom to a fairy tale. Let yourself not be fooled, in one way or the other, by such people who are inspired by the devil. Listen to Peter. Then you listen to a man who is completely rightly minded and who is able to tell you about what he himself has experienced. He is not a follower of a fata morgana, an illusion. What he has told them about “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”, is not a story that he had made up, but he was one of its “eyewitnesses”. He is not an eloquent fantasist, but a sober realist. He and the other apostles – he also speaks on their behalf, that can be derived from the word “we” – were one in their testimony. It is not just the testimony of one single witness, but of several apostles. What they have made known is based on their own observation. They have seen the Lord Jesus in radiant glory and majesty. That happened, as he says in , “on the holy mountain”, that is the mountain of transfiguration. There he and James and John were given, as it were, a foretaste of the appearance of Christ in glory and of the power that goes together with it. That glory and power will characterize “our Lord Jesus Christ” during the millennial kingdom of peace, when He will be reigning on earth. . After referring to the visible testimony, the testimony that he has seen with his own eyes, Peter then speaks about the audible testimony. He and the two brothers have heard what God the Father testified of His Son. Peter still remembers exactly what God the Father said. In what He said, the Father gave honor and glory to the Son. Peter must certainly have remembered how he proposed to build three tents, one for the Lord Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah, and how as a response to that, the Father directed all attention to His Son. No one can stand in His shadow. He alone is worthy of receiving all honor and glory. The Father did that to prevent any misunderstanding that His Son would be put on a par with even the greatest men from His people ( ). Out of His wonderful dwelling place the Father spoke out His undivided pleasure in His Son. He has given honor and glory to Christ ( ). In the voice that they heard, the pleasure of God in His Son was echoing. That voice came from “the Majestic Glory”, that is the cloud as the symbol of the dwelling place of God. This cloud was above the tabernacle as the visible sign of God’s presence among His people. That cloud overshadowed the three disciples. Out of the cloud “such a voice” came. The pleasure that came from “the Majestic Glory” in that voice to the Lord Jesus, was the expression of that glory. He was the Object to Whom the Father had given honor and glory. The whole scene there on that holy mountain was shining of glory. And Peter and John and James were also there. That scene made a permanent impression. They had believed that Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecies. . Through what they had seen and heard on that holy mountain, they had “the prophetic word [made] more sure”. Peter expresses himself in the most forceful words to take away every doubt concerning the coming of the kingdom. Then he emphasizes the prophetic word. You “do well to pay attention” to it. You pay attention to it if you consider it, if it determines the direction of your life. The prophetic word is “as a lamp” ( ). In its light you are able to see how everything develops in the direction of the fulfillment. You need that lamp, because the world is “a dark place”. The world is saying that it is enlightened, but without Christ it is really only darkness ( ). The translated word ‘dark’ means ‘filthy’, ‘dirty’. The world with all its splendor and magnificence is according to God a filthy place and that’s how it is also to the Christian who is taught by God. The only light that shines through this filthiness, is the light of the prophecy. The people of the world imagine that they are able to transform the world into a kingdom of peace. It is an illusion that they can cherish till the Lord Jesus comes and will judge all unrighteousness. The prophecy foretells His coming in many ways and with His coming the end of the day of man. If you really pay attention to the prophecy you will surely want to study the prophecies diligently. That will prevent you from the foolishness to cooperate with the world in its search for a world peace. You will separate yourself from the world and point out to the people in the world the coming of the Judge, so that they may convert from their sins to escape from the judgment. You know that His coming is near, that He will come as “the sun of righteousness” ( ). After exerting the judgment He will establish His kingdom of peace, the eternal kingdom. Then the day of Christ will come, the day of His glory and then the lamp will not be needed anymore. Then the prophetic word will be fully fulfilled. Peter, however, does not speak about the sun, but about the “morning star”. Before the dawning of the day, the morning star arises. With the morning star the Lord Jesus is meant (cf. ) as the One Who brings light. The morning star appears when it is still dark, but at the moment that the day is dawning. The appearance of the morning star announces the rising of the sun. Therefore Peter says that the morning arises in your heart, which means that, while there is darkness around you, your heart is focused on the nearby coming of the Lord Jesus. In that way you live as if the kingdom has already come and you now already consider the rights of the Lord Jesus, like it will soon happen over the whole earth. You are, to say it with another word of the Scripture, ‘a son of the day’ ( ), that is someone who now already has that day in his heart. . For a sound study of the prophecy, Peter gives some more significant instructions at the end of this chapter. In the first place, “know this first of all”, you should not see a prophecy separately, but you should see it in relation with other prophecies. In this way Peter passes on the significant rule that you should always compare Scripture with Scripture. If you don’t do that you will manipulate the prophetic word and interpret it as it best suits you. But the fulfillment of the prophecies happens in the way it is written in the Word and not according to your own ideas. The key for the right understanding of the prophecies is Christ, His suffering and the glory thereafter. The testimony of Jesus is after all the spirit of prophecy ( ). . It is of great importance to bear in mind that prophets have not spoken from their own will, but from God. The origin of God’s Word in its whole, amongst them the prophecies, is not in the will of man. It is to be compared with the new birth that also comes from God alone, without any contribution of man ( ). God the Holy Spirit has used men to have His Word to be written. Those men were ‘holy’ men, because God had set them apart for this service. They indeed wrote on their own initiative, but at the same time they were “moved” or ‘led’, ‘carried’ by the Holy Spirit ( ). In that way they did not write down their own thoughts, but what God wanted them to write. Not the authors were inspired, but what they wrote was inspired. Here you see what inspiration is: the efficacy of the Holy Spirit in the Bible authors at the moment of their writing. To sum up, you learn from what Peter says here that there are three elements in the inspiration: 1. The Divine authorship of the Bible. God has ‘breathed out’ His Word; it comes from Him, it is not a writing about God, but from God. 2. The human instrument. The writers were ‘holy’ men, which means set apart to write down what was ‘breathed in’ by Him, according to His will – which did not happen at the expense of their own style, for they were not just ‘type writers’. 3. The written result. The product of the ‘breathing’ of God and of ‘moved’ by the Spirit of the authors is the Word of God as you now may have in your hands. Now read 2 Peter 1:16-21 again. Reflection: What is the importance of the prophetic word for you?

‏ 2 Peter 1:18

The Prophetic Word

2Pet 1:16. Peter leaves no doubt that the coming of Christ in majesty is a reality. Any doubt that might arise about this, he radically represses. That doubt could be spread if his readers would listen to the false teachers who claim that that coming is a devised tale. There are also today many Christians, also leading scholars, who declare such a coming of the kingdom to a fairy tale. Let yourself not be fooled, in one way or the other, by such people who are inspired by the devil. Listen to Peter. Then you listen to a man who is completely rightly minded and who is able to tell you about what he himself has experienced.

He is not a follower of a fata morgana, an illusion. What he has told them about “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”, is not a story that he had made up, but he was one of its “eyewitnesses”. He is not an eloquent fantasist, but a sober realist. He and the other apostles – he also speaks on their behalf, that can be derived from the word “we” – were one in their testimony. It is not just the testimony of one single witness, but of several apostles. What they have made known is based on their own observation.

They have seen the Lord Jesus in radiant glory and majesty. That happened, as he says in 2Pet 1:18, “on the holy mountain”, that is the mountain of transfiguration. There he and James and John were given, as it were, a foretaste of the appearance of Christ in glory and of the power that goes together with it. That glory and power will characterize “our Lord Jesus Christ” during the millennial kingdom of peace, when He will be reigning on earth.

2Pet 1:17-18. After referring to the visible testimony, the testimony that he has seen with his own eyes, Peter then speaks about the audible testimony. He and the two brothers have heard what God the Father testified of His Son. Peter still remembers exactly what God the Father said. In what He said, the Father gave honor and glory to the Son. Peter must certainly have remembered how he proposed to build three tents, one for the Lord Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah, and how as a response to that, the Father directed all attention to His Son.

No one can stand in His shadow. He alone is worthy of receiving all honor and glory. The Father did that to prevent any misunderstanding that His Son would be put on a par with even the greatest men from His people (Mt 17:4-5). Out of His wonderful dwelling place the Father spoke out His undivided pleasure in His Son. He has given honor and glory to Christ (Heb 2:9).

In the voice that they heard, the pleasure of God in His Son was echoing. That voice came from “the Majestic Glory”, that is the cloud as the symbol of the dwelling place of God. This cloud was above the tabernacle as the visible sign of God’s presence among His people. That cloud overshadowed the three disciples. Out of the cloud “such a voice” came. The pleasure that came from “the Majestic Glory” in that voice to the Lord Jesus, was the expression of that glory. He was the Object to Whom the Father had given honor and glory.

The whole scene there on that holy mountain was shining of glory. And Peter and John and James were also there. That scene made a permanent impression. They had believed that Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecies.

2Pet 1:19. Through what they had seen and heard on that holy mountain, they had “the prophetic word [made] more sure”. Peter expresses himself in the most forceful words to take away every doubt concerning the coming of the kingdom. Then he emphasizes the prophetic word. You “do well to pay attention” to it. You pay attention to it if you consider it, if it determines the direction of your life. The prophetic word is “as a lamp” (Psa 119:105). In its light you are able to see how everything develops in the direction of the fulfillment.

You need that lamp, because the world is “a dark place”. The world is saying that it is enlightened, but without Christ it is really only darkness (Jn 1:5). The translated word ‘dark’ means ‘filthy’, ‘dirty’. The world with all its splendor and magnificence is according to God a filthy place and that’s how it is also to the Christian who is taught by God. The only light that shines through this filthiness, is the light of the prophecy.

The people of the world imagine that they are able to transform the world into a kingdom of peace. It is an illusion that they can cherish till the Lord Jesus comes and will judge all unrighteousness. The prophecy foretells His coming in many ways and with His coming the end of the day of man.

If you really pay attention to the prophecy you will surely want to study the prophecies diligently. That will prevent you from the foolishness to cooperate with the world in its search for a world peace. You will separate yourself from the world and point out to the people in the world the coming of the Judge, so that they may convert from their sins to escape from the judgment. You know that His coming is near, that He will come as “the sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2). After exerting the judgment He will establish His kingdom of peace, the eternal kingdom. Then the day of Christ will come, the day of His glory and then the lamp will not be needed anymore. Then the prophetic word will be fully fulfilled.

Peter, however, does not speak about the sun, but about the “morning star”. Before the dawning of the day, the morning star arises. With the morning star the Lord Jesus is meant (cf. Rev 2:28 ; Rev 22:16) as the One Who brings light. The morning star appears when it is still dark, but at the moment that the day is dawning. The appearance of the morning star announces the rising of the sun.

Therefore Peter says that the morning arises in your heart, which means that, while there is darkness around you, your heart is focused on the nearby coming of the Lord Jesus. In that way you live as if the kingdom has already come and you now already consider the rights of the Lord Jesus, like it will soon happen over the whole earth. You are, to say it with another word of the Scripture, ‘a son of the day’ (1Thes 5:5), that is someone who now already has that day in his heart.

2Pet 1:20. For a sound study of the prophecy, Peter gives some more significant instructions at the end of this chapter. In the first place, “know this first of all”, you should not see a prophecy separately, but you should see it in relation with other prophecies. In this way Peter passes on the significant rule that you should always compare Scripture with Scripture. If you don’t do that you will manipulate the prophetic word and interpret it as it best suits you. But the fulfillment of the prophecies happens in the way it is written in the Word and not according to your own ideas. The key for the right understanding of the prophecies is Christ, His suffering and the glory thereafter. The testimony of Jesus is after all the spirit of prophecy (Rev 19:10b).

2Pet 1:21. It is of great importance to bear in mind that prophets have not spoken from their own will, but from God. The origin of God’s Word in its whole, amongst them the prophecies, is not in the will of man. It is to be compared with the new birth that also comes from God alone, without any contribution of man (Jn 1:13).

God the Holy Spirit has used men to have His Word to be written. Those men were ‘holy’ men, because God had set them apart for this service. They indeed wrote on their own initiative, but at the same time they were “moved” or ‘led’, ‘carried’ by the Holy Spirit (2Tim 3:16). In that way they did not write down their own thoughts, but what God wanted them to write. Not the authors were inspired, but what they wrote was inspired. Here you see what inspiration is: the efficacy of the Holy Spirit in the Bible authors at the moment of their writing.

To sum up, you learn from what Peter says here that there are three elements in the inspiration:

1. The Divine authorship of the Bible. God has ‘breathed out’ His Word; it comes from Him, it is not a writing about God, but from God.

2. The human instrument. The writers were ‘holy’ men, which means set apart to write down what was ‘breathed in’ by Him, according to His will – which did not happen at the expense of their own style, for they were not just ‘type writers’.

3. The written result. The product of the ‘breathing’ of God and of ‘moved’ by the Spirit of the authors is the Word of God as you now may have in your hands.

Now read 2 Peter 1:16-21 again.

Reflection: What is the importance of the prophetic word for you?