16We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
19And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Dig Deeper
"No, I'm serious. He really is a nice guy." Yet she still didn't seem convinced. A friend of mine was asking me about who she should vote for in the upcoming elections for senator and she mentioned that one of the candidates seemed a little aloof to her. I couldn't tell her how to vote but I could tell her that he wasn't that way at all. In fact, I thought he was a very nice and thoughtful individual. She wasn't convinced, though despite my words and wanted to know why I was so sure about this guy anyway. Then I told her what I probably should have started the conversation with. I knew him. I had coached against the man several times in various summer basketball tournaments years before, although he was quite a bit older than I was. I had witnessed this guy do an incredibly thoughtful and kind act that no one else knew about, so he wasn't doing it for attention. In fact this was several years before he ran for office. His team had just upset mine in a major tournament, mostly due to the fact that he had out-coached me. My young players walked dejectedly to the locker room and were quite distraught once they were in there. This man walked by our locker room and heard their angst. He came all on his own and offered my players some incredibly encouraging words that lifted their spirits a bit and got them ready for the remainder of the tournament. He didn't have to do that, but he did. It was a genuine act of kindness that demonstrated the true character of the man. Suddenly my friend took my opinion far more seriously. Why? For the simple reason that I was an eyewitness. I wasn't just speculating or passing along hearsay. I knew what I was talking about.
Peter is calling the Christian community to follow straight down the path of the example and life of Christ to which we have all been called. Peter, being quite a bit smarter than I was that day, however, lays out an important fact right here near the beginning. He isn't just passing along made-up stories or clever hearsay. No, what he is calling them to is something that he witnessed. If he is calling people to lay down their entire lives and live the life that Christ has called Christians to live, Peter knows that people aren't going to rely on myths or made-up stories. They want to hear from reliable eyewitnesses, people who were there and can verify that what they are relaying is true and accurate, people who know what they are talking about. Nobody fits that bill better than Peter does. He was there and eyewitness testimony always gives more credence to an account.
Peter now sets his sights on the false teachers to whom his attention will turn for the rest of this letter. He begins here by setting up clear distinctions between true apostles that can be trusted and the false teachers who would attempt to lead believers astray. First of all, says Peter, true teachers of the word do not follow cleverly invented stories when they told the saints about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. No, they weren't making up complex theories that attracted followers for the sake of building up their own little groups of followers. They were eyewitnesses of the majesty of Christ, and now served as heralds of His glory and His kingdom.
It appears, although we can't know all the details, that the heart of the false teaching that Peter is taking on in this letter centered around the second coming of Christ. They were apparently teaching that the final form of the Kingdom had already arrived (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8) and even that the hope of resurrection had already taken place (as in 2 Tim. 2:18). This is a situation that is mirrored today in the teachings of those who hold to the full preterist position (although the preterists also have many differences with the teachers Peter is confronting). Full preterists rightly understand that much of the prophecies of Jesus found in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, as well as much of Revelation, have more to do with the destruction of the Temple that took place in 70 AD than in the "end of the world." They go beyond that, sadly, and teach that Christ will not return to judge the earth, enact the resurrection, inaugurate the age to come, and fill the earth with the very presence of God, joining heaven and earth together as they were made to be. In short, they say that there is no second coming. This position in our day, as in Peter's, robs Christianity of the great Christian hope and Peter knew the danger of that. He will destroy the foundations of this false reaching with two primary reasons that believers can be sure that Christ will indeed return to restore all things (Matt. 19:28). The first is the eyewitness testimony of those who saw the transfiguration, and the second is the fact that the prophecies of Scripture are reliable and back up what Peter saw at the transfiguration.
Christ is not just some pretender to the Messianic throne. Peter was there when God honored Christ by calling him His Son, and wrapping him in the glory of the Majestic glory cloud (Mark 9:7) that played such a key role in revealing the presence of God to the people of Israel. Peter says that he was there and heard this voice that came from heaven while they were with him on the sacred mountain. In so doing, Peter uses the words from Psalm 2:6, which says, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." Peter is drawing attention to the fact that Jesus' kingship and right to rule and judge the world was confirmed at the transfiguration. This was not only a fulfillment of that prophecy, it was a foreshadowing of the second coming when Christ will return to judge, restore, and rule over His earth. Thus, the second coming and the transfiguration were closely connected in Peter's mind. The transfiguration was the time when the glorious nature of Christ was revealed showing him to be the majestic king of the earth, and Peter was there. He saw it all and simply cannot and will not forget it.
The false teachers were evidently attacking both the teachings of the apostles and the Old Testament prophets, but Peter is about to show how they compliment and strengthen one another and leave the false prophets with nothing to stand on to verify their claims. The context of Peter's words here would lead us to believe that he is referring specifically to the words of the prophets concerning the kingdom that was to be established by the Messiah. They add validity to what Peter and the other apostles saw. Rather than following the darkness of false teachings that would lead men and women away from God's kingdom and towards a self-reliance that puts the onus on humans, they would do well to pay attention to the light of true teaching. The prophets spoke often of a time when God would judge the world and bring His people into His kingdom to live with Him forever. The transfiguration, which served as a foreshadowing of Christ's ultimate glory, shows that the prophets words can be fully believed at a literal level.
Peter's point in verse 20 has to do with gaining the correct understanding of the words of the Old Testament prophets. Peter wants his readers to understand that when they read the Old Testament prophets they are not reading something that they have just made up on their own. True prophecies and the true word of God have never come from someone's own ideas, for prophecy never had its origin in the will of man. The prophets spoke from God as did the apostles, according to Peter. They never spoke their own opinions It's probable that the false teachers were claiming that the apostles and the prophets had merely spoken their own opinions. They then presented clever and complex teachings to draw people to their doctrines. It is, in fact, the false teachers who are putting forth their own opinions as they have never spoken from God or been carried along by the Spirit. This may leave us wondering why Peter's word would be anymore convincing than the false teachers. This is precisely the point that Peter has so deftly made. The false teachers are teaching a version of the Christ and His Kingdom, but they are not eyewitnesses and have impugned the testimony of the prophets. Peter and the apostles are eyewitnesses and stand vindicated by the words of the prophets which came from God Himself. As clever and deceptive as these tales might be, they really have no legs to stand on.
Devotional Thought
This early Christian community was firmly established in their faith, yet they were still susceptible to false and clever stories. Peter's call is for them to root themselves in the reliability of the Scriptures and the testimony of the apostles. Do you know the Bible well enough to immediately recognize clever, but unscriptural ideas? There are new ones popping up all the time, so be prepared.
No comments:
Post a Comment