Rachel Workman: 16
For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes
17 when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the
majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me
great joy.” 18 We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him
on the holy mountain.
19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. I love these verses. I could write pages on it. Peter lived to see the Old Testament prophesies come true. He actually witnessed it if you can imagine. But the fulfilling of those prophesies is what allows us to know without a shadow of a doubt that God's word is true. That's where our greater confidence comes from.
19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. I love these verses. I could write pages on it. Peter lived to see the Old Testament prophesies come true. He actually witnessed it if you can imagine. But the fulfilling of those prophesies is what allows us to know without a shadow of a doubt that God's word is true. That's where our greater confidence comes from.
Years ago, a math professor named
Peter Stoner wrote a little book, Science Speaks. In it, he assigns
probabilities to a number of biblical prophecies and then calculates the odds
that these things could have happened by sheer chance. In one chapter, he takes
just eight prophecies concerning Jesus Christ and uses very conservative
estimates to determine how probable it is that anyone who might have lived from
the time of those prophecies down to the present could have fulfilled them all.
His answer is, 1 in 1017.
How big is that number? To
illustrate, Professor Stoner says take 1017
silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover the entire
state two feet deep. Now mark one of those silver dollars, stir it into the
whole mix, blindfold a man and tell him he can go as far as he wants, but he has
to pick just one. His chances of picking the marked silver dollar are the same
chance that the prophets would have had of writing just these eight prophecies
(apart from divine inspiration) and having them all come true in one man. He
goes on to show that if you take 16 prophecies, the odds increase to 1 in 1045,
an unimaginably huge number. It would involve a ball of silver dollars
extending 30 times as far as from the earth to the sun! And that’s just 16
prophecies, not the 300 which Jesus fulfilled!
Hard
to imagine isn't it?
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Pat Bell: 16 For we
were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes 17 when
he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic
glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great
joy.”[f] 18 We
ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy
mountain.
19 Because
of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed
by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their
words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ
the Morning Star shines[g] in your hearts. 20 Above
all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the
prophet’s own understanding,[h] 21 or from
human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they
spoke from God.
To me this verse is important, as it clarifies where the
scriptures come from!
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John Burnett: New American
Standard Bible (NASB)
8 For
if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither
useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For
he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having
forgotten his purification from his former sins. If you are not
growing in these qualities (process of sanctification) you will eventually
revert back to the old status quo. 10 Therefore,
brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and
choosing you He chooses us, we do not choose him. After He
chooses us, He gives us a helper to remind us that he chose us; for as
long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; When
I take breaks from practicing these things is when I stumble. 11 for
in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
12 Therefore,
I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already
know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.
13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly
dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that
the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord
Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also be
diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these
things to mind. Rachel, you play Peter’s role he is describing here
for me and everyone in our group. If it were not for the Daily Reading, I
would still read the Bible but not near as consistently as I do now.
Thanks for your reminders every day.
Eyewitnesses
16 For
we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power
and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For
when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an [a]utterance as this was [b]made to Him by the Majestic
Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and
we ourselves heard this [c]utterance made from heaven
when we were with Him on the holy mountain. What an experience that
must have been. On the other side of that, He also says, “Blessed are
those who did not see, yet still believe.”
19 [d]So we have the
prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as
to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star
arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no
prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for
no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy
Spirit spoke from God. This passage is important to remember with all
of the false teachers and prophets roaming the earth nowadays.
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- can you imagine being an eye witness to this? How awesome
that would have been!
19 Because of that experience, we
have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You
must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp
shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines[g]
in your hearts.
- the Word is always a lamp to guide our way.
20 Above all, you must realize that
no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding,[h]
21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by
the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
- and the Word is absolutely from God.
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Mike Grimm: 16 For we were not making up clever stories when
we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his
majestic splendor with our own eyes 17 when he received honor
and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to
him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” 18 We
ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy
mountain. Peter is referring to the
transfiguration where Jesus’ divine identity was revealed to him and two other
disciples, James and John (see Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28-36).
On
the occasion of the transfiguration, Jesus Christ received “honor and glory”
from God the Father. From the “majestic glory,” Peter, James, and John heard
the words, “This is my son, my beloved, with whom I am pleased.” The voice that
conveyed these words to Jesus Christ came from a “bright cloud,” providing a
basis for concluding that it is being referred to as the “majestic glory.” (Matthew
17:5)
19 Because of that experience, we have even
greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay
close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in
a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your
hearts. Christ is the “morning star,” and
when he returns, He will shine in His full glory. Until that day we have
Scripture as a light and the Holy Spirit to illuminate Scripture for us and
guide us as we seek the truth. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy
in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or
from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and
they spoke from God. The Bible is not a collection of
fables or human ideas about God. It is God’s very words given through people to
people. Peter emphasized his authority as an eyewitness as well as the
God-inspired authority of Scripture to prepare the way for his harsh words
against the false teachers.
At
no time did the prophecies preserved in the holy writings come from the will or
wish of any human. Prophecy proved to be divine revelation, for “men” (the
prophets) were “borne” or moved by the “holy spirit” so as to speak “from God.”
By means of his spirit, God conveyed his message to the prophets, and so they
were the instruments through whom he made known both the sufferings his Son
would experience and the glories that would then follow.
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