2 Peter 1:20-21

2 Peter 1:20-21

Thoughts from Dayna Spaulding

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“knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

2 Peter 1:20-21

FOF- Behind the Scenes
Slide

A primary objective of Peter’s second epistle was to warn believers against false prophecy and false teaching. Prior to issuing these warnings, Peter established the legitimacy of his own teaching, and that of the other apostles, using two claims:

The apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry and resurrection.

Prophecies in Scripture affirm their teaching that Jesus is the Messiah.

Slide

Peter expresses the first claim in 2 Peter 1:16-18, writing, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.”

Slide

Then, in verse 19, Peter appeals to prophetic evidence: “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention.” What we know today as the New Testament was not officially compiled until long after Peter wrote his letters. And yet, Peter placed his writing and the writings of other apostles on equal footing with the canon of Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament), which had been widely accepted as the authoritative, inspired word of God by Jews for centuries. This is what Peter reminded readers of in today’s verses: Biblical prophecies came directly through the Holy Spirit.

Slide

In this passage, Peter linked the inspired Scriptures that predated Christ with Scriptures He and others were currently writing about the life and teachings of Christ. He pointed out that the prophecies in one collection supported the legitimacy of the emerging collection. Together, the Old and New Testaments form a cohesive story of God’s historic and ongoing work among his people. This story was not produced by the will of men through their own interpretations, but given to us by God himself, speaking directly through men.

FOF- Make it Real
Slide

Why do we consider the eyewitness accounts of the apostles to be reliable? Asbury Seminary professor Craig Keener sums it up like this: “People of course die regularly for values that are false; they do not, however, ordinarily die voluntarily for what they believe is false. Intentional deception by the disciples is thus implausible.”

Slide

Professor Sean McDowell further explains this idea, writing, “the beliefs of the apostles were not received secondhand, but from personal experience with the risen Jesus. They proclaimed what they had seen and heard with their own eyes and ears, not stories received from others…Buddhist monks and Muslim terrorists are certainly willing to suffer and die for a faith they received secondhand, but the apostles were willing to suffer and die for what they had seen with their own eyes…While people die for what they believe is true, it is a stretch to think all the apostles were willing to suffer and die for a claim they knew was false.”

Slide

In addition to testimony of eyewitnesses, Jesus fulfilled over 300 Biblical prophecies that were written hundreds of years prior to his birth. Mathematics professor Peter W. Stoner, whose findings were reviewed by the American Scientific Association, calculated the statistical probability of one first century man fulfilling just eight of the most clear Messianic prophecies to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.

Slide

The combination of eyewitness accounts and Old Testament prophecy provide a compelling case not only for the identity of Jesus as the resurrected Messiah, but also for the veracity of the Bible. But the point of Peter’s letter wasn’t just to defend the accuracy of Scripture. His motivation in writing was to equip and encourage believers to “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Slide

Peter concluded his letter like this: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (1 Peter 3:18). As we study the foundations of our faith in the coming weeks, let’s remember that our aim isn’t just to acquire knowledge, but to grow in knowledge–to grow in our devotion to Christ and to grow to resemble Him more and more. Through His grace and for His glory, may that be true for each of us.

FOF- End in Prayer
Slide

Lord, thank you for the gift of your word. Thank you for the way you used fallible humans to preserve your infallible truth. Help me to value it as the treasure it is. Help me to grow in knowledge as I read of your works, Father. Help me to grow in grace, as I cling to your words, Jesus. And help me to be transformed, Holy Spirit, as you renew my mind through study and meditation. Through your grace and for your glory, please grow me, God. Amen.

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“knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 

2 Peter 1:20-21

Behind the Scenes

A primary objective of Peter’s second epistle was to warn believers against false prophecy and false teaching. Prior to issuing these warnings, Peter established the legitimacy of his own teaching, and that of the other apostles, using two claims: 

The apostles were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry and resurrection. 

Prophecies in Scripture affirm their teaching that Jesus is the Messiah.  

Peter expresses the first claim in 2 Peter 1:16-18, writing, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.” 

Then, in verse 19, Peter appeals to prophetic evidence: “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention.” What we know today as the New Testament was not officially compiled until long after Peter wrote his letters. And yet, Peter placed his writing and the writings of other apostles on equal footing with the canon of Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament), which had been widely accepted as the authoritative, inspired word of God by Jews for centuries. This is what Peter reminded readers of in today’s verses: Biblical prophecies came directly through the Holy Spirit.  

In this passage, Peter linked the inspired Scriptures that predated Christ with Scriptures He and others were currently writing about the life and teachings of Christ. He pointed out that the prophecies in one collection supported the legitimacy of the emerging collection. Together, the Old and New Testaments form a cohesive story of God’s historic and ongoing work among his people. This story was not produced by the will of men through their own interpretations, but given to us by God himself, speaking directly through men. 

Make It Real

Why do we consider the eyewitness accounts of the apostles to be reliable? Asbury Seminary professor Craig Keener sums it up like this: “People of course die regularly for values that are false; they do not, however, ordinarily die voluntarily for what they believe is false. Intentional deception by the disciples is thus implausible.” 

Professor Sean McDowell further explains this idea, writing, “the beliefs of the apostles were not received secondhand, but from personal experience with the risen Jesus. They proclaimed what they had seen and heard with their own eyes and ears, not stories received from others…Buddhist monks and Muslim terrorists are certainly willing to suffer and die for a faith they received secondhand, but the apostles were willing to suffer and die for what they had seen with their own eyes…While people die for what they believe is true, it is a stretch to think all the apostles were willing to suffer and die for a claim they knew was false.” 

In addition to testimony of eyewitnesses, Jesus fulfilled over 300 Biblical prophecies that were written hundreds of years prior to his birth. Mathematics professor Peter W. Stoner, whose findings were reviewed by the American Scientific Association, calculated the statistical probability of one first century man fulfilling just eight of the most clear Messianic prophecies to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. 

The combination of eyewitness accounts and Old Testament prophecy provide a compelling case not only for the identity of Jesus as the resurrected Messiah, but also for the veracity of the Bible. But the point of Peter’s letter wasn’t just to defend the accuracy of Scripture. His motivation in writing was to equip and encourage believers to “make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).  

Peter concluded his letter like this: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (1 Peter 3:18). As we study the foundations of our faith in the coming weeks, let’s remember that our aim isn’t just to acquire knowledge, but to grow in knowledge–to grow in our devotion to Christ and to grow to resemble Him more and more. Through His grace and for His glory, may that be true for each of us.

Hailey Schroeder

Hailey Schroeder

ACF Devo Team

End in Prayer

Lord, thank you for the gift of your word. Thank you for the way you used fallible humans to preserve your infallible truth. Help me to value it as the treasure it is. Help me to grow in knowledge as I read of your works, Father. Help me to grow in grace, as I cling to your words, Jesus. And help me to be transformed, Holy Spirit, as you renew my mind through study and meditation. Through your grace and for your glory, please grow me, God. Amen. 

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