Last 5 Days
The Prophetic Word Authenticated and Experienced
16 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. 17 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,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 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.
As an apostle of Christ, Peter focused on the fulfilled prophecies of Christ, that they were true and could be authenticated. He reiterated that he had not followed the heretics who had cleverly devised myths and unfounded stories to lure others to themselves. Peter’s message of truth could be authenticated in these two ways:
(1) He was an eyewitness of the majesty of Christ in His transfiguration, and
(2) He was a listener to the audible voice spoken from heaven.
The transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain changed Him into His majestic and glorified state where “his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light” (Matthew 17:2).
The words spoken from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” were the same words spoken concerning Jesus during His baptism (Matthew 3:17).
For Peter, it was an experience of a lifetime as he recalled the day when Jesus brought the inner core of three disciples, James, John and himself up the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17: 1-8). Peter confirmed that this was a first-hand experience when he said, “we were with him on the holy mountain” (v. 18). Through Peter’s eyewitness and listener experience, the prophetic word concerning Jesus was authenticated.
Just like the experience of transfiguration is at the same time an objective truth (can be proven) and a subjective experience (personally experienced), every truth or prophecy must also be able to stand the test of objective verification and subjective experience. Truth can be verified and proven, and it can also be experienced and internalized, so that its benefits can be realized.
Thus, the prophetic word is not a matter of one’s “personal interpretation”, but every prophecy must be interpreted as God desires and by His Holy Spirit - because every true prophecy is a “word of the Lord” that the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to speak (Verses 20-21).
As believers in Christ, we are His “witnesses” of both an objective truth that could be authenticated and proven by historical facts, and at the same time experienced in our lives - to change and transform us. The testimony of lives changed by God is everywhere, and when we have experienced it, our lives and experiences are witnesses to His glory, like that of Peter in this passage.
Dear God, I thank you for such a great salvation that you have enabled me to experience in Christ my Saviour who came to do God’s will and die for my sins. Thank you that this objective truth is proven over and over by many Christian apologists and scholars. And more importantly, thank you that I have personally experienced your love and salvation. Please help me to be a faithful witness of the things I have seen and heard to those who still need to know you. Amen!