“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. 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 utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 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.”
REMINDERS
I don’t remember the exact figures and I didn’t see it as important to research them, since I know you have all heard the figures once or twice yourselves. But studies of groups of students and audiences of public speakers have revealed that in a very short time after hearing a speech or a sermon people remember less than something like 25% of what they heard, and that’s probably on a good day. If I’m remembering right, the typical number was somewhere around 10%. We preachers are probably doing a great job if on any given Sunday you can remember a single quote from the previous Sunday.
Now that’s not a criticism of you as the audience. It’s just a fact that we all learn best by repetition. The things you remember best about any subject are going to be the things you have heard over and over again.
This is something we can compare to the eating of physical food. If we think hard enough we may be able to remember what we ate for dinner last Tuesday. But how many of us will remember what we ate four Tuesdays ago? Further, how much nutrition is our body still gleaning from the meal we ate four Tuesdays ago? We got what we needed then, but we still had to eat the next day and the next.
If we all got all that we would ever need, remembered it all, gleaned all the available spiritual ‘nutrition’, from one good sermon or a handful of good sermons, then we could go to church for the first month we’re a Christian and live victoriously for Christ the rest of our lives. That’s not how it works, any more than we could eat several healthy meals and never have to eat again.
Your physical health and growth are accomplished and maintained by a repetition of eating healthy foods on a regular basis. It is the same with the Word of God.
Jesus knew this:
“Remember the word that I said to you…” He admonished His disciples in Jn 15:20
Paul knew this:
“Finally my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you” Phil 3:1
Peter says so here in our text and again in chapter 3 verse 1,
“This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder”
And Jude knew it:
“But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ”
In the previous two sermons, “True Knowledge” parts 1 and 2, we saw that Peter reestablished in their minds the fundamental truths pertaining to their acceptance with God through Christ, the precious and magnificent promises that are theirs from the One who called them, the fact that they were now partakers of the Divine Nature, and that by the exercise of faith they should now apply with all diligence the true knowledge they have of Christ and manifest in their own lives the marks of Godliness.
This could not have been the first time they heard these things. They were Christians. They were the church. They had heard the preaching and read the letters of the Apostles and their partners in ministry. He was reminding them; teaching them by repetition. What we are going to focus on today is the reason it was so important in the heart and mind of Peter that they be well-established in the truths of their eternal security and the working out of their faith in life and practice.
Let’s look once more at verses 13-15.
“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.”
Here is the heart of a true teacher. He knows that his departure from this world is imminent. He must be at least in his late 60’s or into his 70’s by now and I’m certain he has not forgotten the words Jesus said to him after His resurrection.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” 19 Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” Jn 21:18-19
Well Peter had indeed followed faithfully and he now knew that his time here was short. I love his choice of words. We talk about dying and even when talking about other Christians we say, ‘he died’ or ‘she’s dying’, but that’s not really accurate to speak of a believer that way. We all know what we mean. We’re talking in a clinical sense.
But Peter understood, as should we, that for the Christian our passing from this world is a departure. We are leaving one place and we are going to another place. And we aren’t really dying, we’re pulling up stakes.
When Peter said ‘dwelling’, once in verse 13 and once in verse 14, he said ‘tent’ or ‘tabernacle’. Both temporary. Reminiscent of nomads wandering in the desert.
You may remember a few weeks ago when I made reference to Peter, before the crucifixion, declaring to Jesus that he and the others had left everything behind to follow Him. He said, “We’ve left our own homes and followed You”. What a different Peter writes this letter!
So here is this aging Apostle, knowing the time His Lord predicted was finally at hand, and the most important thing in his mind to write is reminders, reminders, reminders… ‘that at any time after my departure you may be able to call these things to mind’.
What Godly wisdom! What inspiration from the Holy Spirit!
Remember well the things I’m telling you now, because the wolves are coming. They’re bringing lies and heresies with them and they want to ravage the church. But if you remember these things I’m repeating for your safety, you will stand. That’s the intent; now let’s talk about what made him so confident that he was leaving them with something immeasurably valuable.
CLEVERLY DEVISED TALES
In saying “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales” he is using a tool we see other places in scripture. There are numerous places in his writings where Paul asks a question in the negative and then immediately answers. It is an anticipation of some objection to his argument and he asks then answers it to get it settled in the reader’s mind so they can go on.
Take note in verse 16 of the word ‘For’. He is anxious and diligent to remind them of the things he has been telling them, and he will remind them as often as he can until God rolls up this tent he is in and takes him home, and he will remind them often enough so that after he is gone they will easily be able to call to mind the things he has repeated to them so often; because, hey, we didn’t make this stuff up! Nor did we listen to some other joker make stuff up and then run to you with it because it sounded good.
When we told you about the power and the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were speaking as eyewitnesses to historical fact.
Now folks, this is what you need to understand so that as we continue in today’s text you will be observant of the contrast.
False teachers follow cleverly devised tales. They brew up false wisdom, neglecting the accurate study and teaching of the Word of God and they fill your ears with self-help stuff. Advice on how to repair your self-esteem in a world that strips you of your individuality. They counsel on how to feel better about yourselves in a time when your jobs and your influence in society seem so utterly insignificant.
They replace the teaching of sin and repentance and righteousness and judgment with that which will tickle your ears and send you away feeling all warm and fuzzy so you’ll come back for more and bring your wallet.
We’ll be talking more about them. But Peter is saying that in his final days he wants to repeat the truth about Jesus Christ over and over again because this is not empty crème puff stuff.
EYEWITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY
He declares that he was an eyewitness to the majesty of Jesus Christ. There is more to the word ‘eyewitness’ than the way we commonly use the word.
Here is what William Barclay wrote about it.
“In the Greek usage of Peter’s day this was a technical word. We have already spoken about the Mystery Religions. These Mystery Religions were all of the nature of passion plays, in which the story of a god who lived, suffered, died, and rose again, never to die again, was played out. It was only after a long course of instruction and preparation that the worshipper was finally allowed to be present at the passion play, and to be offered the experience of becoming one with the dying and rising God. When he reached the stage of being allowed to attend the actual passion play, he was an initiate, and the technical word to describe him was in fact epoptes; he was a prepared and privileged eyewitness of the experiences of God.” (“The Letters of James and Peter”, rev. ed. [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976], 367)
In the minds of his first readers, who were a part of that world and familiar with these things, Peter was claiming to be speaking with the authority of one who has had the long course of instruction and preparation, and was allowed to be an actual witness of the revelation of the glory and majesty of Christ. When he says ‘majesty’ he is making a reference to the manifestation of His divinity, as he goes on to expound in verses 17 & 18.
“For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”
And I get tickled sometimes when reading some reference in the epistles to an event that is recorded in the gospels, and I remember what happened at that time.
When Peter and James and John woke and saw Jesus, His glory shining from Him, talking with Moses and Elijah, Peter got so excited he just started running off at the mouth. “Oh, Lord, it’s good that we’re here with you. Let us build three tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah”.
God had to call the other two back home, leaving Jesus only, and admonish Peter with, “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him”.
So, ok. Peter got all excited and put his foot in it again. But y’know what? He was there. He was an eyewitness to the majesty of Christ’s glory and he heard with his physical ears the voice of God.
I’m reminded of something I read so many years ago that I can’t remember where it was. A young punk was mouthing off at a retired boxer who had been a champion in his younger days, and the kid asked, “How does it feel to be a has been, old man?” In a quiet voice that still exuded confidence and self-worth the old boxer answered, ‘Beats bein’ a never was, Bubba.’
So what if Peter was so amazed he didn’t know how to think. Wouldn’t we be? Of course. Now, here he is, old, tested, seasoned, sanctified, and he is able to stand with the inner circle and say, ‘We were with Him when He spoke with Moses and Elijah. We heard God’s voice. We got a sneak preview of the glorified Jesus. This is not a tall tale. We were there’.
Christian in the 21st century, when you read this letter of the Apostle Peter, you are reading a first hand account of an eyewitness, who soon after was crucified upside down for preaching the very things he said here. You can believe it. You can base your life on the validity of it. People don’t make things like this up and then die for the lie.
THE PROPHETIC WORD
Now Peter says “So we have the prophetic word made more sure…” and the tendency is to take that, reading it in the English language, as meaning that the experience he was just talking about validated the prophetic word, which is the Word of God, the Old Testament scriptures.
Well, there may be some value to that, but it would only mean anything to the three disciples who were there, and no one else.
I would never teach you that you should base your beliefs on experiences of mine or of another person and I cannot believe that Peter would have done that either.
The language guys say that a literal translation from the Greek is ‘And we have more firm the prophetic word’ Young’s Literal Translation
That terminology would turn it around from the way we might take it, and have Peter putting the emphasis back on the validity of the Scriptures. Since all Scripture is God-breathed, as Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:16; that is, inspired by the Holy Spirit, I have to think that this would be the proper way to understand Peter here.
He has told us of the experience he and the others had that he has now shared with his readers to assure them that he is not telling tales. But in order to avoid them basing what they believe on his personal experience, which is precisely what the false teachers would have done and still do today, he quickly reminds them that the Bible takes preeminence over any man’s personal experience, whatever that may be.
Thus, the wise counsel to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
The Psalmist wrote: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” Ps 119:105
Peter, I’m sure, was very familiar with that analogy. He wasn’t telling them to pay attention to his experience on the mountain as a confirmation of the Scriptures.
He was telling them that the Word of God is more firm than a man’s experience, and that it was the lamp that would light their path and lead them through the darkness of this world until that day when Christ Himself brings the light of His glory into their glorified hearts.
A FINAL VALIDATION
There is a final word Peter wants to say before he goes on to address the danger of false prophets, and it may be the most important thing for us to learn also in these very last days when things are happening so fast and technology has made it possible for so many voices to be heard.
He says, “But know this first of all”. Folks, this is our best defense against the deception of false teachers, if we understand what Peter is telling us and let it be the plumb line by which we measure the words of men.
Let me explain this word, ‘interpretation’. “No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation”. The Greek form of that word is not a reference to explanation, but to source. This is why Peter says in verse 21, “…for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will”
So Peter is not saying simply that the prophecies of Scripture are not open for men to explain. What he is telling them is that no prophecy of Scripture originates from the minds of men. There is no valid Scripture that comes from anywhere but the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.
It has never been any other way. Listen to God’s words through His prophet, Jeremiah.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the Lord… Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord, “And not a God far off? 24 “Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the Lord. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the Lord. 25 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!” Jeremiah 23:16, 23-25
So there is both a warning and an encouragement in this.
The warning: Do not lend your ear to men who claim to have some new message from God; some new truth. If it is in the Bible it is as available to you as to anyone; if it is not in the Bible then it is not from God. The Scriptures are the Word of God, and none of them were a product of the imagination of men.
The encouragement: Men spoke from God as they were moved by Him; carried along by the Spirit. You can take your stand on the Word of God, even when you don’t fully understand it, and He will make you stand firm there because His Word does not change and it does not fail.
In Paul’s defense before Felix in Acts 24:14 he was bold to declare this, in reference to the accusations the Jews were bringing against him:
“But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law, and that is written in the Prophets”.
The example we have of the great men and women of God through history is that they have accepted and obeyed as absolute and unchanging authority, the inspired Word of God and they would not be moved from it.
It is the duty of every born again, Bible-believing Christian, to study and know the Scriptures so that they can recognize and refute the deceptions of the false teachers who will come; because come, they will, and lead many astray from the faith if they are not exposed. And who but God’s Holy Spirit-born and led people can do that?
I assure you, there is none.
