2 Peter 1:10-21 Jesus is Christ! How Sure Are We?

Are We As Sure as Peter is?

Part of 2 Peter

September 12, 2024

Jesus is Christ!
How Sure Are We?
Are We As Sure as Peter Is?
2 Peter 1:10-21

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So far, Peter has telling us those things which we can place our trust in and know, as believers, we have possession of right now. No activation required other than being faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

We have (present tense):

• Grace x ♾️
• Peace (Shalom) x ♾️
• Knowledge of God
• Knowledge of Jesus Christ
• His divine power (Holy Spirit dunamis power)

• Everything we need for (present tense)
o Life (Provision)
o Godliness (Provision)

• Because of
o Knowing Him
o Being called by Him
o Experiencing HIs glory and excellence

• We possess right now:
o His precious promises
o His divine nature

How do we know we have this? Well, Peter encourages us to examine ourselves, and others too, to see how we are doing with his discipleship check list. God has indeed made provision for all of us as a present possession right now.

As believers, there is His ongoing expectation that we will be faithful and obedient to Him and His word.

Luke 6:46
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you?” (NRSVue)

Only doable when filled with the Holy Spirit. Which is a command.

Ephesians 5:18
“Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” (NRSVue)

As we are fully enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, then sanctification can easily take place. But sanctification, involves faithfulness, and obedience. It all comes as part of the package. In other words, it is a grace gift to us from God because of Jesus.

If you need the power of the Holy Spirit, if you need to be empowered, just ask.

Spoiler – sanctification, being more like Christ, is a participatory activity. We can move forward in this process, and backwards too.

Luke 11:13
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”” (ESV)

Ask and believe He has done as you asked. Then there is this.

John 14:12–15.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (ESV)

Again, there is no instant spirituality. There are no hidden steps to activate our faith, activate blessings, activate the Holy Spirit, or any other thing that false teachers want to suck you in on as a shortcut to spiritual growth. James talked about our propensity towards this.

James 4:2–3.
“You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” (NLT)

Contrary to what is being taught in many places today, God is not a genie waiting for you or me to say the magic phrase so He can activate something in our lives or bless us or whatever. This type of teaching goes by many names, “word of faith movement” and “prosperity gospel” are simply two of the terms used.

“This teaching proclaims that “faith leads to tithing, and tithing ignites prosperity. A gratified Almighty will respond by opening the windows of heaven, pouring out blessings so rich that believers will not have room to store them all” (Jenkins 2010, 45). In orthodox forms of Christianity, spiritual transformation “is mandatory for the born- again individuals” (Obadare 2016, 1). The Prosperity Gospel promises that “material prosperity” is “the necessary aftermath” of that spiritual transformation (Obadare 2016, 1). Magezi and Manzanga (2016, 4) note that “it is difficult to distinguish between the praxis of Prosperity Gospel preachers who promote this seed faith principle and magicians.”” (Barron 2022, 93)

The word of faith message is perhaps the most attractive message preached in the contemporary church. In the main, word of faith theology posits an anthropocentric (man centered) worldview, in which Christians are entitled to health, wealth, and prosperity, all of which is obtainable by utilising one’s faith. Because of its popularity, word of faith theology is often modified to suit the particular context of its adherents, producing various hybrid strands of the movement. (Morris and Lioy 2012, 74)

The Prosperity Gospel’s “seed of faith” teaching can further be characterized as a “God is my ATM” theology. While blessing can certainly be found within giving, the transactional giving taught by the Prosperity Gospel serves to undermine the sovereignty and power of God (Asamoah- Gyadu 2013, 100). Moreover, in such transactional forms of giving, disciples of the Prosperity Gospel can treat God as a commercial partner who is contractually obligated to meet the demands “of those who have fulfilled their side of a bargain” through the payment of tithes and by giving bigger offerings. (Barron 2022, 95)

Both are insidious, both are totally bogus, and both ignore the reality of the scriptures. Peter would not agree with any of that. He has made it clear, there is nothing that you lack right now if you are in Christ.

God is a promise making and promise keeping God. But make certain it really is a promise He made and not what someone else is telling you He made by twisting the scriptures around.

Be a Berean and check out the scriptures. “Prosperity theology chooses proof-texts so selectively that it often engages in eisegesis more frequently than exegesis. It has little if any room for a theology of suffering and has nothing to say to those who are undergoing persecution or facing martyrdom.” (Barron 2022, 94)

Acts 17:11
“Now these Jews (in Berea) were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” (ESV)

Precisely because the Prosperity Gospel has no room for a theology of either poverty or of suffering, Prosperity Theology’s eisegesis can suggest that the material impoverishment or sickness of believers is proof of their lack of faith, thereby placing the burden of responsibility for suffering on the sufferers. (Barron 2022, 94)

God indeed promises to meet our needs (Matthew 6:25-33, Philippians 4:19). But it is based on His perspective of how He sees what our needs are. Don’t fall into the trap of serving God and serving the pursuit of stuff. “It is worth noting, of course, that praying for provision for our material needs (Matt 6:11; Luke 11:3) are in no way to be equated with the greedy materialism of building “bigger barns” to store hoarded wealth (Luke 12:16–21).” (Barron 2022, 90)

Issues? Sin does indeed get in the way.

1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (ESV)

And about the checklist of what we should be seeing in the life of the believer. No where does it include, sorry to say, material prosperity.

But again, remember this:

Philippians 4:6–7
“Don’t worry about anything; on the contrary, make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. Then God’s shalom, passing all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with the Messiah Yeshua.” (CJB)

Shalom, while used in a daily greeting among the Hebrews, is a weighty theological term in the Old Testament. Shalom embraces concepts of harmony, security, serenity, right relationships, wholeness, health, prosperity, and even success. The term may refer to a condition or a relationship, and in the latter designates a right relationship to God. God is the source of shalom and offers shalom to those who trust him (Ps. 29:11; Isa. 26:3). (Martens 1986, 308)

2 Peter 1:3
“God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to his own glory and goodness.” (CJB)

Including shalom. Peter would be more interested not in how our bank balance looks, but our spiritual balance books with the Lord. The church is not a pyramid scheme as some have taught.

Psalm 51:17
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (ESV)

Peter’s list once more.

• Discipleship Check List
• Faith
• Moral excellence
• Knowledge
• Self-control
• Perseverance
• Godliness
• Brotherly kindness
• Agape love

This is, per Peter, serious business. It involves our eternal destination and the assurance of our being with Jesus Christ for all eternity. This is not something to be taken lightly.

What Jesus has done for us is serious. Those provisions He has made for us are serious, as well as His intent to ensure we all are there with Him to share in His divine nature.

That means, for us, we must make certain what we believe and who it is we are trusting. There are those who will lie to you and me about the topic of salvation and try and sell us cheap grace (license), works, and legalism.

Grace is not cheap, it is free. There is a big difference. It is free because Jesus paid for it.

There is the denial of grace. Over here, on the right-hand side, is the denial of grace—that’s legalism. Then, there is, over here, on the left-hand side, the distortion of grace; and, that is license. (Rogers 2017, Tt 1:1-4)

False teachers, if they can’t sell you legalism or license, they go to the good old standby of the centuries by framing legalism as a type of works. Things to do to get God’s approval.

Learn how to activate God’s blessings, God’s favor, God’s Spirit, etc. God will bless you if…God will answer your prayers if…God will provide for you if…

But Peter has just informed us that we have all of this as a present possession if we continue to walk in faithfulness with Him. Works? No, Grace. We do not deserve anything at all, but He gives because He loves us and because He promises and He fulfills His promises to us even to those who make mistakes, deny Him, jump to conclusions, or even fall back into wrong doctrine. Just ask Peter, who did all of that. His lessons are reflected in what he says.

2 Peter 1:10–11
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choice of you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (NASB 2020)

Peter is directly addressing the family, his brothers and sisters in the Lord. Peter is not talking to unbelievers here with this statement, just family. He has laid a ton of truth on us, and we are no different than anyone else seeing what these promises are, we want to appropriate them. We get an unexpected command.

We are commanded to make certain, to confirm our calling and choice of us. If we are diligently pursuing those virtues, we discussed last time, then guess what, you have proven to be diligent about the making certain of what it is the Lord has started in us. Why this command?

“Because Christ’s faithfulness and sufficiency is increasingly realized in and by us. He is the one who perfectly lived all of these qualities in our place, bearing our guilt and penalty for living the very opposite of these qualities in sin. As we come to and live in him, Jesus forgives our sin, cleanses us, and gives us all we need to grow in each of these qualities. The diligent pursuit of growth in the fruits of faith anticipates a glorious future.” (Van Doodewaard 2017, 145-146)

The person who says they are a believer, yet do not see these virtues, these fruits becoming part of their life, are still living like pagans. The question we would have, looking on and seeing no fruit is, “was this person truly born again?”

Since that person does not see that the knowledge of Christ received in conversion must lead to virtuous living, he or she seems to be still in pagan ignorance and appears to have forgotten that clean break with his or her pagan past which the forgiveness of sins in baptism entails. (Bauckham 1983, 193)

The really neat promise here though is if we are fully in, and pursuing life with Christ, if we are in the practice of these virtues, implying we are Spirit filled and led, “you will never stumble.”

This is THE SECRET SAUCE enabling us to live a life that is pure. All we must do is be in the Spirit; Spirit filled, Spirit led, and practice as a lifestyle, all the things that Peter has just told us are a cascading series of fruits or virtues which take place in the life of the believer who is faithful and surrendered to the Lord.

No problem, right?

We all have a sin nature, all of us. And that does indeed get in the way from time to time. Paul talked about it.

Romans 7:21–8:2
“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” (NLT)

Peter is letting us know that if we are serious about our life in Christ, we will indeed be making certain of our calling and choice. We will not be entering into negotiations with the Lord to find out how wicked we can live and still have fire insurance. We will realize that there are no shortcuts. We have precious promises given to us by the Lord, just claim them. Are we in or out?

We fully understand that we cannot twist God’s hand to force Him to give us what we want. We understand fully what grace, the unmerited favor of God because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross for us, truly is.

2 Peter 1:11
“for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.” (NASB 2020)

Because of Jesus, we are provided entry into the Kingdom. And this Kingdom, His Kingdom, will never end, it is eternal.

In Jesus’s teaching, as that of Paul, “the kingdom of God” is the rule of God, not a territory, which has begun to be exercised in the present (Matt. 11:12; Mark 1:15; Luke 11:20; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; Col. 1:13). But the fullness and glory of this kingdom will be revealed in the future, upon Christ’s royal return (Matt. 6:10; Mark 9:1; 1 Cor. 6:9; 15:50; Gal. 5:21; 2 Thess. 1:5; 2 Tim. 4:1, 18; cf. 2 Thess. 1:9–10). At that time, God’s glory will be revealed (2 Thess. 2:14; Rom. 5:2; 8:17–18; Col. 1:27); though believers have entry into the kingdom, it is a reality from which outsiders are barred (2 Thess. 1:9). (Green 2008, 203)

2 Peter 1:12–15
“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. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.” (NASB 2020)

Because of all that Peter has just discussed with us, he stands ready to remind us of all of it as often as needed.

He has learned the need to be reminded of the truth he has just covered because of things which have taken place in his own life. We all tend to forget. When we use the grace of God as a means to excuse our sin, we need to be reminded. When we rely on the knowledge of God rather than obedience to Him, we need to be reminded.

Reminding all of us is one of the items in my job description. It is also what Peter is all about as well.

In fact, what is one of the major ministries of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” (NASB 2020)

There are times our forgetfulness is intentional. Which is why if we have a habit of reading the word daily, we will be reminded, when we don’t want to be, driving us to repentance and holiness. Then there is the issue of sometimes we simply do forget, not intentional, but other things have crowded into our life and the enemy is trying to use being overly busy thinking we must do rather than be.

Remembering is important. When we are reminded, we are stirred to action, to repentance, to obedience. Peter is doing this because, seeing how he has drifted at times in his own life, he knows it is something we all deal with. He is writing to believers, established Christians, but some of what he has yet to say will shock us.

Surely this is a solemn warning that it is all too easy for those who have been Christians for some time to lapse into serious sin or doctrinal error. There is no safeguard against this except living in direct touch with the Lord and Saviour. (M. Green 1987, 98)

All of us have had things in our lives which are really easy to remember. I will never forget, shortly after landing in Kuwait, being driven out the back gate of the airport and seeing two men on camels watching us leave and then both calling someone on their cell phones.

That was so incongruous to me, seeing the juxtaposition of an ancient mode of transport and attire combined with a modern convenience, that I forgot they were most likely spying on us for Al Qaeda.

We can all do that. But Peter here is wanting us to remember what we have been taught.

I must admit to you, I do not remember much or any of my one psych class in college. It was a required class, I hated it, I wanted by grade and then forget what I learned. And that I did.

But there were those classes where I desperately wanted to remember everything that was taught. I can still remember forgetting those verses I memorized for my Old Testament survey class. And it still bothers me today, but I can absolutely remember conversations with my history professor like it was yesterday.

Peter knows this about us. So does the Lord. “Peter affirms the power of memory, and the accuracy of sight, sound, and experience. After talking about the great and precious promises of salvation earlier in the passage, Peter says he will “remind his hearers” of these things, “even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth,” verse 12. He wants to refresh their memory of these truths, verse 13. He is concerned that, after his departure, that is, his death, they will still be able to “remember these things,” verse 15.” (Gore Jr. 2011, 105)

How can Peter continue to remind us today? Wasn’t he executed?

Very true, what have been studying for the past weeks though. His reminding us even today. It is what he said he does, and it is what his letters do.

Peter knows that he is about to go home. The Lord has given him that. “Thanks to the letter, the apostle’s presence remains with his readers. They already are “established in the truth.”” (Perkins 1995, 172)

When Peter tells us the Lord made this clear to him, he is pointing to an event on the Sea of Galilee when the resurrected Christ showed up to have a conversation with Peter and recommission him after his failure and sin.

John 21:18–19
“I am telling you the truth: when you were young, you used to get ready and go anywhere you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will bind you and take you where you don’t want to go.” (In saying this, Jesus was indicating the way in which Peter would die and bring glory to God.) Then Jesus said to him, “Follow me!”” (GNB)

Peter knows that his prison sentence will result in execution. He talks about his “departure” in verse 15. The word in the Greek he uses is exodus. This is intentional on Peter’s part. He is wanting his readers to be reminded of the exodus of Israel. They left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea on their way to the land promised to them by the Lord. Peter sees death as the same. It is simply a departure, “a going out…a marching out, military expedition…a solemn procession…a way out, outlet.” (Liddell 1996, 275)

Death for Peter is not the end, it is merely an exodus to another location.

He wants, after he has departed, for those reading this letter to be able to call these things to mind.

Everything he has already discussed as well as what is still coming. He wants to emphasize the word of God.

And Peter does this by demonstrating his own memory.

2 Peter 1:16–18
“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. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”—and we ourselves heard this declaration made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” (NASB 2020)

One of the things we hear thrown around by unbelievers these days is that the Bible is full of error, or it is myth. If we use the popular definition of the word, we are being told it isn’t real.

This is not new; Peter was confronting these same accusations during his lifetime. “Peter was obviously being accused of doing the very thing he affirms he and his colleagues were not doing. Thus the words that follow will not only present the content of his teaching, but will also give his defense against the accusations of the false teachers.” (Shepherd 2013, 5)

The word translated “tales” that Peter uses here is μύθοις (mythois). Yes, we do indeed get the English word myth from this word.

In the Greek it means “speech, conversation,’ also of ‘narrative’ or ‘story’ without distinction of fact or fiction, then of fictional narrative such as tale, story, legend, myth. (Arndt, et al. 2000, 660)

Peter is being very clear, what his testimony as well as that of all the apostles is eyewitness testimony, not a wild story or stories. But evidence that meets the rules of evidence from the Torah.

“The firm rejection of myth is one of the decisions characteristic of the NT. Myth is a pagan category…myth as such has no place on biblical soil either 1. as a direct impartation of religious truths, 2. as parable, or 3. as symbol.” (Stählin 1964-, 793)

Peter is firmly rejecting what he and his fellow disciples are accused of telling by the false teachers and those who would detract from the gospel.

In the Bible, however, we have from first to last the account and narration of facts. This may undergo certain changes in form and consciousness from the childlikeness of many of the ancient stories to the maturity of the Johannine view of Christ. But the essential theme is the same throughout, namely, what God says and what God does. (Stählin 1964-, 793-794)

Peter’s response to this attack, ”we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” Peter is talking about the transfiguration of Christ.

Deuteronomy 17:6
“On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.” (ESV)

Deuteronomy 19:15
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” (ESV)

So, we get three witnesses to the event.

Mark 9:2–8
“Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. So Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (For they were afraid, and he did not know what to say.) Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son. Listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more except Jesus.” (NET 2nd ed.)

This is the event that Peter is talking about. It was a real event that he and James and John were eyewitnesses as well in order to meet the requirement of the Law. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is no myth or fable because he saw personally the power and the coming of the Lord in the Transfiguration. He even heard the Father speak. Our faith does not rest on myths and stories but on the historical truth of reality.

The transfiguration of our Lord is here seen as an anticipation of the Second Coming when the Son of man will come in his glory. In many respects the Transfiguration was a microcosm of the eternal future. (Thomas 1999, 269-270)

And Jesus Himself received honor and glory from the Father when the Father stated, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.”

The message being repudiated by the false teachers calling this myth is that Jesus is the Christ. That is the essential message being clouded over. John hammered it as did Peter and the others.

1 John 5:1–4
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God, and everyone who loves the father loves the child fathered by him. By this we know that we love the children of God: whenever we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down, because everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world.

This is the conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith.” (NET 2nd ed.)

Jesus is God’s promised Messiah. He was clearly revealed at the Transfiguration as such. Peter was there.

The Transfiguration was a picture for us, in advance, of what the Kingdom of God will be like.

We see the Old Testament saints there, and we see the church there in the persons of Peter, James and John. Jesus is there in His glory as is the Father.

The transfiguration was designed to show the three apostles, Peter, James, and John, what Christ would be like in His glory, to give them a foretaste of His kingdom (cf. Matt. 16:28–17:2; Mark 9:1–8; Luke 9:28–36). This was a glorious demonstration they could never forget. (Gangel 1985, 868)

And it wasn’t only what Peter saw that made a mark on him, one that he would never forget, but it was the voice of the Father.

2 Peter 1:17–18
“For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a declaration as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”—and we ourselves heard this declaration made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” (NASB 2020)

Peter is pointing to Jesus’ return, His second coming.

Why is Peter giving this to us. First of all, he is once again defending what it is see saw. He was there. He focuses in on an event that would be hard to forget.

But also, by focusing in on the Transfiguration, he brings in future things and the second coming. He only gives us the main points of the event, not all of the details that I really want to ask him about someday in the Kingdom. Peter is vouching for all the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Peter knows that Jesus is the Christ. He knows that so firmly he is willing to die for that truth. He has seen the future and knows. We do to through the testimony of Peter and as compelling as eyewitness testimony can be, Peter tells us there is something that is even more compelling than that.

2 Peter 1:19–21
“And 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. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” (NASB 2020)

What is it that Peter is saying to us here. He just gave us eyewitness testimony but then says there is something better than that? Exactly.

What Paul is saying is “we have the word of prophecy as a surer confirmation of God’s truth than what we ourselves saw, i.e., Old-Testament testimony is more convincing than even the voice heard at the transfiguration. (Vincent 1887, 687)

We find ourselves having to look at this the way Peter would have. At the point he is writing this, there is only the Old Testament, the LXX. There is no New Testament. What we know as our Bible today was non-existent.

“We have” marks the abiding possession of “the prophetic Word,” which was “a current expression embracing the OT as a whole and not simply the prophets proper.” The adjective “prophetic” (προφητικὸν), used only here and in Romans 16:26, describes this written “Word” as having the character of prophecy, containing the prophetic element. All parts of the Old Testament contain prophecies about the coming Messiah (cf. Luke 24:27, 44). (Hiebert 1984, 159)

It is this word that Peter is talking about here in verse 19 and “this statement affirms that the prophetic Word has the quality of being “more sure, firm,” or “reliable.” (Hiebert 1984, 159)

The word of God, all of the prophecy in it, provides a fuller and more complete picture of the coming Messiah and His second coming than anything Peter could tell us based on what he saw.

Peter is not trying to undermine our confidence in our senses. Instead, he is trying to maximize our confidence in God’s Word. We have a word of the prophets “made more certain.” More certain, even, than what we see with our eyes! (Gore Jr. 2011, 108)

The book we are studying, the Bible, is the word of God. We believe, here at Calvary, “that all the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, fully inspired by Him and without error in the original manuscripts. We believe the Scriptures as assembled in the Bible to be the basis on which this church is governed and the standard of her faith and practice and that of every believer. We believe the word of God is living and active and able to divide soul and spirit and judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. We believe that the Word of God supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to the Holy Scriptures. We believe Jesus Christ to be the Living Word and the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.” (Calvary Chapel Martin County 2023)

We are to pay attention to the Word.

2 Peter 1:19b
“…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.” (NASB 2020)

When Peter compares the word to a lamp to guide us in a dark place, he does not tell us what that dark place is. For me, the reality of what we go through everyday here on this world, without the light of God’s word to explain and give perspective and illumination to it, becomes the dark place Peter is talking about. As we apply the lamp of God’s word to this dark place, we can see, prophetically, the world is not falling apart, but instead, His plan is falling into place.

We are to do this until the day dawns. In other words, we are to continue to rely on the sure word of prophecy, the sure word of God, and use it to illuminate our way as we go about serving the Lord here on this planet as resident aliens waiting for the return of Jesus Christ for us.

The day dawns points to the day which we are all waiting for. That glorious day when we all hear as John heard, “come up here.”

The verb “dawn” (διαυγάσῃ), a compound form appearing only here in the New Testament, means “to shine through” and pictures the first gleams of the morning breaking through the darkness. Peter is looking forward to the return of Christ in glory, but his reference here is to the first signs of that coming day. (Hiebert 1984, 162)

The first signs of that coming event, the second coming of Jesus Christ, are currently all around us.

John 1:4–5
“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.” (NASB 2020)

2 Corinthians 4:6
“For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (NASB 2020)

As believers, we are all waiting for the bringer of light, Jesus Christ, to break into this present reality and remove His church to be with Him. “This rising “in your hearts” underscores that Christians are still connected with their coming Lord and will not be caught unaware at his day.” (Balz and Schneider 1990-, 449)

Jesus Christ is returning at any moment to fulfill His promise He made to Peter and the other disciples, a promise that applies to us as well.

John 14:1–3.
“Don’t let yourselves be disturbed. Trust in God and trust in me. In my Father’s house are many places to live. If there weren’t, I would have told you; because I am going there to prepare a place for you. Since I am going and preparing a place for you, I will return to take you with me; so that where I am, you may be also.” (CJB)

1 Corinthians 15:51–54
“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”” (ESV)

1 Thessalonians 4:15–18
“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (ESV)

Peter is talking to believers and reassuring us of what is to come. Do you know Him?

Romans 3:21–24
“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (NLT)

Romans 10:9–13
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”” (NLT)

ABC’s of Salvation

A. Acknowledge that you are a sinner, tell Him that.
B. Believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sin and that He rose from the dead.
C. Confess that Jesus is Lord. Tell someone about what you have done.

Works Cited
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