II PETER 1:19-21

August 9, 2020
Who is an authority over you?  In a country which holds liberty and independence as two of our highest values, who, if anyone, is an authority over you?  Certainly, the violent protests over the past few months have brought that question to the fore.  Are governing authorities over us?  Are police authorities over us?  Some have answered loudly and violently by flouting the rule of law, by calling for an abolition of our form of government, and an abolition of police forces through defunding the police.  I try to steer a wide path around politics and divisive current events, unless they are moral, so I’ll steer clear of those specific discussions.  My question is simply this – who, if anyone, is in authority over you?
Let’s bring it closer to home, since I suppose most of you haven’t thrown a brick through the courthouse and most would stop if you saw blue lights in your rearview mirror.  If you still live at home – let’s say under the age of 18 – are your parents in authority over you?  If you are at school – kindergarten through college I suppose, are teachers and professors in authority?  
If you work a job, is your supervisor an authority?  Meaning, do you have to do what parents and teachers and supervisors and governing authorities say – barring illegal or immoral demands?  What about the church? Who, if anyone, is in authority?  There are lots of different church governing structures – the pastor, the bishop, the pope, the elders, the congregation collectively – are they the authority?  Most would submit, I suppose, to some form of ecclesiastical structure.  But what happens if that authority is wrong?  I mean, can they be wrong?  Can a pastor or group of elders or church hierarchy or the congregation make a mistake?  So, who or what then is the ultimate authority?  Most of us, as believers in Jesus, would agree that ultimately God – Jesus specifically – is the head of the church.  
I want to make sure you understand that.  Yes, Jesus is the head of the church.  This church.  And, He has left those in authority to govern the church – namely elders.  But, those Elders are in submission to Scripture.  Meaning, it is not that the Scripture is subject to the church – rather, it is the other way around – the church is subject to the Scripture.  You see, God is the head of His church, and He has left the Bible as our ultimate governing document.  
Now of course, we can have differences of opinions about what the Bible says, resulting in tens of thousands of denominations today – but most of them would agree the Bible is the highest authority.  So, what happens if the pastor or the Elders divert from the clear teaching of Scripture?  Then the authority, granted by Christ through His Scripture, no longer remains with this now biblically bankrupt leadership.
Such was the case in the churches to which Peter wrote his second letter.  Yes, as an apostle, he was a leader in the church.  In fact, God was in the process of having the New Testament written by apostles or their close associates.  Such that, while those original Twelve officially designated apostles by Jesus have passed off the scene, they have left us a written document called the Bible as our highest authority.  Under Christ.  The Scripture produces and leads the church – not the other way around. 
First, they said, Jesus is not coming back.  Second, since He’s not coming back, there will be no judgment.  And third, since there will be no judgment, we can live however we want.  We can indulge the flesh and meet all its sinful desires.  
Peter’s argument becomes, Jesus is coming back.  And since He is, there will be a judgment.  And since these false teachers will be judged, they will not be spared.  To what authority does Peter appeal?  Two weeks ago, he reminded his readers that he, and the other apostles, did not follow cleverly devised tales or myths.  The word myths was used to speak of legends or stories about some deity.  Peter says, we didn’t do that.  We didn’t make this stuff up.  Rather, we made known to you the power and majesty that will be reveled at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How could he say that?  Because Peter was an eyewitness to His majesty on the holy mountain – at the Transfiguration.  We were there – James, John, and I were there when we saw Jesus transfigured before us.  For that moment in time, the veil of His flesh was pulled back, and we saw His clothing and face transform to become brighter than the noon-day sun.  We heard the voice of the Majestic Glory – the Father from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased.”  And this was just a picture, a prefigure of what it will be like when Jesus comes back in glory.  We were witnesses – we saw it.
The Prophetic Word Deserves Our Attention (19)The Prophetic Word is not One’s Own Interpretation (20)The Prophetic Word is from the Holy Spirit (21), and thereby, is the Word of God.
First, the prophetic Word, because it is God’s Word, deserves our attention.  Peter writes, “So we have the prophetic word.”  Stop right there.  Remember, Peter is battling false teachers who were saying Jesus was not coming back.  And yet, the Transfiguration is a promise – Jesus is coming back in glory, with the holy angels.  Those on the mountain got glimpse, a picture, a foreshadowing of that glorious return.
Now, Peter suggests the second proof/witness to the return of Christ is the prophetic word.  Most likely, Peter is referring specifically to those prophecies concerning the second coming of Christ in glory to make all things right.  You see, when Jesus came the first time, they were confused about that.  They expected that coming to be in glory – when the Messiah would right all wrongs.  
Remember after the resurrection, when Jesus was about to ascend to His Father from the Mount of Olives, the disciples asked Him, is this it?  Is this the time when you will set up the kingdom in all its glory?  How did Jesus respond? Basically He said, this is not the time, and it is not for you to know the time.  You be busy about building My kingdom – you be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth – and then I will return.  Remember earlier, before His cross and resurrection, Jesus had said this in Matthew, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached as a testimony to all nations, then the end will come.”  So now He’s saying, preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.  I’ll come back, when it’s time.
13          “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
14          “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
It will be a glorious reign, when He comes back.  There are a number of Psalms that talk about God giving the nations as an inheritance to His Son, who will rule them.  He will set His throne on a high mountain.  The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for your feet.
These were all seen as Messianic Psalms.  And the Jews rightly saw the Messiah would one day rule the world in righteousness.  The prophetic word is true.  But that will not be until His second coming – the one the false teachers were denying then, the one that many today deny or ignore.  So Peter says, you would do well to pay attention to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place.  The word of God is spoken of as a light in darkness – Psalm 119, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.”
Think about that for just a moment.  If there was ever a time people needed hope in despair, light in darkness, it’s now.  There has been much discussion about increased depression and suicide and psychological challenges during this time of pandemic, economic depression and social unrest.  My brothers and sisters, we have the answer.  Speak it first, to ourselves.  Remind yourselves – you would do well to pay attention to the prophetic word.  Jesus is coming back, and He will make all things right, and we will be with Him forever.  And that word of the Gospel is the word of hope to a hopeless world, right now.  If there was ever a time for you to speak of the hope of Christ, it is now.  He is the light of the world – in an increasingly dark world.  
Peter is telling us the Word of God is true and trustworthy – made even more so by the Transfiguration.  Don’t let that bother you – it’s not that the Word needed these eyewitnesses of the Transfiguration to be more true.  He’s simply saying, the Word is confirmed by this other witness – our witness of Jesus’ promised return.  It is altogether true.
Peter then, having mentioned this second witness of the prophetic word, goes on to say two things about it – our second and third points.  In verse 20, he says, “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture…” Stop right there.  He makes clear he is talking about Scripture – the holy writings, the Bible.  Know this, no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation.  And by the way, the Bible was spoken of generally as the prophecies – the prophetic word.  Most agree Peter is widening the scope here.  No part of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation. 
There are two possibilities here.  First, he could be saying that the prophet himself does not interpret the Scripture on his own, or second, none of us have the authority to interpret the Scripture on our own. In other words, we cannot make it say what we want it to say.  The prophets wrote and it is our responsibility to understand what they meant by what they wrote, and not come up with some fanciful interpretation on our own.  Now, while both of those ideas are true, Peter seems to point to the first idea – that no prophet wrote on his own, and interpreted on his own.  Not only is the Scripture inspired by God, its meaning is under the authority of God.  We cannot play loose with the Bible.  God meant what He inspired, and it meant what He said.  It also means the Bible doesn’t just contain the Word of God, as some have claimed, it is the Word of God.  
You see, our third point in verse 21, “for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will.”  The prophets – by the way, both Old and New Testament prophets who wrote of things to come – didn’t just pick up the quill one day and say, I think I’ll write some prophecy about things to come.  Based on my imagination or cleverly devised myths.  No.  There was never an act of purely human will.
Rather, men wrote as they were moved by – carried along by – borne by the Holy Spirit, and thereby, spoke from God.  This is an incredibly important word.  It’s passive, meaning they didn’t do it themselves, they were carried along by the Spirit.  Interestingly, the same word is used in verses 17 and 18 – Jesus received glory and honor from God the Father when the utterance, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased,” was made to Him – carried to Jesus – same word. 
The point is the word spoken to Jesus and the words written by the men were from the same source – they were carried along, borne along by the Holy Spirit such that they spoke from God.  In theological terms, this is called a concursive operation, or concurrence, in that the Spirit inspired those who wrote such that we can say, what they wrote were the words of God.  II Timothy 3 says “All Scripture is God-breathed” or inspired by God, so that what they produced is exactly what God wanted.  Now, this is not to suggest that they wrote by dictation – God spoke, and they were simply secretaries.  No – they wrote in their own language and abilities and personalities and style, as carried by the Holy Spirit such that they concurred with the work of the Spirit in their lives.  Still written by men such that we can detect different authors – but the final result is exactly as God wanted.  Which means, in the end, we can say the Bible is God-breathed – inspired by God such that it is inerrant and altogether trustworthy.  Such that, we can say, the Bible is our ultimate authority. 
Kevin DeYoung writes in his book, Taking God at His Word, “The phrase ‘concursive operation’ is often used to describe the process of inspiration, meaning that God used the intellect, skills, and personality of fallible men to write down what was divine and infallible.”  This in incredibly important.  When people say, but the Bible was written by fallible men, you can say, yes, it was.  But these fallible men were carried along by the Holy Spirit such that what they wrote was inspired by God, and therefore it is infallible, inerrant, and faithful.  We can trust it as God’s very words to us.
As we close, let me take you back to the Protestant Reformation and the issue of Scriptural authority – Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone.  This was one of the clarion cries of the Reformation.  It is Christ through His Scripture that is over the church, not the other way around.  After Martin Luther had written and posted his Ninety-five Theses on the church door in Wittenberg, after he had written a number of other works, decrying the teaching of the church and appealing to Scripture, he was summoned to the Diet of Worms in April, 1521.  He was to appear before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, and high officials of the Holy Roman Church.  As he walked into the meeting, there was a large crowd gathered – to include the Emperor, who was said to whisper, “He won’t make a heretic out of me.”  Luther’s works were spread on a table, and he was asked by Johann Eck, two questions.  First, are these your writings?  Luther looked them over and said, yes.  Second, “Do you recant as heresy what you have written in these works?”
Luther began to tremble, and asked for 24 hours to consider his answer.  He was granted the day, and told to appear the next day.  It is said he stayed up all night praying, and talking to friends and colleagues – his question was, “Am I alone right?”  The next day, we stood before the Diet, and was asked the same questions – are these your works, and do you recant the heresies therein?  Luther then famously responded,
“Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other.  May God help me. Amen.”
What I want you to notice is that Luther appealed to Scripture as his highest authority.  By the way, from there, Luther was kidnapped for his own good and hidden in a castle in Wartburg.  There, over the next few months, he translated the NT from Greek, to German – to put it in the hands of the people.  Sola Scriptura.  Do you understand how blessed we are to have the Bible in our own language?
Finally, I would say this, nothing can subvert God’s Word.  Not economic chaos.  Not social unrest.  Not a pandemic.  Not fear.  Not anxiety.  Not depression.  Nothing can subvert God’s Word.  So if you find yourself struggling in these difficult times – spend more time in His faithful Word, and be encouraged.  God is still on His throne.  AW Tozer once said, “While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who has not surrendered His authority.”