THE ONLY TRUE SOURCE OF PROPHECY

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:19-21

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After speaking at length about the power of spiritual addition, supplementing faith with generous quantities of Christian principles such as moral excellence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, mutual/brotherly affection, and love, Peter turns to the matter of false teaching. We begin to see this in the closing verses of chapter 1, a lead in for what’s ahead in chapter 2. Look again at his words here:

We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Vv.19-21

We know that Peter is writing to his brothers and sisters in Christ who were “exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Peter 1:1) and his concern was about the purity and integrity of the scriptures being corrupted by people who taught things outside of the Word of God. This included sinful claims of receiving special prophecies from God that either contradicted, added to, or subtracted from what the Lord had already established.  We know that the Apostle Paul also extensively addressed this problem in nearly all of his epistles.

I think it’s important to remember that the Christian church was still in its fledgling stages at the time Peter wrote this letter somewhere between 64 and 67 A.D., near the end of his life as he was imprisoned in Rome. Today, the church is well established and anchored down with approximately 2.6 billion Christians globally but back in the first century, it was just trying to set its roots and did so in the midst of other long standing religions. To say it was a challenge early on to carry out the Great Commission would be an understatement.

Complicating things further, philosophy was very prevalent in many places where the Christian church was trying to gain traction and if you know anything about philosophy, you know that those who practice it never really grasp anything as absolute but rather are always seeking new thoughts or trying to build on established ones.

And so Peter wrote to encourage Christians to stay the course and not stray from the scriptures God had established. These scriptures, across the totality of the Word, contained prophecies spoken by men, not through their own “human will” or “interpretation of things” but rather as messengers of God Himself who were “carried along by the Holy Spirit”. These “prophetic message(s)” were “completely reliable” and Peter encourages his readers to “do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place”. They were to do this “until the day dawns” and Jesus, the bright “morning star” (Revelation 22:16) would rise in their hearts.

Speaking of Jesus and specifically His second coming, we find additional reinforcement for the words of Peter in the final chapter of the Book of Revelation. There, we find this:

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Revelation 22:18-20

The Holy Bible, the Word of the Lord God Almighty, is complete and infallible. It begins with Him and the account of Him creating all things (Genesis 1-2:1-2) and ends with Him making all things new after bring judgment on creation through His Son Jesus (Revelation 20:7-15, 21 and 22). Within the 66 books, all valid prophecy is documented and the only other messages God has sent and will send through people are ones intended to help others better understand what He has already provided. Anyone who tried, is trying, or will try to add or subtract anything will face His punishment and wrath, a punishment and wrath that included “plagues” and “any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City”. That’s trouble no one should want to invite.

In the end translation, the only true source of prophecy that which has already been delivered by the prophets of the Bible, those who were chosen by God to be His special messengers.

Tomorrow, we’ll see how this ending to chapter 1 leads into the main theme of chapter 2.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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