2Peter 1:19-21 - Prophecy=Proof+Hope

2Peter 1:19-21

19-21 And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

The historical facts of the gospel borne out in the events surrounding the life of Christ both testify to and are testified of by the prophetic word - that is, the Old Testament, which was the "prophetic writing" of the time. Christ fulfilled the scriptures in every way. And the Scriptures testified to the One of Whom they had been written and Who had come so that they might be fulfilled. It was all the foreordained plan of God - the God Who came to fulfill. This is "having the prophetic word made more sure." The whole thing hangs together. Prophecy in past history and its fulfillment in Christ is what was then present history.

Not all prophecies concerning the Christ have yet been fulfilled in history. So we must take great note of those that have not so far come to pass. The incarnation is history, but the parousia is not. Christ will come again. The evidence, the certainty, the proof of the reliability of the revealed purposes of God through prophecy are in the coming of Christ the first time - and their fulfillment is an encouragement as we look forward to the completion of all things by the second coming of our Lord. God does what He says He’s going to do and Christ is the proof of it.

So, while we abide in the dark place of this fallen and sinful world, just as the contemporary brethren of Peter did, the light of the utter dependability, steadfastness, truth and promises of God is our hope - just as theirs was. We must keep on abiding in that light until Christ returns. Let us not let our guard down and join the false professors who ask, "Where is the promise of His coming?" Let us not weary in watchfulness, nor in well doing.

Prophecies, though they came through men, did not find their origins in human purposes or thoughts. They were the work of the Holy Spirit. It was God speaking. That is why every prophecy of God comes true. That is why God commanded Israel to put to death any professing prophet giving a false prophecy - the standard of judgment for which was whether it came to pass or not. If it didn’t then the person had falsely stated, "Thus saith the LORD," and was therefore to die the death.

Prophecy comes to us embedded in the histories of the patriarchs, and the rest of the writings. It is seamlessly interwoven. So, though there are specific prophecies, there is also revelational and historical truth amidst which these came. All scripture is, in some sense, prophecy. It is the God-breathed, Holy Spirit inspired revelation of God’s purposes in Jesus Christ. It either has come to pass or it will come to pass, just as God stated. God has purposed it and He will do it.

Now, when Peter says that "no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation" he is speaking not so much to the receiving of prophecy as to the giving of it. In other words, men didn’t think up something or put their own slant on something, or devise a theology to fit what they thought were the essential facts. But either way the underlying meaning is that the Holy Spirit declared through men what He alone can interpret to men. And He does, to each of His own, for we read in the God-breathed scripture of the New Testament...

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand..." {John 10:25-28}