Peter continues telling how he intends to remind the church of the qualities that he highlighted in the last blog – virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. This is urgent for Peter, because he knows he is about to be killed, and this is the most important thing on his heart – perhaps a death bed last wish:
“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths 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, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain” (2 Pet 1 16-18; Mt 17:5).
Peter is using the indelible stamp of the Transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17:1-13 as the ultimate witness to the truth. Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain by themselves. There Jesus was transfigured before their eyes with his face shining like the sun and his clothes white as light, and Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus. Peter had been so overwhelmed that he did not know what to do next, but this was exactly when the voice spoke from heaven.
This is no fable or myth. It is an eyewitness account, and the three witnesses were instructed by Jesus to tell no one of this vision until the Son of Man was raised from the dead.
Peter’s purpose here is to cement the fact that true prophecy, not false prophecy, comes only from God to people carried along by the Holy Spirit:
“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet 1:19-21).
Anything else is myth, straight from the devil.
Hurry back for Chapter 2, where Peter addresses false prophets. It will make your blood curdle in these current days of assault on Christianity.