We did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord

2 Peter 1 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: ² Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, ³ for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. ⁴ Through these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world on account of lust. ⁵ Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, ⁶ and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, ⁷ and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they do not make you useless nor unproductive in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For the one who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. ¹⁰ 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; ¹¹ for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

¹² 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. ¹³ I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, ¹⁴ knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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”— ¹⁸ and we ourselves heard this declaration made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 

¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation, ²¹ for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Hebrews 4:12 says: The word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. That the word of God is living and active does not mean that it changes or evolves as some people seem to believe. The action of the word of God is on our hearts, to bring life where there was death. We should not trust when someone says they have a new revelation of God’s word which changes the meaning of what He has said to bring it into alignment with the whims of our culture. Regarding what God has said and what Jesus said and did, I will trust those who were witnesses. Today’s text says: 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.  There are many today who do follow words and doctrine which are cleverly devised to cause the church grow in size and numbers rather than in the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God was well pleased with Jesus because He was holy and righteous, without sin, and He was obedient to the will of the Father.  In John 5:19-20 Jesus says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing.” So that we too could be pleasing to God, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. He also gave us the Holy Spirit. In John 14:26 Jesus says: “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.” In John 16:13 He says: “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”  Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we too, like Jesus, can know what the Father is doing. We can trust the unchanging word of God rather than cleverly devised tales.

The text says: 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. Neither prophecy or scripture should be a matter of someone’s own interpretation. It should first and foremost be interpreted by the rest of God’s word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. It is vital that it says all scripture and not every scripture. Individual verses taken out of context can be easily twisted to distort and change what they are really saying. What God is saying will never contradict what He has said. Any new revelation, any doctrine or any cleverly devised tales that do not align with what God’s word says, are not speaking from God, but rather as an act of human will. In Numbers 23:19 God says: “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”  In Isaiah 55:10-11 He says: “As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” In Revelation 21:5-8 and 22:20 He says: “Behold, I make all things new… It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death… Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.