2 Peter 1:16–21

1:16 The main thought of verse 16 is straightforward: “we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” By “we” Peter means the apostles; the content of their preaching was “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The expression “power [dynamis] and coming [parousia]” likely has the sense of “powerful coming” (cf. Matt. 24:30; Mark 14:62; 2 Thess. 2:9).¹ Although parousia can mean simply “presence” or “arrival” in a general sense, it could also refer in antiquity to the arrival of a deity or the visit of a high-ranking official.² The NT regularly uses it in connection with the return of Christ (Matt. 24:3; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Pet. 3:4, 12).

As eyewitnesses of Christ’s powerful coming, the apostles “did not follow cleverly devised myths.” As used here, “follow” (exakoloutheō) means “to accept as authoritative determiner of thought or action.”³ Peter anticipates his discussion of the false teachers, who follow the error of Balaam (2:15) and entice others to follow their sensuality (2:2). Perhaps the false teachers claimed the apostles were following myths when they taught about the return of Christ and God’s judgment. Religion in the Greco-Roman world was rooted in “cleverly devised myths,” and even believers had to be warned about their dangers (1 Tim. 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14). By calling these false beliefs “cleverly devised,” Peter highlights the ingenuity of those who concocted them.

Instead, the apostles based their preaching on a simple reality: “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” While this is the only NT occurrence of the noun rendered “eyewitnesses” (epoptēs), the concept is ubiquitous. The apostles are repeatedly described as witnesses in Acts (1:8, 22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39, 41; 13:31; 22:15; 26:16). In Greek literature “majesty” (megaleiotēs) often refers to kings, but in the NT it regularly refers to God (Luke 9:43). While the apostles witnessed the majesty of God in many ways, Peter has the transfiguration specifically in view.

1:17 Peter offers an example of Christ’s majesty: the transfiguration. His brief summary suggests that his readers know the story. He introduces the event with the phrase “when he received honor and glory from God the Father.” While similar language is found in Psalm 29:1, Peter likely echoes Psalm 8:5, where David says that God has crowned humanity “with glory and honor.” This same psalm is applied to Jesus in several other NT passages (1 Cor. 15:27; Eph. 1:22; Phil. 3:20–21; Heb. 2:6). As the one who obeys where Adam failed, Jesus displays honor and glory as the rightful King of creation. Thus the heavenly hosts ascribe honor and glory to both God the Father (Rev. 4:11) and the Lamb who was slain (Rev. 5:12).

God the Father expressed this honor and glory when “the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory.” The rare adjective “majestic” (megaloprepēs) continues the echo of Psalm 8, which in verse 2 LXX (= English verse 1) uses a cognate noun: “Your majesty [megaloprepeia] is above the heavens.” The Father’s voice identifies Jesus as “my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” At least three OT texts are in view. The title “my son” comes from Psalm 2:7, where God says to his anointed king, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” Whereas both Adam and Israel were sons of God who failed to fulfill his calling on them, God had promised to David a descendant who would be a son of God with an everlasting kingdom (2 Samuel 7; Ps. 2:1–12). But by referring to Jesus as “my beloved” Son, Peter likely alludes to Genesis 22 as well, where God calls Abraham to sacrifice “your beloved son Isaac, whom you love” (Gen. 22:2, 12, 16 LXX). As the one “with whom I am well pleased,” Jesus is also identified as the Isaianic servant: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights” (Isa. 42:1). He will be the light of salvation to the nations that Israel never was, by suffering for the sins of his people and rising from the dead to inaugurate the new covenant.

The rightful King, the beloved Son, the suffering servant—these are but three manifestations of Jesus’ honor and glory. The transfiguration is an initial fulfillment of Jesus’ enthronement as King of the world, anticipating the day he will return in glory to consummate his kingdom (Mark 8:31–9:13).

1:18 Peter stresses his firsthand experience of the transfiguration: “we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven.” He is not peddling secondhand accounts of the event. Along with James and John, Peter heard with his own ears the voice of God from heaven proclaiming the Son’s majesty. They “were with him on the holy mountain.” Just as Moses met with God on Mount Sinai, so too these apostles saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ on that “holy mountain.” Peter may be echoing Psalm 2:6: “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” Mountains are often places of divine revelation in Scripture. Abraham (Gen. 22:1–14), Moses (Ex. 24:15–31:18), and Elijah (1 Kings 19:1–18) were among those who encountered God on a mountain. Jesus performed or experienced several key events on mountains: prayer (Luke 6:12), teaching (Matt. 5:1), temptation from Satan (Matt. 4:8), transfiguration (Luke 9:28–36), and ascension (Acts 1:10–12).

1:19 The first witness (eyewitness testimony; 2 Pet. 1:16–18) has finished its testimony; now Peter brings forward the second witness: “the prophetic word” (1:19–21). This expression refers to the entire OT, although specific passages may be in view.⁴ Because the transfiguration fulfilled (at least partially) various elements of the OT hope, this prophetic word is “more fully confirmed.” This same adjective describes the steadfast nature of the hope that anchors our soul (Heb. 6:19). Far from being “cleverly devised myths” (2 Pet. 1:16), the apostles’ eyewitness testimony demonstrates the fulfillment of OT promises.

Therefore, believers would “do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” By “pay attention” (prosechō), Peter means “to be in a continuous state of readiness to learn of any future danger, need, or error, and to respond appropriately.”⁵ The need for growth in godliness and the danger of false teaching necessitate careful attention to God’s Word. A metaphor drives the point home: as a “lamp shining in a dark place.” God’s Word is often referred to as light (Pss. 19:8; 119:105, 130), and the gospel is described as light that enables people to see Christ’s glory (2 Cor. 4:4–6). Since believers live in a world of darkness, they must fix their gaze on the light of God’s truth.

This should be the posture of believers “until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” The dawning of the day can be a metaphor for the arrival of God’s eschatological acts (Isa. 9:2; Mal. 4:2; Luke 1:78–79) or simply of comfort in general (Pss. 37:6; 46:5; 130:6). The “morning star” literally refers to the planet Venus, often visible with the rising of the sun. Here it is used symbolically; the imagery is borrowed from Numbers 24:14–19, where Balaam prophesied that in the latter days God would raise up a royal figure to defeat the enemies of God’s people and exercise the dominion that Adam did not exercise (Matt. 2:2; Rev. 22:16). As such, this “morning star” corresponds to the echoes of Psalm 8 mentioned in the comment on 2 Peter 1:17. Thus Peter points his readers to fix their hope on the return of Christ, who will defeat all of God’s enemies and exercise the full dominion that is rightfully his as the one who obeyed where Adam failed. When Christ returns, believers “will receive and perceive this revelation” in their “hearts.”⁶

1:20 Readers of this letter should pay attention to the prophetic word because they know “first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.” The expression “first of all” (prōton) suggests that Peter could give more reasons but instead wants to focus on this one as most significant.⁷ The expression “prophecy of Scripture” seems to narrow the focus from the entire OT to specific prophetic words or promises, probably the OT texts alluded to in 1:17–19.

In Greek, the expression rendered “comes from someone’s own interpretation” can mean either that prophecy cannot be interpreted however the interpreter desires⁸ or that prophecy does not originate from the interpretation of the prophet. While either makes good sense in the context, the latter seems preferable.⁹ Parallel expressions in Jewish literature suggest that such language was used to defend the divine origin of OT prophecy.¹⁰ Thus Peter is countering the opponents’ claim that “the prophets may have received visions, but that their prophecies, found in the OT, are only their interpretation of the visions, mere human guesswork.”¹¹

1:21 Peter further explains his claim that prophecy has a divine origin by stating that “no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man.” The verb rendered “produced” (pherō) has the sense of “to bring a thought or idea into circulation.”¹² In 1:17–18 the verb was used to describe God’s voice as being “borne from heaven.” True biblical prophecy is not something created “by the will of man”; it is a word from God to humanity, mediated through his prophets. Our spiritual birth has its roots in the will of God (John 1:13); the same is true of prophecy.

Peter further elaborates that “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”¹³ When the prophets spoke, their words came “from God.” When God called a prophet, he instructed him to speak what the Lord said to him (Jer. 1:7–10, 17; Ezek. 2:7). By contrast, false prophets are not sent by God and merely speak “the deceit of their own minds” (Jer. 14:14). The work of God did not stop with his commissioning of the prophet but continued as the prophets “were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”¹⁴ Peter uses the participle form of the same verb translated “produced” (pherō) in the first clause, but here it has the slightly different sense of “to cause to follow a certain course in direction or conduct.”¹⁵ Both Josephus (Antiquities 4.119) and Philo (De specialibus legibus 1.65) use similar language to describe the prophets’ being moved by God to speak his words. In 1 Peter 1:11, Peter refers to the working of “the Spirit of Christ” in the prophets to predict the suffering and glory of Christ. That same Holy Spirit now speaks through the preaching of the gospel (1 Pet. 1:12, 23–25).