S) "20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one'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."
2 Peter 1:20-21 (NASB)
O) Peter, like Paul (see 2 Timothy 3:16), is asserting that the prophets who wrote Scripture were not writing on their own. They were never predictions made by man. They were not asserting what they hoped, about God, their country, their salvation, or any other truth. The holy writings of Moses, Isaiah, or anyone else, are not holy because these men were extraordinarily wise, or had attained some kind of righteousness on their own. These writings are holy, not because of the scribe who recorded the words, but because of the God who dictated them.
A) There are a lot of wise men, good Christians with devout and honest lives, who are currently writing very good books. They are edifying, uplifting, encouraging, admonishing, but even the very best of them will never give me what the authoritative word of God will give me. Even historical, doctrinally sound writings, as good as they are, will only ever do so much for me. I am not a physical being, but a spiritual being that has a physical body. So, physical food is good for me, but not the same way spiritual food is (see Matthew 4:4). In the same way, I am not an intellectual being, but a spiritual being with an intellect. So, intellectual food will benefit me as well, but never like the spiritual food of God's words. Over the years, I have developed pretty good habits, when it comes to reading Scripture daily. Still, there is one more element to this passage that I want to make note to address. Peter says, "that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation," While I think the context shows us he meant from the standpoint of the writing of those prophecies, I also think it's important to note that prophecies, even once written, are not mine to interpret. With some biblical prophecies, the Bible itself declares them fulfilled in one way, or at one time, or another. This is similar to the way that Jesus revealed the meaning of his parables to His disciples. However, many prophecies have undefined fulfillment, or they are just unfulfilled (like the ones regarding the return of Christ, obviously). In those cases, I can speculate about the meaning or fulfillment of a prophecy, but ultimately, I must humbly confess that those are from my own understanding, and I am not the authority on them. Only God, the one who ultimately gave all legitimate prophecy, is the authority about how, when, or if a prophecy has been fulfilled (or interpreted correctly).
P) Father, Your grace continues to amaze me. Your perfect character continues to humble me. You are eternally wise, compassionate toward Your creation, and loving beyond measure. Thank You for giving us Your words, for speaking through the prophets that we might know Your will and Your ways. Let me continue to seek after Your truth, through the Bible as we have it. Let me continue to be fed spiritually by every word You have given. Open my eyes and ears, that I may continue to grow in my understanding about prophecies or anything about Your word to us. Let me always be found, humbly seeking the truth about what the Scriptures say. Please, never let me stand in the way of gaining a pure understanding of the truth about Scripture. Let Your will be done. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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