Not of Private Interpretation (2 Peter 1:20-21)
Hey, everyone. I'm Kendrick Diaz, and this is Verse by Verse, a short podcast all about exploring the insights and lessons of the inspired word of god. Can the bible predict the future with absolute certainty? We know human beings can't even if they try. I mean, we see it all the time even in small ways.
Kendrick Diaz:For example, meteorologists. They use advanced models and the information available to them to try and predict the weather, but they're sometimes wrong. Financial experts and economists make predictions about the stock market, and they're sometimes wrong. Sports analysts and fans try and predict what team's gonna win next Saturday night, and they're often wrong too. So the best we can do is make educated guesses.
Kendrick Diaz:Why? Because we're bound by time, we're confined to the present moment, and we can't foresee every possible factor that would affect the outcome of something. So what makes the prophecies in the bible any different than what you or I might predict about the future? Well, I wanna get into that today. You know, Peter and the other apostles saw biblical prophecy come alive.
Kendrick Diaz:They had grown up in a culture that believed scripture was the word of god, and so they expected the prophecies about a coming messiah and a savior to be fulfilled. So when they began to follow Jesus Christ, they saw him fulfill those prophecies 1 by 1. For three and a half years, they were eyewitnesses to prophecies foretold by the ancient prophets centuries before the apostles were even around. In that context, let's read the verse we're covering in today's episode, second Peter chapter 1 verses 20 and 21. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of god spoke as they were moved by the holy spirit.
Kendrick Diaz:So we can't say, well, the bible's predictions about the future are just as reliable as anybody else's. No. These predictions are different because they are divinely inspired, and that's the thrust of this scripture. See, the prophets were just messengers, but the message itself came from god. And god's not bound by time like we are.
Kendrick Diaz:He's in absolute control of everything. So if he says something will happen, he alone has the ability to ensure that it does. In fact, one impressive statement that god makes about himself is found in Isaiah chapter 46 and verse 10, where he says, I declare the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done. Now let me ask you a question. If that same being appeared to you or came to you in a vision and said, I'm commanding you to repeat everything I'm going to tell you word for word and I want you to write it down.
Kendrick Diaz:What would you do? I can tell you what I think I would do. I'd repeat everything he tells me, word for word, and write it down. And that was the commission of every prophet of god. So prophecy was transmitted from god to the messenger and then to us, and we can rely on that.
Kendrick Diaz:I want to read half of that verse again but in the New International Version. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture pause. That seems pretty definitive, doesn't it? No prophecy of scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. In other words, the prophets In fact, when you search through the prophetic writings, you wanna know what you'll find repeated constantly.
Kendrick Diaz:The word of the lord came to Isaiah. The word of the lord came to Ezekiel. The word of the lord came to Jeremiah. The word of the lord came to Zechariah. This is the word of the lord.
Kendrick Diaz:Hear the word of the lord. Why? So we can be reminded that prophecy is the word of god just like the rest of the bible. Peter included this verse in his letter because false teachers were going around undermining people's faith in prophecy, particularly the prophecy that Jesus would return and give all of his disciples eternal life. So Peter was in effect saying, look, I saw some of these things fulfilled before my very eyes.
Kendrick Diaz:So have faith and trust that god will carry out everything he promised he would. Now, those promises may not materialize for a while, but eventually, they will. So, yes, the bible can predict the future with absolute certainty because prophecy originates from the perfect mind and will of god. We can count on that.
Kevin Scarbrough:Verse by Verse is a companion podcast to the daily bible verse blog, which you can find on the Life, Hope and Truth Learning Center. Check out the show notes for more.
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