2 Peter 1:16-18 English Standard Version

Christ’s Glory and the Prophetic Word

¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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,” ¹⁸ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.

Leaving the prophetic word for later, let us focus on Christ’s Glory. Here Peter relates to an eyewitness account, one shared with John and James. This is Peter’s telling, John and James are not there to confirm. By two or three witnesses shall the truth be known. Peter’s telling is a personal matter.

Some of us have seen Christ’s glory first hand. It is our witness and so often we had no one there to confirm what happened. This is our witness and it is important but how can we be a witness to His glory without it sounding like a “cleverly devised myth”?

How does anyone’s words carry weight? First of all there has to be a relationship between the speaker and the hearer. Those hearing our witness must discover us to be honest God fear witnesses that would never dream of lying about something so important.

At the time of this writing Peter had already established his credentials. These are his words in addressing this epistle. “To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:” v1

A faith of equal standing indicates that Peter knows his audience and has established a relationship with them. It is then by the power of the Holy Spirit that he feels free to share such important eyewitness accounts that if shared with unbelievers they could be received as myth.

Isaiah 48:4 English Standard Version (ESV) Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,

When I was in the army we had brass belt buckles and officers like to see them shine. We would be told to use Brasso to make them shine. It was ornamental and had no practical purpose. In Vietnam we wore blackened belt buckles. Anything that reflected light was useless and dangerous to one’s safety.

Now why did that come to mind? It is a matter of experience and we do not all share the same experiences. What does it matter if I think of brass as being ornamental? It only holds meaning to me and is of little or no use to anyone else. We might classify this as opinion. Opinions are not doctrine.

Other versions use the word bronze. Bronze reminds me of the vessels of service in the wilderness tabernacle as described in Exodus 26. Nothing ornamental there. It had practical applications.

The forehead in Eastern religions represents the location of the third and all Seeing Eye. Some wear a red dot in that location, not very ornate, definitely not brass by design. Why did I think of that? Does it matter? Is it relevant? The connection may only exist in my mind but others might “get it”. Agreement on thinking once again does not identify doctrine. We do so love to have others agree with us.

When does symbolism matter and when is it something to let fall by the wayside?

Memory is a tricky thing. While the Spirit brings things to us by remembrances, so does the flesh. Spiritual insight is vastly different than our ability to reason. Not everything we see in scriptures has to be significant to everyone. This one issue of my thinking about brass is a good example of what doesn’t really matter.

I am free to think but must be careful about how I share my thoughts.