2 Peter 1:12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

13 Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;

14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

15 Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.

19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:

20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

MEMORY VERSE: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. —2 Peter 1:19

CENTRAL THOUIGHT: Peter earnestly desires that we remember the truth that he brought forth in this epistle, for he was making known what he was an eyewitness of: that is the honour and glory Christ received from God the Father when God spoke to Him on the mount of transfiguration that Christ was His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased. But Peter also desires us to receive the word of prophecy that shines as a glorious light in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

WORD DEFINITIONS

2 Peter 1:12, “not be negligent”: Not fail. “these things”: The eight vital functions for spiritual success, namely: faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. “present truth”: The gospel truth revealed through Christ.

Ver. 13, “meet”: Right and so very needful. “this tabernacle”: His mortal earthly body.

Ver. 14, “put off”: Depart from by death. “as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me”: John 21:18, 19 has Christ’s own words to Peter: “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou was young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and anoth- er shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.”

Ver. 15, “my decease”: My death.

Ver. 16, “cunningly devised fables”: Man-made ideas and beliefs. “coming”: Christ’s second coming in glory at the end of this world.

Ver. 17, “excellent glory”: The spiritual heavenly realm.
Ver. 18, “the holy mount”: The mountain where Jesus was seen speaking with Moses and Elias, as recorded in Luke 9:28-36. It is also recorded in Matthew 17:1-7 and Mark 9:2-8.

Ver. 19, “a more sure word of prophecy”: The word of prophecy confirmed and shown to be fulfilled. “the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts”: This is fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi 4:2, “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings”.

Ver. 20, “private interpretation”: Its own loosing or opening up of the truth. Verse 21 explains that the prophecy in old time did not come by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Truly, it also takes the Holy Spirit to open it up and make it known to the heart of man.

LESSON BACKGROUND

Peter desired that those to whom he was writing this epistle would be always in remembrance of the truth that He was bringing forth to them. He mentioned five times of the value and importance of “these things.” If “these things” would be in them and abound, if they would do them, and if they would have them always in remembrance, they would never be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ. He also declared that he that lacketh “these things” would be blind and forgetful of being saved from his old sins. So we see that Peter was very earnest in his desire for us to keep in mind and be diligent to have these things abounding in our hearts and lives. The reason Peter was so concerned that we remember and diligently keep these things abounding, was our eternal welfare. So it is with all of the blessed counsels and teachings of the New Testament.

Peter then declared that he was not following the teachings of men, but was holding forth the true doctrine of Christ. He was making known to them the power and the promised coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, being one of the eyewitnesses of His majesty—the power and glorious majesty of which he and James and John had borne witness in the mount of transfiguration. Luke 9:28-36 pictures it so vividly. It shows Moses and Elias talking with Jesus, and speaking of His death which He would accomplish at Jerusalem; and he brought out how God spoke and declared that Jesus was His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased. Matthew 17:5 adds that God said, “Hear ye Him!” It was a wonderful experience that  cherished in his heart’s memory.

Peter declared that we also have a more sure word of prophecy. This word of prophecy is that which is revealed to the heart and soul of man by the Holy Spirit, and is truly the light that will be the dawning of the “day star” in our hearts. Oh, how so wonderful is the revelation and opening up of the scriptures to our hearts! It is an experience that is more wonderful than all other good things that one can in this life treasure and possess.

–Bro. Leslie Busbee

QUESTIONS:

1. Why did Peter so earnestly desire for us to remember “these things”?

2. What are “these things” that he desired for us to remember and follow?

3. What was the wonderful glory that Peter saw in the holy mount?

4. Whose voice spoke from Heaven and what did He say?

5. What is that “more sure word of prophecy” that we can also have?

6. What will it be to us if we will take heed to its wonderful message?

7. How did the prophecy come to man in the times of old?

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

Peter believed that the time of his sojourn on earth was drawing to a close. And he wanted these precious truths and counsels to be kept in our hearts and minds. Oh, let us notice the earnest desire and purpose that was burning in his very soul! This blessing of the Holy Spirit inspiring and writing upon our hearts this more sure word of prophecy should be the very center of our hungering and thirsting in life! What the Holy Spirit reveals to our innermost being is truly the Rock, Christ Jesus, the foundation of the Church which Christ purchased with His own blood, as Jesus declared to Peter in Matthew 16:17, 18. To have Christ revealed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit truly is the unfailing stone on which we can and must build our hope of eternal life!

—Bro. Leslie Busbee

REFLECTIONS

Over and over, the Lord wanted His children to remember what He had done for them and what His will was concerning them. One example of this is found in Exodus, chapter 12, concerning the Passover. Verses 25-28: “….Ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, what mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, it is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians . . .” (Joshua 4:6-7).

Another example was when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River. The Lord told Joshua to take twelve men, one from each tribe, and gather a stone “out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm.” “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, what mean ye by these stones? Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant. . . ”

The ark, the jar of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded . . . all were reminders of God, the covenant, the promises, and their identity as a separate, chosen, and peculiar people. I think about the verse that says, “Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set (Proverbs 22:28). Sis. Margaret Eck had the same burden when she wrote “Lest We Forget”. She wanted her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to remember the Lord’s working.

An old chorus still rings in my heart: “Roll back the curtain of memory now and then; show me where You brought me from and where I could have been. Remember I’m human, and humans forget—so remind me, remind me, dear Lord.” (by Dottie Rambo).

–Bro. Bob Wilson