The Strand Study Bible

II PETER

2106

Written From Babylon (Rome)

can find in God’s Word ( Lk 3:36 & 10:22 and Acts 7:45 ). 1:19 As memorable as the transfiguration of Jesus was, as memorable as the audible voice of God from Heaven was (vs 16-18), Peter reminds his readers that the power of God’s promise ( a more sure word of prophecy ) will always be greater than the power of His presence (Jn 4:46-53). A “God encountering” experience is good, but it should never take precedence over the “God encountering” Written Word ( Psa 138:2 ). What we hold in our hand is the greatest miracle ever witnessed ( Gen 12:16 – point #2). It’s not only the greatest miracle ever witnessed; it’s the greatest message ever heard. 1:21 As one historian put it, “The Bible is not an authorized collection of books, but a collection of authorized books.” The Bible came to us supernaturally ( holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ), with minimal interference by man. Arthur W. Pink in Gleanings in Genesis notes:

In the Bible human nature is painted in its true colors: the characters of its heroes are faithfully depicted, the sins of its most prominent personages are frankly recorded. It is human to err, but it is also human to conceal the blemishes of those we admire. Had the Bible been a human production, had it been written by uninspired historians, the defects of its leading characters would have been ignored, or if recorded at all, an attempt at extenuation would have been made. Had some human admirer chronicled the history of Noah, his awful fall would have been omitted. The fact that it is recorded and that no effort is made to excuse his sin, is evidence that the characters of the Bible are painted in the colors of truth and nature, that such characters were not sketched by human pens, that Moses and the other historians must have written by Divine inspiration. 1

Comprised of sixty-six books, written over a period of some 1,500 years, by approximately forty different authors (in several languages - Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek), the Bible marched relentlessly down through history, with such orderly progression and ease, that it is tough to argue with its claim of divine inspiration ( Job 38:4 ). In addition to that, one of the strongest evidences of its inspiration is its amazing unity of theme – JESUS CHRIST . One problem - sin. One solution – JESUS CHRIST . And if that is not enough proof that the Scriptures were inspired by God, consider the following: Jesus quoted 12 of the 39 OT books just within the four Gospels. He quoted: * Moses ( Genesis - Mt 19:4-5 and Mk 10:6-8), ( Exodus - Mt 5:21,27,38 & 15:4 & 19:18-19 & 22:32, Mk 7:10 & 10:19 & 12:26 and Lk 18:20 & 20:37), ( Leviticus - Mt 5:33,38,43 & 15:4 & 19:19 & 22:39, Mk 7:10 & 10:19 & 12:31 and Lk 18:20), ( Deuteronomy - Mt 4:4,7,10 & 5:21,27,31,33,38,43 & 15:4 & 18:16 & 19:18-19 & 22:37, Mk 7:10 & 10:19 & 12:29-30, Lk 4:4,8,12 & 18:20 and Jn 8:17) * David and the Psalms (Mt 7:23 & 21:16,42 & 22:44 & 23:39 & 27:46 , Mk 12:10-11,36 & 15:34 , Lk 13:27, 35 & 20:17,42-43 & 23:46 and Jn 10:34 & 13:18 & 15:25 ) * Isaiah (Mt 13:14-15 & 15:8-9 & 21:13, Mk 4:12 & 7:6-7 & 9:44,46,48 & 11:17, Lk 4:18-19 & 8:10 & 19:46 & 22:37 and Jn 6:45 & 7:38 ) * Jeremiah (Mt 21:13, Mk 11:17, Lk 19:46 and Jn 6:45) * Daniel (Mt 24:15 and Mk 13:14) * Hosea (Mt 9:13 & 12:7) * Micah (Mt 10:35-36 and Jn 6:45) * Zechariah ( Mt 26:31 and Mk 14:27 ) * Malachi (Mt 11:10 and Lk 7:27) Although our Lord only quoted 12 of the 39 books, according to Luke 11:51, He believed that all 39 were a part of Scripture. NOTE – Five of the strongest evidences of the inspiration (supernatural origin) of Scripture are: 1. The amazing unity of theme – JESUS CHRIST ( Lk 23: 16- 19 - 27 ) Henrietta C. Mears in What the Bible Is All About notes: Apart from any theory of inspiration, or any theory of how the Bible books came to their present form, or how much the text may have suffered in passing through the hands of editors and copyists; or what is historical and what may be poetical; assume that the Bible is just what it appears to be. Accept the books as we have them in our Bible as units, study them to know their contents. You will find there is a unity of thought which indicates that One Mind inspired the writing of the whole series of books; that it bears on its face the stamp of its Author; that it is in every sense the WORD OF GOD. 2 2. Predictive prophecy ( Isa 46:10 ) 3. Scientific facts within the Bible ( Job 38:4 ) 4. The miracle of preservation (Psa 119:89, Jere 36:1-2,20-23,27-28 and Lk 11:51 ) 5. The miracle of illumination ( I Sam 19: 19- 22 -24) 2:1 Jesus paid for everyone’s sin ( the Lord that bought them ), including those who deny Him ( Mt 28:19a ). 2:3 It is a sin to exploit ( make merchandise of you ) other believers in order to build one’s own work. Pastors who rule their congregations in order to enrich themselves and/or build their own dreams on the backs of the poor and widows will one day face a very angry Jesus. THE ADAGE IS TRUE: We need to use our work to build God’s people, not use God’s people to build our work 2:4 This word ( hell ) is the Greek word τDUτDUZσD9 ( tartarosas ). Tartarosas is used only here in the NT. It is used to describe that subterranean place that is lower than Hades, where the fallen angels, which cohabited with mortal women, are imprisoned for their sin of breaking the God-ordained order of beings ( Gen 6:2 , Rev 9:1 b , Psa 9:17 and Jude 6 ). 1 Pink, Arthur W. Gleanings in Genesis , Chicago, ILL, Moody Press, 1922. Print. 2 Mears, Henrietta C. What the Bible Is All About, Glendale, CA, Regal Books, 1953. Print.