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Peter is writing to the Lord’s people, letting them know that it’s important to be reminded of the truths that the apostles, the Lord’s representatives, proclaimed – even though we already know them and are standing firm in them.
Why? Because usually, God’s people don’t fall away because we suddenly reject the truth. We fall away because we gradually forget the truth. Sin, suffering, distraction, fear, prosperity, and false teaching all exert a falling away influence on us.
How do we know what the Lord’s representatives proclaimed is the truth? Two very powerful and convincing reasons: First, because of what Peter, James and John witnessed on the Mountain of the Transformation, and second, because of what God had already spoken through the prophets.
For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
Rather than diminishing the authority of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings, the experience of seeing Yeshua’s glorious transformation and hearing the Father’s affirmation of His dearly loved Son strengthened Peter’s confidence in the message proclaimed by Israel’s prophets. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the Day dawns, and Messiah the Morning Star shines in your hearts.2
What Peter, James and John saw with their eyes and heard with their ears was perfectly aligned with the message God had given to the prophets.
Peter tells us that we must pay close attention to what the prophets wrote – meaning all of the Tenach – the Law, the Prophets and the Writings – the Old Testament – and especially their focus on the Messiah. If we pay close attention to what the prophets wrote, we will discover that Messiah is the main theme of their writings – and that will strengthen our faith.
In the Tenach, the prophets wrote about Messiah, and they did so in two ways: the first, through direct, clear prophecies; and the second, through indirect prophecies – types and shadows.
Let’s start with the direct prophecies about the Messiah. From the very beginning, from the earliest chapters of the Bible, the prophets wrote about a coming Redeemer.
In Genesis, written by the prophet Moses, the Messiah is the seed of the woman who will crush the serpent’s head – a man who will destroy Satan and undo all the damage the leader of the fallen angels began in the Garden of Eden. He is the ruler who will come from the tribe of Judah.
In Numbers, He is the star that comes from Jacob who will defeat Israel’s enemies.
In Deuteronomy, He is the Prophet like Moses.
In 2 Samuel, He is the descendant of King David who will rule on David’s throne and over his kingdom forever.
In Psalms, He is God’s Son, given the nations as His inheritance. He will rule with a rod of iron. He will be surrounded by enemies, mocked, very thirsty, and His hands and feet pierced. He will die but not see decay because He will be resurrected. He is David’s son and David’s Lord, seated at the right hand of God – an eternal Priest and King according to the order of Malkee-Tzedek.
In Isaiah, He is the great light who first shines in Galilee. He is the child born to us, the Son given to us, whose government rests on His shoulders. He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, and Prince of Peace. He will reign on David’s throne forever, establishing His kingdom with justice and righteousness.
He is the shoot from the stump of Jesse, the branch on whom the Spirit of the Lord rests. He rules with perfect wisdom and righteousness, defends the poor, and judges the wicked. In His day, creation itself will be transformed.
He is the Servant of the Lord who brings justice to the nations. He will be given as a covenant to the people and as a light to the nations. He will restore Israel and bring salvation to the ends of the Earth. He is God’s Servant, high and lifted up, yet rejected by the majority. He will die not for His sins, but for our sins. He will have an unjust trial, remain silent before His accusers, die among the wicked yet be buried with the rich. He will be resurrected, honored, and reward His followers. His impact will reach the entire world.
The Spirit of the Lord will be on Him to preach good news to the poor and proclaim freedom to the captives.
In Jeremiah, He is the righteous branch from David who saves Israel – Adonai Tzidkeinu, “The Lord Our Righteousness” – fully God and fully man.
In Ezekiel, He is God’s servant named David who will shepherd His people and be their prince forever, and God will establish an everlasting covenant of peace with them.
In Daniel, He is the Son of Man who comes with the clouds of Heaven and is given everlasting dominion, glory and a kingdom that will never pass away. He is the Anointed One who will come before the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, the Messiah who will be cut off and killed.
In Micah, He is the One whose origins are from eternity, yet who is born in Bethlehem.
In Zechariah, He is the humble King who will enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey. He is the One whom the Jewish people will look at – the One we have pierced. He is the Lord whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives when He comes to reign.
In Malachi, He is the Lord who will suddenly come to His Temple, and the Sun of Righteousness who rises with healing in His wings.
These are the clear, direct prophecies. They point unmistakably to Yeshua – the Messiah.
But the writings of the prophets give us more than direct prophecies. They give us indirect Messianic prophecies – types and shadows that point to Messiah.
The nation of Israel had three kinds of leaders – prophets, priests, and kings – and Yeshua fulfills all three.
The prophets heard from God and spoke for God. Yeshua is the greatest Prophet, the living Word of God Himself, who speaks with ultimate authority.
The priests mediated between God and the people. Yeshua is our High Priest. He is a better priest than Aaron. He serves in a better temple, offers a better sacrifice – Himself – which results in perfect and final atonement.
The kings ruled over Israel, but Yeshua is the ultimate King, the Son of David, whose kingdom is everlasting and whose dominion will never pass away.
Yeshua fulfills the holidays.
He fulfills the Sabbath. He gives rest to our weary souls.
He fulfills Shanat Yovel, the Year of Jubilee. He will bring ultimate restoration and peace.
He fulfills Passover. He is our Lamb who delivers us from slavery to Satan and the demons, sin and the sin nature, and death.
He fulfills Matzah, Unleavened Bread. He is the sinless One who helps us overcome sin.
He fulfills Firstfruits, the first one raised from the dead.
He fulfills Yom Truah – Rosh HaShana. He is the coming King announced by the shofar.
He fulfills Yom Kippur. He is our atonement.
He fulfills Sukkot – booths, shelters, tabernaces. He will gather the harvest of humanity into His eternal dwelling place.
Yeshua fulfills the Temple and everything in it. He is the Temple – the place where God lives with humanity. He fulfills the Ark and the Ark Covering, the altar and washbasin, the menorah, the bread of the Presence, and the altar of incense. In Him, God and humanity meet, atonement is made, light is given, prayers ascend.
He fulfills the sacrifices. He is our sin offering of atonement, our burnt offering of dedication, and our peace offering bringing us peace with God.
In Genesis, He is Noah’s Ark, the ram of the Akedah, Jacob’s ladder, and the mysterious God-Man stranger who wrestled with Jacob.
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb, the unleavened bread, the manna from heaven, and the Rock that was struck that produced water.
In Leviticus, He fulfills the sacrifices and the holidays.
In Numbers, He is the Rock and the serpent lifted up for salvation.
In Judges, He is the Judge and the Angel of the Lord, and the Captain of the Lord of Hosts – the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
In Ruth, He is the Kinsman Redeemer.
In Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, He is David’s greater Son.
In Isaiah, He is Immanuel, God with us.
In Zechariah, He is the Good Shepherd valued at thirty pieces of silver.
The covenants – from Noah to Abraham, Moses, David – anticipate the Mediator of a new and greater covenant who fulfills them all.
The great biblical patterns – exodus, exile and restoration, suffering before glory, rejection before exaltation, light overcoming darkness – are shadows pointing to Him.
From the beginning to the end of the writings of the prophets, Messiah is there – woven into the threads of the Tenach. Their writings, from Genesis to Malachi, are one great witness to Messiah.
Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place. The writings of the prophets are like a lamp that shines in the darkness. In a world filled with darkness, confusion, deception, danger, death – their writings give us light so we can know the truth and walk with God and not lose our way.
Peter tells us to pay close attention to the prophetic writings. How do we do that?
We begin by reading the Scriptures for ourselves. And we don’t read them like we read an article from a newspaper. We meditate on them, slowing down, reading, rereading, and thinking deeply about what we are reading.
We familiarize ourselves with the Word of the prophets so it that it becomes part of us, hidden in our hearts, living in us richly, so that it’s readily available, shaping our thinking and anchoring us in the truth.
We hear it taught by God-ordained teachers, allowing the Lord to use the gifts He has placed in Messiah’s community for our growth.
We must respond to it with obedience, recognizing that the Word of God was not given to us merely to inform us, but to transform us.
When we read slowly, store it internally, hear it taught, live it out faithfully, we experience it as a lamp that is shining in a dark place.
Sadly, much of the Church has not followed Peter’s wise instruction. Many do not pay close attention to what the prophets wrote. In many churches, the Old Testament is rarely studied, and rarely taught.
When people visit us for the first time, I ask them why they are here. One answer I hear over and over is: “In most churches, the teaching is almost entirely from the New Testament. However I know that it was the Bible Jesus and the Apostles read, quoted from and lived by, and it served them well, so it must be important to understand. I want to know the whole Bible.” And that’s what we do here at Shema, so they seek us out.
You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the Day dawns, and Messiah the Morning Star shines in your hearts.
We need to pay close attention to the truth from the Word of God until the Day dawns, and Messiah the Morning Star shines in your hearts – until the return of King Messiah and the full revelation of Him and His glorious Kingdom on Earth.
I love Peter’s comparison of Messiah to the Morning Star. The Morning Star is the second planet from the sun – which regrettably is named after the goddess Venus. After the sun and moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky. It’s only visible for a few hours at night, either in the evening after sunset or before sunrise. Venus does something unique: when the first light of dawn appears, unlike the other stars and planets, Venus remains visible. It continues shining until it is finally overwhelmed by the rising sun.
The appearance of the morning star before sunrise signals that night is almost over. Dawn is near – followed by the full light of day. Likewise, Yeshua’s first coming, resurrection, ascension and present reign signal that the kingdom of God will soon be revealed in its fullness – when King Yeshua returns to this world.
The Morning Star shines brightly in the darkness of night. So too Yeshua shines now in a world full of spiritual darkness. His truth, His reality, His presence, His guidance, His impact on the world – are real, are present, are available now.
You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place – until the Day dawns, and Messiah the Morning Star shines in your hearts. When Peter informs us that the Morning Star will shine in our hearts, he is describing the transition from faith to sight. What is now believed by faith will then be experienced in completeness, in fulness, when King Yeshua and His kingdom are revealed in all their glory.
No, we are not following myths and legends and clever stories. We have the truth. We are living with sufficient light shining now – which will be followed by much greater light. Our hope is certain and sure so we must not deviate from the truth or give up.
Peter ends this part of his letter by teaching us about the origin of prophecy. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. There are many prophecies in the Bible – hundreds of them. Something like 20 to 30% of the Bible is made up of prophecies. No other religious book has them. Not one of them came from human understanding or initiative. All of them came from the Spirit of God moving on them, speaking to them, informing them so that they spoke exactly what God Himself wanted them to say. This is why what they wrote deserves our complete trust. Anyone who denies this is guilty of heresy.
The foundation of our faith is not clever, made up stories, and nothing from human understanding or initiative. The foundation of our faith is the truth inspired by the Spirit of God. That is what we are to remember, to stand firm in, to pay attention to until we die or Messiah returns.
Let’s pray: Father, keep us from forgetting Your truth or falling into false teaching. Thank You that our faith rests not on made up stories but on the eyewitness testimony of the representatives of the Son of God and the prophetic Word inspired by Your Spirit. Help us pay close attention to the Scriptures, hiding them in our hearts and obeying them faithfully, until the Day dawns and Yeshua, our Morning Star, is fully revealed in all His glory.