EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/09/2025 7:45 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “God’s Supernatural Revelation”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 Peter 1:19-21
Message of the verses: “19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Now we see the word “we” which I have highlighted in verse 19 and it is not an emphatic pronoun as it is in verse 18, where it refers to Peter, James, and John. This “we” which is the second usage refers to generically to all believers. As a group they possess the Word, the source of God’s truth that is far more reliable than their collective experience, even as apostles. Now 2 Corinthians 12:1; (“Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.”) is a helpful example of the limitations of human experience as a source of truth (see above). The apostle Paul desired to defend his apostleship, but he appears to admit that personal visions and experiences—even of heaven—are not helpful, not substantial as defenses of God’s truth. That is because they are unverifiable, unrepeatable, and incomprehensible (vv. 2-4).” I am about to quote these verses and I just love the way Paul writes about himself by not showing it is him. “2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago — whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows — such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man — whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows — 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” “Paul actually preferred to defend his apostleship with his suffering rather than with his supernatural visions (5-10).” Again I will quote these verses from 2 Cor. 11:5-10. “5 On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses. 6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me. 7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” You know I have to say that when I compare 1 Corinthians with 2 Corinthians I like the more personal that Paul gets in 2 Corinthians and this is one of the stores in it that I really like. Now back to our subject for this evening. When the New Testament writers wrote about Christ and His promised return, they confirmed the truth of Old Testament Scriptures, now here are some examples, but I will not quote this list of verses: (cf. Matt. 4:12-16; 12:19-20; 21:1-5; Luke 4:16-21; Rom. 15:3; Heb. 5:5-6; 1 Peter 2:6-7, 22; and Rev. 10:10). “Thus it was not the apostle’s experienced but the inspired and inscripturated record of Christ’s life and words, penned by the Spirit-directed authors and contained in the New Testament, which validated to Old. That validation fit the Jews’ beliefs regarding the supremacy of written revelation, as Michel Green explains:” (John MacArthur’s commentary.)
The Jews always preferred prophecy to the voice from heaven. Indeed they regarded the latter, that bath qol, ‘daughter of the voice’, as an inferior substitute for revelation, since the days of prophecy has ceased. And as for the apostles, it is hard to overemphasize their regard for the Old Testament. One of their most powerful arguments for the truth of Christianity was the argument from prophecy (see the speeches in Acts, Romans, XV, 1 Peter II, or the whole of Heb. Or Rev.) In the word of God written, they sought absolute assurance, like their Master, for whom ‘it is written’ sufficed to clinch an argument. … [Peter] is saying ‘If you don’t believe me, go to the Scriptures’. ‘The question’, says Calvin, ‘is simply that ‘since the Jews were in no doubt that everything that the prophets taught came from God, it is no wonder that Peter says that their word is more sure’. (The Second General Epistle of Peter and the Epistle of Jude [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968], 87).
11/9/2025 8:24 PM
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