Well, good morning, everyone. Glad to be here and happy that some of you were able to come. I know there are going to be quite a few missing because of sickness, and so we'll pray for them here shortly. But let us open up our Bibles to 2 Peter. And we're going to continue with our study here. 2 Peter 1. And initially, I was planning on going and covering verses 16-21, but I got hung up on 16-18. So that's what we'll cover this morning. And praying that it will be a blessing for all of us, as it has really been for me. But so we'll read after we pray, okay? So let's bow our heads and let's ask the Lord for some help here. Father, we come before you and so grateful to you, oh Lord, that you are our God and that your promises are yes and amen in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank you so much that we come and we gather together not without any hope, but we have a living hope. We have the promises. We have scripture before us, and we have the testimony of the apostles. We have the prophetic word made sure. And so, Lord, we ask that this morning, this text that is before us, that Peter penned through the power of the Holy Spirit that carried him along, we ask that you would help us to glean all that we can glean this morning from it, O Lord. I ask that you give me strength for me to be able to cover this section, these verses, Lord, with clarity. And Lord, just for our hearts to rejoice in knowing you and the reality that you are coming again Lord, I do pray that you be with those that are sick that could not be here. I ask that you would comfort them where they are at. Heal them, O Lord. Help them to recover. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. All right, 2 Peter 1, verses 16-18. And actually what I will do is I will read verses 16 through 21 so that we can get a better feel for where Peter's going. I'll be true to Scripture and in line with the previous study, the theology of remembering. And I will also, which is my common practice in these studies, to recap, to remind, to go through. Where is Peter coming from and to where is Peter going? So get a good picture of the verses and within the context. So 2 Peter 1.16. through 21. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made sure to which you would 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. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but man moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Amen. There's a lot there. And like I said, I was going to cover 16 through 21. That's not gonna happen. 16 through 18 is what we'll cover this morning. And from the opening verses of this letter, though, as way of reminder of this chapter, even so, we see Peter making some declarative truths about our salvation, about godly living, about sanctification. But even before that, his credentials are not to be overlooked, bondservant and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. And being an apostle will have a direct impact to what we will cover today. There is a heaviness to that title, a weight, a privilege to the title of apostle, one who has been called by God, by Christ to follow after him in a special, unique way in his ministry. As a way of illustration, you know, our current president has the title of the president of the United States, and there is some weight to that. There are certain things that only he can see, or make decisions on, He will make the decisions on. He has a privilege. But you see, that title doesn't carry the same weight as bondservant, as apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. It pales in comparison. And so Peter, after making that declaration of who he is, a presentation of who he is, he reminds us of the mighty work that our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, has accomplished for us, our salvation. He's saying that we have escaped the corruption that is in the world. And this corruption is because of their lusting. They're lusting after the very things that are evil, the very things that are corrupting, and will one day perish along with them. But as already mentioned, Peter says, that is not so with you. It is not so with me either. For we have been granted eternal life. And we have been granted the ability to live godly lives from the corrupting world. We have been granted precious promises that are magnificent, he says. Promises that are real and true because they belong to the God who cannot lie. These promises are the very words of God as found within scripture that pertain to you and me in Christ. And so by taking a hold of these promises by faith, Peter says it is by them that you become partakers of the divine nature. Meaning they testify what is true of you. You belong to God. There is a common bond, a unity between you and the divine. You don't become a god, you become more like Christ. And so you become more like Christ by the power and through the power of the Holy Spirit in your life. And as that takes place, you begin adding to your faith, Peter says. And this adding, it's not a works-based approach to your salvation. Rather, it is an outflow because of you becoming a partaker of the divine nature. And so you, being a useful, and fruitful bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says you diligently and fervently add to your faith these qualities and these qualities that he speaks of are ones that are to already be yours, ones that are to be increasing, and they are these, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. You see, this is the outflow, this is the result, this is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working within us. believers and so we are to be reminded of these things he says lest we be like the man in verse 9 who is blind and short-sighted that has forgotten his purification from his former sins and that is a warning it's a warning indeed you see Peter is ever going to remind them that making God's calling and choosing you is not a one-time event rather you and I are to be diligent and in working out our salvation in such a way that it points to the one to whom we belong. And the very one who has chosen us for his great purposes and called us by his excellence and glory, follow me. And so if we are persevering, we persevere through suffering, yes. And we fight the fight of faith, yes. We make war with sin, yes. And we take heaven by storm, yes. If we practice these things, Peter says that we will never stumble as to fall away forever. Rather, there is this great entrance, he says, into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is abundantly supplied to you. This is not a hand-me-down. This is something that our King will richly supply to you. eternal kingdom where there is an eternal King well that kind of leads us to our text here in verse 16 I know it may be difficult to see the connection, but work with me on this. How do we know that this eternal kingdom exists? How do we know that there is a king of the kingdom? And if there is a king of the kingdom, we cannot enter in, though. We know that. We cannot enter in, based on Scripture, and this is where Peter's getting at, that there is a king, there is a kingdom, and this king is coming. And if we are to enter into this kingdom, how are we going to enter into this kingdom without Him extending an invitation? Brethren, there is an eternal kingdom, and there is only one most beautiful king, to which the Spirit and the Bride, they say, come. Come, Lord Jesus. And what a description we have in Revelation 19, verses 7 through 9. I want to read that because I think it really brings a good picture of what Peter's getting at. Let us rejoice and exalt and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. It has granted to her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure. For the linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these, these are the true words of God. And so we see that there is a king coming, the bridegroom for his bride, the church. And we see that there is going to be a supper, a supper with the Lamb of God. And he says that these words are true because these words are the words of God. This has very much to do with our text that lies before us. And really, both the New and Old Testaments are filled with this kind of language, this coming of this bridegroom, of coming after his bride. Isaiah 54, 5, For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth is The whole earth, he is called. In Isaiah 62, 5, it says, as the bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. But let us proceed to ask this question, when? When? When will this all take place? And in one sense, it has taken place spiritually, meaning in our hearts, but the fullness of times has not happened yet. The summing up of all things in Christ to the end where we also will be glorified with Him, glorified and being with Him and seeing Him face to face. And what I mean by that is this, we await the day of the Lord to come. That's what we're longing for. We're longing for Jesus Christ to come. And we wait for the king to come and walk with his bride into his kingdom, the place prepared for her, so that where he is, she may be also beautiful. Yes, Christ came the first time. We know of that. We just celebrated Christmas, the birth of Christ coming in the flesh. But he is coming again. We call that the second coming, or the parousia, a Greek word for meaning the splendid arrival of a dignitary or king. What a beautiful term that is, and what a beautiful picture that is. You could just see that. It is to this that Peter is turning his attention to for the sake of his readers and us. A magnificent text lies before us this morning, brethren. In the first 15 verses, Peter is reminding the saints of who they are and what they are to be about, and stirring them up by way of reminder. And this is quite the stir for me and hopefully for you also, though. But what Peter is doing here in verses 16 through 21 is defending the truth of the coming of Christ. He's defending the truth of the coming of Christ, the second coming. And if we would read the rest of the letter, we would quite plainly see that this was something that the false teachers were teaching against, claiming that there is no future coming of Jesus Christ. He's not coming, is the teaching of the false teachers. In 2 Peter 3, verse 3 and 4, and Peter, he really, He gives a lot of time in chapter three on this very theme. And so we'll cover that when we get there. But in 2 Peter 3, verse three and four, he says this, know this first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. And so this is the accusation. And with this kind of false teaching that there is no second coming of Christ, that all will continue as it always has, it really carries with it some implications or effects of that way of thinking. One of which goes like this, if there is no second coming, well then what? There is no judgment. And so if there is no judgment, then all that Peter and the apostles are teaching are irrelevant. The pursuit after godliness and being granted entrance into the eternal kingdom are no longer important. They're not needed. That's just one of the implications. But these false teachers had their hearts filled, Peter says, with greed. and their eyes filled with sin, and we'll cover that when we get to chapter two, that they had corrupt desires, and they escaped their notice that the Word of God stands, that the Word of God is true. Well, in the next six verses, Peter will demonstrate or defend the truth of the second coming of Christ. I have entitled the study, He is Coming, and that's part one, as we'll cover and will follow Peter's line of thought, he will actually argue against the false teaching by making an appeal to his eyewitness account, and I say it's an eyewitness and earwitness account, and secondly, the prophetic word. And so I've really broken it up, this he is coming, into two parts. One is his eyewitness account, eye and earwitness account, and second, the prophetic word. We won't be able to cover the first part this morning, and then the second part next time. So we're going to cover the eyewitness account that Peter brings forth in verses 16 through 18 to defend the reality, the truth, the glorious truth that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming. And that is true, brethren. His promise stands, and we'll go through that. Well, beginning in verse 16, we see that the false teachers had a name for what Peter and the apostles taught regarding the coming of Christ. They had a name for that form of teaching, that way of teaching. And in the Greek, it's muthios, or the Greek word mythos, the root word of that, mythos. Where do we get that from? Myth. It's a myth. They're saying it's a myth. It's a fable. Now we are familiar with Greek mythology, and we know that these myths actually include stories about the Greek gods which are not true, but the main point of the story carried a message that was probably helpful for that day. Myth can also mean a fable. In other words, there is nothing true in the story. It is all fantasy and for entertainment and not necessarily any message or truth for every day that is found in it. Well, the false teachers more aligned with this second meaning of the word myth. They didn't find or attribute any bit of truth to the teaching of the apostles on this subject. Regarding the second coming of Christ, they ridiculed it as a cleverly devised fable, a cunningly invented tale, a make-believe of a story with a cunning objective, to have at its root really a moral control over people through fear. This is how the false teacher described the teaching of the apostles regarding the second coming of Christ. But this doesn't just go away. It's even happening now. It happened in the past. It was during the time of the prophets in the Old Testament. Similar accusations were brought forth, were made against Jeremiah and even Ezekiel in their time, even going back to Noah and building the ark. One example from the Old Testament, Ezekiel 20, verse 49, he says, then I said, ah, Lord God, they are saying of me, is he not just speaking parables? In other words, just these stories, not any truth. He's not speaking the Word of God. And so it was during Peter's day as well. The false teachers were teaching, he says, destructive heresies in chapter 2 verse 1. Something that Paul dealt with as well in 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 17 and 18 regarding, I don't know if I can pronounce this, and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some." You see, they're claiming that resurrection has already taken place. Well, Peter responds with an emphatic, no, that is not true. We did not make up stories, and what we teach is not something that is based on clever myths that we made up. And although we know that the apostles never made up stories and what they taught were always true, we see here that Peter is really narrowing it down to the specific accusation of these false teachers. He said, we have made known to you. We have made known to you. And by the way, if you look at that word, may known to you, in the Greek, that word there, to be may known, to be told, is to really be understood as we shared with you a divine mystery. We shared with you a divine mystery. Same word used when the shepherd said, let us go quickly and see this thing that the Lord has may known to us. meaning the birth of Christ. Or when Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 verse 26, he says, and I have made your name known to them and will make it known so that the love with which you love me may be in them and I in them. You see, it's the divine mystery here that's being portrayed. And so Peter says, we have made known to you about the power and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We didn't make it up. He says, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Now, several questions may be going through your minds, probably as it went through mine, one of which goes like this. I thought you said, me, that this is referring to the second coming of Christ. How is it then that Peter is stating here as a defense of the second coming that they, the apostles, were eyewitnesses of his majesty? You follow that line of thought? Does that make sense what I'm saying? How is it that I'm saying and that Most scholars, commentators, will say that this is talking about the second coming of Christ, and then yet Peter says, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Where's the connection there? Well, we're going to get through that, okay? Later on, today, this morning. But first I want to share with you something, really, that has really challenged me in this verse. And hopefully will challenge you as well, or maybe already has. And that is this. Jesus Christ is coming. Not just any coming. You see, Peter describes it as a powerful coming of Christ. A powerful coming of Christ. Those two words both add color and a vivid picture to what is going to happen. The Lord Jesus Christ coming in power. A glorious reality, brethren. But what challenged me is that I realized that it was a little over a quarter of a century Let's say about around 30 years since Christ had ascended into heaven. Peter being one of the eyewitnesses of that glorious event in which the angels spoke, and I read from Acts, O men of Galilee, why do you look up there in the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, he's going to come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven. He's going to come back. Oh, what a sight that would have been. So the ascension happened, right? And here they are, and what are they, what are they, what are the apostles doing? What are they doing? They are preaching and teaching this main theme. Peter says there in verse 16, We made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In all His splendor and glory, He is coming, and this is what we are about. He's returning physically in bodily form, and all eyes shall see Him and you will either rejoice with joy unspeakable because of his love that rests upon you, or you will mourn with a dreadful mourn because he comes with vengeance and his judgment rests on you. And this is what they were teaching, that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming and then it will be the end. And Paul even details that out in 1 Thessalonians and throughout the New Testament, we see that. And sure, the Lord had made it clear to Paul. However, this is not something that was hidden and not revealed. As a matter of fact, if we look in the Old Testament, the Old Testament looked forward to the day of the Lord, as it was normally phrased. A day when He would reveal Himself in all His glory. He will come to redeem His bride, and at the same time judge the wicked. And regarding that day, the day of the Lord, Peter mentions and he reminds us in chapter 3, verse 10, he says, it will be like a thief. The heavens will pass. All things will be destroyed by fire and burned up. And so in the next verse, he preaches, he admonishes his readers and he says this, he says, well, since all these things are going to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people are you to be? How should I be? How should you be? We ought to be ones that are holy in conduct and living in godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, brethren, the apostles were teaching it then, and their mindset every day of their life was this. I mean, he just ascended, and what are they preaching? He's coming. He ascended, he's coming. There's not a delay. There's not a pause period where you can just relax. And so their mindset every day of their life was this. He's coming. This thought permeated. It filled their minds. And that thought had everything to do with how they lived their life on this earth. And so I was challenged. I was challenged with the thought, how much am I living in light of this truth that Jesus Christ is coming? You see, at times, I know me, and I'm guilty. I'm guilty of trying to build treasures that moth and rust will destroy. I was actually just recently reminded of that very thing this past year, 2021. We lost about a handful of beehives. And the reason why? Because the moths, they came in and they destroyed the bees. The whole hive, completely gone by moths. I came and told my wife, this treasure moth destroyed. Other treasures rust, destroy. The only true treasure is in heaven, where Christ is. Brethren, sell everything and buy that field. Set your gaze on Christ. Look for and eagerly await His coming. When writing about the second coming in heaven, Thomas Brooks says this to Puritan. He says, Christians, if you did really believe and seriously dwell on this, meaning the coming of Christ, you would, one, walk more thankfully. Two, work more cheerfully. You would suffer more patiently. You would fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil more courageously. You would lay out for yourselves. Lay out yourselves for God, His interest and glory more freely. You would live with what providence hath cut out for your portion more quietly and contentedly, and you would be in private prayer more frequently and abundantly. Oh Lord, help us. So brethren, let us be more mindful and be those who are walking, that are talking, that are thinking, that are acting, that are working in light of this truth. For it is not a fable. He is coming. And I understand that this life is not smooth sailing. I get it. Scripture gets it. God gets it. That there are turbulent waters, that there are times where all you can do is drop your anchor down and pray to the Lord for faith and strength in the situation you find yourself in. But brethren, as Peter mentions in this first letter, he says, but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation, at the revelation of His glory, the second coming, that you may rejoice with exaltation. There it is. May the Lord really help us in this. want to take us back to the thought that maybe I thought you all had about this verse. Namely, why is Peter making this claim that he and the apostles were eyewitnesses of his majesty when he's defending the second coming of Christ? Did they already see the second coming of Christ? Or what's going on here? What is Peter talking about? I think that we see it in the next two verses that he is clearly referring to the transfiguration. But then another question may come to mind. What is it about the transfiguration that has to do with the second coming of Christ? Where's the connection there? Well, according to Peter, there's a lot there. There is a connection there. And let us walk through these two remaining verses and see where Peter's taking his readers and us as well. And I'm going to try to speed it up. But I think you may already see it, but hopefully, at the end of the study, you will see the connection. To me, it is rather profound. Actually, more than that, I think it is such an act of kindness and really remarkable how the Holy Spirit carries Peter along or moves him to pen this for us here today. So, verse 16. We see Peter at the end of verse 16 that he says that they were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Let's pause for a moment and take a look at that word, majesty. This word depicts high honor. It's speaking of a divine rather than human majesty. All three uses of this word in the Greek Old Testament, which is called the subtuagent, the LXX, somebody will use, speak of the majesty or the greatness of God. In Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 26, he says this, In Psalm 21 5, Psalm 145 5, Splendor of your majesty and on your wonderful works, I will meditate. Well, in the New Testament, it's actually used twice. The first time, interestingly enough, it is recorded by Luke right after the transfiguration, when the nine disciples who remained down from the mountain couldn't remove the demon out of the boy. And Jesus did, and it says, Luke recorded for us, that they were all amazed at the greatness of God, the majesty of God in Christ Jesus. And it's interesting because He was just declared, it was just the majestic glory, and his majesty that Peter, James, and John saw on the mountain, and then he comes down and the people declare it. Everyone is amazed at his majesty of what just took place. Well, the second usage is actually when Demetrius, the silversmith, and this goes to show that it has to do with a divine majesty, not a human majesty. When Demetrius, the silversmith, who made silver shrines for the goddess Artemis, Diana, states that this Jesus is a danger to his business, to Demetrius' business. But most of all, he's a danger to Artemis, and that she will be dethroned from her majesty. Same word, her majesty. But you see here, Peter says that they were eyewitnesses of His majesty, the majesty of Christ. And this is not a celebrity sighting. This is not a, I got to get this close to this professional. Basketball player or whatever or I shook his hand and I remember in high school somebody never wanted to wash their hands because they touched another superstars hand Ridiculous, this is the Lord of lords and this is the king of kings. There's nothing nor anyone that could compare to his majesty there is one king and he is majestic and He is impressive. He is glorious. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is his name. And Peter says that he and the apostles were an eyewitness of this. Something credible. Something that other writers such as Paul and John use as their defense against false teaching as well. In 1 Corinthians 15, in regards to the resurrection, Paul says that there was the resurrection and appearance of Christ. who came to so many people, and he works down the list, and then he says that finally, ultimately, to the untimely born one, me, says Paul. He came to me. And so he's using this eyewitness account as well. 1 John 1. What was from the beginning, what we hear, what we have seen, what we have looked at and touched with our hands concerning the word of life, we proclaim to you. That which we saw, heard, touched, we proclaim to you. And so we see this, we see this eyewitness account throughout scripture, but let's move to the more detailed description and commentary by Peter regarding the transfiguration. As a side note, nowhere does Peter say or mention the word transfiguration. However, with reference to and when he says the utterance and when he says the holy mountain, it is a giveaway, especially when you have the gospels that support that very event. So Peter says that we, meaning he along with James and John, went up the mountain with Jesus. This event, this transfiguration, the transfiguration is recorded in actually in all three gospels, and alluded to in the 4th Gospel of John 1, verse 14, where it's written, But in the three Gospels, we have similarity. And if we would turn to Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9, we would see these similarities. I'm going to read for you just the particular verse that Peter quotes in his letter in regards to The Transfiguration. In Matthew 17.5, Matthew writes, while he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him. Mark says, then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, this is my beloved son, listen to him. Luke, who has the longest account of this, says, Now I want to make a brief note here, because what is interesting is that all three of the writers in the Gospels, before they give the account of the transfiguration, are talking about or bringing forth what Christ was talking to them about His coming and glory. So just before they give the account of the transfiguration, you can go back and read it, Jesus is talking about the Son of Man coming in glory. Keep that in mind. Why Peter is connecting the two as well. And so this event Peter describes yet in his own words, which is probably closest to Matthew's account, but leaves out the listen to him portion. Peter doesn't include that. You see what Peter says. He says that what they heard said was this, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. He doesn't include the portion, listen to him. that all the other three mention. And this is probably because what Peter is doing here is defending the second coming of Christ and bringing into light the honor and glory of Christ and not primarily or necessarily the teaching ministry of Christ. Or as one commentator put it, Peter was not emphasizing that Jesus is superior to the law and the prophets. Although there are some similarities between the four written accounts, the three Gospels and Peter's, what we have here is most likely what Peter recalls from memory. Why? Because he was an eyewitness. That's why. I mean, who would ever forget that kind of experience? On the mountain, the transfiguration, he remembered it, and so much so that he is drawing on that experience to defend the coming of Christ. But see with me how Peter describes this eyewitness experience. He begins by saying that Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father. This is referring to the honor as it pertains to the words that were actually spoken by God the Father giving honor to the Son. And the glory was referring to the transformation that had taken place before their eyes. Luke says, where his face became different. Matthew says, like the sun. Mark says, nothing. He doesn't say anything about the face. And then he says about the clothing. Luke says, his clothing became white and gleaming. Matthew says it was as light. Mark says his garments became radiant and exceedingly white as no launderer on earth can whiten them. You gotta love that description by Luke. That's beautiful. And by the way, not to miss this important fact that Luke records for us, he writes, and while he was praying, the appearance of his face became different. while he was praying, as to say, and putting great emphasis on the importance and the privilege of prayer. But there, a transformation on that mountain has taken place that made Christ shine with such radiance and beauty. Words are insufficient because these fleshly eyes and mind cannot behold. And the glory that they saw was not a reflecting glory, meaning there wasn't a light that was shining on Christ from or by the majestic glory. No, this glory, this light was coming from Him. He was producing this glory. And some cross references I actually ran across in the commentary for us to meditate on, just to catch a glimpse. of the glory of Christ. This light that was shining was shining from Christ. And it was like the light that the people were so afraid of when they saw it flashing from Mount Sinai and they cried to Moses, you speak to us and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die, they say. this glory, this light, or it was like the light, like the pillar of fire that led the Israelites in the wilderness and terrified their enemies. But most beautiful, though, is this is not like that light. This is the light which will shine in the new Jerusalem. The city will need no sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God will illumine it. The lamp is the lamb. And what about that honor? What about that honor that he received? It was by the majestic glory. A word from God. A word from God. And keep that in mind for the next study that we're going to do. That was a word from God on that holy mountain. But instead of some commentators They go back and forth. Is it by the majestic glory? Is it from the majestic glory? Which one is it, right? Some see it by, some see it from, majority see it by, but thinking that Peter is probably referring to the, if it's from, he's referring to the glory cloud that's surrounded. them there on that mountain. And we do well to remember that the glory cloud, as it led the Israelites in the wilderness, it was the presence of God in the cloud. And when the cloud moved, they moved. When the cloud stopped, they stopped. In the hot desert, the cloud provided shade. What a provision. What a God. And so either way, you could take it by or from the majestic glory. I think we need to look past that and just see Peter is referring to God the Father that is speaking and making a declaration for the sake of, for the benefit of the disciples. Jesus already knew this. Elijah and Moses on the mountain surely knew this. Now, yes, they were talking, Elijah, Moses, and Jesus, about what will come, the suffering that He will take place. But unlike the voice at the baptism of Christ, this utterance was spoken publicly. And by the way, notice how Luke describes Elijah and Moses, that they were appearing in glory, in splendor, he says. Not insignificant, but because we too shall be like them, but their description, their description doesn't contain the space nor the amount of words needed to come close, not even to come close to that of the glory of Christ that's described by Peter, by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The voice they heard was the voice of God. He said that this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. And in the Greek, Peter writes it very distinctly and different than the writers of the gospel. Really, both the NASB and the ESV, they miss this point here. Because in the Greek, Peter places a pronoun before son and a pronoun before beloved. As where the rest combined it to, my beloved son. But no, Peter says it's, in the Greek, my son, my beloved. And this is probably another reference to Jesus. It is, as the only son of God, the unique and one of a kind of son that has to come to fulfill a purpose, the plan of redemption. He's referring possibly to Abraham and Isaac as well. Think about it. Three times the Lord mentions to Abraham the phrase, your son, your only son. And we see this utterance somewhat in Isaiah 42 verse 1 as well, where Isaiah writes, But I really think the strongest commentary to this is really Psalm 2, all of it, but especially verses 6 through 12. And I just want to quickly read that for you because I think we can see a bigger picture here. Psalm 2, 6 through 12. But as for me, I have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me, you are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will surely give the nations as your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earthenware. Now therefore, O kings, show discernment. Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son that he may not become angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are those who take refuge in him. This is the king. This is the Son of Man. This is the Servant Son who fulfills all the prophecies and promises throughout the ages. He shares or partakes of that same majestic glory that has spoken on that holy mountain. The Father is well pleased with Him because in Him, in Christ, and through Christ, because of Christ, redemption is made possible to all those who believe in Him. And brethren, redemption is not complete until we are with our Redeemer. And in order to be with Him, He needs to come back. And so according to the Holy Scriptures, He is coming back. And oh, what a glorious day that will truly be when He comes back. Well, Peter continues in verse 18 there, the last verse that we'll look at, in almost repetitive fashion. He makes it a point to let his readers know that not only were they eyewitnesses, but also earwitnesses. They could have remained just as eyewitnesses, but the Father wanted to make it clear. He gave meaning to what they saw. He spoke and confirmed that this is the One that all of Scripture speaks of and points to. This is the Son of God. This is the Son of Man. My Beloved, the Messiah, the Anointed One. This is Him. And so Peter states that they themselves heard, they heard with their ears this utterance made from heaven and this took place on the holy mountain. And I love that description there, the holy mountain. Brethren, what makes a mountain holy or sacred? What made Mount Sinai a holy mountain? Was it the height of the mountain? Was it the vegetation? Was it the cliffs? Was it the water? Was it the snow-filled peaks? What is it? It was the presence of the divine. It was God. God makes a mountain holy. And on that holy mountain they heard and saw firsthand. And this holds, this brings with it great authority and validity to what is being taught by the apostles regarding the second coming of Christ. there were three witnesses to this. And so we see that the transfiguration really prefigures or points to and anticipates the glory of Christ at His resurrection, but more so to the glory that He now has as the ruling and reigning King at the right hand of the Father. A glory that will not vanish as it did after they came down from that mountain. Not that He wasn't glorious, but not yet glorified. But now he has been glorified, and the glory with which he will return when he comes again." What Peter's writing is this, he said, I saw a glimpse, I saw a sliver of His glory like I have never seen before nor after. And I know that what I saw and the honor that was given, what I heard with my ears was a confirmation of what the Word of God has been saying all along. He is coming in power and glory. Peter is writing to his readers, urging them to listen to what they are teaching them regarding the coming of Christ. The false teachers are wrong, he says. They're completely wrong. And so we also, they and we also, will do well to listen to what Peter is writing here. I'll end with one comment by Thomas Schreiner in his commentary on 2 Peter. A very good commentary, by the way. He says, While Jesus goes to the cross, God reveals the future glory that would belong to Jesus. A prophecy of what is to come, meaning the second coming. or meaning in the transfiguration, this glory will be manifested publicly at its future coming. And Peter rightly appealed to it to defend the powerful coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so together, what do we say? We say, Maranatha, come, Lord Jesus. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you for this time, how rich your word truly is. We thank you that you have revealed yourself to actual eyewitnesses, earwitnesses, and that they penned these things because they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. It is for our good, for our benefit. Let us take a hold of these truths, Lord, and apply them to our lives, to live our lives in light of the very fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming. Blessed be His name. Amen.