A More Sure Word

Life is filled with amazing experiences.  The greatest and most memorable experiences occur when a man has an encounter with the Living God who created him.  Whilst experiences do much to build faith in the life of a Christian, they can never be repeated.  We cannot feel how we felt at that time, nor can we re-create the situation upon our whim.  Look back all you want, but you cannot go back.  This is a good thing, or else a lot of Christians might be tempted to remain at Elim (an oasis in the wilderness mentioned in Ex. 15:27) when the inheritance God has given to us remains unclaimed over Jordan.

Peter had such an experience when Jesus was transfigured before him.  Peter was overwhelmed as he saw Jesus in glory, conversing with Moses and Elijah on the mount.  Unsure of what to say, Peter made a suggestion that if Jesus agreed, they should build three tabernacles on the mountain:  one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.  He wanted to establish a memorial of this miraculous scene before his eyes.  He never wanted to forget what he saw.  But then something happened.  Matthew 17:5-6 tells us, "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" ⁶ And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid."  It is clear that Peter's suggestion was not led by the Spirit, for as he was going on about constructing these tabernacles the voice of God the Father boomed, "The is My beloved Son!"  The disciples fell on their faces, rising only after Jesus touched them and invited them to stand.  They headed down the mountain, having had an encounter with God.  God's will was not that they build monuments to their experience, but having been changed by their unforgettable encounter to head down the mountain, serving God and others.

Peter would later write of his experience in his second epistle, and he said something which I find amazing.  2 Peter 1:16-21 reads in the KJV:  "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."  One might think that the experience of the transfiguration would be heralded among the greatest spiritual experiences.  To see Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah on the mount, and to hear the audible voice of God speak forth His approval and pleasure in His Son Jesus, would have been stunning proof of Jesus as Christ and His divinity.  That is not what Peter says.  He did not write this in a hope to recreate the glory of that night - or with the wish that others could have experienced it as well.  He was an eyewitness of God's glory, and he heard with his ears the voice of God.  Yet Peter says, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy...." Allow that to sink in for a moment.  More trustworthy than Peter's ears, more established than the audible voice of God from heaven, is the surety of the scriptures written for us, dictated through men by the Holy Spirit.  Wow.

There are no shortage of people who are convinced they have heard God speak.  There are many people who are hailed as prophets by their loyal followers.  We have sure words of prophecy concerning Christ all throughout the Bible, the Word of God.  Peter says, "Ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place..."  The scriptures are sure and steadfast.  It is God-breathed and through the Bible we can know with full assurance truth from error.  Do not think that I am minimising the importance of experiences.  We are to experience the presence and fullness of God every day!  When we have experiences - even if we see God's glory and hear His voice audibly - we are not to idolise such manifestations.  May we all have them as He wills!  God desires we fall before Him in reverent worship, and to rise at His leading and come down from that mountain top so we might be of use to Him in the foothills and valleys, in all seasons of life.  For the rest of his life Peter was greatly enriched by his experience on the mountain with Jesus.  But he viewed the scriptures as a more sure word of prophesy than his own eye-witness account.

May experiences of the power and glory of God and the sure words of prophecy committed unto us have their rightful place in our lives!   We live in a dark place, and His Word is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our paths.  Through God's Word we see Jesus, the Hope of Glory, in everlasting light and power.  On the road to Emmaus, Jesus did not appeal to the signs and wonders of the reality of the resurrected Messiah, but went to the authority of the scriptures.  Interesting, isn't it?  Jesus could have turned stones into bread, healed an illness, or told the men exactly what was hidden in their hearts or past.  He chose to affirm His resurrection and presence with the Word.  Luke 24:25-27 says, "Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."  No bright light, no booming voice from heaven.  Jesus used the light of God's Word and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit to appeal to the hearts and minds of those grieving men.  Jesus would ultimately reveal Himself to the men in His way of breaking bread.  The way Jesus broke the loaves was one thing, but how much more wonderful was the way He pulled apart the Words of Life and gave to each as they had need through expounding the scripture.  Does not God's Word satisfy?