The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Peter — Section 18

lamp, till the faller light of day dnwns upon ceeded. Therefore the prophetio book■ or the ~oul, ns !be. believer, led by the pro- Holy Scripture 11re snored au<.! precious, e.nd phelio word, realizes the personal knowledge we do well in giving heed to them; though c,f the Lord, and he manifests himself ac- the day-stnr of the Lord's own preseuoe, c-ording to his blessed promises to the heart shining in the illuminated heart, is holier that longs for his snored presence. He is still. Other views of this clifficult po.ssage tl1c Brig·ht and l\Iorning Star, the Day-star, are : Prophecy is not its own interpreter ; the Light-bringer; for he is the Light of the the guidance of the Spirit is necessary. Or, world-he brings the light, the full light of pi-ophecy is not a matter for the private in- day. The prophetic word is precious; it terpretation of the reo.ders; only the Holy sheds light upon tbe surrounding darkness Spirit can explain it. But the explanation -the darkness of ignora.noe, the darkness of adopted seems most accordant with the Greek the heart tbo.t ln1ows not Christ; but its light words 1md with the general sense of the is ns the light of a torch or a lamp, com- context(compare St. Paul's teaching in l Cor. pared with the pervading dnylight which xii. 10). The gifts of the Spirit are divided the felt prcsen<'e of Christ sheds into those as he will; to oue man are given "divers hearts into which God hath shined to give .l.·inds of tongues; to another the interpreta- the light of the knowledge of the glory of tion of tongues." Not every one, it seems, God in the face of Jesus Christ (comp. who had the first gift, had also the latter. l Pet. ii. ,9; Luke i. 7S). Some under- Tongues and the interpretation of tongues stand "day" here of the great day of the were two distinct gifts. It may be so with Lord. Al?'ainst this interpretation is the propheoy and the interpretation of pro- absence of tl1e article, and the fact that phecy. !he last words of the verse seem to give a Ver. 21.-For the prophecy came not in subjective meaning to the passage. old time by the will of man; lite1·ally, for Ver. 20.-Xnowing this first, that no pro- not by the u:ill of man u:aa pophf!cy borna at phecy of the Scripture is of any private any time. The verb is that alxeady used in interpretation. By "knowing this first" vers. 17, 18, "was not borne or brought;" (-y,v,I,,r,coJPTES) is meant that ws run.st recog- it refers not to the utterance of prophecy, nize this truth as of priml,,ry importance, but to its origin-it came from heaven. llut or, before we (',0mmence th<l shldy of pro- holy men of God spake as they were moved phecy ; the phrase occurs again in eh. iii. 3. by the Holy Ghost; literally, but being borne The literal translation of the following °" by the Holy Ghost, the holy men of God, clause is, "that all prophecy of Scripture spake; or, if we follow the Vatican Manu- [there is no article] is not;" "1111 ••• not" script, "But being borne on by the Holy (1ra,ra . . . ov) being a common Hebraism Ghost, men spake from Goel." We have for none, ouoeµia; but the verb is not l,n,, again the same verb, " being borne on " "is," but -ylveTai, "becomes, arises, comes into (,Pep&µ,110,); comp. Acts xxvii. 15, 17, where being." The word for "pri ve.te" is ll'ilcu, it is used of a ship being borne on by the "special," or commonly, "one's own" (see wind. So the propbets were borne on in 1 Pet. iii. 1, 5; eh. ii. 16, 22; iii 3, 16, 17). theirvrophetio utterance by the Holy Spirit The word rendered "interpretation" is i1r1- of God. They were truly and really inspired. ,\v,rew,, which is found nowhere else in the The mode of that inspiration is not ex- Kew Testament; the corresponding verb plained; perhaps it cannot be made plain to occurs in Mark iv. M, "He expounded all our human understanding; all the points of things ; " and Acts xix. 39, " It shall be contact between the finite and the Infinite determined or settled." These considera- are involved in mystery. But the fact is tions, strengthened by the context, seem to clearly revealed-the prophets were borne guide us to the followi!lg explanation: No on by the Holy Spirit of God. This is not, prophecy of Scripture arises from the pro- as some have fancied, the language of phet's own interpretation of the vision pre- Montanism. Prophecy is but a le.mp shining senttd to bis mind; for it was from God that in a dark place; it is not the day-star. the prophecy was brought, and men spoke Prophecy came not by the will of man; the as tliey were borne on by the Holy Spirit. prophets were moved or borne on by the This view of the passage is al.so supported Holy Ghost. But St. Peter does not say that Ly tJ.e remarknble parallel in the First their human consciousness was suspended, Epistle (L 10-12). The prophets searched or that they were passive as the lyre when diligently into the meaning of the revela- swept by the plectrum. He.d this passage tion vouchsafed to them ; they did not been written after the rise of Montaniem always comprel,end it in all its details; they early in the second century, the writer, if a could not interpret it to themselves; tlie Monte.nist, would have so.id more; if not e. written prophecy arose out of the interpret.a.- llfontanist, he would h11ve carefully guo.rded tion of the 1·e,,ele.tion supplied by the san:e his worcls from possible misunderstauding, Spirit from whom the revelation itself pro- en. t. 1-21.J TIIE SECOND EPIS1'Lt GENERAL OF PETER. 11