{"id":56007,"date":"2025-05-26T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/?p=56007"},"modified":"2025-05-21T08:40:38","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T15:40:38","slug":"a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\/","title":{"rendered":"A Light Shining in a Dark Place"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In Peter\u2019s second epistle, he likens the message of the prophets to a \u201clight shining in a dark place.\u201d His readers are to remain fixated on the light as a true and trustworthy guide as they await the coming of Christ. Let\u2019s learn more about the light in this passage with some help from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product\/38400\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NIV Application Commentary on the Bible: One-Volume Edition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#dadada\">This new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product\/38400\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one-volume commentary<\/a> on the whole Bible is an abridgement of the award-winning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product\/77399\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NIV Application Commentary<\/a> series. This edition distills the best of the 44-volume series, keeping the commentary concise and maintaining the high standards of the original series. If you\u2019re interested in this line of titles, then make sure to check out the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product\/40510\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NIV Application Bible<\/a> too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Passage: 2 Peter 1:16\u201321<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, \u201cThis is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.\u201d We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet\u2019s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Original Meaning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Peter\u2019s Eyewitness Testimony to the Parousia (vv. 16\u201318).<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter shifts from the first-person singular he used in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A12-15&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verses 12\u201315<\/a> (\u201cI will always remind you . . . I think it right . . . I will make every effort\u201d) to the first-person plural in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A16-18&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verses 16\u201318<\/a>. This \u201cwe\u201d must refer to Peter and other apostles, since it was only they who were eyewitnesses of the transfiguration. Peter\u2019s point is that the fact of Christ\u2019s transfiguration, and thus also the belief that he will come again, rests on the testimony of several apostolic eyewitnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter\u2019s reminder about the apostolic proclamation of the return of Christ may be the center of the verse grammatically, but the key point he wants to get across comes in the contrasting qualifications of this assertion: the apostles made known the return of Christ not in following \u201ccleverly devised stories\u201d but in being \u201ceyewitnesses of his majesty.\u201d \u201cStories\u201d translates the Greek word mythos (from which we get \u201cmyth\u201d). This Greek word had a broad range of meaning, but the meaning most relevant to our verse is the sense \u201cfictional account, fable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter is not content simply to deny that the apostles\u2019 teaching about Christ\u2019s return was built on a myth, but he asserts positively that the teaching is the direct product of eyewitness testimony. It was on that occasion, as Peter puts it, that Christ \u201creceived honor and glory from God the Father\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A17&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 17a<\/a>). Christ\u2019s exalted status is indicated in the transfiguration events especially by the accompanying signs and by the voice from heaven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter was on the mountain to hear the voice, and thus it is reasonable to think that Peter is quoting the words from memory. The voice from heaven identifies Jesus as both Messiah and Suffering Servant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>Ear-witnesses<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A18&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verse 18<\/a>, he reminds his readers that he was an \u201cear-witness\u201d: \u201cWe ourselves heard this voice.\u201d As the Gospel accounts make clear, the \u201cwe\u201d here includes Peter, James, and John (see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=Mark+9%3A2&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mark 9:2<\/a> and parallels). Jesus selected these three from among the apostolic band so that they might be \u201cwith him on the sacred mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why does Peter allude to the transfiguration to confirm the truth of Jesus\u2019s return in glory? The transfiguration reveals Jesus as the glorious king, and Peter was there to see it. He therefore has utter confidence that Jesus will return as the glorious king and establish his kingdom in its final and ultimate form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Testimony of the Prophets to the Parousia (vv. 19\u201321).<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The reliability of revelation is the idea that links <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A16-18&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verses 16\u201318<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A19-21&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verses 19\u201321<\/a>. Peter, James, and John can testify to the revelation of Christ\u2019s glory in the transfiguration. But also testifying to Christ\u2019s glorious appearance at the end of history are the prophets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Confidence in the reliability of the prophetic word should lead to a firm adherence to its teaching. Consequently, Peter urges his readers to \u201cpay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A19&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 19b<\/a>). The comparison of God\u2019s word to a light is common in Scripture. Peter wants his readers to pay attention to the prophetic word \u201cuntil the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A19&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 19c<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A21&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verse 21<\/a> Peter reinforces what he has said about the origin of prophecy in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Pet+1%3A20&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">verse 20<\/a>. The belief that the prophets spoke for God is, of course, basic to the Scriptures. Peter is not denying that the prophecies were genuinely the words of the prophets themselves, men who consciously chose their words in accordance with their own vocabulary, style, and circumstances. What Peter does affirm, however, is that the words they chose to use were also the words that God wanted them to use to communicate the message he intended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Application.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>On the inspiration of Scripture.<\/em> For many, the Bible is \u201cinspired\u201d in only the loosest sense\u2014as, for example, some might think Wordsworth was inspired as he wrote The Prelude. But among confessing Christians also we sometimes encounter those who insist that God must have accommodated himself to the human writers of Scripture. The result, they suggest, is that we still have errors in the Bible. Here, I would argue, we have an imbalance in which the divine author of Scripture is given too little place. God, by nature, does not lie; he cannot utter a falsehood. If, then, the words of Scripture are genuinely God\u2019s words, then the words of Scripture must be without error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Get the NIV Application Commentary on the Bible<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"581\" src=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/NIVApplicationCommentary-EmailPromoGraphic1-38400-1024x581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56010\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/NIVApplicationCommentary-EmailPromoGraphic1-38400-1024x581.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/NIVApplicationCommentary-EmailPromoGraphic1-38400-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/NIVApplicationCommentary-EmailPromoGraphic1-38400-768x436.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/NIVApplicationCommentary-EmailPromoGraphic1-38400-1536x871.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product\/38400\">NIV Application Commentary on the Bible: One-Volume Edition<\/a> is the perfect companion for life-transforming Bible study. The compelling and easy to understand commentary explains each passage of the Bible and powerfully applies a lesson from the passage to your own contemporary situations. Add this new commentary on the Bible to your Olive Tree library today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product\/38400\" style=\"background-color:#77aa3c\">NIV APPLICATION COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Peter\u2019s second epistle, he likens the message of the prophets to a \u201clight shining in a dark place.\u201d His readers are to remain fixated on the light as a true and trustworthy guide as they await the coming of Christ. Let\u2019s learn more about the light in this passage with some help from the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":56013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sb_show_comment_boards":false,"_cf_multicollab_revision_bundle":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7849],"tags":[8636],"class_list":{"0":"post-56007","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentaries","8":"tag-niv-application-commentary-on-the-bible"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Light Shining in a Dark Place - Olive Tree Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Let&#039;s check out what Peter means by the &quot;light shining in a dark place&quot; with the NIV Application Commentary on the Bible!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Light Shining in a Dark Place\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Peter\u2019s second epistle, he likens the message of the prophets to a \u201clight shining in a dark place.\u201d His readers are to remain fixated on the light as a\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Olive Tree Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OliveTreeBible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-26T14:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/priscilla-du-preez-CNf31ObmoCs-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hoffman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OliveTreeBible\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OliveTreeBible\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hoffman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hoffman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a5aa5788c774e9c21340b24cb3f5091b\"},\"headline\":\"A Light Shining in a Dark Place\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-26T14:00:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1111,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/priscilla-du-preez-CNf31ObmoCs-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"NIV Application Commentary on the Bible\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentaries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/a-light-shining-in-a-dark-place\\\/\",\"name\":\"A Light Shining in a Dark Place - 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