2 Peter 1:19–21
Because the prophetic word has been made firm and stands as a divinely given light in a dark world, believers must pay careful attention to Scripture with patient expectancy until the full day of Christ dawns, knowing that biblical prophecy does not arise from human initiative but from men carried along by the Holy Spirit.
19 We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star arises in your hearts:
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation.
21 For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.
Because the prophetic word has been made firm and stands as a divinely given light in a dark world, believers must pay careful attention to Scripture with patient expectancy until the full day of Christ dawns, knowing that biblical prophecy does not arise from human initiative but from men carried along by the Holy Spirit.
After appealing to apostolic eyewitness testimony in 1:16-18, Peter now joins that witness to the prophetic word. The argument moves from what the apostles saw and heard on the holy mountain to the enduring reliability of Scripture itself. This passage therefore completes Peter's foundation for truth before he exposes false teachers in chapter 2. The church must not be governed by fabricated interpretation, unstable speculation, or self-authorized teachers, but by the prophetic word given from God.
Godliness, Apostolic Witness, and the Sure Prophetic Word
Because God has granted everything needed for life and godliness through Christ, believers must grow diligently, remember apostolic truth, and hold fast to the Spirit-given prophetic word until Christ's day dawns.