We did not follow cleverly invent stories where we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my won, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came down from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

2 Peter 16-18 (NIV)

Much has been said and spoken about the literally thousands of references in the Old Testament to the coming of Jesus. Those Old Testament prophets had a word from God about what was to come, and their accuracy in prophetically portraying the events of the Gospels is both remarkable and awe-inspiring. So much so that their inspiration could have only come from God himself.

Thus, as Simon Peter writes here in 2 Peter, false teachers and prophets were attempting to infiltrate the church. Throughout this short book, Peter is encouraging us to remain strong in our faith and knowledge of Jesus as the risen Lord.

In the Gospels, we find exactly the omniscient knowledge through Jesus as was given to the Old Testament prophets, further testifying to the fact that Christ is, indeed, God in the flesh. Most notably, we find Christ in the book of John accurately and without hesitation, pointing out that, not only would Judas betray him, but Peter, who would go on to author the God-inspired account later in the New Testament.

Jesus was not just a prophet of short-term events. As revealed in John 14:6, Jesus is the gatekeeper of truth itself, and in him, there is life. Again in Revelation, as Jesus reveals himself to John the Revelator, Jesus is the embodiment of everything that was, is, and is to come.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God. “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:8 (NIV)

Through John, we find a savior who is the source of the Old Testament prophecies, the source of life, the conqueror of sin and death, the source of the New Earth to come, and truth itself. Like the root system of a 200-year-old oak tree, he is the origination of all things, and through him, our lives and eternally are secure.

application

Be encouraged today as you start the week, that even before the long and often-sundry events of the Bible began to unfold, you were on his mind. Be encouraged and know that his truth is everlasting and without blemish or flaw. Be still right where you are and know that you are secure in him.