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The Bible Is Final
Affirmed by Peter


Peter concurs that, as a qualified eyewitness, his words were also given by the Spirit of God and handed down to the church,

"And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased'. And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. So we [the eyewitness apostles] have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (2 Peter 1:15-21)

"This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles." (2 Peter 3:1-2)

"…and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:15-16)

Peter makes an interesting point in this letter. In addition to confirming his own apostolic authority and the Spirit moved nature of his writing, he also defends the writings of Paul. First, he mentions that Paul's wisdom was given him, but indicates that Paul then wrote it down in letter form in order to hand it down to others. Paul received his knowledge through divine revelation, while others received their knowledge through the teaching of the apostles.

Second, Peter likens Paul's writings to the rest of the Scriptures. Again, this parallel places the writing of the apostle squarely in the realm of divine revelation from God. Third, Peter issues a stern warning for those that might distort the Scriptures, whether they are from Paul, himself, or another prophet.


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