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Peter's "Trump Card" - 2 Peter 1:16-18

 
2 Peter 1:16-18
16 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. 17 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"-- 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
Peter has just been saying that his martyrdom was imminent and that his goal was to remind Christians of the things he thought were important. From what I can tell, Peter thought that it was important to live in a manner worthy of Christ. The other item, that was very important to all the original apostles, was the preservation of the true gospel message as given by Jesus. The passage today begins the emphasis on this subject that carries through as the main theme of this entire book.
In today's passage Peter sets the foundation for his rebuke of false teachers and "prophets" by establishing his authority as an eyewitness to Christ's transfiguration.
You can read about the transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17.
Peter begins by telling Christians that the things that he says are not "made-up" stories. The "we" in this section is Peter and the Christians that followed Peter.
As I grow older, I see more and more how deception and manipulation are used to get people to believe something (which often precedes a request for money). We are emotional creatures, and a good, well crafted, story can have a strong influence on our minds. That is why the most effective way to sell something, (including a system of beliefs) is to have someone give a heartfelt testimonial. We tend to trust and believe people who seem to be sharing something from their heart. This emotional weakness has been exploited all throughout time to manipulate people in one way or another. I've experienced this first hand recently in my life.
Peter is pulling out his "trump card" to claim his legitimacy. This being that he was one of three people to have witnessed Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. Basically, Peter says, "I saw Jesus, I heard the voice from heaven! I'm the one who you should listen to, not these guys who have come along with some clever made-up stories."
Let us all be reminded that there are those that would deceive us with lies and stories that will seem to be very convincing. My advice... Be on your guard, and don't believe everything you hear; especially if someone asks for your money at the end. How do we know who or what to believe? It's tough sometimes to know, but we can always trust that God is telling us the truth through His Word.
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