FOR WE DID NOT FOLLOW: Ou gar
...
exakolouthesantes (AAPMPN): (2Pe
3:3,4; 1Cor 1:17,23; 2:1,4; 2Co 2:17; 4:2; 12:16,17; Ep 4:14; 2Th 2:9;
1Ti 1:4; 4:7; Titus 1:14)
Note that not
is emphatic and is (ou) indicating absolute negation of what
follows. The
aorist tense
here also underscores that this event did not occur at all. It is thus a
strong denial by Peter.
We did not follow
(1811)
(exakoloutheo
from ek = out,
used intensively here + akoloutheo = to be a follower in turn
from a = union, likeness + keleuthos = a way = one going
in the same way)
is a strong compound which
literally means to follow but is used only figuratively in the NT
to mean to conform to, to closely imitate another's behavior or to pursue
closely. Here is 2Peter 1:16 the idea is to follow one's teaching so as
to accept it as the authoritative determinant of one's thoughts and/or
actions. Hence it conveys the idea of not only following but of obeying.
In Greek use the
root verb akoloutheo conveyed the sense of following that led to
intellectual, moral, and religious following. In the LXX akoloutheo is
used in Judges 2:12 to describe Israel who "followed after other gods
from among the gods of the peoples who were around them and bowed
themselves down to them". Akoloutheo was used to describe the
following of a disciple after the mentor as of Elisha after Elijah (se 1
Kings 19:20-21). The same is true of rabbis and their students;
the former go on ahead, and the latter follow them. This background
helps understand the sense with which Peter denies following cleverly
devised tales.
Exakoloutheo
is used only in 2 Peter in the
NT...
2 Peter 2:2 (note)
And many will follow
their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be
maligned
2 Peter 2:15 (note)
forsaking the right way they have gone astray, having followed
the way of Balaam, the son of
Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness
Exakoloutheo in this context implies (1) Some religious writers did imitate (2) We
must refer to other NT writers and in the immediate context of the
Transfiguration would be James and John. John referred to this
experience in Jn 1:14
“We beheld
His GLORY as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and
truth.”
Exakoloutheo is used 4 times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Job 31:9; Isa. 56:11; Jer. 2:2; Amos 2:4)...
Job 31:9 "If my heart has
been enticed (Hebrew = pathah = to be persuaded, enticed,
deceived; Lxx = exakoloutheo = follow after) by a woman, Or I
have lurked at my neighbor's doorway,
Isaiah 56:11 And the dogs are
greedy, they are not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no
understanding; They have all turned to their own way (Lxx =
exakoloutheo = followed after), Each one to his unjust gain, to the
last one.
Jeremiah 2:2 "Go and proclaim
in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "I remember
concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals,
Your following after (Hebrew = yalak = walk; Lxx = exakoloutheo) Me in
the wilderness, Through a land not sown.
Amos 2:4 Thus says the LORD,
"For three transgressions of Judah and for four I will not revoke its
punishment, Because they rejected the law of the LORD And have not kept
His statutes; Their lies also have led them astray, Those after which
their fathers walked. (Lxx = exakoloutheo)
CLEVERLY DEVISED
TALES: Ou gar sesophismenois (RPPMPD) muthois:
Related
resource: see Master's Seminary Journal article -
2 Peter 1:16-21 The Only Sure Word
Cleverly
devised (4679) (sophizo
from sophós = wise) meant to be skilled in formulating or
creating something in an artful manner, to render wise and in a sinister
meaning to form sophisms
(arguments apparently correct in form but actually invalid, especially
arguments used to deceive).
Cunningly devised
characterized these tales because they devised by human wisdom, subtly
and slyly concocted and motivated by personal interests. Sophizo
is used only here and
2Ti 3:15,
in which latter passage it has a good sense, to make thee wise.
Sophizo is
perfect tense
which identifies the tales as having the abiding character of
seeming sophistication or spurious wisdom.
Sophizo
was used by Classic Greek writers with the meaning of deceive or delude.
This epithet was occasionally applied to ''quack'' doctors. Peter is
saying they did not follow cunningly, skillfully and artfully devised vain imaginings of men (fables,
tales, myths). Apparently clever tales" were in existence
that denied a future aspect of eschatology (eg, see note
2 Timothy 2:18,
2Thes 2:1ff) or
else reinterpreted it so as to lose its intended meaning. The specific
point in view was most likely in the context of this verse the second
coming of Jesus. There were men mocking the 2nd coming (cf note
2 Peter 3:4). Why? Because He is
coming not for salvation but for judgment (see note
Hebrews 9:28).
Tales
(3454)
(muthos;
English = myth, mythology) (Click
word study on
muthos) describes that which is fabricated by the mind in
contrast to reality. Muthos in this verse is used in a
derogatory, negative sense, referring to stories that are not true or
that are just imaginary tales, but which are proclaimed and believed by
some people to be true.
It is sad that
myth is a word that some so-called theologians of the liberal mindset
use to describe the Scriptures, saying for example that the Bible
contains myths and even going so far as to say that such myths are an
important part of religious truth! The book of Genesis is frequently
treated as myth by such men who profess to be wise but have become fools
and who regardless of their "belief" today will one day be forced to bow
their knee and confess with their tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord to
the glory of the Father! And that is no myth!
Vine has this note on muthos
The first
syllable comes from a root mu—, signifying to close, keep
secret, be dumb; whence, muo, to close (eyes, mouth) and
musterion, a secret, a mystery; hence, a story, narrative,
fable, fiction (Eng., myth). The word is used of Gnostic
errors and of Jewish and profane fables and genealogies.
The essential
nature of myths is that they represent man made substitutes for God's
breathed word. They are humanly concocted stories that have no basis in fact.
The Greek and Roman
world abounded in stories about the gods, mere human speculations that
tried to explain the world and its origin. All Jewish and Grecian
myths and fables are based on a pantheistic form of evolutionism and
denial of true creation. Modern equivalents include Darwinianism or New Age
pantheism.
There may be much logic and reasoning in a myth (especially the more ''cleverly
devised"). In the NT, however, the word “myth” does not have the meaning
of being a vehicle of some lofty truth as in the early use of the word (eg
"Aesop's Fables").
Although lógos and múthos begin together with the thought, intelligence,
or mind, they part ranks since the first ends in the kingdom of light
and truth and the second in the kingdom of darkness and lies. Some like
Joseph Campbell (who
had an extremely popular public television program called "The Power of
Myth") are the opinion that life can be expressed only in terms
of myth. Some so called "scholars" think the stories of Genesis are myths.
My son called me desperate one night from the Baptist school Baylor
University in a panic because his OT religion class teacher was teaching
that Genesis was just a myth and he had written a book to back up his
hypothesis. So myths can disturb saints.
Philo, sees that biblical religion differs from pagan religion by reason
of its basis in history rather than myth, although he himself, with his
allegorizing, treats the biblical history as though it were myth when he
finds difficult passages.
Origen follows a similar course, especially in
answer to the charge of Celsus that the biblical stories are inferior
and valueless even as myths (the common accusation of educated pagans;
cf. Porphyry and Julian). 2 Peter, however, insists on the historical
reality of the Christian message on the basis of the prophetic word and
the apostolic eyewitness.
WHEN WE MADE
KNOWN TO YOU THE POWER AND COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST: egnorisamen
(AAPMPN) humin ten tou kuriou hemon Iesou Christou dunamin kai parousian:
(Mt 28:18; Mk 9:1; Jn 17:2; Ro 1:4; 1Co 5:4; Php 3:21) (Mal 3:2; 4:5; Mt
16:28; 24:3;24:27 1Co 1:7; Jude 1:14; Rev 1:7)
Made known
(1107)
(gnorizo) means to cause information to be known by
someone by communicating things before unknown or reasserting things
already known.
In the NT gnorizo
is used of God making known to the shepherds the
events of Jesus' birth (LK 2:15),
of Jesus making known to His disciples all that He heard from the Father
(Jn 15:15),
of Paul making "known
to (the Corinthians) the
gospel
which (he had)
preached...which
also (they)
received, in
which
also (they
stood)." (1Co 15:1-note),
etc.
Thus gnorizo was somewhat
of a technical term for
imparting a new revelation, something previously hidden, but now
revealed.
Gnorizo is in the
aorist tense
which speaks of a completed action in the past.
The
power and coming are
united under one definite article (ten) and thus denote
two aspects of one concept, the glorious return of our Lord Jesus
Christ. (See
Torrey's "Excellency
& Glory of Christ" or the wonderful topic the
"Power
of Christ")
Power
(1411) (dunamis
[word study]) refers to inherent power residing in someone
(here of course our Lord Jesus) by virtue of his nature (inherently
omnipotent God). Assuming that Peter is referring to the triumphant
return of Christ will be visibly inaugurated in power (cf 2Th 2:8,
Re 19:11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16-see notes
Re 19:11;
12;
13;
14;
15;
16, Torrey's Topic "2nd
Coming").
Coming
(3952) (parousia) is a combination of two Greek words
para = with, alongside + ousia = being (ousia
is the
participial form of the verb eimi = to be) which together
literally mean to be alongside.
See related study
on
Imminency, Imminent - Christ's Second Coming
Most lexicons in
fact state that parousia is derived from pareimi (from
para = near, with + eimi = to be) which means to be present, to
be nearby, to have come.
Parousia
then literally means a being beside or a presence. The
word denotes
both an arrival and a consequent presence with.
Parousia
conveys the thought of an arrival (advent or coming) of a
person to a place plus the idea of their presence at that place until a
certain event transpires. The word parousia
has no English equivalent and therefore is often transliterated in writings.
John MacArthur
writes that...
Parousia refers to more than
just coming; it includes the idea of “presence.” Perhaps the
best English translation would be “arrival.” The church’s great
hope is the arrival of Jesus Christ when He comes to bless His people
with His presence. That glorious truth appears in more than 500 verses
throughout the Bible. (Macarthur
J. James. Moody or
Logos)
(Bolding added)
Parousia - 24x in 24v in the NT (none in non-apocryphal
Septuagint)
-Mt 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Cor 15:23; 16:17; 2 Cor 7:6f; 10:10; Phil 1:26;
2:12; 1 Thess 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:1, 8, 9; Jas 5:7f; 2 Pet
1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28
NAS = coming
- 22x and presence-2x.
Note that parousia is used
3 times by Peter
in this brief letter.
In an ancient
Greek letter a lady speaks of the necessity of her parousia
in a place in order to attend to matters relating to her property there.
Moulton and Milligan have these secular quotes...
the repair of what has been swept
away by the river requires my presence
“we await your presence,” (a
man to his “brothers)
it is no use if a person comes too
late for what required his presence
In another secular Greek writing we find
parousia used to refer to the coming
of a king or other noted official (see note below). In the visit of the ruler was
accompanied by magnificent ceremonies, delicacies to eat, gifts of
money, street improvements, new buildings, addressing of complaints and
requests! Sounds like the coming of the King to take His throne in the
1000 year
Millennial
or Messianic Kingdom!
Moulton and
Milligan add that...
What, however, more especially
concerns us in connexion with the NT usage of parousia is the
quasi-technical force of the word from Ptolemaic times onwards to denote
the “visit” of a King, Emperor, or other person in authority, the
official character of the “visit” being further emphasized by the taxes
or payments that were exacted to make preparations for it. Thus in P
Petr II. 39(e)18 (iii/b.c.) mention is made of contributions for a
“crown” (stephanou) to be presented to the King on his “arrival”
(parousias), and in a letter of b.c. 264 or 227, P Grenf II. 14(b)2, a
certain Appenneus writes that he has prepared “for the visit of
Chrysippus” (the dioecetes) by laying in a number of birds for his
consumption. Other examples from the papyri are P Par 26i. 18 (b.c.
163–2) (= Selections, p. 15), where the Serapeum Twins lay their
grievances before King Ptolemy Philometor and Queen Cleopatra on the
occasion of their royal visits to Memphi... “the 80 artabae of
wheat for the supplies imposed in connexion with the King’s visit”
(Edd.).
Deissmann
has a fascinating, albeit lengthy note on parousia writing
that...
Yet another of the central ideas of
the oldest Christian worship receives light from the new texts, viz.
parousia, “advent, coming,” a word expressive of the most
ardent hopes of a St. Paul. We now may say that the best interpretation
of the Primitive Christian hope of the Parousia is the old Advent
text, “Behold, thy King cometh unto thee.” From the Ptolemaic period
down into the 2nd cent. a.d. we are able to trace the word in the East
as a technical expression for the arrival or the visit of the king or
the emperor. The parousia of the sovereign must have been
something well known even to the people, as shown by the facts that
special payments in kind and taxes to defray the cost of the parousia
were exacted, that in Greece a new era was reckoned from the parousia
of the Emperor Hadrian, that all over the world advent-coins were struck
after a parousia of the emperor, and that we are even able to
quote examples of advent-sacrifices.
The subject of parousia dues
and taxes in Egypt has been treated in detail by Wilcken. The oldest
passage he mentions is in the Flinders Petrie Papyrus II. 39 e, of the
3rd cent. b.c., where, according to his ingenious interpretation,
contributions are noted for a crown of gold to be presented to the king
at his parousia. This papyrus supplies an exceptionally fine
background of contrast to the figurative language of St. Paul, in which
Parousia (or Epiphany, “appearing”) and crown occur in
collocation. While the sovereigns of this world expect at their
parousia a costly crown for themselves, “at the parousia of
our Lord Jesus” the apostle will wear a crown—the “crown of glory” (see
note
1Thessalonians 2:19)
won by his work among the churches, or the “crown of righteousness”
which the Lord will give to him and to all them that have loved His
appearing (see note
2 Timothy 4:8).
I have found another characteristic
example in a petition, circa 113 b.c., which was found among the
wrappings of the mummy of a sacred crocodile. A parousia of King
Ptolemy, the second who called himself Soter (“saviour”), is expected,
and for this occasion a great requisition has been issued for corn,
which is being collected at Cerceosiris by the village headman and the
elders of the peasants. Speaking of this and another delivery of corn,
these officials say: "and applying ourselves diligently, both night and
day, unto fulfilling that which was set before us and the provision of
80 artabae which was imposed for the parousia of the king" …
Are not these Egyptian peasants, toiling day and night in expectation of
the parousia of their saviour king, an admirable illustration of
our Lord’s words (Luke 18:7) about the elect who cry day and night to
God, in expectation of the coming of the Son of Man (Luke 18:8)?
Again among the Tebtunis Papyri
there is a bill, from the end of the 2nd cent. b.c., which mentions “the
parousia of the king,” while an ostracon of the 2nd cent. b.c.,
from Thebes, reckons the expenses of the “parousia of the queen.”
As in Egypt, so also in Asia: the
uniformity of Hellenistic civilisation is proved once more in this
instance. An inscription of the 3rd cent. b.c. at Olbia mentions a
parousia of King Saitapharnes, the expenses of which were a source
of grave anxiety to the city fathers, until a rich citizen, named
Protogenes, paid the sum—900 pieces of gold, which were presented to the
king.
Next comes an example of great
importance as proving an undoubted sacral use of the word, viz. an
inscription of the 3rd. cent. b.c., recording a cure at the temple of
Asclepius at Epidaurus, which mentions a parousia of the
healer (saviour) god Asclepius.
Other examples of Hellenistic age
known to me are a passage in Polybius referring to a parousia
of King Antiochus the Great, and two letters of King Mithradates VI.
Eupator of Pontus at the beginning of his first war with the Romans, 88
b.c., recorded in an inscription at Nysa in Caria. The prince, writing
to Leonippus the Praefect of Caria, makes twofold mention of his own
parousia, i.e. his invasion of the province of Asia.
It is the legitimate continuation of
the Hellenistic usage that in the Imperial period the parousia of
the sovereign should shed a special brilliance. Even the visit of a
scion of the Imperial house, G. Caesar († 4 a.d.), a grandson of
Augustus, was, as we know from an inscription, made the beginning of a
new era in Cos. In memory of the visit of the Emperor Nero, in whose
reign St. Paul wrote his letters to Corinth, the cities of Corinth and
Patras struck advent-coins. Adventus Aug(usti) Cor(inthi) is the
legend on one, Adventus Augusti on the other. Here we have corresponding
to the Greek parousia the Latin word advent, which the
Latin Christians afterwards simply took over, and which is today
familiar to every child among us. How graphically it must have appealed
to the Christians of Thessalonica, with their living conception of the
parousiae of the rulers of this world, when they read in St.
Paul’s second letter of the Satanic “parousia” of Antichrist,
who was to be destroyed by “the manifestation of the parousia”
of the Lord, Jesus!
A whole host of advent-coins resulted
from the numerous journeyings of the Emperor Hadrian; we have
specimens, I suppose, from most of the Imperial provinces, and these,
it may be remarked, were official coinages of the Empire. The arrival
of Hadrian at Rome on 9 July, 118, was even celebrated by the Arval
brothers with solemn sacrifices in the Emperor’s presence, to which the
inscriptions containing the Acts of their college bear record. The
parallelism between the Hellenistic and the Imperial period is seen also
in the fact that the expenses attending a parousia of the
sovereign were considerable.
How deeply a parousia stamped
itself on the memory is shown by the eras that were reckoned from
parousiae. (Ed note:
Think about this secular use in light
of the truth of the new
Millennium
inaugurated by
our Lord's glorious parousia!)
We have heard already of an era at Cos dating from the epiphany of G.
Caesar, and we find that in Greece a new era was begun with the
first visit of the Emperor Hadrian in the year 124;—the magnificent
monuments in memory of that parousia still meet the eye at
Athens and Eleusis. There is something peculiarly touching in the fact
that towards the end of the 2nd century, at the very time when the
Christians were beginning to distinguish the “first parousia” of Christ
from the “second,” an inscription at Tegea was dated: in the year 69
of the first parousia of the god Hadrian in Greece.
To make the circle of Hellenism complete once more, this inscription
from Arcadia gives us again the word parousia, which we found in
Egypt, Asia Minor, and the New Testament. In Greece, however, a synonym
is more usual.
Even in early Christian times the
parallelism between the parobusia of the representative of the
State and the parousia of Christ was clearly felt by the
Christians themselves. This is shown by a newly discovered petition of
the small proprietors of the village of Aphrodite in Egypt to the Dux of
the Thebaid in the year 537–538 a.d., a papyrus which at the same time
is an interesting memorial of Christian popular religion in the age of
Justinian.
“It is a subject of prayer with us
night and day, to be held worthy of your welcome parousia.”
The peasants, whom a wicked Pagarch
has been oppressing, write thus to the high official, after assuring him
with a pious sigh at the beginning that they awaited him
“as they watch eagerly from Hades for
the future parousia of Christ the everlasting God.”
(Deissmann, A., & Strachan, L. R.
M.. Light from the Ancient East the New Testament illustrated by
recently discovered texts of the Graeco-Roman World. Page 372. London:
Hodder & Stoughton. 1910)
As Jesus sat with Peter and James
and John and Andrew,
on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what
will be the sign of Your coming, (parousia) and of
the end of the age? (Mt 24:3)
This passage begins what is commonly referred to as the "Olivet Discourse" (Click for a discussion on Mt 24
entitled "When Jesus Returns to the Earth: Where Will the Church Be?")
Parousia
refers to the Second Coming of the Lord, but be aware that the Second Coming is not just
a single event taking place at a particular time. Rather the Second
Coming is composed of a
series of events. One can understand which event is being referred to
only by a careful examination of the
context
("Context is king"
in interpretation in
Inductive Bible Study!)
In sum,
the period referred to as the
Parousia (coming) of Christ has a beginning, a course and a
final conclusion. Although there is not uniform agreement, most
conservative evangelical scholars would agree that the Parousia
of Jesus Christ begins with the Rapture, when He comes for His saints,
as mentioned discussed by Paul in (1Th
4:16). (For more on His coming see "The
Comfort of His Coming (4:13-18)")
This
first phase is to followed by the period
of His presence with the saints when, having come to the air for them, and
received them to Himself, He will take them to the place prepared for
them, the Father’s “House,” (cf
Jn
14:2).
At the end of the second half of
Daniel's Seventieth Week (the last 3.5 year period being referred to as
the "Great
Tribulation") Matthew records that
"then the sign (the sign is not
mystical but is Christ coming on the clouds) of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and
they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power
and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET
and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one
end of the sky to the other." (Mt 24:30-31)
At that time Christ will come with His saints in
manifest glory and will the overthrow of His foes and establish
His kingdom on earth. (unless you do not believe the 1000 years is a
literal period of time). (Click
Chart summary of Daniel's Seventieth Week) (Click
comparison of
Day of the Lord, Day of Christ)
Below are the seventeen out of 24 uses of parousia that
refer to the return of Christ: (an interesting inductive study would
be to simply list the truths associated with the coming of the Lord from
these passages - be sure to check the context)
Mt 24:3
And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came
to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and
what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Mt 24:27
“For just as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even
to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
Mt 24:37
“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of
Noah...39
and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all
away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
1Cor 15:23 But each in his own
order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s
at His coming,
1Thes 2:19
(note) For who is our
hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the
presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
1Thes 3:13
(note)
so that He may
establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and
Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
1Thes 4:15
(note) For this we say
to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain
until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have
fallen asleep.
1Thes 5:23
(note)
Now may the God of
peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul
and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
2Thes 2:1 Now we request you,
brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and our gathering together to Him...8 And then that
lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the
breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His
coming
James 5:7 Be patient, therefore,
brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits
for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it,
until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be
patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at
hand.
2 Peter 1:16 (note)
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.
2 Peter 3:4
(note) and saying, “Where is the
promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all
continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
2 Peter 3:12 (note)
looking for and hastening
the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will
be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense
heat!
1Jn 2:28 And now, little children,
abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and
not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
APPLICATION:
The sure hope of Christ’s return motivates believers (or at least this
truth should renew our minds, motivate and energize us) to seek to order
our lives in light of the truth that they shall soon see Jesus at His
coming.
Dearly beloved are you
looking for His parousia,
and living as if it
could be today?
For completeness below are the 10
other NT uses of parousia which do convey a general and not an
eschatological meaning...
1 Corinthians 16:17 And
I rejoice over the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and
Achaicus; because they have supplied what was lacking on your
part.
2 Corinthians 7:6 But God, who
comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 7
and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he
was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning,
your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.
2 Corinthians 10:10 For they
say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal presence
is unimpressive, and his speech contemptible."
Philippians 1:26 (note)
so that your proud
confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to
you again.
Philippians 2:12 (note)
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my
presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your
salvation with fear and trembling
2Thes 2:9 that is, the one whose coming (this coming
of the Antichrist which is the counterfeit "coming") is in accord with
the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonder
BUT WE
WERE
EYEWITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY:
all'
epoptai
genethentes (AAPMPN)
tes
ekeinou
megaleiotetos: (Mt
17:1, 2, 3, 4, 5; Mk 9:2; Lk 9:28, 29, 30, 31, 32; Jn 1:14; 1Jn 1:1, 2,
3; 4:14)
We
were (ginomai)
is
aorist tense meaning that at some point in time
they (Peter,
James, John)
became (literally "having become") eyewitnesses.
Eyewitnesses
(2030)
(epoptes
from epi = upon, over + optanomai = see, perceive)
is literally an "over seer" and then a spectator or eye witness of
anything. It refers to those
who have first-hand acquaintance
with something and so
are those who see with their eyes
with implication of careful
scrutiny or of being a watchful observer. It refers to Inspector,
onlooker, an eyewitness.
Peter's use of
epoptes stresses his close and careful
inspection of our Lord's majesty.
William Barclay explains the
background on epoptes writing that...
In the Greek usage of Peter’s day this was a technical word. We have
already spoken about the Mystery Religions. They were all of the nature
of passion plays, in which the story of a god who lived, suffered, died,
and rose again was played out. It was only after a long course of
instruction and preparation that the worshipper was finally allowed to
be present at the passion play, and to be offered the experience of
becoming one with the dying and rising "god". When he reached this
stage, he was an initiate and the technical word to describe him was
epoptes; he was a privileged eye-witness of the experiences of
God. So Peter says that the Christian is an eye-witness of the
sufferings of Christ. With the eye of faith he sees the Cross; in
the experience of faith he dies with Christ to sin and rises to
righteousness. His faith has made him one with Jesus Christ in his
death and in his risen life and power. (Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
Among Greeks epoptes was used of those who had attained to the third grade,
the highest, of the Eleusinian mysteries, a religious cult at Eleusis,
with its worship, rites, festival and pilgrimages a brotherhood open to
all Greeks.
Peter clearly felt that he, James and John were lifted to "the highest
stage of initiation" so to speak at the transfiguration of Christ.
Epoptes (from Pindar, 5th cent. B.C.)
was also used as an epithet for the gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo), for
men were deceived into thinking that they were under their watchful
eyes.
Anchor Bible Dictionary adds that in the...
Eleusinian mysteries the highest
stage of initiation was designated that of “beholding” (Gk epopteia),
and one who attained such an initiatory status was called “beholder” (Gk
epoptes). (Freedman,
D. N. (1996, c1992). The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday)
Majesty
(3168)
(megaleiotetos
from megaleios = magnificent, mighty, great from megas =
great, English word = mega = of highest level of rank, excellence
or importance)
refers to the quality or state of being foremost in esteem, grandeur,
splendor, sublimity, majesty. It defines the quality or state of being
foremost in esteem, grandeur, sublimity, majesty.
Megaleiotetos
is used only 2 other
times in the NT. It is translated as: greatness, 1; magnificence, 1;
majesty, 1.
And they were all amazed at the greatness
of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing, He
said to His disciples (Luke 9:43)
"And not only is there danger that this trade of ours
fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great
(idolatrous) goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she
whom all of Asia and the world worship should even be dethroned
from her magnificence" (Acts 19:27)
In context
megaleiotetos
refers to the visible splendor of Christ's divine majesty as it appeared
at His transfiguration.
