How does the concept of scripture work–of God communicating through writing? The Apostle Peter says, “But know this first of all…” (2 Pet. 1:20). In other words, “Let’s start here.” Then he says, “No prophecy of scripture is of one’s own interpretation.” I used to think “interpretation” had something to do with the reader, as in we shouldn’t interpret the Bible just any way we want. That’s true, but Peter seems not to have been talking about the reader here, but the writer.
He is saying that scripture is not a product of human interpretation, that is, of human insights into life or religion or spirituality. When you handle the Bible, you’re dealing with something a whole lot more than religious diatribes. Moses or the prophet Isaiah, for instance, didn’t look around, form a view of the world at large and then commence to write a long preachy editorial based on personally developed view points. If you want to get a handle on the biblical Scriptures, then you’ve got to understand that, first and foremost.
