The New Testament letter 2 Peter includes a very odd version of the transfiguration indeed, resembling a Mystery-Religion ritual.
I see 2 Peter as a recruitment letter in 3 parts --- carrot-stick-carrot -- corresponding to the 3 chapters. You guys are welcome (chapters 1 and 3), but these heretics are not (chapter 2). The letter is addressed, "To those who have attained a faith of equal privilege with ours through the righteousness of our God and of our savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:1). The author of 2 Peter made a distinction. He reveals that he is addressing Christian communities of a different stripe (our faith vs. your faith), but the author none-the-less conceded that these communities had attained, "a faith of equal privilege".
Most investigators agree that when 2 Peter was written, versions of the four New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles were already collecting dust on the proto-orthodox bookshelf. Paul's letters had been accepted as "scripture" (2 Peter 3:15-16), and Peter and Paul had been reconciled in Acts.
But the target audience of 2 Peter apparently had little interest in a human Galilean sage and fishing buddy of Peter --- this figure is nowhere in sight. The opening sections of the letter reveal the nature and interests of the target audience. Note how the author generously sprinkled the opening passages of the letter with terms associated with spiritual knowledge and Mystery-Religions. Forms of the Greek gnosis , in reference to spiritual knowledge, appear five times in verses 1:2 through 1:8, along with an enticement that, "…. you may become partakers of the divine nature" (1:4).
The transfiguration scene in 2 Peter (1:16-19) bears little resemblance to the versions found in the synoptic New Testament Gospels. The 2 Peter author cast the event in terms of a Mystery-Religion ritual, an experiential-sharing with the divine. The scene is cleverly introduced with the Greek term epoptai, typically translated in bibles as "eyewitness". But in an historical context, the word was used primarily as a technical term in the non-Christian Eleusinian Mysteries, widespread in the eastern Mediterranean at the time. The term was used to designate advanced initiates who had attained esoteric knowledge and had personally experienced the divine light. This is the only instance in the Christian bible where this word is used.
Totally missing in 2 Peter is the walking, talking, glowing man-Jesus found in all three synoptic Gospel versions of the transfiguration. In 2 Peter, a diaphanous Jesus is not an actor in the play, but merely a concept. Peter and his unnamed companions hear a "…. voice brought from heaven, being with Him on the holy mount." (2 Peter 1:18) This language is descriptive of a Mystery-Religion ritual where initiates seek to be "with" their god and to "hear" a divine message as they enter into the divine light. But this “voice” from heaven does nothing more than quote passages from the Jewish scriptures (2 Peter 1:17).
And what does the author follow with directly to those who may not be adequately impressed with his magical Mystery-experience on the mountain? He said, "And we have the sure prophetic word, to which you do well to take heed as to a lamp bringing light in a dark place …." (2 Peter 1:19). The 2 Peter author falls back to the ultimate proof and knowledge of the mysteries of Jesus …… the scriptures.
The author continues his drama, extending the magical Mystery tour with a scene reminiscent of a night-long, mountaintop ritual continuing "…. until that day should dawn and the bringer of light should arise in your own hearts." (2 Peter 1:19). This poetic passage, dripping with flavor of the Mysteries, is an enticement of personal enlightenment. The audience is told they have the rock-solid scriptures that can for now, if heeded, provide a light in the darkness, until that day of their own enlightenment when they too can share in the divine nature ---- when they too become epoptai.
The Greek phosphoros (2 Peter 1:19), meaning light-bringer, was the Greek name for their god of the morning star. His mother was Eos, the dawn, and he was often depicted as a child flying before her carrying a torch. This is another 2 Peter term found nowhere else in the New Testament.
For a glaring contrast, compare this Peter and his cosmic, light-bearing Christ to the Peter we find in Acts giving a speech about a very different type of Jesus (Acts 2:22-24).
The author of 2 Peter launches into an attack on heretics in chapter 2. But before that, the primary message in the first chapter of 2 Peter is, I think, an acknowledgment of the critical point of commonality between the author and his target congregations --- the scriptures. And we see another incursion in the never-ending battle for the authority to interpret those scriptures (1:20-21). The real prize. Still is.
robert j.