The opening statement, then, sets the tone and introduces the main theme of the whole epistle, namely, the uniqueness and supremacy of Christ in comparison with the transitory and incomplete character of all that preceded his coming. It has a bearing also on the apostolic doctrine of Scripture according to which the Old Testament writings, representing as they do the summation of the prophetic message, are held to be God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16): it is God who “spake by the mouth of his holy prophets