“And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:19-21 (ESV).
The prophetic word shines in darkness
The prophetic word is always like a lamp that shines in a dark place until the light breaks through. The holy prophets of God let the prophetic light shine as far as Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. He came as a shining light in the darkness of this world.
But the prophetic word went even deeper. It shone as a bright light into the selfish darkness of the disciples, until the day dawned and the Morning Star rose in their hearts. With this light from God, they could now see and discern clearly, and all doubt and unbelief was driven away forever. Their faith became firm as a rock, and they preached the gospel with great power and joy until the day of their death. They were not moved by people’s opinions, and the strong opposition they got everywhere did not shake their faith. They were completely sure that what they had received in their hearts was from God, and no one could take it away from them.
The testimony of Jesus – the Spirit of the prophetic word
The three apostles had seen how Jesus’ appearance was transformed when He was together with Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:1-9). They had also seen His greatness in many other ways, but the prophetic word was even more fully confirmed to them. These words were the words of Jesus, which they had carefully paid attention to and lived by, so that the powerful Spirit that was in these words was now living in them. This Spirit is the Spirit of the prophetic word, which is the testimony of Jesus (Revelation 19:10).
This is the testimony we need to have in our hearts in these evil times when the power of the devil is beginning to rise in full. Most people are uncertain and unstable, and change their minds from year to year. This is because they form their own opinions about God’s Word out of their own selfish darkness, instead of letting God’s Word tell them the truth about themselves. We don’t have power over Satan through knowledge or theories, but only if we have the testimony of Jesus rooted firmly in our hearts.
The prophets’ example in firmness and steadfastness
Today we find very little of this firmness and steadfastness in the Spirit that the holy prophets and apostles of God had. Isaiah stood alone in an evil and corrupt generation and preached God’s anger and judgment against all ungodliness until there were only a few holy people left, just as only a stump is left of a tree after it has been cut down (Isaiah 6:9-13; Isaiah 10:20-23).
Jeremiah stood there like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land (Jeremiah 1:18).
Ezekiel’s face was hard as a diamond against all ungodliness (Ezekiel 3:9).
The prophets were stoned and killed, but they were steadfast until the end. They had the Spirit of Christ within them, that testified beforehand about the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow (Hebrews 11:32-40; 1 Peter 1:10-11).
Spiritual power
We are now living in evil and difficult times. The question is if we are strong or weak in our faith, and if we are doing what God has called us to do in our life. We live only for a short time, and it is very important that the truth can grow and spread through us. God’s Word is the seed, and every person is like a field. Now is the time and opportunity to sow everywhere. The night is coming when no one can work anymore. That time has already come in some countries (Mark 4:1-20; John 9:4).
We must live in such a way that we have the spiritual power within us that is mighty to crush all selfishness and the spirit of the world under our feet. We do not belong to ourselves but to Him who bought us from the world with His precious blood (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Everyone must carefully pay attention to God’s Word and live according to it, so that the day can dawn and the Morning Star can rise in their heart.