We Have a More Sure Word of Prophecy
What does Bible prophecy mean to you? It is far more important than most people think.
Our world today is gripped by war. Leaders wrestle with towering decisions that dramatically affect their peoples’ lives, even determine the fate of nations. Their mistakes ruin economies and cause terrible bloodshed.
Bible prophecy explains why these crises happen. It also shows where they are leading. It shows the presence of the great God in world events and helps us come to know God!
Millions of people face desperation and hopelessness because they miss the truth of Bible prophecy. But you can understand it.
Note this powerful statement from the Apostle Peter: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).
This verse shows what a blessing prophecy can be! The more sure word of prophecy must be personal to each of us. It should guide us in our day-to-day lives.
But what is this “more sure word of prophecy”? Read verses 16-18, where Peter talks about having been “eyewitnesses of his majesty.” He links back to a spectacular vision he saw many years before on a mountaintop.
A Glorious Vision
In Matthew 16:28 Jesus Christ told His disciples, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” Obviously, these men all died, and Christ hasn’t returned yet. So He wasn’t talking about that future event. He was referring to a vision God would give those men—and that still stirs our hope to this day.
In the very next chapter, we read that Jesus was “transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). Then God the Father’s words sounded from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (verse 5).
What a spectacular event! Afterward, the three disciples were eager to share it. But as they descended from the mountain, Jesus told them, “Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead” (verse 9). That was just a vision—but the time would come, sometime after Christ was killed at His first coming and then resurrected, that the reality of that vision would come to pass! Christ is going to return in glory!
This experience reminded the disciples of an Old Testament prophecy about an event that would precede the Second Coming. They asked, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things” (verses 10-11; New King James Version).
What a prophecy! Think of its implications. Just before Christ returns, God would send a man in the spirit of Elijah the prophet—and he would “restore all things.” This means that, in the days before Christ’s spectacular Second Coming, most spiritual truths would be lost—otherwise God would not need to send a man to restore them! This man would bring the wonderful truths of God that had been lost in a world of religious confusion.
Did you know that this prophecy has been fulfilled in modern times? This end-time type of Elijah—this signal of the Second Coming—has already come and gone! His name was Herbert W. Armstrong. (Learn about this in our free booklet A Pivotal Sign of the End Time.)
That means we are very close to Christ’s glorious return. What Peter saw in a vision, we are about to see in reality!
If you understand this truth, you realize that this present world is not yet ruled by God. In fact, the “whole world” is deceived by Satan the devil (Revelation 12:9). The whole world includes everybody—except a “little flock” (Luke 12:32).
This vision helps us understand the evil around us. But more than that, it gives us a living hope.
Spiritually Begotten
What is the “more sure word of prophecy” in 2 Peter 1:19?
As I write in my booklet The Epistles of Peter—A Living Hope: “When Peter saw that image of God’s Kingdom, he didn’t have God’s Holy Spirit in him. He is saying that when the Spirit of God comes into you and gives you revelation, then that is the most sure, certain word of prophecy there is—having God directly inject it into your mind via the Holy Spirit!”
Many people think they have this Spirit already, but they don’t. To receive God’s Holy Spirit, you must be baptized and have hands laid on you by one of God’s ministers (Acts 2:38; 8:14-17). And God gives His Spirit only to those who obey Him (Acts 5:32).
Receiving the Holy Spirit is a spiritual begettal by God the Father. Once you receive it, you can have the very mind of Christ in you (Philippians 2:5). Go on to live the way Christ did, and you will be filled with joy and happiness and do a lot of glorious deeds for God.
If you are obeying God and hungering and thirsting for instruction from Him, then you will receive spiritual understanding, revelation from God (1 Corinthians 2:9-14). You will have “a more sure word of prophecy.” That is a promise!
“A more sure word of prophecy” comes directly from God Himself through His Holy Spirit! You can understand the prophecies of the Bible because God Himself gives you that understanding.
Having this “more sure word” compels us to support God’s work of publishing His message to this world. God will reward you and open doors for you—and give you even greater prophetic understanding!
Light in a Dark World
2 Peter 1:19 says we should “take heed” to this sure word of prophecy “as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn.”
Peter wrote his epistles just before he was martyred. Though he was about to die, he wrote this most hopeful book because he saw God’s vision and the reward God promises those who obey Him now and help get His message to this world.
The Apostle Paul had that same vision and was also killed for doing God’s work. Those men lived in dark times. Yet their words are recorded for us because the dangers they experienced were only a type of those coming in our day.
Our world today is one dark place—and it is about to get far darker! Weapons are proliferating and being developed that would destroy all human beings on Earth! Prophecy shows that the greatest tribulation ever is coming if we don’t repent and turn to God (Matthew 24:21; Daniel 12:1; Jeremiah 30:7). That is vital revelation from God—part of the more sure word of prophecy.
But a new dawn is coming. Right on the heels of all these terrible crises, the World Tomorrow will begin. That “dawn” is Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, the greatest event in history! When He returns, He will stop all these terrifying problems.
When Peter says “the day star arise in your hearts,” he is talking about the day when God’s saints become glorified as spirit beings, full Spirit-born members of the God Family!
God is expanding His Family by working with and perfecting human beings! That is the greatest wonder in the world. But we must allow God to work in us. (Request our free book Mystery of the Ages; it will explain this staggering truth to you in a powerful way.)
The Morning Star
God has called a few out of this world, and He is going to reward them like nobody else if they get this message out.
But be aware that doing God’s work is not easy, just as it was not for Peter and Paul. “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings …” (1 Peter 4:12-13). Our faith is tried and tested. But Peter said those trials are more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). He is telling us, Don’t worry about the trials and tests. God tries and tests you because He loves you. He is shaping and molding you, building His character in you!
God’s true Church is being scrutinized and evaluated right now (1 Peter 4:17). We must be building with gold, silver and precious stones—or everything we build in life will burn like wood, hay and stubble, which means losing our reward (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
Far too many of God’s own people have become spiritually lukewarm and blind to this prophetic understanding because they have rejected His authority (Revelation 3:17). You must obey God to receive this understanding—and you must obey God to keep it!
What thrilling rewards await those who do the work of God today. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says about the “morning star”: “I will give to him the morning star that he may be irradiated with its splendor and outshine all others.” Who is “the morning star”? Revelation 22:16 tells us it is Jesus Christ! Christ is the brightest of all the stars, and those who receive Him are going to become His Bride! (Revelation 2:28; 19:7).
Paul said that one star differs from another star in glory (1 Corinthians 15:41). God will give us glory in the stars according to what we do in this work today, before the Second Coming. The more we put our heart into God’s work, the more He will bless and reward us.
The Greatest Opportunity
The greatest opportunity to do God’s work is today. We are broadcasting and publishing the more sure word of prophecy. In this magazine we cover many Bible prophecies. We also distribute booklets that explain them in even greater detail, and we offer them all to you free.
All these prophecies support God’s overarching goal: to re-create Himself in man!
How much is this future reality part of your day-to-day life? God wants a living hope in you! (1 Peter 1:3; Revised Standard Version). Do you have this wonderful, joy-filled, living hope?
If you have this hope, then you have everything! There is no reason to fear events in this world. Peter was about to die, yet he was filled with hope!
Even if you are facing death, you can be filled with hope as Peter was—knowing that the moment you are resurrected, you will receive a spectacular reward!
We have a more sure word of prophecy! Our understanding of prophecy comes directly from God. He tells us what is coming and how it leads to the return of Jesus Christ. We need this joyful anticipation of the glorious future that awaits God’s Family to motivate us to work diligently for God.