2Pe 1:19-21 “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: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
If we are going to walk in a way that glorifies God, then we must first acknowledge that the truth of God is not concocted in the imagination of men. Until we can read the word of God in full confidence that it is the word of God (“knowing this first”), then we will be unstable where the kingdom is concerned. We do not always see every scripture in the same light, but that does not mean that we cannot acknowledge that the scripture was inspired by God. I readily admit there are many scriptures that I do not understand, but that does not diminish my understanding that God is the author of scripture and not man.
There are scriptures that I do not see in exactly the same light as some of my brothers and sisters. This is not about a “private interpretation;” I readily confess that it may be due to lack of understanding on my part. I also acknowledge that only God can give me this understanding. However, the things that we may see differently do not deny the fundamentals of the sovereignty of God, the atonement of the blood of Jesus Christ, or the power of the Holy Spirit as He works in the lives of men. So, Peter says, before we go any further, we must recognize that the true prophets did not dream up their prophecies in their imagination.
In the Old Testament, prophecy did not come by the will of man. Today, the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not come by the will of man. In the Old Testament, men that God had set apart (holy men, made that way by the power of God) spoke according to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Today, holy men (made that way by the same power of God) set apart by God preach the good news of Jesus Christ through the moving of the same Holy Spirit. If any man preaches anything that denies the Triune God, the deity of Christ who was born of a virgin, or the need for the Holy Spirit to move in our lives, then that man is preaching a private interpretation born of his own imagination. These truths that we hold so dear are only meaningful to those of like precious faith.
Knowing that the prophets did not speak from their own vain imagination but according as they were moved by God the Holy Spirit, we understand that we have a more sure word of prophecy. How is it that we have a “more sure” word? The prophets looked forward to the event of the coming of Jesus in the flesh and all the miraculous power that would come with it. We have a more sure word because when the Holy Spirit reveals the Son of God in us, then we look at the finished work of this prophecy.
The word of the prophets is like a light that shines in a dark place. When the God of heaven begins to work in our lives, we are often first of all dismayed because we see our sinful condition. We acknowledge the darkness that is in us, and we are afraid because of that darkness. As He begins to allow us to see the prophecy of what the coming of Jesus means, there is a light that begins to shine in a dark place. This light of prophecy gets our attention and we begin (by the grace of God) to be drawn to this light. But this initial light that brings to us a glimmer of hope is not the dawning of day.
By the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are awakened unto the knowledge that the word of prophecy is for us. The day dawns and breaks upon us, giving us light to see the love that God has for us. We understand that this love is not some future event, but is with us now and has been with us even before we had any understanding of it. The day star (light bringer) arises in our hearts and assures us that though our “sins be as scarlet (Isa 1:18)”, they are now white as snow. When Isaiah first spoke of our sins being as scarlet, he said they “shall be” as white as snow. We have a more sure word of prophecy now. What was yet to be in Isaiah’s day is now a finished truth in our lives. The light bringer (Jesus) has arisen in our hearts!
May we rejoice that we have a more sure word because the light that is Jesus has arisen in our hearts!
