Give Heed to the Prophetic Word and Know the Prophecies to Prepare for the Lord’s Return

It is crucial for believers to give heed to the prophetic word and know the prophecies not merely for curiosity or more spiritual knowledge but to know the times and be prepared for the Lord’s return. Amen! This week in our morning revival we are focusing on a particular aspect of preparing ourselves for the Lord’s return.

The title is, Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming by Giving Heed to the Prophetic Word as to a Lamp Shining in a Dark Place Until the Day Dawns and the Morning Star Rises in our Hearts.

Studying the Lord’s coming and being reminded concerning the Lord’s second return is not an easy matter; rather, it is quite difficult and great.

We could say that the Lord’s second coming is one of the biggest, greatest topics in the Bible.

In the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, the Lord Jesus Himself said three times, I come quickly.

He said He is coming quickly, but when will He return? How can we be prepared for His return? What are the signs of His coming? How can we be taken with Him when He returns?

We should not think that the Lord will just like that, suddenly, appear from the throne on high, and He will come all of a sudden without us knowing it.

There is a process of His return. On our side, we as the bride of Christ are also going through a process to be prepared.

The coming of the Bridegroom is a process; the preparation of the bride is a process.

The Bridegroom is ready – He has done everything, He accomplished all that He needed to accomplish, and He is ready to return.

However, the bride has not made herself ready. So the Lord has been working for two thousand years to prepare us to be His bride.

In the church life, we who love Him, pursue Him, follow Him, and seek after Him should prepare ourselves until His coming.

No matter where we are, who we are, what city we live in, what we own, what language we speak, and how much we can do things, we need to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return.

The Lord’s second coming has been prophesied both in the Old and in the New Testaments; in the Old Testament we see many prophecies concerning the Lord’s first coming, but His second coming is also prophesied there.

However, many have mixed the first and second coming of the Lord, applying certain prophecies to the Lord’s first coming when they should be applied to His second coming.

After His first coming, however, as we read the Gospels and the Epistles, we can clearly see which prophecies apply to the first coming of the Lord and which ones apply to His second coming.

This is why we need to give heed to the prophetic word, that is, to know the prophecies and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return.

In between the two great peaks of the Lord’s comings – His first and His second coming – is the age of grace, also called the age of darkness, for now things are spiritual and not outwardly manifested.

In this age, we need to give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the Lord as the morning star rises in our heart and the day dawns at the Lord’s return.

We need to Give Heed to the Prophetic Word and Know the Prophecies to Prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Return

It is crucial for us as believers in Christ to give heed to the prophetic word (2 Pet. 1:19).

The age we live in is nighttime – it is darkness all around us, and when the Lord returns, the day will dawn.

Rom. 13:12 says that the night is far advanced, and the day has drawn near; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light.

Instead of sleeping or being drugged and stupefied by this world, which lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19), we should be awake, be watchful, and sleep no more.

Until He returns, we need to give heed to the prophetic word and know the prophecies so that we may prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return.

Some Christians think that prophecies are not interesting; others think that the prophecies in the Bible are difficult to interpret.

Some think that it’s better to pursue spiritual gifts, holiness, and the kingdom, and these are urgent things to do; but they think that knowing and understanding prophecies is secondary and optional.

Still, some others think that studying prophecies is just knowledge, not something that is profitable for our growth in the spiritual life. All these are misconceptions.

We need to read the Bible and give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the Lord rises up in us as the morning star and the day of His coming dawns.

In this age of darkness and night, the prophetic word guides us.

Prophecies are matters that God requires us to know; therefore, we believers in Christ should give heed to them (1 Pet. 1:10; 2 Pet. 3:2; Luke 1:70).

We should know, remember, and study the prophecies, for they are spoken and written by our Lord Jesus and His holy apostles and prophets.

Three groups of people wrote or spoke the prophecies: the Lord Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets.

The Lord Jesus Himself charged us to understand the prophecies (Matt. 24:15); this clearly shows that believers must pay attention to the prophecies in the Bible.

On one hand, we need to come to the word of God with an open heart and an exercised spirit to enjoy the Spirit and life that is embodied in the Word (John 6:63).

The word of God is our daily food, and we need to come to the word to enjoy the Lord, receive the life and life supply we need, and let the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16).

On the other hand, we need to not be ignorant concerning the prophecies in the Bible, especially those related to the Lord’s second coming.

If we as the church don’t pay adequate attention to these prophecies, many believers may inevitably lose faith, and some will be destroyed because of a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).

This doesn’t mean that we should be a “church of prophecies” where we only speak about these prophecies concerning the Lord’s second coming and we ignore everything else in the Bible.

Rather, we need to realize that, in our study of the Holy Scriptures, we need to give heed to the prophetic word and not forget the Lord’s coming but be watchful, preparing ourselves for the Lord’s return.

The more we read, pray over, and study the prophecies concerning the Lord’s coming, the more we give heed to the prophetic word and know the prophecies, the more we will prepare ourselves for the Lord’s coming.

The prophecies in the Old Testament confirm and strengthen the Lord’s first coming and His work, especially His marvellous work of redemption on the cross.

The prophecies concerning the Lord’s second coming encourage us, strengthen us, and keep us on the way of the Lord’s salvation.

As we read the Bible and know the prophecies, giving heed to the prophetic word, we are encouraged and warned to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return, and we are inoculated against any heresies and apostasy.

Lord Jesus, we cast off the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. We come to You in Your word not only to enjoy You as life and life supply but also to know the prophecies concerning Your second coming. Amen, Lord, we want to give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until Christ as the morning star rises in our hearts. May the darkness not overtake us. We do not want to remain in darkness today but follow the light in Your word. Amen, Lord, may we pay attention to the prophecies in the Bible and allow You to shine on us and around us to guide us today. We no longer want to sleep as the rest do but be watchful and sober, preparing ourselves for the Lord’s return. Amen, come Lord Jesus! Prepare us for Your second coming. We love You, Lord, and we love Your appearing!

Without the Prophecies in the Bible, we Fall into Darkness; we need to Pay Attention to these Prophecies!

Why do we need to pay attention to the prophecies and give heed to the prophetic word?

Isn’t it enough for us to just eat the Lord in His word, read the Bible regularly, and do our best to do what the Bible says?

There are a few examples in the word of God that show us how much we need to pay attention to the prophecies.

The Bible is a very accurate book, and the prophecies are not figures of speech or hyperbole; rather, every word of the Bible is divinely inspired, and no word should be misread or replaced.

If we do not pay attention to the prophecies in the Bible concerning the Lord’s second coming, we may lose faith, we may be deceived by lies, and we may be destroyed because of the lack of that knowledge (Hosea 4:6; 1 Thes. 5:4-6; Matt. 24:42; 1 Pet. 5:8).

Furthermore, if we do know the prophecies nor give heed to the prophetic word, we may forget the Lord’s coming by not being watchful.

Let’s look at the example of the people around the Lord Jesus when He was on earth.

There were many who were diligently studying the word of God and the prophecies, but they missed the Lord’s coming.

They thought that, since He was called a Nazarene, He was from Galilee, so He was not born in Bethlehem; so they missed His coming as Messiah.

Many of the Israelites in the Lord’s days were expecting to meet their Messiah, and they knew the prophecies in the Old Testament in part.

However, thinking that the Lord was not from Bethlehem but from Nazareth, they rejected Him and missed the coming of Messiah in their time (John 7:40-42; Matt. 2:1-2, 19-23; Luke 2:39; Matt. 3:13).

If we are not fine and exact in our understanding the prophecies, we may miss the Lord’s second coming.

The chief priests and scribes missed the Lord’s coming, even though the maggi came and asked about the star which signalled His birth. Oh Lord.

If we just have a general understanding of the prophecies today but do not know them accurately and finely, applying them in spirit to be watchful for the Lord’s return, we may miss the Lord’s second coming and suffer loss. Oh Lord.

On one hand, we need to know the prophecies and pay attention to them; on the other hand, we should not study prophecies just with a curious mind so that we may mainly know the events and situations surrounding the Lord’s return.

The Bible is a spiritual book which needs to be read in spirit and with our spirit; our purpose in reading the Bible shouldn’t be the satisfaction of our curiosity or filling our mind with facts.

If we read the Bible merely with curiosity in our mind and desire to be satisfied in knowing the facts, the events, and the world situation that leads to the Lord’s coming, rather than paying attention to satisfying our spiritual needs and preparing ourselves for the Lord’s coming, we’re on the wrong track.

Yes, we need to know the prophecies and pay attention to the prophecies, taking heed to the prophetic word in this dark age, but this is not for satisfying a curiosity about the future but to prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return.

As we study the prophecies we should not be curious but rather, we should exercise our spirit to touch life, touch the spirit, and touch the Lord.

As we live in this nighttime before the Lord’s coming, we need to take heed to the prophetic word until the Lord comes and the day dawns!

May we be vigilant and watch for the Lord’s return, putting on the helmet of salvation and the weapons of light to be ready for His coming.

May we come to the word of God and pay attention to the prophecies as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the Lord returns.

Lord Jesus, we want to pay attention to the prophecies in Your word so that we may prepare ourselves for Your second coming. We love You, Lord Jesus, and we want You to return soon! We come to Your word and give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until Christ as the morning star rises in our hearts. We put off the darkness with its works and we put on the weapons of light. We come to You in Your word not to satisfy our curiosity concerning Your coming but to know the prophecies and be vigilant and watchful for Your return! Amen, Lord, we want to study the prophecies and pay attention to them, touching life, the spirit, and the Lord in the word to be prepared for Your return! Dear Lord Jesus, we desire that You return soon! We want to be with You and for You to be with us. We love You, dear Lord Jesus!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Truth Lessons – Level Four, vol. 1, pp. 6-9, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming (2023 ICSC), week 3, entitled, Making Ourselves Ready for the Lord’s Coming by Giving Heed to the Prophetic Word as to a Lamp Shining in a Dark Place Until the Day Dawns and the Morning Star Rises in our Hearts.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – The Morning Star Rises and the Day Dawns unto the Full Day of New Jerusalem (2), via New Jerusalem blog.
  – The spiritual lessons in seeking the Lord’s appearing, a portion from, The Prophecy of the Four ‘Sevens’ in the Bible, Chapter 1, by Witness Lee.
  – 7 Compelling Reasons to Read the Bible, article via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Loving His appearing, earnestly awaiting His return, and calling for His coming, a portion from, The Vision of the Divine Dispensing and Guidelines for the Practice of the New Way, Chapter 4, by Witness Lee.
  – Letter from the Co-workers in the Lord’s Recovery Regarding the Current Pandemic (March 2020), article via, Living to Him.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – And we have the prophetic word / Made more firm, to which you do well / To give heed as to a lamp / Shining in a dark place, / Until the day dawns / And the morning star / Rises in your hearts. (Scripture song)
  – Watch, for the night is ending! / Watch, and the world not seek; / Watch, for the day is dawning! / Watch, sink not in sleep. / Watch, for the Lord is coming! / Watch for the foe’s attack; / Watch, for the Lord is waiting! / Watch, be never slack. (Hymns #666 stanza 1)
  – The local churches are preparing for the Lord’s return— / We know the time is near for our Bridegroom so dear. / He’s coming back to claim the Bride for which His heart doth yearn, / That with Him we may be through all eternity. / The Christ we love is coming soon, / And He will come as our Bridegroom. / We’ll wait for Him, we’ll watch and pray— / It may be today, it may be today! (Hymns #1311 stanza 1 and chorus)