Give Heed to the Prophetic Word as to a Lamp Shining in a Dark Place until the Day Dawns

As believers in Christ living in the last days of this age, we are eagerly waiting for the Lord’s return, and we give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the morning star rises in our hearts.

We are in a dark age today, and the whole world lies in darkness and death, with Satan as the designer of this kosmos operating according to his wishes upon the people in the world.

In this dark age, we want to give heed to the prophetic word, praying and reading the prophecies in the word of God so that we may be encouraged, strengthened, and kept on the Christian path until the Lord returns.

We need to read and understand the prophetic word so that we may know what the Lord is about to do and we would not be taken by surprise when things happen.

The Lord’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. As we read the Bible and give heed to the word of God, we are guided by the word of the Lord, we have light shining in our being and around us, and we walk in the light.

Our footsteps need to be guided by the Lord’s word.

When we come to the word of God, we need to come to the Lord and ask Him to open our understanding.

Our understanding needs to be opened and enlightened so that we may see, know, and apprehend the plan of God, the economy of God, and the events that will transpire at the end of this age.

This is not so that we may be suspicious or filled with “conspiracy theories” or “doomsday predictions” but so that we may prepare ourselves for the Lord’s return.

As lovers of the Lord who come to the word of God with much exercise of spirit and with our heart turned to the Lord, we touch the Lord in the word, and we enjoy His presence as we spend time in His word.

As we touch the Lord in His word, He as the morning star rises up and shines in our hearts. Yes, the age is so dark and all those around us lie in darkness, walking about like zombies and like people who are addicted to the works of darkness.

But there is light in the word of God when we come to His word with our spirit exercised.

There is so much light and life in the word of God, for Christ as the embodiment and expression of God can be found in His word when we come to Him as we come to His word.

By touching the Lord in a living way through and in His word, we have a foretaste of the full taste of enjoying the Lord.

This taste is in our spirit; we contact the Lord – who is Spirit – in our spirit, and we have His presence in spirit.

Such a taste will cause us to love the Lord and love His appearing. Oh, we love the Lord and His appearing!

May we realize that our love for the Lord and for His appearing come from spending time with Him in His word, and may we give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place!

Give Heed to the Prophetic Word as to a Lamp Shining in a Dark Place until the Day Dawns

2 Pet. 1:19 is a precious verse that shows us many important matters.

First, we have the prophetic word, which is made more firm especially as we see the signs of the times and the day of the Lord drawing near.

Second, we need to give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place.

Third, this age is a dark age and the place we live in is a dark place; therefore, we need to give heed to the lamp shining in God’s word.

Fourth, we give heed to this word until the day dawns.

Fifth, the morning star rises in our hearts, that is, we receive Christ as our reward to the overcomers, those who love Him and love His appearing.

The age we live in today is a dark place, a murky place, a place that is squalid, dry, and neglected; it is a wasteland filled with darkness, and all men walk in darkness.

Especially as we see the apostasy, the deviation from the truth in God’s word, being so prevailing, we realize that darkness prevails everywhere.

There is darkness when we go to school or at the office, there is darkness in society, and there is darkness even in Christianity, for apostasy prevails.

In such a situation of darkness, we do well to give heed to the prophetic word until the day dawns and the morning star arises in our hearts.

Until the time of the Lord’s coming, we who love the Lord and realize the darkness in this age need to give heed to the prophetic word.

There will be a time when the Lord returns, first as the morning star to those who love Him and His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8), and then as the Sun of righteousness; then, there will be daytime, full brightness, and we will see things clearly.

Now it is not easy to see things clearly, for everything is in darkness.

There are many dark things and situations in the family life, in society, at school, at the office, and in politics, sports, news, social media, and everywhere.

Almost anywhere you turn, darkness is there. Sometimes even in the church life, because we do not give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place, darkness is present.

We all yearn for the day to come, the bright day to dawn, when the Lord returns, so that we may be fully illuminated and enlightened.

Until that day, though, we need to exercise our spirit and come to the word of God, giving heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place.

As we see darkness and apostasy prevailing around us, we should seek earnestly the Lord’s presence and be watchful, giving heed to the prophetic word, so that we don’t miss the Lord’s coming.

We know that the day of the Lord’s coming is near, and we want to be in His presence, being watchful in all things so that we don’t miss the Lord in the secret part of His parousia, when He comes as a thief (Matt. 24:27; 2 Thes. 2:8).

As we read the prophecies concerning the Lord’s second coming as mentioned in Matt. 24, the Epistles, and Revelation, we need to give heed and pray much over them so that we may give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns.

Our responsibility is to take heed to these words, not neglect them, not know them only in a general way but be in them and understand them, being filled with God’s word.

If we do not give heed to the prophetic word, we may miss the Lord’s coming, even as the priests and scribes in the Lord’s day knew the word of God and the prophecies but not in a living way, so they missed the coming of Messiah.

May we open to the Lord and ask Him to unveil us so that we may see the divine revelation in God’s word concerning His coming and be filled with hope and encouragement, being filled with light, so that we may be prepared for His return.

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving us the prophetic word in the Bible concerning Your second coming. Amen, Lord, this prophetic word is made more firm as we see the day of the Lord drawing near and the signs of the end of the times happening. We want to give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns. Amen, Lord, until the day of Your second coming, we want to pay attention to, give heed to, the prophetic word! We do this, Lord, not out of curiosity or to gain more knowledge but to prepare ourselves for Your second coming. Amen, Lord, in this dark age where darkness prevails and expands, we want the shining lamp in Your word to light up our path. May our daily living be guided and lit up by the divine light in the word of God. Lord, we earnestly seek Your presence and we want to be watchful so that we do not miss You in the secret part of Your return, when You come as a thief! May we be prepared for Your return!

In this Dark Age, we can have the Dawning of the Day by Studying the Prophecies to have the Divine Light Shine until the Lord’s Coming

Peter’s word in 2 Pet. 1:19 concerning the dawning day refers to the time of the Lord’s coming back; however, it also refers to our experience today.

In this dark age, we believers in Christ can have the dawning of the day by prayerfully studying the prophecies concerning the Lord’s second coming so that we may have the divine light shine in us.

On the day of His coming, Christ will shine as the Sun of righteousness, and before His coming, the time just before He returns, He will come as the morning star to the overcoming believers who are watchful.

The overcoming believers watch for the Lord’s return, loving Him and loving His appearing, and He appears to them as the morning star in the early morning of His coming.

We want to be such ones; today we want to be vigilant and watchful, making ourselves ready so that we may be rewarded by Him with the morning star and be raptured to Him before His open return.

Today the entire world is a dark place and the present age is a dark night; if we would not have the prophecies in the Bible, we would also be in darkness.

It is easy to look at the earthquakes happening here, the forest fires devouring that country, the wars and rumours of wars in Europe, and the immorality and corruption in society, and think we’re clear concerning the Lord’s coming.

But when we come to the Lord’s word and give heed to the prophetic word as to a lamp shining in a dark place, we will have the divine light and the day will dawn on us today.

The prophetic word in the Bible is our lamp shining in the darkness.

As we give heed to the prophetic word, light shines in us and around us; as we remain in the shining of the Lord’s light through His word, this light will shine until a spiritual day dawns within us, and a morning star rises in our hearts. Amen!

May we be those who love the Lord, pursue Him, enter into His word, grow in life, and arrive at maturity so that we may make ourselves ready for the Lord’s return.

And may we be built up with the saints to be the bride of Christ, the overcoming ones, to meet Him at His return.

And may we not be afraid of the word of prophecy in the Bible.

As we come to the prophetic word concerning the Lord’s second coming, we need to be careful not to fall into something that is merely outward.

It’s easy to see the signs, know the events, and be clear about what will happen, but this is not enough.

We want to touch the matter of the prophecies by remaining in the central line of God’s economy.

We want to see the reality of the prophecies in the way of life.

We cannot be careless or loose when we come to the prophetic word in the Bible.

Rather, we need to prayerfully study the prophecies and properly interpret them in the view of God’s eternal economy.

Our study of the prophecies should be to prepare us for the Lord’s return, to love His appearing, and to make ourselves ready.

We shouldn’t take things out of context and pay more attention to the things that appeal to our curiosity or nature.

May we study the prophecies in a prayerful way so that the lamp would shine in us and we would enter into a spiritual day.

May we have not only the shining of the lamp but also the dawning of the day in our experience.

May we all give heed to the prophetic word until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts!

May we all aspire that, before the Lord comes openly as the Sun of righteousness, we would see Him as the morning star rises in our hearts!

Lord Jesus, we want to prayerfully study the prophecies concerning Your return so that we may be filled with expectation and hope concerning Your coming. Amen, Lord, we want to make ourselves ready for Your return. We love to be under the shining of the light as we allow Your word to illuminate us and guide us in our daily life. Save us from remaining in darkness like the rest of the unbelievers; may our spiritual path be brighter and brighter until the full day! Amen, Lord, how pleasant it is to have the shining of the lamp in Your word in our being! How wonderful it is to have the morning star rising in our hearts! Keep us in Your shining through Your word until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts! Amen, Lord Jesus, we love You and we love Your appearing!

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, Life-study of 2 Peter, pp. 70-72, 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.
• 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)
  – E’er the Lord will come from heaven, the bright morning star will shine, / Those who watch escape the trial, gain the prize. / Then the Lord will come and as the Sun of righteousness will reign; / Earth will be restored, God’s mercy realize. (Hymns #1354 stanza 3)
  – Thou also art the Morning Star / To us as a reward; / While still ‘tis dark it shines with light / To those who love the Lord. / Lord, help us e’er to love Thy light / And see things from afar; / And look for Thee in watch and prayer / As for the Morning Star. (Hymns #200 stanzas 6-7)