THE MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY.
By T.
“FOR we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory. This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount. 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.” 2 Peter 1:16-21. The knowledge of “the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” does not rest upon “cunningly devised fables.” It has always been a trick of the heathen priests and oracles to present prophecies, and to give information concerning the hidden and unknown in such “cunningly devised” language that, no matter which way things might turn, they would claim that their predictions were fulfilled. But we are following none of these “cunningly devised fables” when we make “known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In the words already quoted the apostle calls attention to the fact that they were “eye-witnesses of His majesty,” when they were with Him in the “holy mount,” and they heard the voice of the Father, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” They actually heard this voice and saw the majesty of the Saviour's transfiguration. And yet, after all of this strong evidence, Peter says, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy.” It might seem at first thought that what we both see and hear would be the very strongest possible evidence. And this would be true if our faculties were all in the perfect condition in which we were created. But we have been so long accustomed to sin and all of its imperfections that we are liable to both see and hear things incorrectly. So the Lord does not allow the evidence of the power and coming of His Son to rest alone upon what men have seen and heard during the ages of the past, even tho they may have had the exalted privilege of seeing the majesty of the Saviour's transfiguration and hearing the voice of the Father direct from heaven. He gives also “the more sure word of prophecy,” in which there is no possible place for mistake. Men may get mistaken ideas about the prophecies, the same as they may be mistaken in what they see and hear, but there is no mistake in the prophecy itself. The error, if there be such, is in the warped and prejudiced mind of the individual. In the “more sure word of prophecy” we have that which “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” They spake, but they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God hovered over the prophet and “moved” him to write the prophecies accurately. God gives His prophecies to help men. His prophecies must not be after the manner of the predictions of heathen oracles. They must not be cunningly devised fables, but they must be the solid and sublime truths of eternity. God's prophecies do not deal merely with something that is to transpire within the space of a few years; but the prophet of twenty-five hundred years ago was enabled by the Holy Spirit to cast his eye down to the end of time. He was bidden to see the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, and republics; He was given a view in particular of all the leading features and characteristics of the last days, and then in minute detail He was moved to write it out. Nothing short of a perfect knowledge of the future will do in giving such prophecies. They must be perfectly accurate. For they are not only to stand as a secure foundation for those who choose to rest their faith upon them, but they must endure the sharpest fire of the keenest and most unreasonable criticism. Nothing but truth can stand such a test. The Father in heaven must have His prophecies correct. For none of His children who trust Him implicitly, and who are searching His prophecies for light, must ever be confounded because of a single failure in the great prophetic Word. If you are studying the more sure word of prophecy, you not only know the deep and precious truths of God's Word, but you also have a knowledge of the power and coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And if you know this great truth, you are filled with joy and rejoicing all the day long. For there is nothing that so stirs the soul to its depths, and fills us with such indescribable delights, as the certain knowledge that Jesus is coming soon. Have you heard of His coming? Are you ready to meet Him? If so, you know this joy of which we speak.