2 Peter 1:19, commentary and pictures

The prophetic word is a more sure, dependable and trustworthy guide that is to be heeded as a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the day star arises in the heart. It did not come by the will of man but holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and it stands with even stronger confirmation than the eyewitness testimony to Christ's majesty and the Father's voice on the holy mount. It is Moses and the prophets, whose words concerning Christ were literally fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth and were expounded by the risen Jesus concerning Himself to kindle faith and fasten it on unquestionable evidence. Taking heed means earnestly, prayerfully and continually studying, comparing Scripture with Scripture and acting on the light received with the whole heart, which guards against human fables, false revelations and deception and points plainly to duty and to Christ. The dawning day and arising star mean Christ the Morning Star received and formed within as the hope of glory to transform the life, and those in whom He so shines become lights in moral darkness to carry present truth to the world before His glorious coming as King of kings.

Sure Light in Darkness

The prophetic word is a more sure, dependable and trustworthy guide, and believers do well to take heed to it as to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the day star arises in the heart. It is the sure word from God and His reliable voice, not a matter of private interpretation, for prophecy did not come in old time by the will of man but as holy men spoke while moved by the Holy Ghost. Each person must therefore search the Scriptures and understand them directly for himself, especially the truths needed for his own time, rather than rely on teachers' claims, human claims, or feelings. Taking heed means accepting words of caution and repeating the evidences of the Word without offense, staying in right relation to God in order to understand the Scriptures and follow on to know the Lord step by step, being careful at every step not to give offense to Jesus Christ who bought with the price of His own blood, which is what is needed to fit for immortality and for the glory to be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ. It calls for taking hold of God's rich promises and pleading with Him for power.

That more sure word stands with the apostles' eyewitness testimony to Christ's power and coming, His majesty, honor and glory, and the Father's voice from the excellent glory on the holy mount, and gives even stronger confirmation than that testimony. It does not rest on cunningly devised fables but on eyewitness of His majesty and of the heavenly voice declaring Him God's beloved Son, anchoring faith and giving confidence to speak not as guess or possibility. It is to be kept always in remembrance as present truth by those established in the truth, as the Word of God and His promise to be regarded. Diligent attention to that truth through Scripture gives knowledge of the evidence of faith, guards against false theories, and supports growth in the faith, and it is presented as encouragement for believers to press forward.

The light is connected with Christ as spiritual light, and the day dawn and the day star arising in the heart means Christ, the Morning Star and Sun of Righteousness, is received, formed within as the hope of glory, trusted through God's ample promises, shining into the mind, growing brighter to the perfect day and transforming the life. As with the Swiss believers who had received knowledge of present truth, the Sun of Righteousness had shone upon their minds. As with Nicodemus, the lesson Christ gave was a light shining in a dark place until the day dawned and the day star arose in his heart, and the light received was to grow brighter, leading toward fuller understanding and conviction. Believers who accept present truth receive the Day-star's light, which shines into their minds and transforms their lives. Those who know the truth have had the Day-star rise upon them, lifting them out of the darkness of error where poor souls still sit and where they themselves might have been placed, even among barbarians, and therefore they must put themselves in the place of the lost, sound an alarm throughout the length and breadth of the earth, and flash the light upon the pathway of others. Christ as the Morning Star gives bright beams that every true believer catches and transmits to those who sit in darkness, so that united with Christ and one with Him believers shine amid the darkness in their own neighborhoods, and together as a church carry that light to regions beyond, everyone who unites with the church diffusing the bright beams of the Morning Star and so becoming the light of the world, working as co-partners with Christ in the great work of saving the world.

The night, dawn and day star also describe history before the Reformation: the night was the midnight of darkness the world had passed, when copies of the Bible were very few and, except among the Waldenses, locked up in languages known only to the learned. God did not suffer His word to be wholly destroyed and its truths to be forever hidden, but preserved the words of life and providentially guided men in different countries of Europe by the Spirit to the Holy Scriptures. The dawn was the wearing away of the hours of darkness with tokens of coming day in many lands, and the day star arising was the rise of reformers, above all John Wycliffe in fourteenth-century England as the morning star of the Reformation and herald of reform not for England alone but for all Christendom, whose protest against Rome was never to be silenced and opened the struggle resulting in the emancipation of individuals, churches, and nations. Taking heed to the light then meant searching for truth as for hidden treasures, studying the sacred pages with intense interest, accepting the light at any cost, perceiving long-buried truths, and going forth as Heaven-sent messengers to rend asunder error and superstition and call the enslaved to liberty, with the Scriptures translated and given to the people in their native tongue. In Scotland under popery the dark place was deepest gloom, where Rome exercised more absolute sway than in any other country and nowhere was the darkness deeper, and the light was rays of truth piercing that gloom and giving promise of the coming day, the knowledge of the gospel preserved by the Lollards coming from England with the Bible and the teachings of Wycliffe and by witnesses and martyrs in every century, then kindled into new life by the writings of Luther and Tyndale's English New Testament traversing the mountains and valleys to undo the work of four centuries of oppression.

Christ's pre-existence and oneness with the Father is part of this light shining in darkness, revealing His divine, original glory and shedding light on other mysteries that would otherwise remain unexplained.

Divine Origin of Prophecy

No prophecy of Scripture is a matter of private interpretation, for prophecy did not come in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Scripture is therefore God's sure word and reliable voice rather than human invention, human claims, or feelings, and each person is to search the Scriptures and understand them directly rather than rely on men. Understanding it requires patient, honest study that sets aside preconceived ideas and compares Scripture with Scripture, so that its light leads to true knowledge rather than false conclusions. It is to be kept always in remembrance by those established in present truth as the Word of God and His promise to be regarded.

Prophecy does not rest on cunningly devised fables but on eyewitness of the power and coming of Christ, His majesty, honor and glory, and the Father's voice from the excellent glory heard on the holy mount. It is a sure, definite, authoritative word, not an uncertain sound, and the ground of Christian faith held by those who have learned from Jesus. Those united in Christ and made complete in one body in Him, and through Him one with the Father, show by words and actions that they hold to it as a holy, happy people. It gives assurance amid trials and temptations when Satan works through human agents, supporting confidence in the living Saviour and Intercessor who helps in every time of need.

Its certainty surpasses human wisdom. When the veil between time and eternity is removed, the fallacy of human wisdom will become clear in comparison with the sure word, and its light will make clear what human understanding cannot now comprehend when eternity is revealed.

The prophetic word stands firm through human testing and even the wreck of worlds. The vision neither adds to nor takes away from that word, and God's word is necessary for life, not merely physical bread.

The sure word leaves no place for human doctrines about the future, such as that marriages will take place and children will be born in the new earth. Those who believe the Scriptures accept the sure word of prophecy in the Scriptures, and Christ's words that those raised from the dead and those translated without seeing death will neither marry nor be given in marriage but will be as the angels of God settle the question forever.

The prophetic word is a reliable answer to ridicule of the Bible and Christianity and deserves close attention, with personal experience confirming it. Its truths are not new inventions, and the charge that Christianity and religion are mere jugglery, sorcery, and ridicule is refuted by the true wisdom worth keeping for eternity given through the Bible writers, in contrast to infidel authors whose thinking ability comes from God but is prostituted. That prophetic truth comes from Jesus Christ, who gave precious gems and hidden treasures of truth to the patriarchs and prophets, the same gospel preached to Adam in Eden.

Christ Foretold and Fulfilled

The sure word is Moses and the prophets, the Old Testament Scriptures including the symbols and shadows of the typical law and its prophecies concerning Christ. After His resurrection Jesus expounded those Scriptures concerning Himself to enlighten understanding, stir hearts, kindle faith and beget again unto a lively hope even before He revealed Himself. He directed minds to Moses and the prophets and fastened faith upon that word so truth would take firm root not merely because of His personal testimony but because of its unquestionable evidence. That intelligent faith was needful both for believers themselves and that they might carry the knowledge of Christ to the world, for the very first step in imparting that knowledge is to direct minds to Moses and the prophets, showing the value and importance of the Old Testament. It is the guide that makes clear who Jesus is, the Son of God and the long-expected Messiah, its prophecies of His mission and work confirmed by their fulfillment, and studying them unlocks the meaning of the New Testament.

The prophecies concerning Christ's first advent were literally fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, providing firm foundation and overwhelming evidence that faith in Him rests on truth rather than impulse or fanaticism. Paul used that prophetic evidence to demonstrate fulfillment, and Peter, James and John appealed to that sure witness to persuade Israel that Jesus whom they had crucified is the promised Messiah, both Lord and Christ. Prophetic and apostolic testimony together form a complete chain of evidence sufficient to establish faith in God's power, Christ's divine mission, and the authority and work of the Holy Spirit, the prophets pointing to the Saviour to come and the apostles testifying He had come in exact fulfillment. The sure word also gives evidence that Christ truly came and faced and endured the test of temptation in the wilderness. Even as a child Jesus used Isaiah to show the Messiah would suffer and to reveal the Lamb of God.

The verse grounds the Advent proclamation, for William Miller opened its truths to the world by proclaiming the Advent doctrine, Christ's coming and the need to prepare. Its truths are a precious light believers must study carefully, especially the prophetic subjects opened when Christ's soon coming was first proclaimed, so they can understand the truths that shaped their faith. The third angel's message is founded on that sure word rather than on fables, and thorough investigation gives certainty about the place in world history and shows Christ's second coming is near with prophetic light increased and confirmed. The prophecies of Daniel, Revelation and Matthew 24 are therefore to be carefully studied and explained in the light of the living oracles, because Matthew 24 is fulfilling in the present time and its fulfillment is seen in the signs of the times.

Prophecy links events across the ages and reveals where people stand in history and what is still to come. Prophecies fulfilled up to the present, as recorded in history, give assurance that the remaining prophecies will be fulfilled in their appointed order. God's work continues toward that fulfillment despite apostasy and opposition, grounding the watchmen's answer that morning is coming and night also. Though the world is covered by the darkness of sin, Christ is coming, sin will end, and God's judgment will consume evil. The sure word will reach its final fulfillment in the glorious advent of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, which believers are to cherish, hold to in God's promises, and wait for deliverance in God's appointed time and way.

Everything in the world, including people, doctrines and nature, fulfills the sure word and serves God's final closing work in history. This confirms that the God who ruled in Babylon rules now. For Daniel and his companions in Babylon the Old Testament was this light shining in a dark place, opened to them as they faithfully studied to know the divine will in faith that God would communicate His will. They made it their textbook and the foundation on which to build character, their authority demanding obedience, the source of divine wisdom and truth of highest importance placing duty before them in clear light, having only the Old Testament, while youth today have increased light in the whole Bible teaching the whole duty of men, women and children. The sure word likewise came as light to eagerly seeking people in darkness when Christ brought pure truth that dispelled the darkness caused by unbelief, human interpretations and accumulated tradition.

Heeding the Prophetic Light

Taking heed means obeying the promptings of the Spirit and the teachings of the Word, seeking the knowledge of God above earthly treasure and more than silver and gold. To those who do so are revealed the great things of the kingdom, His covenant, the time of night and the events about to take place. This heeding prepared and qualified humble faithful men to proclaim the hour of judgment as part of the everlasting gospel and to arouse professed people from stupor to stand in the day of God and be ready for the coming of the Lord, while scholarly theologians who do not diligently and prayerfully search fail to understand and proclaim it.

Heeding requires personal, earnest, prayerful and continuous searching for truth as for hidden treasure, each person understanding Scripture directly rather than relying on human claims, feelings, teachers' assertions or private interpretation, since holy men spoke as moved by the Holy Spirit and not by human will. It requires setting aside preconceived ideas and comparing Scripture with Scripture so its light leads to true knowledge rather than false conclusions. It requires testing every desire and purpose by Scripture and seeking God in prayer for knowledge of His will, for refusing this light leaves people open to superstition and Satan's deception. Watching for first gleams and advancing in light rather than resting satisfied brings clear revelations of truth, for the diligent student of prophecy is rewarded and the sincere seeker of God's will is not left in darkness. Through Word and Spirit God then moves upon the heart, the light enters heart and mind, points the path of righteousness so plainly that the wayfaring man though a fool need not err, and gives light and understanding to the simple, poor and uneducated for whom Bible and soul were made for each other.

Scripture is the highest counsel to be faithfully studied and made the rule and guide of life by all, especially leading men in colleges and churches, more dependable than human learning, opinions, prejudice, passion, wisdom of men or changing feelings. Giving heed gives light in darkness and unfailingly points out duty and which way to walk, keeping those in trust from standing off guard while the vigilant enemy watches to take advantage. It directs the soul to Christ, teaching self-distrust amid temptation while enabling a firmer grasp of Christ by whom believers receive power to become God's children, rather than heeding joyful or sad feelings. It speaks with definiteness and authority, never hesitatingly or doubtingly and with no uncertain sound, not as cunningly devised fables but as precious revealed truth like jewels hidden in a field to be bought and possessed.

Taking heed means acting on light and evidence received with whole mind and heart and every capability called for, bringing earnest seeking after God, decided advance movement and victory in obedience such as choosing to keep the Sabbath. It means studying the Word, trusting it under every circumstance, storing It is written in the mind and using it inch by inch to fight the good fight of faith, furnishing armor and weapons to meet every advance of the enemy, giving sensitiveness and keen perception against Satan's devices, and wholly overcoming every temptation when Satan presses his hellish shadow to eclipse the view of Jesus and His plain requirements. It means doing every duty made plain in order to receive greater light, so those honestly desiring freedom from doubt are enabled to understand and perform duties now in doubt instead of questioning and caviling over what they do not understand. It means inquiring at every step what the Lord says and resting faith on Thus saith the Lord rather than consulting human wisdom and accepting assertions of finite mortals, since God has spoken and His word endures forever.

Heeding guards against deception by holding to pure Spirit-given truth and rejecting fables and fanaticism, teaching words of eternal life rather than messages not authorized by the Holy Spirit. It means letting God's Word speak to the soul and refusing to turn from the fountain of living waters to broken cisterns by depending on human agents claiming prophetic revelation for light. It means reading, understanding and practicing its teachings as the unerring guide, and warning against turning faith from Scripture toward supposed revelations or human messengers, since counterfeit claims can closely resemble the genuine work of the Spirit. It means refusing human philosophy, tradition, distorted interpretation, false science and spiritualist practices, for neglecting earnest study and failing to test desires and purposes by Scripture and prayer leaves the right path open to Satan, while faith in the sure word declines and superstition and satanic witchery capture many minds.

The call for heed is urgent because Christ's coming may occur when not expected. Taking heed means wide-awake rapid action, believing the signs of Christ's coming and that the kingdoms of this world have not yet become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, refusing deception and moving quickly to save fellow men and communicate light before the night comes in which no man can work, instead of delaying in long protracted courses of study that become a snare, an idol and lessen spirituality and fitness for work.

Taking heed includes accepting words of caution and repeating the evidences of the Word without offense, as needed to fit for immortality and for the glory to be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ, being careful not to give offense to Christ who bought with His own blood, and staying in right relation to God in order to understand Scripture and follow on to know the Lord step by step. It means making no rash, excited or hasty moves about duty, but seeking wisdom from God who gives liberally, listening with whole heart open to hear and obey, and moving only under divine guidance.

The prophetic word is to be read in the light of the living oracles and prayerfully studied and expounded under divine inspiration as living light and not dead letter, preparing God's people to endure trials, suffering and persecution as Christ did and to trace His perfect obedience to His Father's commandments. Heeding is not a substitute for living connection with God, for those who teach must have deep vital experience with the Spirit abiding in them so hearts are reached. Those who lead others need divine enlightenment to direct them to Jesus their only hope, and with Christ abiding in the heart the soul receives light from Christ the Light of life to proclaim truth with power.

Its light is the only safety and counselor and a firm hold against Satan's insinuations and trials through disobedient human agents, to be spoken from God's authority not as speculation to draw searching souls to Jesus amid opposition. Taking heed means turning from the dark cave of doubt and despair to Christ the Fountain of life, clinging to Him as Way, Truth and Life, and trusting a living Saviour and living Intercessor who helps in every time of need rather than following cunningly devised fables. The Spirit teaches, reminds and guides, giving evidence that God's sure and steadfast Word shining in darkness until the day dawns cannot fail.

Young people are responsible to God for opportunities and scriptural light received and need that light to prepare to resist error and evil. All need the Bible and need to know what is written, comparing its predictions with events taking place to understand life in the last days. Those seeking eternal life must center attention on the Bible and be grounded in its revealed truth so they can explain their hope with meekness and reverence, turning away from exciting stories and superficial reading as the special work of ministers and workers in every rank. Such diligent study of sacred records in Old and New Testaments with fresh interest makes them increasingly beautiful, lessens desire for light reading, and makes the Bible a friend and guide.

Growth in Grace and Victory

The chapter containing the verse is to be read, studied and practiced day by day as practical godliness and a guide for gaining eternal life, forming character in obedience to Christ's teaching, knowing God through holiness and sanctification and doing His Word, and preparing for entrance into His everlasting kingdom. Its instruction is to be heeded with most earnest effort and followed circumspectly with careful attention to the essential words of Scripture and faithful obedience to them as part of preparing for salvation. Its teachings are to be carried into the religious life in following the Lord and advancing in faith.

Heeding means working on God's prescribed plan of addition, adding grace to grace and Christian graces to faith daily to increase capacity and store of knowledge of God and of Christ. As this is done Christ works on His plan of multiplication, multiplying grace and peace, storing up treasures to impart to others, fulfilling its requirements and giving grace to obey the law of God. Salvation is thus worked out through a continuous process of sanctification in persevering to overcome faults and cultivate right habits, while God works for the believer. Human effort cannot succeed by itself, but divine grace, the Spirit's discipline and influence, and Christ's righteousness make obedience possible and perfect and bring spiritual strength to follow Christ.

Those who carry this out become victors at last and secure eternal life through Christ's death and grace as an everlasting life insurance policy, standing on the safe platform of Bible truth. They give themselves wholly to Christ as soldiers of His cross under Him as Captain of salvation, war the warfare till victory is gained, and prove in personal religious experience that Christ is the Messiah and did not die in vain. Following the principles for seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness with heart, mind, soul and strength affects the entire character, making believers one with the Saviour, partakers of the divine nature, with character molded after the likeness of Christ, growing into a holy temple for the Lord through whom light shines forth to church and world. Even the very simplest can take hold of the divine nature through knowledge of Jesus Christ who gave His life to buy with the precious blood of the Son of God, and those who stand in Christ and determine to make of themselves all God intended will not be left to drift with Satan's temptations but can become as precious in God's sight as Daniel. God does nothing without cooperation and will not force anyone to drink of the water of life, but those complete in Christ He looks upon as heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ to the immortal inheritance, and receiving the trustworthy prophetic word as the Word of the living God and immortal promise to be appreciated and laid hold of as one's own leads by adding grace to grace and following on to know the Lord to heaven and eternal life and to presenting the Word to bring many souls into the truth.

God's election is for those who work on this plan of addition, and Christ has paid the price of this election for every person so no one need be lost and all have been redeemed. Those who receive Christ as personal Saviour are given power to become God's sons and daughters, and an offer of eternal life is provided for all.

The chapter teaches Christ as the only hope and sole dependence, to whom every trial and perplexity is to be brought in trusting Him as Helper, Strength and sympathetic Friend. Those who take the Christian name must obey in order to honor that name, with mind thoroughly cultivated, without forbidding any aspirations or enterprises that pure religion sanctions, and those who obey will be richly blessed. The whole passage from 2 Peter 1:1-21 is to be read so that every man brings himself into order and walks carefully before God to honor and fear Him and glorify His holy name.

Practicing the Christian qualities described keeps believers from falling, and parents are to show Christlike patience and holiness so children can learn from them and to hold their children by living faith in God, while those who overcome will enter God's city and receive its promised crown. The chapter is to be studied by all who offer themselves for service because it represents the experiences that fit men and women to become efficient workers for God.

The instruction gives comfort and encouragement to all who have obtained like precious faith and is to be read as an uplifting testimony in the churches, and letting its truths fill heart and mind gives strength to resist every temptation to look on the dark side of circumstances and to talk discouragement. The prophetic word stands as a sure guide like a light shining in darkness to be heeded until dawn and the day star rise in the heart, meaning believers are to take hold of God's rich promises and come to His feet pleading with Him for power to gain victory over sin.

Every discourse from the chapter should be practical, showing sinners the sinfulness of sin in the light of God's holy law while lifting up the sin-pardoning Redeemer who died as substitute and surety. Not the law alone and not the love of God alone are to be presented, but law and gospel together, for one is not complete without the other, and the two blended produce unfeigned love and faith.

Sharing Light With World

The sure word of prophecy is a light shining in a dark place for those who have listened only to fables, giving them opportunity through witnesses scattered over the earth as bodies of light and living epistles to hear truth, compare it with human claims, contrast truth with fables taught by men claiming to understand the Word and to qualify as instructors of those in darkness, and prepare for the coming judgment and the near approach of the coming Saviour. It is presented to the understanding of all who will take heed, warning them to prepare and test prophetic claims against God's truth. Understanding this sure revelation of God's will is a privilege that carries responsibility to share its knowledge with others in proclaiming the warning message. The light of present truth has risen upon God's people and must shine through them to those in darkness in every land and people before Christ's second coming, continuing until all have heard, decided, and the end comes. A great and earnest work remains because the world is fast ripening for the close of its history, and those truly serving Jesus will be a holy sanctified people communicating that light to all around them.

Those who know the truth have had the Day-star rise upon them, lifting them from the darkness of error where poor souls still sit and where they themselves might have been placed even among barbarians. That received light makes them debtors to put themselves in the place of the lost, sound an alarm throughout the length and breadth of the earth that the day of the Lord hastens greatly, flash light upon the pathway of others, and leave none unwarned. Shining is by representing truth in practical life, for Christ's religion shines in a dark world through a winsome character bearing fruits of what is true, honest, lovely and worthy of praise as He imparts His divine attributes and enables imitation of His example. Believers become a light shining in moral darkness by showing what the Lord has done in transformation of character, working for salvation of fellow men in cooperation with God, each filling his own God-given sphere with faith, sympathy, forbearance, love, gentleness and temperance in all things rather than by judging others. Strength for this comes through communion with God, humble and careful walk feeling daily need of His grace, power, wisdom and enlightenment through experimental knowledge of God and the Saviour, guiding lost souls to Jesus their only hope; without that humble dependence influence becomes human, contracted, confused and obscure, making crooked paths that confuse and lead astray.

Reflecting the sunlight of Christ's righteousness is how God's people shine as lights in a dark place. Christ is the Morning Star whose bright beams every true believer catches and transmits to those sitting in darkness, united with Him shining in their own neighborhoods and together as a church carrying light to regions beyond, so that everyone uniting with the church diffuses those beams, becomes the light of the world, and works as co-partner with Christ in saving the world. Properly conducted small sanitariums are lights shining in darkness to bring Christ's influence and true, pure religion to people, heal the sick, lead thirsting souls to the living water, and win souls to Christ. They are to be many small homelike institutions in pleasant places out of the cities, not expensive mammoth institutions or massive buildings in cities, with workers reflecting the sunlight of Christ's face and keeping their savor as salt that has not lost it. Through such work the influence of true religion is extended to many souls.

The same light shines through gospel work planted in spiritually dark neglected places, as God opens the way for interests in places like Graysville and Huntsville and many other places in the South to shine in darkness and prepare the way for acceptance of saving truth. Camp meetings should bring light as God works through those who prepare the way and cooperate with Him in humility exalting Him, since human success does not supply grace or power and all is of God. Those serving in publishing offices are to show truth's power through their lives and impart its light to people in darkness. The Echo paper is to be like a light shining in a dark place helping people see truth and reaching Catholics including sincere readers ready to accept it, so harsh and bitter remarks are to be restrained lest they shut the door to acceptance and hinder circulation. The Lord's light shines in the last days to dispel gloom from sinful indulgence and lessen evils from intemperate eating and drinking.

Full brightness of truth before unbelievers as light in spiritual darkness comes only after a great work of reformation and transformation in every soul by purifying the soul through obeying truth, redeeming the time, and working with true missionary spirit for those not of the faith, when even one humble, meek, lowly person standing firm as a rock to Thus saith the Lord exerts powerful influence for good with grace and efficiency committed by angels for health of soul. By contrast, those who should have guided with clear light but carried false light not kindled from God's holy altar but from fire forbidden for His service became darkness. Blessing comes to those who hearken to the never-failing sure prophetic word, as in Zechariah's first message in the eighth month in the second year of Darius to returned exiles building the temple, only days after assurance through Haggai that the glory of the house they built would exceed Solomon's former temple, calling them to turn to the Lord of hosts and not be as their fathers who did not hear when former prophets cried to turn from evil ways and doings, whose confession proved God's words and statutes had taken hold of them according to their ways and doings.

Earnest attention to present duty belongs to loving the sure word above personal opinions and theories, yielding to conviction, confessing wrong, and humbling the wayward heart; holding one's own way dearer keeps people from the true message in Satan's snare, and by this standard time could not end in 1884 because warning all nations, tongues and people, proclaiming the binding claims of God's law, and other events must first transpire. The sure word as opposed to cunningly devised fables pervades Paul's instructions, letters, appeals and admonitions giving them heavenly character, and makes Christians complete in one body in Christ and through Christ one with the Father, evidenced by words and actions showing they have been with Jesus and learned of Him as a holy happy people objects of Christ's divine love. The Word is a light for one receiving love of the truth, with Bible and soul made for each other, God moving on the heart through Word and Spirit to point out righteousness so plainly the wayfaring man though a fool need not err, giving light to the simple as sure guide for poor and uneducated as well as others so the sincere seeker of God's will is not left in darkness. It is among words carrying power and influence given in Jesus Christ that set the standard for measuring experience to be expressed in praise and glory to God.

God's people are to read the sure word in the light of Scripture and proclaim its truth with power, with Christ's abiding presence in the heart strengthening witness and the soul receiving light from Christ the Light of life. God's truth shines like a lamp amid perils of the last days and must be kept clear of specious errors and taught faithfully as delivered through the Holy Spirit so seekers are guided aright. Christians are called to speak the truth that comes from Christ.