The Spirit of Prophecy
Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all Truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak and He will show you things to come.
St. John 16:13
We have a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts … Knowing that no Prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.
2 Peter 1:19-20
The Holy Spirit Reveals Prophecy
There are a couple of terms that we must become familiar with if we are to fully appreciate Bible Prophecy. The first term is Truth or simply that which is right in the Eyes of God. Jesus prayed that we would be sanctified in the Truth, God’s Word is Truth. John 17:17. For the Christian, there is no other Truth apart from God’s Word. Anything else is false and leads to darkness. So, as we relate the Holy Spirit to Truth, Jesus said that He (The Holy Spirit) will guide the believer into all Truth. That is the Purpose of Prophecy.
Another term that is very important to the believer is Comforter. The Holy Spirit will not only guide the believer into Truth but is also known as The Comforter. He, the Holy Spirit is the only One that God has sent for this specific purpose. In the role of Comforter the Holy Spirit will (number one) abide with us forever. John 14:16. The Comforter will (number two) teach the believer all things and bring all things to our remembrance. John 14:26. The Holy Spirit as Comforter will (number three) testify of Jesus. John 15:26. The Comforter will also (number four) reprove the world of sin, (number five) reprove the world of righteousness, and (number six) reprove the world of judgment. John 16:8. Why is this important to Prophecy. It is important so that when events happen in time, the Holy Spirit will test them and show the Child of God if they are right or wrong. Again, He will guide us in all the Truth and only the Truth.
The third term we will reference is Prophecy. Since all of Prophecy centers around the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy. Revelation 19:10, declares that Jesus Christ is the Spirit of Prophecy. With that being said, whatever Jesus has declared, will come to pass. The Word that He has spoken will come true as He has promised. This is where The Purpose of Prophecy is so critical. How will we know how to interpret events and situations without the Holy Spirit informing us of what God has said in His Word? We must have the Comforter to guide us into living this Truth.
What do we mean by Prophecy? The Bible is very specific in this matter. All Prophecy that was of any significance in the Old Testament pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus said to the religious leaders, search the Scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and they are the ones that testify of Me. John 5:39. So, all Prophecy before Jesus came into the world was about Jesus. Guess what? All Prophecy after the coming of Jesus Christ into the world is also about Jesus. No other Prophecy matters to God. With that being said, the Holy Spirit is not sent to reveal things about the Wall Street Journal or New York Times. It is only the Bible and only about Jesus that the Holy Spirit will show you things to come. That is the Spirit of Prophecy and that is what you need to know if you are seeking Eternal Life. If you are not seeking Eternal Life then you can follow whatever you desire and it will lead you into total darkness.
The Holy Spirit Gives Light in Times of Darkness
Why is this important and why is it important now? This is important because the world is falling into total moral darkness. People are walking their own way and have turned away from God. If the world falls into total moral darkness, then laws will mean nothing at all. Leadership will mean nothing to people. More and more, people will resort to their own ways and lawlessness will abound. It is happening now.
People think nothing of breaking the law. Why? Because they see how the leaders are showing contempt for what’s right, they simply practice what they see. More and more people are becoming like animals who act on impulse rather than on standards of truth and decency. Government will become less and less effective because people have rejected God’s Truth. They have nothing to hold them accountable. Isn’t this exactly what the Bible said would happen? Men will become lovers of self, more than lovers of God and because of their evil, the love of many shall wax cold.
So, what does that mean to the believer and how does the Spirit of Prophecy help us in these dark times. Let’s start with the Word of Jesus. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth has come, He will guide you into all Truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak and He will show you things to come. Jesus promises two things the Holy Spirit will do in those dark places of life.
First, the Holy Spirit guides the Child of God into all Truth. In this promise, Jesus lets us know that the Holy Spirit will never stop guiding us until we reach our destination. This is not a temporary guidance on certain days of the week. This is a perpetual guidance because the Spirit is not just with us, He is now in us. He can never be separated from us. According to Romans 8, there is nothing at all that can separate us from God’s Love and God’s Care. We have the Power of the Holy Spirit to guide us.
From a prophetic perspective, this is powerful because we are not only avoiding the darkness of this world, but we are also walking in God’s Light. In Prophecy Light and Truth are synonymous and helps us to walk with God. The evidence is clear. There is only Light or darkness. There is no middle ground. As the evil increases, the darkness also increases. But for those who dwell in Christ, the darkness of the world’s lies does not overtake us. The Light of Jesus shines in a dark place and gives Light in our dwelling. This is God’s work and it is marvelous in our eyes. Recall, how the Lord caused His Light to dwell in the land of Goshen and gave Light to all of Israel while the Egyptians dwelt in darkness. The Lord will do the same for the Child of God as we open the Scripture.
The second great thing the Holy Spirit does for the Child of God is that He shows them things to come. This Prophecy of the Holy Spirit is based solely on the Promises of our Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in Scripture. There are many things to come that we need to be aware of. For starters, we need to recognize and prepare for our home in Heaven. Jesus told us that we would dwell in our Father’s House in Heaven. He also told us that He would be coming back to receive us unto Himself. Those are things to come that we know are true because Jesus said so.
The Holy Spirit shows us things to come as recorded in the Scripture. He shows us that the Purpose of Prophecy has changed from foretelling the future to forth telling of the future in Christ. This tells us that we are a new Creation in Christ Jesus and that old things are passed away and all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17. The Holy Spirit tells us and reminds us that this is important to our development in the Lord.
Now, the ministry of the Holy Spirit gives us a better Word of Prophecy because He reminds us of what Christ Jesus has done, is doing now, and will do in the future as we are guided to our destination in Glory. We have a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts … Knowing that no Prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. The admonition is that we heed what is being said to us by God.
As the world becomes darker, this Prophecy of Scripture is going to become more and more impactful. Notice, it is like a light that shines in a dark place. The emphasis here is that this Light will shine brighter and brighter as the dawning of a new day. That is how bright God’s Light will shine in us and through us. The reference to the daystar was used in the Greek culture to represent the planet Venus and also the Sun itself as the center of our solar system. The Apostle Peter uses the Daystar to give a title to Jesus as the Light of the World and the Light of our life. The term references the “Light bringer” that now shines in our hearts. The Prophecy of Jesus has shined into our hearts because it is the Word of God and the Light of our soul. This is no private interpretation, this is shared and known by all because it is for everyone who believes. I cannot have more or less of Jesus than anyone else. Like the manna, whatever you glean it is sufficient to meet every need. The Light can never be put out. The Light will never lose its power. The good news is that we can let that Daystar shine for all the world to see. This Light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. That is the Purpose of Prophecy, to let the Light shine for Jesus.
God, once again says, “Let there be Light.” Amen.