Page 497

[Alexandr Korol]

2. The promise in 2 Peter 1:19 (“until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your
hearts”)

The Apostle Peter writes:

“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.”

The context: Peter has just told of the Lord’s Transfiguration on the mountain (where
he saw the glory of Christ with his own eyes). But even this miraculous event he places
below the Word of God. The prophetic word (Scripture) is like a reliable lantern in the
darkness of night.

• The “dark place” is our world, full of sin, doubt, and ignorance.
• “Until the day dawn” is an image of the Second Coming of Christ and the eternal
Kingdom (the full daybreak).
• “The day star in your hearts” — here again what is meant is Jesus Himself
(compare Rev. 22:16 and 2:28). This is not merely an external light, but an inner
enlightenment: when Christ truly comes to reign in a person’s heart through faith
and the Holy Spirit.

Peter says: hold to Scripture, as to a light in the night, until the full light rises in your
soul — Christ Himself. This happens gradually: through the reading of the Word,
repentance, prayer, and obedience. The more we allow Him to shine within, the less
darkness (fear, doubt, sin) remains. In the end, the “day” will fully come at His return.

Some interpreters add: the morning star (Venus) is visible in the sky when the night has
not yet ended, but it is already clear that the sun will soon rise. So too Christ already
shines in the hearts of believers, though the world is still in darkness.