Biblical prophets are less interested in predicting the future
as in declaring the word of God. Elijah, who engaged in
dialogue with Jesus and Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration,
embodies the true prophetic spirit. He symbolized the essence of
prophecy, bringing to visibility those things that often remain
hidden. The continuing text from Second Peter, therefore, links
the prophetic word with light, whether a lamp shining in a dark
place or the morning star rising in our hearts. Prophets open our
eyes so that we can see.

Perhaps Peter alludes here to John the Baptist, described in
John’s Gospel as “a burning and shining lamp” (5:35). He had
illuminated and made straight the path for the Messiah. But the
apostle quickly shifts to a different image. The verb translated
“dawns” literally describes the light that pierces the horizon at
sunrise. Peter draws the attention of the reader from an external,
objective source of light to an immediate and interior radiance—
the light of Christ shining in the human heart. This spiritual and
prophetic light enables us to find God in unexpected places. It
turns the world upside down.

A group of Christian peacemakers were nearly killed in a
car accident in the first days of “Shock and Awe” during the Iraq
War in 2003. They were rescued, however, by Iraqi Muslims
who took them to a clinic in Rutba, offered them sanctuary, and
cared for their needs. Those sheltered saw Christ in the faces of
their Muslim brothers and sisters, and it changed their world
forever. As Peter testifies, only the Spirit of God reveals such
things to our hearts and minds.