The Spirit of Prophecy

“‘Then [the angel] said to to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’” Revelation 19:9-10 (NASB) 

The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. This phrase appears in Revelation during a vision in which John sees the overthrow of evil and the triumph of the coming Christ. Oftentimes today, we see this phrase used to help explain and justify prophetic utterance. But what does it really mean? 

First, there is the context in which this statement is made. John is recording an extended vision of the “last days” that the Holy Spirit is giving him. The angel or Voice that speaks to John breaks the “fourth wall” in a way because it speaks to John during the course of the vision. The angel reminds John that the point of Revelation is the testimony of Jesus Christ, not the worship of angels or spiritual experiences. John’s extended prophecy serves to illuminate the kingdom of God and the work of Jesus Christ. 

The point of a testimony is to reveal Jesus Christ in our experience. Similarly, prophecy is to bring to light or make known the will of God in our experience. This is why the “testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” In other words, the point of all prophecy (past, present, future) is to make the heart of Jesus Christ known in and through our experience. This has implications not only for the gift of prophecy in the Church today, but also for Israel’s prophetic scriptures that we know and adore. 

The interesting thing about Revelation is that more than half of it uses recycled imagery or scriptures from the Old Testament. This is because John is a Jew who is steeped in Israel’s prophetic scriptures. In Revelation, the Holy Spirit uses this fact to convey spiritual realities to John by way of analogies that John can understand. The Holy Spirit uses what is familiar to John to communicate the heart of Jesus…in John’s experience. 

In other words, the divine message is coming through the human vessel of John. The message, the Word, is Jesus Christ, but He communicates through the channel of John, who has his own set of beliefs, experiences, and worldview. Prophecy is the partnering of the divine heart with the human imagination to bring into manifestation the message of Jesus Christ. 

This is key for how we approach any prophetic text in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is the source, but the vessel is human. This means that the divine Word was communicated through the worldview and experiences of humans. So, yes, the Bible is “divine” in the sense that its origin is from heaven, but “human” in its expression. Like Jesus Christ, the Scriptures are divinity “wrapped” in a human body. 

This impacts the way we read the Old Testament. Remember, the Holy Spirit is the author of the Scriptures. Peter says this: 

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glorifies that would follow.” 1 Peter 1:10-11 (NIV)  

“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origins in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV)

The authors of Scripture were driven along and inspired by the Holy Spirit, in order to testify to the spiritual kingdom of the Messiah. The point of all Scripture is to reveal the person of Jesus Christ.  

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). We need to remember this when we are reading the Old Testament, the prophets, and the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ uses the words of Scripture to breathe life into our current experience. His purpose is to reveal Himself in our experience, through the Scriptures. 

Context and history are important, of course, but limiting ourselves to a face-value interpretation of the prophetic writings limits us, at best. The Bible exists for us as a means to communicate with the Living Word. Spiritual and allegorical understandings have value because they can reveal the presence of Jesus Christ in our experience. A helpful prayer for me is, “reveal yourself to me through this text, in a way that makes you real in my experience.”  

Lastly, if we are operating in the gift of prophecy, we want to make sure that what we say is centered in the love of God. Jesus Christ is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. His mission is to destroy all darkness, division, sin, and death. If we desire to speak prophetically, it should be only what is useful for building others up, that it may benefit those who hear (Ephesians 4:29; 1 Corinthians 12:7). This doesn’t mean every prophetic message is “easy” for our egos to bear, but a true message should serve our salvation in some way in the long run. 

“Prophets” are called to speak life to the Body, equipping us so that we may become mature in the Anointed (Ephesians 4:11-13). We should also remind ourselves that maturity requires discipline, and discipline requires a process. If anyone claims to be a gifted as a “prophet,” they should be prepared to speak from their experience about the spiritual process that is required for maturity. 

To summarize, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” means that the point of all prophecy (past, present, and future) serves to reveal the heart of Jesus Christ in our experience. The Holy Spirit spoke through the experience of Israel’s prophets to reveal the person of Jesus Christ. When we read any Scripture, we must encounter the Living Word, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit uses the Biblical text to speak to us in a way that is relevant for our situation and experience.   

If anyone is going to speak in the name of the Lord, they should make sure that the message serves the heart of Jesus Christ. Any prophetic utterance must be for the testimony of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is always at work to transform us into the divine image of Jesus Christ, so that we may grow into the fullness of God’s plan for our lives. Prophecy must serve this purpose in a way that strengthens and revitalizes us on our journey into God’s heart.