Prophecy — the Testimony of Jesus
In the book of Revelation in the Christian Bible, the Apostle John describes Jesus Christ as,
“The faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead (pertaining to His death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection) and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.”
Revelation 1:5
The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus Christ sent His angel to His servant John,
“Who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
Revelation 1:2
When the angel from God appeared to John, John fell at his feet to worship him, but the angel warned him, saying,
“See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 19:10
The Greek word for ‘testimony’ used in these verses, is ‘Martyria’ – meaning: ‘record’; ‘report’; ‘testimony’; ‘witness’; ‘the office committed to the prophets testifying concerning future events’; ‘what one testifies’ – See Strong’s Concordance. This Scripture essentially tells us, that as brethren or believers in Christ, through prophecy, God has made available to us the testimony of Jesus!
- Prophecy is the testimony of Jesus Christ, testifying to what He has done, is doing and is about to do.
- Christ’s relationship to us, to the world, and God’s will for all mankind, is revealed to us through the Spirit of prophecy.
Gain Understanding From the Spirit of God
God does not want us to be ignorant of His will for our lives. He wants us to receive prophetic revelation and instruction from Him, so that we gain His understanding about what He is doing and will obey His commands. The Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit as we continue to receive fresh revelation from God.
But what God speaks to us must always line up with the truth of God’s word in the Holy Bible. It is designed to bring us closer to God, not further away. God is holy, so we must walk in holiness before Him. The King James version of the Bible describes this as being guided by God’s own eye, so that we will receive the whole counsel of God (See Acts 20:27) and will not be led by our own human understanding, but will be led by the Spirit of God. King David, the Psalmist, said of the Lord,
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you.”
Psalm 32:8 & 9
We gain spiritual insight from God, so that we are guided by God’s hand. By what the all-knowing God, Jehovah râphâ sees, not by what our natural man sees. The word ‘Yᵉhôvâh’, transliterated ‘Yᵊhōvâ’, is the Jewish national name of God. Translated ‘the Lord’; ‘the ‘self-Existent’ or ‘Eternal’ God. The word ‘râphâ’, transliterated ‘rāp̄ā’, means, ‘to heal, cure, repair or thoroughly make whole.’ And He can do this for us as well, as we continue to look to Jesus Christ the Lord and trust in His word.
- This is the God that we worship – this is the God that we serve!
The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Hebrews 4:13
- Through prophecy our faith is built, so that we begin to walk in obedience, and according to the purposes of God.
The Spirit of the Lord
The Prophet Isaiah foretold of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah. He proclaimed where the Messiah’s discernment would come from. That He would not judge by the sight of His eyes or the hearing of His ears, but by the Spirit of the Lord. The Prophet Isaiah said,
“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might. The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears.”
Isaiah 11:1 – 3
The Spirit of the Lord that rested upon Jesus Christ is described according to Strong’s Concordance as:
The Spirit of ‘wisdom’ – translated, ‘wisdom, wisely, skilful man, wits.’
The Spirit of ‘understanding’ – translated, ‘understanding, wisdom, knowledge, meaning, perfectly, understand, shrewdness, skill, prudence.’
The Spirit of ‘counsel’ – translated, ‘counsel, counsels, purpose, advice, counsellors, advisement, counsel, counsellor.’
The Spirit of ‘might’ – translated, ‘might, strength, power, mighty acts, might, force, mastery, valour, bravery, mighty deeds.’
The Spirit of ‘knowledge’ – translated, ‘knowledge, know, cunning, perception, skill, discernment, understanding and wisdom’; and,
The Spirit of the ‘fear of the lord’ – translated, ‘fear, exceedingly, dreadful, fearfulness, terror, awesome or terrifying thing, respect, reverence, piety, revered.’
- As believers in Christ, we, too, have received His same Holy Spirit and have access to His grace at all times.
We have the anointing of His Holy Spirit residing within us, so that, like Jesus, we do not need to judge by the sight of our eyes or by the hearing of our ears, but by the anointing of the Holy Spirit Who resides within us.
Prophetic Anointing Exposes the spirit of Antichrist
The Apostle John tells us, that the spirit of antichrist is already in the world, saying,
“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.”
1 John 2:18
The word ‘antichrist’ is translated ‘antichristos’ in the Greek, meaning, ‘the opponent of Christ.’ However, the Spirit of truth is the legacy of Christ – He gave us the Holy Spirit, Who is the Spirit of truth, after He ascended into heaven. Jesus said,
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.”
John 16:12 – 15
- Prophecy is the truth of Christ revealed.
- The spirit of antichrist opposes Christ and every truth that Jesus Christ testifies to through the Spirit of prophecy.
When warning about those with an antichrist spirit, the Apostle John said,
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.”
1 John 2:19 – 21
- The anointing of God within us testifies to the truth of Christ regarding all things.
- The Spirit of truth exposes the spirit of antichrist. Again, the Apostle John warned them concerning things to come,
“These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
1 John 2:26 & 27
In the same way, then, as I was republishing this article, the word of the Lord came to me once more, saying,
“It is the abiding Spirit of prayer within you that has defeated the enemy’s purposes.”
Keeping the Whole Counsel of God
The Apostle Paul spoke to the elders of the church at Ephesus before his departure, making it known to them the extreme importance of seeking and continuing in the whole counsel of God, as taught by the Holy Spirit.
“And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Acts 20:25 – 32
- It is receiving the whole counsel of God that keeps us free from error.
The Spirit of the Lord through prophecy allows us to see as God sees, with His wisdom, His understanding, His counsel, His might, His knowledge and the fear of the Lord, which keeps us from sinning – See Exodus 20:20.
Through prophecy, the Holy Spirit gives us wisdom to know what to do in any given situation, and understanding regarding the purposes and mysteries of God. He counsels us, giving us might, force and mastery over all the power of the enemy, enabling us with mighty acts and mighty deeds that come from Him.
God gives us discernment and understanding regarding the knowledge of God and the Kingdom of God. Though God Himself has all understanding of all things in the spiritual realm, He imparts to us only that part which we need. In this way, He keeps us free from pridefulness and sin, so that we do not enter into error and deceit.
- We are to look only to Jesus for the answers we need!
The Fear of the Lord Keeps us From sin
Although Christ had access to all of these things, His delight was in the fear of the Lord. The King James translation of the same verse reads,
“And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.”
Isaiah 11:3
The word of God has much to say about the fear of the Lord. Here are just some of what the Scriptures share.
“Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’”
Exodus 20:20 NIV
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.”
Proverbs 8:13
“In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.”
Proverbs 14:26 & 27
“My son, if you receive My words, and treasure My commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
Proverbs 2: 1 – 5
“The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.”
Psalm 19:9 – 11
- It is the fear of the Lord that keeps us safe!
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