The Testimony of Jesus Is The Spirit of Prophecy

The Testimony of Jesus Is The Spirit of Prophecy

The phrase has been used so frequently after being made popular by certain circles.

It is taught that if someone shares a testimony, for example, miraculous healing, it prophesies to the hearers that God is going to do it again, because it is His nature. Therefore, people should keep sharing testimonies so that others can get healed.

While the principle is true, this verse is not talking about that.

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. - Rev 19:10

A text without the context becomes a pre-text for a proof text.

What John was saying is this... "The spirit (or the divine mind) of prophecy is to bear testimony to Jesus."

In other words, every prophecy should have this purpose ----- bearing testimony to Jesus. This is one easy way to discern the spirit of prophecy aka the spirit of the person prophesying to you, whether it is of God or not.

Barnes' Notes wrote, "The design of prophecy is to bear testimony to Jesus. The language does not mean, of course, that this is the only design of prophecy, but that this is it's great and ultimate end."

This also applies to us who prophesy to others. We need to weigh carefully if we are bearing witness to Jesus when we prophesy.

What about the importance of sharing testimonies in general? Yeah, it is vital, but we cannot use Rev 19:10 to teach on this. Because it has nothing to do with that passage.

Testimonies give you hope (Ps 119), because without hope in your heart, there cannot be faith (Prov 13:12; Heb 11:1). Faith, on the other hand, comes from the Word of God (Rom 10:17).

When someone hears a testimony (of healing), it strengthens his heart with hope, because he sees the nature and the goodness of God, that He would do the same for him again. Then, because of the Word preached or the Word already in his heart, he is able to receive his healing as a result of faith.

What's the point of this post? The Word of God must be rightly divided if we do not want to be deceived in the world that we are living in. The enemy knows and can quote Scriptures too. 

At the end of last year, I saw in a vision and shared that we need to go deeper into the Word than ever before, because it is the only way for Truth to be prevailed and lies to be exposed. It is the only way to grow in discernment in a world where what is true is made to become lies and lies are made to appear true.