The Spirit of Prophecy

Revelation 19:9 (NASB) Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10 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 brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

There is so much prophetic activity these days. There are so many people going around to individuals with a "word" for them, or standing up in the midst of a congregation and pronouncing a "...thus saith the Lord." Many dear saints see all this activity, and desire to flow in such prophetic gifting as well. Shallowly, these things are conceived as the essence of what is believed to be prophetic. When genuine, such activity may indeed be prophetic. However, in actuality, it is not the essence of what prophecy is.

The essence of that which is prophetic has to do with the testimony of Jesus. And a testimony is simply what another person says. This is the essence of prophecy, the very spirit of it: saying what Jesus says. When coveting the gift of prophecy which the apostle Paul exhorts us to do, an individual ought to be asking the Lord, "Jesus, what would you say if You were here to say it?" When discerning if a word is from the Lord, it simply must be asked, "Is this the very thing that Jesus would say if He were here?" For if the thing that projects itself as being prophetic is not something that the Lord Himself would say, then one can be sure that it is indeed not prophetic.

And we as a church need to embrace this prophetic mindset. Whether or not we have a prophetic gifting or not. Even if we do not have a prophetic gifting per say, we as a church are still called to be a prophetic people. Joel 2:28-32 makes this abundantly clear. As a church we need to have a prophetic quality and mindset about us, so that when witnessing to somebody that is lost, or exhorting another believer in the church, that whatever it is that we say that issues out of our mouths is in keeping with what Jesus would say if Jesus were here Himself to say it.

Instead of learning "The Way of the Master" or "Evangelism Explosion," we need to be a people who go about saying, "Lord, what would you have me say to this individual?" For as many great principles as one can learn from either system, these systems are ultimately not something Jesus taught. And such systems, even as Biblically correct as they might be in what they teach, are not in keeping with the spirit of prophecy. Jesus did not go around the world giving people a "Good Person Test," rather, He went around simply saying what He said He heard from His Father. This is the testimony of Jesus, and this is the people we are called to be. And so long as we embrace such systems whole-sale, we are failing to be that type of people.

For when we speak, we should be able to proclaim just as the angel that spoke with John, "These are true words of God." Or as Corinthians says, that those who would hear a word that was truly prophetic would fall down in our midst and proclaim, "God is certainly among you!" The last thing the church of Jesus Christ this day needs is simply another evangelism program. The last thing the church of Jesus Christ this day needs is simply another sermon. Rather, what the church of Jesus Christ needs, and indeed, the world needs it of her, is to be a people who simply hold to the testimony of Jesus, and can be counted on to speak a word in due season. A word of such a kind that it would be the very thing Jesus Christ would say if He were here to say.

Thanks Jimmy, I love this verse.

The theme of Jesus as the Witness or the One who bears the Testimony is scattered throughout John’s writings. We often lose the power of the thread due to the fact that the word is variously translated as witness/testimony/record. John uses the words over 70 times; John 1:7-8,15,19,32,34; 2:25; 3:11,26,28,32-33; 4:39,44; 5:31-34,36-37,39; 7:7; 8:13-14,17-18; 10:25; 12:17; 13:21; 15:26-27; 18:23,37; 19:35; 21:24; 1John 1:2; 4:14; 5:6-11; 3John 1:3,6,12; Rev 1:2,9; 6:9; 11:7; 12:11,17; 15:5; 19:10; 20:4; 22:16,20. The book of the Revelation itself is the book of the Testimony. The opening verses set this out very plainly;[color=0000ff]“Who [b]bare record[/b] of the word of God, and of the [b]testimon[/b] of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” (Rev 1:2 KJVS)[/color]…where the words ‘record and testimony’ are both translations of the one Greek word [url=http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/words.pl?strongs=3140&page=1&flag_full=1]martureO[/url] The final statement of the book describes Christ’s work as that of The Witness; [color=0000ff]“He who [b]testifies[/b] to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20 NKJV)[/color]

The Jews of Jesus’ day rejected Christ as God’s Witness. The coming of the Witness had been predicted; [color=0000ff]“Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.” (Is 55:4 KJVS)[/color] Part of the significance of this is that the people of Israel had been predestined to be ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ (not the Watchtower guys). But they had been, in the main, unfaithful witnesses and would not bear witness to what they had plainly seen of God’s nature and power. Christ then comes as the Witness who will fulfil what the ‘witnesses’ failed to fulfil, but the witnesses rejected the Witness; tragedy.

Christ is the Witness, just as Christ is the Covenant, and Christ is the Word. He is, in Himself, the revelation of God to humankind and to reject this Witness is to bring yourself under an instant judgment; [color=0000ff]“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:17-21 NKJV)[/color] Later the same chapter puts this truth into its positive declaration; [color=0000ff]“He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His [b]testimony[/b]. He who has received His [b]testimony[/b] has certified that God is true.” (John 3:31-33 NKJV)][/color]
I think a case could be made for interpreting the whole of John’s writings against the background of this fact that Christ is Witness of who God is; [color=0000ff]“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (John 1:18 NKJV) [/color]He is God’s fullest and final revelation of Himself and what God has chosen that men and women should know of himself. He is the Witness, He is the Testimony, He is the Record. It cannot be gainsaid, nor altered; Jesus Christ is God’s last word to our race.
In fact, it has always been that way. The One that we usually refer to as Christ has always been The Witness and although he has used many channels Christ has been, from the first, the origin of all man’s knowledge about God; he was, is, and shall be The Word. He was always the only Light we have ever had about who God is. The created world is a revelation or witness of God but it was created by The Witness. The scriptures are a revelation or witness of God but it was always [color=0000ff]“…the Spirit of Christ who was in them (who) was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” (1Pet 1:11 NKJV)[/color]

The book of the Revelation refers to itself as both a Testimony and a Prophecy; [color=0000ff]Rev. 22:7 (KJVS) Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Rev. 22:10 (KJVS) And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
Rev. 22:18 (KJVS) For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev. 22:19 (KJVS) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. [/color] The connection between the Witness and the Prophet is unbreakable as your verse declares; [color=0000ff]Rev. 19:10 (KJVS) And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.[/color] The Witness has seen something that others have not seen and now communicates what he has seen. He may have a great love for God and a burning passion for men and women but if he has not ‘seen’ anything he cannot be a witness. His words may be true and factual but if he has not ‘seen’ something he has no witness to give.
All genuine prophecy is the gift of The Witness. It is not ‘teaching’ as many of the Reformed School would tell us; teaching is greatly honoured in the scripture but not to be confused with prophecy. Prophecy is what the Witness is seeing and saying. The man or woman who claims to have a prophecy is making a sobering statement; it would be a fearful thing if in the last day God should say…[color=0000ff]“I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.” (Jer 23:21 KJVS)[/color]
I suspect you feel the same discomfort as myself with many ‘prophecies’ today. Words which have no genuine revelation in them. They are true statements; God knows your heart, God is with you. God loves you… But facts can be true and not revelation. The essence of prophecy is revelation; [color=0000ff]“Let two or three [b]prophets[/b] speak, and let the others judge. But if anything is [b]revealed[/b] to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. For you can all [b]prophesy[/b] one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged.” (1Cor 14:29-31 NKJV)[/color] There can be no prophecy without revelation and Christ is appointed to the human race as its revealer of truth from and about God. It is… the Witness of Jesus which is the spirit of prophecy.

As John fell at the feet of this messenger to worship him he received this fascinating rebuke; [color=0000ff]“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.”[/color] Only One Witness is to be worshipped, all others are merely witnesses to the Witness. but according to Paul’s expectations in Corinthians this is exactly what was happen in the local assembly; [color=0000ff]“But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an uninformed person comes in, he is convinced by all, he is convicted by all. And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed; and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God and report that God is truly among you.” (1Cor 14:24-25 NKJV)[/color] Oh that all God’s people were prophets… Num 11:29

The Witness has seen something that others have not seen and now communicates what he has seen. He may have a great love for God and a burning passion for men and women but if he has not ‘seen’ anything he cannot be a witness. His words may be true and factual but if he has not ‘seen’ something he has no witness to give.

All genuine prophecy is the gift of The Witness.

Amen and amen. It's as the apostles said when on trial before the Sanhedrin: "We cannot stop speaking about the things which we have seen and heard." And as Christians, let alone ministers, this to should be from the place where we speak. Whatever is spoken on needs to come from such experiential revelation so as to qualify one as an actual witness.

This comment of yours also really sheds light on the idea of the prophets early on in the Old Testament being known as "seers." They had truly turned aside to the place to see things as God sees them. Thus, gainly a heavenly perspective on things, they had true authority to speak. This is also why it is so important, as Peter said, that if any man speaks that he is to do so as the oracle of God. One should speak according to how Christ would see things, and not in just some theoretical sort of "What Would Jesus Do" sort of way.

The man or woman who claims to have a prophecy is making a sobering statement;

Indeed, which is why I personally have little tolerance for all these people who go around saying they are "growing in their gift." Either you have looked down from heaven to see things as they really are or you have not. To "miss it" in regard to bearing a prophetic message is far from a small and trivial thing. And indeed, this is where I get so much discomfort in regard to many so-called prophetic people today.

*Edit* And the fact that they go around acting in such a manner, and teaching others to do likewise, is all the more reason I am troubled. I believe an entire generation of false prophets has been raised up simply because the church has not rightly discerned what true prophecy is.

The question is, what is the point of the Church, and giving it both prophets and the gift of prophecy, if God has nothing more to say to mankind?

Dorcas,

The revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ is complete, and we as Christians hold to this revelation as passed down from generation to generation. However, the full application of that revelation has yet to be seen, and thus, modern day prophets continue their foundational ministry to the Church of Jesus Christ by attempting to bring the Church back to its roots, and to help mature it to the place where Christ would have it to be.

Therefore, God will continue to speak through the mouths of prophets to reinforce what has already been given, so as to bring about the desired application of that word. Such men will speak what Art Katz calls a "now" word. That is, there is a particular message that needs to come "forth" that a particular individual or congregation needs to hear. And in their hearing of it, as Deuteronomy 18 says, the people will be required of it. For one's situation to remain in the same state after hearing such a word is impossible, for that word will require a decision, and as Isaiah reminds us, this word will not return void, it will accomplish whatever God sent it out to do.

God bless.

I suppose one of the things that is on my mind is the concept of the Church as the Body of Christ on earth. Surely this is God's last word to mankind?

Indeed. The Church itself, as Joel 2:28-32 and many other Scriptures makes clear, is supposed to be a prophetic people in the midst of the earth, demonstrating as witnesses the word of God. The Church is to be this because this is what Christ Himself was.

He is the Logos, the "Word" incarnate. He didn't simply have a message, He was the Message. And we can see that in the fact that the word "Logos" (John 1) can be translated as "word, message, statement." Christ is God's Word to this world. Christ is God's Message to this world. Christ is God's definitive Statement to this world. And so as Christ was in this world, so are we to be. This is truly what it means to be prophetic.

Amen. We all do. :)

Amen. To be prophetic is to have Christ.

But, as you lightly spoken, prophesy doesn't just entail Christ.

Now, here is the verse that has been my prayer and goes along with the theme of what you've been saying.

John 14:10
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? [b]The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.[/b]

That is definatly being the Witness/Prophet. Amen.

This is wonderful. Finally something definitive. For all the commotion and misunderstanding elsewhere on this subject...

From Philologos in response to ...

The question is, what is the point of the Church, and giving it both prophets and the gift of prophecy, if God has nothing more to say to mankind?

[i]...to apply the revelation of God in a timely way, which is why the Reformed theologians have equated preaching with prophesying. The purpose of prophecy in the church is specifically said to be...

“But he that prophesies speaks to men [in] edification, and encouragement, and consolation.”[/i] (1Cor 14:3 DRBY)

KingJimmy;

Indeed, which is why I personally have little tolerance for all these people who go around saying they are "growing in their gift." Either you have looked down from heaven to see things as they really are or you have not. To "miss it" in regard to bearing a prophetic message is far from a small and trivial thing. And indeed, this is where I get so much discomfort in regard to many so-called prophetic people today.

*Edit* And the fact that they go around acting in such a manner, and teaching others to do likewise, is all the more reason I am troubled. I believe an entire generation of false prophets has been raised up simply because the church has not rightly discerned what true prophecy is.

Couldn't agree more brother, that and the fact that it is far from a small and trivial thing, that it is taken to be so in this day actually makes the great deal of it .... a self fulfilling prophecy or in other words "it really doesn't matter".

The revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ is complete, and we as Christians hold to this revelation as passed down from generation to generation. However, the full application of that revelation has yet to be seen, and thus, modern day prophets continue their foundational ministry to the Church of Jesus Christ by attempting to bring the Church back to its roots, and to help mature it to the place where Christ would have it to be.

Well said! Strange that there is actually a great deal of this here but it is not recognized as such, 'title' or no title. Because the modern definition has been so torqued from it's moorings that even the use of the word(s) becomes disintegrated and devalued ('annointing' comes to mind). It is for that reason that many here are so reluctant to bestow the word or be even more cautious and suspicious of the way it is bandied about. It is as if we are often talking about two completely different subject matters.

a self fulfilling prophecy or in other words "it really doesn't matter".

Exactly! To treat words so highly loaded with errors as trivial is to admit the word didn't really matter to begin with.

If one in their rebellion does give a word that contains error in it, they should later go back and correct themselves, so the truth can be known, as Nathan did with David, when he inquired for permission to build a temple. At first Nathan simply affirmed the intent's of David's heart only to be forced by God to go tell David that he actually couldn't.

It sounds to me after reading a number of these posts, that most everyone here says that for a person to be a prophet, they have to have a number of things in place.

[b]1. Infalibility, they can never, ever make a mistake, or they are obviously not a prophet.

2. They must have absolutely perfect theology, their doctrine cannot contain any error in it or again they are obviously not a prophet.[/b]

Now on the first count, we are dealing with mortal men, who are not God in the flesh, neither can they be such. For them to be completely infalible, they would have had to obtain perfection which is not possible here on earth. Because they are merely men, there must be room for error. However, these men must be held accountable for any error in prophecy they make. If they are wrong more than they are right, then they should not be put in a place of authority, but another should be responsible to judge what they say before it is in front of other people. If they are right more often, and have a proven track record of accuracy, then they should be listened to as such. With the exception, that they follow the standards left by John.
--------------------------------------------------

On the next count, for any man to have perfect doctrine, is completely unachievable in this life. There is far too much ambiguity in the scriptures for this to be a standard. However, a man who has bad doctrine should not be teaching doctrine. The teaching should be left to someone else, and the prophecying to him. He as well should be governed, but not restricted. If what he says is accurate, then he should be listened to. If not, then he should not be put in that place.
--------------------------------------------------

Everyone who claims to be a prophet needs to be governed by a few other men, so that what he says may be judged by them whether it is right or not.

Prophecy that predicts, or foretells is completely relevant, and should be sought out.

[b]The word of prophecy is not limited to the preaching of the word. That is its foundation, not its limit.[/b]

The problem I see with most of these arguments is that most of these people have never heard a real prophet who is accurate, and who walks holy before the Lord. Their idea of prophecy is televangelists, and they think they have the market cornered on understanding prophecy.

[b]Perhaps it would do many peoples opinion of prophets a great deal of good to listen to Leonard Ravenhill, or Art Katz opinion of what a prophet is.[/b]

1. How many 'true' prophets are in the world today? ...I understand that it would be near impossible to pinpoint this number, or even if it matters, but I am wondering how many have the gift of prophecy compared to those that proclaim that they do...

This would probably be an impossible question to answer.

2. Can one receive the gift or be prophetic without fully understanding the Word? (ie...someone who has little knowledge of the Bible)

Sure. Joel 2:28-32 says our sons and daughters will prophesy. Children generally don't have a strong knowledge of the Scriptures.

3. What standards are set in order for people to receive this or any other gift? Especially, if as I understand it is that God divides these gifts as He wills, so why ask or pray for them...?

God gives them as He wills, this is true, but as somebody once pointed out, God does nothing but in response to prayer. However, ultimately, this is God's sovereign choice. You might pray your entire life and never receive the gift of prophecy. However, a person who prays such a prayer ultimately somebody who has yielded themselves to being used by God in whatever gift God so might choose to use them in. And such is ultimately what God is after, a person who has a heart that will yield to Him.

Now on the first count, we are dealing with mortal men, who are not God in the flesh, neither can they be such. For them to be completely infalible, they would have had to obtain perfection which is not possible here on earth. Because they are merely men, there must be room for error. However, these men must be held accountable for any error in prophecy they make. If they are wrong more than they are right, then they should not be put in a place of authority, but another should be responsible to judge what they say before it is in front of other people. If they are right more often, and have a proven track record of accuracy, then they should be listened to as such.

If a prophet enters into error with his gift, he needs to repent. But, so long as he is faithful to the Lord in delivering what God has given him to say, and in fact, enabled him to say, then he will be infallible in what he prophesies. For as Moses said regarding prophets in Deuteronomy 18, "I will put my word in his mouth, and he shall speak all that I command him to speak." This is a divine promise that whosoever has a prophetic word will be able to fully deliver it. And why? Because God has put that word in the mouth of the prophet. God's grace has empowered him to say what he otherwise could not say. It's simply a matter of obeying the Holy Spirit.

Nowhere in all the Scripture is the notion of a prophet being "mostly accurate" ever even contemplated. There is no room for error in their prophesies. If they speak in error, they need to get right with God, or otherwise be excluded from the church.

Also, this idea of filtering the prophetic individuals in private before they give a word in public is also nowhere taught in Scripture. 1 Cor 14 makes it clear, if anybody wants to prophesy in an assembly, he is free to do so. However, whatever is said must be judged by the congregation as a whole, not some sort of council that screens a word.

On the next count, for any man to have perfect doctrine, is completely unachievable in this life. There is far too much ambiguity in the scriptures for this to be a standard. However, a man who has bad doctrine should not be teaching doctrine. The teaching should be left to someone else, and the prophecying to him. He as well should be governed, but not restricted. If what he says is accurate, then he should be listened to. If not, then he should not be put in that place.

Nobody that I've seen has yet to say the prophet's personal theology must be perfect. However, whatever he should say prophetically must be entirely in accord with Scripture.

Everyone who claims to be a prophet needs to be governed by a few other men, so that what he says may be judged by them whether it is right or not.

This is a common teaching in many prophetic circles. However, this is nowhere taught in Scripture, and is entirely contrary to the spirit of what the Scriptures say. But, because most of our congregations in the church today have services that are dominated by a few individuals, like in 3 John, it is no wonder such is taught. 1 Cor 14 teaches an entirely open service, where all in attendance are free to contribute to the service in an orderly fashion, as they feel led by the Holy Spirit.

Should people who speak in tongues be required to go through a filter first? What about those who interpret? Should they be required to? We wouldn't do such to people gifted in this way, nor should we do such to people with prophetic giftings. It's simply unbiblical.

The problem I see with most of these arguments is that most of these people have never heard a real prophet who is accurate, and who walks holy before the Lord. Their idea of prophecy is televangelists, and they think they have the market cornered on understanding prophecy.

I've known plenty and count myself as those who walk in such a gifting. My idea of prophecy has nothing to do with televangelists either.