Gleanings for December 11

The Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy

Revelation 19: 10 NKJV: “And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant and of your people who have the testimony of Jesus. WORSHIP GOD! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy.”

In an earlier devotion we discussed some of the “prophesies” pertaining to the Birth of Jesus. It is important for us to have proper understanding of what is meant by “prophesy”. Someone who has studied that subject in depth is Pastor Jack Hayford, the quotations in this lesson will be from him Last week’s Gleanings, has information about Pastor Hayford.

“The entire Bible is a product of the Holy Spirit, Who is not only “the Spirit of Truth” but the “Spirit of prophesy”. The verb “to prophesy” means “to speak forth before.”

“The preposition “before” in this use may mean: (l) in advance and/or (2) in front of. Thus “to prophesy” is a proper term to describe the proclamation of God’s Word as it forecasts events.

“It may also describe the declaration of God’s Word forthrightly, boldly or confrontingly before a group or individual---telling forth God’s truth and Will. So in both respects, the Bible is prophetic: a Book that reveals God’s will through His Word and His works, as well as a Book that reveals God’s plans and predictions.

The scripture from Revelation 19: 10, defines the witness or testimony of Jesus Himself as being synonymous with, or at the heart of the Spirit of prophesy. These words not only define Scripture; they also confine all utterances that claim to be true prophecy to this truth:

“Jesus Christ will be at the center of it all, as He is in the whole Bible. The Old Testament exists to reveal Christ; and the New Testament books are inspired by the Holy Spirit to do the same.”

A footnote on the text we began with, adds some helpful “cautions” for us to observe when we hear a word of prophesy.

(The Apostle John is the author of the Book of Revelation): “John’s temptation to worship the angel, warns that idolatry may arise within the church when the messenger, or even the message is idolized. The essence of every genuine prophecy is the testimony of Jesus, the witness which comes from Him.”

There are a number of scriptures which confirm the paragraphs written above but for this time I will print just one of them:

John 14: 26 NKJV: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” Hallelujah, we can know if a word given by someone is TRUE!!

REMEMBER: THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH!!!