The Spirit of Prophecy

The angel said to John, “I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10, italics mine) Even the angels obey the testimony of Jesus! There is a good reason why the testimony of Jesus is called the “spirit of prophecy.” The testimony of Jesus comes through a special gift, the gift of prophesy. (1Corinthians 14:1) During the Great tribulation, the 144,000 will frequently prophesy. (Revelation 10:7,11) They will expose hidden and secret things. They will have knowledge about matters that will confound their enemies. Remember how the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter that Ananias and Sapphira had lied about the money they received from the sale of their land. (Acts 5) Remember how Jesus knew the thoughts of the Pharisees when He healed the paralytic lying on the mat. (Matthew 9:1-6) Remember how Daniel was enabled to interpret the dream given to Nebuchadnezzar, even though the king could not remember it. (Daniel 2) These are prophetic samples of things to come. The 144,000 will confront the thoughts and hidden sins of their enemies. The 144,000 will perform mighty miracles, and their enemies will be astonished and left speechless! The gift of prophesy is not to be confused with the nonsense that goes on today in many churches. Many people are prophesying out of their own imagination and calling it “a word from the Lord.” God hates this. When people claim to have received “a word from the Lord,” they had better be telling the truth or God will destroy them for blasphemy. (See Ezekiel 13.) When Almighty God has something to say, He speaks and there is a revelation of information that is otherwise unknown.

Prophets of God encounter God as though He were a real person, as one person speaks to another. (Genesis 32:30; Exodus 33:11; Daniel 10:4-14; Revelation 1:10-19;

2 Corinthians 12:1-9)

Carefully consider this verse: “I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that is ours in Jesus, was on the isle of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” (Revelation 1:9, italics mine) John was acquainted with suffering for Christ’s sake. He was exiled on the island of Patmos for obeying the Word of God (instead of the laws of men) and for speaking the words that Jesus gave him to speak. As a prophet of God, John spoke the truth regardless of the consequence. This is why he was on Patmos. The Spirit of prophecy is a powerful sword, an inflammatory testimony, and the living word of God. (Hebrews 4:12) When Jesus speaks through His prophets, He speaks with perfect knowledge of any situation. Jesus has divine wisdom and the penetrating power of the Spirit at His disposal. When a prophet speaks the testimony of Jesus, people with rebellious hearts are left defeated, fuming, and speechless! On many occasions, Jesus silenced His opposition on Earth with divine wisdom and the ability to read their thoughts. (Luke 9:47) This incredible gift explains why the life span of Israel’s prophets was rather short.

When He was on Earth, Jesus lamented the untimely death of the many prophets that He had sent to Israel. He said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37) The 144,000 will deliver the testimony of Jesus without deviation (no weasel words) and this will make their enemies furious! As we learned from our study on the Two Witnesses, the 144,000 will remain faithful. They will speak the truth without regard to the consequences. “No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.”

(Revelation 14:5) When we see the suffering that the 144,000 will experience for speaking the testimony of Jesus, the words of Revelation 14:5 will become profound.

Synthesis of Revelation 12

Thus far, we have examined each verse in Revelation 12. Even though Prophecy II does not end with verse 17, this is a good place to summarize all that we have learned so far from Revelation 12:

Prophecy I – Revelation 12:1-6

1.   John saw a pregnant woman standing on the moon wearing a glorious garment.

2.   John saw an enormous red dragon standing before the woman, ready to devour her child the moment it He was born.

3.   John saw the male child taken to Heaven, to God’s throne.

4.   John saw the dragon chase the woman to the desert for 1,260 day/years.

Prophecy II – Revelation 12:7-14:5

1.   John saw the devil cast out of Heaven on Resurrection Sunday.

2.   John saw the devil chase the woman into the desert for a time, times, and half a time.

3.   John saw the devil spew a great torrent of water out of his mouth. The metaphor of a flood indicates the devil attempted to sweep her away with waves of persecution.

4.   Earth helped the woman. God raised up the United States in 1776. This nation enabled Protestants to translate and distribute the Bible and the gospel of Jesus throughout the world.

5.   When the devil saw the authority of the Catholic Church broken in (1798), he began preparing for a final assault on the remnant of the woman. He is armed and ready.

6.   The woman will be easily identified during the Great Tribulation: God’s saints will obey all twelve commandments and the testimony of Jesus, which will be spoken through the 144,000.

We Are Now Living Between Revelation 12:17 and 13:1

Consider these two verses and our position between them: “Then [after 1,260 years of trying to destroy the woman in the desert] the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off [that is, he gave up his efforts against the woman in the desert so he could prepare] to make war against the rest [the last or remnant] of her offspring – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea [waiting for the first four trumpets to sound. When the wrath of God is released on Earth, the whole world will suddenly become afraid of God. When the world attempts to appease His awful wrath, it will create a church/state monster]. And I saw a [leopard-like beast, also called Babylon] had ten horns [representing ten future kings] and seven heads [representing the seven religious systems of the world], with ten crowns [of authority] on his horns, and on each head [was written] a blasphemous name [that is, each head insults God].”

(Revelation 12:17, 13:1, insertions mine) 

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