Study Guide

THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY

1,273 words, about 6 min read

Revelation 19:10

10 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.

The fact that Jesus is the vessel God is using to speak to His people makes all true ministry in the Body of Christ, the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ. He declared that He came in the volume of the Book. That means all scripture points to Christ. This is true whether they are scriptures that introduce principles, wrath, good, evil, righteousness or peace; they are all standing on the foundation of Christ. Therefore, how is it possible to speak a word of truth that is not the expression of Jesus our Lord? When we speak truth it is His testimony. When we preach or prophesy, it is His expression of His very own testimony. But moreover, when we live holy by walking in the Spirit, we become a manifestation of the life of Christ. Our lives are a living testimony of Jesus Christ declaring His own resurrection and Godhead power.

John 17:20-22

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

The glory which Christ gave to us is the Holy Ghost, the Spirit that contains all things eternal. It is the Spirit we lived in before the foundations of the world were laid. It is the Spirit who hid us in God until time brought about the preaching of the gospel so that which was chosen in eternity would be revealed in the world. The Spirit of God is light and life. It is the eternal light of God, shining in a dark and hostile world. The Holy Spirit has revived the contrite ones, restored the humble and redeemed that which was lost. He has placed us in that high and holy place with the Father and the Son. Christ lives in and through us.

The works we do were ordained before the world was. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10). He has made us the testimony of Christ manifested. But that testimony is also a spirit of prophecy. It is our life in the Spirit that brought the will of God alive in this world. According to Ephesians 3:9-10, He wanted to use us, the church, to show principalities and powers, in heavenly places, (those beings living in eternity), His manifold wisdom. What we are is a manifestation of the counsel of God’s own will. What we are is a manifestation of the mystery that was hidden in God.

Revelation 19:10-13

11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

The testimony of Jesus Christ is the life of prophecy. That is why the servant admonished John to worship God, or be holy for your holy life is a fulfillment of eternal prophecy spoken by God before the world was.

Titus 1:1-3

1 Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

3 But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

God, who cannot lie, is on record in heaven before the foundations of the world were laid, saying, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (1 John 5:9-11). The testimony of Jesus Christ is the Spirit or Life of Christ manifested in and through us. It is by our righteous chaste life that the world is able to see Jesus walk the earth again. It is by the holiness and consecrated life of the believers that the spirit of prophecy is manifested. God is recorded as having spoken in eternity past as to our eternal nature. We must live a life that reveals to principalities and powers and the world, the manifold wisdom of God. Everyone having the testimony of Jesus Christ is a spirit of prophecy manifested.

1 Timothy 3:16

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

I want to talk about godliness. We handle that word as if it is an act or attitude only. We see it as doing that which is holy; and that is the extent of our revelation. But the scripture declares it to be a mystery; which is God being made known to man through His dwelling in the flesh; and made us in-nocent, (justified), by placing us in the Spirit; to which the angels are witnesses.

The gospel was and is preached to the Gentiles by the sons of God; and will be preached in every nation; and then the sons will be caught up to glory and forever be with the Lord. That is the mystery of godliness. It is a state or being; the creation of a new race upon the earth. It is the transformation of a man into a son of God. The term godliness means Godly. But we do not simply do the acts of God; we are living sons of God who are of the God-kind. We are divine in nature. We are not of this world. We are no longer of the human race, but sons of God, living in a human body.

Now take time to listen to the Father to hear what it is He is speaking to you concerning this mystery. When the revelation comes, write it down. If nothing is revealed to you, don’t try to force it. Let the gift do its perfect work.

Be encouraged; the Lord loves you and so do I.

Mary Banks, Apostle of the Lord.