There is a very interesting portion of scripture in the book of Revelation, where the apostle John is being rebuked by an angel from Heaven, because John fell down to worship him. Here is the passage:
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the LAMB is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, BLESSED are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the LAMB. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 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. (Revelation 19:6-10)
The apostle John suffered much, because of his faithfulness to Jesus Christ, and we know that the Lord revealed many incredible and awesome things to him. In this passage of scripture John was listening to the sound of the multitudes who had been saved and who knew Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who was slain for their sins. [Revelation 5:9] John was so excited and overwhelmed by what was being revealed to him, that he felt compelled to throw himself down before this angel and messenger from God. So what happened when John did that? The ANGEL of the LORD rebuked John and told him not to do that, and then he described himself simply as his [John’s] “fellowservant” and of thy [John’s] “brethren” [fellow believers] that have the testimony of Jesus. Then the angel told John that the “testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
It is not everyday that a servant of the Lord has so many things revealed to him, in such a manner as John had received from the Lord. John heard the angel tell him that “these are the true sayings of God” which simply means that John was hearing the absolute truth of God, coming directly from His throne room in Heaven.
John heard the Word of God and the book of Revelation ended up in the Bible for that reason. When we think of angels, we do not usually think of them as being our “fellowservants” but that is exactly what the angel told John. This angel put himself in the category of a “fellowservant” along with John, and the rest of those people who held the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The main point that I want to address here is that the angel told John that the “testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” This is a very powerful and true statement which was made, and it simply means that the whole prophetic word of God will point to the person of Jesus Christ. If a person is searching the scriptures with a sincere and open heart, then the Spirit of truth will point them to Jesus Christ. [John 15:26,16:13]
The question remains though, as to whether a person is sincerely searching for the truth.
Do not forget that this same apostle John suffered greatly for the “testimony of Jesus” as the following verse tells us:
I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the TESTIMONY of JESUS CHRIST. (Revelation 1:9)
John described himself as our brother, and companion in tribulation. He was exiled to the isle of Patmos because he stood for the Word of God, and he testified about Jesus Christ. John knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus Christ was killed on the cross, and he knew that this same Jesus Christ rose again from the dead on the third day.
The enemy of our souls [the devil] is not happy with those who hold the testimony of Jesus Christ, and that is why John ended up on the isle of Patmos. It is quite apparent that John did not adhere to any teaching that said that there were many roads to Heaven either. In fact this John is the same one who wrote the Gospel of John which contained the following verse:
JESUS saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by ME. (John 14:6)
The prophetic word is the ultimate testimony that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation for all of humanity. After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to His own disciples and He shared a meal with them. [Luke 24:36-47] Jesus had already showed them His pierced hands and feet and then He said this to them:
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be FULFILLED, which were written in the law of MOSES, and in the PROPHETS, and in the PSALMS, concerning ME. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved CHRIST to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among ALL nations, beginning at JERUSALEM. (Luke 24:44-47)
Jesus told His followers that MOSES, the PROPHETS, and the PSALMS spoke about things CONCERNING HIM! There is no getting around the truth that the prophecies which are contained in the book which we know as the Bible, are overwhelming proof that Jesus Christ is most assuredly ” … the way, the truth and the life …” for ALL of humanity.
Amazing Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecies!
Check out the scriptural references below for yourself.
[Example: The name of the book in the Bible is followed by the chapter and then the verse. So then, Isaiah 7:14 describes the Book of Isaiah, chapter 7 and verse 14]
The first scripture reference is a PROPHECY from an Old Testament book, and the next reference is the FULFILLMENT of that very same prophecy which is found in a New Testament book. Prophecy is an exciting subject because it certifies the Word of God to be authentic and true, and it will boost your FAITH tremendously as you search the scriptures for yourself.
The prophet Isaiah prophesied of a virgin who would bring forth the one known as “Emmanuel” which means “God with us” [Isaiah 7:14] and that was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was born of the Jewish virgin Mary [Matthew 1:23].
That same prophet Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be despised and rejected by men, and that He would be wounded for our transgressions, and bear our iniquities [Isaiah 53:1-12] and that is exactly what Jesus Christ did for mankind on the cross [John 19:30].
The prophet Zechariah prophesied that a King who was “lowly” and “having SALVATION” would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey [ass] [Zechariah 9:9] and that is exactly how Jesus rode into Jerusalem [Matthew 21:1-11, John 12:12-14].
That same prophet Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver [Zechariah 11:12] and that is exactly how many pieces of silver that Judas Iscariot received, when he betrayed Jesus Christ [Matthew 26:14-15].
That same prophet Zechariah prophesied that the people would mourn on Him [Jesus the Messiah] whom they pierced. [Zechariah 12:10] and that was fulfilled exactly as prophesied, when Jesus was killed on the cross [John 19:37].
David prophesied that they would gamble for the garments of the Messiah [Psalm 22:18] and that is exactly what happened at the cross of Jesus Christ [Mark 15:24].
The prophet Micah prophesied the very birthplace of the Messiah in Bethlehem [Micah 5:2] and that is exactly where Jesus was born [Matthew 2:3-6, John 7:42].
Those are just some of the many prophecies which can be found in the Bible regarding the person of Jesus Christ. These prophecies were uttered hundreds upon hundreds of years before the events were actually fulfilled to the very letter. These are not like some of those weird “prophecies” that appear in those silly magazines that come out around this time of year. No, these are Biblical prophecies straight out of the scriptures, the Word of God, and they testify of Jesus Christ.
The prophecies pointed to Jesus Christ and it is most obvious that the scriptures prophesied of His birth and eventual death for sinners. The same apostle John, who wrote the book of Revelation, also wrote three different letters in the Bible. Here is a passage from one of those letters.
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. He that hath the SON hath LIFE; and he that hath NOT the SON of GOD hath NOT life. (1 John 5:9-12)
Read the passage above again, and read it a dozen times if you have to. If a person does not believe that they need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for ETERNAL LIFE then they have made God out to be a LIAR! That would include the great majority of the people over in Israel and the Jewish people all around the world. That would include most of the worldwide Gentile population also, including the people of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and many other “religions” in the entire world! If a person does not have eternal life in Jesus Christ then they are destined for an eternity in the Lake of Fire! Their names have never been recorded in the BOOK OF LIFE which came as a result of their OWN decision!
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before GOD; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE: and the DEAD were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and DEATH and HELL delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were JUDGED every man according to their works. And DEATH and HELL were cast into the LAKE OF FIRE. This is the SECOND death. And WHOSOEVER was not found WRITTEN in the BOOK OF LIFE was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE. (Revelation 20:11-15)
Every person who has been truly born again of the Spirit [John 3:1-8] will have the witness of that same Spirit within themselves. In fact, the Bible tells us that the Comforter, who is called the Spirit of truth, will testify of Jesus [John 15:26] and guide us into all truth. [John 16:13]
The passage of scripture goes on to tell us that those who do not believe in the Son of God [Jesus Christ] have made God out to be a liar. Why? Simply because they do not believe the record [testimony] that God gave of His Son Jesus Christ. What was the record [testimony] that God gave of His Son?
The record [testimony] is that God has given us eternal life, which is found in his Son Jesus Christ. What else does the passage say? It tells us that those who have the Son [they believe in Him] have eternal life, but those who have not the Son [they do not believe in Him] do not have life [eternal].
Do not be seduced by the many so called “prophecy experts” who seek to put your attention on the State of Israel. They will tell you that “Israel is God’s Timepiece” or that “Israel is the apple of God’s eye” The bottom line is that the people of Israel, and ALL Jewish people, need to repent and believe the Gospel, just like everybody else, so that they can become part of the true “Israel of God”! (Romans 9:6, Galatians 6:11-16) The true “Israel of God” is made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers who have been “born again” of the Spirit, and who have a genuine FAITH in Jesus Christ! Any person (Jewish or Gentile), who continues to reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is headed toward an eternal Hell!
He that believeth on the SON hath EVERLASTING LIFE: and he that believeth NOT the SON shall not see life; but the WRATH of GOD abideth on HIM. (John 3:36)