January 16: THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS (part 2)

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 brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:10

Notwithstanding the degree of fame, import, dignity, or impressiveness of a person (or an angel), he or she is not to be worshiped. Only the one, true, God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is worthy of our worship. His central identity from the perspective of all of His created ones is: Creator! In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 100:3). This is exactly why, in the final appeal to mankind spelled out in the Bible’s final book, we are bidden to worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea… (Revelation 14:7). In keeping with the Scriptural origins of each clue and sign in Revelation, the opening plea regarding worship lifts the phrase made heaven and earth, the sea… directly from the fourth commandment regarding worship (see Exodus 20:8-11). It is the longest commandment, explanatory that we might understand it. Sabbath is written three times, a chief Hebrew literary device to portray the essential nature of the precept being taught. A good ‘detective’ will also make note of the triple presentation of seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3). Coincidence? Never! Read Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and count to three the times Sabbath appears.

The angel’s reminder to Worship God! is followed by this intriguing statement: For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. It is God’s Holy Spirit who speaks through the prophets to provide all of His people with prophetic truth. Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20). If you will not believe, surely you will not be established (Isaiah 7:9). Prophets are the agents of God’s revelation to the church. Jesus Himself is called the Word of God (John 1:1; Revelation 19:13). The testimony of Jesus is for each of us to receive and hold fast, as priceless treasure. The great archenemy seizes every opportunity to insert unbiblical ideas into true prophecy for the purpose of dislodging this treasure from our grasp and replacing it with lies, some of which are quite subtle. And how does this reality play out in the lives of people? It makes the difference between eternal death and eternal life.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Revelation 1:1-2

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 12:17

The angel said: 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.” 19:10

…knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 2 Peter 1:20-21