19:10.

The phrase "the testimony of Jesus" is mentioned four times in the book of Revelation; the context in which it is used makes the meaning plain. In Revelation 1:2, it refers back to the first verse, which says that God gave Jesus Christ this special message; and Christ in turn sent it to John by an angel.

In other words, what we now have as the book of Revelation is "the testimony of Jesus." The ninth verse of the first chapter uses the phrase in the same way.

Revelation 12:17 says that the true Church has this testimony and keeps the commandments of God, meaning the same as Christ said in John 15:14, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." The Church of God lives by Christ's instructions. The commandments of God and Christ's instructions are one and the same.

The last reference is in Revelation 19:10, where the angel quickly restrains John from worshipping him. Instead, the angel said, "Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

The spirit of prophecy refers to the realm of the anointing that is prophetic in nature . Prophecy means to declare, to foretell the future of a person, a nation or a thing. For early Christians, the spirit of prophecy was a reference to the Holy Spirit, who imparts the prophetic gift to God’s messengers .

The main function of the Spirit is to bear witness to Jesus, and the Spirit does this by empowering others to speak.

Revelation 19 begins with a multitude in heaven singing a doxology to God. He is praised for judging religious Babylon and avenging the martyrs. They are joined by the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4). Voices cry out joyfully that the Lord reigns and the marriage supper of the Lamb is ready.

Then, John sees heaven open and observes Jesus—now coming as the glorious and invincible King of kings and Lord of lords—as He descends from heaven to execute judgment. The armies of earth gather to battle the Lord. The battle concludes with the Antichrist and False Prophet being thrown into the lake of fire and the graphic slaughter of their followers.

Revelation 19:6–10 introduces the marriage supper of the Lamb, occurring immediately before the commencement of Jesus' millennial reign on the earth. Jesus spoke about marriage suppers in Matthew 22:1–14 and 25:1–13.

He specifically referred to feasting in the kingdom of heaven, with many from the east and the west, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matthew 8:11). The announcement of the marriage supper of the Lamb precedes Jesus' return to earth to judge His enemies and to establish His kingdom (Revelation 19:11–21).

John's experience of intense heavenly praise (Revelation 19:1–5) and the glorious marriage supper of the lamb certainly made an impression. Apparently overwhelmed, he collapsed, ready to worship the angel who disclosed those things.

However, the angel immediately resists this worship. He explained that he, too, was a servant of God. Like human beings, angels are created beings.

Jesus, on the other hand, created all things, whether in heaven or on earth, "visible and invisible…all things were created through him and for him" (Colossians 1:16). John 1:3 says concerning Jesus, "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."

This incident presents some difficult questions. As a Jewish believer, John would have known only God must be the object of worship. His response here, then, raises the question of why he would respond as he did. Some speculate that John, in that moment, sincerely mistook the angel for Jesus.

Or, that John was simply overwhelmed and had a lapse in judgment.

This reaction, from the angel, further demonstrates that Jesus was more than willing to claim divinity during His earthly ministry. Though this angel refuses worship, Jesus did not—He accepted it as legitimate (Matthew 14:33; 28:9; John 9:37–38; 20:28–29).

The Spirit of Prophecy is the ability to receive prophecies from God, also known as the testimony of Jesus, which enables prophets to rebuke, encourage, and teach the people of God. It is mentioned in the Bible as the prophetic messages given through prophets.

Revelation 19:10 makes a bold statement regarding the relationship between prophecy and Jesus Christ: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (NKJV).

The book of Revelation is a book of prophecy given by Jesus Christ to His servant John (Revelation 1:1). The term revelation refers to a revealing or the making known of something that was previously unknown.

Revelation is like pulling back a veil to show what’s behind it or unwrapping a present to see what’s inside.

What is prophecy, then? Simply put, prophecy is communication from God to mankind. Some prophecy can be speaking of future events, and other prophecy might not be. Prophets were utilized as a mouthpiece for God—they listened to God and then conveyed God’s message to the masses.

Some examples of prophets are Elijah, Isaiah, Moses, and Jonah.

In the context of Revelation 19:10, John has seen the fall of the evil world system called Babylon the Great (Revelation 18). A great multitude in heaven is celebrating and singing praise to God because of that judgment (Revelation 19:1–3) and because it is now time for the wedding supper of the Lamb (verses 6–8).

An angel says to John, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9). At this proclamation, John falls to worship at the feet of the angel who is communicating this prophecy, but the angel insists John rise to his feet, for he is but “a fellow servant” (Revelation 19:10; cf. Colossians 2:18).

In response to John’s wrongful worship, the angel says, “See that you do not do that! . . . Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10, NKJV).

It is critical to understand that this statement is a response to John’s intention to worship the angel. Because of the construction of the clause in the original language (Greek), there are three common understandings of the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy:

1. Jesus is the substance of all prophecy, or, put another way, Jesus is the common theme among all prophecy.

2. All true prophecy bears witness about Jesus. Therefore, all prophecy should cause us to worship Him alone.

3. The message or testimony given by Jesus is the essence of true prophecy. Jesus is the Word, and no prophecy comes to us except through Him, ultimately pointing to God as the source of all true prophecy.

The NIV translates the angel’s statement as “It is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” The NLT’s wording is “The essence of prophecy is to give a clear witness for Jesus.” The wording of both these translations prefers one of the first two interpretations, above.

The third interpretation, however, seems to fit best within the context of Revelation 19:10. John is not to worship the angel but God alone. Since John was worshiping the angel in response to the prophecy given, the angel ensures that John understands Jesus is the source of the communication and He alone is worthy of the worship ( Luke 4:8; Acts 14:11–15).

Following the angel’s command to John, we ought to worship God alone. We are to worship not the purveyor of the message but the Source of the message. While God has made many beautiful things, such as angels, He is alone worthy of our praise ( John 17:3; 1 Timothy 1:17; 6:15; 1 Samuel 7:4).

Some attempt to draw a different doctrine from this one verse. But if we allow the Bible to interpret itself, we see that the testimony of Jesus is the words of Christ in general and the revelation of this book in particular.

"Prophecy" can mean foretelling the future or it can mean inspired preaching. Both meanings fit here. In other words, the angel was saying: "Don't worship me! You should only worship God! And your focus should be on preaching the word Jesus told me to give to you."

Unfortunately, many Christians scorn the study of Bible prophecy. In other words, they do not appreciate or value the study of Bible prophecy and consider it a complete waste of time.

How sad that so many people maintain a wrong spirit about this subject and regard Bible prophecy as though it were an unnecessary element included in the Bible.

Through the years, many people have said to me: Understanding Bible prophecy is not essential to my salvation. The only issue that is important to my salvation is my relationship with Jesus.

This incomplete statement condemns those who defend it simply because people cannot have a meaningful relationship with a God they do not understand.

What I mean is that prophecy uniquely reveals the plans, purposes and ways of God. Our relationship with Jesus will lack a meaningful perspective if we do not understand His corporate plans, His role as man’s High Priest, His dramatic end-time rescue, and how He plans to extend the good news of salvation to every person on Earth.

To say that we love Jesus, yet refuse to understand all that He has done and is going to do in the future is a surface-type relationship that lacks depth. Few people consider that the first advent and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary was also a fulfillment of prophecy!

Since prophecy flows through centuries of time, it elevates human thought to a unique and higher perspective, showing God’s constant and intimate interest for His children. Prophecy reveals how God deals with corporate entities (nations, empires, the devil and his legions, etc.).

This understanding gives us the larger picture of God’s corporate policies and makes God’s actions on a personal level easier to understand and appreciate. I believe confusion is the underlying reason why so many Christians view prophecy with such contempt. It takes discipline to understand prophecy.

In other words, do not attempt to understand Bible prophecy by reading ( books by anyone else). Sit down with your own Bible and study the prophecies verse by verse do not quit until you understand each verse for yourself.

Certainly, you can read what others have to say about any given verse, but consider their views as they should be, opinions of mere mortals.

Evaluate the prophetic story, come to your own conclusions and do not stop until you have placed all 200+ elements of Bible prophecy in their appropriate place.