For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. [LITV]
Revelation 19:10
A number of you have told me the quotes from the Commentators didn’t help at all. You just found it confusing because there as no cohesion between them. A lack of agreement over the interpretation of a Bible verse is a sure sign of evident complexity hidden behind the verse. Once again I give you Robert Mounce’s quote on the matter coupled with Gordon Fee’s.
‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ has been variously interpreted, essentially the witness of Jesus is that which is borne by Jesus (subjective genitive) but includes all prophetic proclamation.
Robert H. Mounce
The standard literal translation offered in many versions is in essence faithful to the original Greek text. However the wording does nothing to really advance the readers’ ability to understand John’s intent.
Gordon Fee
Therein lies the key. Yes, this statement has been variously interpreted and is evidence of various permutations and combinations of interpretation hidden in this one statement. Such a verse then has to be interpreted in the context of what John heard, saw and wrote down for us, beginning with the complexity of the genitive construction which can be read as a subjective genitive or as an objective genitive. I have introduced you to that challenge already. Simply put it means the testimony that comes directly from Jesus (subjective) and / or the testimony given about Jesus (objective). Most would agree both combined have to be in focus here, in accord with the Gospel writers.
This next portion will come as no surprise to participants in Deeper Bible. The Gospel writers have given us a very clear picture of Jesus from four different points of view.
- Mark’s Gospel is focused on what Jesus did. It is the punchy, to the point, fast moving, action Gospel.
- Matthew and Luke’s Gospel are focused on what Jesus taught, His words and His teaching, sermons and sayings.
- John’s Gospel is all about who Jesus is, in accord with John’s summary statement found in John 20:31.
All of the above is objective testimony about Jesus from all four gospel writers, from which we can glean the subjective portions of Jesus’ testimony. Of course all four Gospels are needed for us to gain understanding of who Jesus is and what He said. The sum total is, of course, God’s Word – the Whole Testimony of who Jesus is and what He said.
There are four words in this pithy statement which are essential for us to pay attention to in order to understand what John intended by his closing statement in this section “for the testimony of Jesus is the {S or s}pirit of Prophecy. Already from the way I have highlighted these words you can see it is complex.
- Testimony
- Jesus
- Spirit or spirit
- Prophecy
Every single one of these four words contain complexity of meaning and intention as to how John meant each one. To add to the complexity, I believe John wrote both the Gospel and Revelation. If you are interested in knowing more read the following Gems:
- Bible Gem 2186 – Who Wrote Revelation? John! Ah But Which One? – Berean Insights↗
- Bible Gem 2187 – Multiple Johns? Two Johns? No! All are One and the Same
- Bible Gem 2188 – Why is the Greek of Revelation and John’s Gospel Different?
- Bible Gem 2189 – How could a Simple Fisherman Write such a Complicated Prophetic, Apocalyptic Letter?
- Bible Gem 2190 – Whose Revelation is It? John’s or Jesus’?
We encounter this statement in Revelation. The combination ‘the testimony of Jesus’ is only found in Revelation 1:2 and here in Revelation 19:10. It is not found anywhere else in Bible! We can’t use other references to this exact phrase to determine the meaning of the combination of these words in other references. As far as John is concerned ‘Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Word of God in flesh’ (1:14). He uses many more words and combinations of words which tell us who Jesus is. John has a HIGH VIEW of Jesus, a high Christology. John is similar to Paul who states that God gave to Jesus Christ the name that is above every name, the name LORD, the UNMENTIONABLE HOLY NAME which Jews would not take upon their lips the name ‘YHWH’. Throughout Revelation there are examples of John making it clear just who Jesus is. In essence, John in Revelation is reporting the testimony of Jesus Christ, the faithful witness (Rev 1:2). Are you gaining the impression that “the testimony of Jesus” is a very unique phrase? I believe John is using this phrase in a very unique and exact way. This is the reason why I can’t accept the theory that John would fall at the feet of an angel to worship the angel per se. John’s theology of Christ, his Christology, is too tight and exalted to do that.
Seven ‘Testimony’ Verses in Revelation
who faithfully reported everything he saw. This is his report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:2
I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.
Revelation 1:19
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of all who had been martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony.
Revelation 6:9
When they complete their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the bottomless pit will declare war against them, and he will conquer them and kill them.
Revelation 11:7
And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.
Revelation 12:11
And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.
Revelation 12:17
Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4
Seven ‘Testimony’ Verses in John’s Gospel
to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.
John 1:7
This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?”
John 1:19
I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony.
John 3:11
Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true.
John 3:33
“If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid.
John 5:31
In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true.
John 5:33
The Pharisees replied, “You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid.”
John 8:13
I don’t think it is coincidence that John includes seven testimony verses in his Gospel and then seven more in Revelation. My hunch is that the testimony verse in Revelation 12:11 is strategically positioned in the middle of the letter. This verse is foundational to the challenge of Revelation to stay true and persevere to the end. It brings into focus the role of our objective testimony in light of Christ’s sacrificial offering of Himself for our salvation. The positioning in the centre of John’s letter leaves us to the inescapable conclusion that Caird brings into sharp focus with his quote which I used in the previous Gem.
Jesus is the faithful witness (Rev 1:5 & 3:14). The witness of Jesus is the witness he bore in His life and teaching but above all, His death. How fitting that the same principle should apply to his followers. To hold to the testimony of Jesus is to stand by the principle which governed his incarnate life, the testimony of his crucifixion with the testimony of martyrdom.
C B Caird
Surely John must be considering “testimony” as a combination of both Jesus’ testimony of His willingness to die to secure our salvation and our willingness to die for the sake of His Gospel of Truth. Our testimony for him is a strong motif in John’s gospel and even stronger in his Revelation letter. John must have intended us to read “the testimony of Jesus” as both a subjective genitive and an objective genitive. In both of John’s works (the Gospel and the Letter of Revelation) there is a dualism related to ‘testimony’ – Jesus’ testimony and others’ testimony about Jesus.
“This revelation to . . . I, John, who faithfully reported everything {I} saw. This is {my} report of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev 1:2
“I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.” Rev 1:29
Did you notice how John twice records “{preaching} the word of God” and “{my} testimony of Jesus” as two different elements? Some would have us believe preaching the word of God is our testimony, just as prophecy is preaching the word of God (forth-telling). I don’t believe John saw it that way. He distinguishes between the two, twice here. Those martyred for the word of God and for being faithful in their testimony (6:9) were commended for not loving their lives even in the face of death (12:11). Notice how the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against her children, all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus (12:17). Those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God (20:4).
Even the quotes in John’s Gospel related to ‘testimony‘ are pregnant with meaning. I took note of the distinctions between who was the actor or subject of the testimony and whether the testimony was spoken words or active life examples. In Jesus’ examples (John 5:31 and 8:13) where the Pharisees were saying the testimony was invalid, it was both spoken word and personal demonstrative action. In John 5:31 Jesus refers to the need to have two witnesses in relation to what He does on His own; yet He makes it clear that He is not alone because the Father who sent me is with me (John 8:16). I pondered these examples for some time. Jesus and John via his reported testimony are speaking some deep truths. I recommend you spend some time pondering these quotes from John’s Gospel and his letter to the churches as well.
Let me for the sake of time and space move on to the next knotty issue, the question: In what way is “the testimony of Jesus the Spirit of prophecy”? Or put subtly in yet another way, in another form: In what way is “the testimony of Jesus the spirit of prophecy”? Believe me, I am not trying to be obtuse. I am simply responding to the commentators who hunker down on what I believe are some pet positions of their doctrine or theology. Yes, you read the subtle difference correctly. The difference between them is Spirit spelt with a capital [S] and spirit spelt with lower case [s]. I am not wanting to pedantically put too fine a point on it, but it is something which some commentators like to embrace with passion.
Clearly ‘Spirit’ refers to the role played by Holy Spirit of God and ‘spirit’ refers to the spirit of men and women, which is we trust in sync with the Spirit of God. Of course I am talking about those prophetic moments inspired by the Spirit of God when prophecy, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, are associated with testimony regarding Jesus and as a result are demonstrative of the presence of Christ {and or} the Holy Spirit. There are numbers of commentators who claim a connection with the prophetic in this wording of John’s related to the testimony being prophetic. But to be honest dear readers there is a world of difference between the manifestation of the Spirit of God in Jesus testimony and at times the lack thereof in our testimony. While we would like it to be the same in all examples of testimony, sadly that is not the case.
I have been struck by the difference between the testimony of Jesus as John terms it and our testimony. When recognising the above patterns related to testimony in John’s Gospel and the testimony patterns in Revelation, I was struck by the contrast. I will explore this more in the coming Gems in this series – Unravelling the Hidden Depth. I believe there are two more layers for us to investigate, hidden in the statement ‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’.
Watch for the next Gem – Bible Gem 2365 – Putting the Prophetic into Practice (Revelation 19:10)
Jesus’ Testimony and our testimony ought to be dovetailed together but sadly there are occasions when our testimony is a dim reflection of His.
Ian
There is confusion when our testimony evidences a lack of the manifestation of the presence of Jesus via the Holy Spirit. After all, the gifts of the Spirit as listed in 1 Corinthians 12 are labelled the Manifestation Gifts. Is the Spirit of God evident by His Presence or not?
Ian
God wastes nothing. In His hands even your worst experience can be a great testimony.
Jeffrey Rachmat
The death of God’s Son is a greater testimony to God’s abhorrence of sin than if all humans had been damned forever.
John Piper
God wants to turn your test into a testimony; your mess into a life message and your misery into a ministry.
Rick Warren
When you are going through a crisis, the devil thinks he’s winning, but really he’s just helping you add another page to your testimony!
Mathias Grehn
This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14