The Spirit of Prophecy
A seldom talked about ministry. Often times we talk about the ministry of God, and of Christ, but fail to recognize the messengers of God sent to us “shew
Jesus himself, when tempted, was comforted when His Father sent angels to him, we find this after his temptation in the wilderness and also in the garden of Gethsemane.
Luke 22:42-43 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (43) And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
The prophets of God throughout history have received comfort from God our Father sending His angels. Daniel the prophet penned many great prophecies given to him by the angel Gabriel (Dan 9:21) by which we have been shown “things to come” (Rev 16:13) He also appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos. We read in Revelation 1:1:
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
The message to John was given to him by an angel. And we are told in verse 2 that this angel has the “testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:2) We are told of this angel that He also has the spirit of prophecy:
Revelation 19:10 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.
As we read this we can consider the following points:
1. This angel has come to “shew you things to come” Revelation is a book that will show his servants things to come. (Rev 1:1, John 16:13, 14)
2. This angel does not speak of Himself but rather he speaks of Christ as He is giving the Revelation of Jesus (Rev 1:1, John 16:13, 14)
3. He has the spirit of prophecy
There is a channel of blessing here by which the living waters flow. God gave the revelation of Christ to Christ. Christ gives it to the angel, the angel gives it to the prophet, the prophet gives it to His servants.
God>>>Christ>>>Angels>>>John>>>Servants
That spirit is to comfort us when he is sent to us, just as he comforted Jesus:
John 16:13-14 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (14) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
“He shall glorify me”. Therefore “he” is not “me”, or the one that Jesus is referring to here, is someone separate and distinct from himself. He “the spirit of truth” speaks of Jesus, he is shewing you “things to come”. So therefore he has the “spirit of prophecy” or is the “spirit of truth”. He is a humble minister of God. Let us read more regading the “spirit of truth”.
Angels = Spirits
Hebrews 1:7 , 14 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire…Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Angels are “spirits” and also called “flames of fire”. Not all angels are good spirits though. The bible warns of the fallen angels as well. They also are described as “flames of fire” in the bible. We are told in Revelation about the “dragon… and his angels.” (Rev 12:7) and these angels are signified as “stars”. Regarding the dragon we are told that “…his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven.” (Rev 12:4) Or a third of the angels. A star is a ball of burning fire, and this is what the bible uses to describe angels.
What Testimony
Isaiah 8:19-20 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? (20) To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
What testimony is this? The testimony of Jesus Christ? What spirit is this? The spirit of prophecy? No and no, this is not the testimony of Jesus, and these are familiar spirits, spirits of devils, fallen angels. And so therefore we are called to try the spirits. Perhaps they are false prophets.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Spirits of prophecy. False prophecy. These spirits do not have the testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy, and so to the law and testimony we can know them. There are many of them the bible says. And the way in which we identify them is to try them. When the spirit of truth is come, it will guide you into all truth. We will know the spirit of truth.
1 John 4:6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
We know the Spirit of truth, because “greater is he(Christ) that is in you”. (1 John 4:4) He said regarding the comforter, which is the spirit of truth. (John
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
Hereby know ye the spirit of truth, hereby know ye the spirit of God, the spirit of prophecy, that spirit is manifest through the angels, the testimony of Jesus, Jesus living in your flesh. To the law and to the testimony, try the spirits, they may be “familiar spirits” (Isa 8:19) that may not have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The Seven Spirits Before the Throne
I’ve heard many interpretations regarding the “seven spirits of God” which are mentioned by Zechariah and John the revelator. If we look with care we will see what they are. Let’s look at the greeting to the seven churches.
Revelation 1:4-5 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; (5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
A greeting is given from “Him which is, and which was, and which is to come”, this refers to God the Father. (See Rev 11:17) It is also a greeting “from the seven Spirits which are before his throne”. There are seven spirits before the Father’s throne. Is it possible that the seven spirits are “angels…ministering spirits…flames of fire”? (Heb 1:7) That will be answered shortly. It is also a greeting from “Jesus Christ”.
What else does the Revelation say about the seven spirits?
Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
This could also be translated “the seven spirits of God, even the seven stars”. Regarding the seven stars we are told that “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:” (Rev 1:20) So angels are stars in prophecy. But lets look further so as to confirm whether or not these are angels.
It is also an interesting note that to each of the seven churches an angel is sent to it, and at the end of every message to each church we are told “hear what the spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev 2:11, 17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22)
Angels = Spirits = Flames of Fire = Stars.
Eyes of the Lamb
Revelation 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
The seven eyes of the lamb are the seven spirits of God. What else are we told about the eyes of the lamb?
Revelation 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
His hair was white like wool. Where do we get wool from? A lamb. And the eyes of the lamb were as a flame of fire. So therefore the seven spirits on the lamb are seven flames of fire. We are also told in Zechariah 3:9 that there is a stone with “seven eyes” and also that “the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” (Zech 4:10)
The seven flames of fire are the seven stars, and seven angels. And this is how God communicates to his churches. On the day of Pentecost, something was rushing to the earth that sounded like a mighty wind. The wings of the angels. And the house was filled with “the spirit of truth” not speaking of themselves but magnifying Christ.
7Angels = 7 Spirits = 7 Flames of Fire =7 Stars =7 eyes
Fire From Heaven
Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. (3) And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy spirit was given on the day of Pentecost, the church was given a special gift. The gift of tongues, and they began to speak to each other and hear each other in their own languages.
Acts 2:8-11 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? (9) Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, (10) Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, (11) Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
A Counterfeit Gift
In 1 Corinthians 12:28, 29 we are told of the gifts of the spirit. And that one of those gifts is “miracles” and another is the gift of “tongues”. But the Corinthians were having issues with this gift. Some were speaking in tongues but it sounded like the babbling of Babylon. The word “Babylon” means “confusion” and Babel is what babies do. The tower of Babel is where God confused the languages. (See Genesis 11) Now regarding these babbling tongues that the Corinthians had, Paul admonishes them saying:
1 Corinthians 14:6-9 Now, brethren, if I come unto you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by doctrine? (7) And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? (8) For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? (9) So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.
In other words, if they can’t understand each other, then they need to hold back on their talking in tongues or else they are only causing confusion. Paul makes it clear that God is not the author of this babbling confusion.
1 Corinthians 14:31-33 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. (32) And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. (33) For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
In the book of Revelation we are told of “fire from heaven” again. This fire is manifest through the image to the beast, also known as the “false prophet”. Many false prophets are gone out into the world, and certainly this fire cannot be “the spirit of truth”. (1 John 4:1-6). Elijah the true prophet called down fire from heaven in order to reveal who the true God was. (1 Kings 18) So what spirit is this? This counterfeit pentecost. Let’s examine the scriptures.
Revelation 13:13-14 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, (14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
The fire from heaven here is seen as miracles, which are a gift of the spirit. (1 Cor 12:28, 29) But this obviously is a counterfeit spirit, a counterfeit prophet, and spirits of devils. It is a spirit that deceives. In fact it deceives almost the entire world and those who aren’t deceived, war is made against them.
In a parralel verse regarding this false prophet that tries to bring fire down from heaven. We read about the war that this war or battle is to be made by these spirits. Let us consider carefully.
The Threefold Union
Revelation 16:12-16 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. (13) And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. (14) For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (15) Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (16) And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Here we see the battle, the river Euphrates is dried up. The river of life that flows out of the throne. Babylon is fallen, and the way is prepared for the Messiah to come. (Daniel 5, Isaiah 45:1) But we see these spirits come out of the mouth. What is in the mouth? The tongue. What kinds of spirits are these? Frogs. What do frogs capture their pray with? Their tongues. This again is called “miracles”. It is a deception that deceives the whole world. A counterfeit fire from heaven, a counterfeit pentecost, a counterfeit holy spirit.
These spirits of devils, the fallen angels go first to the kings of the earth, they deceive all the world leaders, then they get control of the media, music, movies, video games, sports stars, and finally to the whole world until the spirit of God has been withdrawn and the river of life is dried up from this world and Babylon has no protection anymore.
Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
A cage of demons. This is the churches of the last days. Babylon, confused. And that is where the false prophets come from. They are in the churches, and they will use the kings of the earth to try to enforce their beliefs on others. Because the devils work in these churches.
One of the most popular movements today is the charasmatic movement. Which has more than five hundred million people in it. The Catholic Church has 1.2 billion people in it. This is 1/4 of the worlds population between them both. This charasmatic movement is sweeping Catholicism right now. These churches believe that Elijah is come, the fire of Pentecost is coming from heaven and they are saying “Let us make an image to the beast”.
This movement is linking up with the Catholic Church, considered by most as the first beast of Revelation. And this movement is spreading quick because their is a real spirit behind it, with real power. As the bible says he “deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do...” (Rev 13:14) The people experiencing this power know that it is real. But it is not the spirit of God, the spirit of truth, nor the spirit of prophecy which is teaching you truth. But it is the spirits of devils, the spirit of antichrist, the spirit of the beast, and the fire of the false prophet. Fallen angels, working miracles in these churches.
So we see here a threefold union, the dragon and his angels(spiritualism), the beast(the Papacy) and the false prophet (apostate protestantism). Apostate protestantism reaching over the abyss to grasp the hand of the Papacy.
And it deceives by casting something out of its mouth. A spirit. The bible depicts the throne of God as having water of life proceeding from it. Jesus tells us that this living water is “the holy Spirit”(John 7:39) But we are also told that “out of the mouth of the dragon” comes another spirit. The bible depicts this as waters, a flood of deathly waters, a flood of evil filling the earth. Speaking of “the great dragon…that old serpent” (Revelation 12:9) We are told:
Revelation 12:15-17 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. (16) And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. (17) And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony
The battle is on. In the days of Elisha, men were sent to find him, to search for him and spy him out. They brought chariots and surrounded him in the city. Elisha prayed that his fearful servant might look and see.
2 Kings 6:16-17 And he(Elisha) answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. (17) And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
“Chariots of fire”, the angels of God. Let us take comfort, for the Father has sent us the spirit of truth, fire from heaven, ministering spirits, flames of fire, an army greater than this world can measure. And if we will accept it, we can know that in this battle of Armageddon, there are more with us than with them. The devil makes war against us, but through Christ we are more than conquerers.