You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
10 And[kai] I fell[pipto] at[emprosthen] his[autos] feet[pous] to worship[proskuneo] him.[autos] And[kai] he said[lego] unto me,[moi] See[horao] thou do it not:
[me] I am[eimi]
thy[sou] fellowservant,[sundoulos] and[kai] of thy[sou] brethren[adelphos] that
have[echo] the testimony[marturia] of Jesus:[Iesous] worship[proskuneo] God:[theos] for[gar] the testimony[marturia] of
Jesus[Iesous] is[esti] the spirit[pneuma] of
prophecy.[propheteia] KJV-Interlinear
10 And I fell
at his feet to worship him. And he said to me, "Do not do that; I am a
fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus;
worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." NASB
Inevitably when people read this verse they get stuck on only one word, that of prophecy. And since prophecy implies future predictions, as most everyone takes for granted, then the whole verse gets distorted and the full meaning is lost.
But first things first. John has heard and seen a great deal of information regarding the promises of God, the plan of God, and the events of the last days. He has heard a summary of history from the view point of Gods plan and from the view of Satan's plan.
All of these things he was already aware of, but now they have been made very real to him through the sequence of the visions he has been receiving. It would kind of be like knowing that there are lottery drawings every week, and week after week you do not win, then one day you happen to hit a huge jackpot. That reality will actually affect your life for the rest of your life and it will impact your life dramatically. So your reaction would and should be one of overwhelming joy.
John has been hit with the reality of things he has known and has believed, but they just have not yet occurred.
So, John falls down before the angel, in error, but due to the overwhelming information he has just received. How do we know this, because this verse mentions the phrase, 'testimony of Jesus.'
What is that? John 1. Both Jesus Christ and the word of God, are one and the same. Jesus is man, Jesus is God, and the scriptures are Jesus too.
Knowing the word is knowing Jesus. Learning the word is inculcating Jesus into your soul, Jesus in you, or the word in you. When you learn doctrine, you are in effect receiving the written Jesus Christ, into your soul.
This is not the same as the Father, Son, and Spirit indwelling you when you were saved, for that is a true principle as well. This is not the same as the Holy Spirit, being in control of your soul, when you confess and are back in fellowship, for that is a true principle as well.
But when you learn doctrine, then you are in effect building up Jesus in your soul, and Jesus being God and the heir of the universe and to power and sovereignty and so forth, is exactly the material (doctrine) with which you are completing the construction of your soul. That is the best building material anywhere, because it is powerful (the word of God is alive and powerful) and it is eternal (you will never lose it).
Therefore, the testimony of Jesus, is the content of the scriptures. And all of this information which we have been studying in this chapter and more, comes from your studying, from your learning, and is built up into your understanding.
The principle of the marriage, is probably the most significant concept in all of the scriptures, for it is an objective, to be with God forever. And it describes in many ways, that relationship, and how it is accomplished.
And yes prophecy is a statement of future events, but in our passage, it is an understanding of a future promise, of a future relationship, of a future and certain conclusion of Gods plan, versus all other plans by man and Satan. And you learn of these things through your daily studies of doctrine (the testimony of Jesus).
We do not worship angels. They are servants of the same master (Christ) as we all are, Heb 1:14.
So our focus in not and should not be, on predictions, or being mesmerized by events or things we cannot see (angels, the future), but on learning the content of the scriptures. For by learning doctrine, then all of the information and understanding of truth and Gods plan and more, are opened up to us. And that, spiritual maturity, is our number one objective.
'Study to show thyself approved (mature, complete) unto God, rightly dividing (learning, discernment, understanding) the word of truth.'
