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January 2025

How important is Prophecy in Scripture?

  God established the importance of Prophecy in Scripture because the eternal Son of God IS the Spirit of Prophecy.

  Most people are amazed to discover that the more than one-third of the Scriptures are prophetic for one good reason.  Our Lord Jesus IS the Spirit of Prophecy. 

 “And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.  And He saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.  And I fell at his feet to worship him.  And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your fellow-servant,  and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.“ (Revelation 19:9-10)

 The Bible is a book of prophecy.  Over one third of its verses predict the future, with every fulfillment happening with one-percent accuracy down to the smallest details.  The Old Testament contains forty-eight specific prophecies in the first coming of the Messiah who was to come as the promised Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.  Our Lord Jesus declared time and again, “These were done that it might be fulfilled that which was written by the prophets.”  Many have written about the staggering odds of only twenty of these prophecies being fulfilled in one person in one lifetime.  Yet our Lord fulfilled more than two hundred prophecies at His first coming. 

 Revelation 19:10 makes a bold statement regarding the relationship between prophecy and Jesus Christ: “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (KJV).  The book of Revelation is a book of prophecy given by our Lord Jesus 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.  God was constantly revealing the coming Lamb of God from the Book of Genesis to the last book of the Bible.

  In the text of Revelation 19:9-10, God alone knows the end from the beginning and has seen the fall of the evil world system referred to as Babylon the Great. (Revelation 18).  This is followed in Revelation 19 by the scene of a multitude in heaven celebrating and singing praise to God because of the judgment upon this evil system (Revelation 19:1-3) and because it is now time for the wedding supper of the Lamb where many of you will see John Barela who has had his sins washed in the blood of the Lamb and having received in Christ Jesus the Law of the Spirit of Life that is in Christ Jesus (Revelation 19:6-8).  God reveals to us what we already know by having our sins forgiven and being born from above, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9).  At this proclamation, the apostle John falls to worship at the feet of of the angel who is communicating this prophecy, but the angel makes it clear to the apostle that he is to rise to his feet, for he is but “a fellow servant” — only God is to be worshipped. (Revelation 19:10; Colossians 2:18).

  In response to John’s wrongful worship, the angel says, ” … See you do it not: I am your fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God…”  (Revelation 19:10, KJV).  Human beings are creatures of worship.  They worship movie stars and sports heroes.  This statement is a response to the apostle’s intention to worship the angel.  We are commanded in Scripture to worship God alone. While God has made many beautiful things, such as angels, He is alone worthy of our praise (John 17:3; 1st Timothy 1:17; 1st Timothy 6:15; 1st Samuel 7:4).

1.) Our Lord Jesus is the substance of all prophecy, He is the common theme among all prophecy.

2.) All true prophecy bears witness about the eternal Lamb of God.  Therefore, all prophecy should cause us to worship Him alone.

3.) The message or testimony given to us by our Creator, also known as the Word in John 1:1, is the essence of true prophecy.  Our Lord Jesus is the Word, and no prophecy comes to us except through Him, ultimately pointing to God as the source of all true prophecy.

  While the Messiah was here fulfilling the prophecies of His first coming to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 53, He prepared His disciples telling them about His future death and resurrection.  In the Upper Room, the Savior again told them what was to happen so as to calm their troubled hearts concerning the news that He would soon leave them.  His words on this occasion provide us with a key for understanding the purpose of Bible prophecy: “And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.” (John 14:29). 

  During that same evening, the Lord also promised HIs disciples, and us, that He would prepare a  place for us in Heaven and take us to His “Father’s House” (John 14:1-3).  The apostles later expounded upon this assurance by adding many details about it. They told us He would someday:

• Resurrect the dead in Christ (1st Corinthians  15:47-55; 1st Thessalonians 4:16).
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• Transform living saints into the same immortal and resurrection bodies  (1st Corinthians 15:51-55; Philippians 3:20-21; Romans 8:23-24; 1st John 3:1-3).
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• Catch living believers up to meet Him in the air (1st Thessalonians 4:17).
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• Take His Church to Heaven, to the place He’s preparing for us (John 14:2-3; Colossians 3:4).
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  Why did our Lord provide us with so many precious promises of our future?  He did so to provide a means of mutual encouragement among believers (1st Thessalonians 4:18-5:11). While Paul was in Thessalonica, he emphasized future things, perhaps sensing that the Jews living there would persecute the new believers.  Amid severe and painful opposition to their faith, the Thessalonian saints remained faithful as they held on to the hope of Jesus imminent appearing.

  We need these encouraging words from our Lord Jesus as growing opposition to and persecution around the world for our faith — and for the first time, we are hearing daily warnings of a nuclear WWIII.  The Spirit of Prophecy comforts us today in at least two ways. 

 

  First assures us of a glorious future after the end of this life. The pre-Tribulation Rapture is biblically sound and most definitely a very “blessed hope” (Titus 2:11-14) that fills us with joyous anticipation regardless of what we face in this life. 

  Second, it calms our hearts by assuring us that Scripture foretold about the last days. The Lord revealed these things long ago so that we might remain confident in our faith as everything falls apart around us. We recognize the buildup to the blasphemous kingdom of the beast and know that regardless of the wait, Jesus is coming for us in the near future.

 If the antichrist is to control all the buying and selling in the world, we would expect to see the development of the means for this well ahead of the time he needs it.  And that’s exactly what’s happening. The forces who are leading this movement are feverishly working on a cashless and digital payment system that will enable the coming beast to fulfill the words of Revelation 13:16-18.

 The Bible tells us that the Tribulation will be a time of great lawlessness, deception and wickedness. Although these things have existed to some degree throughout history, they define the day in which we live like no other time. When asked about the end of the age, our Lord’s first words were, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.” (Matthew 24:4).  Each and every day, we witness deceit on a scale that was once far beyond my imagination. Many struggle to know what’s real and are thankful to our Lord for the words of Scripture that anchors our soul amid the storms of darkness.

  It is times like these that we can cherish the Lord’s words from the Upper Room,  “And now I  have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.” He realized it would be difficult to wait as we watch the Tribulation approach and wonder how much closer we can get to the Tribulation before it happens. Some believers even believe we are in the tribulation now.  He knew we would need these things to keep our focus on His appearing. 

 Everything remains under the sovereign control and is unfolding precisely as he said it would in the days leading up to the Rapture.  As we wait. remember His last words to His church: “He which testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly.  Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:20). 

Printed with permission of Today, The Bible & You located at P.O. Box 1722, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma 74013, Phone Number (918) 279-1136.  The name of the original article in the January 2025 issue of Today’s Front Page was “How Important is Prophecy in Scripture? God established the importance of Prophecy in Scripture because the eternal Son of God IS the Spirit of Prophecy.” www.JohnBarela.com