The true sayings of God Revelation 19v9-10.
"......and He sayeth unto me "these are the true sayings of God" and I fell at His feet to worship Him. And He said unto me "see thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
These are the concluding words before the main event, which is the return of Christ to the earth. We will sum it up in four ways:
- The words of truth. - John is staggered by what he has seen and heard. Anyone would be, when presented with the details of the visions and prophecies that have just been outlined. The angel closes this section by underlining the fact that these things, although fantastic, are no fantasy! This is not as the world would describe "pie in the sky when you die;" this is real, these are the true sayings of God. This is no human fabrication, or angelic concoction. or wishful thinking. Fantastic as they are they are true. In a world of confusion and deception and corruption we need to hear the truth, and this is it!
- The wonder of John - It says "he fell at His feet to worship him." Just as he had fallen at the feet of the glorified Jesus in revelation 1v17, he feels compelled to bow at the feet of the angel standing before him as he outlines things which are almost too wonderful to take. We should not criticise John for this action because the very presence of an angel, especially an angel of such high rank as this one, must be an awesome sight. Additionally the amazing facts that he has brought before him are almost beyond human comprehension. The apostle Peter makes it clear in 2nd Peter 2v11 that "angels are greater in power and might than man". There is a day coming, according to 1st Corinthians 6v3, when the glorified church will judge angels. However John is not yet glorified and in his mortal state, the natural tendency would be to revere someone of such fantastic appearance and presence.
- The worship of God - The same scene is presented in chapter 22v7&8 and it seems the glory of this person before him was such that, for the second time, John wanted to worship him; but the angel refused his worship. This comes to the very heart of what heaven is all about. When Satan, the highest angel God ever created, confronted Jesus in the wilderness, he was so full of his own importance that he wanted Jesus to fall down and worship him. The angels who have never sinned, who live in the presence of God will never receive worship, because they live with someone so great that they direct worship only to the God who sits on the throne. Jesus summed this up when He replied to Satan "thou shalt worship the Lord thy God only." Lesser beings like human beings or angels or archangels who desire to be worshipped have gone astray in their thinking, and have exalted themselves to a place beyond their station in life so great is the God of heaven that he is indeed the only object of everyone's worship. Notice the true humility of this great angel as he speaks to John "I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus." In the presence of the great God, and, compared to his superior glory, we are all, whether man or angel, in the same position.
- The witness of Jesus - The angel finishes this section by underlining the whole point and nature of prophecy. He says "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy". Four times in the book this phrase " the testimony of Jesus" appears (chapter 1v2;1v9;12v17;19v10). What is the angel saying? He is adding his testimony to the whole of holy scripture, where we know that Jesus is the main theme of all scripture, and now we see he is the central theme of all prophecy. In John 16v13-15, the context of which is the role of the holy Spirit to glorify Christ, it says "He will show you things to come." Every book in the bible points to Jesus Christ. Every theme of prophecy is all about Jesus Christ. True worship of God is the testimony of Jesus Christ, because only through Him will God be truly worshipped. It is said that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy; the word for spirit is pneuma which is breath...we could say it is the very life- force of prophecy. It is the same idea as in Genesis chapter 2 when God breathed into a dead body the spirit of life. The testimony of Jesus is the very essence of prophecy without which no prophecy has any meaning. If we grasp that we grasp everything, and those who communicate the truth of God in any way, should take note.
Amazon bookshelf George Neilly
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