Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But 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,” (19:10).

Babylon the great is gone! Her evil influence, her corrupting control, her demonic dominion is overthrown and vengeance for the saints is finished; and the symphonic sound crescendos as Hallelujahs ascend in praise and adoration for His Swift and Strong Judgment.

And through John’s description, we are given a sound bite of the majestic Hallelujah chorus that will be heard for all of eternity. And it’s interesting to note, that this praise word, “Hallelujah,” that is used four times in this chapter, is not used in any other New Testament book.  “… It is derived from two Hebrew words meaning ‘Praise the Lord,'” NIV Study Bible.

Doesn’t it seem fitting that a unique word would be needed to adequately express praise for the climax of human history fully realized in the Testimony of Jesus? And this Hallelujah praise would also declare the Lord God Is One, He Is the same God of both the Old and the New Testaments.

And as I read of the glory songs of praise washing over all of heaven and earth, I realized, we’ve been hit like this before; hit with that sensation of our total inability to capture the cascading revelation of Jesus Christ that was given to the apostle John.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, (Revelation 1:1).

So much is communicated in today’s reading about Him. And I felt halted once more, both in wonder and by the utter impossibility of being able to take it all in; left yet again with that sense of desperately trying to drink from a fire hydrant, only to capture a drop before being knocked to the ground by the unbridled force.

But oh, just a drop of the magnanimous revelation of the Son of God will galvanize our passion; for even the smallest revelation of the Testimony of Jesus Christ is greater than the greatest testimony of man.

If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son, (1 John 5:9).

And I wondered if John was again hit with the reality that there are not enough books in the universe to contain all that He has done, and more importantly, all that He Is.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written, (John 21:25).

For John was so overwhelmed by it all, he involuntarily fell at the feet of the messenger in worship. And just as quickly as he fell, he was lifted to the Truth that Only One is worthy as he hears the Testimony of Jesus proclaimed.

“Do not do that…worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy,” (19:10).

From Louw- Nida Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament:

Testimony: “33.264 μαρτυρία^b, ας f; μαρτύριον^b, ου n: (derivatives of μαρτυρέω^a ‘to witness,’ 33.262) the content of what is witnessed or said—‘testimony, witness.’”

Spirit: “30.6 πνεῦμα^f, τος n: (compare πνεῦμα^e ‘inner being,’ 26.9) an attitude or disposition reflecting the way in which a person thinks about or deals with some matter—‘disposition, attitude, way of thinking.’”

Prophecy: “33.460 προφητεία^a, ας f: an utterance inspired by God—‘inspired utterance, prophecy.’”

Everything spoken of and witnessed about Jesus Christ perfectly reveals God’s ways, attitudes, and covenant promises that have been uttered through His Inspired Word and perfectly fulfilled through the Testimony of Jesus.

So while we may only garner a drop of the revelation of Jesus Christ, a drop will go a long ways in strengthening our faith and hope as we consider the Testimony of Jesus.

Consider the Testimony of Jesus

• The Testimony of Jesus: Salvation and Glory and Power Belong to Him.
  • After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,” (19:1).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He Is the Righteous Judge and Avenger.
  • because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her,” (19:2).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He is Worthy of All Worship and Praise and Reverent Awe and Fear.
  • And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” ⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵ And a voice came from the throne, saying,’ “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great,” (19:3-5).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He Is the Almighty Lord God Who Reigns.
  • Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns,” (19:6).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He Is the Lamb Who Will Receive Glory from His Bride.
  • Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready,” (19:7).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He Alone is Worthy of Worship.
  • Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But 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,” (19:10).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He Is Faithful and True in Righteousness.
  • And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (19:11).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He is All-Knowing and All-Victorious, yet the Depth of His Fullness is Unfathomable.
  • His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself, (19:12).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He Is The Word of God.
  • He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God, (19:13).

• The Testimony of Jesus: His Rule and Wrath are Invincible.
  • From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, (19:15).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He Is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
  • And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,” (19:16).

• The Testimony of Jesus: He will Powerfully Eradicate the forces of all evil Forever and Ever.
  • And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone, (19:20).

How do we respond to the Testimony of Jesus?

In his first letter, John had also written of the Testimony of Jesus in regards to the eternal destiny of all of mankind.

And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life, (1 John 5:11-12).

The Testimony of Jesus leaves no room for oscillating; there are no gray areas. Eternal life is in His Son. Nowhere else. End of discussion. Period.

And those who have the Son will one day join in the Eternal Majestic Hallelujah chorus together with all who have been invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb and have been made ready and clothed in His righteousness through faith.

Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints, (19:7-8).

So we must end today on this all important question. Are we ready? Have we depended solely upon His salvation through faith so that we have the Testimony of Jesus in ourselves, but not of ourselves?

The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son, (1 John 5:10).

While He has not told us the day or the hour, He has told us that every prophecy will be accomplished in one day, in one hour, through the Testimony of Jesus. Will we be ready when He comes?

“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will,” (Matthew 24:42-44).

Oh, let us live ever ready for His coming, that we would overcome the evil one through faith in the blood of the Lamb that was shed for our sins and prepared for His return as we love Him more than life. And let us fervently pray that in everything we do and in whatever we face in this life, the word of our testimony would faithfully proclaim the Testimony of Jesus.

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death, (Revelation 12:11).

Let’s Grow Together!