Words and Sayings
In chapter 1 we encounter the word “words” as in “the words of this prophecy.” Towards the end, Revelation introduces the word “sayings.”
These two words turn out to be interchangeable. We can see that Revelation uses the adjectives “true” and “faithful” to qualify the word “words” (chapter 21) as well as the word “sayings” (chapters 19 and 22):
“And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God” (19:9). “These words are true and faithful” (21:5). “These sayings are faithful and true” (22:6).
In chapters 1 and 22, the first and last chapter, Revelation admonishes us to keep the words and the sayings of this prophecy, because the time is near:
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (1:3).
“…blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book” (22:7).
“Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand” (22:10).
Spirit of Prophecy
What is meant with “testimony of Jesus”? The answer is given in Rev 19:10, “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
There are several places in Revelation where “the word of God” is mentioned along with “the testimony of Jesus.” In this context, the word of God is the written word, the scripture of the prophecy. The spirit of prophecy is how, through the holy spirit, we interpret the word of God.
In 2 Corinthians 3:6 the apostle Paul says,
“Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
So it is about the spirit of the written word. It is like reading between the lines. Through our intuition, the still small voice within, we can interpret the meaning behind the scripture.
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