prophecy

As Christians we often wish to get a glimpse into heaven to see what it is like. Jesus lived there before coming to earth. John the Baptist called Him “He who comes from heaven,” and said that Jesus “testifies to what He has seen and heard.” (Jn 3:32) Not only did Jesus see and hear what life was like with God, but He also had an in-the-moment ability to hear what God was currently saying. John tells us that Jesus “speaks the words of God,” (Jn 3:34). This was Jesus’ testimony; that He spoke the words of God.

Though we do not spend our time gazing into heaven to see and hear what goes on there, Jesus did give up His Holy Spirit which reminds us of the Words He spoke on the earth, and will show us of things to come. In fact, Peter tells us that it is the Spirit of Christ which prophesied in the past and continues to prophesy now (1 Pet 1:11 & 2 Pet 1:21). We can have the in-the-moment ability to hear the Words of God.
What sort of things would we be hearing from God? Different things. Jesus taught us to pray that God’s will would be done on earth just like it is done in heaven. We pray this way because the way things are done on earth are not the way they are done in heaven. When God speaks it gives us a glimpse of how things are done differently in heaven, and what His kingdom should look like on earth. Our thoughts, in the natural, cannot grasp the things of God, for His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Is 55:9). What God speaks to us should sound new, and unfamiliar to our own way of thinking.

The Bible tells us that we may speak the words of God to one another. It is the gift of prophecy. We also learn that the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev 19:10). Jesus went on record as One speaking from God. Those who hear from and speak the words of God have the Testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17). They hear and see things differently when God is speaking to them, and will speak things that are unfamiliar to the listeners. If we do not want to change the way we see things, we will not receive what they have to say. But if we open our ears up to the voice of true prophecy, we will receive what God has to say to us through them. Amen.