By Ramone Romero
Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ “And he added, “These are the true words of God.” At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:9-10
God is setting the record straight about the “spirit of prophecy”—prophecy comes to testify about Jesus! Prophecy is given as a witness that Jesus Christ is everything God has said He is—our salvation, our righteousness, our wisdom, our holiness, our redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Christ is the testimony of God, and this is God’s testimony: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12)
“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” How is it that these simple words have caused so much confusion in various corners of the Body of Christ? This verse has been cited more than any other to support the claims of prophets, to give credibility and authority to a prophet’s words: “You had better listen to what our prophet says because it’s the ‘spirit of prophecy’ and that is the ‘testimony of Jesus’… so these are the very words of Jesus on this subject.”
This complete misreading of Scripture makes the prophet the center and Jesus the supporter, and is often used to justify any less-than-Scriptural teaching. When we remove the words “spirit of prophecy” from their context and put them at odds with the rest of the New Testament witness, it displaces Jesus from His rightful place as the center of all things and redirects the spotlight onto the prophet. Prophecy is supposed to tell people about Christ. The good news is about Him—all prophets must gladly fade into the background as they point people to the Savior (See Acts 10:25-26, 36, 43).
The “spirit of prophecy” is not some special elite spirit—there is one Holy Spirit, and prophecy is merely one of His gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). We set ourselves up for idolatry and spiritual deafness when we divide the Holy Spirit by isolating any one of His gifts above the others or revere someone for having the special “spirit of prophecy”. The word “spirit” in Greek can also mean “essence, inner life, disposition, state of mind, power, or wind.” Revelation can thus read, “The testimony of Jesus is the essence of prophecy.” This usage of “spirit” is not new to us: we say charitable acts in December show the “spirit” of Christmas. In the same way, the “spirit” of prophecy is to testify about Christ, and this has always been the refreshing passion of the one Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 16:14). This Spirit lived in the prophets of old, in Christ and in the apostles—and now this same Spirit lives in you and me.
The promise of the New Covenant is “they will all know Me” (Hebrews 8:11). Jesus said, “The Spirit of truth… lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see Me anymore, but you will see Me… on that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.” Jesus boldly promised to show Himself to each of us and make His home inside of each of us (John 14:17-23). He said He would continue to reveal His Father to us (John 17:26) and sing praises to His Father in the midst of our meetings (Hebrews 2:12).
So why do we seek after prophets to explain the Bible to us or to give us a word from the Lord? Have we forgotten that the Lord is longing to speak to us Himself and that hearing from Him for ourselves is our Covenant inheritance? Could it be that we have not been taught how to hear the Spirit? Are we still waiting for the “latter rain” outpouring of the Spirit even though Peter said the “last days” began at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-18)? Do our images of prophets and the prophetic still operate under the model of the Old Covenant?
If we have not understood the title deed of our inheritance—the New Covenant—we will find ourselves taking our cues from the Old Covenant template of the prophetic. We’ll expect a prophet to be like Moses who acted as an intermediary between the people and God, and thereby miss the awesome privilege of having God speak directly to us. The angel’s words of Revelation are spoken to stop us from bowing down to prophets and to keep us focused on Jesus: “You must worship God! The spirit and essence of all prophecy is to testify about Jesus,” to reveal the truth about Christ, what He has done, and all that is freely given in Him! (1 Corinthians 2:12)
As many have noted, the best cure for the abuse of the gifts of the Spirit is not to suppress their use, but rather to let God use them properly. Over-emphasizing prophecy and prohibiting prophecy both bring damage to the Body of Christ. Paul wrote, “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church” (1 Corinthians 14:26). When God’s Spirit is allowed to express Himself in a group and it is understood that all gifts are given to testify about Jesus, the results are healing and freedom. I began to learn this in practical, personal experience in a small group, in the school of the Spirit…
My first contact with Hazel Holland came in the fall of 2000 when I read a prophecy she had posted on the Internet. At 21 years of age, I had grown up Adventist and had already been a missionary to Japan, yet I had felt many troubling things in the church but was unable to fully recognize them without feeling guilty. From a young age I had been told, “No church is perfect,” and “You shouldn’t criticize God’s church.” But when I read what God had shown to Hazel, I inally understood that He had seen all His children’s pains (including mine!) and was very concerned about what was happening to all of us.
A few days later, I cautiously went to meet Hazel and test her beliefs. She spoke the Gospel I knew from the book of Romans—that we are saved by faith in Christ. But when I tested her on the Sabbath question, she said something shocking to me: If we are to be saved by keeping Sabbath in the end-times, then we are saved by our good works instead of by faith in Christ! For the first time in my life, the Gospel was allowed to interpret the Adventist end-time beliefs. I knew I had truly heard the Gospel, but I was frightened of going through this turning point because the Sabbath was my insurance in the “last days.” Was God now calling me to walk where there seemed to be no ground beneath my feet, to step out over the chasm trusting that He would catch me?
I went to visit Hazel again, and this time I brought all my friends. A Thursday night prayer meeting was born. As the meetings continued, several of us began to move in gifts of the Holy Spirit that we had never recognized before. Yet the most wonderful thing about the meetings was not the gifts—granted, they were exciting, but they were never the point. I eagerly desired the gifts when I first arrived, but the Lord wanted me to first be reconciled with my natural father and have peace with him. God used Hazel and others to help me “un-freeze” my emotions and release my bitterness. He taught me how to choose to forgive those who had hurt me and find healing at the foot of the Cross.
At the meetings, I learned firsthand that when we allow the Spirit of God to move through us freely, He will use His gifts as aides to help uncover root problems in our hearts. I sometimes would arrive at the meetings in with an emotional, physical or spiritual pain, but unable to identify the reason behind it. As the group began to pray for me and wait on the Lord together, God would give a picture, vision, impression or word to someone, which in turn would shed light on what was troubling me. I always knew when something was from God because I felt the inner witness of the Spirit—His true words always “resonated” in my own spirit. The gift of prophecy functioned in the same way, usually through Hazel and occasionally through others. As a result of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in and among us, countless wounds were healed.
Likewise, when any of us received dreams or visions, we brought them to God and He answered in the same manner. Before taking the dream to the group, I would first pray and wait on God personally for understanding (if I forget to do this and took the dream straight to the group, God always reminded me to come to Him first next time). Without fail God brought discernment and understanding like an unveiling process as we waited on Him together—and His interpretations usually came through more than one individual. The Lord seems to prefer to disperse His revelations among each person in a group instead of giving the burden of full understanding to just one member. I believe this is part of “carrying each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2)—He gives us brothers and sisters through whom He will speak to us and bless us. As we freely allow Him to do that, we better understand Him and what His heart is for us.
The Naked Truth is based on a dream and subsequent vision the Lord gave Hazel Holland in 1996. While most of the interpretation was given to Hazel, some insights and understanding were received by those of us with whom she shared the book for prayer, similar to how He brought understanding through many people in the prayer meetings at her home. This book has been “given birth” as the result of the prayers of many. He seems to take delight in giving interpretations one piece at a time until a whole picture emerges, so that in the whole process we are dependent on Him for understanding, and when the picture is finished our eyes are fixed on Him alone, the Revelator of all things, and Himself the great Revelation, Himself our salvation. We will be happy in the end if the focus is on the burden on the Lord’s heart instead of on the vessels through whom He conveyed it.
The Naked Truth is based on a dream and subsequent vision the Lord gave Hazel Holland in 1996. While most of the interpretation was given to Hazel, some insights and understanding were received by those of us with whom she shared the book for prayer, similar to how He brought understanding through many people in the prayer meetings at her home. This book has been “given birth” as the result of the prayers of many. He seems to take delight in giving interpretations one piece at a time until a whole picture emerges, so that in the whole process we are dependent on Him for understanding, and when the picture is finished our eyes are fixed on Him alone, the Revelator of all things, and Himself the great Revelation, Himself our salvation. We will be happy in the end if the focus is on the burden on the Lord’s heart instead of on the vessels through whom He conveyed it.
Why did the Lord give this dream and vision to Hazel Holland? What message does He want to convey to His children? In these last days, I believe God is raising up prophets in order to reset our faith and practice to the finished work of His Son—the spirit and heart of prophecy. “Prophecy” in Hebrew also means “burden,” and I pray that you may hear the burden of God’s heart as you read the pages of this book. Its contents may initially surprise and even disturb you, but He has promised that His burden is light and above all that as we lay down our heavy burdens He will give us rest in Himself.
June 2006
Osaka, Japan
