Editorial August 30, 1913 Issue

"THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY."

Annie M. Knott

In the nineteenth chapter of Revelation we read that an angel said to John, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." These words are very significant, and remind us that there have been many and varied attempts to interpret prophecy from a material view-point, when its true meaning can be gained only as spiritual sense reveals the great facts of existence and shows the eternal working together of all things for good according to that divine purpose, which can never be thwarted by mortal ignorance or obstinacy.

On page 593 of Science and Health Mrs. Eddy defines prophet as "a spiritual seer; disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth." This definition should be kept in mind, also the words concerning "the spirit of prophecy," as we read the Bible and endeavor to grasp its deeper meanings, especially as we study the Lesson-Sermon. If we fail to find therein the vital truth which heals and purifies, uplifts and tranquilizes, it is because we are holding to a material and temporal interpretation of the inspired word. Paul warned the early Christians against this mistake, as we read in his second epistle to the Corinthians, where he says of his fellow countrymen: "Their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil [as in Moses' time] untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ."

There are found in the Old Testament many warnings of impending evil, which have been called by some commentators "doom songs," and few have seen that these, when spiritually understood, all point to the destruction of error. With these prophecies may be classed Jesus' utterances as found in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew and the twenty-first of Luke, and indeed the closing statements of the Sermon on the Mount as well. The latter tell us that the winds and the floods of mortal experience will assail the just and the unjust alike, with this tremendous difference as to the final result,—the house built upon the rock, the Truth which was the foundation of the Master's words and works, this mental abode will remain unshaken by the storm and stress of mortal belief and unbelief, proving the perfect security of him who dwells in "the secret place of the most High."

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

"THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY."

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access