Cessationism. Again

Ok, I know I've talked about this before, but, another thought came to mind regarding the issue of prophecy ceasing at the end of the first century. In Revelation 19:10, John writes, "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." I do not presume to know the full meaning of what the angel was saying to John, but, the last line, "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" jumps out to me. It has for years.

Cessationists hold that prophecy no longer has a place in today's church. If prophecy is not to be in today's church, what does this mean for the testimony of Jesus? One immediate counter I considered is that they would say, "the spirit of prophecy" and the act of prophecy are two different things. Even if that is the case and I am simply misreading John's intended meaning here, I still wonder where was he going with this?

Playing cessationist's advocate... I assume that prophecy no longer has a place in the church today. Say all foretelling of events has fully occurred. No more future events are to be predicted. That doesn't prevent forthtelling, that is to say, declarative proclamation of God's kingdom, from occurring. That too is a key function of prophetic ministry.

Ultimately, it boils down to what the phrase "spirit of prophecy" means. The testimony of Jesus is fairly straight forward. This is the gospel, the spreading of the good news. So, we have a simple relationship, an equality put forth. (Yes, I put this in math terms to simplify it for myself.)

Testimony of Jesus = spirit of prophecy

In my heart I think testimony, that is, confirming statement of belief. For instance, a witness' testimony in a court of law. The left side of the equation seems to refer to witness' expression/expressing of Jesus' impact on their lives. (The / joining the two words indicates it's not just a noun (expression) or a verb (expression) but rather both that I aim to touch on here.) In other words, people testifying about Jesus. Testifying would most like result in preaching, teaching and spreading the good news. Living the life Jesus commanded his followers to live.

Ok, I think have a general grip on that side of things. Now, the spirit of prophecy suggests something, to me at least, about intimacy, or innermost being. Spirit, as I see it here, refers to the very core or essence of a thing. Prophecy as a whole can have many aspects. However, the spirit of prophecy, that phrase, points to a specific element of prophecy, it's very nature. Looking more closely, when prophecy, more precisely, the spirit or essence of prophecy, is boiled down to its essence-if my equation approach holds water-really just is a matter of people proclaiming the good news of Christ.

So, then, if what I have laid out here is accurate and the very essence of prophecy is living an outspoken, declarative, active life to share the testimony of Jesus...I cannot see how anyone can argue against prophecy in the modern church! Without prophecy, if this is accurate, Christ would not be in the church. We would not have a confirming act and history. I know this is a non-traditional argument against cessationism, but, it is clear and obvious to me, looking at it this way, there is something being ignored by those who hold to the position itself.