Chapter 63 The Seven Spirits In the introduction to Revelation where John brings greetings from the Father and the Son, the Spirit is seen as seven Spirits: Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; People have wondered why the Spirit is introduced as Seven Spirits. Some have suggested it reflects seven aspects of God’s Spirit described in Isaiah 11: 2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; They see the seven aspects of the Spirit as the following: 1) The Spirit of the LORD 2) The Spirit of wisdom 3) The Spirit of understanding 4) The Spirit of counsel 5) The Spirit of power 6) The Spirit of knowledge 7) The Spirit of the fear of the Lord However, in the light of the previous chapter where we saw Christ standing amongst the seven candlesticks, representing the omnipresence of God, the flames of the candlesticks are the Spirit of God – His consciousness and unseen presence in the Seven Churches. The Spirit of God was represented in the Hebrew sanctuary as the seven candlesticks. Throughout Revelation the concept of the Seven Spirits of God is developed. It starts off with the position of the seven candlesticks standing before the table of shewbread – the throne of God. God’s Spirit is in front of His throne. In the description of the throne room of God in Rev 4 we see the Seven Spirits burning like seven lamps of fire before God’s throne. Again, the seven candlesticks stand before the throne of God: 5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. In Rev 5 where the worthy Lamb is introduced, the Lamb has seven eyes which are the Seven Spirits of God, searching all the Earth. We see the omniscience of God by His Spirit through the eyes of the Lamb, He sees everything by His Spirit: 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. We see another example of the seven eyes in Zech 3: 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch. 9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Christ is the Branch, and the seven eyes on the stone are the eyes of the omniscience of God by His Spirit through the Branch. In Rev 8 the important connection in this series of texts is the “before the throne.” The candlesticks are before the throne. Here they are described as seven angels: 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. Seven angels blow the Seven Trumpets. The trumpets are partial plagues that come to the Earth with the aim of bringing people to repentance before Probation Closes. We see, therefore, that it is God that causes or allows these Trumpets to blow, warning us of His coming judgement. The theme of seven angels before the throne continues, but first seven thunders: Rev 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. I would like to think that the seven thunders are also the Seven Spirits imparting information when Christ roars like a lion, proclaiming the Close of Probation at the Seventh Trumpet. The Spirits uttered information that was sensitive, and God did not want this to be part of the book of Revelation, telling John not write them up. One can only speculate what the thunders said. Could it be that the Close of Probation was still another two millennia into the future from John’s day? That would be sensitive information, because it would take away the impetus of Christianity, since Christians have always expected the Second Advent of Christ in their lifetime. Whatever the thunders said, God did not want the New Testament church to know that. Where the seven angels with the Seven Trumpets bring scourges to the Earth in thirds only, seven angels bring the Seven Last Plagues undiluted as indicated in the Third Angel’s Message. The wrath of God is undiluted. The seven angels emerge from the temple. The implication is they stood before God in the temple, and therefore are the Seven Spirits of God as before. They receive the plagues in vials from one of the four living creatures: Rev 15:1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. Another indication that the angels are the Seven Spirits is the golden girdle around their breasts. Christ also has a golden girdle around his chest: Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. We see one of the seven angels (Spirits) talking to John on two occasions: Rev 17:1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: Rev 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. The Spirit introduces John to the scarlet beast that carries Babylon (chapter 35) and then again the Spirit introduces John to the bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem. We have seen that Revelation, by the position in the temple of God, and the number 7, by a chain of descriptions shows us the role of God’s Spirit in the end-time events. May one of the Seven Spirits, the omnipresence of God, be with you today as you seek an intimate relationship with Him.