Who Are the Seven Spirits in Revelation?
Brandon Smith writes:Who are the seven spirits in Revelation? This question arises in the opening lines of John's vision in which he refers to "the seven spirits who are before [God'southward] throne" (Rev. 1:4). The 7 spirits are named once again in Jesus's message to Sardis (Rev. iii:1), also as twice in the throne-room scenes (Rev. four:five; 5:6).
Some scholars have argued that the vii spirits are borrowed from Jewish ideas about Yahweh's 7 principal angels, or perhaps the Greco-Roman idea of a plurality of spirits that bring wisdom and knowledge. However, I will fence that the vii spirits correspond the Holy Spirit, for three principal reasons.
1. John's Use of the Number Seven
Revelation is an apocalyptic book, which means we should exist conscientious of beingness too "literal," particularly when it comes to numbers and analogies. The number seven is well attested in the Bible, being used in some class more than than 800 times. It'south often viewed as the number of completion or perfection, most notably when seven is associated with the completion of God's "very adept" cosmos (Gen. 1). Throughout Revelation, John uses the number frequently—seven spirits, vii churches, vii stars, seven lamps, vii angels, seven cycles of judgment, and and so on.
Revelation'southward vivid imagery, illustrations, analogies, and employ of the Erstwhile Testament make interpreting it a tricky try. Nosotros shouldn't exaggerate this point and presume that Revelation is merely a riddle to decode, stripping it of its historical context and theological richness. And nevertheless, taking into account John's use of vii and its importance in Scripture, it's safe to say "seven" likely refers to more than a mere number of spirits.
ii. John'due south Use of Scripture
Part of John's literary genius is his utilize of the Old Testament and continuity with the New as he describes his visions. Given his constant quoting of the prophets and the volume's sense of fulfillment of God's promises, he clearly sees himself in some sense equally a prophet who points to God's final promises coming true. He and so creatively uses the visions to show how God is bringing a new cosmos through Christ and the Spirit. It could exist argued that John alludes to the Old Testament in almost every verse, but we'll mention only a few hither.
Zechariah iv:1–14 is one of many key texts for John'southward understanding of the Spirit'southward function, especially the linguistic communication of Zechariah 4:6 about the Spirit establishing God's rule on earth. In a clear innuendo to Zechariah iv:10, John equates the "eyes of the LORD" in the Zechariah passage with the seven spirits in Revelation 1:4 and those in 5:6, where the "sevens spirits of God" are sent to exist his eyes on earth. This language of God'due south eyes having an all-encompassing gaze can besides be compared to passages such as Proverbs xv:3: "The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, observing the wicked and the practiced" (CSB).
In the context of other New Testament writings, John may exist thinking of Jesus sending the Spirit to fulfill the Great Commission (Matt. 28:xviii–20; John 14:26), paired with Zechariah'south description of the power of the Spirit rebuilding the temple (Zech. iv:6), which John also describes equally God edifice his temple through the Spirit (Rev. iii:12; xi:1) and which finds its eschatological culmination in the New Jerusalem (21:three, 16, 22). The number seven as a sign of the Spirit's divine fullness might also allude to the LXX translation of Isaiah 11:2–3, with its sevenfold description of the gifts and activities of the Lord's Spirit: wisdom, agreement, counsel, might, knowledge, godliness, and the fearfulness of God.
In just a few passages listed here, we see how John ties the seven spirits into the being, identity, or activity of YHWH and/or his Spirit, showing that the seven spirits cannot merely be angels or an impersonal strength. Instead, we see the manner John pulls together other biblical texts to highlight the Holy Spirit's divine work in the world.
3. John'south Worship Language
Last, but perchance about notably, John includes these 7 spirits in several of import worship contexts.
In his opening doxology, the Father, Jesus, and the seven spirits jointly offer grace and peace. Doxologies in the New Attestation e'er include various formulations of the three persons of the Trinity, and these doxologies are recognized as both a phrase of worship and/or a divine approving to the recipients. If the vii spirits were simply angels, it would be unusual for John to include them every bit recipients of worship and as givers of divine approving, especially considering Revelation's hyper-awareness of the difference betwixt true and false worship. Indeed, angels in Revelation decline worship on multiple occasions (Rev. 19:10; 22:9).
As noted above, the throne-room scenes in Revelation 4–5 testify the 7 spirits proceeding from the throne as the "eyes" of the Lamb. Whereas every other creature in sky is turned toward the throne, bowing down and singing praises to God and Christ, we see the seven spirits coming from the throne, indicating that unlike angels or other creatures, they have a identify on God's throne and correspond his activity from the throne.
Aside from the doxology and throne-room scenes, we should annotation that the Spirit brings John into the vision to begin with (Rev. i:10) and guides him through the visionary journeying (4:two; 17:iii; 21:10). This being "in the Spirit" and "carried away past the Spirit" actually seems to be the way John receives this prophetic revelation of God, for he is allowable to "write down everything" he sees (1:xi). Like prophetic inspiration is constitute, for example, in Ezekiel three:12 and 11:24. Peter's statement that God spoke through the prophets, by style of the Holy Spirit, to confess the knowledge of Christ comes to mind hither as well (two Pet. 1:xvi–21).
So, it shouldn't be overlooked that the "seven spirits" and the phrase "in the Spirit" occur at these cardinal places in the book, showing that at every major plough in the narrative, the Spirit is present and acting every bit a gatekeeper for John's heavenly entrance.
Praise God the Holy Spirit
In this brief survey, we have seen that John uses "seven spirits" linguistic communication to talk about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. While God and Christ are obviously the center of the narrative, the Holy Spirit receives worship and bestows grace, has a identify on God'southward throne, and acts every bit the agent of revelation as John enters the heavenly realms.
God the Holy Spirit is far from an overlooked character in Revelation; rather, he is a centerpiece of the unabridged narrative and is worthy of our praise.
(This piece was first published at the Gospel Coalition site here.)
Brandon D. Smith is assistant professor of theology and New Testament at Cedarville University, editorial director for the Center for Baptist Renewal, and host of the Church Grammar podcast. He is writer of They Spoke of Me: How Jesus Unlocks the Old Testament. You can follow him on Twitter @brandon_d_smith.
Additional note: I brand this argument in my chapter on 'The Trinity in Revelation' inThe Trinity without Hierarchyed Michael Bird and Scott Harrower.
Where we might at present await Jesus to be the second agent in the three-fold greeting, nosotros notice the '7 spirits before his throne'. Craig Koester follows R. H. Charles, E. Schweizer, D. Aune and others in interpreting these equally vii angelic beings (confronting Bauckham, Beckwith, Bousset, Fee, Keener, Osborne, Sweet and others), since the Dead Sea Scrolls uses 'angels' and 'spirits' equally parallel expressions, and considering of the being of 'celestial spirits' earlier the throne of God in Tobit 12:15 and 1 Enoch 20:1–7. But Bauckham had before pointed out that this identification is rare in early Christian literature, and that the description of the vii angels 'who stand before God' in 8:2 is in quite dissimilar terms. There is a big and varied cast of angels throughout the text (virtually notably in the half dozen arriving as two sets of three in chapter 14) and then in that location is no reason to recall that John would skid a farther vii in here 'in disguise' as it were. And the insertion of this reference between the titular introductions of God and Jesus, who (every bit nosotros shall see) converge in championship, office and potency, has the issue of removing any ambiguity, since 'grace and peace' every bit divine blessing period from all iii.
There are two Old Testament springboards for the language of 'seven spirits' which occurs hither and in 3:1, 4:5 and 5:6. The messianic text Isa xi:1–nine begins by describing the 'branch of Jesse' as all-powerful with the Spirit of Yahweh which has six attributes (wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fright of Yahweh). But the grammatical structure of the Lxx puts the opening clause 'Spirit of God' every bit the first of what then becomes seven attributes. Combined with the symbolic significance of vii indicating completeness (since in the ancient world there were not just seven days of the week simply also seven seas and seven planets), this might lie behind the complex narrative of Zech 4. In Zechariah's vision, a gilt lampstand has seven lamps on information technology and stands next to two olive trees, which symbolize the two 'sons of oil' (Zech four:14) Joshua and Zerubbabel. The meaning of the vision is given as '"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit" says Yahweh of hosts' (Zech 4:half dozen), clearly identifying the seven lamps every bit the Spirit of God, an agreement John deploys in four:5.
Zechariah'southward later image, the 'seven eyes of Yahweh that range throughout the earth' (Zech 4:10) are not immediately connected with the (seven) Spirit(south) in that passage, merely John fuses this image with the earlier one in 5:6 by identifying the Lamb's '7 eyes' with 'the seven spirits of God sent out into all the globe:' This conjunction has two effects: firstly to identify in some sense the lamb and Yahweh, since the 'optics of Yahweh' take at present get the 'eyes of the lamb'; and secondly to identify the Spirit in a subordinate position in relation to both God and the lamb. The situation of the seven lamps 'before the throne' is one that is shared by the various members of the assembled throng (including elders, living creatures and angels) and which signifies worship and obedience. The fact that the throne itself belongs to God, just the lamb then occupies it, and the (seven) Spirit(s) being the eyes of both Yahweh and the lamb offers a narrative portrayal which might be afterward expressed in a different register every bit the Spirit 'proceeding from the Father and the Son'.
Source: https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/who-are-the-seven-spirits-in-revelation/
0 Response to "Who Are the Seven Spirits in Revelation?"
Post a Comment