The first five chapters of Revelation contain several mentions of the “seven spirits of God” in 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, and 5:6. Having thought that God took the forms of the Father, the Son, and the singular Holy Spirit, I wanted to know who these seven spirits are. I was confused on how to answer this question for myself, but naturally I thought that these seven spirits must have something to do with the Holy Spirit. The answer I found to relate to the Holy Spirit is the one that made the most sense to me. An article on gotquestions.org points out that throughout the Bible, the number seven is used to represent perfection and completion. The number seven is used over and over in Revelation, possibly to represent the same meaning with all things dealing with God. These “seven spirits” may not actually mean that God has taken the form of seven spirits but meant to describe the perfect and complete Holy Spirit. The conclusion that an article on christiancourier.com came to on this question also dealt with the Holy Spirit. This site mentioned that the number seven in Hebrew is hepta and in the Hebrew language it corresponds with the word sheba which means “full” or “abundant.” This strengthens the connection between God’s use of the number seven meaning perfection and completion.
The article on gotquestions.org offers two more answers to who the seven spirits could be. The second answer this website proposed was that the seven spirits could be another mention of the seraphim or the cherubim. Revelation mentions many kinds of angelic beings. God may have meant that the seven spirits will be another use of this kind of being. The third answer this article suggested made mention to Isaiah 11:2. “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” This verse names seven spirits: the spirit of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and of fear. This explanation also deals with the Holy Spirit meaning that these seven spirits all form the perfect and complete Holy Spirit.
The final answer I found in my research is in an article on americaisraelprophecy.com. The author to this explanation felt that the answer to this question is very simple and did not need complicated in depth thought. The “seven spirits” were merely a mention to all things that God had described with the number seven. The author believed this to be the seven lamps of fire, the seven horns, and the seven eyes. He felt that the answer is plainly in the book of Revelation itself and only furthered the perfect completeness of God.
http://www.gotquestions.org/seven-spirits-God.html
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1040-who-are-the-seven-spirits
http://www.americaisraelprophecy.com/thesevenspiritsofgod.html
The article on gotquestions.org offers two more answers to who the seven spirits could be. The second answer this website proposed was that the seven spirits could be another mention of the seraphim or the cherubim. Revelation mentions many kinds of angelic beings. God may have meant that the seven spirits will be another use of this kind of being. The third answer this article suggested made mention to Isaiah 11:2. “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” This verse names seven spirits: the spirit of the Lord, wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and of fear. This explanation also deals with the Holy Spirit meaning that these seven spirits all form the perfect and complete Holy Spirit.
The final answer I found in my research is in an article on americaisraelprophecy.com. The author to this explanation felt that the answer to this question is very simple and did not need complicated in depth thought. The “seven spirits” were merely a mention to all things that God had described with the number seven. The author believed this to be the seven lamps of fire, the seven horns, and the seven eyes. He felt that the answer is plainly in the book of Revelation itself and only furthered the perfect completeness of God.
http://www.gotquestions.org/seven-spirits-God.html
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1040-who-are-the-seven-spirits
http://www.americaisraelprophecy.com/thesevenspiritsofgod.html
RSS Feed