There appears to be a definite connection between the sevenfold Spirit of Isaiah 11:2 and the seven-faceted Spirit of Revelation, who represents Himself in the external guise of seven distinct spirits, appropriate to God’s perfect enablement and providential care-the central theme of the Apocalypse. They appear again in Zechariah 4:10: “For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel-these are the eyes of Yahweh which range to and fro throughout the whole earth.” The Holy Spirit in His loving providence is promised for the dedication of the second temple, which was coming up in 516 B.C.īut it is in Revelation that the “seven spirits” appear as separate individuals, not only in Revelation 1:4, but in 3:1: “He who has the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds’ ” (NASB) in 4:5: “And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (NASB) and in 5:6: “And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth” (NASB). Here we have the perfect oversight, the providential care of God the Holy Spirit represented by the seven eyes engraved on the “stone” (probably a large gemstone) set before the high priest. The next time the concept of the seven-faceted Spirit occurs is in Zechariah 3:9: “For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua on one stone are seven eyes” (NASB). 11:1) will be endowed with the perfect equipment of the Holy Spirit as He begins His messianic ministry. 2:2–3), and so the “rod from the stem of Jesse” (Isa. ” In biblical symbolism seven is the number of the perfect work of God (cf. How could the Holy Spirit be represented as seven rather than one? Well, the first appearance of the sevenfold Holy Spirit occurs in Isaiah 11:2: “And the Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh. (Conceivably they could be seven angels of some sort, but they could hardly be the “angels” of the seven churches of Asia, since those are listed separately in addition to the seven spirits. Who are these seven spirits? Do they represent the Third Person of the Trinity (God the Father and God the Son are referred to previously in v.2)? Surprisingly enough, the correct answer to this question seems to be yes. Revelation 1:4 reads: “Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before His throne” (NASB).
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