9/28/00
The Seven Spirits of God: An Identity Crisis
Revelation 1:4,5 - John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and
peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven
spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Revelation
3:1 - "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him
who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have
a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 4:5 - From the
throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne,
seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.
Revelation
5:6 - Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center
of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven
horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
What are these mysterious "seven spirits"? Are they individual parts of
God, or are they separate from God? Are they angels? Are they the spirits of men?
Are they pieces of the Holy Spirit?
These seven spirits pose a problem for
those who are not firmly rooted in Truth. Is God one, or is He three? Is He made
up of seven, ten, or possibly even more spirits or entities? Where do these seven
spirits fit in?
A basic understanding of the Lord is necessary if you would
have any kind of communion with Him.
Those who believe God is simply the
force of Nature, or those who believe that mankind is God, or that ancient pagan
idols are God, or who believe even that God is female do not have the first inkling
of how to communicate with Him or how to cultivate a relationship with Him.
Jesus said that the Pharisees did not know God, in John 7:28,29 - "Yes, you
know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me
is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know him because I am from him and he sent
me."
Again, Jesus said that although they professed to know God, they
did not know Him at all, in John 8:54, 55 - Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself,
my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies
me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a
liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.
Just as you cannot become
a computer programmer until you first find out what a computer is, and how it works,
you cannot become a Child of God until you first find out who God is and how He works.
In the same way, you cannot call a person "friend" unless you first have
a close relationship with that person. You cannot have a close relationship with
someone if you do not know anything about them.
First you must gain knowledge
and understanding. Only then can you claim to have a close association with a person
or thing. Interaction with the object of your affection then produces a relationship.
You cannot possibly be a Child of God if you do not know who He is.
There
are many people who think that they are children of God, and we read about these
kinds of people in Matthew 7:21-23 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who
is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then
I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
The Bible says that God is One. This is one of the basic Truths of God that must
be understood if you are to have a relationship with Him.
Deut. 6:4 - Hear,
O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Mark 12:29 - And Jesus answered
him, The first commandment of all is, Hear, Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord;
1st Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus,
James 2:18 - You believe that there is one God. Good! Even
the demons believe that-and shudder.
This Truth of God is simple: He is one.
This simple Truth begins to get twisted and confused, as people are presented with
the terms "Father", "Son,", and "Holy Ghost", and scramble
to determine their place in the deity of God. Some conclude that God is one, but
He is made up of three parts.
Throw in these seven spirits of God, and now
you have more confusion. How many entities are in the Godhead, anyway? Three? Seven?
More?
Some people believe that when the Bible calls Jesus "the only
begotten Son of God", that the word "begotten" can be translated as
"unique", or "special". Therefore, they argue, Jesus was not
the only Son of God, but instead was the only "special" Son of God. This
means that there might be more than one Son.
So you have God the Father,
God the Special Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Seven Spirits of God, and who knows
how many other God the Ordinary Sons! Of course, these are not ten Gods, but one.
- Whew! Talk about complicating a simple truth! If the Bible did not state so clearly
that God is one, today's Trinitarians would be polytheists! (And incidentally, their
beliefs would be easier to understand, than this persistent assertion that all of
these Gods are one.)
So what are these seven spirits of God? How do they
fit into the Godhead?
With the torch of Truth held high before us, we again
venture into the depths of the unknown in search of the answer.
First,
let's examine some popular beliefs on the subject. Actually, the religious community
seems to have "closed ranks" on this one. Where we found a plethora of
ideas concerning the "woman clothed with the sun" and a host of theories
for "the two witnesses" in Revelation, when it comes to the subject of
the seven spirits of God, there is only one explanation given.
The answer given
is that the seven spirits of God are the Holy Spirit.
Question: Why is the
Holy Spirit divided into seven parts?
Well, first of all, we are told that
the number seven is God's representation of perfection and completeness. (This isn't
explained to us in the Bible anywhere, it's just an idea some people came up with.)
The number six, they say, falls just short of perfection, so it represents man's
attempt to become God, as in the number 666. (Never mind that 6, and 666 are two
completely different numbers. The number 6 can be said to be 666, just as the number
23 can be said to be 232,323 - they are NOT the same number.)
They proceed
to tell us that the number four means this, the number twelve means that, and the
number one thousand means something else.
Since God is perfect, and the number
seven represents perfection, then it makes sense that God would refer to His Spirit
as "seven".
By saying "the seven spirits of God", He
is essentially saying "the perfect Spirit of God."
If you feel
that this "explanation" seems to be lacking something, you may be reassured
to know that you are not alone.
Zondervan's New International Encyclopedia
of Bible Words comments on this explanation by saying, "Many have tried to give
the numbers found in the Bible symbolic or mystical value. These attempts have never
produced significant interpretations, nor do they have a basis in scripture. The
number seven clearly does have significant associations, as with Creation and with
the Sabbath. But we would not be wise to attempt numerological interpretations beyond
the obvious."
I concur.
Next, they tell us that these seven
spirits are identified for us 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;
Here we find:
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 might
6) The spirit of knowledge
7)
The spirit of fear of the Lord
Now is this really a listing of seven different
spirits?
This sounds a lot like another explanation which claims that three
or more Gods can all equal one, only this time we're being told that we can add up
seven spirits and come up with an answer of one. (What is this, New Math?)
Both explanations come from their Father, the Devil.
First we were told that
the seven spirits of God were the Holy Spirit. Then we were told that this Holy Spirit
was made up of seven parts, one of which was called the Spirit of God. They are saying
that the spirit of wisdom is a separate spirit from the spirit of God, which is a
separate spirit from the spirit of the fear of God, and all of them are separate
from the Holy Spirit, and yet when taken together, they all make up the complete,
perfect Holy Spirit of God.
Please! The Spirit of God is separate from the
Holy Spirit of God!?!?!? Does God have a Holy Spirit, and an Unholy Spirit? A Holy
Spirit, and a Regular Spirit?
The acceptance of this "explanation"
is nothing short of amazing.
Take a computer. It is made up of many parts,
which taken together are called a computer. We can name these parts: monitor, keyboard,
mouse, hard drive, video card, disk drive, cd-rom drive, printer, modem, etc.
Notice, that in all of the component parts of a computer, there is no single
piece that is called "the computer". No, the computer is not an individual
part. Rather, it is what you call the whole of the many parts.
Take a rifle.
It is made up of a barrel, stock, sight, trigger, bolt, safety, etc. None of these
component parts is called "the rifle".
A desk is made up of a
table-top, legs, drawers, etc.
Radios are not made up of radios, they are
made up of transistors, diodes, traces, wires, transducers, and capacitors.
Cars are not made up of cars, but of tires, engines, windows, doors, seats, suspensions,
exhaust pipes, batteries, etc.
Houses are not made up of houses, but of bricks,
boards, cement, insulation, wire, and pipes.
And yet we are expected to believe
that the Holy Spirit of God is made up of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might,
knowledge, fear of the Lord, and the Spirit of God! That's like saying a sandwich
is made up of sandwiches. (No, a meal might be made up of sandwiches, but sandwiches
are made up of meat, cheese, bread, and Miracle Whip.)
These people are saying
that the Seven Spirits of God are the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is made up
of six other Spirits, plus the Spirit of God!
In other words, the Spirit
of God is made up of the Spirit of God!
This type of answer is no answer
at all!
(Cue: Begin reading the Creed of Athanasius.)
What they have
done, is scour the Bible for a scripture that mentions seven spirits all in the same
passage, and latched on to that. They completely miss the fact that there are only
six component spirits listed in the Isaiah scripture they have chosen. Actually,
it is speaking of only one spirit, God's Holy Spirit, and then Isaiah goes on to
describe six of the attributes that are bestowed upon a person who receives His Spirit
- wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and respect for the Lord.
There
are only six characteristics listed. They are only using the "Spirit of the
Lord" as a wildcard, a placeholder, since they desperately need the Bible to
mention seven spirits. Otherwise, they wouldn't have any idea what the Seven Spirits
of God were, or where to place them in the Godhead.
They then go on to prepare
extensive studies explaining each of these spirits, how the Spirit of the Lord is
actually a spirit of "authority", (see how they twist scripture to make
it say whatever they want it to?) and how they all add up to become the complete,
perfect Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of the Lord is different from the Holy Spirit
of the Lord. Huh???
Just so you know, the Bible mentions many more types of
spirits than just those in Isaiah 11. What about the spirit of judgement? What about
the spirit of fire? (Isaiah 4:4)
There is a spirit of dizziness (Is. 19:14), a
spirit of justice (Is. 28:6), a spirit of despair (Is. 61:3), and the spirit of the
four living creatures that are before the throne (Ezek. 10:17) - uh, oh, more Spirits
in Heaven that live in front of the throne? Where do these fit in?
There is a
spirit of prostitution (Hos. 4:12), a spirit of man (Zech. 12:1), a spirit of grace,
and a spirit of supplication (Zech. 12:10).
Then we have the spirit of impurity
(Zech. 13:2), evil spirits (Mark 1:26), the spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4), the spirit
of righteousness (Gal. 5:5), a spirit of timidity, a spirit of power, a spirit of
love, a spirit of self-discipline (2nd Tim. 1:7), a spirit of antichrist (1st John
4:3), and a spirit of truth (John 14:17).
Shall I continue?
The
truth is that Isaiah 11 is speaking of only one Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord. The
Hebrew word used in this passage for "spirit" is "ruwach" which
can mean "mind". So Isaiah is saying that when a person receives the Spirit
of the Lord, he will also receive a mind of wisdom, a mind of understanding, a mind
of counsel and knowledge, and a mind of might and respect for the things of the Lord.
The NIV puts it this way -
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-
See how it describes six
of the characteristics that the Spirit of the Lord will give you? The "Spirit
of the Lord" here is separated from the six attributes it bestows. It is not
equal with the other six, which when taken together all add up to become something
else. It is separate from them. The Spirit of the Lord is One. It is not made up
of any other spirits. You have the Spirit of the Lord, and you have six qualities
that a man will find to be working in his life, if the Lord is living within him.
The "religious community" lumps them all together as seven different
spirits of God that together make up the Holy Spirit.
The seven spirits
of God cannot be explained by saying that they are the "Regular" Spirit
of God combined with six others that are listed in Isaiah, and that together, they
all add up to become the Holy Spirit of God.
So what are they?
Let's look to the Bible.
Revelation 1:4,5 - John, To the seven churches
in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and
who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings
of the earth.
Revelation 3:1 - "To the angel of the church in Sardis
write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven
stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 4:5 - From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of
thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits
of God.
Revelation 5:6 - Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain,
standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and
the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God
sent out into all the earth.
Each one of these verses gives us a clue.
Revelation chapter 1 tells us that these seven spirits are before the throne of God.
Revelation chapter 3 tells us that the seven spirits are held by God.
Revelation
chapter 4 tells us that these seven spirits are seven lamps.
Revelation chapter
5 tells us that the seven spirits are incorporated into Jesus Christ, and that they
have been sent out into all the earth.
Since they are represented by lamps
in chapter 4, let's see if the Bible uses this symbology of lamps anywhere else.
Zech. 4:2-5 - He asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I
see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven
channels to the lights. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right
of the bowl and the other on its left." 4 I asked the angel who talked with
me, "What are these, my lord?" 5 He answered, "Do you not know what
these are?" "No, my lord," I replied.
Here we see a lampstand
with seven lights, or flames lit on it. The answer to Zechariah's question is given
in verse 10: (These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range throughout the earth.)"
In
this passage of scripture, the lamps are called eyes of God which are going throughout
the earth. This sounds just like Revelation chapter 5 when it said that the eyes
of God were sent into all the earth. (He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are
the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.)
We also see a lampstand
in the Tabernacle of God, described here in Exodus 25:31-40:
"Make a
lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds
and blossoms shall be of one piece with it. 32 Six branches are to extend from the
sides of the lampstand-three on one side and three on the other. 33 Three cups shaped
like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the
next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 34
And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds
and blossoms. 35 One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from
the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third
pair-six branches in all. 36 The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with
the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold. 37 "Then make its seven lamps and
set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. 38 Its wick trimmers
and trays are to be of pure gold. 39 A talent of pure gold is to be used for the
lampstand and all these accessories. 40 See that you make them according to the
pattern shown you on the mountain.
Notice that there are seven lamps to
this lampstand. Its purpose is explained in Numbers 8:1-4:
The LORD said
to Moses, 2 "Speak to Aaron and say to him, 'When you set up the seven lamps,
they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.'"
3 Aaron did so;
he set up the lamps so that they faced forward on the lampstand, just as the LORD
commanded Moses. 4 This is how the lampstand was made: It was made of hammered gold-from
its base to its blossoms. The lampstand was made exactly like the pattern the LORD
had shown Moses.
Their purpose was to light the area in front of the lampstand.
The lights faced forward, (just as our eyes face forward), and lit the area in front
of it.
Daniel 10:6 - Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a
certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6His
body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his
eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass,
and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
Daniel saw a vision
of an angel, and described his eyes as burning lamps.
We're beginning to
see a correlation here between "lamps" and "eyes".
Revelation
1:12-16 mentions more lamp symbology.
I turned around to see the voice that
was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among
the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching
down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were
white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet
were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing
waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp
double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
This is a description of Jesus Christ, and he is depicted as being among seven lamps.
Let's continue reading, and see if the explanation of these lamps is made known to
us.
Rev. 1:17-20 - When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then
he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and
the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and
ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 "Write, therefore, what you
have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven
stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the
seven churches.
Well, well! The lamps that Jesus is in the midst of, are
the seven churches that this letter of Revelation was written for!
This sounds
a lot like the passage in Revelation chapter 5, where these seven spirits are part
of Jesus Christ. Here, Jesus is surrounded by seven lamps, which we are told are
the seven churches. These lamps have encompassed Jesus. It is as if Jesus is part
of them. In Revelation chapter 5, the seven spirits were part of Jesus, and were
called eyes. (He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God
sent out into all the earth.)
So Jesus is part of these spirits, and these
spirits are part of him.
Interesting how in Rev. 5:6 they are called eyes
that go throughout the earth, and how in Zech. 4:10, they are also called the eyes
of God that search throughout the earth.
Things are beginning to fit together.
Revelation 4:5 says that the lamps are the seven spirits of God.
Revelation
1:20 says that the lamps are the seven churches.
What does it say in Matthew
18:20? For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Jesus said that wherever a group of his people gathered together, he would be there
with them. If Jesus is with us when we gather together, then his Holy Spirit is with
us.
Now what is the definition of a "church"?
Easton's
Bible Dictionary -
In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek
word ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew kahal of the Old Testament, both
words meaning simply an assembly, the character of which can only be known from the
connection in which the word is found. There is no clear instance of its being used
for a place of meeting or of worship, although in post-apostolic times it early received
this meaning. Nor is this word ever used to denote the inhabitants of a country united
in the same profession, as when we say the "Church of England," the "Church
of Scotland," etc.
We find the word ecclesia used in the following senses
in the New Testament: (1.) It is translated "assembly" in the ordinary
classical sense (Acts 19:32, 39, 41).
(2.) It denotes the whole body of the
redeemed, all those whom the Father has given to Christ, the invisible catholic church
(Eph. 5:23, 25, 27, 29; Heb. 12:23).
(3.) A few Christians associated together
in observing the ordinances of the gospel are an ecclesia (Rom. 16:5; Col. 4:15).
(4.) All the Christians in a particular city, whether they assembled together
in one place or in several places for religious worship, were an ecclesia. Thus all
the disciples in Antioch, forming several congregations, were one church (Acts 13:1);
so also we read of the "church of God at Corinth" (1 Cor. 1:2), "the
church at Jerusalem" (Acts 8:1), "the church of Ephesus" (Rev. 2:1),
etc.
(5.) The whole body of professing Christians throughout the world (1
Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; Matt. 16:18) are the church of Christ.
The church is
not a building. As it was stated above, the word has only come to mean "building"
in post-apostolic times, or in other words, after the New Testament period.
The church is nothing more than an assembly of Christians who have come together
to observe the gospel.
Thus, Matthew 18:20 was a definition of a church.
(For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."). Where
two or three come together in the name of Jesus, he is there with them.
You can re-word it this way: "For where a church is, there am I with them."
It becomes clear now exactly what these seven spirits are. They are the Holy Spirit.
Specifically, they are seven portions of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus has explained
to us that his Spirit can be found wherever his Churches are. If a group of Believers
come together in Ohio, then his Spirit is in Ohio. If a group meets in Arizona, then
a portion of his Spirit is in Arizona.
The Holy Spirit is not made up of
seven different kinds of component spirits, it is One Spirit. People are not given
pieces of the Holy Spirit, with the ultimate goal being to collect all seven and
thus possess the complete Holy Spirit. Portions of the single, whole, complete Holy
Spirit are given to us! You cannot receive a part of the Holy Spirit; you must either
receive the entire thing or none of it at all!
What is the Holy Spirit itself,
but the Spirit of God, who is One? God has seen fit to take parts of Himself, (His
Spirit) and place it in us, and live in us.
God is a spirit (John 4:24 -
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.).
If He takes parts of Himself and places them in us, then He is taking parts of His
Spirit and putting them in us. He is therefore, literally living within us!
He
is not imparting to us various component pieces of His Spirit, He is giving us the
entire thing!
If His Spirit is present at the gatherings of His Church, then
we have a very clear picture of what these seven spirits of Revelation are.
The letter of Revelation was to be given to the seven churches of the Roman province
of Asia Minor. In each of these seven cities, Believers met together in the Name
of Jesus. Since the Lord's Spirit is with us wherever two or three of us gather,
then we know that there was a portion of the Holy Spirit present in each of these
cities.
Remember: we are trying to find out what these seven spirits of God
are. We see they are called lampstands. Other places in scripture we see these same
lampstands being described as the seven churches of Asia Minor.
So while
we may be confused as to exactly what these seven spirits are, scripture explains
to us in another place that they are the seven churches. That, we can understand.
Why then, would the seven churches be described as seven spirits of God? Because
of the seven portions of the Holy Spirit that are alive within those congregations.
We see then, that every church, every gathering of Believers, is given a measure
of the Holy Spirit. This matches scripture perfectly.
Let's look at the clues
scripture gave us concerning these seven spirits, and make sure that everything fits.
1)
The seven spirits are before the throne of God. (Rev. 1:4)
Can it be said
that the Holy Spirit is before the throne of God? If God is on the throne, then it
makes sense that His Spirit would be with Him. So, yes, it makes sense.
2)
The seven spirits are held by God. (Rev. 3:1)
Of course, the Holy Spirit is
God's to give. We cannot take it, we must receive it. It is the Lord's to give. He
holds His Spirit. In another sense, the Holy Spirit is God Himself, so it can be
said that He holds His Spirit just as you and I hold our spirits.
3) The seven
spirits are burning lamps. (Rev. 4:5)
The parable of the ten virgins calls
the Holy Spirit "lamps of oil", and illustrates to us the necessity of
keeping them filled. Lev. 24:1-4, shows us that the lampstand of the Tabernacle was
a type and shadow of the Holy Spirit - The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Command the
Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps
may be kept burning continually. 3 Outside the curtain of the Testimony in the Tent
of Meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the LORD from evening till morning,
continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 4 The
lamps on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD must be tended continually.
The lamps were to be kept burning continuously, just as we are to keep ourselves
full of the Holy Spirit at all times.
4) The seven spirits are incorporated
into Jesus Christ. (Rev. 5:6)
This makes sense. Colossians 2:9 - "For
in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form," All of God lived
within Jesus Christ. All of His Spirit was in him.
5) The seven spirits are
described as "eyes" of Jesus, searching throughout the earth. (Rev. 5:6)
His
Spirit does search throughout the earth, seeking to save the lost. Not only does
it search in a spiritual way, but His Church (which contains His Spirit) has been
sent into all the earth to proclaim the gospel to everyone.
6) Again, we see
the lamps being described as eyes of God searching throughout the earth. (Zech. 4:10)
It
makes sense to see the lamps doing the exact same thing that the seven spirits are
doing, because the lamps and the spirits are the same thing.
7) Jesus is seen
among the seven lamps. (Rev. 1:12,13)
Again, the Holy Spirit is part of Jesus,
and Jesus is part of the Holy Spirit. They are one and inseparable.
8) The
eyes of Jesus, as he stands among the lamps are as burning fire. (Rev. 1:14)
Again,
this reminds us that the eyes are like burning lamps. The Holy Spirit is always looking
for those who would be heirs of salvation.
9) The lampstands are called the
seven churches. (Rev. 1:20)
This makes sense, because each church has a measure
of the Holy Spirit. Wherever two or three gather in His Name, there He is with them.
The seven spirits of God in Revelation are the representations of the seven portions
of the Holy Spirit given to the seven churches of Asia Minor.
Had there been
25 churches in Asia Minor, then there would have been 25 spirits of God described,
and 25 lampstands.
(Then people could go back and use all of the other spirits
we discovered earlier, and we might finally account for every instance of the word
"spirit" in the Bible. How many would there be in the Godhead then?)
When the Lord admonished the congregation of Ephesus in Rev. 2:5, he said: "Remember
the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."
If he removed the lampstand, he would be removing his Spirit from the city, because
an unrepentant church is a sinner, and is no longer a church.
What are the
seven spirits of God? They are the Holy Spirit.
Now you may recall that this
is the same answer that was given by the religious community at the beginning of
this study. If I came to the same conclusion they did, why did I spend several pages
explaining that they were wrong?
Yes, it is true. They were able to identify
the Holy Spirit as being the seven spirits of God. But the Holy Spirit they identified
was not at all the same Holy Spirit that we know.
It all goes back to the
beginning of this study. If you don't know God, how can you ever hope to commune
with Him?
They may have been able to ascertain that the seven spirits of
God were the Holy Spirit, but they do not understand who God is.
Am I splitting
hairs? Absolutely not. The difference is in knowing who He is.
Their God
consists of three persons.
Yahweh, however, is One. He is not made up of
any other spirits. He is one Spirit.
Their Holy Spirit consisted of seven
parts.
The Holy Spirit of God, in Truth, is one Spirit. The Spirit of God.
Who will you worship? A three-person, seven-spirited, man-made, mixed-up, confused
representation of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, or the One True God?
Joshua 24:14,15 - "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw
away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve
the LORD. 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves
this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the
River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and
my household, we will serve the LORD."
The LORD of the Israelites, was
One LORD.
Deut. 6:4 - Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
In Christ,
Chad J. McCoy
Dark Savant Ministries
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