Seven Spirits of God

Seven Spirits of God

The Seven Spirits of God are a part of the Christian theological teaching,Fact|date=September 2007 and in the Book of Revelation they are mentioned four times (Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, and 5:6):

: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;":Rev 3:1 - "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.":Rev 4:5 - "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.":Rev 5:6 - "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."

A common teaching on the seven Spirits claim that Book of Isaiah 11:2 somehow supports the symbolic interpretation of the seven Spirits. Charles Caldwell Ryrie writes in his commentary on Revelation, "The "seven Spirits" likely represent the sevenfold ministry of the Spirit as depicted in Isaiah 11:2." (Revelation - Everyman's Bible Commentary, p. 14)

Isaiah 11:2 reads, "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."

: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 — and the Spirit of the fear of the LORD.

"There you have the one Spirit in the seven-fold plenitude of His power." (Revelation, by Harry A. Ironside, p. 15-16)

However, what is written above is not what is written in the text of Scripture (Proverbs 30:5-6). First of all, there are not even seven "Spirits" mentioned in Isaiah 11:2 as Ironside expounds. The passage begins with "The Spirit of the Lord." Then, describing this Spirit He declares, "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding," and the remaining. It does not say, as Ironside explains, "the Spirit of wisdom and the Spirit of understanding." Ironside modifies the entire passage putting in "Spirits" where there are none. The latter 6 describe the first. Therefore, even if we were to follow his scheme there would only be six (unless the Septuagint was followed, which adds an extra "Spirit" ["the spirit of the fear of God"] and adds an extra "and godliness"). But, in reality, the passage only has 3 (or 4 with the LXX which is the deuterocanonical (pejoratively called Apocrypha) texts).

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,

:1. the Spirit of wisdom and understanding:2. the Spirit of counsel and might:3. the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord

Many Branch Davidian poems associate the Seven Seals with them.Fact|date=August 2007

ee also

* Antiquities
* Ancient art
* Eschatology

External links

* [http://www.gotquestions.org/seven-spirits-God.html What are the seven spirits of God?]


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