The Seven Spirits Before The Throne

"But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." Romans 8:9.

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

…in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2:22

"…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--" Ephesians 6:18

The idea of being “in the Spirit” should not be foreign to us. Rather, as believers in Christ, it should be seen as our “state of existence.” Since this is where we dwell, the revelation that John received is intended for us as well.

The message of the Book of Revelation is one that comes equally from the three persons in the trinity. They are: “He who was and is to come” , “the seven Spirits before the throne” and “Jesus Christ, the faithful and true witness, the first born from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth” Father, Spirit and Son sent us the message.

The place of issuance is very important. It came from “before the throne”. It is therefore more than a message of comfort that we need in situations about which we can do little to change. It is a decree from he who is the “ruler of the kings of the earth”. It is about authority, about the right to rule and about the power that will bring that rule to pass. This throne is not just any throne. It is the central throne of all of existence itself. It is a federal throne in the most absolute sense. Most wonderfully, the power that emanates from that throne, though it has everything to do with the future, it also has a lot to do with the here and now – right where you and I live – right in the midst of the trials and dilemmas of life. It has to do with the power of God available now to every believer in Christ.

To understand the meaning of “the seven Spirits before the throne” we need to look at the Old Testament. In Isaiah we read about the anointing of the Holy Spirit that would be on Jesus Christ.:

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 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 - and he will delight in the fear of the LORD . He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears;

but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist." Isaiah 11:1-5.

At the time that Isaiah wrote these words the nation of Israel was under the cruel tyranny of the Assyrians. God promised a deliverer. The person would be a descendent of Jessie, the father of David, Israel’s greatest king. The image of a root coming from a stump depicts the fallen and broken condition of the nation. The great tree Israel had been cut down to the point that all that remained was a seemingly worthless stump. However, from this fallen and shameful state would come a king much greater than David. This person was Jesus Christ whose anointing for service would be absolute. It would be seven-fold.