The “seven spirits of God” are mentioned several times in the book of Revelation:
• Revelation 1:4–5, “John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and of Jesus Christ. . .”
• Revelation 3:1, “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God. . .”
• Revelation 4:5 , “Lightning and rumblings and thunder proceeded from the throne. Before the throne burned seven lamps. These are the seven spirits of God.”
• Revelation 5:6, “Then I saw a Lamb, which seemed to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent throughout the earth.”
The identity of “the seven spirits” is not made explicit in the passage, but arriving at the proper interpretation is fairly straightforward. The “seven spirits” cannot be seven angelic beings such as seraphim or cherubim due to the context of Revelation 1:4. John says that “grace and peace” come to the churches from three sources: “he who is and who was and who is to come” (verse 4), “the seven spirits before the throne” (verse 4), and “Jesus Christ ” (verse 5). This is a representation of the Trinity: grace and peace are given by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three co-equal Persons of the Godhead.
In Revelation 3:1 Jesus “holds” the seven spirits of God. In John 15:16, Jesus “sends” the Holy Spirit from the Father. Both passages suggest the superior role of the Son and the subordinate role of the Spirit.
In Revelation 4:5 the seven spirits of God are symbolized as seven lighted lamps that are before the throne of God. This image agrees with Zechariah’s vision in which he sees the Holy Spirit symbolized as “a lampstand of solid gold. . . with a bowl on top and seven lamps on top” ( Zechariah 4:2 ).
In Revelation 5:6 the seven spirits are the “seven eyes” of the Lamb, and they are “sent into all the earth.” The seven eyes speak of the omniscience of the Spirit (and of the Lamb), and the fact that He is sent to all the earth speaks of his omnipresence.
Once we identify the “seven spirits” as the Holy Spirit, the question remains, why are there “seven” of Him? The Bible, and especially the book of Revelation, uses the number seven to refer to perfection and completion. John’s vision includes a picture of the complete and perfect Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 11:2 also refers to the Holy Spirit using a sevenfold description: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.” The prophecy is that the Messiah would be empowered not by seven individual spirits but by the One Spirit, described in seven ways:
1) The Spirit of Jehovah
2) The Spirit of Wisdom
3) The Spirit of understanding
4) The Spirit of advice
5) The Spirit of power
6) The Spirit of Knowledge
7) The Spirit of the fear of Jehovah
The “seven spirits of God” in the book of Revelation are therefore a reference to the Holy Spirit in the perfection of his multiple ministry.