Revelation 1:4

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: 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 

Verse 4 opens with John identifying himself as the author of the letter and identifying the recipients: the seven churches in Asia. These seven churches were along a particular Roman postal route. He extends grace and peace from God in a three-fold way. The first, “him who is and who was and who is to come”, is a straight-forward reference to God the Father. The second, “the seven spirits who are before his throne” casts a shadow of mystery. Who or what it is to which John refers as the seven spirits is speculative in that it is not specified or clarified in the passage or elsewhere in scripture. One theological conclusion is that John is referring to the seven angels connected to the seven churches to which he is sending the letter. This conclusion is based on the references in chapter 2 and chapter 3. The other theological conclusion is that this a reference to the Holy Spirit and that John is making reference to seven different aspects of one spirit; the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 11:2 describes seven aspects of the Holy Spirit: (1) The Lord, (2) Wisdom, (3) Understanding, (4) Counsel, (5) Might, (6) Knowledge, and (7) Fear. Each of these conclusions are solid, viable, and Biblically feasible. I am convinced that John’s reference is a reference to the Holy Spirit.

There is a connection between the seven churches to whom John is addressing this letter and his reference to seven spirits before the throne of God. The connection is not a direct correlation to the seven churches but is found beginning in the Old Testament concept of seven lampstands. In Zechariah 4:1-6, and 10, Zechariah was shown a vision of a lampstand with seven lamps. He did not understand the meaning of the lampstand or the seven lamps so he asked the giver of the vision; the Lord’s angel. The angel’s explanation is our clue to understanding what the lampstand with the seven lamps are and the connection to the seven churches to which the Book of Revelation is addressed. Zechariah was told, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.” This clues us in to the fact that the focal point in this passage is the work and the power of the Holy Spirit. The work of God will not be accomplished by His people but by His Spirit through His people. This is symbolically displayed in the way a lamp does not produce light by itself but is the vessel through which the oil contained in the lamp produces light. Symbolically, the lampstand is the Lord, the seven lamps are God’s covenant people, the oil in the lamps producing the light is the Holy Spirit indwelling each true believer, and the light being produced is the Lord Himself. Remember that Biblical imagery is not a code where one symbol always means one specific thing. God uses imagery in different ways based upon the context of the specific use. This does not mean that Biblical symbolism is completely fluid and that we can take Biblical symbols and make them say whatever we want them to say. It is necessary to carefully interpret Biblical symbolism based on how each symbol is used elsewhere in scripture and in the context of the particular verse or passage. This is how and why the Lord is symbolized by both the lampstand and the light in Zechariah 4.

In a general sense light conveys knowledge, understanding, and truth. Meaning that if you are in a room and you are wanting to convey knowledge, understanding, and truth, written on a page but there is no light, you are in ignorance regarding what is on the page. The lamp is a vehicle of light which illuminates the page. It is not the light itself, it is furnishing in the room through which God chooses to give light in an otherwise dark room. In this way, the lampstand is a perfect representation of God’s covenant people at any moment in history. God is the light, but the lampstand is His chosen vehicle to convey that light.

This principle is continued and amplified in the New Testament. Matthew 5:14–16 is a slightly obscure reference to this principle. Obscure only because the term lampstand is not used. What is being communicated is that God’s covenant people are the light of the world through which God chooses to shine His light of knowledge, understanding, and truth into a dark world. Here, God’s chosen people are the vehicle. This is the connection between the lampstand and God’s covenant people (Israel in the Old Testament, the church in the New Testament). The progression of this principle is seen as it continues from Old Testament to New Testament. There was originally one lampstand in the Old Testament. In the tabernacle, there was one lampstand with seven lamps directly across from the Table of Showbread with the lamps directed to shine light on the Table of Showbread, much like a spotlight affect. Christ is highlighted in the Table of Showbread being the bread of life (John 6:35). Still in the Old Testament but later in history the stone temple replaces the tabernacle. There are many similarities between the two but there are also significant differences. The tabernacle was designed and built to be portable so that as the Lord moved His people through the wilderness, they could breakdown the tabernacle, carry it with them, and then set it up again when the Lord directed them to stop. The temple was designed and built to be a permanent structure since God was no longer moving His people from place to place but had settled them in the Promised Land. The temple was made of stone where the tabernacle was made of cloth; the temple was physically larger than the tabernacle; and, in relationship to this study, the tabernacle had one lampstand, the temple had ten lampstands (1 Kings 48–49).

God is showing the progression of His purpose in history. The testimony of the light of the knowledge of the truth that’s revealed in the face of Jesus Christ is growing in history. It is symbolized in the progression of the lampstands in the Old Testament and comes to fullness in the incarnation of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:1–6).

The full understanding of the necessity of multiple lampstands in the Temple is seen in the New Testament in Jesus walking among His lampstands. Each lampstand in the New Testament represents one true church in the earth. In the Old Testament, the lampstand(s) was/were placed within the tabernacle/temple. In the New Testament, the lampstands are placed in cities for all to see. This indicates that God’s house is now the whole world.

In Revelation chapter one, the book is just beginning to unfold and we are meant to see, in the introduction of this symbolism, how God is displaying the progression of His kingdom purpose throughout history.

From covenant to covenant and all throughout history, it is always progressing to a greater expression in the earth and never reducing to a lessor expression.

This progression is symbolically expressed in the lampstand imagery; one lampstand in the tabernacle, ten lampstands in the temple, an infinite number of lampstands in the Book of Revelation (symbolized by seven). Although going from ten lampstands in the temple to seven lampstands in the Book of Revelation, might have the appearance of a reduction rather than an expansion, in actuality it is not. Throughout scripture, seven is used to symbolize completeness. The seven lampstands referenced in the Book of Revelation is a reference to all the true churches throughout the world. Wherever a true church is established in the world, there is a lampstand. Again, remember that Biblical imagery is not a code where one symbol always means one specific thing. God uses imagery in different ways based upon the context of the specific use. This does not mean that Biblical symbolism is completely fluid and that we can take Biblical symbols and make them say whatever we want them to say. It is necessary to carefully interpret Biblical symbolism based on how each symbol is used elsewhere in scripture and the context of the particular symbol.

In Hebrews 1:1 we are told that in the Old Testament God revealed knowledge, understanding, and truth (light) primarily through prophets. In Hebrews 2:1 we are told that the messages delivered to the prophets were delivers by angels. What was the message declared by angels? This is connected in a very important way to Revelation 1:4. Revelation 1:4 is the introduction conceptually of the importance of angels in relationship to lampstands. Revelation 1:4 is connected to or related to Zechariah 4:1–6, and10, in that in Zechariah, it is an angel who is telling Zechariah about the lampstand. Zechariah is having a hard time understanding the lampstand and it is an angel who explains it to him. The message declared by angels is the message of the Old Testament itself. In the Old Testament all knowledge, understanding, and truth (light) came through angels. Certain passages refer to the presence of God Himself while other passages refer to the same presence and the angel of the Lord (e.g., Moses on the mountain top, the pillar of cloud and fire). Angel can refer to a created being (an angel), or God Himself (an agent of God, as in the angel of the Lord), not a created being. In the New Testament there is a shift in focus from angels revealing knowledge, truth, and understanding (light), to the Holy Spirit revealing knowledge, truth, and understanding (light). The Holy Spirit has come to dwell in each true believer as the temple of God. The Holy Spirit is the oil that fills the lamp (believers) to shine light (knowledge, truth, and understanding) into a dark world.

In the Old Testament physical symbols (tabernacle, temple, lampstands, lamps, and oil) represented and pointed forward to the New Testament fulfillment of believers being the temple of God, believers being the lamps, local churches being lampstands, believers being lamps filled with oil which is the Holy Spirit. This is a transition from symbolism and type to the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit indwelling each true believer. In the Old Testament believers could not be filled with the Holy Spirit because Christ had not yet come. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit indwells each and every true believer as a result of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross.