Some people think these spirits are actually the human leaders of the churches, but in Revelation, angels are always actual heavenly beings, so I think John probably really meant angels. Those 7 letters are addressed to the spirits, or angels, of the churches. There’s a lot to say about these letters and their structure, but none of them involve the number 7, so we’re moving on. These letters are the contents of chapters 2 and 3. Seven LettersĮach church gets a letter, which means there are also 7 letters. These churches are real historical churches, but they also represent all the churches of Asia 2, or possibly the entire global church. In fact, John addresses the entire book to these churches (Revelation 1:4).īut first he transcribes a specific letter to each one, or more precisely to their angels or spirits (Revelation 1:11). The book of Revelation opens with Jesus dictating to John letters to 7 churches: There are also 2 sevens scattered throughout the book we’ll look at them together at the end. Or possibly fewer, if you decide some of them are actually the same thing you’ll see when we get there. There are 23 instances of 7… things… in Revelation. Sometimes you will also see 6 as “the number of man,” for a similar reason: just as 6 falls short of the perfection of 7, so “all men have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).īut we were talking about sevens, and we were talking about Revelation. (What beast? Keep reading you’ll find out.) Then 666 is symbolically “triply incomplete” or “divinely incomplete” or “diabolical.” A fitting number for the beast. Completeness, or wholeness.Ī side-effect of this is that if 7 is symbolically complete, then 6 is symbolically incomplete, insufficient, and therefore unholy. So if 3 represents God, the uncreated being, and 4 represents the whole creation, then their sum, 7, represents the totality of everything. “And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”Īfter this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come.” “And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. We see 4 in a number of contexts, but most often it represents the world: the 4 corners of the earth, or the 4 winds. Three is the number of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 1. But at least it’s easy math, right?īear with me: we see 3 in many places in Scripture, but, especially in the New Testament, one specific context stands out: the Trinity. You should have guessed that a post with a number in the title would involve math. Seven is one of those numbers that can serve both purposes. But also, that was the actual number of both. The fact that there are 12 of each symbolically connects them. As a familiar example, it’s not a coincidence that there are 12 tribes of Israel and Jesus called 12 apostles. Sometimes they serve these purposes at the same time. Like 40 days of rain, or 40 days in the wilderness. Let’s let go of all those other things for right now and talk about the sevens. And 2,000 years after John wrote it, we still don’t understand as much as we wish. It freely skips across time, talking about ancient churches and future wars a false prophet and 2 true witnesses a lake of fire and a new Eden. Revelation is a notoriously challenging book.It actually just means “uncovering” or “revealing” or-you guessed it-”revelation,” but because of this book, we tend to use it to mean “the end of the world.” Which is scary. Or, depending on which translation you’re reading, possibly called The Apocalypse of John. Way at the end of the Bible is a scary book called Revelation. Understanding the Sevens in Revelation 👈 you are here
#The seven spirits of god in revelation series#
This post is part of the series “Revelation by the Numbers”
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