If the dates of the preceding churches have been correctly fixed, the period covered by the church of Sardis must commence about the year 1798. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee, 4. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 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. The “seven spirits of God” in the book of Revelation are thus a reference to the Holy Spirit in the perfection of His manifold ministry.Chapter 3 - The Seven Churches (continued) Isaiah 11:2 also references the Holy Spirit using a seven-fold description: “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.” The prophecy is that the Messiah would be empowered not by seven individual spirits but by the One Spirit, described seven ways: John’s vision includes a picture of the perfect and complete Holy Spirit. 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. In Revelation 5:6 the seven spirits are the “seven eyes” of the Lamb, and they are “sent out into all the earth.” The seven eyes speak of the Spirit’s (and the Lamb’s) omniscience, and the fact that He is sent into all the earth speaks of His omnipresence. with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it” (Zechariah 4:2). This picture agrees with Zechariah’s vision in which he sees the Holy Spirit symbolized as “a solid gold lampstand. In Revelation 4:5 the seven spirits of God are symbolized as seven burning lamps that are before God’s throne. Both passages suggest the superordinate role of the Son and the subordinate role of the Spirit. In John 15:26, Jesus “sends” the Holy Spirit from the Father. In Revelation 3:1 Jesus “holds” the seven spirits of God.
This is a depiction 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.
John says that “grace and peace” are coming to the churches from three sources: “him 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). The “seven spirits” cannot be seven angelic beings such as seraphim or cherubim because of the context of Revelation 1:4. The identity of “the seven spirits” is not explicit in these passages, but arriving at the proper interpretation is fairly straightforward.
The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
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