Apocalypse Revealed # 14
14. And from the seven spirits who are before His throne. This symbolically means, from the whole of heaven, where the Lord is in His Divine truth, and where His Divine truth is received.
The seven spirits mean all who are governed by Divine truth, and in an abstract sense, Divine truth itself. The number seven in the Word means all things or all people, as may be seen in no. 10 above, and the throne means the whole of heaven, as will be seen shortly. Therefore "before His throne" means where His Divine truth is; for heaven is not heaven in consequence of the angels' own qualities, but owing to the Lord's Divinity, as we have shown many times in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Providence and Divine Love and Wisdom.
That the Lord's throne symbolizes heaven is apparent from the following passages:
Thus said Jehovah: "The heavens are My throne...." (Isaiah 66:1)
Jehovah has established His throne in the heavens... (Psalms 103:19)
He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God... (Matthew 23:22)
Above the firmament that was over the head (of the cherubim), in appearance like a sapphire stone, was the likeness of a throne, and on (it)...the appearance of a man... (Ezekiel 1:26, cf. 10:1)
The expanse over the head of the cherubim means heaven. Further, in the book of Revelation:
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit... on My throne... (Revelation 3:21)
To be on His throne means to be in heaven. Specifically it means to be where His Divine truth reigns. Consequently, where judgment is the subject, it is also said that the Lord will sit upon His throne, for judgment is effected by means of truths.
Revelation 1
1
This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,
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who testified to God's word, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw.
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Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand.
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John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne;
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and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood;
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and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
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"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
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I John, your brother and partner with you in oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God's Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
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I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
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saying, "What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."
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I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.
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And among the lampstands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest.
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His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.
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His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters.
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He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
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When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, "Don't be afraid. I am the first and the last,
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and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
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Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter;
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the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lampstands are seven assemblies.
