Jan 21, 2013

Robert Mounce on the Seven Spirits in Revelation 1:4-5

  
Robert Mounce, filling in for his son Bill, has an interesting discussion on the seven spirits in Revelation 1:4-5 here. Unlike a number of interpreters, He sees the seven spirits as “part of a heavenly entourage that has a special ministry in connection with the Lamb.” I still understand the seven spirits as a reference to the Holy Spirit but I do not see Isaiah 11:2 as the background. I agree with Mounce's criticism of that identification. Rather, I see Zechariah 4 as a more likely background. I also agree with Mounce's caution that from an interpretive standpoint, "it is wise to begin with what is said rather than with the theological structure we are building" although I am not sure that this necessarily applies to those who identify the seven spirits with the Holy Spirit in Revelation 1:4-5. 
  

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