The Seven Spirits of God

A Deeper Dive Into the Book of Revelation - Part 9

God Represented in the Tabernacle

We can see the 3 persons of the Triune Godhead (the Trinity) in the 3 areas of Moses’ Tabernacle.

Outer Court

In the Outer Court, we see the ministry of Jesus. There are two pieces of furniture in the Outer Court of the Tabernacle: the bronze altar and the laver.

The bronze altar is where animals were sacrificed for the sins of the people. This represents Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God who paid the price for our sins with His own life.

The bronze laver was essentially a large bowl of water, symbolizing water baptism for believers.

The Outer Court represents the salvation experience and water baptism.

The Outer Court represents the experience of the Feast of Passover.

In the timeline of the Church age, the Outer Court represents the 3 ½ years of Jesus’ ministry on earth.

In the Outer Court, God is Love. (1 John 4:8)

Holy Place

In the Holy Place, the second area of the Tabernacle, we see the ministry of the Holy Spirit. There are three pieces of furniture in the Holy Place: the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense.

The 7-pronged lampstand represents the Holy Spirit; more specifically, the Seven Spirits of God.

In the Holy Place, God is Light. (1 John 1:5)

The table of showbread represents the living Word of God, the Bread of Life, illuminated by the light of the Holy Spirit.

The golden altar of incense represents prayer and worship in spirit and in truth.

The Holy Place represents the experiences of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, sanctification, and transformation of the soul into the image of Christ.

The Holy Place represents the experience of the Feast of Pentecost.

In the timeline of the Church Age, the Outer Court represents the time since Jesus ascended to the Father and sent the Comforter to us. This is the time of the Holy Spirit’s ministry on earth.

Holy of Holies

In the Holy of Holies, we see the ministry of God the Father. In the Holy of Holies, there was the Ark of the Covenant covered with the Mercy Seat.

The Ark contained the tables of the law, representing God’s righteousness, justice, and His covenant with His people.

The Ark also contained a golden pot of manna representing the hidden wisdom of God’s living Word.

The Ark also contained Aaron’s rod that budded and bore fruit. This represents the authority of God.

The Mercy Seat represents God’s mercy and gracious forgiveness.

The Holy of Holies represents the experiences of the baptism of fire and glorification through transfiguration.

The Holy of Holies represents the experience of the Feast of Tabernacles.

In the timeline of the Church age, the Holy of Holies represents the future ministry of God the Father on Earth when God’s manifest presence will fill His people so that we become living Arks of the Covenant carrying His authority.

In the Holy of Holies, God is a consuming fire. (Heb 12:29)

The Lampstand with Seven Branches

In the Holy Place, the lampstand with 7 branches represents the 7 spirits of God. That is made very clear to us in Revelation 4:5:

“And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were **burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” **(NKJV)

The light of the lamps represents God because God is light, as John tells us.

**“**This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”—1 John 1:5 (NKJV)

Think about this: You have the Spirit of God in you if you have been born again. We know that God is light. If you have the Spirit of God in you, are you also light? What does Scripture say about that?

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. **Let your light so shine **before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”—Matt 5:14-16 (NKJV)

“For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’”—Acts 13:47 (NLT)

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”—Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)

“But you are living with evil people all around you, who have lost their sense of what is right. Among those people you shine like lights in a dark world,“—Philippians 2:15 (ERV)

So, where does the light within you come from? It comes from the Spirit of God, who is light.

At one point in his epistle, James uses a curious title for God, calling Him the “Father of lights.”

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from** the Father of lights,** with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”—James 1:17 (ESV)

Who are these lights that God is the Father of? Think about it… . We are! We are those lights in a dark world!

This is not just symbolism. This is literal and very real.

John Paul Jackson once shared an experience in which he was allowed to observe an ordinary day in the life of a Christian woman. At one point, he saw this woman enter a grocery store. John Paul’s eyes were opened to allow him to see what happened in the spiritual realm.

John Paul saw that there were several demonic creatures in the store. When the woman walked into the store, the demons started shrieking in terror.

“NO! The light is here!”

“The light has come!”

“NO! The LIGHT!!”

The woman was not aware that the demons were shrieking in terror at her presence. She was also unaware that she was emanating the light of God everywhere she went. But this was a powerful lesson for John Paul.

God gave this experience to John Paul Jackson to help us all understand that we, as children of God, emanate the light of God everywhere we go, just by our very presence. Because we carry the Spirit of God inside us, we are literally lights in this dark world.

The 7 Spirits of God in the Rainbow

White light appears to be colorless to our human eyes, but white light actually contains all of the colors of the rainbow. When white light is refracted through a prism, it separates the colors of white light into all 7 colors of the rainbow.

How many sides does a prism usually have? There are usually three sides to a prism, representing the three persons of the triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

How many visible colors does a prism produce from white light? Prisms produce seven colors, corresponding to the seven colors of the rainbow and representing the seven Spirits of God.

The rainbow represents God’s covenant with us (Genesis 9:13), but the rainbow also represents and displays the glory of God. There is a dazzlingly brilliant rainbow that encircles the throne of Almighty God.

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.”— Rev 4:1-3 (NKJV)

Ezekiel also experienced the rainbow as the radiance of the glory of God.

“Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal… . Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. **All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. **When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.”—Ezekiel 1:22-28 (NLT)

By the way, the LGBTQ+ community did not steal God’s rainbow to use as their symbol. The official “pride flag” of the LGBTQ+ community only has six colors. It falls short of God’s standard.

Seven represents God’s perfection—His perfect standard. Six is the number of man, which always falls short without God. That is why the number of the Antichrist is 666 and not 777.

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”—Romans 3:23 (NKJV)

**What are the 7 Spirits of God? **

The 7 spirits of God are listed by name in Isaiah 11:1-2:

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of **the fear of the Lord.” **(NKJV)

In the first verse, the “Rod” and the “Branch” speak of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. These 7 spirits of God are the 7 basic anointings that Jesus carried during His ministry. When Jesus walked the earth as a man, the anointings of these 7 spirits of God empowered Him to fulfill His 3 1/2-year ministry. The next three verses in this chapter also highlight his role as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords that we read about in Revelation chapter 19. This indicates that Jesus will still carry the anointings of these 7 spirits of God when He returns:

“His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.” —Isaiah 11:3-5 (NKJV)

Much of what I have learned about the 7 Spirits of God came from the teachings of Neville Johnson and Paul Keith Davis. There are not many ministers who I feel that I can recommend without reservation, but I whole-heartedly recommend the teachings of these two great ministers of the Word of God. I may not always agree with every little detail of their teachings, but I believe their teachings will give you clearer, deeper insight into God’s hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

In one of his messages entitled “Sons of the Kingdom and the Seven Spirits of God,” Paul Keith Davis shared this illustration that really helps us to understand the 7 Spirits of God in the lampstand with 7 branches:

Each branch of the lampstand represents one of the 7 spirits of God. The Spirit of the Lord is in the center, connecting all of the other 6 spirits of God.

Notice that 6 of the spirits are paired. They are paired in the way they are listed in Isaiah 11:2, and this pairing is consistent with the way the lampstand was constructed for the Tabernacle of Moses.

Spirit of the Lord

As Neville Johnson has taught us, the Spirit of the Lord often brings a Word from the Lord. This may be why the Spirit of the Lord is represented by the center lamp on the lampstand to which all of the other lamps are joined. Everything that God does is based in His Word, and nothing that He does contradicts His Word.

The Spirit of the Lord is often manifested in prophetic utterance, but also inspires preaching, teaching, and speaking in tongues. When a person is anointed with the Spirit of the Lord, ministering in prophecy, teaching, or preaching is easier and more impactful. When we read Bible passages that begin with “Thus saith the Lord,” we can be sure that we are about to read a message inspired by the Spirit of the Lord.

“Then the **Spirit of the Lord **fell upon me, and said to me, ‘Speak! “Thus says the Lord… “—Ezekiel 11:5 (NKJV)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach”—Luke 4:18 (NKJV)

“Then the **Spirit of the Lord **will come upon you, and you will prophesy”—1 Samuel 10:6 (NKJV)

“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.”—2 Samuel 23:2 (NKJV)

“Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, ‘Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you …’”—2 Chronicles 20:14-15 (NKJV)

Wisdom and Understanding

Wisdom is paired with Understanding. These 2 spirits of God are paired throughout the Bible, and they often work together to accomplish God’s purposes. Wisdom often brings new insights, new perceptions, new revelations, and together with Understanding, these spirits can bring new abilities to create that are beyond our natural skills.

Bezalel and Aholiab were anointed with the Spirits of Wisdom and Understanding in order to create the Tabernacle (and the lampstand), as Moses announced:

“So Bezalel, Oholiab, and all the other skilled men must do the work the Lord has commanded. The Lord has given these men the **wisdom and understanding **to do all the skilled work needed to build this holy place.”— Exodus 36:1 (ERV)

Wisdom often comes as an overall revelation of what must be done. It may be a revelation of a grand vision. Then Understanding brings the practical “how-to” steps to get the job done. Both are needed.

“By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations. Through understanding he set the heavens in place.”—Proverbs 3:19 (NIRV)

Understanding is present in the interpretation of tongues. As Paul tells us, when a message in tongues is spoken in a meeting, people cannot benefit from the message until Understanding comes to bring meaning to the message.

“You might be praising God with your spirit. But someone there without understanding cannot say “Amen” to your prayer of thanks, because they don’t know what you are saying. You may be thanking God in a good way, but others are not helped.”—1 Corinthians 14:16-17 (ERV)

In another example, Daniel received overwhelming revelations in visions and dreams. This was Wisdom. Then Gabriel was dispatched to give Daniel understanding of what he had seen. Until Daniel was given some understanding of these revelations, he wasn’t able to do much with them.

“When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, **I sought to understand it; **then behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man. And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of the Ulai, which called out and said, **“Gabriel, give this man (Daniel) an understanding of the vision.” **So he came near where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell face downward; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the [fulfillment of the] vision pertains to [events that will occur in] the time of the end.”—Daniel 8:15-17 (AMP)

This is also the pairing that we see in the book of Proverbs.

“Wisdom is of utmost importance, therefore get wisdom, and with all your effort work to acquire understanding.”—Proverbs 4:7 (ISV)

Counsel and Might

Counsel is paired with Might. Having divine Counsel that gives solutions to issues is paired with Might to be able to accomplish those solutions.

For example, Joshua received divine counsel to march around Jericho for seven days. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times and then blow the trumpets and shout. After Israel faithfully followed the counsel of the Lord, the Spirit of Might caused the walls to fall down flat.

The Spirits of Counsel and Might have also anointed the ministries of many who operate in the gifts of faith, healings, and miracles.

Smith Wigglesworth, for example, sometimes obeyed the Counsel of the Lord to slap or hit people. This may have seemed very strange, but people were healed as a result by the Spirit of Might.

Neville Johnson has shared that, since Jesus is our Counselor, we can receive a word of perfect counsel or advice from His Spirit of Counsel about a specific issue or situation, sometimes after waiting on God. Sometimes it may come to us through a word of prophecy, a dream, a vision, or just a knowing. Often this word of counsel will be the first impression that comes to us as we wait on the Lord.

Words of wisdom can also come under this anointing of the Spirit of Counsel.

Might is the power to enforce God’s will. Samson was anointed with the Spirit of Might. So were David’s mighty men, whose amazing exploits are described in 2 Samuel 23.

Gifts of faith, healing, miracles, and deliverance from evil spirits can be experienced with this anointing of the Spirit of Might.

Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord

Knowledge is paired with the Fear of the Lord.

I experienced this in a Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship meeting with John Paul Jackson in the early 1980s. At one point, John Paul delivered a Word of Knowledge that brought the Fear of the Lord into the room. He said that the Lord had made him aware that there were two men who had pornographic magazines in their desks at work. He said that the Lord knows what these men are doing, and that they need to get rid of those magazines and repent.

I think everyone in that audience felt the Fear of God as we realized that the Spirit of Knowledge was in the room, and he knew everything about us—good and bad!

We experience this on a smaller scale in some of our prophetic evangelism encounters. If I receive a Word of Knowledge for someone, I might approach them and say, “Can I ask you a question?” (They always say “yes.”).

Then I might say, “This may sound weird, but sometimes I get impressions about people, and I got an impression about you. Is it alright if I share it with you?”

Sometimes the Words of Knowledge frighten people when they are accurate, even thought the messages are positive! They don’t know how we could have known those things, and then they may wonder what else we know about them. We sometimes have to focus our effort on calming that fear before we can continue the conversation.

Words of knowledge, discernment of spirits, and other spiritual “knowings” can be experienced with the anointing of the Spirit of Knowledge.

The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord often brings conviction of sin.

There are testimonies of Christian ministers, especially in the 19th century, who carried such an anointing of the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord that even people in bars and other public places would begin to weep and repent when the minister entered the room.

The Eyes of the Lord

Zechariah chapter 4 gives us more insight into the 7 Spirits of God. In this chapter, Zechariah sees a lampstand with 7 lamps being continuously supplied with oil from two olive trees. An angel explains to him that this represents the Spirit of God.

The angel said, “Don’t you know what they are?”

“No, sir,” I said.

Then he told me, “This is the message from the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘You will not succeed by your own strength or by your own power. The power will come from my Spirit,’ says the Lord of heaven’s armies.”—Zechariah 4:5-6 (ICB)

Then the angel gives an encouraging message, telling him that the 7 Spirits of God will rejoice when they see Zerubbabel (the leader of Israel’s government) with tools in his hand to begin rebuilding the temple of God.

“Who [with reason] despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. [These seven] are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro throughout the whole earth.”—Zechariah 4:10 (AMPC)

Who are “these seven” that are referred to in this verse?

Looking back at the previous verses, the only seven mentioned are the seven lamps. So, again we see seven lamps representing the seven Spirits of God.

But this verse also says that these seven Spirits of God (seen in the seven lamps) are also the eyes of the Lord!

Then the angel goes further to prophesy about the coming Messiah. In this passage the angel refers to Jesus as the Branch and as a stone. We know that Jesus is God’s chosen stone (Matthew 21:42-44). This remarkable stone has *seven eyes! *

“High Priest Joshua, pay attention! I want you other priests who are sitting with Joshua to listen also. All you men are signs of things to come. I am going to bring to you my servant the Branch. Look at the stone I have put in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone.”—Zechariah 3:8-9 (NIRV)

Could it be that the seven eyes on this stone (which represents Jesus the Messiah) are the seven Spirits of God? Is there any other place in Scripture which speaks of Jesus having seven eyes? Yes!

In Revelation chapter 5, John sees Jesus as the Lamb of God *with seven eyes! *And again we are told that these seven eyes are the seven spirits of God.

“And there between the throne and the four living creatures (beings) and among the elders [of the heavenly Sanhedrin] I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] Who have been sent [on duty far and wide] into all the earth.”—Revelation 5:6 (AMPC)

This verse in Revelation also tells us that the seven eyes of God go out into all the earth. That gives new insight to the often-quoted verse in 2 Chronicles 16:9:

**“**For **the eyes of the Lord **run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” (KJV)

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus helps us to tie all of these concepts together, teaching us that if the Spirit of God lives in us and we abide in Him, we become His lamps, shining His light through our eyes.

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light. The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”—Luke 11:33-36 (NKJV)

Just as Jesus said that He was the light of the world, he told you that *you *are the light of this world if His Spirit abides in you.

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”—John 8:12 (NKJV)

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”—John 9:5 (NKJV)

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”—Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)

Just as Jesus carried these 7 anointings, you can also carry these 7 anointings!

Colors of the Seven Spirits of God

In Revelation chapter 4, we see a rainbow around the throne of God. Rainbows separate white light into 7 different colors:

1. Red

2. Orange

3. Yellow

4. Green

5. Blue

6. Indigo

7. Violet

These 7 colors of the rainbow correspond to the 7 Spirits of God.

Neville Johnson assigned the colors to the 7 Spirits of God in the order that the spirits are listed in Isaiah 11:1-2. I don’t often disagree with Neville Johnson, but in this case, I agree with Paul Keith Davis. Paul Keith believes that the 7 colors correspond to the 7 Spirits of God as they are represented in order on the 7 branches of the lampstand:

1. Red = Wisdom

2. Orange = Counsel

3. Yellow = Knowledge

4. Green = Spirit of the Lord

5. Blue = Fear of the Lord

6. Indigo = Might

7. Violet = Understanding

There is practical significance to this.

If you see one of these colors in the spirit, it could mean that anointing is present.

For example, if you see one of these colors highlighting a person in the spirit, that could indicate a particular anointing on that person.

Also, if you are in a church meeting and you perceive a particular hue in the spiritual atmosphere, that can be an indication of a particular anointing of the Spirit of God in that meeting. That can help you to know how to flow and cooperate with what God wants to do—or is doing—in that meeting.

Visions Beyond the Veil

H.A. Baker was a missionary to Tibet, China, and Formosa. In China, his ministry took in orphans between the ages of 6 to 18 who had been beggars or gang members with no knowledge of Jesus Christ. As the ministers began to lead the children into relationships with God, amazing things began to happen in the children’s meetings. Baker recorded some of those miraculous experiences in the book Visions Beyond the Veil.

“At times of special outpouring of the Holy Spirit these seven lamps of fire were seen let down from heaven into the room in our very midst. At other times in the visions of the throne of Christ in heaven, children saw the ‘seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God’ (Rev. 4:5). We all knew that the seven lamps meant the Holy Spirit in our midst.

“In the first days of the outpouring of the Spirit one small boy spoke in pure prophecy when in the Spirit he seemed to be in heaven at the feet of Jesus. The Lord spoke through him in the first person clearing up many things the children did not understand and telling them how to tarry and how to seek the Spirit. At that time the Lord said, ‘When the Spirit is in your midst do not open your eyes, for that will hinder; the Holy Spirit will descend to give you power to preach the gospel, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick; the Holy Spirit is in seven colors, red, blue, and other colors.’ One of the older boys then said that when the Spirit had been upon him he had seen a great, red light and other colors. The word from the Lord explained this to him and others who had seen different colors. Of course I know light is made up of seven colors but I had never thought of the seven lamps before the throne of God, the Holy Spirit, as seven colors. All light comes from God, and God is light” (Baker, p.17)

Walk in the Light

God is Light. To move into the anointings of the seven Spirits of God, we must live and walk in the Light.

**“**Because of this, since the day we heard about you, we haven’t stopped praying for you and asking for you to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, with all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We’re praying this so that you can live lives that are worthy of the Lord and pleasing to him in every way: by producing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God; by being strengthened through his glorious might so that you endure everything and have patience; and by giving thanks with joy to the Father. **He made it so you could take part in the inheritance, in light granted to God’s holy people.”—**Colossians 1:9-12 (CEB)

How do we live and walk in God’s Light?

Living and walking in the Light of the Spirit of God is not complicated. John taught us that living in the Light of God comes down to walking in love; demonstrating love consistently to our brothers and sisters.

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.** **But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”—1 John 2:9-11 (NIV)

**References: **

Baker, H. A. (2023, December 31). Visions Beyond the Veil (free book) – H.A. Baker. Hope Faith Prayer. https://www.hopefaithprayer.com/visions-beyond-the-veil-free-book-h-a-baker/

Color With Leo. (2023, November 16). Is white the presence of all the colors? https://www.colorwithleo.com/is-white-the-presence-of-all-the-colors/