He answered and said to me, This is the Son of man, to whom righteousness belongs with whom righteousness has dwelt and who will reveal all the treasures of that which is concealed: for the Lord of Spirits has chosen him and his portion has surpassed all before the Lord of spirits in everlasting uprightness. ![]() There I beheld the Ancient of Days, whose head was like white wool, and with him another, whose countenance resembled that of man… Then I inquired of one of the angels, who went with me, and who showed me every secret thing, concerning this Son of man who he was whence he was and why he accompanied the Ancient of days. Second, in the non-canonical Jewish books such as 1 Enoch that has many references to the Jewish Son of Man traditions, we repeatedly encounter an unfamiliar phrase “ the Lord of the Spirits”. For example, we read in 1 Enoch 46:1-2: No matter which translation we use for Isaiah 11:2, the connection between those verses and the seven spirits in Revelation does not seem likely to us. The Lord’s spirit will rest on him – a spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. A better translation (NetBible), however, is provided by the Net Bible translators, rightly showing that each pair is really one concept, reducing 6 to 3: In reality there are six aspects, not seven, because the Spirit of the Lord is not one of the aspects. ![]() The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord (NASB). One has to do with the Holy Spirit and the other has to do with key angelic beings.įirst, conventional interpretation connects the seven spirits in Revelation with the seven “aspects” of the Spirit in Isaiah 11:2: There are at least two interpretive options here. As was already mentioned, Revelation is full of sets of the number seven, but just as in the case of the churches, this fact calls attention not to the number itself, but instead to the totality of that which is discussed – in this case the Spirit (seven spirits) who is/are before the throne of God. The number seven in a wide variety of Jewish scriptural traditions is the number of fullness, totality and completeness. …and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, For the reader familiar with the nuances of both Hebrew and Greek grammar, they act as clues that something else is going on. Whatever the explanation may be behind the awkward grammatical irregularities, they are probably intentional in nature. Since not all portions of Revelation could be characterized this way, it is not possible to explain the Greek grammatical irregularities only by the Hebraic background of John’s original thought language. Note the comment above about the authorship of Revelation and possible absence of an assisting scribe on Patmos). This passage is one of many places where it could be said that the Greek used by John is poor. It is a composite of past, present and future aspects all present in one word, “who is and the one who was, and who will be.” The hint is deliberate. God’s unpronounceable name YHWH is believed to be connected to the verb “to be” in Hebrew. John uses the same wording only in this place in Greek. The Greek is translated from the divine self-description in Hebrew אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה (I am who I am). 3:14 according to the Greek language Septuagint version where God refers to himself as “he who is” (ὁ ὤν). One has to do with the Holy Spirit and the other has to do with key angelic beings. Revelation is full of sets of the number seven, but just as in the case of the churches, this fact calls attention not to the number itself, but instead to the totality of that which is discussed – in this case the Spirit (seven spirits) who is/are before the throne of God. ![]() The number seven in a wide variety of Jewish scriptural traditions is the number of fullness, totality and completeness. 1:4 John to the seven “churches” that are in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from “he who is,” and who was, and who is still to come, …
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