because of the seven lampstands in Revelation, the seven spirits would simply indicate the completeness of the Holy Spirit’s power into the church to make it a light to all the world around it. There’s just one problem. I don’t believe what I’ve just given you. You say, why did you tell us all of that?
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
SPEAKER 04 :
Welcome to the Tuesday broadcast of Hope for Today with David Hawking. Today we step into one of the most arresting passages in all of Scripture. In just a few verses in Revelation chapter 1, we see the King of Kings unveiled, His glory declared, and His mission to the churches set in motion. Now this isn’t religious fluff. What it is, is a heavenly declaration. seven churches are named, we see lessons from them, grace and peace are pronounced, and Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth, takes center stage. We’ll be in this portion for several days, so if you love prophecy, power, and the pure authority of Jesus, you’re in a great place. Open your Bible to Revelation chapter 1. The message to the churches begins in just a moment. Before we begin, we want to say thank you, a big thank you, to those of you who pray and give to help this ministry continue. You’re a part of what we do. You’re the reason this teaching is reaching lives around the world. And if you’ve been listening for a while, but you haven’t jumped in yet, can I ask you something? What would happen if you did? You see, when you pray, when you give, you’re not just supporting a broadcast. You’re helping somebody else hear the truth, and maybe for the first time. If God is using this ministry in your life, now is a great time to help us continue doing that and to do the same for others. We need help to catch up and stay current. You can give at davidhawking.org or by calling us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And Bible is 24253. Let’s open up Revelation chapter 1, verses 4 through 6 today. And here’s David.
SPEAKER 01 :
John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead. and the prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, and all God’s people said, Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, and all God’s people said, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying… I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Now in verse 4, it says, John, to the seven churches which are in Asia. And down in verse 11, you’ll notice the same thing. Send it to the seven churches which are in Asia. Many of us think of Asia as the Orient, China, parts of India. We think of Asia. But this Asia is referring to Asia Minor and is primarily a province that would correspond today to the western half of Turkey. Asia Minor had more churches than seven, and that is a part of our understanding. A lot of people believe that the seven churches correspond with church history. You’ll find in many books on Revelation that they will actually give you dates of the church of Ephesus. They will give you dates of the church of Smyrna and so forth, and they will trace it all the way to our time, and they will speak about our time as the days of the church of Laodicea. I’m not sure we can prove that because as we move along in church history, we have to keep adjusting that, obviously. The book of Revelation is for every generation. Two things I’d point out to you. One, the number, seven. The number of the churches, I believe, reveals that all churches are intended. There are a lot more churches in John’s day than seven. Why pick out seven? Seven is a key number in the book of Revelation used 54 times. It is a very important number. It indicates the fullness and completion of God’s plan. The number alone of the churches, seven of them, reveals that all churches are intended. Turn to chapter 2 and look at verse 7. In each case of the messages to the seven churches, you will find this phrase. Chapter 2, verse 7. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Look at verse 11. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. You’ll find that in verse 17, verse 29. Chapter 3, verse 6. verse 13 and verse 22. The same exact phrase. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Notice it’s plural, not singular. Each time he writes to an individual church, he tells all the churches to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying. So the number of the churches indicates and reveals that all churches are intended. It’s a representative number indicating the completion of of God’s plan or the completion of God’s message or the completion of those to whom he wanted to speak. All of the churches are represented by the seven. The second thing I draw to your attention is that the names of the churches, which do reveal actual historic churches in John’s day, the names of the churches reveal that its impact is for all time. It amazes me how many commentaries refer to the future as though these messages were in the future. But folks, it applied to the first century. These were seven actual churches by name that existed in John’s day, and they needed the message of these churches just as much as we do today. So don’t think of them as Laodicea is only for one period of time and Ephesus was for the apostolic church. These messages are for all of us at all times. Now, the second thing I draw to your attention is not only the places to which this message was being sent, but a very critical passage here dealing with the persons from whom this message was given. The little word from will outline it for you. Look at verse 4. Grace be unto you in peace. That’s a normal greeting. But in the Bible, these terms become precious theological terms. Grace Grace, God’s grace gives us what we do not deserve. Peace, the word means to bind together, and it’s only God that can bring peace. We were at enmity against God, but through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace. Grace be unto you and peace from him who is and who was and is to come. Number two, from the seven spirits who are before his throne. And number three, from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Now, according to this section, these two verses, the persons from whom the message was given are, one, the eternal God, the phrase who is and who was and who is to come. He exists in all time. There never was a time when he did not exist. He is the God who Isaiah 57.15 says inhabits eternity. the one who is, who was, and who is to come. He exists in present, past, and future, all at one given time. Look at chapter 1, verse 8. It says, the Lord who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Now this particular reference is given to the one who says, I am Alpha and Omega. The one who speaks and declares who he is, is Jesus in the book. Yet in verse 4, apparently it’s God the Father. And yet, in another sense, it’s also God the Son. It is true that it has to be the Father because the third from says from Jesus Christ. But isn’t it interesting that before we get too far, the exact same phrase, who is, who was, and who is to come, is used of Jesus as well as the Father. Turn to chapter 4 and look at verse 8. Chapter 4, verse 8. Through the book, it’s a reference to the eternal God who manifests himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Chapter 4, verse 8. The four living creatures had each of them six wings about them. They were full of eyes within. They rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. So we know it’s the Lord God Almighty. We know from verse 8 it’s Alpha and Omega. Turn, please, to chapter 16, verse 5. Chapter 16, verse 5. And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, who art and wast and shall be, because thou hast judged thus. Verse 7 says, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. It comes from the eternal God. Go back to Revelation 1 again. And look at verse 4 carefully. The next phrase is where good Bible teachers strongly disagree with each other. It says, Now is that the Holy Spirit or is it the seven angels that are in the book? There are many people who believe it’s the Holy Spirit. And here’s the reasons why. Because the eternal God is mentioned first and Jesus Christ is third, it seems logical to believe number two would be the Holy Spirit. But that logic breaks down when you know the order in the Godhead. For if the order was portraying the triune God, it would be Father and then who? Son and Spirit. So the order is reversed. Some people say the phrase the seven spirits refers to the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit, referring to his completed work as God the Holy Spirit. And they use a verse to prove their point. Turn to Isaiah chapter 11. Is this the Holy Spirit of God, or does it refer to the seven angels mentioned in the book of Revelation? It says, There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And 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. Now this is the verse that almost every single commentary reads. without exception, who believes that it’s a reference to the Holy Spirit in Revelation 1.4, this is the verse they use. They say there are seven characteristics of the Holy Spirit. You say, how do they get that? Well, they say the Spirit of the Lord is one, the Spirit of Wisdom, two, Understanding, three, Counsel, four, Might, five, Knowledge, six, and Fear of the Lord, seven. There’s just one problem with this. And the Hebrew language is describing phrase number one, the Spirit of the Lord. That’s the name. Then when it says, it’ll rest upon him, then you have, in Hebrew, three couplets of two each. That’s all you have. You don’t have seven characteristics here. You have six of the Holy Spirit. And so that’s not my view. That’s just what you have in the text. There isn’t anything you can do about it. He’s the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. He’s the Spirit of counsel and might. And He’s the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. You can even see the three by the repetition of the word, the Spirit. Now come back to Revelation 1. There’s not seven there, there’s six. Plus the fact that the order, if it is expressing the triune God, doesn’t seem to be correct. Some people believe that it’s the Holy Spirit because of the seven lampstands. Look at Revelation 1, verse 20. It says, “…the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches.” So some people believe that it is the Holy Spirit mentioned in chapter 1, verse 4, because here’s the argument. Two olive trees. We get olive oil from the trees. Olive oil goes into the bowl, pours through the pipes into each prong of the lampstand. We light it, and the oil allows it to be lit. Israel is to be a lampstand, and there is to be an actual lampstand, a table even for it, in the temple. It pictures Israel being a light to all the nations of the world. And in order for the light to be bright, we need oil. And in the picture of Zechariah 4, the oil represents the power of the Holy Spirit. Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. But interestingly, the oil comes from two anointed ones who stand before the whole earth. Some say they are the two prophets who were preaching. I don’t think so. I think it was Zerubbabel and Joshua, the two men who were to lead the people of God back into the place that God wanted them to be. with the temple, giving the light of God to all the nations of the world, his revelation through Israel and their practices of sacrifice and offering to God. So as you see the story, that will become critical also later in Revelation. And so some say because of the seven lampstands in Revelation, the seven spirits would simply indicate the completeness of of the Holy Spirit’s power into the church to make it a light to all the world around it. Everybody following now? There’s just one problem. I don’t believe what I’ve just given you. I think it is a wonderful, wonderful view, and it makes a lot of sense, but I don’t think it’s correct. Go back to Revelation. You say, why did you tell us all of that? Because you need to know it anyway in relationship to future studies of Revelation. Now let’s come back to chapter 4 and look at it again. Here are some reasons why I don’t believe the Holy Spirit is mentioned in verse 4. One, of course, the order of the triune God. The Son should come before the Spirit if that was what was intended. Number two, the lack of evidence that there are any seven and only seven qualities or attributes of the Holy Spirit. He has far more than that. I think it is very clear, frankly, in Revelation, who the seven spirits are. And I’d like you to see it. Turn to chapter 3, verse 1. Chapter 3, verse 1. And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven what? Go back to Revelation 1 and look at verse 20 again. The Bible does not contradict itself, even in its symbolism. In Revelation 1.20, the seven stars are the what? angels of the seven churches. Chapter 3, verse 1. Now go to chapter 5, verse 6. Chapter 5, verse 6. This scene is in heaven, and the focus is on the Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Verse 6, “…I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” Now the ones who are sent forth into all the earth are the seven angels who give off the message. They are the ones who blow the seven trumpets and give the trumpet messages. They are the ones that dump the bowls of wrath out in the seven last plagues. These same seven angels are the ones before the throne. Look at chapter 8, verse 2. Chapter 8, verse 2. At the opening of the seventh seal, it says in verse 2, I saw the seven angels who, and here it is, stood before God. The seven spirits who stand before God. The same thing, the seven angels who stood before God. No, I think it’s very clearly the seven spirits are the seven angels. Now come back to chapter 1, let me show you what that means. What he’s trying to say in the opening greetings and introduction of this book is that the message of God was first of all from God the Father, given to Jesus Christ, And that message is sent out through the mediation of angels, seven angels. And those messages were given to John so that he could pass on to the servants of the Lord, all of us in all time, to hear God’s truth. So the way, the process by which God’s revelation came was through the mediation of seven angels who were standing before the throne ready to do whatever God wants them to do. They are ministering spirits. sent forth by God himself.
SPEAKER 04 :
A clear reminder, a clear reminder that angelic beings aren’t fantasy or folklore. What they are is part of God’s plan, actively serving His people and carrying out His will. You’re listening to Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking. Clear, bold, verse-by-verse teaching straight from God’s Word. That’s our heart. David will be back in just a moment with some additional teaching, so do stay tuned for that. First, though, you know, if you’ve ever wondered why Babylon keeps showing up in Scripture and what that means for the days ahead, Matt’s here, and together we’re going to tell you about a book by David that might just answer your questions.
SPEAKER 03 :
Babylonian civilization was known for its cultural achievements, advanced architecture, famous Hayne Gardens, renowned contributions to mathematics, astronomy, law, and serving as a major center of trade in ancient Mesopotamia. The civilization lasted for several centuries. And it influenced subsequent cultures throughout the world. And sadly, the most significant part of that influence was paganism, idolatry, and immorality. Exactly.
SPEAKER 04 :
Babylonianism has penetrated and seduced the nations for over 4,000 years. That history, Matt, and Babylon in the prophetic future is covered in 286 Bible references.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, Revelation chapter 17 through 18 is one. Yeah. It details the mystery and fall of Babylonianism.
SPEAKER 04 :
And the book of Revelation depicts a prostitute on a seven-headed beast with ten horns on its seventh head, symbolizing the Antichrist’s future rise. Apparently, he will emerge from a confederacy dividing the world into ten divisions, attacking Christian beliefs.
SPEAKER 03 :
And according to prophecy, Jim, the Babylonian religious system will culminate in a diabolical final seduction of all nations. Like the world has never seen. This month,
SPEAKER 04 :
We’re featuring a special price on your dad’s book, Babylon, Its History and Prophecies. Now, normally $15, just $10 this month.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, this powerful study guide commentary covers scriptures on the history, prophecies, and warning signs for Babylonianism. fortifying readers to stand strong in faith and hopeful for our future. Get Babylon, its history and prophecies, normally $15, just $10 this month when you call 1-800-75-BIBLE, 242-53. In Canada, call 1-888-75-BIBLE or purchase at davidhawking.org.
SPEAKER 04 :
And if you make this purchase, would you prayerfully consider adding an additional amount as a donation to help us continue the ministry of hope for today? Or perhaps send a donation by itself. Either way, your gift will help us continue this outreach. Well, and by the way, if you haven’t downloaded David’s study notes for our current series in Revelation, This is a great time to do it. The study notes are packed with scripture references, insight, and structure to help you follow along and even go deeper on your own. If you want to get more out of this series, all 48 messages, these notes will help you do just that. David’s original sermon notes. You can download them at davidhawking.org for just $10 or call us at 875-BIBLE and we’ll mail you the printed version. In Canada, call 888-75-BIBLE. Now, if this ministry, if Hope for Today has blessed you, please pray for us and prayerfully consider giving to help us reach others as well. Call 1-800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible is 24253. You can also give online at davidhawking.org or write to Hope for Today, Box 3927. Tustin, T-U-S-T-I-N, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S, HP1. And let’s get back to David.
SPEAKER 02 :
Thanks, friends, for listening to Revelation. And we are in chapter 1, verses 4 to 6. In fact, it begins with the clear statement that John, the apostle, is writing this to the seven churches in Asia. That’s Asia Minor or Western Turkey. And we’ll be looking at each one of these churches in Revelation 2 and 3. He also says it’s from the seven spirits which are before the throne. Well, be careful. The seven spirits are not the Spirit of God. It is referring to angels who are throughout the book. Well, there’s so many exciting things in Revelation, and this three verses in chapter 1, verse 4 to 6 is like part one about the messages to the seven churches that are mentioned in chapter 2 and 3. And we’re told that this message comes from seven spirits—that’s seven angels—and and from our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, or Jesus Christ, who’s called the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Oh, wow. If you think that’s great, wait till you hear more revelation on the glory and the majesty of our blessed Lord. Well, I’m enjoying the study, as you probably recognize. And the last part of verse 2 says, Wow. This is a marvelous, marvelous, marvelous message. And I hope and pray that you will enjoy our study.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, next time on Hope for Today, Revelation 1, 4 through 6 reveals who Jesus really is, not just to the churches, but to you and me. The King has spoken. Don’t miss it.
