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The Seven Eyes of the Lamb
RV96-02© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)
We are studying the executor of the scroll in Revelation 5:6-10. This is segment number 2. People attend church
services for a variety of reasons, and occasionally it's well to review or remind ourselves why the Bible tells us to attend church services.
This is one of the things that the Bible says we are not to neglect. It is a serious (and a very grave) sin to be absent from the public gatherings
of the local assembly. Whether you like that or not, that is what the Word of God says. The Book of Hebrews puts it in so many words: "Neglect not
the assembling of yourselves together, as is the matter of some." That means that when the church doors are open for the public instruction of the
Word, be there. That is a divine imperative. That means that it's a command.
Now, that very much boxes us all in, because sometimes we don't feel too well on Sunday mornings, or the weather is not too good, and we have an
inclination that we'd like to do something else or be somewhere else. Certainly, if we have attended church once, we don't think we can stomach
a second time in the evening. So, we are inclined to think that maybe there's too-good of a program on television that we hate to miss. Or we
get a little chance from our week's work to relax and catch a breath. Or we have some other thing that we need to do that Sunday evening,
so we stay home.
It may not have occurred to you that it really is necessary for you to stay on top of your 1 John 1:9 status when you are not here at a church
service. That is the time for confession of a very clear-cut, known sin. It's necessary to go to the Father and say, "It was not beyond my
capacity to attend. I just didn't, and it was wrong." You would be wise to keep that sin cleaned up and cleared up.
The Purpose of the Local Church
The primary purpose of the local church organization is to teach believers the doctrines of Scripture. That is reason number one. That is primarily
why the local church exists. This was evidenced in the New Testament church from the very beginning. In Acts 2:42, we read, "And they continued
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine," and then other things which were included in the process of when the saints met: fellowship; the Lord's
Supper; and, praying. But primary reason number one was that they came to have fellowship around the Word of God in the doctrine that the apostles
were teaching, which was being taught then by the Holy Spirit, and which in time was recorded in the written Scriptures.
In Acts 20:28, the apostle Paul tells the various pastors from the city of Ephesus to see to it that they feed the various house churches under
their authority: "Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (pastor-teachers),
to feed the church of God which He has purchased with His own blood." And the only way you feed the church of God is with the Word of God. So,
again, the emphasis is very clear. The reason the local church exists is to teach people Bible doctrine truth.
In 2 Timothy 4:2, the apostle Paul tells his young associate Timothy: "Preach the Word. Be diligent in season, and out of season." That little phrase
means, "Timothy, keep explaining doctrine when things are going well, and people are saying, 'Hurrah;" and, when things are not going well, and people
are acting negatively, and they're beating you on the head for telling them the truth. Whether it's in season or out of season, your job is to inform
them. Exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine." So, there again, that's why we gather together. A lot of churches and a lot of congregations are
conned with a lot of other things in a church service short of doctrinal instruction.
In 1 Peter 5:2, as an elder speaking to other elders, Peter says, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight of it not
by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre (not for money), but of a ready mind." He is telling them: "Take upon yourself the responsibility
of informing the people of God about the truth of God:" When they sleep in the church services; when they draw pictures in the church services; when
they look out the windows; when they check their watches; whatever else they're doing; whatever other impudence; or, whatever other bad manners they
demonstrate, in season and out of season, give them the Word of God. That is an enormously important truth. That is the primary reason for coming to
a church service. Whatever reason you come for, that's the only legitimate reason. Everything else is an illegitimate reason.
The HICEE Technique
Of course, this involves something else that the Bible makes clear as to why we gather together. The local church does this with the
gift of the pastor-teacher being exercised using the HICEE technique of teaching the Word of God. The HICEE technique, that you're acquainted with,
means that when he steps into that pulpit, he is teaching on the basis of Hermeneutics. There are certain principles for guiding the interpretation
of the Bible. The primary one is literal interpretation. Then there are another ones, like the dispensational guidelines in order to rightly
apply the word of truth. These are all hermeneutical principles that are important for coming to the truth. If you don't use them, you're going to
foul up the Bible.
Then there is Isagogics. That is teaching on the background of the condition of the times; the customs that existed; and, what certain circumstances
that we read in Scripture signified. Then there are Categories (doctrinal summaries). Once in a while, he summarizes a doctrine for you in so many
points. Then there's Etymology. He explains the meaning of the Greek and the Hebrew words to you. Then there's the Exegesis. He explains how these
words in the original are related to each other grammatically so that they tell you something.
If he's not doing that, then he's not doing his job as a pastor-teacher, and you ought to abandon him, because he is deceiving you, and you are
not going to find yourself profited with the Word of God. You're going to be shortchanged.
This teaching is done in the setting of the public meetings of the local church. The believer, under the filling of the Holy Spirit, in that
setting of the local church, may exercise his volition privately before God in respect to what he hears. After the pastor-teacher has done his job,
he's home-free; clean; and, clear. He has no further responsibility. From then on, there is now the decision on the part of those who have heard
the Word of Truth to respond positively or negatively. They must do that privately within their own heart before God. They can say, "I agree with
it, and I'll subject myself to it," or they can raise the hair on the back of their necks, and say, "I don't like it, and I won't take it, and I
reject it."
Understanding the Bible
The thing that's important about the HICEE technique is that it closes a lot of mouths and it makes many people furious when you talk about this
technique of teaching the Word of God, because then it removes so much of the personal human opinion as to what a particular portion of
Scripture means. It just removes their opinion. For example, there may be a custom that our society has accepted
which is evil. When they want to get along with people, they don't like somebody coming along and saying, "I can tell you authoritatively,
because I use a proper method of exegesis and of interpreting the Bible, that that thing in our society is evil, and you ought not to have anything
to do with it, and you should condemn it." They don't like that, and yet that's what this method does. It clarifies.
Do not be taken by Satan into thinking that we cannot understand the Bible. We understand it, and it was written for our understanding. The very
book that we're studying, Revelation, promises super blessings to those who read it and act upon it, which would be a ridiculous promise if you
couldn't understand it. If there's any book in the Bible that people think you can't understand, it's the book of the Revelation.
Accountability
Privately, you may now respond. That's why we do it in a public service. And that's why we don't ask you what you think about it. That's why we
don't ask you to report to us on what you've done in this and that relative to your Christian life and performance. It's your business before you
and God. That's part of being your own priest. That's where the monkey is. You better believe it, because that's where the accountability is
someday going to be, when you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Positive volition to sound Bible doctrine stores divine viewpoint in the
believer's human spirit for the guidance of his soul. It fills up what the Bible refers to as the deficiency of human viewpoint, which is in the
soul of each one of us when we come into the Christian life.
Ephesians 3:19 says, "And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God." This word
is that work "gnosis" in the Scripture. It's just information. It's not that full "epignosis" knowledge, which is knowledge to which you have
said, "Yes, Lord, I accept that," and then it becomes stored in your human spirit, where now it becomes useful Bible doctrine information that
you can use in your life. Paul says, "To know the love of Christ, and all that the love of Christ connotes in terms of being filled with the
Spirit – that passes just knowing the information. Then you have a positive response to storing it that you might be filled with the fullness
of God."
In this way, the believer develops the spiritual capacity to execute his threefold calling as God's priest; ambassador; and, soldier, and to
produce divine good works meriting reward in heaven. When you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will be examined. Your report card will
be on the basis of those three factors: how you executed your priesthood; how you executed your role of ambassador; and, how you executed your role
as a soldier of Jesus Christ. That's all that's going to come into the picture. That's it – those three.
So, believers who are living spiritually mature lives and earning rewards are the people who are doing the Lord's work on the earth. They are
the only people who are doing it. Those who are growing spiritually through the intake of doctrine, which is being taught them on the HICEE technique,
are those who have the chance to grow spiritually with their positive response. They're the people who are doing the Lord's work on this earth, and
they're the people, consequently, who are going to be rewarded in heaven. The rest of the Christian community are playing church. They're being
sweet Christians, and they're getting along with the world system of Satan.
Counseling
The local church service in which Bible doctrine truth is explained by the HICEE technique is, furthermore, the ultimate in personal counseling of
the individual human being. It's easy to lose sight of that. It is the ultimate in personal counseling. When you walk into a church service, you
will maximize your benefit if you understand that you have come for a counseling session. Knowing what God thinks and demands of us is the basis
of all beneficial counseling. Basic orientation to our life's needs comes from knowing doctrine. So, the basic ground of all counseling is knowing
divine viewpoint truth. The lower the level of Bible doctrine in the human spirit, the greater is one's need for human counselors to take up the
slack. The less you have in the human spirit of divine viewpoint doctrinal orientation, the more you have to go to a human counselor to take up
the slack. I guarantee you there are plenty of them out there that are very glad and very happy for you to pay for their services.
Consider yourself fortunate. You come here and you don't even have to pay for it. This is $50 for every 30 minutes, and you get more than you 30
minutes' worth. So, please act accordingly when you go by the offering box. Plus, you have a lot of experience behind what you're getting. It's
not just some kid who has just learned a few things. The less you have in the human spirit, the more you have to reach out there for the guys who
are in the business to take up the slack for you because their preachers haven't done the job that they should have been doing; or they have not
been open to the truth the way they should have been; or, they've been sloppy about not being there when the truth is being taught. They had other
things to do.
It is necessary for doctrine to be taken into one's spirit on a daily basis as spiritual food. In Matthew 4:4, we read the statement that
specifically indicates to us that that's the way it is with doctrine. That's why we have all those tapes up there for you to fill in the gaps
during the week: "But He answered and said, 'It is written: man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth
of God.'"
Daily Meditation
When the people of Israel were crossing into the Promised Land, they were given this guidance (this guideline) for their success in the
blessings that God had to pour upon them. Joshua 1:8: "This book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate therein
day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you
shall have good success." On the eve of their entering into the Promised Land, finally, God said, "Your orientation is to the Word of God. You
stay with that, and I'm going to really show you what a land of milk and honey this is. I'm going to pour it on you as fast as I can pour it
on you. You are going to be blessed like you wouldn't dream. You will have success coming out of every pore of your body, because you have
meditated on the Word of God; it's in your human spirit; you're able to work upon it; and, you've risen above the animal level." So, it has to be
taken on a daily basis.
Reinforcement
Furthermore, doctrine which has been learned must be regularly reinforced and further clarified to maintain spiritual maturity at the super grace
level, which is the prime of your spiritual life. Once you get it, it has to be reinforced on a daily basis as well. 2 Peter 3 makes that so clear.
Peter says, "This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you, in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance; that you may be
mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior:" to bestir
your mind by way of remembrance. The truth needs to be reinforced again.
Neglect of doctrine, or negative volition to the Word of God in a church service leads one into reversionism (backsliding) and into divine
discipline. The result will be removal from your place of blessing, and you will degenerate into spiritual insanity, and all reality will become
reversed. Your right pastor-teacher will become your wrong pastor-teacher in your views. Your right congregation will become your wrong
congregation in your views. Your right friends will become your wrong friends. The good advice that you are given will become the bad advice in
your views. Everything will be reversed like someone looking through the lens of a camera. That is the worst thing that can happen to a Christian's
spiritual orientation.
You just go ahead and arch your back and be negative to the Word of Truth. You just go ahead and be sloppy about subjecting yourself to something
that would put you on the outs with the society that you want to play ball with, even though the Word of God clearly condemns it. You just go ahead
and be careless about whether you're here when these doors are open for instruction or not (as little of it as we do have), and you will find
yourself moving toward spiritual degeneration; insanity; and, reversionism, and everything will be backwards.
And I'll tell you, there's nothing sadder than a Christian who has fouled up his life in some way, and who lacks the spiritual capacity to meet
the crisis. He doesn't have the capacity to meet the crisis. It is like someone who suffered a terrible physical wound, and doesn't have the
available means of taking immediate first aid action. Often the crisis is experienced by someone who has sat under Bible doctrine instruction,
so it's all the sadder. This person has had opportunity for knowing better. But when he sat there and listened to that instruction, he didn't
see it as the last word. He saw it just as someone else's viewpoint.
For example, some people are so arrogant and so panicky to get married that they will make any compromise with the Word, even though they know that
it's a compromise. They'll even defect from the associations where the Word is taught, just so that they can get anything out of the way that stands
between them and that ambition. How many men and women have lived to regret the fact that they compromised with the Word of God, even when somebody
called their attention to the fact that the direction they're moving in with that individual is a violation of the Word of God? The sin nature in us so
loves the world's ways and the world's thinking that we just can't believe that some Bible doctrine-teaching pastor really knows better than all the
rest of society about what is the right thing to do. You can always find a counter viewpoint. You can always find someone among Christians that has
another interpretation and another view. It is amazing how many Christians will succumb to the sin nature's deviousness of saying, "He can't be all
that right."
How often people have come to me, who have sat under the instruction of the Word of God, and didn't think that what they heard could be all that
right and could be all that accurately explained? Then they come to me and they're embarrassed; they're humiliated; and, they're guilt-ridden. I've
heard them repeat the words, "But it's the guilt of the thing that gets me. There is such guilt now with what I have." They're like pathetic, wounded
animals. They sit there before me whimpering for some help in their pain; in their bewilderment; and, in their defeat. The thing that amazes me is
that they act as if they are surprised that the roof has caved in on them, as if they really didn't think that if they did not follow the
instruction they were given, that the consequences potentially were not where they ended up.
Oh, they know it now. It's been amazing to me how many times I've had people shake their heads and say, "Why do you always have to be so right?"
Well, they said it wrong? What they meant was, "Why does God always have to be so right?" That's what they meant. "Why does the Word of God always
have to be so right?" Now, with all the bruises and the shattering of their lives, they sit there pathetic, and you want to weep for them. Then
these people are the very ones so often who have had all my Sunday counseling, every service, in the church service, and they threw it all overboard
in order to become victims of the deceit of the sin nature. They permitted the divine viewpoint to pass them by because they preferred going with
the crowd.
That's the hardest thing for a Christian to do: to view himself as different from the rest of the world, and to act accordingly, and every time he is
in an engagement with unbelievers, to keep clearly in his mind, "I am a sheep, and these people are goats. In certain areas of life, we have a
relationship with the goats as the sheep of God for common objectives. But I have to be on my guard that I do not pick up the ways of the goats.
I can easily be contaminated."
Then the saddest part, when people come to me in this condition, is when they're in a crisis, and ask for some Scripture to help them in their
helplessness. They don't realize that I've already given that to them Sunday-by-Sunday, and that now it will take a lot of time to recoup. Then
they are shocked when I say, "It'll take you many, many months to recoup, and to gain the information you want in order that you have an orientation
in your thinking where God can help you and lead you. I can't give it to you now. It's a long-term development, and if you do not pursue it, you
will die."
Spiritual Anorexia
It's like anorexia. It's like the recent pop singer of The Carpenters who starved herself to death. She denied her body nourishment. Then the body
comes to a certain point where it cannot handle food. I don't care if you sat there and stuffed food in your mouth 24-hours-a-day, the body can't
process the food. Then you're on a runaway horse to death. This is what people do when they starve themselves spiritually. They get to the point
where they become so weak; so disoriented; and, so reversed in their thinking, that even when they sense that they're on the slide, they can't
stop; they can't reverse it; and, they're gone. There is little comfort in time of need when you don't have the information already stored. I'll
guarantee you that when the crisis comes, that's not when you get it.
Accountability
So, you want to be careful when you decide you're going to get so mad; you're going to ride high, and smug, and self-confident; and, you're going
to do it your way, because everyone sooner or later is going to account for himself and for the truth that he had. In Romans 14:12, the apostle
Paul says, "So then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God." You can play it carelessly, or you can play it wisely. But you better
understand what a church service is all about. It's a very serious occasion, and it has a very biblical reason. When that biblical reason is being
executed, it's no small thing for you to be someplace else, even when you think that that someplace else is really worth the exchange. Think again.
Maybe it isn't. When the crisis comes, you won't be able to help yourself. You won't be able to change things. You will have already followed the
anorexia to the point where you can't reverse the process.
Worship
The reason we gather in the local church service is specifically for worship – to worship our heavenly father. The Bible does not specifically
define what worship is. The English word "worship" means "worthship;" that is, the English word conveys the idea of worthiness of an individual
to receive homage, praise, and adoration. One thing that the Bible tells us about worship is that there is no true worship apart from Bible doctrine
truth. There is no true worship apart from doctrinal truth. In John 4:24, Jesus Christ says, "God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must
worship Him in Spirit and in truth." Worship is a spiritual enterprise, and it is based upon Bible doctrine truth. The highest expression of worship,
therefore, is the learning of doctrinal truth about God, and receiving it with positive volition. That is worship in its finest form. That is the
heart of worship. It's the epitome of worship. There are other things that accompany worship: thanksgiving; praise; prayer, etc. But the core of
worship is knowing and learning Bible doctrine truth, and responding to it with positive volition.
Such Bible doctrine truth exalts the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our understanding, and enables us to honor God with divine viewpoint living.
Negative evolution to sound doctrine is an act of self-worship – exalting our own fallen reason in place of the mind of Christ. That's the
difference.
So, I'll guarantee you that here at Berean church, a public gathering has worship at the heart of it. We gather for the primary fulfillment of the
New Testament local church, which is to teach people God's thinking, and that is contained in the doctrines of the Word of God. So, for whatever
other reason you come to church, shift gears to this reason. This is the reason that's going to make all the difference in your eternity.
A Throne, a House, and a Kingdom
We've been following our path of worship, and the fulfillment of our instruction in this local assembly, with our study of the book of the
Revelation. We have seen in Revelation 5, in this heavenly throne room scene that John has been observing, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the
last king of the Davidic dynasty. As such, Jesus Christ is destined to reign as king of the Jews in fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. The
divine promise to King David was that of an eternal throne; an eternal house; and, an eternal kingdom – that is, an eternal throne (a
seat of government); an eternal house (a dynasty of descendants); and, an eternal kingdom (a political entity). Jesus Christ, as the Lion of
the tribe of Judah and the root of the descendant of David, will fulfill the threefold promise of the Davidic throne, house, and kingdom. Jesus
Christ will fulfill this, and the ultimate fulfillment will be expressed in the Millennial Kingdom. Jesus, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah
and the root (or the descendant) of David, will fulfill this threefold promise.
A Lamb
Well, John looks when he is told that there is someone who can break the seals of the scroll, and he is told that the Lion of the tribe of
Judah and the root of David can do it. He looks to see the Lion, but instead he sees a Lamb. This Lamb represents Jesus Christ in His role as
Savior of fallen humanity. The Lamb stands between two circles. The inner circle is formed by the four living creatures around the Father's throne.
The outer circle if formed by the 24 thrones of the 24 elders representing the church, raptured now in heaven, encircling that inner circle.
Between the two circles stands the Lamb.
Omnipotence
John looks, and he sees this Lamb standing, indicating that, although it bears under its throat the slash mark of having been slain; slaughtered;
and, sacrificed, it is alive. It is standing. It is not fallen over. The Lamb symbolizes the fact that Jesus Christ has now risen from off the
Father's throne, and He is about to set in motion the earth events which are going to lead to His Second Coming. John has observed that this Lamb
has seven horns on its head. We researched the Old Testament concerning the symbol of horns, and found that it indicates power. Seven is the
perfect number, and it indicates perfect power, or omnipotence. So, this represents Jesus Christ as the executor of the title deed with omnipotence
to execute the deed. Omnipotence belongs only to God. So, this also tells us that the Lamb is deity.
Seven Eyes
Then John observes something else. He observes that the Lamb has seven eyes. The word "eyes" is the Greek word "ophthalmos." "Ophthalmos" is a noun.
It is used for the physical organ of sight. When we now look back to the Old Testament to get some idea of how the concept of an eye is used, we
discover that it is a symbol for knowledge.
Knowledge
For example, 2 Chronicles 16:9: "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in the behalf of them
whose heart is perfect toward Him. Herein you have done foolishly. Therefore, from henceforth, you shall have wars," and so on. The eyes of the
Lord go to and fro throughout the whole earth, indicating that He knows everything that's going on.
Omniscience
Then there's Job 34:21 that also speaks of eyes: "For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He sees all his goings. There is no darkness, nor
shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves." So, here eyes have omniscience. God sees and knows everything.
Then we may add Jeremiah 16:17: "For My eyes are upon all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, neither is their iniquity hidden from My
eyes." So, the Old Testament use of eyes is very clearly the concept of having full knowledge information. Seven eyes here indicate that the Lamb
has absolute total knowledge, and thus we're talking about omniscience. This is specifically indicated in Psalm 139:7-11 – the omniscience
of God: "Whither shall I go from Your Spirit, or whither shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, You are there. If I make my
bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Your hand
lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me,' even the night shall be light about me."
So, the Lamb of God, as deity, possesses this absolute knowledge: full omniscience. However, this omniscience is clarified a little more for us in
Revelation 6, in that these seven eyes, indicating full grasp of knowledge, are related to the seven flaming torches – the spirits that we
have seen previously. Revelation 5:6 says, "... Seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." The word "spirits"
is the word "pneuma." This is the spirits of God ("theos"). It has a definite article ("the God"), indicating here specifically: God the
Holy Spirit. These seven spirits refer back in the context of the book of Revelation to three places where we've already had them. We've seen God
the Holy Spirit represented as seven flaming torches in Revelation 1:4, Revelation 3:1, and Revelation 4:5.
So, the seven eyes of the Lamb symbolize omniscience via the seven ministries of the Holy Spirit, specifically to the humanity of Jesus Christ.
What the deity of Jesus Christ has in the form of omniscience, the humanity gets the comparable in terms of the seven specific ministries of God
the Holy Spirit. We say that it is to His humanity on the basis of the reference in Isaiah 11:2, where it is describing the Messiah, and where the
seven spirits (the ministries) are identified for us that the coming Messiah will be provided in His humanity. The important thing is that we are
now talking about what Jesus Christ had to function upon as a human being, as our pattern, and it's the same thing that you and I consequently have
to function upon. The seven spirits give Jesus Christ, in His humanity, maximum insight from God the Holy Spirit.
This was declared in John 3:34 concerning Jesus the man: "For He whom God had sent speaks the words of God, for God did not give the Spirit by
measure onto Him. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand." So, God the Holy Spirit is symbolized before the Father's
throne as seven flaming torches representing the sevenfold ministry of the Spirit of God to the humanity of Jesus Christ.
The Seven Flaming Torches
Here's what they were (you will remember):
The Holy Spirit
It was, first of all, the Holy Spirit ministering as "YHWH," or as the word later was used: "Jehovah."
"YHWH" is the most sacred name of God. That is referring to the indwelling of the Spirit of God. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, for you and me, notice:
"What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have of God, and are not your own?" Even as the
humanity of Jesus Christ was associated with God the Holy Spirit to give that humanity capacity, so every one of you here – when you are
filled with the Spirit ( with all known sins confessed so that you are in temporal fellowship with God the Father), have the Spirit of God (who
indwells you) ministering to you. He indwells you whether you're in fellowship or out of fellowship. It's a permanent relationship. But the Spirit
of "YHWH" (the spirit of deity) is indwelling you.
The Spirit of Wisdom
The second torch was the spirit of wisdom. That stood for a divine frame of reference in the mentality of the soul. In Ephesians 1:17, here's how
it applies to us: "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of Him." You, a human being, are possessing the divine viewpoint frame of reference in the mind of the Spirit of God. You might
summarize that by the word "values." You know what's worthwhile. You know what isn't worthwhile. Most people don't have the foggiest notion what's
worthwhile. They don't have an idea of what's worthwhile in terms of what to do with their lives; how to invest their time; what to do with their
money; or, what to do with their abilities. You have a capacity for values. You can say, "This is worth my pursuing. This is not worth my pursuing.
This association is worth pursuing. This association is not worth pursuing. This is a cause that is worth my effort to pursue and to help. This
cause is a rat hole. It's not worth my capacity and efforts." Those are values – to be able to have a set of values by which to judge.
The Spirit of Understanding
The third torch was understanding. The torch of understanding refers to spiritual discernment. Ephesians 1:18: "The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened." The eyes and the concept of spirit are tied together here: "That you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the
riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints:" that you have discernment to know who you are as members of the royal family of God; and,
that you have discernment, therefore, to know who people are as the goats of Satan. That's a big thing – to have discernment to understand
people and to understand circumstances; to tell the difference; and, to know when you should stand up and sound off, and be ready to have a
shootout and a fight for the faith, and when you need to back off. That is discernment. The humanity of Jesus Christ had that discernment, not
because in His deity He was omniscient, but because in His humanity, the Spirit of God ministered to Him in this way, just as He does to every
spiritual Christian.
The Spirit of Counsel
Then there was the torch of counsel. This is divine viewpoint advice. This is the counseling of all counseling, and the information of all
information. This is the epitome of knowing what to do, and of being able to talk it over with someone who can give you really right sound advice.
Proverbs 19:20-21 put it this way: "Hear counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter end. There are many devices in a man's
heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord – that shall stand." After all the human counselors have tried to help you along with their
various crutches, it is what you get from God that will give you the information that you need. You're not going to hear voices, but I guarantee
you that if you walk along in life looking to the Lord to give you advice, your thinking will be channeled toward His thinking. And the more
doctrine you have in your human spirit, the more capable you will be of thinking that way. If you are pliable to Him, He will be taking your feet,
and almost without your knowing it (gently), you'll feel His hand in your back, pushing you in the direction you should go, and putting your feet
on the path that is the path for His advice for you to follow, whatever it is.
The Spirit of Might
Then there was the spirit of might to the humanity of Jesus Christ: the divine power to do God's will; the ability to do God's will; and, to hear
the Word of God, and respond to it, and act according to it. You won't just sit in church and listen to the Word of God, and not listen to these
principles relevant to human relationships and personal human conduct, and then violate it at some point, because some person comes along that you
want to have a relationship with, and you are ready to violate the truth of the Word of God just so you can get ahead; just so you can secure that
individual; or, just so you can secure some opportunity in life that you're pursuing. Ephesians 3:16: "That He would grant you, according to the
riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." That's what He's talking about – the flaming torch of
the spirit of might that you have the capacity to execute. You're not a helpless ninny. You know where life should be going; you know what you
should be; you know how you should be acting; and, you know what you should be doing. It's not that you just can't rise to it. The Scripture says
that it is He who wills in us to do His will. This is the might of the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of Knowledge
Then there is the torch of knowledge. This is Bible doctrine information. In John 16:13, we read, "Nevertheless, when He, the Spirit of Truth
(God the Holy Spirit) is come, He will guide you into all truth (into all divine viewpoint doctrine), for He shall not speak from Himself, but
whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come." It is the role of God the Holy Spirit to teach you doctrine.
I can give you the information, and I can give you the basics, but you're not going to learn it from me. I can assure you that. It is as you are
in the personal spiritual condition to be receptive to the information, that you will grab it as it goes by, and be able to profit by it. If you're
not in that spiritual condition; if you're negative; if you're indifferent; or, if you're in carnality, it'll just flow right past you, and you'll
never grasp it – the knowledge of Bible doctrine information.
It was the Lord Jesus Christ who awed the doctors of theology when He was a
12-year-old boy. He awed them by His knowledge of the Word of God, because from His earliest days as a sinless God-man, He was a sponge which was
absorbing knowledge and divine viewpoint truth. He was positive to it, and He had Bible doctrine information in His soul. He wasn't born with it.
He didn't amaze his parents when He started doing His first little baby babbling and said His first words. He didn't amazed His parents by suddenly
saying, "Hypothetic union." He didn't amaze His parents by saying, "Trinity." He didn't amaze His parents by saying, "Sanctification," or
"Justification." He didn't do any of that. Boy, wouldn't they have been amazed. He had to learn all that, just like your children have to learn it.
But the Spirit of God taught the humanity of this boy, so that by the time He was 12, He awed the people who were supposed to be infinitely
superior in knowledge, and they saw that this youngster not only had the information, but He had the discernment along with it, because He had the
flaming torch of the Spirit of God in discernment and in knowledge.
The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord
That's what these seven eyes represent in Jesus Christ to His humanity – the Holy Spirit. The last one is the spirit of the fear of the
Lord. That is reverential awe of the divine holiness. Acts 9:11: "And the Lord said to him, 'Arise and go into the street, which is called Straight,
and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, who is praying there.'" This is the incident of Paul finding himself blind after he
had been saved. Acts 9:31: "Then the churches had rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified, and walking in the fear of
the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied." The apostle Paul learned on the Damascus Road that he was a zero as a Pharisee.
He came into a knowledge of the Word of God, and then he returned to Tarsus, and he joined the spirit of the believers there, that they had the
fear of the Lord upon them, and they walked in that comforting hand of the Spirit of God, and they were multiplied as believers.
These seven ministries give Jesus Christ total capacity to judge and to lead the world in the millennium. Hebrews 4:13: "Neither is there any
creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." So, the Lord Jesus
Christ, with the seven eyes of the Holy Spirit in the form of these seven ministries, is given total capacity to be dealing with the tribulation
world.
Here's the picture of the total capacity of the humanity of Jesus Christ. On the divine side, that capacity is omniscience. It is perfectly
balanced on the human side by the seven spirits of the Holy Spirit. You and I don't have omniscience, but we have the same kind of thing in the
ministry of these seven spirits. So, the seven ministries of the Holy Spirit to the humanity of Jesus Christ are the counterpart to His omniscience
in His deity. Church-age believers all possess these same ministries of the Holy Spirit, which are provided for the benefit of the omniscience to
our humanity. We are told in the book of the Revelation that these seven spirits are sent forth throughout all the earth as the provision for the
Lord Jesus Christ in His exercising political authority over the whole earth, as one who possesses omnipotence and omniscience with the total
enablement that that gives His humanity.
Omniscience and omnipotence go together. We will close with several Scriptures to see how omniscience and omnipotence are inseparable. That's why
He has seven horns and seven eyes (Psalm 139:1-12, Psalm 147:5, Proverbs 15:3-11, Hebrews 4:13). Omniscience and omnipotence go together. This is
an amazing relationship – to think that the divine omniscience of the Son of God is balanced in our experience with our human capacity in
the form of these seven spirits of God ministering to us. So, what Jesus Christ has in terms of omniscience, we have enormous like-capacity in our
human level because of the ministry of the Spirit of God.
It all starts every Sunday morning and every Sunday night in those local services in the kind of instruction which is given wherever you go to
church, and in your response to what you hear – that's where it all begins. From then on, you move to the highest level of relationships
with the living God. That's what the members of the royal family of God must have, so that when they stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ,
they're going to look good in terms of how they've executed their priesthood; their ambassadorship; and, their role as soldiers of Jesus Christ.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1982
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