Introduction:
The importance of the Holy Spirit is seen in the
fact that His first appearance in Scripture is in the second verse of Genesis 1
and the last is found in the early verses of the closing paragraph of the book
of Revelation 22. In between these two points of the Bible His Divine Person is
referred to many times. The Spirit plays a significant role in the book of
Revelation. The book itself begins and ends with references to the Spirit. In
this closing book of the Bible, there are various fascinating aspects of His
work to be considered regarding the importance of the Person, presence and
power of the Holy Spirit. What significant aspects have the book of Revelation
talks about the spirit? What are the roles played by the Holy Spirit? This
paper tends to study on the pneumatlogy of the book of Revelation.
1. Pneumatology
in the Book of Revelation:
The references to the spirit of God in the
Apocalypse can be divided into three categories. Firstly, there are four
occurrences of the phrase ἐν
πνεύματι (Rev.1:10, 4:2,
17:3, 21:10). Secondly, there are ten occurrences to the spirit (Rev.2:7, 11,
17, 29, 3:6, 13, 22, 14:13, 19:10, 22:17). Thirdly, there are four references
to the seven spirits (Rev.1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6).[1]
1.1.
The Spirit of Vision:
Under this spirit of vision
we will look at the four occurrences of the phrase ‘in the spirit’ (ἐν πνεύματι).[2] In early Christian
literature the phrase ἐν πνεύματι commonly means ‘in the spirit’s control.’ Frequently
it denotes temporary experience of the spirit’s power in prophetic speech or
revelation without specifying any particular mode of the spirit’s operation. In
Rev.1:10, 4:2, the expression ἐν
πνεύματι is best
understood as a technical term for visionary’s experience of ‘rapture’ by the
Spirit. John remains a free agent throughout his visions. But the visionary
experience is nonetheless necessarily a suspension of normal consciousness.
John was ἐν πνεύματι in
the sense that his normal sensory experience was replaced by visions and
auditions given him by the Spirit.[3]
The context requires that Rev.4:2 refer to John’s rapture to heaven. This is an
experience which the apocalyptic seers commonly described in more elaborate
terms, and it may be significant that John prefers an expression which
attributes it to the agency of the Spirit. The idea of the Spirit of God as the
agent of visionary experience is occasional in the Old Testament (Num.24:2).
More important are the prominence of the Spirit in Ezekiel’s experiences of
visionary rapture (Eze.3:2, 14, 8:3, 11:1 etc) and the specification of dreams
and visions as the manifestation of the eschatological outpouring of the Spirit
in Joel 2:28. In later Jewish literature, the Spirit inspires prophetic speech
and visions.[4]
The language of Rev.17:3, 21:10 are compared with passages from Jewish and
early Christian writings.[5]
The closest parallels to these verses of Revelation are Ezekiel 37:1 and Bel
36., and these suggests that ἐν
πνεύματι may be
instrumental in Revelation 17:3, 21:10. John’s usage is seen to be conventional
terminology for visionary transportation obviously modeled on Ezekiel 40:2, he
prefers ἐν πνεύματι to ‘in visions of God’ which is found in that verse
of Ezekiel.[6]
John’s stress on the Spirit’s agency in his visionary experience is a little
stronger than appears to have been normal in the Jewish apocalyptics. It is
clearly seen that the whole revelation came to John in spirit ‘ἐν πνεύματι’
what we heard and saw was the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to him
to show to his servants what must soon take place. Experiences of rapture to
heaven and visionary transportation were not uncommon in Jewish apocalyptic
mysticism and pagan religious experience. But in the claim that it took place
under the control of the Spirit and came to him through Jesus Christ from God.
In primitive Christianity prophetic vision ἐν πνεύματι
was a manifestation of the outpouring of the Spirit in the last days (Joel
2:28). John’s vision was to do so for the seven churches of Asia in their
specific historical circumstances in the reign of Domitian. They were to show
the meaning in those circumstances of living towards the coming of Christ.[7]
1.2. The Spirit of Prophecy:
In post-biblical Judaism the Spirit is especially
the Spirit of prophecy, the Spirit who speaks through the prophets. In
Revelation also the Spirit is almost exclusively the Spirit of prophecy. The
Spirit of prophecy speaks through the Christian prophets bringing the word of
the exalted Christ to his people on earth and directing the prayers of the
churches to their heavenly Lord. These are the special functions of the
Christian prophets, whom Revelation distinguishes as a special group within the
churches (Rev.11:18, 16:6, 18:20, 24, 22:9). The Spirit in the Apocalypse has
sometimes been felt to be deficient in that the Spirit is only the Spirit of
prophecy rather than moral or life giving power in Christian life. However it
should be remarked that the Spirit of prophecy is envisaged as having life
giving and life changing effects. For the Spirit brings to the churches the
powerful word of Christ, rebuking, encouraging, promising and threatening,
touching and drawing the hearts, minds and consciences of its hearers,
directing the lives and the prayers of the Christian communities towards the
coming of Christ.[8]
There is a sense in which the church as a whole has a prophetic vocation. One
reason for suspecting is the relationship between prophecy and the phrase, ‘the
witness Jesus bore.’ Thus when Rev.19:10 says that ‘the witness of Jesus is the
Spirit of prophecy,’ this statement must mean that the witness Jesus bore is
the content of Spirit inspired prophecy. It is also therefore the content of
John’s own prophecy, the Apocalypse itself (Rev.1:2). The word of God which
John’s prophecy communicates is attested primarily by Jesus himself
(Rev.22:20), as also by the angel who communicates it to John (Rev.22:16) and
by John (Rev.1:2). This word of God is also that to which Jesus bore witness in
his earthly life (Rev.1:5) and to which his followers now bear witness in the
world (Rev.1:9). Those who bear witness are not just prophets (Rev.19:10) but
Christians in general (Rev.12:17).[9]
Yet in Rev.11:3, the faithful church in its witness to the world is portrayed
under the image of ‘my two witnesses’ who ‘prophesy’ (cf. Rev.11:10), which
seems that prophecy and witness are equated. Therefore, the characterization of
the Christian community as those who bear the witness of Jesus seems to
attribute a role to the whole church. The Spirit speaks through the prophets to
the churches and through the churches to the world.[10]
1.3. The
Seven Spirits:
Another category of references to the Spirit in
Revelation are those to the seven Spirits (Rev.1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6). The
identity of these Spirits in Rev.1:4 ‘the seven Spirit’s who are before God’s
throne,’ have sometimes been identified not as the divine Spirit but as the
seven principal angels who in Jewish angelology, stand in the presence of God
in heaven. But Revelation itself refers to these seven angels (Rev.8:2) in
terms quite different from the way it refers to the seven Spirits. Although the
term Spirit could certainly be used of angels, it rarely has this meaning in
early Christian literature and never in Revelation.[11] The Spirits should be
understood as a symbol for the divine Spirit, which John has chosen on the
basis of his exegesis of Zechariah 4:1-14, a passage which lies behind not only
the four references to the seven Spirits but also the description of the two
witnesses in Rev.11:4. It seems to have been the key Old Testament passage for
John’s understanding of the role of the Spirit in the divine activity of the
world. In Zachariah’s vision he is shown a golden lampstand on which are seven
lamps. Beside the lampstand are two olive trees (Zach.4:3). Zachariah ask about
the identity of the seven lamps and olive trees. These seven lamps are the eyes
of the Lord which range through the whole earth (Zach.4:10). John took this
sequence to mean that the seven lamps symbolize the seven eyes of the Yahweh
which are the divine Spirit.[12] In
John’s vision of heaven he sees seven lamps burning before the divine throne
which he identifies as the seven Spirits (Rev.4:5). As the seven lamps before
the throne in heaven, the seven Spirits belong to the divine being. This is why
the reference to them in the Trinitarian blessing of 1:4-5 is also to the seven
Spirits who are before his throne.’[13]
However if these references associate the seven
Spirits with God, in Rev.5:6 they are very closely associated with the Lamb who
is said to have seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven Spirits of God
sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:6 identifies the seven Spirits with
both the seven horns and the seven eyes of the Lamb. The connection between
God’s all seeing eyes and his power, John makes explicit by adding seven horns,
the symbol of strength, to the seven eyes. Likewise, in revelation, the seven
horns are the divine power set against the horns of the dragon and the beasts
(Rev.12:3, 13:1, 17:12-13).[14]
The seven horns and the seven eyes belong to the description of the Lamb when
he first appears in Revelation as the slaughtered Lamb who has conquered
(Rev.5:5-6). They represent the power of his victory. The seven Spirits are
sent out into all the earth to make his victory effective throughout the world.
This can be related with the two witnesses in Rev.11:3-13. The relationship
depends again on allusions to Zachariah 4, which John interprets in Rev.11:3-4.
The two olive trees of Zachariah’s vision are the two anointed ones who stand
by the Lord (Zech.4:14). Revelation’s two witnesses are the two olive trees and
the two lampstands that stand before the Lord (Rev.11:4). The implication is
that the seven Spirits are the power of the church’s prophetic witness to the
world symbolize by the ministry of the two witnesses. This witness is suggested
by the phrase John borrows from Zechariah that they stand before the Lord of
the earth, which also relates their universal witness to Christ’s lordship of
the world. So it is through their prophetic witness that the seven Spirits are
sent out into all the earth.[15]
2. The
Unique Ministry of the Spirit to the Churches:
One important function and ministry of the Spirit
is to communicate the messages of God and Jesus through the gift of prophecy (Rev.1:10;
4:2; 17:3; 19:10; 21:10). The Spirit speaks to the church and each of the
messages to the churches contains the phrase “He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev.2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). These
messages are exhortatory and usually contain promises or revelations about
God’s plan for the churches. In Revelation we see Jesus speaking to His church
through Jesus and the Spirit, the voice and presence of Christ within the
church. He blesses the church (Rev.14:13), gives believers grace and peace (Rev.1:4),
and is directly involved in the mission of the church (Rev.22:17). The church
exists through the power and presence of the Spirit.[16] The
sevenfold exhortation emphasises two particular matters; first, although the
letter has been addressed to the whole assembly, it is incumbent upon each
believer in the local assembly to give heed to the searching ministry, and
second, the message is the voice of the Spirit of God to all the assemblies.
These two matters carry great weight to any exercised believer, it is ever
important in all public reading and ministry of the Word of God that each
individual should pay heed to it. The phrase is emphasising that the human ear
is the instrument through which the message is received, but the exhortation is
toward the active exercise of truly hearing and responding to what is being
said by the Spirit of God.[17]
3. The Throne and the Spirit:
In Revelation the Spirit is not described as
sitting on the throne of God. There are four main reasons for this. First, the
emphasis placed on Christ sitting on the throne with God is based on the fact
that He overcame the forces of evil. Jesus ascended to heaven and was granted
the honor of sitting on the throne as coregent with God (Rev.5:12, 13). Second,
the Spirit is indeed associated with the throne. He stands before it (Rev.4:5),
and when the Lamb stands before the throne He is described as having the seven
Spirits of God, that is to say the fullness of the Spirit (Rev.5:6).[18]
Third, even though the Spirit stands before the throne, He does not participate
in the adoration of God and the Lamb. Only the four living beings and the 24
elders prostrate themselves before them and worship (Rev.4:9, 10). Fourth, in
Revelation the function of the Spirit within the divine economy of salvation is
not to sit on the throne, but to be present in the world and with the church.
He is “the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Rev.5:6). He has
become a Servant of God, standing before Him to obey His command (Rev.1:4).[19]
4. The
Spirit and the Eschatological Perspective:
The eschatological activity of the Spirit in the
world derives from the victory of Christ in his death and resurrection
(Rev.5:6). So it is towards the fulfilment of this
victory in the eschatological future that the Spirit’s activity in and through the
churches is directed. This eschatological role of the Spirit’s activity in the
Apocalypse is not simply that of predicting the events of the end. It is also
to enable the Christians of the seven churches to bear witness of Jesus and
this could be done by directing their lives towards the coming of the Lord. The
point here is not to enable them to foresee the future but to enable them to
see their present from the perspective of the future.[20]
We will see two passages to illustrate in which the Spirit is specifically
mentioned.
4.1. Revelation 22:17
In this verse we can see that the Spirit and the
bride are mentioned. The bride is the church which the Lamb will find ready for
his marriage when he comes. The bride is the church seen from the perspective
of the parousia. The church which prays for the Lord’s
coming in Rev.22:17 is therefore the eschatological church, the church which
will be at the parousia. In this
prayer it is led by the voice of the Spirit speaking through the prophets, for
the function of the Spirit is to direct the church towards their eschatological
reality. The hearer of the prophecy is then invited to join in this prayer of
the Spirit and the Bride, and as he joins his own voice to that of the Spirit
the eschatological church is becoming present reality already (in the
congregations at Ephesus, Smyrna or wherever). By eliciting this response the
Spirit is making ready the Bride for the Bridegroom’s return.[21]
Christian life must be lived under the Spirit’s direction towards the
eschatological future out of which the Lord is coming. People who join the
Spirit’s prayer for the parousia are directing their lives in faith towards
that promise.[22]
4.2. Revelation 11:3-13
The reference to the Spirit here is in 11:8 where it
refers to Spirit-given perception. The story of the witnesses here in
Rev.11:3-13 is to be read neither as simple prediction nor as allegory nor even
as parable. Rather it is a story through which the churches are to perceive
imaginatively, through the perspective granted them by the Spirit, their
vocation and their destiny. Like Rev.22:17,
the story functions as a summons towards the eschatological future.[23] The
role of the Spirit in directing Christian life towards the parousia and the
role of the Spirit in inspiring those who bear the witness of Jesus come
together in this story which crystallizes one of the major messages of the
prophecy. There is a dimension to the story of the witnesses. It is clear that
it follows not only precedents from Old Testament history but also more closely
the history of Jesus, who shared the fate of the prophets before him. Here in
this passage, the witnesses’ resurrection after three and a half days and their
ascension in a cloud deliberately recall Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. In
this way the story permits a vivid representation of the faithful witness’s
identification with Jesus in his witness and his death, and also in his
vindication.[24]
5. The
Role of the Spirit in Revelation:
One
must be able first to understand the symbolic language in which some of the
descriptions of the role of the Spirit are expressed. By giving the symbolic
value of the number seven in Revelation, one can understand the attempt to
portray the perfection of the Spirit by its seven-fold representation.[25]
The setting is symbolic in Rev.3:1, where the seven Spirits of God are
paralleled with the seven stars in Jesus’ right hand, as well as in Rev.4:5,
where the seven Spirits of God are represented as seven lamps of fire burning
before the throne, and in Rev.5:6, where the seven-fold Spirit of God is
represented as seven eyes on the Lamb which are sent out into all the earth.[26] In
Rev.3:18, 23 we have seen how the eyes of the Son of God are significant for
their ability to search the mind and the heart. This is the work of the Spirit,
as indicated in Rev.5:6 and its allusions to 2 Chron. 16:9 and Zech 4:10. Revelation
brings all of this together to depict the function of the seven-fold Spirit of
God in the presence of the Lord of all the earth.[27]
The
function of the Spirit in Revelation is to represent God and Christ to the
people of earth, to make God’s work effective on earth, to bring the light of
truth to the world, to engender prophecy and faithful witness, to search the
hearts and minds of people, and to bring conviction of truth forcefully to the
mind. The appeal is given at the end of each of the letters to the seven
churches, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the
churches” (Rev.2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). The Spirit becomes the voice of
conscience, the voice of Christ spoken internally to the heart and mind. He is
depicted as searching the heart and mind.[28] In
the message of Christ to the church of Sardis, He introduces Himself as the One
who has the seven Spirits of God (Rev.3:1) because the church of Sardis is
nearly dead, and it is the Spirit who gives life to the dead. The
Spirit is called “the spirit of life” that is to say, He is life and He gives
life. In the Bible life is identified with God and Jesus.[29]
In Rev 22:17, the Spirit and the Bride invite everyone who is thirsty to come
and take of the water of life freely. The water of life flows from the throne
of God and of the Lamb (Rev.22:1) and brings life wherever it goes (v. 2; cf.
Ezek 47:1, 9, 12). In this invitation we see the work of the Holy Spirit in
appealing to the hearts of people to come to life, which God offers freely from
His throne of grace and mercy.[30]
The
Spirit is represented several times in Revelation in its function of communicating
a prophetic message through visions and auditions to the mind of the prophet.
The Spirit also speaks in Rev.14:13 to confirm the voice that comes from heaven
regarding those who die in the Lord, adding, “…so that they may rest from their
labours, for their deeds follow with them.” This testimony about the role of
the Spirit is in harmony with the rest of Scripture about His role in
communicating God’s messages to the hearts and minds of people on earth. This
role is equivalent in Revelation to the role which Jesus described for Him in
John 14- 16. We can see a work of comforting and counselling, of reminding and
convicting, of guiding and teaching, of doing the work of Christ in His absence
to help to prepare His followers for the judgment and for Christ’s return to reward
those who have been faithful to Him. As the Communicator of God’s will and His
grace to humanity, the Holy Spirit does not exalt Himself, but He exalts the
Father and the Son. Yet, the Spirit is portrayed as a full member of the
heavenly Trinity.[31]
6. Holy
Spirit in relation to Indian Christian Theology:
In
stating the books of The Theology of Chenchiah,
Thangasamy said that Chenchiah goes beyond all the traditional, dogmatic
categories that rent the Church, and completely revolutionises the idea of the
Holy Spirit. For him, the Holy Spirit transcends all historical limitations and
surpasses all geographical boundaries and becomes the Paramapurusha and Antharyamin,
the universal dweller in the hearts of men. The Holy Spirit meets
the spiritual thirst and cravings of the age-long need of the human heart.[32] This
has some similar concepts on the Holy Spirit in the book of Revelation. In Rev
22:17, the Spirit invite everyone who is thirsty to come and take of the water
of life freely. Moreover, the Spirit becomes the voice of conscience, the voice
of Christ spoken internally to the heart and mind. He is depicted as searching
the heart and mind.[33] Thangasamy
continue to say that, in the Church the Holy Spirit revitalises its whole
thinking by equipping the church with the gifts to go into the world and carry
on a challenging ministry. The Church as the body of Christ is indwelt by the
Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit gives a new impetus and breathes new life into
church.[34]
Likewise, the ministry of the Spirit is
to communicate the messages of God and Jesus through the gift of prophecy (Rev.1:10;
4:2; 17:3; 19:10; 21:10). These messages are exhortatory and usually contain
promises or revelations about God’s plan for the churches.[35]
It is the Holy Spirit who inspires and equipped the believers to bore witnesses
to the testimony of Jesus Christ to spread His Good news to the whole world.
Conclusion:
It is
noteworthy that the Spirit plays a significant role in the book of Revelation. The
book itself begins and ends with references to the Spirit in Rev. 1:4 and Rev.22:17.
We have also seen that the
Spirit of God as the agent of visionary experience is occasional in the Old
Testament (Num.24:2). More important are the prominence of the Spirit in
Ezekiel’s experiences of visionary rapture (Eze.3:2, 14, 8:3, 11:1 etc) and the
specification of dreams and visions as the manifestation of the eschatological
outpouring of the Spirit in Joel 2:28. It is the Spirit that inspires prophetic
speech and visions. The Spirit in Revelation is also the spirit of
prophecy. The Spirit of prophecy speaks through the Christian prophets bringing
the word of the exalted Christ to his people on earth and directing the prayers
of the churches to their heavenly Lord. It is also to be noted that Revelation
mention of the seven spirits is unique. The implication is that the seven
Spirits are the power of the church’s prophetic witness to the world symbolize
by the ministry of the two witnesses. The Spirit also communicates the message
of God to the churches. We also notice that the Spirit has a role in the
eschatological perspectives in a way that the eschatological activity of the
Spirit in the world derives from the victory of Christ in his death and
resurrection. Finally, the function of the Spirit in Revelation
is to represent God and Christ to the people of earth, to make God’s work
effective on earth, to bring the light of truth to the world, to engender
prophecy and faithful witness, to search the hearts and minds of people, and to
bring conviction of truth forcefully to the mind.
------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Baker, J.R. “The Holy Spirit in Revelation.” In Interpretation (2006): 1-8.
Bauckham, R. “The Role of the Spirit in the Apocalypse.” In
The Evangelical Quarterly 52/2 (April/June,
1980): 1-14.
_______. The Theology of the Book of the New
Testament. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1993.
_______. The Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book
of Revelation. New York: T&T Clark,
1993.
Bruce, F.F. “The Spirit in the Apocalypse.” In Christ
and Spirit in the New Testament. Edited by
B. Lindars and S.S. Smalley. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973.
Davis, J.J. Biblical
Numerology: A Basic Study of the Use of Numbers in the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1968.
Fiorenza, E.S. “The eschatology and composition of
the Apocalypse.” In The Catholic Bible Quarterly
30 (1968): 561-563.
Hill, D. “Prophecy
and Prophets in the Revelation of St. John.” In New Testament Studies 18 (1972):
401-418.
Reynolds, E. “The Trinity in the Book of Revelation.” In Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society 17/1 (Spring, 2006): 55-72.
Singh, B. The Holy Spirit: His work and Significance
as revealed in the Book of Revelation. Hyderabad:
Hebron, 1999.
Swete, H.B. The Apocalypse of St. John. London:
McMillan, 1997.
Thangasamy, D.A. The
Theology of Chenchiah. Bangalore: CISRS/YMCA, 1966.
[1] Richard
Baukham, The Climax of Prophecy: Studies
on the Book of Revelation (New York: T&T Clark, 1993), 150.
[2] The
references are Rev.1:10, 4:2, 17:3, 21:10. However though in each case the
references is to John’s experience as a prophetic visionary, the precise
meaning is not the same in each case. See Baukham, Climax of Prophecy, 150.
[4] E.g. are
1 Enoch 91:1, Jub 25:14, 31:12, Pseudo-Philo, LAB 18:11, 32:14, 4 Ezra 14:22,
Sir 48:24).
[5] Some of
the comparison passages from the Jewish and early Christian writings are 1
Kings 18:12, 2 Kings 2:16, Ezekiel 3:12, 14, 8:3, 11:1, 24, 37:1, 43:5, Bel 36,
2 Baruch 6:3, Acts 8:39-40, Gospel of Hebrews 2:12, Hermas, visions 1:13,
2:1:1.
[11] Bakht
Singh, The Holy Spirit: His work and
Significance as revealed in the Book of Revelation (Hyderabad: Hebron,
1999), 22.
[13] Richard
Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of the
New Testament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 111.
[20] Richard J.
Bauckham, “The Role of the Spirit in the Apocalypse,” in EQ 52/2 (April/June, 1980): 9.
[25] John J. Davis, Biblical Numerology: A Basic Study of the
Use of Numbers in the Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker, 1968), 116.
[26] F. F. Bruce,
“The Spirit in the Apocalypse,” in Christ and Spirit in the New Testament
(ed. Barnabas Lindars and Stephen S. Smalley; Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1973), 599.
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