"...the seven Spirits who are before the throne..." Does God in heaven have "seven Spirits" as indicated in the verses below, or does this phrase refer to something else? Scripture itself defines for us just what the "seven Spirits of God" or the "...seven Spirits before the throne." are. In chapter 4:5, we read: "...Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." Rev. 5:6 tells us that the Lamb which stood before the throne had seven horns and seven eyes, "...which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." Again, in Rev. 1:12 - 20, we are told that John saw seven stars and seven golden lampstands, which Jesus defined as, "...the angels of the seven churches..." and "... the seven churches." (of Asia) respectively. In Rev. 3:1, Jesus linked together, "the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars:..." In the Great Commission, which Jesus gave to the church, it was directed to, " Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15) So what we see here is that the "...seven Spirits who are before the throne."and the "...seven Spirits of God." are synonymous with the "seven lamps of fire" and "seven golden lampstands"; and that these are actually a reference to the seven churches, which were sent out as witnesses into all the world. At that time, they were, in effect, the eyes or witnesses for the Lord Jesus in the world. The salutation from the "seven Spirits before the throne", in verse 4, is undoubtedly coming from Christians from those churches, who had departed this life, and were now standing before the throne in heaven. It is as if they are saying to John, "tell the churches in the world we are well and love them."