Thus far, we have seen three items: the throne, the One sitting on the throne, and the seven Spirits of God burning as a flame before the throne. The fourth item is “a Lamb standing” (5:6). Around the throne are the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures. The twenty-four elders represent the angels. In God’s creation, angels are the most ancient ones. The four living creatures represent all other living creatures. Among these are the lampstands, and the Lamb is the focus. The throne is the center and the Lamb is the focus. The Lamb is not only in the scene but in the center of the scene. He becomes the role at the center as the focus, and the seven lamps burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits before the throne (Rev. 1:4), are His seven eyes (Rev. 5:6). Therefore, their location must be His face. The seven Spirits have also been sent forth into all the earth, running “to and fro through the whole earth” (Zech. 4:10). This gives us a heavenly view concerning the earth with the churches.
Some believers consider the book of Revelation even as “a fairy tale,” so they put this book aside. We, however, should consider the book of Revelation in a serious way, since this concerns our destiny. Furthermore, to add something to the book of Revelation or to take away something is also quite serious. If anyone adds to the words of Revelation, “God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book” (22:18). Also, if you cut off any of the words of this book, you will be cut off from the tree of life and from the New Jerusalem (22:19). The view which I have presented to you is something which we need to see since this concerns our eternal destiny. We have seen the Father sitting on the throne, God the Spirit burning before the throne, and God the Son as the slain Lamb standing there. We have also seen that the seven lamps burning before the throne of God, which are the seven Spirits of God, are actually the seven eyes of the Lamb.
This view is economical because this is not a matter of the Triune God’s existence, but something related to His move. Economically speaking, the seven Spirits are the eyes of the Son. Essentially speaking, the Father is the Father, the Son is the Son, and the Spirit is the Spirit for existence. Functionally speaking, however, the essential Spirit becomes the functional eyes of the Son. The key to define the divine Trinity is to see both the essential and the economical Trinity. Revelation touches God’s administration and the entire divine administration is a matter of God’s economy. Therefore, whatever this book reveals to us concerning the divine Trinity is economical not essential. The traditional teaching of the divine Trinity stresses that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three separate Persons. The last book of the Bible, however, shows us that the Spirit has become the eyes of the Son. We cannot say that the eyes of a person are another person. This shows us that the traditional teaching of the divine Trinity is short of the adequate and full knowledge of the Bible. Economically speaking, the Spirit of God in God’s administration is the eyes of the administrating Son. This is for function, not for existence. In order for us to do anything we need our eyes. This shows us that, in the divine administration, Christ needs the Spirit to be His eyes.
The view we have seen shows us how God is going to carry out His universal administration. In order to carry out His administration God needs an executor and this Executor is this wonderful Person, the slain Lamb. The all-inclusive, excellent, marvelous, mysterious, and wonderful One is the Executor of God’s administration. John saw the view that in the entire universe no one was qualified or worthy to carry out God’s administration except this One (Rev. 5:4-6). Because He is qualified and worthy, the seven seals were handed over to Him. This One is qualified to open the seven seals, to carry out God’s economy. The way He carries out God’s economy is by the seven Spirits as His eyes. Without the seven Spirits, Christ does not have the eyes. Christ is the very focal Executor of God’s economy, yet He needs the seven Spirits as His eyes to carry out God’s economy. This view leads us eventually to the focus and to the eyes of the focus, Christ and the Spirit.
Many of us have a “dictionary” concerning Christ which is quite small. Christ, however, needs a universally great dictionary to define and describe Him. The entire sixty-six books of the Bible are needed to describe and define such a Christ. This is also true concerning the Spirit. In some people’s dictionary, the Spirit is merely the “Holy Ghost.” The full revelation of the Holy Scriptures, however, reveals that the Spirit is the all-inclusive, compound, processed, life-giving, indwelling, sevenfold Spirit. I must testify that every time I speak concerning the Triune God, Christ, and the church, I have the sense that there is always something more to speak. My “dictionary” concerning these items has been getting bigger and bigger throughout the years.