Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
Wow. It seemed so obvious to me. John would assume that all his readers knew...
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In all due fairness, the idea, that the seven spirits before the throne of Revelation 1:4 are actually the seven angels of 8:2, is in the lunatic fringe. Which is why I put it here on "Alternative vews." I mean, I wouldn't have put it out there on a "Witness Lee discussion forum", because though Lee looked at the question, he did so superficially, and he didn't depart from the standard explanation. Obviously I am departing from the standard explanation.
And secondly, maybe I have just argued myself into a corner and now I have an emotional investment in it, and what is "obvious" to me isn't so to others; do I have some unique insight, or did I go off the deep end? I see how on these forums you can take a position and more or less use it to isolate yourself, and I don't think that's from God. God shepherds us together, and doesn't separate us on islands of warring ideologies. So really, I don't care about my argument here. God loved us, God sent His Son, that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Good enough. The Good News. The idea of "The Angel of the LORD" being "The Spirit of Christ" is arguably esoteric. Not crucial.
But, as I have noted elsewhere, there are three falls, clearly referenced repeatedly in the Bible. First the Fall of Satan. Then the Fall of Man. Then the Fall of the Angels. The third fall, I argue, is intrinsically tied with the second, and when Jesus came to Earth he didn't just teach stuff. He dealt with the second and especially the third falls. All those people, rolling in the ground, screaming, with the evil spirits coming out, are quite probably tied to the third fall. And ignoring it all, because it doesn't fit our theology, leaves me with a Bible with a lot of glaring holes. And dealing with it, as I have tried to do, (for me) fills those holes.
Again, who were the servants that the Roman Centurion was referencing in Luke 7? "He sends His commands to the earth, and His word runs swiftly" (Psa 147). So I argue my position not because it is right but because it seems more satisfactory than the standard model. To me it fits the text better.