He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
18and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.
The book of Revelation has enigmatic references to "seven spirits of God"[1] in Revelation 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; and 5:6, and so it is difficult to know exactly what this identification means. Revelation 1:4 says that the seven spirits are before the throne of God. Revelation 3:1 indicates that Jesus Christ has the seven spirits of God. Revelation 4:5 identifies the seven spirits of God with seven burning lamps that are before the throne. Last, Revelation 5:6 connects to the seven spirits, who are "sent out into all the earth."
There seems to be three different ways that the phrase "seven spirits of God" may be interpreted from the most likely interpretation, in my opinion, to the least likely, but one cannot be dogmatic with the obscure expression. First, John may be referring to the usage in Isaiah 11:2 that says, "Yahweh’s Spirit will rest on him: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh."
The seven references to the "spirit" may speak of attributes of God possessed by the Spirit of God, His identity with Yahweh, wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and fear of Yahweh.
The second option is that the "seven spirits" uses "seven," the number of completeness and perfection, to accentuate to the Spirit of Yahweh's perfection.[2]
Last of all, the "seven spirits" may refer to seven angelic beings, as is discussed in the book of Revelation (4:6-9; 5:6-14; 19:4-5), or to cherubim and seraphim.
[1] See the study of the "Spirit of God" in the Old Testament beginning at Genesis 1:2, and in the New Testament beginning at Matthew 1:18.
[2] For discussion of use of numbers in the Bible, see John J. Davis, Biblical Numerology - A Basic Study Of The Use Of Numbers In The Bible.