Oecumenius — on Rev 5:6 (Commentary on Revelation)

“He says, And I saw, in the midst of the throne and around the throne, a Lamb standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. The Lord is called the Lamb because of His innocence and His role as the provider. Just as the lamb is a provider during the annual wool-shearing, so too the Lord "opens His hand and fills every living creature with good will." (Ps. 144:16) Thus, prophecy itself also calls him in this way, through Isaiah saying that "he was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before the shearer, silent," (Isa. 53:7) and through Jeremiah, saying, "I, he says, knew not that I was leading a harmless lamb to be sacrificed." (Jer. 11:19) The lamb was not actually slain, but appeared as though it had been slain. For Christ overcame death by enduring it, and looted Hades of the souls held captive by it; thus, the death of Christ is not truly a permanent death, but a death brief in duration due to the resurrection. Since the Lord, after the resurrection, also bore the symbols of death, the marks of the nails (Jn. 20:25), the body made life-giving by His blood, as Isaiah says, speaking from the presence of the holy angels, "Why are your garments red, and your clothes like those of one treading in a winepress, full of the crushed grape?" (Isa. 63:2-3) Therefore, it appeared as though it had been slain in the vision of the apparition. The seven horns testify to his great power, since the number seven, being perfect, signifies completeness, as has been said before; and the horns are a symbol of strength according to the prophet who says: "I will crush all the horns of the wicked, but the horn of the righteous shall be exalted," (Ps. 74:11) and the prophet Habakkuk "holds the horn in his hand." (Hab. 3:4) The seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth, are interpreted for us by Isaiah, who says that "a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and godliness, and a spirit filled with the fear of God shall rest upon him." (Isa. 11:2-3) The spirits, that is, the spiritual gifts, were indeed sent to every person from God, yet no one accepted them as having labored briefly in their journey toward all, to find rest in Christ. And what happened was superior in both word and understanding. For the spirits that he himself sent down from above as God, he himself received them below as a man, since it was both this and that. To him belongs the glory forever and ever, Amen.”