When Moses led the children of Israel into the wilderness, he saw the need of a sanctuary which would symbolize to the primitive thought of the people the continual presence with them of the God of their fathers. So he caused to be constructed a tabernacle, a portable tentlike structure. He symbolized the presence of God in the tabernacle by a golden candlestick with six branches. Upon the central stem and the six branches seven lamps were placed. Thus early in the progress of monotheism was God's complete nature symbolized.
There are several other references in the Bible to the candlestick with its seven lamps, notably in Revelation 4:5 is the unequivocal statement that "there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." Thus the Bible definitely indicates the sevenfold nature of God, but it remained for Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, to formulate the seven synonyms for God and ascribe to them their distinct offices. Only future ages will be able to estimate the importance to humanity of this advanced revelation of the nature of Deity.
On page 115 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy first lists these names under the marginal heading "Divine synonyms." The list reads: "God: Divine Principle, Life, Truth, Love, Soul, Spirit, Mind." In a later chapter, called "Recapitulation," she further defines God in terms of these synonyms and qualifies them with the adjectives incorporeal, divine, supreme, infinite (p. 465). Again, in the Glossary these synonyms are given in two places: first on page 587 and secondly in the definition of Mind on page 591. It is noteworthy that included with the seven in the latter citation is the word substance; but while the seven synonyms are capitalized, as elsewhere, the word substance is not, thus showing that while Mrs. Eddy wished to show the substantial nature of Mind, she did not regard substance as a synonym for Deity.
