Chapter - Numbers

There is no denying that numbers play a significant role in the Bible. Patterns have even been found in the text when taking a closer look. For example, the Israelites were in the wilderness forty years. Jesus was in the wilderness forty days. Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days, Jesus was in the belly of the earth three days. There are four major prophets in the Old Testament and four major evangelists in the New Testament. There are twelve minor prophets in the Old Testament and twelve apostles in the New Testament.

In the Hebrew and Greek languages themselves are numbers. Each letter has a numerical equivalent. So, where we see numbers in our English Bibles, in the original languages they are actually letters. This can be significant when discovering that the anti-Christ’s number is 666. The early Christians would have understood that the name of the anti-Christ, using each letter’s numerical value, would add up to 666. Another example is Jesus’ name. When the values are added together it equals 888. As one might imagine, this numerical encoding can lead to some really interesting number crunching. Speculation and theories about embedded numerical codes holding secret prophesies abound. Most all of it is nonsense.

In this chapter, clarification is only given to the numbers explicitly found in the Bible.

ONE – 1. It is the number of unity. As stated in Deuteronomy 6:4 (called the Shema), “the Lord is one.” While He is made up of three personas, (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), these three are united as one God. Each persona of the Trinity is of the same substance.

TWO – 1. It is the number of division. 2. There are two natures of Jesus. He was both fully man (human) and fully divine (God). 3. It is the number of sexes, male and female. 4. It is the number of testaments (Old and New) in the Bible. 5. Two vessels are mentioned in Romans 9. One vessel was made for honor and one vessel was made for dishonor. 6. There are two categories each person falls into, either a sheep (believer) or a goat (non-believer) (Matthew 25:33). 7. It is the number of ages, the current age and the age to come (Matthew 12:32).

THREE – 1. It is the number of divine perfection. While God is one, He is made up of three personas: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is called the Trinity. 2. It is the number of offices Jesus fulfilled: prophet, priest and king. 3. It is the number of God’s divine attributes: omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. 4. It is the number of gifts brought by the wise men. 5. The number of parts to the temple: outer court, inner court and Holy of Holies.

FOUR – 1. It is the number of creation. It is the number of compass directions (north, south, east and west) as well as the earth’s seasons (winter, spring, summer and fall). 2. The number of major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. 3. The number of Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; who each wrote one of the four Gospels. 4. The fourth commandment is the first commandment that deals with the earth. 5. The fourth clause in the Lord’s prayer is the first that deals with the earth. 6. Four materials were used in the construction of the tabernacle (Exodus 36). 7. The number of horsemen of the apocalypse (Revelation 6).

FIVE – 1. The number of wounds Jesus received on the cross. 2. The number of stones David picked up to fight Goliath (I Samuel 17:40). 3. The number of ingredients used to make anointing oil (Exodus 30:23-25).

SIX – 1. It is the number of imperfection being one less than the number of perfection, seven. 2. The number of days God took to create the world and all that was in it. 3. The day on which man was created. 4. The day the serpent was created.

SEVEN – 1. It is the number of spiritual perfection. 2. The number of days in a week. 3. The number of seals revealed in Revelation 6. 4. The number of trumpets blown (Revelation 8 & 9). 5. The number of promises made to seven churches (Revelation 2 - 3). 6. The number of gifts given by the Holy Spirit. 7. The number of branches on the menorah candlestick.

EIGHT – 1. It is the number of new beginnings because it is the start of a new week. 2. The number of people on Noah’s ark (2 Peter 2:5). 3. Eight days after birth Israelite boys were to be circumcised. 4. The number of covenants God made with Israel.

NINE – 1. The number of Greek words that are derived from the Greek word for judgment (dikay). 2. The number of times the word “bottomless pit” (abbussos) appears in the Bible. 3. The number of classes of angels. 4. The number of gifts given to us by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).

TEN – 1. It is the number of divine perfection. 2. The number of commandments given to Moses (Exodus 20). 3. The number of plagues God poured out on Egypt (Exodus 7 – 12).

TWELVE – 1. The number of tribes of Israel. 2. The number of minor prophets in the Old Testament. 3. The number of Jesus’ apostles. 4. The number of foundations supporting the New Jerusalem city, the number of its gates, and the number of angels at each gate (Revelation 21:10-14). 5. The number of months in a year.

THIRTY - The number of pieces of silver paid to Judas for betraying Jesus to the authorities.

THIRTEEN – 1. It is the number of the betrayal. 2. The number of people present at the last supper.

THIRTY-THREE - It is the number of years Jesus lived on this earth.

FORTY – 1. It is the number of testing or trial. 2. The number of days it rained upon the earth while Noah was in the ark (Genesis 7:8). 3. The number of years Israel wandered in the wilderness (Deut. 8:2-5). 4. The number of days Moses spent on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:18). 5. The number of days after Jonah arrived in Nineveh before it was destroyed (Jonah 3:4). 6. The number of days Jesus spent in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2).

SIX, SIX, SIX – It is the number of the anti-Christ (Revelation 13:18).

ONE THOUSAND – It is the number of the millennium (Revelation 20:1-7).

FOOTNOTES
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