With apologies, this is one of the longest posts I’ve ever shared. I did not intend or expect it would morph into something so extensive, but then I underestimated what I would learn as I researched the topic of Biblical numerology. That being said, I pray you still read it, and I pray that it will expand your appreciation of our great God.
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By God’s good grace, I’ve reached 100!
No, that’s not my age. (Though, depending on the day or the activity, it might be how old I feel.) Nor is it (or ever was it!) my batting average. I always managed to hit better than that.
What it does define, however, is the number of posts I’ve shared on this website since I began this endeavor in April of 2020. This post is actually number 100. I never would have dreamed I’d reach this number. But by God’s good grace, here we are.
Sincere thanks to all who have subscribed to the blog since I began, and to all who have taken the time to read my meandering words at one time or another. As always, I pray something I shared at some point was a blessing and encouragement to you.
100 seems to be a fairly significant milestone. And we do like to utilize numbers to mark milestones, don’t we? Whether birthdays, anniversaries, work, school, or personal accomplishments, we tend to mark them with numbers. The numbers themselves may be different, and the noun after the numbers may change as well (days, months, years, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.). But we use the numbers to designate significance.
Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise us that the Lord makes frequent use of numbers in his Scriptures. He recognizes our fondness for digits, so he uses them to emphasize important truths. But unless the reader recognizes the significance, he or she might miss some of the meaning the Lord is trying to impress upon us.
Thanks be to God, the Bible is typically simple and clear; the simplest of minds can read the Gospel and find salvation. However, there are definitely more nuances to God’s words than many realize! And various numbers clearly carry additional meaning.
Now some individuals carry this concept of “Biblical numerology” to extraordinary (and in my opinion, inappropriate) lengths. I found one list of examples that tied meaning to every number from 1-50, with multiple additional designations after 50! I’m not comfortable with making that many connections. Yet there are some numbers which definitely are more than “just another number.”
Not only are these numbers repeated over and over again in the Scriptures (both Old and New Testaments), but they are often used in conjunction with one another (sometimes by adding them together, sometimes by multiplying them). You’ll notice this in the list below.
Let’s look at some of those “numbers of blessings:” (Please note that the examples given for each sample are hardly exhaustive!)
1 = God, Unity
Though there are many “gods,” there is only 1 true God and Lord (Deut. 6:4). 1 Creator; 1 Redeemer; 1 Sanctifier! And incidentally, Commandment number 1 demands we honor the 1 true God.
2 = Partnership
The concept of partnership probably seems intuitive to us; it seems natural. And it is, because God created partnership way back at Creation, and has reemphasized it repeatedly through his Scriptures. Of course, partnership began with the creation of male and female animals, and was capped off with the special bond the Lord created between Adam and Eve, the “crowns of his creation” formed in “God’s image” (Gen. 1:27).
Partnership in pairs is repeated through the Bible. Some examples would be the animals entering Noah’s ark (Gen. 7:8-9), cooperating partners (Ecc. 4:9), and Jesus sending out 72 disciples in teams of 2 (Luke 10:1). But marriage between a man and a woman remains a key example in the Word, as summarized in Ephesians 5:31: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
But the best partnership of all has to be the Lord joining with his believers! As Jesus himself described, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23).
3 = God, Completeness
The obvious tie with the number 3 is the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19). John’s vision of heaven was dramatic, and dramatically underscores the worship of the Triune God there and his “completeness”: “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come’” (Rev. 4:8).
We see this number appear repeatedly in the Bible, some of the most well-known being Jonah’s 3 days in the belly of a fish, and Jesus rising from the dead on Day 3. Lesser known but significant is the fact that there are 30 (3 x 10) references in Revelation to “the Lamb,” our Savior who has arisen, ascended and reigns in heaven, having completed our salvation! (Pastor Wayne Mueller, “Revelation” commentary, NPH, p.5).
4 = Creation, Humans
Since this number pervades life in this world (4 cardinal directions, 4 seasons, etc.), it is used in the Scriptures (especially Revelation) to denote the creation of God. We heard it used with the 4 living creatures in Rev. 4:8; it pops up again in Rev. 7:1 where 4 angels, 4 corners of the earth, and 4 winds of the earth are mentioned.
Most importantly of all, it denotes the humans that God has created and saved. Consider Revelation 7:9, where the description of the believers in heaven was supplied: “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”
6 = Imperfection: Satan, Humans, and Evil
As we’ll discuss in a moment, the number 7 is the symbol of perfection and God’s grace shown to the world. Obviously, 6 falls short of 7; thereby picturing the imperfect. One of the most famous numbers of all in Scripture happens to be 666, which is “the number of the beast” – Satan and/or the Anti-Christ (Rev. 13:18).
7 = Perfection: God’s Gracious Intervention
The fascinating part of this number is that it comprises the sum of two other previously discussed digits: 3 (God) + 4 (humans). 7 is one of the most commonly referenced number in all of Scripture; it appears over and over again in the pages of the Bible.
Some obvious examples are the 7 days of creation, with God ceasing his work on the 7th day and setting that day apart as a day of physical and spiritual for rest for humans, as well as the 7 days of the week we still operate under. 7 pops up again at the time of the Flood, both in the number of the “clean” animals Noah was to bring on the ark, as well as the number of days the ark’s inhabitants were on board before the flood waters came. In addition, the Lord instructed the Israelites to march around Jericho for 7 days, and then 7 times on the 7th day … led by 7 priests carrying 7 trumpets. When they had done so, “the walls came tumblin’ down!” (Joshua 6).
7 played a huge part in the Old Testament worship life of God’s people, appearing repeatedly. A few quick examples would be the weekly Sabbath Day (on the 7th day), the process of the Sin Offering (Lev. 4:6), as well as the timing of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Lev. 23:6-8) and the Festival of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-42). The great Day of Atonement (a huge day!) was celebrated each year on the 10th day of the 7th month (Num. 29:7) – the number of completion combined with the number of God’s gracious intervention.
One may also remember Jesus’ answer to Peter when asked how many times one should forgive another. “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times” (Mt. 18:21-22), calling to mind God’s unending forgiveness to us as pictured in the parable Jesus shared immediately after these words. (See also Micah 7:18).
Again, the Holy Spirit emphasizes this number in Revelation. The book refers to 7 spirits, 7 lampstands, 7 stars, 7 churches, 7 bowls, 7 scrolls with 7 seals, and 7 trumpets, as well as sharing the 7-fold praises to God of the inhabitants of heaven. (Mueller, p.5). God emphasizes his gracious intervention for sinful humans, and thanks be to God that he does!
10 = Totality, Completion
Certainly the number 10 appears often in God’s Word. The obvious 10 that comes to mind is the total list of the Commandments. But the number is significant throughout the Bible. For example, the words “God said” are recorded 10 times in connection with his creative process (Gen. 1-2).
Like 7, 10 is another number used extensively in connection with the worship life of God’s Old Testament people. Where it especially appears is in God’s instructions for the furnishings of the Tabernacle (Ex. 26-27), and again in the construction of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs. 6-7).
The most frequent use of 10, however, is when it is used as a multiple of something. We see this repeatedly in Scripture. The product of 10 multiplied by another number emphasizes the fullness of whatever that item may be.
One of the most common biblical examples of this is when 10 is used to the third power (10 x 10 x 10), which denotes the highest completeness. Such as in Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations (10 x 10 x 10) of those who love him and keep his commandments.”
Revelation 5:11 takes it a step further: “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.” That would be 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 times 10 x 10 x 10 x 10. (For those choosing to forego the math, that totals 100 million angels!)
12 = Result of God’s Work among His People
The product of 3 (God) times 4 (Humans) is 12. It’s a number repeatedly appearing in the historical account of God’s people. There were 12 Old Testament tribes and 12 Apostles of Jesus. The number also played a significant role in the dedication of the Tabernacle (Num. 7:84-87). Even in our secular existence, the number appears in the months of the year – reminding us of God’s planning and provision.
We run into 12 again in Revelation. The Tree of Life in the heavenly City produces 12 crops of fruit, one for every month (Rev. 22:1-2). And 12 holds a crucial place in the Holy City. The “New Jerusalem” measured 12,000 stadia (12 x 10 x 10 x 10) long and wide, with 12 foundations, boasting walls 144 cubits (12 x 12) thick and decorated with 12 precious types of stones, with 12 gates guarded by 12 angels (Rev. 21:10-21).
But perhaps the most significant number of all in Revelation is the number of those who were “sealed” or set aside by God for God: 144,000 with 12,000 coming from each “tribe” of Israel! (Rev. 7:4). That is 12 x 12 (God’s work among his people) times 10 x 10 x 10 (highest completeness). In other words, all those who are saved!
40 = Time of Testing, Training or Difficulty
40 is 4 (humans) x 10 (completion). It’s another number we see often in Scripture. Just a few examples would be Noah, who endured 40 days and nights of rain on the ark in the flood (Gen. 7:12); the Israelites who endured 400 years (4 x 10 x 10) of slavery in Egypt (Gen. 15:13); Moses while with the Lord for 40 days on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 24:18); the Israelites wandering and dying in the desert for 40 years (Num. 14:34); Goliath taunting the Jews for 40 days before David challenged him (1 Sam. 17:16); Elijah’s 40 day journey to Mt. Sinai (1 Kings 19:8); Jesus fasting and enduring temptation for 40 days in the wilderness (Mk. 1:13); and Jesus teaching his disciples in the 40 days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3).
50 = Celebration
Feasts and ceremonies often incorporated the number 50. The number was a key one in the construction of tabernacle (Ex. 26-27). Pentecost, which was initially an Old Testament festival occurred 50 days after Passover (Lev 23:15-16), just as the Holy Spirit empowered the apostles on Pentecost 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. Then there was the year of Jubilee, which was to take place every 50 years (Lev 25:10).
70 = Judgement
70 is reached by 7 (God’s gracious intervention) multiplied by 10 (completion). 70 members of Jacob’s family were listed in the genealogy of Jacob when they traveled to Egypt to be cared for by Joseph during the horrible drought (Gen. 46:27); 70 elders were appointed by Moses to oversee the people’s needs and adjudicate their disagreements; the Jews were in Babylonian captivity for 70 years (Jer. 25:11). Furthermore, 70 and multiples of 70 appear over and over again in Scripture in conjunction with the punishment God doled out for wickedness.
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All of this numerology is rather overwhelming. Which calls to mind some pertinent words from the book of Job: “Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven” (Job 25:2). The Apostle Paul concurs: “For God is not a God of disorder … Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way” (1 Cor. 14:33a & 40).
Thank the Lord for his numbers of blessings!
