Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: cadence!stevep@uunet.uu.net (Steve Peterson) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: important biblical numbers Message-ID: Date: 20 Jul 90 08:09:30 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc. Lines: 246 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article gt5599d@prism.gatech.edu (gt5599d TOLBERT,JASON ALAN) writes: >Does anyone know what importance does the number 13 have in the Bible. >I hear that it is mentioned often along with the number 12. Six and >nine seem to be inportant. Does anyone know what significance these >particular numbers have? Are there any other significant numbers? >What is the sifgnificance of the cycles of "14" generations up to >the birth of Christ? Since the Bible is a book of both history and prophecy, the numbers given in it may be either literal or symbolic. The context usually reveals in which sense a number is used. Certain numbers appear often in the Bible in an illustrative, figurative, or symbolic sense, and in such cases an understanding of their significance is vital to an understanding of the text. However, this Bible usage of numbers should not be confused with numberology, in which occult and mysticism is attached to figures, their combinations and numerical totals. Numberology apparently had its origin in ancient Babylon and, along with other forms of divination, comes under divine condemnation (Deut. 18:10-12) ONE --- This number, when used figuratively, conveys the thought of singleness, uniqueness, as well as unity and agreement in purpose and action. "Jehovah our God is on Jehovah," said Moses. (Deut. 6:4) He alone is Sovereign. He is unique. He does not share his glory with another. (Acts 4:24; Rev. 6:10; Isa. 42:8) There is oneness in purpose and activity between Jehovah and Jesus Christ (John 10:30) and complete unity of Christ's disciples with God and his Son and with one another. (John 17:21; Gal. 3:28) Such oneness is illustrated in the marriage arrangement.( Gen 2:24; Matt. 19:6; Eph. 5:28-32) TWO --- The number two frequently appears in a legal setting. The accounts of two witnesses agreeing add to the force of the testimony. Two witnesses, or even three, were required to establish a matter before the judges. This principle is also followed in the Christian congregation. (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; 2Cor 13:1; 1Tim 5:19; Heb 10:28) God adhered to this principle in presenting his Son to the people as mankind's Savior. Jesus said: "In your own Law it is written, 'The witness of two men is true.' I am one that bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me."(John 8:17,18) Doing something a second time, for example, repetition of a statement or vision, even in only a parallel way, firmly established the matter as sure and true(as in Pharaoh's dream of the cows and the ears of grain(Gen 41:32) Biblical Hebrew poetry is full of thought parallelism, which establishes more firmly in mind the truths stated and at the same time clarifies matters by the variety of wording in the parallelism(Psa. 2 and Psa 44). In Daniels' prophecy the beast having "two horns" symbolized duality in rulership of the Medo-Persian Empire.(Dan 8:20,21; Rev 13:11) THREE ----- While two witnesses testifying to the same matter established proof sufficient for legal action, three made the testimony even stronger. The number three, therefore, is used at times to represent intensity, emphasis or added strength. "A threefold cord cannot quickly be torn in two." (Eccl. 4:12) Emphasis was achieved in Jesus' threefold questioning of Peter after Peter's three denials of Jesus. (Matt. 26:34, 75; John 21:15-17) The vision telling Peter to eat of all kinds of animals, including those unclean according to the Law, was intensified by being given to him three times. This doubtless made it easier for Peter to understand, when Cornelius and his household accepted the good news, that God was now turning his attention to uncircumcised people of the nations, considered unclean by the Jews (Acts 10:1-16, 28-35, 47, 48) The intensity of Jehovah's holiness and cleanness is emphasized by the declaration of heavenly creatures: "Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah." (Isa 6:3; Rev 4:8) Before taking the last earthly king of the line of David off the throne, Jehovah said: "A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I shall make it. As for this also, it will certainly become no one's until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him." Here he emphatically showed there would be no Davidic kings sitting upon the throne at Jerusalem in his name-the throne would be absolutely vacant-until God's time to establish his Messian in kingdom power. (Eze. 21:27) The intensity of woes to come to those dwelling on earth is forecast by the triple repetition of the declaration "woe." (Rev 8:13) Four ---- Four is a number sometimes expressing universalness or foursquareness in symmetry and form. It is found three times at Revelation 7:1. Here the "four angels" (all those in charge of the "four winds," ready for complete destruction) stood on earth's "four corners" (they could let loose the winds obliquely or diagonally, and no quarter of the earth would be spared). (Compare Dan 8:8; Isa 11:12; Jer 49:36; Zech 2:6; Matt 24:31.) The New Jerusalem is "foursquare," equal in every dimension, being in fact cubical in shape. (Rev 21:16) Other figurative expressions using the number four are found at Zech 1:18-21; 6:1-3; Rev. 9:14,15. SIX --- This number at times represents imperfection. The number of the "wild beast" is 666, and is called a "man's number," indicating that it has to do with imperfect, fallen man, and seems to symbolize the imperfection of that which is represented by the "wild beast." The number six being raised to the third degree (the six appearing in the position of units, tens, and hundreds) therefore emphasize the imperfection and deficiency of that which the beast represents or pictures (Rev 13:18) SEVEN ----- Seven is used frequently in the Scriptures to signify completeness. At times it has reference to bringing a work toward completion. Or it can refer to the complete cycle of things as established or allowed by God. By completing his work toward the earth in six creative days and resting on the seventh day, Jehovah set the pattern for the whole sabbath arrangement, from the seven-times- seven-year cycle. (Ex 20:10; Lev 25:2, 6, 8) The festival of unleavened bread and the festival of booths were each seven days long. (Ex 34:18; Lev 23:34) Seven appears often in connection with the Levitical rules for offerings (Lev 4:6; 16:14, 19; Num. 28:11) and for cleansings. (Lev. 14:7, 8, 16, 27, 51; 2Kins 5:10) The seven congregations of Revelation, with their characteristics, give a complete picture of all the congregations of God on earth. (Rev 1:20-3:22) The seven heads of the wild beast (Rev. 13:1) show the limit to which the beast would be allowed to develop, no more, no less. True, the scarlet-colored wild beast is called an eighth king; nonetheless, it springs from the seven and does not exist apart from the seven-headed wild beast (Rev 17:3, 9-11), as is true also of the image of the wild beast. (Rev 13:14) Similarly, the two-horned wild beast is actually coexistent with the original wild beast whose mark it tries to put on all persons (Rev 13:11, 16, 17) Jehovah was long suffering with Israel, but warned them that if, despite his discipline, they ignored him, be would then chastise them seven times thoroughly, for their sins (Lev 26:18, 21, 28) In historical sections of the Scriptures seven frequently occurs to denote completeness, or doing a work completely. The Israelites exercised full faith and obedience by marching for seven days around Jericho, encompassing it seven times on the seventh day, after which the city wall collapsed. (Josh. 6:2-4, 15) Elijah showed full faith in the efficacy of his prayer to God by commanding his servant up on Mount Carmel to go looking at the sky seven times before a rain cloud appeared. (1Kings 18:42-44) Naaman the leper had to bathe seven times in the Jordan River. He, as a mighty Syrian general, had to display considerable humility to carry out this procedure recommended by the prophet Elisha, but for his obediently doing it Jehovah cleansed him. (2Ki 5:10, 12) The purity, completeness, perfection and fineness of Jehovah's sayings are likened with poetic force and intensity to silver refined in a smelting furnace, clarified seven times. (Ps. 12:6) Jehovah's mercy is magnified by the statement at Prov. 24:16 His deserving all praise is declared by the psalmist: "Seven times in the day I have praised you" (Psa. 119:164) The book of revelation abounds with symbolic use of the number seven in connection with the things of God and his congregation, and also the things of God's adversary Satan the Devil in his all out fight to oppose God and his people (Rev 1:4, 12, 16; 5:1, 6; 8:2; 10:3; 12:3; 13:1; 15:1, 7; 17:3, 10) Multiples of seven are used in a similar sense of completeness. Seventy(ten times seven) is employed prophetically in the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy, dealing with Messiah's coming. (Dan. 9:24-27) Jerusalem and Judah lay desolate seventy years, because of disobedience to God, until the land had paid off completely its sabbaths. (2Chron. 36:21; Jer. 25:11; 29:10; Dan 9:2; Zech 1:12; 7:5) Seventy-seven, a repetition of seven in a number, was equivalent to saying indefinitely or without limit as Jesus counsels Christians to forgive their brothers. (Matt. 18:21, 22) Since God had ruled that anyone killing Cain, the murderer, must suffer vengeance seven times, Lamech, who apparently killed a man in self defense, said "If seven times Cain is to be avenged, then Lamech seventy times and seven." (Gen 4:14, 23, 24). EIGHT ---- The number eight was also used to add emphasis to the completeness of something (one more that seven, the number generally used for completeness), thus sometimes representing abundance. Jehovah reassured his people of deliverance from the threat of Assyria, saying that there should be raised up against the Assyrian "seven shephards, yes, eight dukes of mankind." (Mic. 5:5) As a fitting climax to the final festival of the sacred year, the festival of booths, the eighth day was to be on of holy convention, solemn assembly, a day of complete rest. (Lev 23:36, 39; Num. 29:35) TEN --- Ten is a number denoting fullness, entirety, the aggregate, the sum of all that exist of something. It may be noted also that, where the numbers seven and ten are used together, the seven represents that which is higher or superior and ten represents something of a subordinate nature. The ten plagues poured upon Egypt fully expressed God's judgments upon Egypt and were all that were needed to humiliate fully the false gods of Egypt and to break the hold of Egypt upon God's people Israel. The Ten commandments formed the basic laws of the Law covenant, the approximately 600 other laws merely enlarging on these, elucidating them and explaining their application (Ex. 20:3-17; 34:28) Jesus used the number ten in several of his illustrations to denote entirety or full number of something. (Matt. 25:1; Luke 15:8; 19:13, 16, 17) One of the beasts of Daniel's vision and certain beasts described in Revelation had ten horns. These evidently represented all the powers or kings of earth making up the beastly arrangement. (Dan 7:7, 20, 24; Rev. 12:3; 13:1; 17:3, 7, 12) The fullness of the test or period of test that God determines for his servants or allows them to undergo is expressed at Rev. 2:10 as "Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. Look! The Devil will keep on throwing some of you into prison that you may be *fully* put to the test, and that you may have tribulation *ten* days (Rev 2:10) TWELVE ------ The patriarch Jacob had twelve sons, who became the foundations of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their offspring were organized by God under the Law covenant as God's nation. Twelve therefore seems to represent a complete, balanced, divinely constituted arrangement. (Gen. 35:22; 49:28) Jesus chose twelve apostles, who formed the secondary foundation of the New Jerusalem, built upon himself. (Mat. 10:2-4; Rev 21:14) There are twelve tribes of the sons of Israel, each tribe consisting of 12,000 members Multiples of twelve are also sometimes significant. David established twenty-four divisions of the priesthood to serve by turn in the temple later built by Solomon. (1Chron. 24:1-18) This may assist in identifying the twenty-four older persons seated round about God's throne in white outer garments, and who were wearing crowns. (Rev 4:4) The footstep followers of Jesus Christ, his spiritual brothers are promised kingship and priesthood with him in the heavens. These older persons could not be only the apostles, who numbered just twelve. They may therefore represent the entire body of the royal priesthood , the 144,000 (as represented in the twenty-four priestly divisions serving at the temple) in their positions in the heavens, as crowned kings and priests. (1Pet. 2:9; Rev 7:4-8; 20:6) FORTY ----- Periods of judgment or punishment seem to be associated with the number forty, in a few instances. (Gen 7:4; Ezek. 29:11,12) Nineveh was given forty days to repent. (Jonah 3:4) Another use of the number forty points out a parallel in the life of Jesus Christ with that of Moses, who typified Christ. Both of these men experienced forty-day periods of fasting. (Ex. 24:18; 34:28; Deut. 9:9, 11; Matt. 4:1,2) As for some of the other numbers(9,13, and 14), I will write up some more on them when I find a little more time. As for the number 13, are you interested in this because of its supertitious usage? Why has your attention been turned towards the number 9? -- Best Regards...... ---- stevep@cadence.com or ...!{sun,apollo,ucbcad,uunet}!cadence!stevep