Bible Numerology
7 August 2024 Hits:1607
One of the things I find fascinating about the Scriptures is that they contain many divine signatures that set them apart from other writings. It’s like God touched the book and left his fingerprints. One of Scripture’s divine signatures is the inspired system of numbers we find throughout its pages.
Meaning NOT Power
The ancient Babylonians were the principal developers of astrology. In their worship system, they had 37 supreme gods, and one of these, the god associated with the sun (Shamash), was foremost over all the other gods. The Babylonians believed that numbers, in some way, had power over the gods they worshipped, so they assigned a number to each of the 36 lesser gods. To recognise Shamash as the greatest god, they added the numbers from one to 36 and assigned the sum to him. Interestingly, adding those 36 numbers together equals 666.
What sets Bible numerology apart is its unique approach. Unlike the Babylonians, who believed in the power of numbers, the numbers in Scripture are used for symbolic reasons. This distinction is what makes Bible numerology so fascinating and worth exploring. Let’s delve into the main numbers that feature prominently in the Scriptures.
Number 1: Unity; New Beginnings
For example, the unity of God is expressed in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Jesus described the unity that existed between him and the Father: “I and the Father are one.” There’s also unity between God and humanity: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ Jesus.”
Number 2: Union
There are lots of twos in the Bible that speak of alliance and cooperation.
- Jesus sent his disciples out two by two (Luke 10:1)
- Union of husband and wife in marriage. (Ephesians 5:21-33)
- Partnership between Christ and the church (1 Cor. 12)
- The Christian Bible is the union of two covenants.
Number 3: Divine Perfection
Three, the number that signifies divine perfection, is a recurring theme in the Scriptures. The Trinity, consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, embodies the fullness of the Deity that lived in Jesus. Israel has the three righteous fathers of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus, the epitome of divine perfection, prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane. Significant threes marked his crucifixion: he was placed on the cross at the third hour of the day (9 a.m.) and died at the ninth hour (3 p.m.). Three hours of darkness shrouded the land while Jesus was on the cross, and he remained in the tomb for three days and nights. Such divine perfection is truly awe-inspiring and calls for our reverence.
Number 5: God’s Goodness and Grace
The apostle John wrote five books about God’s goodness and grace. As a tremendous act of kindness, Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men, plus women and children—a crowd of about 20,000 people.
Number 6: Human Weakness
Six is sometimes called the number of Man or humanity’s number. People were created on the sixth day and were to labour for six days. Six is one short of seven—the number of perfection. If God is a seven, the best we can do is a six because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The Greek word for sin was an archery term meaning to miss the mark or fall short of the target. Without God, we’re a six, but with God’s grace, we hit the bullseye every time.
Number 7: Perfection
Seven is God’s number, as God is the only one perfect. Seven appears 518 times in Scripture (74 x 7) and 35 times (5 x 7) in Revelation.
Number 40: Tests and Trials
Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days. Israel was tested in the desert for forty years. We sometimes see the numbers forty and seven interacting together in Scripture, signifying the completeness of a trial or test.
For example, Noah’s flood combines seven and forty in Genesis 7:1-4, “The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Seven days from now, I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
The tests & trials brought about completion and perfection. Noah’s flood created a renewed world. After Jesus’ temptation, his ministry commenced. After forty years in the desert, Israel entered the Promised Land.
Number 1000: Divine Totality
The most well-known one thousand in Scripture is in Revelation chapter 20. Remember, Revelation is symbolic, and so the numbers represent something. In Chapter 20, Satan is bound for a thousand years, and the martyrs come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead don’t come to life until the thousand years have ended. They will be priests of God and Christ and reign with him for a thousand years. When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison.
Understanding that the number’ one thousand’ represents divine totality is the key to unlocking at least some of the truth here. Remember, this book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. One way to read chapter 20 is to see the comprehensiveness of Jesus’ work of salvation. He has defeated death and Satan and set people free. He reversed the curse that kept people bound. The first humans were barred from the Tree of Life lest they live forever. In Revelation, the Tree of Life appears again, this time with an invitation: Let the one who is thirsty come, and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Why Numbers?
God hides things in Scripture to encourage us to seek and find. Scripture is like a Divine treasure hunt. Immature Christians will want to be spoon-fed like little birds squawking at their mother with beaks wide open. The maturity of our faith should lead us to dig deeper into the pages and pursue manna from heaven.
Solomon wrote, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” Followers of Jesus are kings and priests, and searching the Scriptures is one of our privileges and responsibilities.
Bible numerology is a fascinating study, and you can dig deeper into it if you want to. But I caution you to be careful of weird doctrines and getting hung up on this. There’s some pretty crazy stuff online about this, so be aware.
Further Study
The Digging Deeper Podcast.
The Biblestudy.org website.
Rob Buckingham
Senior Minister
