A 19th-century painting depicting the Sermon on the Mount, by Carl Bloch = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
According to the Bible, God is a God of numbers and organization. For example, let's look at this verse: PSALMS 147:4 = He telleth the number of stars. He calleth them all by their names. (KJV)
In the Bible, spiritual truths are often associated with a specific number. If you understand the meaning of numbers in the Bible , you will have a better understanding of what people in the Bible were experiencing and WHY they were experiencing the events in their lives.
It is not enough to know WHAT people were experiencing. We need to know WHY God was dealing with his people through their life experiences.
We will study the numbers used most often in the Bible. The meaning of some of the other numbers in the Bible tends to be obscure and not well defined.
WHY WE WROTE THIS BIBLE STUDY
We wrote this study on the meaning of numbers in the Bible to help increase your understanding and knowledge of the Bible. The more you learn about the Bible, the easier it is to understand.
FOUNDATIONAL VERSES
1) 2 Timothy 3:16--All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.
2) 2 PETER 1:20-21
VERSE 20 = Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves.
VERSE 21 = or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.
EXPLANATION--the Bible was written by men who were inspired or influenced by God, to write what he wanted them to write, not what they wanted to write. The Bible is the Word of God, not the word of men.
3) GALATIANS 1:8-9
VERSE 8--Let God's curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed.
VERSE 9--I will say it again--if anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God's curse fall upon that person.
EXPLANATION--the gospel Paul is referring to is the gospel of Jesus Christ. You cannot not add or take anything away, from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
4) ROMANS 3:22--We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.
5) EPHESIANS 2:8-9
VERSE 8 -- Because of his (God's) kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God.
VERSE 9 -- Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it.
6) 1 JOHN 5:13-- I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life.
7) JEREMIAH 3:15--And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which will feed you with knowledge and understanding. (KJV)
These Bible verses are the foundational verses of our ministry. You will find these verses in every study we produce.
THE MEANING OF NUMBERS IN THE BIBLE
A. MEANING OF THE NUMBER 1
The number one is God's number. There is only one God and that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The God of Israel. There is no other God.
1) EXODUS 20: 1-17
The first commandment in the Ten Commandments is: You shall have no other gods before me.
EXPLANATION = God is telling Israel that He alone is God.
2) EPHESIANS 4:1-6
VERSE 4 -- Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.
VERSE 2 -- Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each others faults because of your love.
VERSE 3 -- Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.
VERSE 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
VERSE 5 -- There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
VERSE 6 -- and one God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.
3) JOHN 14:6 -- Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
EXPLANATION = According to the Bible, there is only ONE way to heaven. You have to come through Jesus Christ if you want to go to heaven. You cannot earn your way to heaven. No human being is good enough to enter heaven on his own merit. Also, no church or religion can save you. We must depend on Jesus Christ to save us.
B. MEANING OF NUMBER 2
The number two in the Bible is the number for testimony and witness.
1) GENESIS 1:16 = God made two great lights = the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars.
EXPLANATION = God made the sun and the moon to provide us with light and direction during the day and night.
2) MATTHEW 18:18-20
VERSE 18 -- “I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.
VERSE 19 -- “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.
VERSE 20 -- For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
3) MARK 6:7-- And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits.
4) LUKE 10: 1 = The Lord now chose seventy two other disciples and sent them ahead of him, two by two, to the towns and places he planned to visit.
C. NUMBER 3 IN THE BIBLE
The number three represents the trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
1) MATTHEW 28:18-20
VERSE 18 -- Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
VERSE 19 -- Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
VERSE 20 -- Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
2) MATTHEW 12:40 = For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
3) REVELATION 20:9-10
The trinity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is opposed by a trinity of evil represented by the devil, the anti-christ and the false prophet. This trinity of evil shall come forth in the days known as the Tribulation.
VERSE 9 -- And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.
VERSE 10 -- Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
D. BIBLICAL MEANING OF NUMBER 4
The number four primarily represents the earth and its functions.
1) There are four earthly directions: north, south, east and west.
2) There are four seasons to every year: spring, summer, fall and winter.
3) There are four gospels = Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The gospel of Jesus Christ was given to mankind in the four gospels.
4) MATTHEW 13 = in the Parable of the Sower, four types of soil are found.
5) REVELATION 7:1 -- After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
E. BIBLICAL MEANING OF NUMBER 5
Pietro Perugino's 1482, depiction of the Crucifixion as Stabat Mater, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
The number five represents the grace, favor and kindness of God offered to sinful, fallen mankind. We humans can do nothing to save ourselves, to earn eternity in heaven. We must depend totally and completely upon God and his son Jesus, to save us. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves.
1) On the Cross at Calvary, Jesus received five wounds. These were:
(a) being nailed to the cross through his right hand
(b) being nailed to the cross through his left hand
(c) being nailed to the cross through his right foot
(d) being nailed to the cross through his left foot
(e) being pierced through his side by a Roman soldier's spear.
JOHN 20:25 -- They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he (Thomas) replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
JOHN 19:32-34
VERSE 32 -- So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus.
VERSE 33 -- But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs.
VERSE 34 -- One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
Had Christ not been crucified at Calvary, then risen three days later, we would still be lost in our sins.
2) DAVID chose five smooth stones he found in a stream when he went forward to confront Goliath (notice that he chose "smooth stones", not "rough stones").
1 SAMUEL 17:39-40 & 47
A. DAVID AND GOLIATH IN THE BIBLE
David and Goliath, a colour lithograph by Osmar Schindler (c. 1888). Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath
VERSE 39 -- David put it on (Saul's armor), strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. I can’t go in these ”, he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off.
VERSE 40 -- He then picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
B. WHY DAVID GATHERED FIVE STONES INSTEAD OF ONLY ONE STONE
David did not gather five stones because Goliath had four brothers waiting to pounce on David, as is commonly believed. The Bible records only one brother of Goliath.
- 2 Samuel: 21:19 .= At still another time and at the same place, Elhanan killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite whose spear handle was as large as a weaver's beam. (Living Bible).
- 1 Chronicles 20:5 = During another war with the Philistines, Elhanan, the son of Jair, killed Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Giant. The handle of his spear was like a weaver's beam (Living Bible).
The Bible does not mention any other brother of Goliath.
- 2 Samuel 21: 16-22 = There are four other Philistine giants mentioned in the Bible. However, the Bible does not say whether any of these giants (or all four of these Philistine giants), were present at this battle.
- 1 Samuel 17:4 = David prepared himself with five stones because he didn't know if he needed one stone to kill Goliath, or several stones.
- Goliath was a GIANT, over nine feet tall (perhaps 9 feet 6 inches in height = Hebrew Masoretic Text).
- The Greek Septuagint Text considers Goliath to have been about six feet six inches tall).
- David didn't know if he could kill Goliath with one stone or if he would need several stones.
- Goliath had an armor bearer that accompanied him into battle. Perhaps David thought he might have to also slay Goliath's armor bearer. Essentially, David was going against two battle hardened veterans.
- Another thing to consider is that David didn't know if some of the Philistines would attack him after he killed Goliath.
- Something else to consider is that God did not tell David that he would kill Goliath with one stone. In my opinion, David was preparing himself for other Philistines to also attack him. Even though David knew that God was with him and would help him in his battle against Goliath, David prepared himself for other things that might happen.
- This is a lesson for us. God will help us, but, we have to prepare ourselves for things that may happen in our lives.
- David knew that for him to triumph over Goliath, God would have to help him. In the physical realm, David had no chance of success against the mighty Goliath. Goliath was a GIANT who stood over nine feet tall. The Bible does not say that Goliath was a big man, or a large man. The Bible says that Goliath was a GIANT.
- Goliath had been a warrior since the days of his youth and was a combat veteran of many Philistine campaigns. If God didn't help David, Goliath would have destroyed David.
VERSE -- 47 --And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us! (David speaking to Goliath.)
Just as the Lord rescued David from Goliath, the Lord will rescue us from the devil.
F. THE NUMBER 6 IN THE BIBLE
1) The number six represents mankind. Man was created on the sixth day. Six is the number of man or of humanity.
Adam and Eve a painting by Peter Paul Rubens.
GENESIS 1:27 = So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
GENESIS 1:31 = Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
EXODUS 20:13 = The sixth commandment in the Ten Commandments is about murder.
2) The number six repeated three times (666) is the number of a man known as "the beast" who will preside over a government that will have total control over humanity during the last days before the return of Christ.
REVELATION 13:18 -- This calls for wisdom: let one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
G. THE NUMBER 7 IN THE BIBLE
The number seven is found more often than any other number in the Bible. It it is most often associated with "completeness" or "perfection". The number seven is one of the most significant numbers in the Bible.
1) God created the world in six days, then he rested on the seventh day.
GENESIS 2:2 -- On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.
2) Joshua and Israel were to march around Jericho for seven days.
JOSHUA 6:3-4
VERSE 3 = You shall march around the city (Jericho), all the men of war going around the city once. This you shall do for six days.
VERSE 4 = Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of ram's horns before the Ark. On the seventh day, you shall march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
3) Samson's sacred Nazirite vow was represented by his seven locks of hair.
Samson in the Treadmill, by Carl Heinrich Bloch
JUDGES 16:13 = Then Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and become like any other man."
4) In the Book of Hebrews, seven titles are given to Christ:
- HEBREWS 1:2 = heir of all things.
- HEBREWS 2:10 = captain or founder of our salvation
- HEBREWS 3:1 = Apostle and high priest of our confession.
- HEBREWS 5:9 = author or source of our salvation
- HEBREWS 6:20 = forerunner and High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
- HEBREWS 10:21 = great priest over the House of God.
- HEBREWS 12:2 = founder and perfecter of our faith.
5) The Book of REVELATION is filled with sevens:
a) SEVEN CHURCHES = REVELATION: chapters 2 and 3.
b) SEVEN STARS = REVELATION 1:20 = As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lamp stands, here is what they mean: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.
c) SEVEN LAMP STANDS = REVELATION 1: 12 and 20
d) SEVEN SEALS = REVELATION 6: 1-17 and REVELATION 8: 1
e) SEVEN TRUMPETS = REVELATION 8: 1-2 = (1) Then, when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. (2) Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
f) SEVEN VIALS = REVELATION 16: 1 = Then I heard a loud voice from the Temple say to the seven angels, "go and pour out the seven vials (or bowls) of God's anger on the earth".
g) SEVEN NEW THINGS = REVELATION 21: 1-22 = the new things are:
1) new heaven
2) new earth
3) new people
4) new city
5) new temple
6) new luminary
7) new paradise
H. WHAT DOES THE NUMBER 8 MEAN IN THE BIBLE
The number eight represents a "new beginning".
1) GENESIS 9:18 & 19
Noah's Sacrifice by Daniel Maclisehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah
VERSE 19 -- From these three sons of Noah came all the people who now populate the earth.
EXPLANATION -- God re-populated the earth after the flood with eight people -- Noah and his wife, his sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth and their wives.
2) GENESIS 21:4 -- Eight days after Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him as God had commanded.
EXPLANATION -- In the Old Covenant, God instructed Israel to circumcise their baby boys on the eighth day.
The reason God told Israel to circumcise their baby boys on the eighth day is because a male has more Vitamin K available to his body on the eighth day of his life than on any other day. Vitamin K helps in the blood clotting process.
A child has a better chance of overcoming the circumcision process if his parents had him circumcised on the eighth day. This was especially important in those days when they lacked modern medicine.
3) KING DAVID was the eighth son of Jesse. God had rejected King Saul as king of Israel because of his disobedience ( 1 Samuel 15: 8-9). God then chose David, the eighth son of Jesse as the new king.
1 SAMUEL 16:10-13 =
VERSE 10 = Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel but Samuel said to Jesse, "the Lord hasn't picked any of these."
VERSE 11 = Then Samuel asked Jesse, "is that all of your boys"? "There is still the youngest one", Jesse answered, "but he's out keeping the sheep". "Send for him", Samuel told Jesse, "because we can't proceed until he gets here".
VERSE 12 = So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes and was good looking. The Lord said, "That's the one." "Go and anoint him".
VERSE 13 = So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The Lord's Spirit came over David from that point forward. Then Samuel left and went to Ramah.
"David Giving Thanks to God After the Death of Goliath", 18th century painting attributed to Charles Errard the Younger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David
4) THE NEW COVENANT (New Testament) was written by eight men:
1) Matthew
2) Mark
3) Luke
4) John
5) James
6) Jude
7) Peter
8) Paul.
The New Covenant replaces the Old Covenant. Don't let anyone tell you that this is not true.
I. WHAT DOES THE NUMBER 10 MEAN IN THE BIBLE
The number ten in the Bible generally signifies law and responsibility.
1) There were ten generations from Adam to Noah. God judged mankind but spared Noah and his family.
GENESIS CHAPTER 5: 1-30
2) At God's command, Moses and Aaron brought ten plagues on Egypt when Pharoah refused to release Israel.
TEN PLAGUES IN ORDER:
1) EXODUS 7: 14-24 = water of the Nile River turned to blood.
2) EXODUS 8: 1-14 = Egypt covered with frogs.
3) EXODUS 8: 16-19 = Egypt covered with gnats.
4) EXODUS 8: 20-30 = Egypt covered with flies.
5) EXODUS 9:1-6 = Egyptian livestock dies.
6) EXODUS 9: 8-12 = Egyptians covered with boils.
7) EXODUS 9: 13-30 = Egypt struck with hail.
8) EXODUS 10: 1-20 = Egypt covered with locusts.
9) EXODUS 10: 21-29 = Egypt covered with darkness.
10) EXODUS 12: 29-30 = death of the Egyptian first born.
The First Plague: Water Is Changed into Blood, James Tissot = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagues_of_Egypt
3) THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
The best example of the meaning of the number ten is when God gave Israel the TEN COMMANDMENTS. The Ten Commandments were a "law" or "guide" for Israel to live by.
EXODUS 20: 1-17 -- THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN ORDER
God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
1) You shall have no other gods before me.
2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
5) Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
6) You shall not murder.
7) You shall not commit adultery.
8) You shall not steal.
9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10) You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
J. WHAT DOES THE NUMBER 11 MEAN IN THE BIBLE
The number eleven stands for chaos, incompleteness and judgement.
The Tower of Babel , (1563), by Pieter Bruegel the Elder = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel
1) GENESIS 11 = mankind chose to rebel against the authority of God by building the Tower of Babel. At that time, all of humanity spoke one language.
God caused men to speak in different languages, which created confusion and chaos amongst them as they were no longer able to understand each other's speech. Needless to say, they were unable to carry out their plans to build the Tower of Babel.
2) DEUTERONOMY 1: 1-2 -- (1) These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. (2) It is ELEVEN days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-Barnea.
EXPLANATION = From Mount Sinai, Israel traveled ELEVEN days to Kadesh-Barnea. Then they stopped. If they would have traveled one more day, they would have been in the Promised Land that God had given them.
3) NUMBERS 13: 1-33=
God instructed Moses to send twelve men to spy on the land of Canaan.
4) NUMBERS 14: 1-35
After forty days, the spies returned and gave a bad report to Israel. Israel lost confidence in God after they received the report from the twelve spies. God sentenced Israel to wander in the desert for FORTY YEARS = one year for every day the spies were in the Promised Land.
K. WHAT DOES THE NUMBER 12 MEAN IN THE BIBLE
The number twelve is one of the most significant numbers in the Bible. The number twelve is most often associated with the nation of Israel, God's chosen people.
The nation of Israel was chosen by God to present His word, the Bible, to mankind and, to bring forth the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
1) GENESIS 49. Jacob had twelve sons. These sons became the foundation of the nation of Israel.
1) Reuben
2) Simeon
3) Levi
4) Judah
5) Dan
6) Naphtali
7) Gad
8) Asher
9) Issachar
10) Zebulun
11) Joseph
12) Benjamin
2) EXODUS 24: 3-5 = Moses builds twelve pillars.
VERSE 3 = Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "all the words that the Lord has spoken we will do."
VERSE 4 = And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
VERSE 5 = And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and
sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord.
3) NUMBERS 13: 1-2 = Moses sends out twelve spies.
VERSE 1 = The Lord spoke to Moses saying,
VERSE 2 = Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe (twelve tribes) of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.
4) EXODUS 39: 8-14 = The High Priest's breast plate, the ephod, had twelve stones. Each stone represented a tribe of Israel.
VERSE 8 = He made the breast piece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.
VERSE 9 = It was square. They made the breast piece doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth when doubled.
VERSE 10 = And they set it in four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz and carbuncle was the first row.
VERSE 11 = The second row was an emerald, a saphire and a diamond.
VERSE 12 = The third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst.
VERSE 13 = The fourth row, a beryl, an onyx and a jaspar. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree.
VERSE 14 = There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.
5) LUKE 2: 41-50 = Jesus was twelve years old when he questioned the scholars in the Temple.
James Tissot = 12-year-old Jesus found in the temple = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus
VERSE 41 = Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover.
VERSE 42 = When he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.
VERSE 43 = When the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it.
VERSE 44 = Supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey. They began to search for him among their relatives and friends.
VERSE 45 = When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.
VERSE 46 = After three days they found him in the temple, sitting amongst the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
VERSE 47 = And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
VERSE 48 = When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "son, why have you treated us so?" Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."
VERSE 49 = He said to them, "why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
VERSE 50 = They did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
6) MATTHEW 10: 1-4 = Jesus chose twelve apostles, all of them from Israel.
VERSE 1 = He (Jesus) called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and affliction.
Jesus = The Exhortation to the Apostles = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_%28Christian%29#The_twelve_apostles
JESUS' 12 APOSTLES NAMES
1) Simon also called Peter
2) Andrew, Peter's brother
3) James, the son of Zebedee
4) John, the son of Zebedee
5) Philip
6) Bartholomew
7) Thomas
8) Matthew, the tax collector
9) James, the son of Alphaeus
10) Simon the Zealot
11) Thaddaeus
12) Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus
7) REVELATION 7: 2-8 = during the Tribulation, 12,000 of God's servants (evangelists) from each of the 12 tribes of Israel will be sealed (protected). They will go forth and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and a great multitude of people will be saved.
VERSE 2 = Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God. He called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea.
VERSE 3 = saying, "do not harm the earth, or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads."
VERSE 4 = I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, from every tribe of Israel:
VERSE 5 = 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed.
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
VERSE 6 = 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
VERSE 7 = 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
VERSE 8 = 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
8) REVELATION 21: 9-14 = the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven.
VERSE 9 = Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me saying, "come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."
VERSE 10 = He carried me away in the Spirit, to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God
VERSE 11 = having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jaspar, clear as crystal.
VERSE 12 = It had a great high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed =
VERSE 13 = on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
VERSE 14 = The wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
9) REVELATION 22:1-2 = in heaven, the Tree of Life produces twelve kinds of fruit.
VERSE 1 = Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
VERSE 2 = through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river, was the Tree of Life, with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
L. BIBLICAL MEANING OF 16
The number sixteen stands for love.
JOHN 3:16 -- “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
This is the most well known verse in the Bible.
M. WHAT DOES THE NUMBER 40 MEAN IN THE BIBLE?
The number forty is another important number in the Bible. The number forty stands for a time of testing by enduring hardship.
1) GENESIS 7:4 -- Seven days from now I (the Lord) will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.”
EXPLANATION -- the Lord is telling Noah what he was going to destroy humanity because of the wickedness of men. It would rain for forty days and forty nights. Every human being, except for Noah and his family (in the ark) would die.
The Deluge, by John Martin, 1834. Oil on canvas. Yale University = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis_flood_narrative
2) ACTS 7: 29-30 = Moses was in Midian (the backside of the desert) for forty years.
VERSE 29 = At this retort, Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
VERSE 30 = "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
3) NUMBERS 13: 25-28 = TWELVE SPIES = FORTY DAYS IN PROMISED LAND
VERSE 25 = At the end of forty days they (the twelve spies) returned from spying out the land.
VERSE 26 = And they came to Moses and to Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran , at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.
VERSE 27 = And they told him, "we came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey and this is its fruit.
VERSE 28 = However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And, besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
EXPLANATION = God tested Israel to see if Israel would trust him, by sending a team of spies into the Promised Land. The spies returned and gave their report of giants in the land. Israel became afraid and lost confidence in God. They forgot what God had done for them against Egypt, the super power of that day.
4) NUMBERS 32:13 -- The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord’s sight had died.
EXPLANATION -- Because of their unbelief, their lack of trust in the Lord, the Lord did not allow that generation of Israel to enter the land he had promised he would give to them. Israel wandered in the desert for forty years, until that entire generation had passed away and a new generation had come forth.
5) 1 SAMUEL 17: 8-11 & 16 = Goliath strutted before the army of Israel for forty days, talking smack until David shut him up with a rock to the giant's forehead.
VERSE 8 = Goliath stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.
VERSE 9 = If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects. But, if I overcome and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us."
VERSE 10 = Then the Philistine said, "this day I defy the armies of Israel !!! Give me a man and let us fight each other !"
VERSE 11 = On hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
VERSE 16 = For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand.
6) JONAH 3: 4 = Jonah "preached" to Ninevah for forty days. It wasn't much of a sermon, but he did warn Ninevah that the Lord was going to judge Ninevah.
VERSE 4 = Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. He called out, "yet forty days and Ninevah shall be overthrown !"
7) MARK 1: 10-13 = JESUS TEMPTED FOR FORTY DAYS
VERSE 10 = When he (Jesus) came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove.
VERSE 11 = A voice came from heaven, "you are my beloved Son". "With you, I am well pleased".
VERSE 12 = The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.
VERSE 13 = He was in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by satan. He was with the wild animals and the angels ministered to him.
8) ACTS 1:1-3 = JESUS FORTY DAYS AFTER THE CRUCIFIXION
VERSE 1 = In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,
VERSE 2 = until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy
Spirit to the Apostles whom he had chosen.
VERSE 3 = He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking to them about the Kingdom of God.
N. THE NUMBER 50 IN THE BIBLE
In the Bible, the number fifty stands for deliverance.
1) GENESIS 6:12 - 15: NOAH'S ARK
The Building of Noah's Ark (painting by a French master of 1675) = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah's_Ark
VERSE 12 = And God saw the earth and behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
VERSE 13 = And God said to Noah, "I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
VERSE 14 = Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark and cover it inside and out with pitch.
VERSE 15 = This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits. Its breadth, 50 cubits and its height, 30 cubits.
EXPLANATION = God delivered Noah and his family from the coming world wide flood in an ark that was 50 cubits wide.
2) 2 SAMUEL 21- 25: KING DAVID OFFERS A BURNT OFFERING
VERSE 21 = And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be averted from the people.”
VERSE 22 = Then Araunah said to King David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
VERSE 23 = All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
VERSE 24 = But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
VERSE 25 = And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
EXPLANATION = God had sent a pestilence (disease) on Israel. King David bought a threshing floor from Araunah for 50 shekels of silver. He then offered burnt offerings to the Lord. This appeased the Lord and the Lord ended the plague.
3) LEVITICUS 25: 10-12 = THE YEAR OF JUBILEE
VERSE 10 = And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan.
VERSE 11 = That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines.
VERSE 12 = For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.
EXPLANATION = In Israel of that day, all financial debts, no matter how large, were considered paid in full. All slaves were freed and land was returned to its original owners.
4) ACTS 2: 1-4 = BELIEVERS ARE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
VERSE 1 = When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
VERSE 2 = And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
VERSE 3 = And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
VERSE 4 = And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
EXPLANATION = In Acts 1: 4-8, the risen Christ instructed his disciples to wait in Jerusalem where they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.
In the beginning of his (Christ's) ministry, the Holy Spirit came upon Christ when he was baptized by John the Baptist.
Now, the Holy Spirit was to come upon the disciples in the beginning of their ministry in order to empower them for their ministry.
The Holy Spirit would, under the New Covenant, indwell men permanently, unlike the Old Covenant, where the Holy Spirit did not indwell men permanently.
There are other numbers that can be considered to have meaning in the Bible, but these are the most common and well known numbers in the bible.
The more we learn about the bible, the easier it is to understand.
CONCLUSION
a) If you have found this Bible study on "The Meaning of Numbers in the Bible" interesting or informative, please share it with other people.
b) BIBLES used to write this bible study were:
1) English Standard Version Bible
2) King James Version Bible
c) This is a non-denominational Bible study. We do not represent nor are we affiliated with any religious group, church, ministry, or denomination.
d) This Bible study was produced by Ron Kincaid Ministries.
e) If you would like to read a Bible study on the book of Jude, click on this link:
http://judeinthebible.blogspot.com/2015/04/jude-in-bible.html
f) If you would like to read a Bible study on Moses and the Promised Land, click on this link:
http://mosesandthepromisedland.blogspot.com/2015/04/moses-and-promised-land-who-was-moses.html
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JESUS IS LORD.
