Dialing a wrong number can result in an embarrassingly uncomfortable conversation with a complete stranger. Usually people are understanding, but occasionally the wrong number recipient can be grouchy, cold, and even harsh in their response to being inconvenienced. Both parties are caught off-guard, in an awkward moment.
Numbers are important, and they are very significant in the Bible, too, where they take on spiritual meaning. Even though the Bible is authored by many writers, God is consistent in bringing the same meaning and harmony in the use of numbers, regardless of different time periods and cultures.
Bible Numerics is a fascinating subject. I am certainly not an expert on it, but I do recognize that as students of the Bible, we must be careful to distinguish between Bible Numerics and Numerology, which is the worship and idolatrous use of numbers.
In interpreting the meaning of numbers in the Bible, is it imperative to stay within the boundaries of Scripture and understand the spiritual significance of numbers as they appear in the Word. Just because you find 3 brown shoe laces in your drawer, then sit down to breakfast and 3 Cheerios fall out of your cereal bowl, while 3 cardinals land on your bird feeder as you’re eating breakfast, does not mean 333 would be God’s winning number for the lottery. NEWSFLASH: God doesn’t need the lottery and neither do you! Much more exciting and profitable is to know the Biblical value of numbers, not the worldly significance.
The Lord loves order. He is not the author of confusion; Satan is. God is not a God of disorder but of peace, we are told in 1 Corinthians 14:33 (NLT). Numbering speaks of organization, as evidenced in these verses:
1. Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days…
2. Psalm 147:4 He counts the number of the stars…
3. Daniel 5:26 (Daniel said this to King Belshazzar) God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end.
4. Matthew 10:30 But the very hairs of your head are numbered…
Although the following list is far from complete, several numbers with significant Biblical meanings include:
· One—the number of God, beginning
· Three—the number of the Godhead and number of completeness
· Six—number of man, beast, Satan
· Seven—number of perfection and completeness
· Eight—number of new beginning and resurrection
· Twelve—number of Divine Government
No doubt the most infamous number ever is 666, which is the number of Antichrist, Satan, the mark of the damned, and the mark of the man who is a beast. This “Beast of the Earth” spoken of in Revelation 13 will perform miracles and deceive the people in the world—unbelievers left behind to suffer in the Tribulation, after Christians have exited the world in the Rapture. Revelation 13:16-18 tells us that, He (the Beast of the Earth) required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.
If you are in Christ, saved by His blood and forgiven of your sins, you will never tangle with the number 666 or the Beast. You will never dial that wrong number or be stamped with it! Rejoice that your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of life, and learn what HIS numbers are all about!
(Kevin J. Conner’s book entitled, Interpreting the Symbols and Types, was helpful in writing this One-a-Day.)
© 2020, Chris Werre