The Significance And Symbolism Of Numbers
In The Book Of The Revelation
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| A portrait of the Apostle John over the entrance of the monastery, dedicated to John, atop the highest mountain on the Island of Patmos. |
What the significance of numbers in
Revelation is a matter of interpretation, but that the numbers have significance is not in dispute. Revelation 19:10 says “the testimony of Jesus
is the spirit of prophecy.” According to The
Complete Biblical Library, one of the purposes of prophecy “is to bear
witness to Jesus, to exalt Him and to reveal His redemptive work.” (Revelation,
pg. 295). Studying the amazing detail in numbers and symbolism in the book of
Revelation is a testimony to how marvelous Jesus is and how powerful prophetic
books like the Revelation is.
It is incorrect
to call the study of numbers in the Bible “numerology.” Such a name conjures up
practices in the occult which are inconsistent with the Bible. However, to ignore
or fail to study the repeated use of numbers, especially three, six, seven, and
twelve, and multiples of those, would be a disservice to the Scriptures and an
incomplete study of the book. This study is by no means exhaustive, but it will
delve into the most significant elements of numbers and their symbolisms. The
practical relevance of the study is to affirm the divinity and wonder of the
Scriptures, to alert us to the corresponding significance (for instance, upon
seeing a theme of the number three, we should look for the holiness or heavenly
significance of the passage), and to help in interpreting the objects
corresponding to the numbers.
Perhaps the
most discussed number in the book of Revelation comes from Rev. 13:18: “Here is wisdom. Let him who has
understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man:
His number is 666.” The speculation that this number refers to Nero Caesar
is a forced and false interpretation, since Nero had been dead for nearly 30
years by the writing of Revelation and also because the number is only arrived
if you spell Nero as “Neron Kaisar”. More recent false designations have been
Ronald Wilson Reagan (six letters in each name), Henry Kissinger, Hitler,
Mussolini, the Pope, you name it.
The most
repeated number in Revelation is seven and its multiples and divided in half,
it is 3 ½ or sometimes seen as 42 months or 1260 days (a Jewish month is
exactly 30 days). The number seven is used 31 times in the Greek, and
represents a holy completion by God. With the Tribulation period existing for
seven years in length, it is the final pouring out of wrath from God upon the
earth, but it is also the time when an almost innumerable amount of persons
will possibly come to Christ from every part of the earth.
Of all the
significant words used in the book of Revelation, the singular and plural form
of “angel” is one of the most recurring. From the Greek word aggelos, the word
literally means messenger. It is likely that the angels of the seven churches
are in fact the pastors, or messengers of the church, since the Lord Jesus
would not need to communicate with them via a letter from John. The following
study will show that the word angel is used exactly 72 times in the Greek, a
holy number signifying three times 24, or the number of representatives from
the Old Testament tribes of Israel
and New Testament Apostles.
When the angels
are not grouped together, there are exactly:
7 angels who
stand alone
3 groups of
angels which are in threes (the number of heaven and holiness)
2 groups of
angels grouped in fours (the number of the earth)
3 groups of
angels which are in sevens (including the seven “angels” of the churches)
7 groups of
numerous angels which are only mentioned once in Revelation.
If this seems
confusing, realize that this is merely one study of numbers as it relates to
one group: angels. Volumes could be written on other divine numberings within
the book of Revelation.
At the end of
this study, we will see that Revelation also contains three signs in
heaven, three voices from the throne in heaven, seven voices from
heaven, and exactly 21 “great” (Greek: mega)
voices from heaven (21 is the heavenly number of 3 times the completed by God
number of 7).
We would be
wise to listen to what the voices say…
Generally
accepted applications of significant numbers are as follows:
