Our Wonderful Bible: It’s Numerical Design / Part 4

Series – January 2022 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Our Wonderful Bible
Its Numerical Design – Part 4

In this Series we have been considering truths Scripture places on various numbers in the Bible. Let’s continue our study by looking at numbers five through nine.

Five
Leviticus 8:23 tells about the consecration of a priest. Instruction as to the cleansing of a leper is given in Leviticus 14:14. In both cases, blood of an offering was to be put on the three parts of the body connected with the number five. It was put upon the ear, which is part of the five senses, upon the hand with its five fingers, and upon the foot with its five toes.

All this speaks of man’s responsibility. With the ear he is to receive God’s Word, with the hand he is to do the enjoined work, and with the foot he is to walk in His ways. Five takes meaning from the component parts of four and one. It speaks of man with God, or man’s responsibility to God. In the fifth book, Deuteronomy, the thought of man’s responsibility to obey God is prominent.

Six
It was on the sixth day that God made man and put him over all creation. Later, this command was given to the nation of Israel: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work” (Exod. 20:9-10 KJV). This restricted them from doing any work on the seventh day (v.10). Six, then, is man’s number and speaks of divine limit imposed on him and of restraint on his will. It is formed by 3x2 and represents the combined thoughts of these two numbers. Two speaks of the enemy and the division of sin in the evil sense, and three tells of manifestation and fullness, so six may speak to us of the full development of evil, as is seen in the number of the beast: 666. Here is the highest opposition to God, while the stamp of vanity and weakness of the creature, limited and restrained by God, is also recognized in this number, which falls short of perfection as seen in the number seven.

In the good sense the number six may speak of God manifesting Himself to dwell with us and that we are to have community with Him. This is suggested by 3x2 also: three speaking of manifestation and two of communion and fellowship in the good sense. Space, however, forbids tracing out this line of thought in Scripture as connected with six.

Seven
This number is made up of 4 plus 3. Four is the world number and three is that of divine manifestation. It is when God is thus manifested in connection with His works in this earth that He can rest, and the seventh day is the day of God’s rest as we see from Genesis 2:2-3. In that day He beheld that all His works were very good, so we have the thoughts of rest and perfection connected with seven. An indivisible number, it also speaks of completion. It is the number of perfect divine accomplishment, and the Scriptures abound with series and patterns of sevens: seven parables (Mt. 13), seven churches (Rev. 2–3), seven seals (Rev. 6,8) and many more.

Eight
This number is generally found connected with a new beginning in the Bible. Noah is called the eighth person in 2 Peter 2:5. The old world perished in the flood, and a new beginning was made with Noah, the eighth person. His name is also mentioned eight times in the New Testament.* In music the eighth full tone above a given tone is an octave, or a new beginning.

Genesis 17:12 tells us circumcision was performed on the eighth day. It pointed to the putting off of the old man and the things of the flesh, and the beginning of a new or resurrection life (Col. 2:11-13). The resurrection of Christ was also on the eighth day, and truly it was a new beginning. We remind our readers of what we spoke of in Part 1 of this Series about the name “Jesus” in the Greek. We saw that it equaled 888 and pointed to this new beginning of which we see eight speaks.

Nine
This number is formed by 3x3 and speaks of complete divine manifestation and finality. The word “amen” has the value of 99 in Greek, and the Lord used this word just 99 times in the Gospels (translated “verily” in the KJV). Thus the word and thought of “amen” is connected with the number nine and means that what is mentioned is sure, certain and final. In accord with this we find it was the ninth hour when the Lord Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30, see Lk. 23:44-46). His work of atoning for our sins was complete and final.

ENDNOTE
* Mt. 24:37-38; Lk 3:36, 17:26-27; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5.

By R. K. Campbell

This short Series is adapted from the book, “Our Wonderful Bible.” The original articles, revised and compiled later for the book, were published in Grace & Truth Magazine between 1942 and 1949. The full book can be purchased from Believers Bookshelf USA.