Biblical Meaning of Numbers Made Simple: A Prophetic Guide for Everyday Believers
Numbers have no authority over you.
A number can’t dictate if you are good or bad or if you are blessed or cursed. You can live at 1313 Mockingbird Lane and still be a Jesus freak. It’s very possible that a lot of people born on 7/7/07 will be agents of the devil himself.
Numbers are not gods. They are simply units of measurement. To revere or worship them is to step out of God’s camp and into a place where the devil will do a number on you.
Note: To “do a number” is an idiom and slang term where I come from, which means to beat up or abuse somebody. A little bit of Brewer humor for you. Pun intended.
So, if you’re someone who wants to calculate the numerical value of your girlfriend’s name to see if she is compatible for you to marry, this is not the right book for you. You do not follow Jesus and give authority to numerical values.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18).
So, What Is the Point?
This does not mean you do not need to know what the Bible has to say about numbers. While it is true there is no power in numbers, it is also true there is absolute power in the Word of God.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword… (Hebrews 4:12).
There is power in God’s Word, and numbers are a valuable part of His incredible lingo. You cannot separate His Word from numerical symbols. God is the God of perfect order. When He uses numbers to speak, there is incredible power in it.
The Lord loves what I call “inside information.” He loves to say things in a way that only those who seek Him and study His ways know what He is actually saying. He’s funny like that.
He does that because there is an incredible blessing in knowing the truth and hearing His voice. That blessing is only reserved for those very few people who seek a relationship with Him, not just the benefits of the relationship with Him.
When Jesus addressed His reasons for doing this, our brother Matthew penned it down in the 13th verse of his 13th chapter. If you know what 13 means, then you’ll understand why that verse is found at that number.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand (Matthew 13:13).
God speaks through parable, type, and symbol as a way to conceal what He is saying and as a way to illustrate and reveal what He is saying. Only those people who are close to Him and are willing to seek Him out will hear the sermon within the story and see the picture within the illustration.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2).
When you don’t know what God says through the type and symbol of certain numbers, you miss what God is saying altogether. We know this is true when searching out the Jewish culture. God used the local culture to illustrate incredible truth. Unless you study the culture of ancient Israel, you’ll never know what He was speaking through the napkin He left in the empty tomb or why John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit as a dove.
Unless you study the numerical patterns God uses over and over again, you will never see what God is saying through the five stones David picked up or the three stages in the Temple.
God is speaking. Just because He is speaking doesn’t mean we recognize it. What’s more, just because we recognize He is speaking, does not mean we will understand it. We have to be dependent on Him and search out the matter. So if you desire to tap into more of the power of God’s Word for your life, and you are willing to study numbers in Scripture to do that, this is perfect for you.
Cowboy Math
I remember hearing of a math class at Tarleton State University for the football jocks who were less than competent in their mathematical skills. It was called “cowboy math,” and it was equivalent to the “stupid row” of my first-grade class.
Fact or fiction aside, this gave me great hope because there was a time when I wanted to play football at Tarleton State and study to be a veterinarian. I always knew if I did, I would proudly sign up for “cowboy math.” I never had to ride a short bus to school, but my math skills landed me in the knuckle-dragging category more than once.
Oh, I was cool in drama, football, rodeo, and even popular among the poetry geeks, but in math, I was a declared mental midget. I prayed I would never be asked a question by Mrs. Bloxom, my ninth-grade Intro Algebra teacher, the same exact way I prayed the ball would never come to me when I was forced to play baseball. But the questions did come, and I became painfully aware at a very early age that whatever skills in life I had, the calculation of mathematical formulas was not one of them. Thank God for calculators and computers!
So why would a guy who admits to bordering on brainless in arithmetic write a book on numbers throughout the Word of God? The answer is, because I am a revelation junky. I’m not talking about the prophetic study of end-time events. I’m talking about prophecy as in “God is speaking.” I’m addicted to the study of anything God has to say, through any medium He wants to speak it.
Now the just shall live by faith… (Hebrews 10:38).
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).
God the Mathematician
While I am not a mathematician, it is a fact that God is, and everything He designs is embedded with brilliant mathematical code. Bible numeric code appears to be God’s watermark of authenticity, the same way the metal line now runs through the money in your wallet. It prevents counterfeiting.
One of the greatest books ever written on this subject is Number in Scripture by E.W. Bullinger. In his introduction, he writes:
There can neither be works nor words without number. We can understand how man can act and speak without design or significance, but we cannot imagine that the great and infinite Creator and Redeemer could either work or speak without both His words and His works being absolutely perfect in every particular.
I like to say that if God made sure there is perfect mathematical design in time and space, in the human body, and in all other things He created, why would we not think His Word would be the same? It is.
Bullinger was one sharp cookie and, in my opinion, a theological genius. However, the good news is that you and I don’t have to be geniuses to see the hand of God in numbers. Bullinger’s great work, Number in Scripture, is considered a masterpiece by those of us who are biblical numbers junkies. However, the common complaint I hear as I have handed out hundreds of copies of his book over the years is, “It reads like a tech manual.”
Numbers That Preach is my humble attempt to teach the deep things of numbers in a way people like me can comprehend. You can call it “Biblical Numbers for Dummies” if you want, but to me, it can still be simple and powerful at the same time.
Alpha Numeric
There is incredible mathematical code in several settings throughout His written Word. In other words, God uses more than just one method to speak through numbers. The most popular study of Bible numbers comes in the form of what’s called gematria, or the numeric values of words. The Greeks and the Hebrews didn’t have separate symbols, such as 1, 2, and 3, for numbers like we do. Instead, like the Romans, they used the letters of their own alphabet as numbers. It would be like us not using the number one, but using the letter A instead, or in the place of writing the number two, you would write the letter B.
In Greek, alpha represents 1 and beta 2, and so on up to iota, which is 10. Kappa is 20, lambda is 30, and so on up to rho, which is 100. Sigma is 200, tau 300, and so on up to omega, which is 800. Anytime you were reading a sentence, you were also reading a mathematical formula.
This means you can take the letters of any word or name and add them up to get a total value for the word. That value is called the gematria of that word. The name Jesus (Ἰησοῦς in Greek) is a perfect name, and by perfect mathematical design, it adds up to 888 (8 x 111).
Prophetic Paradoxes
When God speaks through numbers, it’s important to understand the context. One powerful insight He has revealed to me is something I call a prophetic paradox. In this, a single number can carry two distinct meanings depending on the spiritual state of the situation. When the situation is unredeemed—outside of His will or order—the number may point to judgment, warning, or brokenness.
When God is actively at work in the midst of the situation, that same number can reveal His presence, purpose, and glory in a redeemed situation. For example, there are nine fruits of the Spirit that show up in a life that has been redeemed by God. But God put nine examples of people being stoned as a word about His judgment. Remember, searching out the meanings of numbers is about hearing God speak to you.
Christianity 101 is knowing that we can hear God and that He is speaking to us in many ways. Understanding the meanings, even both meanings of numbers, is a great tool for us to develop. There are several numbers that are prophetic paradoxes i that will shed more light on this.
We’ll get into all this a little bit later, but this written work isn’t really about the numerical value of the words and sentences in the Bible. I will certainly include some of that, but it’s more about what God is actually speaking through the symbol of numbers themselves. It doesn’t do me any good to calculate the mathematical value of something, which I probably can’t anyway, if I don’t know what God is saying through that sum of numbers.
I respect the hard work that great people like Ivan Panin and Dr. Milo Mahan have produced. However, more than the actual numbers, I am interested in the heart behind the numbers. I don’t want to go too crazy in studying the print in the sand; I want to find the foot that made that print.
The heart of God is revealed through His Word.
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh (Matthew 12:34).
That’s my fascination—nothing less than the very heart of God. I am after the person Himself, more than the portrait. I want to see the face of God more than His hand. I believe He wants to be found. I believe He can be found, and I’m crazy about searching after Him. That’s why I study the numbers throughout Scripture.
As you will see, throughout history, He left His fingerprints to tease us into searching Him out. He wants those few people who are willing to search for Him to find and glorify Him in incredible new ways.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2).
It is our honor to search for Him and to glorify Him in this incredible game of hide and go seek. Sometimes, I am reading the Scriptures, and through the numbers, I can say, “Oh! I see you, God! You are hidden right there.” Other times, I see the same numbers in a science book or in the headlines of the newspaper, and again, point to His majesty and say, “I’ve spotted You again, Jesus!”
You see, the same God who designed the world to be 24,000 (12,000 x 2) miles around also designed it to travel 1,600,000 (12 x 13,333) miles in one day in its orbit around the Sun, which has a diameter of 864,000 (12 x 72,000) miles. He stamped the number 12 all over it as He did with the moon that orbits us. It has a linear diameter of 1,260 (12 x 105) miles. That same God decided that one day would have 24 (12 x 2) hours in it and 24 (12 x 2) time zones circling our planet.
The same God who designed those things also recorded in His written Word that the apostle John had a vision of 24 elders circling the throne of God. That was nearly 1,600 years before the longitude problem was solved, and no one had a clue that 24 also circled the Earth. If you pay attention to the numbers, it’s easy to see that the same God who designed the world is the same God who designed the biblical picture of the throne room.
As we say in Texas, “How ’bout them apples?”
The same God who put 12 major constellations in the heavens also put 12 months in a year. The very same God also gave Israel 12 tribes and the church 12 disciples who followed Jesus. He did this because the number 12 is the number in His Word that indicates God is governing something. It is also His fingerprint to folks on the inside scoop, so they can know He is in control, ruling and reigning in that same arena.
That’s why 60 (12 x 5) seconds make one minute, and 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds (12 x 300), make one hour. It takes 60 minutes to make one degree in longitude, and 360 degrees (12 x 30) completes one circle. Because God is saying something, and these numbers are preaching to those who have an ear to hear it. He is saying the same thing He always says through the number 12:
I Am Governing These Things; I Am in Control.
He is saying in every minute, every day, and every time zone, He is in control.
The point is not the number 12. The point is what God is preaching through the number 12. I can paint a number 12 on the side of my car and still total it within five minutes. There is no power to govern anything given to the number 12, but there is incredible power in knowing what God is speaking. I want to know what He is saying, even if He chooses numbers to say it.
