Numbers and the Bible
( from Feb 17, 2015)
( from Feb 17, 2015)
Mark Twain once said, “It’s not those parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” Such is the case with most of us. It’s not a lack of knowledge that hinders our response. It’s a lack of will. The Bible speaks clearly of God and His purposes. Yet there are many who complicate the clarity of the Bible with schemes like numerology.
I had assumed that biblical numerology was pretty much ignored, until last week. It has made its way into some new Christian fiction books. (The 13th Series) The premise of these volumes is that prophetic passages of Scripture cannot be grasped without a firm grip on the equations behind them. Why?
“Bible numerology is the study of numbers in the Bible. Bible numbers add meaning to God’s parables, allegories, and stories by interpreting and fulfilling the text of His Word. When understood, the numbers of God serve as the Bible’s foundational truth likened to a skeleton around which the texts of the Bible (like flesh) are formed.” (Mark 7 Publishing)
“An essential key to understanding the design of God’s Word is through the meaning of Biblical numbers. The connections and patterns of numerals, when we search them out and understand them, reveal the handiwork of God.”
“Research has uncovered patterns in certain original language words and phrases that reveal a hidden meaning behind the Biblical text . . . Just as God employed mathematical laws to create everything, He used numerals in the design of His word. The Scriptures exhibit a numerical design that can only be explained by the direct inspiration of a Creator. . . What these frequently used numerics mean reveals the mind of God and the divine design of His revelation to man.” (The Bible Study Site )
What did you just read?
1. Bible numbers add meaning to and fulfill the text of His Word.
2. The numbers of God serve as the Bible’s foundational truth.
3. An essential key to understanding the design of God’s Word is the meaning of Biblical numbers.
4. Patterns in certain original language words and phrases reveal a hidden meaning behind the Biblical text.
5. These frequently used numerics reveal the mind of God and the divine design of His revelation to man.
Those are bold statements. Consider the ramifications for Bible study if they are true. You can’t know how God‘s Word is fulfilled; you don’t know the Bible’s foundational truths; you won’t understand God’s design; you will miss the hidden meaning in Bible texts; you won’t have the mind of God. All because you aren’t endowed with the mystery of the numbers?
Here’s the crucial question. Can we understand God and His Word if we don’t know what the numbers mean? Of course the answer is yes. We can understand God without trying to flesh out esoteric numeric symbols. Consider these unambiguous texts.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps 119:105). “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place . . .” (2 Pet 1:19a) The Bible is a light.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Scripture is profitable in every way.
“The sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim 3:15b). The Scriptures show the way to be saved.
“The common people heard Him [Jesus] gladly” (Mark 12:37, NKJV). “To the saints who are in Ephesus” (Eph 1:1). The Bible was not written for scholars or mystery hunters.
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deut 6:6-7). Parents can teach the Scripture to children.
Children can learn from Scripture. “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings. . . ” (2 Tim 3:14-15a).
God didn’t hide what He meant behind an ancient database. The Bible is for everyone, not just the seemingly enlightened.
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