DAY 355 ½

NUMBERS

NUMBERS: Revelation has a lot of them. And it is not that it has a million different numbers, instead it seems to use the same numbers over and over. Take the number seven for example. There are seven lamps, stars, spirits, seals, and trumpets, and the red dragon has seven crowns…and that is just one example. In a book such as Revelation the numbers probably have symbolic meaning and are not for statistics.

Before I dive in a word of caution is appropriate. Some have taken this too far as if the Bible contains some sort of secret code…I do not intend to go so far. With that caveat let’s look at three of the numbers of Revelation.

24: Practically the only place we find this number is in Revelation. There are 24 elders and we certainly think of the 12 tribes and the 12 apostles – some see it as the linking of the Old and New.

4: There are many in Revelation, for example the four living creatures, the four compass points, the four winds. They are thought to represent the created world.

7: In contrast to the number 24, the number 7 appears frequently in the Bible. Though they appear frequently, the also appear in clusters, especially when describing rituals, and altars, and sacrificial animals, and more. It also is found in social relationships, and indeed the opening of the Bible is 7 days…and if you look closely at the end of the Bible some has suggested that there is a 7 “beat” rhythm to Revelation. I could go on, but the point is that in our world we find our religion, our social norms, and Creation is the cycle of seven…and scientists and more puzzle over why humanity seems to have this response to seven-cycle vibrations!

Some have suggested the 7 represents the entirety of something, but might it represent the essence of it. Might the 7 churches in Revelation not represent the entirety of the church, but the essence of the real church? If the seven letters show the church as it really is, might the seven seals show the world as it really is?