Road-signs are there to help us.
They’re useful - because they each have the same meaning all over the country.
But to drive safely - we first need to learn what each of these road-signs means.
In the same way, God uses certain NUMBERS as SIGNS - to HELP US UNDERSTAND His message.
These number-signs each have the same meaning all through the Bible: from the first book of Genesis to the last book of Revelation.
But to correctly interpret the Bible - we first need to learn what each of these number-signs means.
Read this message if you want to understand the meaning of these number-signs in the Bible:
7 Seven
12 Twelve
30 Thirty
40 Forty
42 Forty two
... and their multiples e.g. 70, 400 & 144
7.1 The first mention explains the meaning
Genesis 2:1-2
1Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host (= vast array) of them.
2And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
--> Seven = Job done.
7.2 Other examples of seven
Noah had seven days to gather his family & the animals into the Ark, and after seven months the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat ~ Genesis 7:4 & 8:4
Joshua 6:4-5
4And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns:
and the seventh day ye shall compass the city (= march around Jericho) seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout;
and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
--> Job done - Jericho was ready to be conquered.
Acts 13:19 ~ And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He divided their land to them by lot.
--> Job done - when God destroyed the Israelites’ enemies in the land of Canaan.
Solomon took seven years to build the Temple (1 Kings 6:38), which he then dedicated in the seventh month. (1 Kings 8:2)
7.3 MULTIPLES of number-signs (e.g. 14, 70, 77) have the same meaning as the original number-sign (e.g. 7)
King David - who extended Israel's kingdom to its greatest extent (1 Chronicles 18:3) - lived for seventy years ~ 2 Samuel 5:4
Jeremiah 29:10 ~ For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you,
and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
--> Job done - when God allowed the Israelites to return to the Promised Land, from their exile in Babylon.
The indicative life of a man is seventy years ~ Psalm 90:10
77 generations from Creation to Jesus ~ Luke 3:23-38
7.4 Job done - for God / mankind on THIS earth!
There are lots of sevens in the Book of Revelation - because it’s when God completes His plan for mankind on this earth:
Revelation 8:1-2
1And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
2And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
Revelation 16:17 ~ And the seventh angel poured out his vial (= cup / bowl) into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
7.5 Further reading
Genesis 11:26 ~ Terah was aged seventy when he fathered Abraham.
Genesis 29:18-21 & 26-28 ~ Before Jacob married Rachel, he served her father Laban for seven years (twice).
Genesis 41:29-30 & 53-54 ~ Seven years of plenty in Egypt, followed by seven years of famine.
Exodus 1:5 / Deuteronomy 10:22 ~ 70 of Jacob’s descendants went down with him into Egypt, after completing the Israelites' first phase in the land of Canaan.
Exodus 7:25 ~ Seven days between the plague of blood and the plague of frogs (in Egypt).
Numbers 16:49 ~ God killed 14,700 in the plague - when the Israelites grumbled, after the rebellion of Korah.
Judges 6:1 ~ After the Israelites did evil - God delivered them to the Midianites for seven years.
1 Samuel 6:1 ~ The Philistines retained the ark of the covenant for seven months
(punishment for the sins of Eli’s sons ~ 1 Samuel 2:12-17 & 27-34, 3:10-14, 4:1-11 & 21-22),
before they returned it to the Israelites.
2 Kings 5:10 & 14 ~ Naaman was healed of leprosy after washing seven times in the River Jordan.
Psalm 12:6 ~ The Word of God is perfect / flawless - like silver refined in the fire seven times.
Proverbs 9:1 ~ Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars.
Daniel 9:24 ~ Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins,
and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Luke 2:36-38 ~ Anna the prophetess lived with her husband for seven years and was then a widow worshipping God in the Temple for 84 (= 7 x 12) years - before she saw baby Jesus in the Temple.
--> Seven = Job done
12.1 In the Old Testament
There were twelve tribes in Israel. (Genesis 49:28 etc.)
600,000 (= 12 x 15,000) Israelite adults departed from Egypt. (Exodus 12:37)
Moses - the man of God - lived for 120 years. (Deuteronomy 31:2, 34:7)
David appointed 288 (= 12 x 12 x 2) Levites to praise God. (1 Chronicles 25:7-31 )
120,000 people in Nineveh turned to God, after Jonah preached to them. (Jonah 3:4-10 & 4:11)
Genesis 6:3 ~ And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
--> God gives each of us a finite time on earth - a maximum of 120 years - to decide whether or not we want to be one of His people.
--> Twelve = God’s people
12.2 In the New Testament / early Church
Jesus appointed twelve disciples:
Mark 3:13-14
13And He goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto Him whom He would: and they came unto Him.
14And He ordained twelve, that they should be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach.
There were 120 believers in the Upper Room:
Acts 1:15 ~ And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty).
Further reading
Luke 2:37
Acts 1:26
--> Twelve = God’s people
12.3 In Heaven / the Kingdom of God
Revelation 4:4 ~ And round about the throne were four and twenty seats:
and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
--> Twenty four elders = 12 x 2
Revelation 7:3-4
3Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.
--> 144,000 = 12 x 12 x 1,000
Revelation chapter 21
Verse 9
9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying,
Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
--> ‘The bride’ = the Church
(Ephesians 5:31-32, Revelation 19:7-9)
Verses 10-11
10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
--> ‘The holy Jerusalem’ = The Church - this has twelve gates / angels / foundations / apostles:
Verses 12-17
12And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15And he that talked with me had a golden reed (= rod) to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16And the city lieth foursquare (= four cornered / a square), and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs (= stadia).
The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits (one cubit = the length of a fore-arm), according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
--> The angel described the Church as:
12,000 furlongs long, wide & high = 12 x 1,000
Having a wall measuring 144 cubits = 12 x 12
Some versions of the Bible convert these measurements to the more modern units of: yards / metres / miles / kilometres.
But this conversion hides what God is telling us via number-signs.
Further reading about 12's in the Book of Revelation
Revelation 5:8-10, 14:1 & 3, 19:4
--> Twelve = God’s people
Luke 3:21-23
21Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22And the Holy Ghost (= Holy Spirit) descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art My beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased.
23And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age (= Jesus was about 30 years old when He began His ministry), being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.
--> Jesus began His ministry aged 30.
2 Samuel 5:4 ~ David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
--> David was 30 years old when he was called to serve God, as king of Israel.
Numbers chapter 4
Verses 1-3
1And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2Take the sum (= take a census) of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,
3From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host (= enter service), to do the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation.
...
Verse 47
47From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry,
and the service of the burden (= porters / carrying) in the Tabernacle of the congregation.
Further reading
Verses: 23, 30, 35, 39 & 43
--> God called the Levites to serve Him in the Tabernacle, from age 30.
Further reading
Joshua (same name as Yeshua / Jesus) chose 30,000 ‘mighty men of valour’ to ambush the inhabitants of Ai. (Joshua 8:3)
God called 300 men to help Gideon defeat the Midianites. (Judges 7:4-7)
God called Ezekiel to be a Prophet in the 30th year of the exile in Babylon. (Ezekiel 1:1-3)
--> 30 = Called to serve God
40 = This is important / a key event / like God’s highlighter pen
40.1 Stephen gives MANY EXAMPLES in Acts chapter 7
Verse 6
6And God spake on this wise (= in this way), That his seed (= Abraham’s descendants) should sojourn (= dwell) in a strange land;
and that they (= the Egyptians) should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil (= mistreat them) four hundred years.
--> The Israelites were in Egypt for 400 years.
Further reading
Genesis 15:13
Verses 22-23
22And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
23And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.
--> Moses was 40 years old when he visited the Israelites.
Verses 29-30
29Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian (= MIdian), where he begat (= became the father of) two sons.
30And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.
--> The angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush after Moses had been in Midian for 40 years.
Verse 36
36He (= Moses) brought them out, after that He had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.
--> The Israelites were in the wilderness for 40 years.
Further reading
Deuteronomy 1:3-8, 2:7, 8:2-4, 29:5
Joshua 5:6
Nehemiah 9:21
Psalm 95:8-11
Amos 2:10
--> 40 = This is important / a key event / like God’s highlighter pen
40.2 Well known examples - OLD Testament
God sent rain for 40 days & 40 nights to cause the flood. (Genesis 7:12)
Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days (on two separate occasions) when God gave him the law. (Exodus 24:18 / Deuteronomy 9:9-11 & 18, 10:10)
Joshua & Caleb spied the Promised Land for 40 days (Numbers 13:25) and Caleb was 40 years old at the time. (Joshua 14:7)
Goliath appeared before the Israelites for 40 days before David killed him. (1 Samuel 17:16)
Saul, David & Solomon each reigned for 40 years as king. (Acts 13:21, 2 Samuel 5:4, 1 Kings 11:42, 1 Chronicles 29:27, 2 Chronicles 9:30)
God gave the people of Nineveh 40 days to repent. (Jonah 3:4)
40.3 Well known examples - NEW Testament
Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days & 40 nights before starting His ministry.
(Matthew 4:1-2)
The man healed at the Gate Beautiful was at least 40 years old. (Acts 4:22)
Jesus appeared to His Apostles for 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension to Heaven. (Acts 1:1-3)
40.4 Further reading
Genesis 8:6 ~ Noah opened the window of the Ark after 40 days.
Genesis 25:20 ~ Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah.
(Isaac is a picture of Jesus, Rebekah is a picture of the bride of Christ / Christians like us - see section 4 of the ‘Faith’ message on WholeCounselofGod.com)
Genesis 26:34-35, 27:46 & 28:8-9 ~ Esau was 40 years old when be inter-married with the Hittites, which was a bad decision.
Genesis 32:6 & 33:1 ~ Esau brought 400 men with him, when he was re-united with Jacob.
Exodus 7:7 ~ Moses was 80 years old when he told Pharaoh to release the Israelites.
Numbers 33:38 ~ Aaron died 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt.
Joshua 4:12-13 ~ 40,000 armed men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad & Manasseh crossed the Jordan, to help the rest of the Israelites capture the Promised Land.
Judges 3:11 ~ Othniel was Judge for 40 years between two times when the Israelites behaved badly.
Judges 3:30 ~ The land had rest for 80 years after Ehud’s victory.
Judges 5:31 ~ The land had rest for 40 years after Deborah’s victory.
Judges 8:28 ~ The land had rest for 40 years after Gideon’s victory.
Judges 13:1 ~ Before the time of Samson - God delivered the Israelites to the Philistines for 40 years.
Judges 20: 22 + 25, 26, 28 ~ The Israelites suffered 40,000 casualties - before learning that they needed to fast to win their battle against the tribe of Benjamin.
1 Samuel 4:18 ~ Eli judged Israel for 40 years.
1 Samuel 22:1-2 ~ 400 men joined David in Adullam's cave.
1 Kings 6:1 ~ Solomon started to build the Temple 480 years (= 40 x 12) after the Israelites left Egypt.
1 Kings 19:8 ~ Elijah took 40 days to reach Mount Horeb.
2 Kings 12:1-2 ~ Jehoash - a good king - reigned for 40 years in Jerusalem.
2 Kings 8:16-18 / 2 Chronicles 21:5 & 20 ~ Jehoram - a bad king - lived for 40 years.
Ezekiel 4:6 ~ Judah sinned for 40 years before being sent into exile at Babylon.
Ezekiel 29:12-13 ~ God punished Egypt and scattered the Egyptians for 40 years because of their pride (verses 3 & 9).
400 years between the last book / prophecy in the Old Testament (Malachi), and the birth of Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew).
Revelation 14:20 ~ At the end of this age: 'Blood will come out of the winepress' for 1,600 (= 40 x 40) furlongs / stadia (= the everlasting & painful punishment for unbelievers).
--> 40 = This is important / a key event / like God’s highlighter pen
42.1 God created mathematics!
6 = Man:
God created man on the sixth day (Genesis 1:27 & 31)
666 is the number of a man (Revelation 13:18)
We saw earlier that 7 = Job done.
42 = 7 x 6
So 42 =
God has finished His plan (or a phase of His plan) = 7
For man (or for a group of people) = 6
42.2 Three examples
The Israelites camped in 42 places between leaving Egypt, and entering the Promised Land. (Numbers 33:1-49)
--> God finished THAT phase of His plan for the Israelites.
42,360 Jews returned from their exile in Babylon, to Jerusalem. (Ezra 2:64, Nehemiah 7:66)
--> God finished THAT phase of His plan for the Jews.
Matthew 1:17 ~ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations;
and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations;
and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
(14 x 3 = 42)
--> 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus = God finished THAT phase of His plan for the Hebrews.
(Jews were called Hebrews / Israelites in their early generations.)
42.3 Forty two in the Book of Revelation = God finishing the NEXT phase of His plan for the Jews
Revelation chapter 12
Verse 5
5And she brought forth a man (= male) Child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her Child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.
Q - Who is the male Child raised up to the throne of God, who rules with a rod of iron?
A - Jesus.
(Acts 2:29-32, Hebrews 12:2, Revelation 19:13-16)
Q - Who is the ‘Woman who gave birth to Jesus’?
A - The Jews:
God finished THAT phase of His plan for the Hebrews / Israelites, when they brought the Christ / Messiah to Earth (the 42 generations since Abraham, as we just saw in Matthew 1:17).
Verse 6
6And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
--> 1,260 days = 42 months.
--> ‘The wilderness’ = The exile of the Jews away from their Promised Land, after Jesus' time on Earth:
This massive exile lasted from AD 135 until the 19th - 21st centuries.
Further reading - ‘Israel’ message on WholeCounselofGod.com
So in verse 6 - God gave a prophetic warning to believers, about this dramatic & unexpected change in location for His chosen people: the Jews.
Verse 13
13And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man Child.
Q - What does God mean by: ‘The dragon persecuted the woman which brought forth the man Child’ ?
A - Satan would persecute the Jews during THAT PHASE in exile - for example via the:
Spanish inquisition
Russian pogroms
Nazi holocaust
... and many, many others.
Revelation 11:2 ~ But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not;
for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city (= Jerusalem) shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
--> God uses ’42 months’ (= 6 x 7) to explain that one day, this phase of His plan for a group of people (= 6) - the Jews - would be completed (= 7):
They would NOT be persecuted in exile forever.
Because they would RETURN to Jerusalem and to their Promised Land of Israel.
Just like they did after their phases in:
Egypt
The desert wilderness
Babylon (see section 42.2)
Further reading
Revelation 11:3, 13:5-7
--> 42 = God finishing a phase of His plan for a group of people.
(The Hebrews / Israelites / Jews).
7 Seven = Job done
12 Twelve = God’s people
30 Thirty = Called to serve God
40 Forty = This is important / a key event / like God’s highlighter pen
42 Forty two = God finishing a phase of His plan for a group of people (The Hebrews / Israelites / Jews)
Amen