Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I would agree that the ways in which certain numbers are used in Scripture would lend themselves to symbolic interpretations, such as seven being regarded as a number of completeness or perfection (as in the creation account), and forty being associated with testing (as with Israel's years of wandering in the desert, or Jesus' days in the wilderness following His baptism).

(I have even seen numerological studies of the Bible (such as the book Theomatics by memorization coach Harry Lorayne and former professional basketball player Jerry Lucas) that assign numerical values to ordinary Hebrew or Greek letters or words in an effort to show patterns that purportedly demonstrate the Bible's divine inspiration even down to the level of the individual letters that the original authors used.)

However, I personally would be hesitant to unquestioningly apply a similar symbolism or meaning to any number (even if the symbolic Biblical meaning of that number appears to be clear based on multiple usages) with respect to any individual's unique life experience.

In my opinion, the Bible's general guidance with respect to human conduct and humanity's relationship with God are sufficient for application in any specific situation in which Christians may find themselves (either in their earthly lives, or with respect to their eternal existence), without the necessity of seeking symbolic or "hidden" meanings based on superficial or coincidental parallelisms between the Bible and our personal lives.

September 26 2019 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report