The Bible is filled with practical knowledge, revelations from God, and abundant symbolism. The Jews weren’t alone in their affinity to find something symbolic in everything they saw; many ancient cultures were the same. Those ancient people looked for signs in nature and the world around them. While the Bible doesn’t encourage the “seeking of signs,” it still uses much of the symbolism that people of that time were familiar with… at least in the Old Testament.
There’s a marked difference in the way the Old and New Testaments were written, with much less symbolism in the New. Part of that is that there is only one book of prophecy included in the New Testament, while there are 17 in the Old Testament. Prophecy, by its very nature, tends towards being symbolic, while history and teaching contain less of it. Nevertheless, there is some symbolism in the teachings of the New Testament.
We “modern people” aren’t as in-touch with symbolism as our ancestors were. What they saw as spiritual symbols, we seek a scientific answer for. This causes us to miss out on some details that the Bible contains, even while we understand the bulk of its teaching.
When is it Symbolic?
This brings up a major question for us today – how can you tell when something in the Bible should be taken literally and when it should be understood as being symbolic?
Finding a definitive answer to this question can be difficult, especially as there are many things in the Bible which can be taken both as literal and symbolic. Some of those actually should, as prophecy is almost always symbolic, even when it is dealing with real people and events. Many real events that happened were there to show things that would be happening in the future; or at least the future of the people who were involved in those events. But that’s a prophecy.
Just because prophecy is symbolic in nature, doesn’t mean that we should assume that everything in the Bible is symbolic. It may very well be; but if we spend all our time trying to unravel the symbolism of scripture, we’ll miss out on the much bigger lessons that God wants to teach us. The other risk is that people who are not thoroughly familiar with the symbology used in prophecy will invent their own definitions for various things they think are symbols, coming up with their own interpretations of scripture. Interpretations that may be false.
For most of us, the basic rule of thumb is that if we can understand it in the natural, we should accept it in the natural. It is only when we can’t understand it naturally, that we should assume that the true meaning of a passage of scripture is symbolic. In other words, when the Bible tells us that a big fish swallowed Jonah (Jonah 1:17), we should believe that a big fish swallowed Jonah. We know what fish are and we know what swallowing is. The idea of a fish swallowing a man may seem a bit far-fetched to us; but we can definitely understand what it means.
This is not to say that there isn’t anything symbolic about the fish swallowing Jonah; just that we don’t need to go looking for the symbolism. Jesus Himself told us that Jonah spending three days and three nights in the belly of that fish were symbolic of the three days He would spend in the earth, before His resurrection.
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. – Matthew 12:38-40
It is interesting how Jesus responded to those Pharisees, calling them evil and adulterous, because they sought a sign. This should serve as a warning to us, if we’re overly fixated on seeking signs and symbols. While there is nothing wrong with seeking them; there is, when we ignore committing our lives to Jesus in search for some “deeper meaning.”
Let’s look at another New Testament example; one found in Paul’s second letter to Timothy:
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel of honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. – 2 Timothy 2:20-21
This seems rather straightforward, if we just read it. It’s when we take a moment to try and understand the meaning of the verse that we have trouble. The simple phrase “if anyone cleanses himself from the latter” clearly refers to the wood and clay in the previous verse. But just what does that mean? Are we to throw any wood and pottery “vessels” (plates, cups, bowls, cookware, etc.) away, so that we might be “cleansed?” That’s where it becomes clear that these two verses can’t be understood naturally. Therefore, there must be something symbolic in them.
That symbolism is not hard to find. There are four materials mentioned in verse 20 and they all have a symbolic meaning in prophecy:
- Gold – stands for divinity
- Silver – represents sanctification
- Wood – is a symbol for the human body, or our flesh nature; we find acacia wood used in the building of the tabernacle, because it supposedly doesn’t decay. In other words, a symbolic representation of a human body that has nothing impure in it… Jesus.
- Clay – comes from the earth; from which we can see that it is talking about the world or the system of the world.
Looking at these known symbols from prophecy, it becomes clear that what we are to remove from our lives is our flesh, nature and the system of the world. When we do that, we become vessels of divinity and sanctification. Those are vessels that are useful to God and prepared for every good work.
Numbers Are Symbolic Too
Numbers are important in the Bible, especially the Old Testament. Just the fact that we have a book in the Bible named “Numbers” should show us that. They are also symbolic. Each time we see a number in the Bible’s text (other than chapter and verse numbers), there’s a symbolic reason why that particular number was chosen. It was intended to convey a message to the reader; and while we may not always understand that message today, those to whom it was originally written understood.
While any number might be used in the Bible, the ones which we are most interested in are the numbers 1 through 10. Those each have a basic meaning.
1 – Unity; primacy; sufficiency; beginning
2 – Fellowship, Union with Christ, witness, double measure
3 – Trinity, Godhead, solidity; divine perfection; death & resurrection
4 – Earth (4 corners of earth), creation; material things
5 – Grace; favor; healing; supernatural strengthening; forgiveness
6 – Man, man’s world; man’s works; human weakness (short of perfection)
7 – Spiritual perfection; God’s choice vs. man’s, covenant
8 – New beginning; first of a new series; superabundance; resurrection
9 – End; conclusion of a matter;
10 – Completion, divine order, responsibility on earth
When it comes to numbers higher than 10, they are seen as multiples of these smaller numbers. A simple example is the number 1,000, which is used in various places in the Bible. However, just because the number 1,000 is used, that doesn’t generally mean that they’re talking about an exact counted number of people or things. It’s a common term, much like saying “multitude.” But when we look at it symbolically, it is 10 x 10 x 10. Putting that another way, it is completely cubed.
The prophet Ezekiel used this in describing the river flowing out from under the temple, in his vision. The entire vision is written in chapters 40 to 48 of the book of Ezekiel, but the river I’m referring to is in chapter 47. While it was measured by a measuring line, it is clearly symbolic, as the angel measured off 1,000 cubits, several times over.
Significance of the Number 14
The number 14 is arrived at by multiplying 7 times 2, giving it the meaning of being the double measure of the covenant. The double measure is significant in scripture, as the right of the firstborn. When Elisha asked Elisha for a “double portion of his spirit” (2 Kings 2:9), he was essentially stating that he knew that he was spiritually Elijah’s firstborn, and therefore deserving of that right. Looking back at the time that Elijah anointed him as prophet, we see that as true.
(God, speaking to Elijah) Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. – 1 Kings 19:16
Just what is this right of the firstborn? During Biblical times, when a man died, his inheritance was divided amongst his sons. If he had three sons, the inheritance was divided into four equal parts. Each son received one part and the firstborn received the extra one, the “double portion.”
When we talk about inheritance in the Bible, we’re talking about covenant. The single most important inheritance to the people of the Bible, the Jewish people, was inheriting the covenant that God made with Abraham. Jesus was the fulfillment of that covenant. This gives us a much more important meaning for the number 14, in that it talks about salvation.
The Number 14 in the Bible
We find the number 14 in a number of places in the Bible; but none more significant than in the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel; literally the beginning of the New Testament. There, the genealogy of Jesus was recorded, leading from Abraham, to Joseph, the husband of Mary and the man chosen by God to act in the place of Jesus’ father here on earth. The salient point of this genealogy is summed up in verse 17:
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. – Matthew 1:17
There is no explanation for this genealogy given in scripture. We know that the Jewish people put a lot of emphasis on recording their genealogy, as is shown in other places in the Bible. This is important to them, to prove who they are. In the case of important people, it shows their right to be considered part of the people of Israel or of Judah.
In this particular case, we find that Jesus is both a descendant of King David and through him of Abraham. Both are significant and important. Being a descendant of Abraham is important, because that gave Jesus the right to receive the rights of the covenant that God made with Abraham. Jesus’ birth was a direct result of that covenant, as well as of Abraham offering his son Isaac on the altar. Since God and Abraham were in covenant together, Abraham’s willingness to offer his son to God on the altar, put a covenant requirement on God to offer His Son on the altar on behalf of Abraham (or his seed).
As a direct descendant of King David, through Joseph, Jesus was the legal heir to David’s throne, even though there hadn’t been a king of Judah seated on the throne for just shy of 600 years. Even though Jesus didn’t carry Joseph’s DNA, making Him his Son by birth, He was accepted as Joseph’s firstborn, giving Him the right to the throne.
The number fourteen, or the multiplying of the covenant, comes in through how the genealogy is written here in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew makes the point that there were three sets of 14 generations, with the first being from Abraham to David, the second being from David to the captivity in Babylon and the third and final one being from the captivity in Babylon to Jesus.
So, why did the Holy Spirit bother to record this? With the number 14 referring to the fulfillment of the covenant, the connection between Jesus and Abraham, as well as the connection between Jesus and David are important. The genealogy is given as proof to the Jewish people that Jesus was their Messiah and that His purpose in coming was to fulfill God’s covenant, bringing them salvation.
The Passover celebration, given to the children of Israel in Exodus, chapter 14, falls on the 14th day of the month of Nissan, which was the first month in the Jewish calendar. The symbolism of its celebration is centered around the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. 430 years before the first Passover was celebrated in Egypt (when God set the nation of Israel free from slavery), God made two promises to Abraham. The first of these promises was that Abraham would have a son, whom we know as Isaac. The second involved the coming of Jesus Christ as Savior. The result of that will be that those who are adopted as sons of God will shine like the stars in heaven, fulfilling the promise that Abraham’s seed would be like the stars in heaven. That wasn’t talking about numbers, but the holiness of God flowing through them.
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out if His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnish of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! – Matthew 13:41-43
Jesus has come and died on the cross, making way for the spiritual children of Abraham to multiply and be purified, so that they may shine like those stars. We merely await the return of the Lord and the End Time harvest of souls, so that we might shine in the kingdom of our Father.