This article attempts to show how consistent and perfect patterns in the Bible's use of numbers reveals themes that help us interpret his word. These themes are also found in the world and I believe, can sometimes be used by God to communicate his message to us. The key is to correctly interpret his themes and then see how they might apply to numbers in our world. I know, sounds like fantasy or a well intentioned but totally off-base idea -- I think the examples included might cause you to wonder. This is not proof of this concept but rather presented as a possibility to ponder and one that might cause us to think if God is sending messages in some of the worlds recent disasters.
Note: This is not a difficult article to read but I don't know how to clearly explain biblical numbers without explaining some of the Bible's number basics which at first seem complex. It is not a fast read, but I believe if you take a couple of minutes to think about it, there are great rewards in realizing what God has done with numbers found in his word.
The observations I have made here related to the earthquake and numbers is based on my knowledge of biblical numbers and is not intended to declare the meaning of natural events or disasters. Like everything we interpret from the Bible, there are lots of opinions about the details and only God knows for sure what it all means. I present these ideas to others that might be interested in the possibilities of the relationships between these events and biblical number themes. It is important to say, that whatever the numbers might mean, I suspect they would be a sign to the world, and not necessarily limited to the locations where the earthquakes happened. If nothing else, what I write here as a good Bible study of the messages of God to men - one day he will come to save and protect some from the wrath and judgment that comes with him. Most all who seriously compare current history to biblical prophecy conclude we are likely very near this event.
The recent earthquake in Chili was a 8.8-magnitude quake that occurred on 2/27/2010 at 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST). (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/facts.php) When I noticed the possible relationship of these numbers to the biblical numbers I write about, I decided to do some quick research on numbers related to 8.8 or 88. I was surprised at what I found -- the number 88 appears to be about the return of the Lord and coming judgment of God. This may all be coincidence but I decided to write it down anyway.
The date of the earthquake is also interesting - the 27th day or number 27 is related with 77 and 72 which all have themes including the witnessing of Jesus about himself, and how he will be the one that evaluates (measures) us for eternity. Following are a few facts about the number 88 and other numbers related to it. Judge for yourself what they might mean. I realize the thought of the Bible's book, chapter and verse numbers having significant meaning sounds preposterous -- in human terms it is. We know these numbers were added hundreds of years after more than 20 different authors wrote the Bible manuscripts. So, do I think what we understand about the Bible's history is false and that somehow God one day simply dropped this perfect book from the sky? No, I suspect in human terms the Bible was written how history says, but in a way only God could explain, he made it all turn out precisely as he intended. I believe the Bible is authored by God and prepared by men. There's mountains of evidence for this and amazingly enough, all verfiable through a perfection of numbering across every verse. My website and book attempt to explain this.
Following are evidences I believe show the relationship of the number 88 to the theme of the return of the Lord, and might be considered a message from God himself. If you would rather not try to cope with the number basics right now, simply skip down to the chapter 8 verse 8 references below and consider how consistent their themes are -- would be an incredible coincidence for this to be a result of chance.
Some facts relating to number 88:
* Eighty-Eight (88), like all biblical numbers has a theme and meaning for us to understand. We learn the meaning of God's numbers by studying the themes in the text associated with numbers where we find them.
* NUMBER 88--Number 88 is a number that speaks of Jesus who will return to save the faithful from the wrath he brings with him. The Bible's 8:8 verses shown below help us to see this theme.
* NUMBER 28--Number 88 is related to similarly themed numbers, 14 and 28, and looking at these numbers is another way of examining number 88 to understand its theme. Biblical patterns show that 88 has a similar theme to, and can be expressed by the number 28. Twenty-eight can be thought of as two eights, eight and eight (28=8 and 8). Number 28 is found connected with biblical themes relating to the power and might of Jesus who has promised to return. For example, Deuteronomy 28:28 says "The LORD will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart;". Check out other 28:28 verses for other examples (see books Exo, Num, Deu, Job, Prov, Isa, Act).
* NUMBER 14--Number 28 in turn relates to number 14 which is a foundational number connected to a theme of Jesus the King and Redeemer. Passover is the 14th of the month (Numbers 28:16) and like the Passover lamb, Jesus is the Passover sacrifice that we can claim to escape the judgment at the end of the age. A numeric reference that points to the theme for 14 is found in the Bible's 14:14 verses. An example from Revelation 14:14 says "...behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.". There are a couple of other interesting biblical facts supporting this theme; I suspect the book of Ester is the only book that does not mention God because it is the 14th book and it's focus is on the foretelling of Jesus alone; Melchizedek, the King of Salem (Jerusalem) is mentioned in Genesis chapter 14 and it is interesting that there is no mention of where he came from or went. Many scholars think he is an appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament. Find this in Genesis 14:18 that says "...Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.".. 14:14 verses can be found in the books ( Gen, Exo, Lev, Num, Deu, Josh, Judg, 1Sam, 2Sam, 1Kin, 2Kin, 1Chr, 2Chr, Job, Prov, Isa, Jer, Eze, Zech, Matt, Mrk, Luke, John, Act, Rom, 1Cor, Rev).
* 14, 28 and 88 --think of 14, 28 and 88 as all related numbers speaking of Jesus the King and redeemer.
* NUMBER 8--The foundational number for 88 is of course eight. Eight is a number about the Godly and receiving of the Holy Spirit--Hebrews chapter 8 is an example of this and we also see the Holy Spirit in Leviticus 8:8 with the Urim and the Thummim on the breastplate of the priest...-- so 88, coming from the number eight is also about the return and power of the spirit of the Lord
NUMBERS RELATING 88 to 8.8...
To show the relationship of number 88 to the theme of the return of the Lord, I have included below some of the Bible's 38 verses that have chapter and verse reference of 8:8. Again, a perfect numbered Bible including chapter and verse? -- As impossible as we know it to be, the evidence is unmistakable that the Bible is perfectly numbered. The Bible's book, chapter, verse, chapter counts, verse counts and many other numberings are all perfect and consistent. All the basic numbers 1-9 have meaningful and progressive themes as do combined numbers such as 88. These themes even follow down to verse sets such as like referenced verses which have a thread of common theme always running through them. Assuming all this is true, it demonstrates the depth of the numbering perfection of the Bible is truly inconceivable.
So what's the point of all these numbers -- to provide some foundational evidence to understand the meaning of number 88 as it relates to Jesus. There seem three major aspects of number 88 themes in these verses with a reference number of 8:8. (1) First, they are about Jesus who comes through his spirit (wind, rain, earthquake, pestilence, fire) to warn people of his coming, judge and cleanse the earth. (2) Second, that people are to seek Jesus name and make sacrifices and offerings of atonement that demonstrate our calling upon him is real. Originally this meant animal sacrifices but today the concept still remains in that we are to be demonstrating through our actions that our faith is real. Jesus, of course, knows our hearts already so it is not about how much we do, but rather that the heartfelt actions and seeking of Jesus bring about the obvious outward signs of faith in him--deeds and works. (3) Lastly, that the Godly are sealed and protected from his judgment and their names are written down -- which is evidence of who are considered "godly".
THE EVIDENCE
Look for the themes mentioned above in the following sample of the 38 verses with a chapter and verse reference of 8:8. I've divided the list into three parts that correspond to the three different aspects of the theme mentioned above.
The following 8:8 verses speak of judgment on the wicked...
* Exo 8:8 ..."Entreat the LORD that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the LORD."
* Josh 8:8 "Then it will be when you have seized the city, that you shall set the city on fire....
* 1Sam 8:8 ... they have forsaken Me and served other gods...
* Ecc 8:8 No man has authority to restrain the wind with the wind, or authority over the day of death; and there is no discharge in the time of war, and evil will not deliver those who practice it.
* Eze 8:8 He said to me, "Son of man, now dig through the wall." So I dug through the wall, and behold, an entrance. (a view into the abominations of men)
* Amo 8:8 "Because of this will not the land quake And everyone who dwells in it mourn? Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile, And it will be tossed about And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
* Luke 8:8 "....as He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
* Rom 8:8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
* Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, He says, "BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT...;
* Rev 8:8 ...something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea...,
.
These 8:8 verses speak of the Godly who are protected from the wrath. There names are written in the Book.
* Est 8:8 "Now you write to the Jews as you see fit, in the king's name, and seal {it} with the king's signet ring; for a decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king's signet ring may not be revoked."
* Lev 8:8 He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim. (The Holy Spirit -- the Godly man)
* John 8:8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. (not condemned - name written in the book?)
* Gen 8:8 Then he sent out a dove from him, to see if the water was abated from the face of the land; (the destruction is complete, the remnant saved)
* Zech 8:8 and I will bring them back ... they shall be My people, and I will be their God....'
* Mrk 8:8 And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces.
These 8:8 verses appear to be speaking of those who are seeking the Lord--taking sacrifices to him, listening, reading his word, truly hearing...
* 2Kin 8:8 The king said to Hazael, "Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying, 'Will I recover from this sickness?' "
* Num 8:8 "Then let them take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering.
* Neh 8:8 They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. (The Godly seeking The Lord)
* Matt 8:8 But the centurion said, "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
---------------
MORE EVIDENCE IN CHAPTER THEMES...
There are many other evidences that support the proposed theory of the theme for number 88. One method to investigate this is to find cross Bible chapter numbers that contain number the number 88. There are 1189 chapters in the Bible so in them we find 12 chapters having a number ending in 88 that I present for this example (again, this sounds contrived but this pattern is true for all numbers, not just 88). I have selected just chapters ending in 88 because it is a reasonable list to examine while also not appearing contrived. Every chapter that meets the selection criteria is included. A second example of interesting like numbered chapters is the Bible's 22 chapter 22s. Twenty-two's theme is about Jesus, the Suffering Servant who came to give himself to save us. Psalm 22 was previously mentioned referenced in regard to the 500th chapter about Jesus on the cross. Genesis 22 is where we read about about the Sacrificing of Isaac by his father Abraham, and Revelation 22 is the last chapter of the Bible is all about Jesus, The River of Life. See other chapter twenty-twos to confirm this consistency. Let's finally look at some evidence found in these 88 related chapters.
Now that we have enough of the basics about numbers and chapter themes, consider the following number 88 theme related chapters whose theme which might be related to an 88 related message from God . I have included every chapter in the Bible ending in 88 to demonstrate their consistency. Notice how they all refer to destruction or consequences for turning away from him. Also observe how these themes relate to nations and not to individuals. God of course judges us individually, but he also judges nations as a whole when they turn from him. The overall message seems clear, consequences to nations that turn from God.
* 88th chapter - Exodus 38 (888) -- v1 ...he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood - preparing of the altar and basin for sacrifices
* 188th chapter - Joshua 1 -- v18 "Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death" - entering the land to take possession of it
* 288th chapter -- 2Samuel 21 -- v21 When he defied Israel..David's brother, struck him down. -- the man from Gath with man with 6 fingers and toes (24 in all--day of the Lord)
* 388th chapter -- 2Chronicles 21 -- v14 behold, the LORD is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions with a great calamity;
* 488th chapter -- Psalm 10 -- v18 -- To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror. (last verse)
* 588th chapter-- Psalm 110 -- v1 -- The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."
* 688th chapter -- Isaiah 9 -- v19 -- By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up...
* 788th chapter -- Jeremiah 43 -- v11 "He will also come and strike the land of Egypt....
* The 880th through the 889th chapters all deal with judgment of peoples -- The complete book of Amos (9 chapters) and Obadiah
* 888th chapter -- Amos 9 -- v9 "For behold, I am commanding, And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations As grain is shaken in a sieve...
* 988th chapter -- Luke 15 -- Prodigal son -- v18 I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight
* 1088th chapter -- 2Corinthians 10 -- v4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
* 1188th chapter -- Rev 21 v27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it (God's Kingdom), but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Note also 21:17 (27 in reference) and speaks of 72 as an angelic measurement. Seems to speak of Jesus measuring our faith in him.
* 808th chapter - Eze 6:14 "...I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness...thus they will know that I am the LORD.'""
--------------
I hope you saw the patterns presented. In the future, whenever you see numbers in scripture related to 28, 88 and 14 - consider how they may somehow relate to these themes and what God is trying to tell us.
http://www.amazingword.com/
