What is Biblical Numerology?
Biblical numerology or Christian numerology refers to the study of how numbers are used in the Bible. The two most commonly used numbers in the Bible are the numbers 7 and 40.
The number 7 is seen as being representative of perfection or completion. This number is often referred to as God’s number due to the fact that He is considered the only one to be perfect and complete.
The number 3 is also considered to be representative of divine perfection as well due to the fact that the Trinity is comprised of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The number 40 is considered to be a number that is associated with trial or difficulties. For example, in the Bible, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years and Moses was on the mount for 40 days. Also, Jesus was tempted for 40 days and there were 40 days between the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension.
There are also other numbers that are repeated in the Bible as well, such as the number 4. This number is considered to be the number of creation; such as the four seasons. The number 6 is considered to be the number of man because man was created on the 6th day and man is meant to labor only for 6 days. There are also other examples of how numbers are used in a significant manner in the Bible, such as the way the number 666 is used to represent the Antichrist in Revelation.
Hebrew Numerology
Hebrew numerology is sometimes referred to as Gematria. In this system each letter is represented by a numerical value. Gematria uses the calculation of the numerical equivalence of words, letters and phrases in order to gain insight into a variety of concepts as well as to explore how words and ideas are interrelated.
The basic idea behind this method is that numerical equivalence is not merely a matter of coincidence. This system is based on the idea that since the world was created as a result of God’s speech then each letter is represented by a different creative force. As a result, the numerical equivalence of two words would reveal an internal connection between the potential of each word.
There are four different ways in which the equivalence of individual letters can be calculated. They are:
– Absolute value
– Ordinal value
– Reduced value
– Integral reduced value