BIBLICAL BRIEFS 147
Readers often do not pay attention to the symbolism of numbers in the Bible. There is an absolute richness in Biblical numbers, as E.W. Bullinger’s classical book: Number in Scripture, or even Martin van der Merwe’s Numbers Dictionary, shows. Single numbers, such as 7, 12, 24, 144, 666, 1000, and others, are symbolically better known, but a number like 153 is for most believers without significance. One of the most mysterious events in the Bible was the recording of an episode that occurred shortly after Jesus rose from the dead and appeared at the sea of Tibérias, where seven of the disciples attempted to catch fish, but without any success. Of course, they did not recognize or expect Jesus to pitch. Jesus then told them to throw out the net on the other side of the boat (John 21:6). In verse 11, we read: “Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.” The specificness of this number, which may possibly indicate a deeper spiritual reference is obvious. In Hebrew, each letter has a certain number value, therefor each word has a number value. [The first 10 letters have the value of 1-10. The next 9 is the value of an increase in tens, thus 20, 30, … 100. The last three bear the numerical value of 200, 300 and 400.] Gematria is an interpretation of the Scriptures that work with this calculation and associated numerical and symbolic value of words. The number 153 e.g., is the specific sum of all the letters in the phrase: ‘sons of God’, also called: the bride of Christ, or like Rom. 8:14 speaks of: “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”! What is interesting about the number 153 is that it is the total of the sum of the first 17 integers: 1 + 2 = 3 + 4 + … 16 + 17 = 153. The number seventeen in the Bible symbolizes total victory and resurrection, “the completion of time and change or transformation” (Hoggard). It is therefore absolutely revealing that this event actually symbolizes the Bride, “the Lamb’s wife” (Rev. 21: 9), as well as the role she has to fulfil on earth. It is in this light that we are understand why Jesus in Matt. 4: 18-20 refers to His prospective disciples as “fishermen of men.” One can then delve into the Bible with this knowledge of 153, and, for example, find out that Besáleël, the artisan for whom God gave the Spirit of wisdom and understanding to manufacture everything for the tabernacle (Ex. 36: 1-2), also has a gematria of 153! His name means “the shadow of God”! Typologically interpreted, one can say that the “sons of God” form the shadow of Jesus, the heavenly tabernacle (Heb. 8: 5) on earth. This can be done, e.g. discovering that the word for “fish” and the word for “the net” in John 21:11 both has a gematria of 1224, i.e.: 8 x 153. God is most definitely a mathematician, and the Bible testifies this to the depths of his complex mathematics. And even if we try to think about Him, we still think too small to even just touch upon His glorious infinitudes. There are so many untapped dimensions in the Scriptures to discover!
Dr Tom Gouws
