It is true that 4 does represent light. But it goes so much further then that. It also answers the question, what is this light. And what is the purpose of that light? Who has this light?
To dig deep into the Bible, the guide book from God, answers all of these questions. The Bible was written to be read, and read again. Studied from cover to cover. To be the bread of life. The beginning of all understanding. The living water. A guide to the very throne of God. His purpose, His plan, His love and understanding.
The Bible reveals the way God works in all of our lives. And so very much more. It tells of the personal relationship God wants to have with each one of us. And with the aid of the Holy Spirit, each verse is tailor written for each individual.
Creation
KJV Genesis 1:14-19
14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
The lights (there were 2 of them) were given to this world on the 4th day. Now notice that there were 2 lights given. One to rule the day. The other to rule the night. There is some symbolic meaning to each. Revelation 21:25. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. Is this linked to the fact there will be no night on earth in the new City of Jerusalem when Christ comes down from Heaven?
The Temple Design
KJV Exodus 25:12
12. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
KJV Exodus 26:31-32
31. And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
32. And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of Shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
KJV Exodus 27:1-2
1. And thou shalt make an altar of Shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
2. And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.
KJV Exodus 27:16
16. And for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.
KJV Exodus 28:15-21
15. And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
16. Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
17. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
18. And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
19. And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
20. And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.
21. And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
Is it by chance that so many aspects of the Temple were designed using the number 4? The ark and the table of shew bread used 4 golden rings. The vail was supported by 4 hooks of gold. Psalms 119:127. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold. Proverbs 8:17. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. 18. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. 19. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 20. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: 21. That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. Gold often represents the commandments of God. Gold also represents knowledge and understanding of God. In so many ways the temple is a sign if Christ and His sacrifice. If the temple is a sign of Christ, could the number 4 be a sign of Christ?
The number 3 is the sign of the trinity. What number or sign would most likely follow the sign of God?
One interesting point about the temple. Consider for a moment the 4 pillars at the entrance to the court. There are 4 pillars. Between those 4 pillars there would have been 3 openings. One each for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
KJV 1 Kings 6:1
1. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.
KJV 1 Kings 6:37
37. In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the Lord laid, in the month Zif:
The number 4 here is also used to indicate the beginning of the building of Solomon’s temple.
Relationship to 12
KJV 1 Kings 18:33-34
33. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.
34. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
We see that Elijah commanded that 4 barrels be used to soak the sacrifice with water. This was done 3 times for a total of 12 barrels. The same number as the tribes of Israel. Elijah also repaired the alter of the Lord. In Exodus Moses builds an alter out of 12 pillars. Joshua also builds a monument to the crossing of the Jordan using 12 stones.
Earth
KJV Isaiah 11:12
12. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
KJV Ezekiel 7:2
2. Also, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God unto the land of Israel; An end, the end is come upon the four corners of the land.
KJV Ezekiel 37:9-11
9. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.
10. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
11. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Three times the number 4 is mentioned in reference to the earth. Or the wind upon the earth. I have also seen the number 4 used as a symbol of the earth based on these verses.
Ezekiel uses the 4 winds in reference to the resurrection. And makes it clear that the bones represent the whole house of Israel. Not only in reference to a certain time, or even the land of Israel, but the whole house of Israel.
4 in Heaven
KJV Ezekiel 1:5-6
5. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
6. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
KJV Ezekiel 1:9-11
9. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
10. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
11. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
KJV Ezekiel 1:14-17
14. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15. Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
16. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.
KJV Revelation 4:6
6. And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
KJV Revelation 5:6
6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
KJV Revelation 5:14
14. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
These are 2 of the strangest scenes in the Bible. Ezekiel’s vision of Heaven with the 4 creatures and John’s revelation of the 4 beasts in Heaven. Imagine being in the place of Ezekiel or John. Seeing things that no one has ever seen before. Being in the very presence of God and the holy angels. How would you describe this. Or a better question may be, is how did those that have translated the Bible envision these things? Neither one of them seemed to be able to clearly explain what these creatures actually were or what they stood for. In Ezekiel the 4 faces seem to be a reference to Christ. Christ has been symbolized as the son of man, a lion and an eagle. The ox were also used in the design of the temple of Solomon. But these creatures are seen by John in front of the Lamb, Christ. Why would Christ be surrounded by 4 creatures symbolizing Him? Could these beasts rather be symbolizing fallen man? A constant reminder in Heaven of man and his struggles?
One other reference to the number 4 in Ezekiel is the 4 wheels. Notice that one wheel is upon the earth. That would leave 3 in Heaven. Is this the indication that the number 4 is a representation of the connection between God and man? A connection between Heaven and earth?
The connection between God and Man
KJV Daniel 3:25
25. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Did you ever wonder, where was Daniel during all of this? Sure, the king calls every noble out of every corner of his kingdom to attend this service. But the number 2 guy in charge of all this is some how missing. Now we all know that if Daniel was present, they would have been casting 4 people into the oven. And they would have seen 5 people walking in the fire. But no! God arranges things so that that there are 4 people walking in the flames. And the fourth is Christ. Our savior and intercessor to God. Our faith and our salvation. The only way to heaven is the belief in Christ and His sacrifice. Christ is our connection between man and God.
Angels
KJV Zechariah 6:1-8
1. And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.
2. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;
3. And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.
4. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?
5. And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.
6. The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.
7. And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.
8. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.
KJV Matthew 24:31
31. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
These 2 verses refer to the angels of Heaven that aid the people of this earth. Here again the number 4 is used to represent, the angels, or spirits and then again man, the elect.
The Resurrection
KJV John 11:39
39. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
There were other reasons for Jesus waiting until Lazarus was dead 4 days before raising him from the dead. But is this a connection or link to the resurrection?
A Call To All Men
KJV Acts 10:11
11. And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
This is Peter’s vision that confirmed that the gospel was to go out to all the world. That was God’s original plan. To save the whole world so that not one was lost. But God’s plan was lost to tradition. Laws of men were taught instead of the simple law of God. Those that were given the commission to take the word of God to the world were to obsessed in keeping up their social status to worry about the true nature of God’s laws. After all. The easiest way for the leaders to elevate their status was to make the people believe that they were much lower. Many times God uses the measuring line as a symbol. That measuring line is the law. The only one to keep that law in full has been Jesus. So He alone holds the right to claim the position of High Priest. The Jewish priests liked to think that they were that measuring line. But in this we can only see how much the ways of men differ from the ways of God. The Jewish priests could only feel comfortable by keeping their followers as many notches below them as they could. But Christ does everything in His power to raise us up higher. Closer to the measuring line He has set. We can never reach the same mark set by Christ. But when the time of judgment comes, there He is standing in our place.
The deception.
KJV Daniel 2:40
40. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
KJV Daniel 7:3
3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
The 4 beasts if Daniel came up from people. Revelation 17:15. And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the harlot is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. How can anything from man represent what Heaven has done? In 4 attempts to conquer the world man has failed. A study of each of these results in nothing more then a list of weaknesses that man time and time again has fallen victim to. There is a saying that goes something like this. If we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it. How many of our leaders today are making the same mistakes each of these world conquerors has made?
KJV Daniel 7:17
17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
KJV Daniel 8:8
8. Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
KJV Daniel 11:4
4. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
KJV Amos 1:13
13. Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:
KJV Amos 2:4
4. Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:
KJV Revelation 6:7-8
7. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
To follow a false connection with Heaven. To follow a false redeemer can only lead to one result. Death and Hell. These deceptions live in the heart of every human. There is only one release from them. The truth. The true Redeemer. Jesus and the free gift of eternal life He holds out to each of us.
KJV Revelation 8:12
12. And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
To follow any one of these false sacrifices is to walk in darkness. The return of Jesus is sure and certain. The work of salvation is His and His alone. A man can not change his own heart. For there is no good that a man knows, except for what has been given by the Father.
KJV Revelation 9:13-15
13. And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14. Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
KJV Revelation 15:7
7. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
KJV Revelation 16:8-9
8. And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
A misunderstanding of God is what makes man blame God for everything that goes wrong. To often it is far to easy to try and think you have total control of a situation. Only to have your plans go along for a while and then, before your very eyes, have everything crumble. How often do you take the time to look back and pray about your actions? I am always surprised when I look back and pray about situations that did not work out. I am always reminded of the story of Job. Job lost more then I ever will. But in the end, after all the talking and speculation was over. And look close. They did blame a lot of what happened on God. Well okay, they spent how many chapters blaming God for everything. But where was God in all this? Where was God when Job really needed Him? Well the last few chapters answer that question. God was right there. He heard everything. And how did God react to all this? And don’t forget, God was being blamed for everything. God taught Job the secrets of the universe. God showed Job things he had never imagined. Through every trial we face. God is always there. And through every trial God will give us knowledge to over come our trials. God doesn’t want us making mistakes. And He especially doesn’t want to sit by and watch us get hurt by the same thing a second time. An understanding of God will show us our mistakes. And return to us blessings beyond what we could possibly imagine. His forgiveness is always there for us. All we need to do is ask. And listen with an open heart to the lessons He really wants to teach us.
It always seems with every study I do, that for every sign, symbolic meaning, and hope that God gives us, to lead us back to Him, there is a deception. Satan reads the Bible. He knows to well all of the ways God is going to try and reach each of us. And Satan is always hard at work making a number of counterfeits for each of the truths God has. False sacrifices. Fasle worship. Self pride and relience on yourself are only some of the tricks Satan has devised. But each of these deceptions lead only to death, destruction and the breaking of God’s law. When we learn the truth about God and the plan He has for us, we can easily spot these deceptions. We understand why we face trials. And we come out of these trials much stronger. With the help of Christ we draw much closer to God.
Conclusion:
We see that the number 4 was given significance at creation. And at creation God created light on the fourth day. If we take the light given to us by the Bible we can see the connection shown to us through the temple design given to Moses during the Exodus. Through the temple we can see a promise of a Savior and a relationship between God and man. Christ is the one intercessor between God and man. And His holy angels are the connection between us and Heaven. The number 4 shows that connection between God and man. The light. The living water. The Commander of the angels in Heaven. And the Lord of our resurrection.
A few notes:
The lamp design used in the temple had 7 lamps. It does not matter from which side you start counting from, the number 4 is always in the center.
Also, the 10 commandments written by the finger of God were written on 2 sides of 2 tablets of stone. Four sides in all. Why? So that no matter which side you face them, no matter which side you lay them down, the law is still facing you.
Herod was a tetrarch, meaning a ruler of 4 provinces. So, how would you explain the number 4 in this case? It does not make sense to link with light, creation? or would you care to send me your thesis please?
Comment by Bill Chua — September 27, 2008 @ 10:24 am |
Bill
I do not think the number four is associated with Herod. When doing a Bible study it is important to use only the Bible. If we are allowed to interpret God’s word using any means we feel is correct, there is no control by the Spirit. That may be one reason there are so many beliefs in the world today.
Comment by hystar — September 28, 2008 @ 10:45 pm |