We’ve already seen that the number seven is especially significant in Revelation. You may be assured that it is not the only significant number we will come across. Thus I thought it might be helpful to run through some of the others for your review…

Two is the number of valid witness. It has its roots in Deuteronomy 19:15 where at least two witnesses are required to establish factual testimony in a court of law.

Three is frequently used to refer to God. Its roots are to be found in such passages as Isaiah 6:3 where God accepts the threefold worship of the seraphim, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty….” Christian writers often see Trinitarian connotations in the number, since it reflects the number of Persons in the Godhead: Father, Son and Spirit.

Four is often connected with creation or the world, and it goes back to things like “the four corners of the earth” (Ez. 7:2 cf. Rev. 7:1), or “four quarters of the earth” (Is. 11:12), or the “four winds” (Jer. 49:36; Ez. 7:9; Zech. 6:5; Dan. 7:2; cf. Matt. 24:31 // Mark 13:27; Rev. 7:1) i.e. north, south, east and west comprising the whole of creation.

Five the number of fingers on the human hand describes a “handful” or a “few”.

Ten likewise represents two handfuls; a few. Neither 5 nor 10 should be understood literally in apocalyptic writing.

Seven is the number of completeness, wholeness or perfection. It can also bring with it a connotation of “goodness” or “moral completion” as something might be thought to be perfect or righteous in God’s sight. However, the dominant understanding of the number is not moral perfection, but whole or complete. The origins of this are found in Old Testament texts such as Genesis 1-2 where seven represents a “whole” or “complete” week.

Six doesn’t quite measure up to seven, for it is not quite complete; it represents something less that perfection, something that isn’t whole. Thus, it reflects “imperfection” and sometimes may refer to something evil.

Twelve often represents the number of God’s faithful people. In Jewish apocalypses, it represents faithful Jews, in Christian apocalypses, it refers to faithful Christians. In certain contexts, it represents all of God’s faithful ones from both Testaments. Its origin is found in the 12 tribes of Israel and in the 12 disciples/Apostles of Christ.

Multiples of these numbers are sometimes used to describe the full number of whatever is being symbolized. For example the number 1,000 (10 X 10 X 10) represents a large but definite number of something. 144,000 (12 X 12 X 1,000) represents the full number of God’s people.

As we continue through the text, we will discuss numbers more as we encounter them.