Lest
there be any confusion whose handiwork the created universe is, God
left His mark imprinted upon His creation to let His creatures know that He is
the Creator. The unmistakable trace of His hand is on virtually everything He
has made and brought forth. His “manufacturer’s mark” consists of just one character
– the number “7.”
Reputed to be the number
of spiritual completeness and divine perfection, 7 is also the “indestructible”
number – it is the only number that cannot be divided exactly except by itself,
its fractions and multiples, and 1 (always leaving a seemingly infinite
remainder). Apparently God's favorite number, 7, is all around us.
In the earth and nature.
The
Earth has 7 distinct motions: (1) Rotation around its axis. (2) Revolution
around the sun. (3) Wobble in its axis. (4) Slow vertical rotation of the
magnetic core. (5) Movement with the Sun’s 260-million-year circuit in space. (6)
Up and down oscillation in its orbit around the Milky Way. (7) Acceleration
with the galaxy toward the periphery of the universe.57
The
globe has 7 continents (Europe , Asia , Africa , North America , South
America , Australia Antarctica ). There are 7 distinct colors in
the rainbow (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red). There are 7
whole tones in the musical scale (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti).
In man and living things.
The
human head has 7 orifices (2 eyes, 2 ear holes, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth). A man’s
face has 7 bones (2 nasal, 2 lacrimal/tearduct, 1 maxillary/upper jaw, 1
mandibular/lower jaw, 1 vomer/nostril partition). There are also 7 bones in the
neck and 7 bones in the ankle.
A
person’s pulse slows down every 7 days throughout life. All the cells in the
human body (except brain cells) are completely replaced every 7 years. A child
attains the “age of understanding” at 7 years, when he or she can start learning.
The 21st-year (7x3) is regarded as the age of maturity in young men
and women. Man’s average life span is placed at 70 years (7x10) by both science
and Scripture (Ps 90:10). The gestation periods for man and most animals are in
multiples of 7, as shown here. Many fruit trees take 7 years to attain full
production.
Gestation Periods
Entity
|
Days
|
Weeks
|
Multiples
|
|
Man
|
280
|
40
|
(7x40)
|
|
Sheep
|
147
|
21
|
(7x21)
|
|
Lion
|
98
|
14
|
(7x14)
|
|
Dog
|
63
|
9
|
(7x9)
|
|
Cat
|
56
|
8
|
(7x8)
|
|
Duck
|
28
|
4
|
(7x4)
|
|
Chicken
|
21
|
3
|
(7x3)
|
In the Scriptures.
In
the Old Testament alone, “7” appears 287 times (7x41), “seventh” occurs 98
times (14x7), "seven-fold" is used 7 times, and “70” is seen 56 times
(7x8) -- for a total of 448 (7x64) instances.58
Hidden heptadic structure.
Dr. Ivan Panin of Russia
The very first verse
in the Bible in Hebrew has a hidden heptadic structure, an interwoven pattern
of 7s, recurring many times, as shown below (Hebrew is read from right to
left):
Hebrew characters
|
No.
|
Transliteration
|
English
|
||||||
ת
|
י
|
שׁ
|
א
|
ר
|
בּ
|
6
|
Bere’shiyt
|
In the beginning
|
|
א
|
ר
|
בּ
|
3
|
bara’
|
created
|
||||
מ
|
י
|
ה
|
ל
|
א
|
5
|
‘Elohim
|
God
|
||
ת
|
א
|
2
|
‘et
|
the
|
|||||
מ
|
י
|
מ
|
שׁ
|
ה
|
5
|
hashamayim
|
heaven
|
||
ת
|
א
|
ו
|
3
|
wa’et
|
and the
|
||||
צ
|
ר
|
א
|
ה
|
4
|
ha’arets
|
earth
|
|||
28
|
7 words
|
||||||||
The sentence has 7
Hebrew words with 28 letters (7x4). The first three words have 14 letters
(7x2), and the last four words have 14 letters (7x2). The fourth and fifth
words together have 7 letters. The sixth and seventh words, combined have 7
letters. The three key nouns (God, heaven, earth) have 14 letters (7x2). The four
remaining words have 14 letters (7x2).60 These groupings of 7s are
repeated throughout Scripture in countless instances, in both the Old and New
Testament original texts.
Let us go over some of
the Biblical verses where 7 and its multiples are plainly seen.
The patriarchs. God told Noah to take 7 pairs of
clean animals into the Ark
God
bestowed upon Abraham 7 blessings. “And
(1) I will make of thee a great nation,
and (2) I will bless thee, and
(3) make thy name great; and (4) thou shalt be a blessing: And (5) I will bless them that bless thee, and
(6) curse him that curseth thee: and
(7) in thee shall all families of the
earth be blessed” (Gen 12:2-3).
Jacob
served 7 years for his first wife Leah, and 7 years for Rachel, his first love
(Gen 29). There were 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine in Egypt
The nation of Israel Israel
The
Tabernacle (“Tent of Meeting”) in the wilderness (and later the Temple in
Jerusalem) had 7 pieces of furniture: (1) brazen altar and (2) laver in the
court (Ex 40:29-30); (3) table of showbread (Ex 39:36; 40:22-23), (4) golden
lampstand (Ex 40:24-25), and (5) altar of incense (Ex 40:26-27; 9:2) in the
Holy Place; and (6) Ark of the Covenant and (7) Mercy Seat with the cherubim
(Ex 31:7) in the Holy of Holies. Aaron and his sons were consecrated for the
priesthood in an elaborate 7-day purification ceremony (Ex 29:30,35,37).
God
had 7 priests with 7 trumpets march around Jericho with the Israelite army for
7 days (7 times on the 7th day) and then make a long blast with
their trumpets – the signal for the people to shout and cause the walls of the
city to fall down (Jos. 6:1-20). It took the Israelites 7 years to conquer 7
nations in Canaan : the Hittites, Hivites,
Amorites, Jebusites, Perizzites, Girgashites, and Canaanites (Jos 11:16-12:24 ). It then took them another
7 years to divide the land among the twelve tribes of Israel
King
Solomon built the Temple 6:37 -38).
The Israelites kept a feast that lasted for 7 days in dedicating the Temple
70
Annual Holidays in Israel
Days
|
|
Weekly
Sabbath
|
52
|
Passover,
Feast of Unleavened
Bread,
and Feast of Firstfruits
|
7
|
Feast
of Weeks or Pentecost
|
1
|
Feast
of Trumpets
|
1
|
Day
of Atonement
|
1
|
Feast
of Tabernacles
|
7
|
Last
Great Day
|
1
|
Total:
|
70
|
The
Jews were held captive in Babylon for 70 years (Jer 25:11-12,29:10; Dan 9:1-2;
2 Chron 36:17-21). Thus, the land
of Judea
Sabbaths and holy
days. The
Creation Week lasted 7 days. At the end of His creative work, the Creator
blessed and rested on the 7th day. For that reason, our modern week
has 7 days, ending on the 7th day Sabbath of rest.
God
ordained 7 holy days for Israel: (1) Passover (Lev 23:5); (2) Feast of
Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:6-8); (3) Feast of Firstfruits (Lev 23:10-14); (4)
Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost (Lev 23:15-22); (5) Feast of Trumpets (Lev
23:24-25); (6) Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27-32); (7) Feast of Tabernacles (Lev
23:34-43). Each year, Israel
The ministry of Christ. The prayer Christ taught His
disciples has 7 parts: “After this manner
therefore pray ye: (1) Our Father
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. (2) Thy kingdom come. (3) Thy
will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (4) Give us this day our daily bread. (5) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. (6) And lead us not into temptation, but (7) deliver us from evil” (Matt 6:9-13).
Christ
fed four thousand men, plus all the women and children with them, with 7 loaves
of bread (Matt 15:32 -38;
Mark 8:1-9). He cast 7 demons out of Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2).
Christ said a man must forgive a brother 70 times 7 (Matt. 18:21 -22). In contrast, the LORD told Israel
Christ
uttered 7 last words on the cross: (1) “Father,
forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34b); (2) “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou
be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43b); (3) “Woman, behold thy son!” Then saith he to the disciple, “Behold thy
mother!” (John 19:26b-27a); (4) “Eloi,
Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34b; Matt 27:46b); (5) “I thirst” (John 19:28b); (6) “It
is finished” (John 19:30b); (7) “Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit” (Luke 23:46b).
On
His Second Coming, Christ will descend on the Mount of
Olives (Zech 14:4). Today we regard as the emblem of peace the
branch of the olive tree, symbol of Zayin
(“Z”), the 7th letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Christ will usher in
the 7th millennium, the thousand years of peace, and reign as King
of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 17:14 ;
19:16 ; 20:4,6).
The Church and
end-times. The
Holy Spirit endows Christians with many gifts. Paul lists down 7 in Romans
12:6-8. “We have different gifts,
according to the grace given us. (1) If
a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. (2)
If it is serving, let him serve; (3) if it is teaching, let him teach; (4) if it is encouraging, let him encourage; (5)
if it is contributing to the needs of
others, let him give generously; (6) if
it is leadership, let him govern diligently; (7) if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully” (“Rom 12:6-8,
NIV).
The
end-time prophecies in the book of Revelation truly overflows with 7's: 7
churches (1:4, etc.); 7 spirits of God (1:4, 3:1, etc.); 7 golden candlesticks
(1:12, etc.); 7 stars (1:16, etc.); 7 lamps (4:5); 7 seals (5:1,5); 7 eyes
(5:6, etc.); 7 angels (8:2, etc.); 7 trumpets (8:2,6); 7 thunders (10:3,4);
7,000 men killed (11:13); beast with 7 heads and 7 crowns (12:3); 7 plagues
(15:1, etc.); 7 vials or bowls (17:1; 21:9); 7 mountains or hills (17:9); 7
kings (17:10); etc.
How
can we doubt who the real Creator of the universe and Author of the Scriptures
is?
Gestation and holy days
Author
and TV host Zola Levitt, writing a book for new parents with the help of a
gynecologist, saw an amazing correspondence between the Jewish holy days and human
gestation -- from conception to birth.
On
the 14th day of each monthly cycle, a woman’s ovary releases a
mature egg into the uterus, a process called ovulation. Jews observe the first
holy day, Passover, on the 14th day of the first month of the year
with, among other traditional food items on the table, a roasted egg.
The
woman’s egg cell must be fertilized by a sperm cell within the next 24 hours
for pregnancy to take place. The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins 24 hours
after Passover.
Within
2-6 days, the fertilized egg or embryo attaches itself to the womb and starts
growing. The Feast of Firstfruits, which is always kept on a Sunday, may fall
2-6 days after Passover.
Around
the 50th day, the embryo begins to take shape as a human being. Jews
celebrate the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, 50 days from the Feast of
Firstfruits.
Starting
in the 7th month, the baby is able to hear sounds outside the womb. On
the first day of the 7th month, the Feast of Trumpets, rabbis sound
their shofars, or trumpets of ram’s
horn, for the Jews to hear the signal beginning the civil new year in autumn.
(Jews observe two new year days – the other being the religious new year in the
spring.)
On
the 10th day of the 7th month, the hemoglobin in the blood
of the fetus begins to change from that of the mother to its own. The Day of
Atonement, when the blood of a sacrificial animal was taken into the Temple
On
the 15th day of the 7th month, the lungs become fully
developed, which will enable the baby to breathe if born prematurely. The Feast
of Tabernacles begins on this day, exalting the Shekinah glory or Spirit of
God. The Hebrew word for spirit is ruach,
which also means “breath.”
Birth,
when the baby first sees the light of day, normally takes place 9 months and 10
days after fertilization of the egg. Hanukkah,
the Feast of Lights, a holy day added only in the 2nd century B.C.,
is celebrated 9 months and 10 days after Passover – for 8 days. Male Jewish infants,
as commanded by God, are circumcised on the 8th day after birth.61
This
incredible parallelism strongly suggests that the LORD who ordained the Jewish
holidays and the Creator who engineered the process of human gestation must be
the same God who knows all things. David sang around 3,000 years ago: “For You formed my inward parts; You covered
me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was
not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And
in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet
there were none of them” (Ps 139:13-16, NKJV).
_______________
57The Mind of Mankind, Chapter 15; cited by Donald L.
Hamilton, “The Many Motions of Planet Earth," 1996-2002, Internet
58Grant Jeffrey, The Signature of God, 1996, p. 234
59Martin Hunter,
“Math of the Bible!,” National Institute for Inventors, tract, p. 2
60Chuck Missler,
“The Mysterious Mathematical Design of the Bible,” Mysteries of the Bible Now Revealed, 1999, pp. 188-189
61J.R. Church,
“Jewish Holy Days: The Making of a Baby,” Amazing Discoveries, Prophecy in the News, June 2006, p. 17
(Excerpted from Chapter 1, Mysteries
of Our Maker, THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD: A Primer on the Secrets of Heaven
and Earth by M.M. Tauson, Amazon.com)
