Gregory the Great looked at it from the perspective of factors and said “well it is interesting isn’t it, 153 fish is 17 x 9. 17 (10 + 7) multiplied by 9. [17 x 9 = 153] Augustine noticed that 153 is the sum of 1,2,3,4,5. . .17. (Σn17)
If you took dots and arranged them in a triangle, you would end up with an equilateral triangle 17 dots x 17 dots x 17 dots. Where 17 is the combination of divine (7) and ordinal (10) perfection. Is God saying something symbolically here?
As Gregory the Great and others noticed 153 can be factored in a number of different ways. The two basic ways are 17 x 9 or 17 x 3 squared . When we turn to the ancient interpretations of Numerics and their interpretation we find that 17 is a combination of 10 [ordinal perfection] and 7 [divine Perfection] x 9 [finality, judgement, at the end of time]. Interesting. 3 is symbolic of the Godhead, trinity, the fullness of God. Each word of Scripture has a Gematria, or a number value equivalent based on the letters in the word. This is possible because both Hebrew and Greek are alpha-numeric languages. Ordinal and divine perfection are different. Seven the number for completeness, perfection, consummation of God. Ten being the perfect score – I scored 10/10. And so on. I won’t give you the complete list here.
There are other numbers which are factored numbers like of 70: 7 times 10, such numbers we need to refer back to the symbolism for each of the factors. I.e. 7 and 10. 120 can be looked at it in different ways. 3 x 40 or 12 x 10 or really whatever other way you think if could be factored. And of course it goes without saying that you would look for the factors that suited your purpose. It can get very subjective. Where do these number symbolisations come from? Are they are a new phenomena? Is this just Ian’s ideas? No, they have been around for centuries. Since the time of Christ and before. Augustine was deeply into the interpretive and the symbolic. Others have looked at it over the centuries, including Ivan Panin in the late 19th Century. E. W Bullinger made it popular with his book Number in Scripture published in the 1890s. F C Payne made it popular again in the 1930s and 40s with his book The Seal of God. Now there are a flood of new books on the market popularising it again. Just keep it in balance.
More in the next Gem. We will add some more elements and you will see that it gets exciting that all this detail has been buried in the Word of God.
Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
Regina Brett
A friend is a person who listens attentively while you say nothing.
Anon
Light travels faster than sound – that’s why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
Anon