One of John’s themes is about the people of God. Who are the people of God? Take note of what John 1:12 says about this.
He came into the very world He created, but the world didn’t recognize Him. He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him. But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
John 1:10-13
The interesting thing is that the Sons of God is a term that John uses for the people of God, not just sons, Ladies, but sons and daughters, the people of God. Who are these people and what makes them the sons of God? That of course is the theme of the book of John. What does it mean to believe? How do you believe and keep on believing in Jesus and become a child of God. The Son of God / Son of Man came to make the sons of man the sons of God. In Hebrew this term is Bene HaElohim or
Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek are all three Alpha-Numeric languages. Meaning these languages use the letters of the language to count. They do not have a separate set of symbols for numbers; letters are used. That means that every letter has a numeric value in addition to its role as a letter. The following are the values for the letter of the construction Benē HaElohim, the sons of God.
[It is important to note here for the purist that the final Mem Sophit has been changed to a medial or word initial Mem.]
When you add up those letters after giving them their numeric value, the Gematria of the “Sons of God” is 153. Well surprise, surprise. Is John saying something about the people of God?
Does this have something to do with these fish? Are they the “people of God”? You bet it does! The fish are symbolically the “people of God”. They have been for centuries.
Enough for today. We will sum it all up next Gem.
No wonder Dr Basil Brown, my Greek Professor did what he did in the last lecture we had with him. “Class why does John refer to a 153 fish? What is the significance of 153 fish?” I can’t remember who said, what, but we came up with examples or ideas that we thought might be the answer. He just smiled and said “I challenge you Class, to find the significance behind it.” Then he picked up his books and walked out of the room. We didn’t see him again. I have maintained contact with him. I had email contact with him and he got these Bible Gems sent to him until he died. I have taken to heart what he said and I have thought about it over the years. I am so grateful to Dr Basil Brown for giving me a high view of Scripture and for pointing out the places to dig. That is what I am doing for you. It helps to know where the gold is before we dig. But we should also be prepared to dig whether we know there is gold there or not. It is an amazing feeling to find gems or gold that others haven’t found. Keep digging people.
Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.
Regina Brett
Aspire to Inspire Before You Expire.
Anon
Live Simply. Love Generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly. And leave the rest to God.
Anon