4, 6 and 13 in Scripture
Rebellion
Every chapter in Scripture is saturated with numbers, sometimes they form a repeat pattern, and other times they, at first reading, appear to be unconnected, and sometimes you will not even find a written number, but it’s there in the time, in the day, in the hour, in the age, it is there. What I write is not doctrine, nor is it to draw anyone away from the center of all Scripture, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Holy Spirit weaves not merely a record, nor points of interest for curiosity seekers, nor even story-lines built for discussion; but He builds on all the things that God has created to show forth His glory and His power. Words, numbers, baby math, music, sound, color, light, water, and all creation are His teaching tools. The danger is that man has a sinful tendency in swinging from one extreme to another as a metrnome set to the slowest tempo. There are many beautiful jewels that God has given to us in His word, do not spend all your focus on the shell when there are many precious pearls planted throughout His word. In other words, the study of numbers is but a very small part of the total. Do not place limitations on your focus.
This article will be on the numbers that reveal the depth of the heart of man. It is not the entirety of this story, but most probably will show up again through other number sequences.
These are the four verses and sections of Scripture that I will use — Genesis 6:6, Zechariah 13:6, Malachi 4:6, and Revelation 13:6. First, to repeat . . . (a good teacher tells students what they are about to learn, then proceeds to instruct them, then reviews what has been learned, and then finally the teacher repeats again what they have learned – repeat, repeat and repeat) . . . therefore. . . the number of man is the number 6. Man was created on the 6th day and throughout Scripture notice how this number interacts with what man is in the sight of God. The number connects to man — sinful man — rebellious man — man without God. All men are sinners, not only because of the sinful acts they commit, but because MAN IS SIN. In every man there is the dna of sin (if it is stated like that then it becomes easier to comprehend what is meant by ‘man is sin,’ or ‘sin nature.’)
Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (Romans 7:17)
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is good I find not. (Romans 7:18)
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (Romans 7:20)
Number 6
The 6th chapter of the Book of Genesis is the documentation of man in his total sin, his filthy sin, and his sin of rebellion against God. In the number six, we have a number that is capable of division, and again this number draws a picture of what man is, divided within himself, and divided from God. A double minded man [is] unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8) Man is marked by the number 6, as we could say, it is stamped on his forehead. And it will be stamped on man’s very being, the one who is the completeness of all evil, the one who completes the number 6 (the trinity of evil in the number 6-6-6), the Anti-Christ in Revelation, chapter 13 will cause all to bear a mark, his mark and number. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: (Revelation 13:16) Yes man is marked by the number 6. He is marked by time, 60 seconds, 60 minutes, and man was commanded to work by the sweat of his brow 6 days a week. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:19) Another interesting point of our number is that Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood. (We will be writing about age and the flood and posting it on www.TheGenesisEpic.com at a later time). In the 600 we have 6 x 100, or 6 x 10 x 10, the number 10 is the divine order of God in it’s perfection; it is the beginning of the double digits and is the completion of single digits. (I do not want to go into 10 at this time). In the 600 we have the completion and perfect timing of man, he has reached the complete end of his corruption and God witnesses to this in the 2 (witness), and 10’s (God’s perfect order). Also in 6, in the line or genealogy of Cain (the first child born, and the first murderer) there are only 6 generations recorded, and then God stopped documenting this evil line.
It is in this 6th chapter of Genesis that we have God desiring to destroy man and all of His creation; it is in this chapter that in the midst of man’s corruption and violence that we have the 1st mention of the word ‘grace.’ It is in this chapter that God divides and separates good from evil, righteous man from sinful unrepentant man. It is in this chapter that God, the Great Builder, instructs Noah to build an ark; it is God who provides His man with the knowledge and wisdom to construct a life-saving ark, a place of shelter and preservation from the oncoming destruction and judgment.
A side note, the word ‘ark’ is mentioned 6 times in the New Testament.
1. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, (Matthew 24:38)
2. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:27)
3. Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein [was] the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; (Hebrews 9:4)
4. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)
5. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. (1 Peter 3:20)
6. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11:19)
In both the gospels of Matthew and Luke the Lord Jesus documented the condition of the people of the world in the age of Noah, that even though they had been warned by Noah, they were carrying on with their every day activities without any concern about God’s approaching judgment. So much like our present society. These are the very word of the Lord Jesus Christ to us today.
(Matthew 24:37) But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:44) Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Later in the New Testament in the Book of Hebrews, we are instructed on the ark of the covenant in the Old Testament in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Read the entire 9th chapter of Hebrews to understand the connection of the things in the Tabernacle were objects teaching about Christ, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Next, in Hebrews 11 (called ‘the faith chapter’) we understand more about Noah and more about what God was doing (Noah’s obedience was by faith, and therein, he became an heir of righteousness). Faith in God and the righteousness of God, and heirship was understood by those who obeyed God before the flood. God never left man without a witness of Himself, or what He required of man, and from man. The people of the antediluvian age were not Neanderthals, they built cities, wrote poetry, forged tools, and objects of art as documented in Genesis, chapter 5; talented, yes — evil and corrupt — totally!
Then, in 1 Peter 3:20 the Holy Spirit adds to our understanding for the Age of the Church, and how it also tells us a story using the word ‘ark;’ Christ is our Ark, the True Ark of the Covenant, that we are preserved and secure in Him.
Finally, the 6th and last mention of ‘ark’ can be found in Revelation 11:19 where we are privileged to see heaven open and the ‘ark of his testament’ is there. The 19th verse is the last verse in chapter 11, it would be a good thing to read this chapter as you will see the condition of sinful man against God’s two witnesses, and the earth clothed in woe and the wrath of God. And yet, even though this 19th verse is steeped in the judgment of God lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail, the Lord allows us to see the heaven opened to show us that His promises fail not — for our Ark, His Ark, His Ark of His testament is there — the Lord of Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ.
. . . . . I know, but the mention of the ark 6 times distracted me . . .
In Genesis, chapter 6, there is quite a lot to see, but I will try to remain on the number 6. We can say that this chapter shows us what man is capable of when left to himself without any restraints placed on him. There is no mention of any governmental order recorded before the flood. Although God had placed the Law of sin and death on man while still in the garden; simply put God had said to Adam, ‘obey and live, disobey and die;’ the line of Cain rebelled against all that God had said, and against all that He had instituted in the Garden of Eden. God allowed this evil line of man to wallow in their sins, while His line from Seth followed and obeyed God. Rebellious man willingly believes and acts on the false premise that God will not act, and cannot act in judgment. Rebellious man also believes that if he states that God does not exist, and that he does not believe in God then God will cease to exist — this is so sad when man believes that he is in charge of reality.
Genesis 6:3, 6, 7, 8
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. (Genesis 6:3)
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Genesis 6:6)
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. (Genesis 6:7)
God the Holy Spirit used LORD (Jehovah) 4 times in this 6th chapter. The message is to the world, the whole earth in the number 4. We will settle down here for awhile and look at the numbers and His name of LORD (Jehovah) in Genesis 6.
Through His name (Jehovah) LORD, we see that it is the LORD who sets the time of man’s existence in Genesis 6:3; then He reminds us that it is He, the LORD who made man on the earth in Genesis 6:6, (and it was on the 6th day). Next in Genesis 6:7, we again have the LORD because He is the Creator, He can also destroy what He has made; that this is His right as Creator or Judge to do so. Then, the 4th and final mention of LORD (Jehovah) in our chapter of man, chapter 6, we have the great proclamation of the grace of God to man in Genesis 6:8.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (Genesis 6:8)
Even though this is the first mention of the word ‘grace,’ God has always revealed grace to man from the very beginning of mankind. Although God will destroy all and everything on earth that He had made except for Noah and Noah’s family which totaled 8 souls; God’s outreach to man through grace never ends. We can trace the grace of God through the pages of His book to the very last mention of grace in the very last verse in the very last chapter of the very last book of Revelation. Now, how great is our God!
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ [be] with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:21) Note that grace is only mentioned 2 times in the Book of the Revelation, (but that is for another time). Did you notice the address where grace lives in the last mention in the Bible. 22:21 ( 2 – 2 – 2 – 1) I just can’t let this stop here. The number 2, God’s witness, or the number of witness, the number 2 is written 3 times, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the number 1 – the Godhead in Unity and Perfection; and there are 4 digits – the message is for the world.
Let’s do a quick summary. Grace — God witnesses to us of His grace, it is through God the Father who is Grace, and God the Son who exhibited Grace, and it is through God the Holy Spirit that Grace is poured out to us; and grace is complete and perfect to us, and in us because the One who has given us grace is complete and perfect. End of summary of Revelation 22:21!
Genesis 6:6
And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Genesis 6:6)
That is how far man had come that God was grieved in His heart over the total depravity of man’s sin that had infected the world, even the animals, and all creation had become infected by man’s disease of sin.
Genesis 6:7
And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. (Genesis 6:7)
Here in the 7th verse God refers to Himself as Jehovah, the self-Existent One, the Eternal One. Seven, called the number of God, God in His Perfection, and in His Perfection God will destroy all that He had made and had declared to be ‘very good’ in the 1st chapter of Genesis. But what God had made ‘very good,’ man had corrupted. Everything that sinful man touches he destroys, he sees a view of pristine beauty and he wants to improve it by building on it; he sees an institution formed by God and he desires to destroy it, and in so doing he causes confusion and chaos. Man sees breath taking beauty in animals and he desires to kill them, or cage them. Man sees fresh healthy food and he wants to increase his profits by adding chemicals to it, or taking away nutrients from it. Yes, man surely has a deep seated problem called sin.
And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
(Genesis 6:13) Man’s sin (6) had come to the apex or better said, it had come to the lowest point of existence, and therefore, God had to judge. Note the number 13 . . . oh, oh . . . I feel a distraction coming on. Thirteen has come down through ages to have the sense of a bad omen, or a number of superstition in many cultures.
If we trace this number in Scripture to it’s root, we would find that the first mention of 13 is found in Genesis 14:1, Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. (Genesis 14:4) This number was marked with rebellion, apostasy, revolution, and corruption, and evil by man against God. This number is not found in written form at all in the New Testament, but the chapters labeled 13 are very interesting. Let’s move on . . .
Zechariah 13:6
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. (Zechariah 13:6)
In this 38th book in the Bible, the name Zechariah means ‘remembered of Jehovah,’ written approximately 520-487 BC. This verse in 13:6 is a prophetic statement about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ being wounded by the nails of the cross. Here in 13 we see the heart of man crucifying the sinless One, the Holy One, Immanuel, God with us. God revealed what was in the heart of man.
The following verses rings out with what God feels, and what He will accomplish.
And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth. (Isaiah 63:6)
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, (Isaiah 65:6)
A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies. (Isaiah 66:6)
Malachi 4:6
The Book of Malachi is the 39th book of the Bible and the last book in the Old Testament. Malachi means ‘my messenger,’ and it was the last word that Jehovah gave to a nation before His 400 ± years of silence. In Malachi there are 4 chapters, and the last chapter has only 6 verses. Read chapter 4. I will only deal with verse 6, but I have included verse 5 for the context, and who the ‘he’ is in verse 6.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: (Malachi 4:5)
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, Â lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:6).
In the 1st book of the Bible, Genesis, sin and the curse of death was placed on man in Genesis, chapter 3. In the Book of Genesis, the word ‘cursed’ is recorded 7 times, and the word ‘curse’ is recorded 4 times. Do I have to draw a picture here? Adam’s sin brought sin and death into the world, all was cursed by God, and all must die. At the end of Genesis, God emphasized what man’s disobedience had caused. In Genesis 50:26, in the last verse of Genesis, you will find the 1st and only mention of a ‘coffin.’ Then in the last book of the Old Testament in the last chapter (4-earth) , in the last verse (6-rebellious man) we see the word, ‘curse.’Â
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)
But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. (Galatians 3:11)
And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. (Galatians 3:12)
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Galatians 3:13)
Revelation 13:6
Re 13:1 ¶ And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Re 13:2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
Re 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Re 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
Re 13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Re 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
Re 13:7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
Re 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Re 13:9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
Re 13:10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
Re 13:11 ¶ And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Re 13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Re 13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Re 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Re 13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Re 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Re 13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Re 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
I copied the complete 13th chapter of Revelation for your convenience, and so that you would see the total context of the theme verse of 13:6.
And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. (Revelations 13:6)
This is where man (6) ended in his hatred towards God and all that he believes is of God. Complete, total evil in the numbers of 6 – 6 – 6. The Anti-Christ or the beast is the global tyrant who rules a world, this world is saturated with hate. A hate so deep that every word and thought of the people of the world will be blaspheme. A hate, a generational hatred, the old hatred against God, hatred against the name of God, hatred against the name of Jesus Christ (His name has been used as a curse for thousands of years among the dregs of society), and a hatred against His dwelling place, and a hatred against all those who dwell in heaven.
In this article on the number of 6 we have just skimmed the surface. This is not a comprehensive study of the number 6, and as we go on with other numbers, and number combinations, the true condition of unrepentant man will continue to blacken the pages of time and history. I could end this article with an upbeat note in using the verse of Revelation 22:21 and grace, but I believe I will end here at this sad and solemn state of man, and what is prepared for him in his rebellion.
© Copyright 2015, Mary Haigh
Article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.
All Scripture references are from the Authorized King James Bible. (KJV)