The Number Seven in the Book of Revelation

Below is the seventh of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from The Parousia, the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell:

"THE NUMBER SEVEN IN THE APOCALYPSE [BOOK OF REVELATION].

"Every reader of the Apocalypse [Revelation] must be struck by the manner in which certain numerals are employed, not so much in an arithmetical sense as in a symbolical. The numbers three, four, seven, ten, and twelve, the half of seven, and the square of twelve, are used in this significant manner. Of all those mystic numbers, as they may be called, seven is the dominant one, which we find continually recurring from beginning to end of the book. That it is invariably used in a symbolical, and never in a literal and arithmetical, sense we will not venture to assert, but that it is frequently, if not generally, so employed must be apparent to every thoughtful reader. It was the number of dignity among the Jews, the symbol of totality or perfection, and signifies all of the species, or the highest kind of the species, to which it refers. It is not necessary where this number occurs to require the full tale of units to be made up; it simply means completeness or excellence. Thus we have seven churches, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, seven spirits, seven lamps, seven horns, seven eyes, seven stars, seven mountains, seven kings. It would be absurd to require the exact arithmetical value in all these instances, though it would be rash to affirm that in every one of them the number is symbolical. Still, even in the instance which at first seems the most manifestly literal, viz. [that is] the seven churches which are particularly enumerated, it is possible that there may be an underlying symbolism. It can scarcely be supposed that there were only seven churches in all Asia Minor; there may have been seven times seven; but doubtless these seven stand as representatives of the whole number, not in Asia only, but everywhere else. What the Spirit said to them He said to all. It will be found of no small importance to the correct interpretation of the Apocalypse to bear in mind the symbolic character which belongs to the numbers most frequently employed in it."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Rapture (Snatching Away) of Living Saints in the 1st Century

The Rapture (Snatching Away) of Living Saints in the 1st Century [See blog editor's note on the use and meaning of the term "rapture" after Russell's excerpt] Below is the 16th of multiple excerpts of commentary from Parts I and II of The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell. The initial 31 posts on this blog deal with the Book of Revelation, which is cogently interpreted in Part III of Russell's magnum opus. (For all blog posts, see russellparousia.blogspot.com) "THE CRUCIAL QUESTION [of whether the rapture happened in the 1st century] "Doubtless most readers will shrink from the demand made upon their faith, when they are asked to believe that the predictions of our Lord in Matt. xxiv. [24:31], and the kindred prophecy of St. Paul in 1 Thess. iv. [1 Thess. 4:15-17, regarding the "rapture" (snatching) of living saints] had a veritable accomplishment [in connection with Christ's ...
Read more

How Does God Measure Time?

How Does God Measure Time? Below is the 39th of multiple excerpts of commentary from Parts I and II of The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell. The initial 31 posts on this blog deal with the Book of Revelation, which is cogently interpreted in Part III of Russell's magnum opus. (For all blog posts, see russellparousia.blogspot.com) "THE CERTAINTY OF THE APPROACHING CONSUMMATION. "2 Pet. iii. 8, 9 [2 Peter 3:8-9].--- ‘But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ "Few passages have suffered more from misconstruction than this , which has been made to speak a language inconsistent with its obvious intention, and even incompatible with a ...
Read more

Revelation's Messages to the Seven 1st-century Churches of Asia Minor

Below is the ninth of multiple excerpts of commentary on the Book of Revelation from The Parousia , the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell: " The First Vision "THE MESSAGES TO THE SEVEN CHURCHES.  "[Rev.] Chap. i. 10-20; ii. iii [Rev. 1:10-20; 2, 3] "Notwithstanding what has been said respecting the imagery and symbolism of the Apocalypse [Book of Revelation],  it is not to be forgotten that underlying these symbols there is everywhere a substratum of fact and reality. We have only to read the messages to the seven churches to discover that we are in a region of actual fact and intense reality.  There is such individuality of character in the graphic delineations of the spiritual state of the several churches, that  we cannot doubt that they are accurate and truthful portraits of the Christian communities [in 1st-century Asia Minor] which they describe . There is indeed a strange commingling of figure [symbol] and fact [in ...
Read more