Throughout the Bible (1), God (2) often gives symbolic significance to mundane items or concepts. For example, in Genesis 9:12–16, God makes the rainbow the sign of His promise to Noah (3) (and, by extension, to all mankind) that He will not flood the whole earth again. God uses bread as a representation of His presence with His people (Numbers 4:7); of the gift of eternal life (John 6:35); and of the broken body (4) of Christ (5), sacrificed for our sins (6) (Matthew 26:26). The rainbow and the bread are obvious symbols in Scripture. Less obvious meanings seem to be attached to some numbers in the Bible, especially the number 7, which at times provides a special emphasis in the text.
 
The first use of the number 7 in the Bible relates to the creation (7) week in Genesis 1. God spends six days creating the heavens and the earth, and then rests on the seventh day. This is our template for the seven-day week, observed around the world to this day. The seventh day was to be “set apart” for Israel (8); the Sabbath was a holy day of rest (Deuteronomy 5:12).
 
Thus, right at the start of the Bible, the number 7 is identified with something being “finished” or “complete.” From then on, that association continues, as 7 is often found in contexts involving completeness or divine perfection. So we see the command for animals to be at least seven days old before being used for sacrifice (9) (Exodus 22:30), the command for leprous Naaman (10) to bathe in the Jordan River (11) seven times to effect complete cleansing (2 Kings 5:10), and the command for Joshua (12) to march around Jericho (13) for seven days (and on the seventh day to make seven circuits) and for seven priests to blow seven trumpets outside the city walls (Joshua 6:3–4). In these instances, 7 signifies a completion of some kind: a divine mandate is fulfilled.
 
Interestingly, man was created on the sixth day of creation. In some passages of the Bible, the number 6 is associated with mankind. In Revelation “the number of the beast” is called “the number of a man. That number is 666 (Revelation 13:18). If God’s number is 7, then man’s is 6. Six always falls short of seven, just like “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Man is not God, just as 6 is not 7.
 
Series of seven things crop up often in the Bible. For example, we find seven pairs of each clean animal on the ark (Genesis 7:2); seven stems on the tabernacle's (14) lampstand (Exodus 25:37); seven qualities of the Messiah (15) in Isaiah 11:2; seven signs in John’s Gospel; seven things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16; seven parables in Matthew 13; and seven woes in Matthew 23.
 
Multiples of 7 also figure into the biblical narrative: the “seventy weeks” prophecy in Daniel 9:24 concerns 490 years (7 times 7 times 10). Jeremiah 29:10 predicted the Babylonian Captivity would last for seventy years (7 times 10). According to Leviticus 25:8, the Year of Jubilee was to begin after the passing of every forty-ninth year (7 times 7).
 
Sometimes, the symbolism of 7 is a great comfort to us: Jesus is the seven-fold “I AM” in the Gospel of John (16). Other times, it challenges us: Jesus told Peter to forgive a wrongdoer “seventy times seven” times (Matthew 18:22, NKJV). And then there are passages in which the number 7 is associated with God’s judgment: the seven bowls (17) of the Great Tribulation, for example (Revelation 16:1), or God’s warning to Israel in Leviticus 26:18.
 
Speaking of the book of Revelation (18), the number 7 is used there more than fifty times in a variety of contexts: there are seven letters to seven churches (19) in Asia and seven spirits before God’s throne (Revelation 1:4), seven golden lampstands (20) (1:12), seven stars in Christ’s right hand (1:16), seven seals (21) of God’s judgment (5:1), seven angels with seven trumpets (22) (8:2), etc.
 
In all likelihood, the number 7 again represents completeness or totality: the seven churches represent the completeness of the body of Christ, the seven seals on the scroll represent the fullness of God’s punishment of a sinful earth, and so on. And, of course, the book of Revelation itself, with all its 7’s, is the capstone of God’s Word (23) to man. With the book of Revelation, the Word was complete (Revelation 22:18).
 
In all, the number 7 is used in the Bible more than seven hundred times. If we also count the words related to seven (terms like sevenfold or seventy or seven hundred), the count is still higher. Of course, not every instance of the number 7 in the Bible carries a deeper significance. Sometimes, a 7 is just a 7, and we must be cautious about attaching symbolic meanings to any text, especially when Scripture is not explicit about such meanings. However, there are times when it seems that God is communicating the idea of divine completeness, perfection, and wholeness by means of the number 7.
 

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All Bible verse references linked herein are courtesy of Bible Gateway (a). The narrative (b) offered herein has been published with permission (c) and no monetary gain is being sought. Footnotes within the narrative have been inserted by The Marion County Manna Project and re-direct to our webpages (unless otherwise noted) for additional spiritual insight and reflection.
 

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The Invitation: If you're seeking additional info about Christianity on a more personal level, consider visiting a Christian Church here in Marion County (24). Introduce yourself to members and ask to speak with someone to learn more about Jesus. Surrendering your life to Christ (25) (e) is the most rewarding, everlasting decision you'll ever make, and it's comforting to have someone guide you as you begin your new life as a child of the Most High! May God shower you with great favor in this endeavor!
 

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Footnotes, Page Credits and External Resources appear below. Consider printing and sharing the offered PDF narrative and other listed resources with family, friends and strangers alike for use in Bible Studies (26), Home/Church Faith Sharing Groups (27), Discipleship Encounters (28) and/or Personal Faith Enrichment!
 
Modifications are welcome at [email protected].
 

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FOOTNOTES:
  (1) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-good-news
  (2) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/God-of-the-bible
  (3) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/noah
  (4) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/crucifixion-of-christ
  (5) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/jesus-christ
  (6) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/sin
  (7) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/creation-account
  (8) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/twelve-tribes-of-israel
  (9) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/sacrifice-atonement
(10) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/naaman
(11) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/jordan-river
(12) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/joshua-son-of-nun
(13) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/jericho
(14) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/tabernacle
(15) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/jesus-the-messiah
(16) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/john
(17) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/seven-bowls
(18) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/revelation
(19) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/seven-churches
(20) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/seven-lampstands
(21) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/seven-seals
(22) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/seven-trumpets
(23) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-word-of-the-lord
(24) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/listing-by-city
(25) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/the-gracious-visitor
(26) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/bible-studies
(27) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/christian-education
(28) https://www.marionmannaproject.com/discipleship
 
PAGE CREDITS:
  (a) Bible Gateway, New International Version (NIV) Bible, accessed September 18, 2020, https://www.biblegateway.com/
 
  (b) "What is the Biblical Significance of the Number Seven/7?", Got Questions Ministries, accessed November 6, 2020, https://www.gotquestions.org/number-7-seven.html
 
  (c) Copyright Policy, Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 11, 2020
https://www.gotquestions.org/about.html
 
  (d) Videos, Milestones, Blogs & Poster, BibleProject, accessed September 29, 2020,
https://www.bibleproject.com/terms/#use
 
 
EXTERNAL RESOURCES:
  (e)  How Do I Convert to Christianity?, Got Questions Ministries, accessed January 12, 2020    https://www.gotquestions.org/convert-to-Christianity.html
 
 

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Feel free to re-produce and distribute without monetary gain.
 
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