The great end of the mediator being attained, no hindrance existed to the carrying out of the divine purpose, and the setting up of the sanctuary where Jehovah should dwell. The face of Moses, shining with the reflection of the glory of God, was a most suggestive introduction to the formation and erection of the sanctuary in the midst of Israel. There was another significant fact which must not be passed over. In direct connection with the preparation of the sanctuary, Jehovah again commanded the observance of His sabbath (see Ex. 35:1-31And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them. 2Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 3Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. (Exodus 35:1‑3)). Man should not only behold His glory reflected as it was from the face of the mediator, he should also partake of the rest of God. In the sanctuary His glory was to be richly displayed, and, as at rest with Him, His people were to come forward to share in its erection.
In the sanctuary, a fitting abode for God in His holiness and also a way of access to Himself by man, were provided. Such being the case, it may appear, at first sight, strange that certain of the symbols made use of in that sanctuary were commonly used in the temples of Egypt. And when it is remembered that the demon gods worshipped by the world generally had their sanctuaries in the midst of the nations which gave them reverence, the use of such symbols is the more remarkable. Indeed, it is asserted that Moses borrowed a considerable amount of symbolism from the religion of Egypt, and utilized the borrowed ideas for Jehovah’s glory. But Moses tells us that Jehovah Himself gave him the patterns of the heavenly things according to which the sanctuary was constructed (see Ex. 25:40; 26:3040And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount. (Exodus 25:40)
30And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount. (Exodus 26:30)). We certainly have more reverence for the Architect of the Universe than to suppose that He borrowed any ideas from man, especially from man in his religious service of demons!
There is evidence which proves that in ancient times a system of symbolism was recognized, not only in Egypt, but also amongst other contemporary peoples, and therefore that a language of ideas of a widespread character existed on the earth.
It will also not be out of place to mention, that the clay tablets of Tell Amarna, discovered only in 1887, prove beyond doubt that the ancient nations, prior to the time of Moses, possessed not only a system of intercommunication, but a language for that intercommunication. Matters of war and of court life are freely spoken of in these tablets, and the gods of the respective countries are duly and politely mentioned.*
Before entering upon the eternal verities symbolized in the divine sanctuary in Israel, we purpose calling attention to this common symbolism, and also suggesting the source whence it was obtained. In the present chapter our remarks will be confined to the significance of numbers, and especially to the numbers three, four, seven, and twelve, when used as symbols.
Let us first glance at that part of the earth which is most famed for human energy shortly after the flood. There, from the most ancient days, seven was a number sacred in man’s thoughts in relation to the heavenly bodies, and consequently as a time measure. The excavations in Babylonia have brought to light the fact that in the era of the Tower of Babel a week of seven days was acknowledged, and “a seventh day sabbath kept.”* In Babylonian mythology, at a date prior to the time of Moses, “three” and “twelve” were of sacred import. The twelve months were the accepted measure of the year, and these time measures were attributed to the work of a deity, as we read in their own words: “For each of the twelve months three stars he fixed, from the day when the year issues – forth unto the close.... The moon-god... he appointed... also... (saying) ` Every month, without break, observe thy circle.’ These ancient people had further their “three leading deities,” who “formed members of a circle of twelve gods.” “The company of the gods of Egypt” was three times three. The sacred import of numbers was most impressive to these ancients; and more, to them time and deities were in a way intimately associated. Still further, as it was with the Egyptians, so was it with these people of Babylonia, “the various deities of their religion “... were “all” capable of being “resolved into one supreme god.”
* George Smith (revised by Sayce), The Chaldean Account of Genesis, p. 56. “The astronomical tablets have shown that the seven clay week was of Accadian origin, each clay of it being dedicated to the sun, moon, and five planets. The word sabbath itself, under the form sabattu, was known to the Assyrians, and explained by them as ‘a day of rest for the heart.’... The Accadian words by which the idea of sabbath is denoted, literally mean ‘a day on which work is unlawful,’ and are interpreted on the bilingual tablets as signifying a day of peace,’ or ‘completion of labors.’” Ibid., p. 89. “Among the most valuable treasures of the British Museum are important sacred calendars... which prove very clearly the knowledge: and observance of the sabbath.... In these calendars we read... ‘The seventh day is a resting day... a holy day.... The king must not drive in his chariot. His clothes he changes not....” Boscawen, The Bible and the Monuments, p. 67. Perhaps the reader will compare this note with our remarks on the mention of the sabbath with the gift of the manna. See page 150.
It is remarkable how the numbers of the deities corresponded with those of the seasons and months of the year: “three deities” three seasons; “twelve gods” twelve months; also how the “three” and the “twelve” leading deities were capable of being resolved into “one supreme god,” as the three seasons and twelve months resolve themselves into the circle of the one year. No one would suggest that this is mere accident! There was a cause for the coincidence. The legends from which we have quoted were preserved in royal libraries as treasured truths of the origin of things.
The gods of Chaldea were arranged in triads, and the origin of this arrangement was so ancient as to be probably Accadian, and thus close upon the era of the flood.
The legends record the work of an originator of the moon-god, referring to one who appointed that god, and who was consequently anterior to him. This appointer also fixed the courses of the stars, and the coming and the going of the seasons. The numbers so connected with his work were regarded as sacred.
These legends evidence an acquaintance of the early human race with the movements of the heavenly bodies, and the attachment of a religious significance to these movements; they also show that this knowledge of the time measures twelve months, three seasons existed prior to the dedication of months and seasons to the gods.
The number four finds an interesting illustration in the figure – columns discovered at Khorsabad. “From the sacred vase which they press reverently to their heart... flow four streams, which recall the four rivers of Paradise in Genesis; two of these liquid jets fall directly upon their feet, while the two others, rising over their shoulders, fall down their back to their feet in slightly undulating bands.” The streams as represented appear to have had their origin in ancient Chaldean art, hence the idea is as old as the earth after the flood.
The same number was invested in Egypt with its own peculiar honor. Through it the earth and the heavens were connected. The heavens were at one time supposed to be supported by four pillars, which rose from the earth, and these four pillars were identified with “the four gods who stand by the pillar-scepters of heaven.” These gods “were supposed to preside over the four quarters of the world, and subsequently were acknowledged to be the gods of the four cardinal points.” These four gods presided over the four different parts of the deceased’s intestines, as has been illustrated on page 81, and they ushered him into the abode of the blessed. It is said, “In the pyramid of Unas, O gods of the west, O gods of the east, O gods of the south, O gods of the north, ye four (orders of gods) who embrace the four holy ends of the universe,... say ye...” The obelisks set to the four quarters, and pointing up to the heavens, were, like the pyramids, religious in character. The elements had also their representative gods, or, at least, earth, air, fire, and water, had each its deity.
The sacred buildings of the early nations of the world had recorded upon them in their structure the symbolism of sacred numbers. That which has been said already, indicates that a considerable part of this symbolism owes its origin to the sun, the moon, and the stars, and their movements, as viewed from the earth. Some further remarks upon the observatory temples of those remote ages must be added.
The character of the Tower of Babel was astrological, and its top was probably covered with portrayals of the sun, moon, and planets, and the signs of the zodiac. The accompanying illustration is given to bring before the eye one of the successors of ancient Babel. It is a bird’s-eye view of the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad. The chief interest attached to this city, for our present object, lies in the fact that “Assyrian palaces were everywhere the same, and issued from an uniform type created in Chaldea, which was never remarkably modified.” The seven-staged tower in the city is enlarged in the small illustration given on page 198. Each stage had its own color, the topmost one, upon which the shrine stood, being gilded, the next being silver-plated. The seven stages were devoted to the sun, the moon, and the five planets of the astronomical system of the Chaldeans.
Samas, the sun-god of Babylonia, with his emblem, the sun, in front of him, is here represented.
We have already remarked how Egyptian temples erected to the sun-god were sometimes in honor of the rising sun, and sometimes the setting sun; the pyramids would seem to be reared in honor of the noonday sun.
The pyramids, had sacred names, such as, “the holiest of places,” “the divinest of places,” “the perfect,” “the beautiful.” The Great Pyramid erected by Cheops or Khufu, amongst others, appears to have formed a symbolic throne for the sun at noonday during the equinox. It faces, as does the temple pertaining to it, due east. The adjoining pyramids and their temples do the same – one intention governs them all. Hence when day and night are of equal duration, and the sun’s course through the heavens brings him at noon over the apex of the pyramid, the sun at that hour casts no shadow upon the earth. Then the polished sides of the building, burnished and brilliant in the glory of noon, and tapering upwards from the four quarters of the earth to the one exalted apex in the sky, indicated, as it were, all the earth rendering the supreme throne to Ra the noonday sun.
In the pyramid, we have a great object lesson respecting the numbers which have been selected for our consideration three, four, seven, and twelve. If we imagine ourselves looking down upon the pyramid from the sun, we have presented in its top stone, or apex, the indivisible number one, i.e., absolute unity. One crowned the building. Whatever was their special meaning, the numbers three, four, seven, or twelve, all arose from the earth to that which was nearest heaven – all united in one. Each side ▲ proclaimed three; the base spoke four; side and base together ◄ seven; while the four sides ▲▲▲▲ declared twelve; and twelve, seven, four, and three eventually resolved themselves into, or did homage, as it were, to one. Now if, with the Scriptures before us, we regard one as symbolic of the one God, we can with propriety see how the other numbers, being symbolically expressions of Him in His works or ways, do homage to the indivisible number.
The immense care shown by the Egyptians in the setting out of the position of their religious buildings, is exemplified in the Great Pyramid. Its square base occupies some thirteen English acres, and “the laying out of the base... is a triumph of skill:” After the most careful measurements, “the errors both in length and in, angles “detected on the whole of the huge square” could be covered by placing one’s thumb on them!” Hence each of its four sides was practically, if not absolutely, exact with its fellows. These four sides were directed to the “four orders of gods,” who embraced “the four holy ends of the universe.”
The pyramids were religious in character, and the dead buried in them were expected to be re-animated after a given number of years. Calculations relative to this event were made by the priests upon the basis of the movements of the heavenly bodies. The study of the heavens was in the hands of the priests, who used their knowledge of the movements of the heavenly bodies to impose upon the minds of the ignorant. An astronomer, as we recognize him in our era, was absolutely unknown in the lands of which we are speaking, astronomy and astrology being for practical ends one and the same in the ancient world. The astronomer does not need the evidence of Proclus or of Diodorus Siculus to tell him that at one time the Great Pyramid was an observatory; for some of its instrumental arrangements remain in existence, every detail of the structure being obviously astronomical in character.... The arrangements for observing the heavenly bodies when passing across the meridian were effective in the extreme, and no astronomer can doubt their significance.” Within the building was “the finest pre-telescopic transit instrument ever made.... It was about one hundred and fifty-six feet long (four times the length of the great Rosse telescope), twenty-eight feet high, and in its widest part six feet ten inches wide.”
Enough has been said to show that the ancient inhabitants of the earth, even from the time of the flood, connected certain numbers with religious ideas, and it is evident that the value of the numbers existed in their minds before they connected religious ideas with them. They did not impart a religious value to numbers, but shaped their religious symbolizing according to an ascertained inherent value of numbers in nature. The numbers selected in this chapter were valued by the ancients to no small extent, because astronomy demonstrated their importance. The fountain-head of their nature-worship was the heavens. Nature, generally, witnessed to them the meaning of numbers. Proportion in all its spheres relates to numbers. Nature contains within herself the value of numbers. Such value is one of her laws. When the actual numbers of the essentials of a thing are known, true knowledge of it has been reached. Numbers are but the measurements of proportion, according to which all nature is formed. The smallest constituent which chemistry has brought to knowledge, and the vast distances of the planets from each other and from the sun, proclaim the same law.
Let us select from the natural world a few obvious instances of the value of numbers. In that lovely display of light – the rainbow – the numbers three, four, and seven are apparent: three, in the primary; four, in the complementary colors seven, in their whole array.
Man himself is a witness to the importance of that most significant number in religious teaching – three; he himself being one person of three parts – spirit, soul, and body. Through his spirit he is related to the unseen and to spirits; through his soul to the animal world; through his body to that which is material. Man’s eye is ever declaring to its possessor the truth of three in one; for if one color, such as red, be earnestly looked upon, the eye calls up for itself the other two primary colors, yellow and blue, in the form of green, so that the organ of sight may rest in the unity produced by the diversity of the three; and in like manner the ear rests in a completed tone, in the fulfillment of the numbers of sound.
The winds of heaven, the quarters of the earth, the elements, speak of four. Time is measured by the movements of the heavenly bodies, and thus, sun, moon, and stars speak of the value of numbers. Seven and twelve are very important time measures.
We do not suppose there can be any difficulty in answering the question, whence the ancient world derived its sacred regard for the value of numbers. Nature herself supplied it. They closely observed nature, discovered some of her laws, deified them in certain instances and attached them to deities in others. Thus, for example, the sun and the moon were rendered into gods, and the generative principle in nature was deified under the character of a god or was attached to gods.
We now come to the question respecting the use of symbolical numbers in the sanctuary, and in the teachings connected with them. It will be convenient to leave the consideration of the actual numbers utilized for sacred purposes in the sanctuary until we dwell upon the significance of that erection, and for the present we merely call attention to the general use to which. certain numbers are put all through the Scriptures.
The third day is notable in Scripture. Instances of it having been set aside for divine manifestation have already been placed before the reader. It may be termed the day of a new beginning. On the third day of creation the dry land appeared (Gen. 1:9-139And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13And the evening and the morning were the third day. (Genesis 1:9‑13)). Israel crossed the waters of judgment and death of the Red Sea, and found salvation on its further shore, on the third day after leaving Egypt. The third is the resurrection day to this the “dry land” and the “further shore” of the Red Sea point. The third day is that on which the Lord, who had passed through the deep waters and the darkness of death, arose to die no more, and thus forever the third day is sanctified to His glory in His beginning anew His ways in resurrection. Christ referred frequently to the third day when foretelling His death and resurrection, and recalled Old Testament types of His resurrection when so doing. The number “three” is often identified with the Holy Trinity.
In Scripture, though a number be not given in words, the structure of a passage may be based upon a definite number.
The three ways in which the gifts given by God to the Church are dispensed by “the same Spirit,” “the same Lord,” “the same God” (1 Cor. 12:4-64Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. (1 Corinthians 12:4‑6)) is a case in point, and the two “sevens” in relation to the humiliation and the corresponding glorifying of the Son mentioned in Philippians 2 is another instance; also the songs, seven in number, given in the Book of Revelation. The sevens of Philippians 2 are as follow: –
1. “Made himself of no reputation,
2. And took upon Him the form of a servant,
3. And was made in the likeness of men,
4. And being found in fashion as a man,
5. He humbled Himself,
6. And became obedient unto death,
7. Even the death of the cross.
1. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him,
2. And given Him a name, which is above every name
3. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
4. Of things in heaven,
5. And things in earth,
6. And things under the earth;
7. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The number seven abounds in the Book of Revelation in a structural form, where it is not actually mentioned.
“Four” is a number having a definite intention attached to it. In the river with four heads that went out of Eden to water the garden (Gen. 2:1010And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. (Genesis 2:10)), the whole earth obtained its refreshment from the primary fountain. The evangelists who record the life of Him who was sent to be the Savior of the world, are four in number, and their testimony is for the whole earth. The vision of the last things which speaks of the heavenly Jerusalem is thus put on record: “The city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth.... The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal” (Rev. 21:1-161And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 9And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. (Revelation 21:1‑16)). On the four sides of this city were three gates (twelve in all), and its foundations were twelve in number. The vision portrays the future, when perfect peace shall rule the earth, and idolatry shall have ceased; when the “good things” symbolized in the time measures mentioned in the Scriptures shall have “come,” and the four quarters of the earth shall be obedient to the rule of God’s throne. Neither sun nor moon, the objects of early idolatry and generations of world-wide worship, shall give light to the city of God, but it will descend from heaven to earth, and God and the Lamb shall be its light and glory. To it all nations shall come – from it light, that shall illumine all, shall proceed. It “had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the Light thereof” (Rev. 21:10-11,2310And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; (Revelation 21:10‑11)
23And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (Revelation 21:23)).
Seven is a number frequently present in Scripture, and its prophetic use is familiar. It is the great prophetic time measure of Scripture.
God at the first gave the sun and moon “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14-1514And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. (Genesis 1:14‑15)). He marked out the course of time by this means, and man, from the earliest, was acquainted with the periods into which time – as we know it on this earth – is divided. The fourth commandment given to Israel after their separation from Egypt, recalled a truth previously known, and sanctified again the seventh day in the name of Jehovah. In Israel, the measures of time were ordained by God, and days, and weeks, and months, and years were regulated by sacred feasts.
Seven is a number used by Christ in His teaching, both on earth and from heaven. He foretold the history of the kingdom of heaven on earth under seven parables (Matt. 13). He declared the story of Christendom in seven addresses to the seven churches, which were regarded as seven light-givers to the world (Rev. 2; 3). And whether in Genesis or in Revelation, in words addressed to the patriarchs, to Israel, or the Church, God frequently reveals His purposes respecting man on earth under classifications of seven. The sevens of the prophet Daniel, and the sevens of the Book of Revelation, will occur at once to the mind.
Further, as in the colors of the rainbow, these sevens of divine revelation are capable of being divided into three and four. The seven parables referred to are divided into two groups of four and of three parables respectively. Four parables were given without the house, and three within the house. The four were addressed to the multitude, the three to the disciples. The teaching of the four was public in its character, that of the three was secret in its character. The division of the sevens in the Book of Revelation into groups of three and four or of four and three is most noticeable. In such details we see the same hand working, whether in the book of nature or the Book of Revelation.
Twelve is a number in Old and New Testaments to which a divine intention in relation to the future kingdom of God will be found attached. “In the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:2828And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28)). So in like manner, “the holy Jerusalem” of the vision “had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel”; and in the” twelve foundations” of the city,” the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:10,12-1410And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21:10)
12And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation 21:12‑14)).
As it is apparent that not only Moses, but the prophets of both the Old and New Testaments, and Christ Himself, used numbers symbolically, we now inquire why they are so used by the spokesmen of God. The answer is, that the same mind which ordered and proportioned nature, ordered and proportioned the verities of revelation. The Designer of the universe, is the Disposer of the ages; “He that built all things” whether creation or ages – “is God” (Heb. 3:44For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4)). The words refer to a spiritual house. Compare verses 2, 5, 6, and Num. 12:77My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. (Numbers 12:7).
By no means did God borrow ideas from man, nor did Moses, His servant, borrow them from the Egyptians, but God used His own laws which rule the natural world to convey truths to man respecting His spiritual kingdom. And more, God used immutable creation principles of His own formation in conveying to man ideas respecting His eternal glory, and thus it is that in the sanctuary we have “patterns of things in the heavens” (Heb. 9:2323It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. (Hebrews 9:23)).