It's an historic day. Today marks my 500th blog post on here. At times it has seemed like a lot more, and at other times, it doesn't seem like I could have maintained a blog long enough to get to 500 posts. But anyway, here's hoping that the next 500 go even better than the first 500.
While we're talking about numbers, this is actually a good time of the year to remember that numbers often have significance in the Bible. And yet, numbers are so very often misunderstood in the Bible. When you throw in different times, different places, and different cultures, it's really a wonder that we truly understand as much of the symbolic aspect of some of the Biblical numbers as we do.
The reason that this is a good time of year to think about numbers is because we are entering the final weeks of the "Christian Church Calendar Year." The days following All Saints Day begin to count us down to the Last Sunday of the Church Year, often also known as the Sunday of the Fulfillment or Christ the King Sunday. These holy days mark the end of the Church Calendar Year, which begins with the season of Advent (typically late in November or early in December, hence the reason that November marks the end of the year).
Part of the reason numbers come into play is because there are often misunderstandings about some of the numbers spoken of in conjunction with Christ's return. For example, in the Revelation given to St. John, it speaks of Christ reigning for 1,000 years. Many take that in a very literal sense, as in, either Jesus will reign for 1,000 years before He returns in glory, or that He returns in glory, and then reigns for 1,000 years in perfect peace. In some ways, it makes sense. After all, 1,000 is 1,000, right?
Though we also understand that there are certain numbers that tend to have much more symbolic status throughout the Bible. Take, for instance, the verse from Psalm 50:10, where the psalmist writes that the beasts of the forest belong to the LORD, as do the cattle on 1,000 hills. Now, if we take this literally, where are those 1,000 hills? I want to know because I want my cattle on hill #1,001, which means that they belong to me, not to the LORD. However, in this instance, we understand 1,000 to mean the full scope of creation. In other words, it's not a literal 1,000 hills, but that every herd of cattle on every hill belongs to the LORD, as does all creation.
Take that understanding of the symbolic meaning of 1,000, now, and apply it to the 1,000 year reign of Jesus, and what do you get? That Jesus will reign forever. Now there you have a Biblical fact that is found, not just in the Revelation, but throughout the Bible. Everywhere we find Jesus/God having all authority over everything in heaven and on earth. We hear often of the kingdom of God, which will be an eternal reign. In other words, the symbolic meaning of 1,000 fits the Biblical picture much better than some 1,000 year literal reign.
I could keep going on, but I've probably already bored you enough. But maybe it's worth thinking about the significance of the numbers we come across in the Bible.
While we're talking about numbers, this is actually a good time of the year to remember that numbers often have significance in the Bible. And yet, numbers are so very often misunderstood in the Bible. When you throw in different times, different places, and different cultures, it's really a wonder that we truly understand as much of the symbolic aspect of some of the Biblical numbers as we do.
The reason that this is a good time of year to think about numbers is because we are entering the final weeks of the "Christian Church Calendar Year." The days following All Saints Day begin to count us down to the Last Sunday of the Church Year, often also known as the Sunday of the Fulfillment or Christ the King Sunday. These holy days mark the end of the Church Calendar Year, which begins with the season of Advent (typically late in November or early in December, hence the reason that November marks the end of the year).
Part of the reason numbers come into play is because there are often misunderstandings about some of the numbers spoken of in conjunction with Christ's return. For example, in the Revelation given to St. John, it speaks of Christ reigning for 1,000 years. Many take that in a very literal sense, as in, either Jesus will reign for 1,000 years before He returns in glory, or that He returns in glory, and then reigns for 1,000 years in perfect peace. In some ways, it makes sense. After all, 1,000 is 1,000, right?
Though we also understand that there are certain numbers that tend to have much more symbolic status throughout the Bible. Take, for instance, the verse from Psalm 50:10, where the psalmist writes that the beasts of the forest belong to the LORD, as do the cattle on 1,000 hills. Now, if we take this literally, where are those 1,000 hills? I want to know because I want my cattle on hill #1,001, which means that they belong to me, not to the LORD. However, in this instance, we understand 1,000 to mean the full scope of creation. In other words, it's not a literal 1,000 hills, but that every herd of cattle on every hill belongs to the LORD, as does all creation.
Take that understanding of the symbolic meaning of 1,000, now, and apply it to the 1,000 year reign of Jesus, and what do you get? That Jesus will reign forever. Now there you have a Biblical fact that is found, not just in the Revelation, but throughout the Bible. Everywhere we find Jesus/God having all authority over everything in heaven and on earth. We hear often of the kingdom of God, which will be an eternal reign. In other words, the symbolic meaning of 1,000 fits the Biblical picture much better than some 1,000 year literal reign.
I could keep going on, but I've probably already bored you enough. But maybe it's worth thinking about the significance of the numbers we come across in the Bible.
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