As explained before, the number (3) is a symbol of God’s complete existence. God – blessed be His name – existed alone from eternity. He existed completely with His three Persons (Hypostasis), that is, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
There God created another to live with Himself, that is, the creation, which is symbolized by the number(4).
The creation lived with, or rather under the case of the Holy Trinity. Thus the world and the creation became the fourth with respect to existence.
Place and directions are included in the number four.
By this is meant the north, the south, the east, and the west, with all places within them, as well as the four branch directions, that is the northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. The Lord mentions these four directions when speaking about the Second Coming: “They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Mt 24:30-31).
Time also includes the number four.
The seasons are four: Summer, Winter, Spring, and Autumn. These include the climate all over the earth the whole year.
The day also is divided into four parts, or watches.
The first watch extends from the morning to the noon; the second from noon to sunset; the third from sunset to midnight; the fourth from midnight to morning. These watches of the day are mentioned by the Lord, as in (MT 24:43) : “ If the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.” And in (Lk 12 :37-38) “Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching … And if he come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants;” and also in (Mt 14:25) : “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.”
The moon divides time and light over the month into four main divisions.
The divisions of the moon are: full moon, waning moon, first and second lunar quarters . These also include four other forms: half moon, twice; and convex moon, twice. These fourfold forms of the moon determine the moon’s shape, degree of light, and its rule over the dimness of the night.
Dispositions are likewise four types.
There is the fiery disposition, ethereal disposition, watery disposition, and earthly disposition. They are the same elements of the animated and inanimated nature.
The inanimated nature, in turn, is combined of four divisions: dry land, water, atmosphere, and celestial sphere. The atmosphere is separated from the celestial sphere by the firmament as we read in the story of creation in (Gen 1:9,10) : “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear … And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called Seas.”
The animated nature likewise contains the number (4)
It is combined of angels, man, animals, and plants. Angels are spirits (Ps 104:4). They are living, rational, and have will power, but they do not marry (Mt 22:30), nor procreate, nor propagate. Men also are living, rational beings, having will power. They have material bodies in addition to the soul and the spirit (1 Thess 5 : 23). They marry, procreate, and propagate. Animals and plants on the other hand have no immortal spirit, and are not rational, but they differ from each other in movement, in the way of procreation and propagation, and in other aspects.
The majority of the animated earthly being are characterized by four limbs.
Most of the animals have four legs; man has four limbs : two hands and two legs; birds have two legs and two wings; most plants have root, stem, branches with leaves, and flowers or fruits or seeds
The Scripture tells us about the four living creatures.
“ In the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth … like a flying eagle.” (Rev 4 : 6,7).
Most probably these four living creature are symbols of various things: the lion is a symbol of ravenous animals; the calf is a symbol of tame or domesticated animals; the creature with the face of a man is a symbol of national creatures; the eagle is a symbol of flying creatures, or of the heavenly powers.
These four living creatures also remind us of the four Gospels sent to the whole world.
The first is the Gospel of St. Mark with his famous lion. The second is that of St. Luke which starts with the priesthood of Aaron famous for the sacrifices and symbolized by the calf. The third is that of St. Matthew which speaks about the Lord Christ the offspring of man in whom prophecies are fulfilled. The fourth and last Gospel is that of St. John who soared high in theological matters.
These four Gospels were sent to the whole world (MK 16:15).
The Gospel of Mark is addressed to the Romans; the Gospel of Luke to the Greeks; the Gospel of Matthew to the Jews; the Gospel of John to the whole world. They are only four and are both real and symbolic.
I wonder whether the four rivers that watered the garden (Gen 2 :10-14) were a symbol of the four Gospels.
We know that water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and of life that is why they water the garden. They also run to the whole world, to the four winds of the earth mentioned by the Lord Christ (Mt 24:31) and by Daniel the Prophet in his vision (Da 7:2,3).
It is noteworthy that the Book of Revelation decides the human race into four classes.
The new song of the twenty four priests and four living creatures mentions four classes : tribe, tongue, people, nation (Rev 5:93; 7:93; 14:6; 17:15).
We also notice that the number four was used when speaking about certain groups of people.
We read about four prophetesses in the Old Testament. Three of them represent good, namely: Miriam the sister of Moses and Aaron (Ex 15:20); Deborah the judge (Jud 9:4), Huldah (2Kgs 22:14); whereas the fourth prophetess represent evil prophecies, namely, Noadiah (Neh 6:14), for she made Nehemia afraid.
There are also four men; the three friends of Job who were miserable comforters : Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite (Job 2:11; 16:2); and the fourth as Elihu who spoke the word of God (Job 32-27).
Four people represented evil in the days of Nehemia. Those were Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and Noadiah (Neh 6:1,14).
Another four represented good. They were The Holy Daniel and the three young men. Four women are mentioned in the genealogy of the Lord Christ : Tamar , Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah (Mt 1) . Those represented women and their role in the holy genealogy, where as many women actually had a role throughout 41 generations (Mt 1).
We can find the number four in the materials, the coverings, and the curtains of the Tent of Meeting.
We find gold, silver, brass, and wood, which vary in their value but all contribute to making the tent. There are also four kinds of cloth: Blue, purple, and scarlet threads, and fine linen.
Even the devil has four names mentioned in the Revelation (20:2) : “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven … He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years … and set a seal on him.” (Rev 20:2). These four names of the devil represent the sinful perishing creation the depth of falling, and God’s punishment to that falling creation.
In the same chapter is mentioned the punishment that extended to four parties representing evil.
The nations in the four corners of the earth, who surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from God and devoured them .
The devil who deceived them and was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone; where also there are :
The beast
The false prophets
They will all be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev 20:7-10). They represent all the sinful creation, whether men or angels.
Much is still there to the said about the number four, which cannot be fully covered in the present article, but let us conclude with an important point.
Multiplications of the number four :
The number (8) .
It is double four, as explained in a previous article. Since the number four is a symbol of creation, its duplication is a symbol of new creation, or new beginning.
The number (12).
It is thrice four. It was explained briefly, but it needs more explanation, for which there is no room here.
The number (40).
It is a very famous number, for it is mentioned on many occasions connected with days, years, or stripes.
Forty days was the great flood (Gen 7:17), and forty days were required to embalm Jacob (Gen 50:3).
Fasting extended forty days, whether that of Moses the Prophet (Ex 24:18; 34:28; Deut 9:9,25), or that of Elijah the Prophet (1 kgs 19:8), or that of the Lord Christ (Mt 4:2). The people of Nineveh were warned that after forty days the city was to be overthrown (Jon 3:4). And the Lord Christ stayed with His disciples forty days following the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).
Forty years were those.
Which the people spent in the wilderness (Ex 16:35; Num 14:34); which the people rested in the days of the judges (Jud 3:11; 5:31; 8:28).
Forty stripes were the punishment of certain people found guilty.
This can be traced in (Deut 25:3; 2 Cor 11:24).
Shall I go on long, talking about numbers and their symbols, or stop for some time as a king of change till I publish the whole subject in a book – God willing?
I leave this to God’s will and guidance.
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