BIBLE NUMERICS
The Number FORTY-SEVEN
One of the strangest phenomena observed by the careful student of the
scripture that seems to have escaped the eye of Pettingill, Gaebelein,
DeHaan, Scofield, Larkin, Bullinger, Sauer, and all others included, is the
peculiar relationship of Seven and Forty. Notice this in Genesis 7:4. First
the word "Seven" and then the word "Forty," which by itself would have no
significance at al; but come now to Genesis 25:17 and notice how this thing
keeps recurring in the most unlikely combinations. Here the number Seven is
the last numeral given in the series in verse 17, and the next numeral given
in any series in the narrative is the number Forty in Genesis 25:20.
Somebody says, "That's an accident." I don't know how much of an accident it
is; it's Seven and Forty. Let's just see if it is a coincidence. Look at
Leviticus 12:2,4 and notice how this thing keeps cropping up constantly.
In Leviticus 12 (again an unlikely series) we read in verse 2 about this
woman being seven days unclean after she is born of man, and then she is to
continue thirty-three days in her purifying of her blood; and the thirty-
three and seven makes forty, the seven occurring first and the next total
number being forty, and although the next number given is thirty-three, the
inclusion is forty, which may be merely an accident--and maybe not.
Now turn to Numbers 13:22 (a parenthetical passage put in for no reason at
all, they'll tell you!). "Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in
Egypt," and lo and behold, not three verses later in v. 25, "they returned
from searching of the land after forty days." Seven and forty--all of which
you say might be manipulated and might not prove anything. But step over to
II Kings 11:21 and look at the age of the king when he began to reign.
Jehoash was seven years old when he began to reign, and in chapter 12 verse
1, he reigned forty years. Seven and forty. Seven followed immediately by
forty in chapter 12. Unfortunately, I haven't marked all these references
like this, but they occur a number of times. Of course somebody will say,
"Well, look at the number of times forty occurs after different numbers."
That's true, and yet the first time that the numbers seven and forty occur
together, they occur together at the first of the Bible in the first book in
connection with a judgment on man, where the seven precedes the testing
period, and some times later you will find the seven following the testing
period. I'd suggest you go through a Bible and mark these places where forty
follows seven or seven follows forty; and although you couldn't establish a
law on it absolutely, I'll guess very strongly that when the problem is
finally unravelled and the knot is untied, that you will find it has a
definite bearing on the time of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the
Tribulation (which is seven years) ending a probation period.
Index of Preacher's Help and Notes
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