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NUMBER IN SCRIPTURE 2!

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NUMBER IN SCRIPTURE 2 By emb

We had a good question from our friend James...

He Asked - 40
"How many times in stories and otherwise does the bible equate with this number?
Can you tell me why..."

The first part of James question I figured would be relatively easy. At least it would have been with my old favorite on-line KJV Bible.

It has easy search options but after years of being available it suddenly started flaking out and I could only get it to work on very rare occasions. My new on-line KJV Bible site has the search but also includes all the Apocrypha. So I went through and had to manually subtract every reference to a book not in the Old or New Testament from the total number of times the word forty was found.

During one of my double check times, I was surprisingly put through to my old bible site and then easily was able to get the first part of James questioned answered.

The second part, I thought I might have already from my old Teacher In the Word teachings that I have put up on my site.

Numbers In Scripture:
http://www.shangralafamilyfun.com/BibleStudy/numberinscripture.html

But I found out it only teaches about the numbers 1 to 10. James wants to know the importance of the number 40 in scripture - why it is used. I did not know this from my own past teachings.

2 Timothy 2:15 says
"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

I decided that since my old school bible teachings did not include this information that perhaps my new found bible experts would. I turned to Christian Educational Services and their web site Truth or Tradition to see if they had it there. I found a whole lot of cool bible tools...

but not what I was looking for so I decided to do a google search to see what was available for '40 in the bible'.

Let me tell you something about the internet you might not already know. It is a great place to find knowledge about something. But just because there are many sites with the same thing on them, does not mean that the knowledge is truthful or factual. It simply means the knowledge is well known and used by many. I have found many hoaxes up on religious and Christian sites. They didn't take the time to verify it and just because it sounded good, they decided they wanted to use it.

I was taught it is better to say you don't know then to make up a lie or use someone else's lies to answer someone who is wanting the truth.

It is like just throwing yourself into a tub of water without testing it first. You just may get burned! You don't go telling people this is so just because the majority of sites are saying the same thing on the internet. That's what I was up against. I had no authority source that I could trust. So I went back to my Teacher In The Word teaching and found what I was looking for. It was right before my eyes. E. W. Bullinger is the authority on numbers in the bible and spent his life dedicated to this biblical work - a true workman that needs not to be ashamed!

So I was able to write James:

"I'll use a quote here ...

'For those of us who are not familiar with this principle, the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ DOES NOT use numbers in a haphazard or random manner. There is a SPECIFIC PURPOSE for the use of numbers in most situations. I would like to introduce you to a new idea that will fascinate and bless you. You will be amazed at the decency and order of the Word of God.

I Corinthians 14: 40 "Let all things be done decently and in order".

Most of this teaching will come from E. W. Bullinger's work entitled "Number In Scripture"...

The bible uses the number forty 158 times in both the old and new testaments - [Only 24 times in the new testament].

E. W. Bullinger writes:

FORTY has long been universally recognized as an important number, both on account of the frequency of its occurrence, and the uniformity of its association with a period of probation, trial, and chastisement-(not judgment, like the number 9, which stands in connection with the punishment of enemies, but the chastisement of sons, and of a covenant people). It is the product of 5 and 8, and points to the action of grace (5), leading to and ending in revival and renewal (8). This is certainly the case where forty relates to a period of evident probation. But where it relates to enlarged dominion, or to renewed or extended rule, then it does so in virtue of its factors 4 and 10, and in harmony with their signification.

There are 15 such periods which appear on the surface of the Scriptures, and which may be thus classified:-

FORTY YEARS of Probation by Trial:
      Israel in the wilderness, Deut 8:2-5; Psa 95:10; Acts 13:18 (the third 40 of Moses' life, 120 years).
      Israel from the crucifixion to the destruction of Jerusalem.
FORTY YEARS of Probation by Prosperity in Deliverance and Rest:
      under Othniel, Judg 3:11,
      under Barak, Judg 5:31,
      under Gideon, Judg 8:28.
FORTY YEARS of Probation by Prosperity in Enlarged Dominion:
      under David, 2 Sam 5:4,
      under Solomon, 1 Kings 11:42,
      under Jeroboam II. See 2 Kings 12:17,18, 13:3,5,7,22,25,
      14:12-14,23,28,
      under Jehoash, 2 Kings 12:1,
      under Joash, 2 Chron 24:1.
FORTY YEARS of Probation by Humiliation and Servitude:
      Israel under the Philistines, Judg 13:1.
      Israel in the time of Eli, 1 Sam 4:18.
      Israel under Saul, Acts 13:21.
FORTY YEARS of Probation by Waiting:
      Moses in Egypt, Acts 7:23.
      Moses in Midian, Acts 7:30

FORTY DAYS
There are eight of such great periods on the surface of the Bible:
      * Forty days Moses was in the mount to receive the Law, Exo 24:18.
      * Forty days Moses was in the mount after the sin of the Golden Calf, Deut 9:18,25.
      * Forty days of the spies, issuing in the penal sentence of the 40 years, Num 13:26, 14:34.
      * Forty days of Elijah in Horeb, 1 Kings 19:8.
      * Forty days of Jonah and Nineveh, Jonah 3:4.
      * Forty days Ezekiel lay on his right side to symbolize the 40 years of Judah's transgression.
      * Forty days Jesus was tempted of the Devil, Matt 4:2.
      * Forty days Jesus was seen of His disciples, speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God, Acts 1:3.
      * Thus 40 becomes a number closely connected with Judah, as 390 (Eze 4:5) is the number of separated Israel. The significance of this will be seen (on p. 215), for 40 is a multiple of 8, and 390 is a multiple of 13. It may also be noted that 65 (5x13) is the number of Ephraim, while 70 is specially connected with Jerusalem.

FORTY-TWO
is a number connected with Antichrist. An important part of his career is to last for 42 months (Rev 11:2, 13:5), and thus this number is fixed upon him. Another number of Antichrist is 1260, and this is 30 x 42.

Its factors are six and seven (6x7=42), and this shows a connection between man and the Spirit of God, and between Christ and Antichrist:

      * Forty-two stages of Israel's wanderings mark their conflict with the will of God.
      * Forty-two young men* mocked the ascension of Elijah to Elisha, 2 Kings 2:23, 24.

Being a multiple of seven, it might be supposed that it would be connected with spiritual perfection. But it is the product of six times seven. Six, therefore, being the number of Man, and man's opposition to God, forty-two becomes significant of the working out of man's opposition to God.

There may be something more in the common phrase about things being all "sixes and sevens." They are so, indeed, when man is mixed up with the things of God, and when religious "flesh" engages in spiritual things. See under "Six and Seven," pp. 158-167.

IN GEMATRIA
it is a factor in the number of Nimrod's name, which is 294, or 42 x 7. It will be often found as a factor in the Antichristian names. See under the number Thirteen.

It does not often appear as a separate number, but when it is thus seen as a factor of another number, it always imparts its significance to it.

Visit Here for the rest of the numbers

This completes our teaching on the number 40 in Scripture. God bless you in the name of JESUS CHRIST.

:) Shangy!

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.

May you, and all those you love,
be so blessed and fortunate
as to stand approved before God,
unashamed of your workmanship.

May God Always Bless You and Yours As
You Stand Steadfast on His Word Of Truth!

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