Israel defined – by the numbers

 Firstly, it is important to note that Israel is both a physical nation that carries the eternal promises of God and a spiritual body formed from its greatest Son Yeshua HaMashiach, or Jesus, who Matthew equates with Israel in Matthew 2:14-15:

¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, ¹⁵ and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Matthew 2:14-15

Essentially, this scripture shows that Jesus literally is the fulfilment of Israel's story, as He perfectly completes its journey and establishes the body into which ALL believers both Jew and Gentile will ultimately be grafted into, as described throughout Romans 11.

So from this perspective, if we consider what the most significant events are in modern history, that are related to the Restoration of Israel as a nation, in fulfilment of prophecies such as Isaiah 6:8 about a nation being born in a day:

⁸ Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. Isaiah 66:8

Most would agree that there are 2 primary events that define Israel's rebirth:

1948 – when Israel inline with the UN Resolution 181 that was affirmed a year earlier in 1947 declared themselves to be a nation again on the 14^th May. However, Jerusalem was divided and a large part of Judea and Samaria was left under Jordanian Arab control, being called the ‘West Bank’, while Gaza was controlled by Egypt.

1967 – In response to continuing Arab resistance, and at a time when multiple Armies (including Egypt; Jordan; Lebanon; Syria) were gathering to come against Israel, God gave His people a miraculous victory in what is now known as the 6 Day War. In this short and decisive war, Israel regained access to East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount along with Gaza and the so called ‘West Bank’, which was traditionally part of Judea and Samaria. Essentially, they regained control of most of their ancient lands, for the first time in nearly two thousand years.

In this way, 1948 and 1967 were critical years in terms of restoring Israel, inline with Bible prophecy, making the numbers involved in these years significant.

The significance of the Numbers

1948

Here, the numbers that comprise this year add to 22:

1 + 9 + 4 + 8 = 22

Israel Born

22 is the number of Israel, as shown in other articles on this website here and here, but basically it starts with understanding such things as:

• Jacob whose name was changed to Israel was the 22^nd generation from Adam
• Hebrew, the native language of Israel, is comprised of 22 letters
• Jesus, who as above, is equated with Israel, quoted in His last breaths on the Cross from Psalm 22 and significantly Psalms is the 19^th book from Genesis and the 48^th book from Revelation, so even in the structure of God’s word, we have a hidden clue to the 1948 and 22 connection in relation to Israel.

Essentially, 22 is God’s solution to reverse the Curse on Mankind that began when he fell in Adam at the age of 99. This meant that Mankind had walked in righteousness with the Lord for 98 years in what would have been an endless cycle of Sabbaths based upon the 7-year cycle. However, because he did fall, God introduced both the Shmita year (7th year) as a year of Restoration and then the Jubilee year that occurred every 50th year, following a 7 x7 = 49 Sabbatical Cycle.

 Since Jesus, who came to fulfil this restoration on our behalf by perfectly fulfilling the Law, represented by the number 10, this is how these 49 Sabbatical Cycles became 490, being 49 x 10. Then since God as a Trinity always does things in 3s, the two 49 Sabbatical Cycles kept by Adam that comprised his 98 (49 x 2) years of righteousness with God, before falling at 99, needed one more cycle. This explains what Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy or 490 years is all about, it is Jesus as the Last Adam completing what the First Adam could not.

Interestingly, the KJV reflects this in a hidden pattern, which can be found by doing a search for the name of Jesus. Essentially, in this version of the bible, which was God’s primary witness in English for over 4 centuries, there are precisely 980 references to Jesus being the 98 x 10, with Jesus fulfilling the law on our behalf. The amazing thing is that they are divided into two categories to emphasise that they are representing the two Sabbatical Cycles of 49 that was originally kept by Adam. So if you search the Even books of the New Testament (Mark, John etc…) you will find exactly 490 (49 x 10) references to Jesus and if you search the Odd books of the New Testament (Matthew, Luke etc…) you will find again exactly 490 references to the name Jesus as well even though one group has twice as many words as the other, which prevents the argument that this could happen by chance.

Given that the bible supports man walking in righteousness for 98 years then this makes God’s declaration that He would not always Strive with Mankind, yet his years would be 120, very significant because:

120 – 98 = 22  - the number for Israel (perfectly fulfilled in Jesus), confirming that Israel is God’s Solution for Sinful man to be restored.

1967

Here the numbers that comprise this year add to 23:

1 + 9 + 6 + 7 = 23

End of Striving

23 is the number that represents the end of God’s striving with sinful man and the beginning of judgement. This can be seen in Genesis 23 where Sarah (Abraham’s wife) dies as seen in the first two verses:

¹ Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. ² So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. Genesis 23:1-2

Sarah in Hebrew is שָׂרָה and traditionally it is understood to mean “princess” or “noblewoman,” being derived from the root ש־ר־ר (s-r-r), which conveys ideas of rulership,authority, and power. However, there's a deeper, more dynamic layer when we look at its verbal cousin שָׂרָה (sarah) which is categorised as Strong’s H8280 and means to contend, strive, or wrestle.

See Strong's number screen shot from the Olive Tree Bible Software below:

Also see below for a screenshot of 4 related words (Strong’s H8280 through to Strong’s H8283) that with the exception of Strong's H8281 (that has the dot above the letter Shin on the right hand side) have identical spelling in their root words:

So both שָׂרָה (Sarah) as a name being Strong’s H8283 and שָׂרָה (sarah) as a verb being Strongs H8280 stem from Semitic roots associated with power and struggle. The verb שָׂרָה (to strive) is used in key biblical moments, such as Jacob wrestling with the angel in Genesis 32:28

²⁸ And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:28

As such, Sarah dying in Chapter 23 is symbolic of the end of Striving and it is significant to note, like we did with the number 22, that 98 + 23 = 121. Since 120 was the symbolic link with the limit of God striving with Sinful Man and this is the first number beyond that limit, then we would expect to see the beginning of Judgement.

Not only is that evident in Sarah, who died before Abraham, but it can also be seen by looking at the Messianic Seed Line from Adam to Jesus. This was the line down through Adam that would lead to the Messiah in fulfilment of Gen 3:15 (the Seed of the Woman Prophecy). Initially it had to be reset when Cain killed Able, but after  Eve bore another son in Seth, who according to Genesis 4:25 was a replacement for Able, the line passed unhindered from Adam to Jacob, the 22nd Generation from Adam, after Esau sold him his birthright:

²⁵ And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” Genesis 4:25

However, everything changed with the 23rd generation from Adam, in-line with the idea that God would no longer strive with Sinful man. Essentially, the line that normally passed down through the eldest son, as his birthright, encountered the judgement of God that had not previously been the case. So while Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn was next in line, he was judged for sleeping with his father’s concubine Bilhah and so the birth-right passed to Simeon. However, both he and the next brother in line being Levi were disqualified because of their violent revenge against Shechem who had violated their sister Dinah sexually (Genesis 34:25–31), which Jacob condemned in Genesis 49:5–7.

1 Chronicles 5:1–2 summarises this transition to judgement showing that for the first time the Royal Lineage from Adam to Jesus was separated from the Birthright of the Eldest son, which also in this instance was taken from Reuben and given to Joseph, who basically received the double portion, with his sons Ephraim and Manasseh each becoming tribes, fulfilling the material aspect of the birthright.

¹ Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel—he was indeed the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, so that the genealogy is not listed according to the birthright; 1 Chronicles 5:1

The Hidden Prophetic clue in the Numbers

So, with all of that said, we can now return to our numbers, based upon the two greatest events in Israel’s modern history, being 1948 (Israel reborn) and 1967 (East Jerusalem and Temple Mount restored). The fact that Israel subsequently gave control of the Temple Mount to Jordan does not change the miracle of God’s restoration, as this decision was made by a secular prime minister.

Importantly, rather than considering the numbers in isolation, we will now consider how the whole period from 1948 – 1967 defines the modern restoration of Israel, and how the numbers that comprise these events in combination are symbolic of God’s prophetic restoration.

As we have shown 1+9+4+8 = 22 and 1+9+6+7 = 23, it is obvious that the addition of all of these numbers is simply 22+23 = 45 and as stated above 45, through its connection to the Restoration of Israel, God’s vehicle of Salvation, then it is also a number that symbolises the totality of God’s Prophetic Restoration because it is also comprised of the addition of every digit that forms every number that exists mathematically.

Perfecting a number – its significance

As such, there is just one further mathematical aspect that is worth considering. It involves the idea of Squaring a number, which  is also equated with Perfecting a number. Here, like in the Bible and in language, the term Perfect does not necessarily mean 'flawless', rather 'completed'. So God, who created mathematics, inbuilt some very useful properties into numbers that made Perfecting or Squaring them a desirable thing to do. Purely from a mathematical perspective, their values once squared exist in the way that they can:

• Simplify calculations: Perfect squares have integer square roots, making them easier to work with in algebra, geometry, and mental maths.
• Form a Foundation for formulas: They're essential in completing the square, solving quadratic equations, and understanding square roots.
• Help create Predictable patterns: Perfect squares follow a clear pattern (1, 4, 9, 16, 25...), which helps in number theory and identifying properties of integers.

Biblically speaking, there is also a direct connection between a number and its perfect square, such that the squared number is the greater fulfilment or outworking of its square root – for example:

2 – is the Second Person of the Godhead; the Son of God; Jesus

4 – the perfect square of 2 is the World that the Son of God was Sent to Save

3 -  is the Trinity (the Godhead); or the third person of the Godhead in the Holy Spirit

9  -the perfect square of 3 is Redemption and we see the connection most dramatically at the Cross remembering Jesus was Crucified at the 3rd hour (9am) and died at the 9th hour (3pm). So symbolically we see both 33 and 99 in the event of the Cross And Colossians 2:9 states “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”. It was also only by the power of the third person in the Holy Spirit that Jesus could go to the Cross and by the same power that He was raised.

5 – Grace

25 – the perfect square of 5 is connected with God’s promises, the end result of His Grace, such as Abraham being called at 75 (3 x 25) and given the promised Son 25 years later at 100 (25 x 4) before walking with God for another 75 (25 x 3) years before dying and going home to be with the Lord forever. Also, John in Revelation saw 25 thrones – 1 occupied by God the Father and 24 by the Elders in fulfilment of God’s promise that believers will one day rule and reign with Him.