We are finally here! The final day of creation! Thus far we have worked our way forward systematically looking at each day of Creation and how that day has a relevance to the understood meaning of that number throughout Scripture. On this final day of Creation in which nothing actually happens, we come to one of the most prevalent numbers in all of Scripture: 7.
7 or multiples of seven are found repeatedly all throughout Scripture, often in places that point to it being representative of something. Here are two examples:
Pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
We will circle back to these two references. First, however, we will continue with the line of reasoning for the previous numbers and apply it to seven.
- If in 6 we see a doubling of completeness, the apex as we looked at previously, then in 7 we see an addition to that completeness would make it absolute. It is as though we were combining the completeness of 3 with the supremacy of 4. 7 has been rightly described as the number of perfection, because it builds on what was completed. Where do you go after all has been completed? Absolute perfection. Thus is the line of reasoning which started with day 1. With this line of reasoning, we can see 7 being able to represent perfection. Let’s see what the day’s events may point to in regards to this.
- Technically, nothing happens on day 7. It is a day of rest, or ceasing. When we look at each day of Creation, there is a note where God looks at what He has done and sees that it is good. On day 6, there is a superlative term attached: ‘very’. God looks on day 6 to see that things are ‘very’ good. That lends more credence to the idea that 6 represents completeness. It is of fascination then, that day 7 should come along where nothing happens. I believe there is good reason for that.
If Creation week was to end on day 6, man could claim to be at the end of all things, the apex as it were of all, but man is only apex of what was created on Earth. The real apex is God himself. I believe that is why we see day 7 where ‘nothing’ happens. It’s God’s day. Indeed, it was the day set apart by God for His people to rest. That rest was not simply to sleep, but to be in relationship with Him. 6 days the people had to do their work for living, but the last day was to be given over to God. Likewise Jesus proclaims in Revelations 1:8, He is the beginning and the end. We have already seen how day 1 is God in self-revelation. What do we see on day 7? God resting. He is finished. There is nothing else to day 7 but God.
When the Scripture speaks of God sanctifying the 7th day, that is literally, day 7 is God’s day. He is the first and the last. It is in this vein of thought that some have called 7 God’s number. Such a title I believe to be deeply incorrect. God has a number: one. It has to be one for it is the number of self-existence. Nonetheless, 7 is still a number closely linked to God both by His activity on the day and its relation to Him, as well as the idea of 7 being perfection, for what/who could possible be perfect as God?
Thus, when we look at day 7 itself, we find that nothing happens for all that has been done has been judged complete and perfect. 7 is the number of perfection.
Let’s put our conjecture/reason to the test with the previous two verses:
Pro 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Should we understand this verse literally? Well if we did, what happens when a just man falls once? or eight times? Why seven? Literal does not explain the use of seven very well at all. What happens if you look at it with an understanding that seven can represent perfection? Here’s how it could read:
For a just man falleth perfectly, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
or
For a just man is a perfect failure, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
It’s quite a deep statement. The proverb is pointing to the condition of the heart as to what really matters, not if someone makes a mistake. Our previous reasoning so far has held up. Let’s put it into Revelations now:
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
To understand seven literally here would actually create quite a contradiction, as in Eph 4:4 we read that there is one Spirit. There are various ways you could explain the discrepancies, but I have short time and will cut to the chase. The image of seven spirits of God about the throne are quite unique and potentially puzzling. Let’s do the same thing we did with Proverbs – look at the text and replace 7 with what it can represent – perfection.
Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the perfect Spirit which is before his throne;
Some quick notes on this passage: what is translated in KJV as ‘spirits’ can be either plural or singular. It’s used more often in the singular sense but is given plural here due to the seven that precedes it. When we read the seven as a representative word, we therefore must change from plural to singular in the English.
What then do we understand from this passage? John is giving greetings to the Church from God himself. When John refers to the ‘seven spirits’, He was seeing a vision of something that was describing what was going on. Who sits on the throne? Jesus Christ. He has the Spirit without measure (Joh 3:34) for He is that one Spirit. John sees ‘seven’ spirits around the throne because it was signifying the perfection of God’s presence in that place – it is His very throne. We understand that implicitly when we speak of God ‘being here’. God is always here. We believe He is omnipresent, but we also understand that His presence can ‘come and go’. When we read of the seven spirits, it’s a visual description of the epicenter of God’s presence if you please.
Needless to say, I believe the conclusion drawn from Genesis 1/2:1-2 regarding the numbers and what they mean/represent being found in that account holds up, especially when we use it to understand Scripture (Scripture will interpret Scripture)
I will not go into detail, but consider how the understanding of 7 gleaned from Genesis helps with reading the following verses:
Mic 5:5 And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
This could very well be reference to Jesus as the Good Shepherd. If seven is perfection, then there would be a perfect shepherd raised against the Assyrian (perhaps one of these days I will do a series on Micah 5 which is a Messianic prophecy incidentally. The 8 probably means something to do with judgement as it’s two 4’s)
Job 5:19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
Almost self-explanatory in itself. In complete troubles, God will deliver the righteous, yea, in perfect troubles (not a word we usually use for trouble) there shall no evil touch thee. I could keep going, but I think I have made my case.
If you have made it this far, then I thank you for taking the time to read all this. I hope the series has given you some food for thought. I believe that the Bible is far deeper than we can imagine and everything in the Book has a reason for being there, not least, the days of Creation (after all, why did God need 6 days to do what He did?)
In closing, it’s important to keep in mind the significance of the 7th day for us: it matters not how hard we work, the 7th day must belong to God, for nothing is perfect without Him. If Lord does not keep the house, they labor in vain that build it.
When we look at the week of Creation, perhaps one of the most important things we can learn from it is that God should be our number 1, and God should be the one who finishes our work.
Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. To Him be all the glory, majesty, and praise. Amen.
Notes:
- I read an article regarding the use of 7 in the Bible which I would recommend (This site is not affiliated with me in any way and I do not necessarily condone all that is said) It has some really interesting facts about the use of seven in passages in such a way that points to its deliberate use. https://www.thetorah.com/article/seven-the-biblical-number
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