(new article tomorrow)
In the second “miraculous catch of fish,” the apostles aren’t getting any bites fishing in the Sea of Galilee until Jesus tells them to cast the net one more time and Simon Peter draws 153 “great fishes.”
"Large quantities of ink have gone into explaining why there should be 153 fish,” reads one website on hermaneutics. “At the purely historical level, it is unsurprising that someone counted them, either as part of dividing them up amongst the fishermen in preparation for sale, or because one of the men was so dumbfounded by the size of the fish ...”
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“There are all kind of different meanings placed on that number 153 and the one most Bible teachers generally give is it represents the number of Gentile nations on earth that go into the kingdom,” says Jordan. “What I think is fascinating is if you take the numbers 1-17 and add them together one by one you get 153.
“E.W. Bullinger explains that 17 is the seventh prime number and 9 times 17 is 153. You’ve got the numbers 9, 17 and 7 associated with it. 17 is 8 plus 9.
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“The number 17 turns out to be a fascinating number in Scripture. There’s Revelation 13:17, talking about the Antichrist and the other beast, the false prophet.
“Verses 17-18 say, [17] And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
[18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
[18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
“So, if Israel’s going to have wisdom in its stand against the Antichrist, one of the things they have to do is count the number and the number is 666.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting to count the 666s in the Bible?’ You ever found the six hundred and sixty-sixth verse? The 666th chapter in the Bible is Ecclesiastes 7.
“By the way, Ecclesiastes is a book written to instruct the ‘little flock’ in the ‘last days’ on how to identify the philosophy carrying the Lie program of the Adversary found in Revelation.
“What did Revelation tell you to do if you wanted to seek wisdom? 'Count the number.' So you come down two verses in Ecclesiastes 7 to 7:27 and it says, ‘Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account.’
“Somebody’s counting ‘one, two, three,’ and when he does, he’s seeking out wisdom. It’s a point of interest in Scripture that counting numbers, and the use of numbers, is something associated with getting some wisdom!
“Now, I realize this is sort of like climbing a tree, getting way out on a limb and giving somebody standing at the trunk a saw and saying, ‘Bet you can’t saw me off.’ They don’t have to; you’re so far out there nobody else wants to go out there with you!
“But what happens is the way you get up the tree and out further and further on that limb is you just keep believing the verses, keep believing the verses, and pretty soon the limb looks like it’s fixing to crack out from under you but it doesn’t. That’s sort of the way it is with these numbers kind of things.
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“The No. 17 is associated with change, with transition from the old to the new in the Bible. The first 17 in the Bible is Genesis 1:17: [17] And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
“That’s the 17th time since the beginning of the Bible that the term 'God' appears. It’s in the same verse.
“In Genesis 6:13 God’s going to bring an end to humanity in the earth save for Noah and his family. There’s going to be an end to the old and a beginning of the new.
“That expression ‘God said’ in verse 13 is the 17th time the expression occurs in the Bible. Come down to chapter 7 and notice when the change takes place. 7:9 says, [9] There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
“When it says ‘as God had commanded Noah,’ that’s the 17th time the name Noah appears in the text, and it appears in connection with the ending of the old world and salvation of life going into the new world.
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“Matthew 7:28 says, [28] And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
“That’s the 17th time the name Jesus appears in the Book of Matthew, the first of the gospels. Now, what did He do? He ended those sayings. When Noah’s name occurs the 17th time, it’s because God had commanded him. Both are connected with the Scripture.
“In John 2 you see Christ’s first miracle, where He turns the water to the wine, and John 2 happens to be the 70th chapter in the New Testament. So these connections keep going.
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“Genesis 7:11 says, [11] In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
“The world ended on the 17th day of the 7th month; that’s when the rain started. Genesis 8:3-4 says, [3] And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
[4] And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
[4] And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
“Like I’ve been saying, 17 is associated with the transition from the old to the new.
“When Jesus is baptized, the Father speaks from heaven and the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. Well, what’s the olive tree a symbol of in the Bible? The nation Israel. Hosea 14, Romans 11.
“It’s the spiritual life that God the Holy Spirit’s going to give to the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the nation Israel. So what we’re looking at here is how new life is going to be established in the new world. It’s going to be the Holy Spirit working through ultimately the nation Israel. And it’s connecting all of it.
“One of the ways you can help identify the thrust behind the number is the Book of Genesis has 50 chapters. Most of the chapters will kind of clue you into what that number is about and will give you some help and understanding.
“You understand, some of the numbers in Scripture are very clear. Like 13 is the number of rebellion because that’s what Genesis 14 connects it with immediately. Three and seven are divine numbers of perfection and completion. Twelve is Israel’s number. Those numbers are real easy.
“Nine is the number of fruit bearing. Eight is the number of a new beginning. Seventeen is the number of the old passed away, changed to the new.
"So what do you wind up with when you put those numbers together in a sentence? You wind up with a perfect transition of Israel into fruitfulness. You’ve got this perfect new beginning of fruitfulness in the kingdom that comes and you say, ‘Wow! How ’bout that?!’ "
"So what do you wind up with when you put those numbers together in a sentence? You wind up with a perfect transition of Israel into fruitfulness. You’ve got this perfect new beginning of fruitfulness in the kingdom that comes and you say, ‘Wow! How ’bout that?!’ "
In Genesis 17, God changes Abram’s name by inserting the 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet into it to make Abraham.
“He takes that same 5th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, representing death to the old life and grace for the new life, and inserts grace into Sarai’s name,” explains Jordan. “This is where, in verse 17, He formalizes His covenant with the nation Israel.
“Here’s God’s new seed line in the earth right here. Now when you have a name change in the Bible, there’s something prophetic about it.
“In Isaiah 62:1, you see a name change associated with Israel’s kingdom: ‘For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.’
“Zion appears only one time in your Bible in the possessive. Every other time it’s just Zion. It occurs 152 times in the singular and one time in the possessive plural. That equals 153.
“You understand you can’t do this with anything but a King James Bible. God is called the God of Israel 203 times in the KJB. You ought to divide that by 17 and see what you come up with.
“Psalm 69:35 says, ‘For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.’
“God’s intention is to take Zion, that part of the city of Jerusalem where the temple was, and make it ‘the city of the great king.
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“When God ratified the covenant with Abraham He put Abraham asleep and they cut the sacrifices up.
“Genesis 15:12 says, ‘And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.’
“The smoking furnace in Deuteronomy 4 is described as the captivity. The burning lamp . . . all through the horror of great darkness they have a guide who takes them to the glory on the other end in the promise of God’s Word to them.
“So when you come back to Isaiah 62, the salvation of Israel is going to be ‘as a lamp that burneth.’ That’s talking about the Abrahamic covenant and God’s salvation to Israel through His promise to Abraham.
“Isaiah 62:2 says, ‘And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.’
“That’s exactly what He does with the Abrahamic covenant. He gives Abraham a new name. This new name is associated with the nation Israel during the tribulation period.
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“Revelation 2:17 says, ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.’
“One of the rewards for the overcoming ‘believing remnant’ is that new name. Now, what verse is that in? Verse 17. Just coincidence, I understand, but fascinating it’s the right verse!
“If you’re looking for another one, go to Acts 2. When the Holy Spirit comes on the apostles here, verse 5 says they were ‘dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.’ They all were heard speaking in their own language and are listed in verses 8-12. Do you know there are 17 different groups listed there?
“Look at verse 17: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.’
“What was it we discovered back in Genesis 8? There’s the dove associated with Israel and Israel’s salvation taking them into the kingdom when they have this spiritual status restored through the new covenant and His Spirit put into them.
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“You can just keep going and going with this. Seventeen in the Scripture is a number associated with transition from old to new; change from the old to the new. Numerology wise, the numbers 7, 8, 9 and 17 are associated with the number 153.
“With the 9 and the 17, you’ve got that transformation of Israel into that fruit-bearing nation God intended. By the way, 9 is the number of fruit-bearing. In Ephesians 5, Paul says ‘the fruit of the Spirit is . . .’ and proceeds to list how many fruit? Nine.
“In I Corinthians 3:6, Paul says, ‘I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.’ That term ‘planted’ is used nine times in your Bible.
“Did you know Titus is the 17th book in the New Testament? Titus 2:13 says, [13] Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
“You know what three times 17 is? 51. I Corinthians 15:51 says, [51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
“You know what I Thessalonians 4:17 says? [17] Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
“When you’re caught up together with Him that CHANGE has taken place and the reality of that blessed hope is there, not just a prospect.
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