Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER ELEVEN 

WHY DOES JESUS "THE WONDERFUL NUMBERER" 
(DAN. 8:13) URGE US IN BOTH REVELATION 13:18 AND 
REVELATION 17:9-11 TO COUNT NUMBERS IN REFERENCE TO THE BEAST? THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF FULLY UNDERSTANDING FACTS CONCERNING THE 7th HEAD OF THE BEAST WITHOUT HEEDING THE SAVIOUR'S COUNSEL. 

The Book of Revelation is literally studded with numbers; they are interwoven with the structure and the prophetic imagery. But this should not occasion any surprise; rather we should have been surprised if the Almighty Architect of the Universe, Who is the Author of this book (see Rev. 22:16), and Who is described in connection with the 2,300 days' prophecy as "The Wonderful Numberer" (Dan. 8:13, margin), had not employed numbers in this wonderful revelation. Is there anything in His vast creation that was created without reference to numbers? As He has gone on creating the various suns and their systems He has numbered each one: "He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names (Ps. 147:4). "Lift up your eyes on high, and behold Who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might" (Isa. 40:28). 

From the mighty orbs that act as luminous hands in the heavenly chronometer, moving with faultless precision, according to a mathematically determined speed, across the vaulted dome, to the minutiae on this planet, all things are governed by a mathematical law. We know that the times for the rising and setting of the sun, moon, and stars, the ebb and flow of tides, seasons coming and going, and the whole course of nature, whether of animal or plant life, all are governed by definite mathematical laws. Horticulturists know that the growth of the seed, the leaves and the branches on plants and trees is governed by definite mathematical laws. The gardener knows when to plant his seeds, and when they will grow to maturity. The ornithologist knows the various times it will take for different species of eggs to hatch. A septenary law governs the growth of insect, bird, and animal life. 

The law of resonance, or vibration, to which the ears and eyes are adapted by the Creator, governs all the lovely and wonderful things men see and hear, as well as the rays invisible and inaudible to man. This mathematical law of sevens is universal. 

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As never before, men now see that everything in nature is controlled by mathematical laws or principles. Chemists, botanists, horticulturists, ornithologists, biologists, zoologists, scientists working in all branches of natural research, who have spent much time and energy in discovering the laws with which God has endowed nature, have in these last days testified that the Creator sustains His vast and complicated creation by mathematical laws. Added significance may now be seen in the emphasis upon "the seventh day" as the memorial of God's creative ability, for this number seven is found throughout nature and is positively indispensable to all forms of life, and especially to human beings. 

Everything that Jesus the Creator–"Palmoni, the Wonderful Numberer" (Dan. 8:13, margin)–has made, is subject to definite mathematical laws. Sir James Jeans in his book "The Mysterious Universe", in delving into the deeper things of science, says: "The essential fact is simply that all the pictures which science now draws of nature, and which alone seem capable of according with observational fact, are mathematical pictures, [emphasis his].... And what we are finding, in a whole torrent of surprising new knowledge, is that the way which explains them more clearly, more fully and more naturally than any other is the mathematical way, the explanation in terms of mathematical concepts. It is true, in a sense somewhat different from that intended by Galileo, that 'Nature's great book is written in mathematical language'. So true is it that no one except a mathematician need ever hope fully to understand those branches of science which try to unravel the fundamental nature of the universe. 

"A scientific study of the actions of the universe has suggested a conclusion which may be summed up, though very crudely, and quite inadequately, because we have no language at our command except that derived from our terrestrial concepts and experiences, in the statement that the universe appears to have been designed by a pure mathematician." (Emphasis mine.) 

This brilliant scientist, whose death came as a great loss to the world of science, continues in his book, from which we are quoting, to point out that our ancestors failed to comprehend much in nature through seeking to interpret nature without recourse to mathematical laws. He then says: "On the other hand, our efforts to interpret nature in terms of the concepts of pure mathematics have, so far, proved brilliantly successful.... Our contention is that the universe now appears to be mathematical in a sense different from any which Kant contemplated.... In one sense it may be argued that everything is mathematical. The simplest form of mathematics is arithmetic, the science of numbers and quantities– and these permeate the whole of life. . . . From the intrinsic evidence of His creation, the Great Architect 

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of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician." (Emphasis mine.) 

As everything in nature bears the imprint of carefully used numbers, and as the Bible has been inspired by God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; etc.), is it not reasonable to believe that in the Scriptures also will be found numbers that the all-wise Creator has employed in order that we might obtain a true understanding  of His will expressed therein” It would be a rare thing indeed, if God's Word, which the Psalmist declares is magnified above all God's name (Ps. 138:2), bears no mathematical manifestations when everything else of His creation bears that indispensable imprint! 

Those thoughtful Seventh-day students of Holy Writ who have studied the foundations of God's last-day Message, will not be surprised to learn that a vast, complicated system of numbers runs throughout the entire Bible; for in the books of Daniel and Revelation occur those time periods–the 1260, 1290, 1335, 2300 days–which must be understood in order to obtain a clear understanding of the third angel's Message. It is not possible to be able to proclaim the first angel's Message: "Fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His judgment is come" (Rev. 14:6, 7), without employing a sanctified use of mathematics. There must be ascertained the date when the decree was issued for the Jews to return from Babylon to Jerusalem, and from thence, according to the prophecy of Dan. 9:24-27, count 7 weeks, then count another 62 weeks "unto the Messiah the Prince"; then after His baptism, another week of years must be added to reach unto the end of the probation allotted to the Jewish nation. Then the remainder–1810–of the 2300 year prophecy must be added on to A.D. 34, when the Jewish probation closed, and then (1844) would come the time for the proclamation of God's Judgment-hour Message. The time periods concerning the rise and the supremacy and the ending of Papal power to use the power of the State in the persecution of God's people, are repeated in various ways in Daniel and the Revelation, but by the mathematical formula of a day for a year (mentioned in Ezek. 4:6;, Num. 14:34) these otherwise enigmatical phrases become simple and clear. 

The heart of this Message is the proclamation of the Ten Commandments, and a closer investigation reveals that emphasis is to be made upon the seventh day. Thus it will be readily seen that the essential features of the Creator's last-day Message are all based upon numbers. And this is merely pointing out facts which no one can deny. But surely "the Wonderful Numberer" whose numbering system is to be seen everywhere one turns in the natural world, does not confine His use of numbers to these obvious ones? These are intended to be but indications that 

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numbers abound in the Scriptures. The writer has, in some of his other publications, considered some of the numbers employed with undoubted great significance in the Bible. This is not the place for an extended discussion on the question of the right use of Bible numbers, for such consideration could only be adequately dealt with in a book of several hundreds of pages. After studying Bible numbers for over thirty years, the writer is of the opinion that had this line of Bible research been more closely followed among us as a people the prophecy of Rev. 17, and particularly with reference to the seventh head being numbered eight would have been more generally understood. Without a knowledge of the mathematical formulae the Almighty Creator, even Jesus our Lord, the Great Architect of the Universe, has revealed within His Word, it is impossible to grasp the full significance of the numeric utterances employed in the prophecies. 

In the book or Revelation we read of 7 churches, 7 seals. 7 trumpets, 7 Spirits, 7 earthquakes, 7 thunders, 7 vials 7 angels, 7 mountains, 7 heads upon the beasts used in symbols. The majority of critics see a seven-fold structure in the Apocalypse, as they also see in the Gospel of John. The words "seven" or "seventh" are found at least 59 time in the Revelation, but the number seven (7) is used in many ways not seen by the casual reader. The number of times certain words, phrases, etc., are used is often governed by the number seven (7), being either mentioned 7 times or a multiple of sevens, or in other ways related to the number seven (7). As pointed out elsewhere, the 7 horns and 7 eyes of the Lamb (Rev. 5:6) representing Jesus, symbolically teach that our Lord possesses Almighty power, and Infinite wisdom. By this obvious example we point out that the right use of the numbers brought to view in the Apocalypse is of immense help in the understanding of the truths of that book. 

Not only are the names employed in the Revelation of symbolical import, but the numbers also are employed to teach spiritual truths. The Lord's servant says: "The names of the seven churches are symbolic of the church in different periods of the Christian era.  The number seven indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the messages extend to the end of time, while the symbols used reveal the condition of the church at different periods in the history of the world" (AA. 585). 

By applying this principle of symbolic significance to the use of the numbers employed in the Apocalypse, we find a flood of light shining forth from them to the glory of the Lord Jesus. However, we cannot here continue this absorbing theme, but we would direct the reader to several of my other publications where references are made to the interpretation of Bible numbers as an aid in corroborating the understanding of the Scriptures which we 

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have obtained by comparing Scripture with Scripture. 

Our Lord assures us that "the very hairs of your heads are all numbered" (Matt. 10:30). In the plan of salvation, the Lord has determined upon a certain number to be saved out of this world of sin, and time will continue until that number is made up; or, stated in another way, probation will close when that number is made up. Observe that the work of redemption closes when the angel in charge of the sealing work reports the completion of his task. The Lord's servant says: 

"An angel with a writer's inkhorn by his side, returned from the earth and reported to Jesus that his work was done, and the saints were numbered and sealed. Then I saw Jesus, who had been ministering before the ark containing the ten commandments, throw down the censer. He raised His hands, and with a loud voice said, “It is done.” . . . The subjects of the kingdom were made up. (EW 279, 280) Nearly identical language is employed in GC 613 and in this reference it is more clearly stated that "the number of His subjects is made up." 

This teaching is implied in Rev. 17:8, for obviously when the names of the saved were written in the book of Life at the very foundation of the world, a certain number would be written there. That the Lord definitely intended us to do some thinking concerning numbers when He inspired John to write Rev. 17 is again obvious from v. 9, which reads: "And here is the mind that hath wisdom." Previously, in Rev. 13:18, occurs this same appeal for us to use our wisdom in connection with numbers, and that, too, in connection with the number of beast: "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." Thus we observe that the Lord's appeal to us to employ our minds with reference to numbers occurs in both Rev. 13 and Rev. 17; two chapters which we have already shown, by comparisons of their contents, to be parallel prophecies: Rev. 17 being given to enlarge upon the events to transpire when the "deathstroke" and its complete healing occurs. Rev. 13 declares that the healing of the "death-stroke" will result in all the world wondering after the beast; Rev. 17 reveals that when that occurs the devil's trinity–the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet–will seek to slay the saints, and thus be at war with the Lamb Who will protect His people. 

As it is commonplace today for Seventh-day Bible students to point to the Pope's title of Vicarius Filii Dei–Vicar of the Son of God–which in Latin numbers 666 so the Lord obviously desires His people to be just as familiar with the reason why the 7th head of the beast is numbered eight. In "Christ Conquers, or Why Christ Rose on Sunday", the writer has shown that there is a numbering system employed throughout the Bible, and according to this system, the number six is shown to be a brand the Lord has placed upon the things of Babylon. Not only is the name 

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'Babylon' found six times in the Revelation (see Rev. 14:8;, 16:19; 17:5; 18:2, 10, 21), but many things pertaining to Babylon are also mentioned six times. We do not desire to become too deeply involved in this book in pointing out that the number six has been employed by our Lord Jesus, "the Wonderful Numberer", because we have previously published facts in this regard. We touch the fringes of the subject in order to clarify our presentation regarding Rev. 17, which is a parallel chapter to Rev. 13. In Rev. 13 we are admonished to exercise our minds mathematically in counting the number of the beast which is declared to be three sixes. In Rev. 17 we are again urged to consider the mathematical indications brought to view in this chapter and the number eight, is the most significantly employed number in this chapter. Thus, having heeded the Lord's counsel given in Rev. 13 to count the number of the beast and noting that the number six is employed throughout the Apocalypse as a brand given by Heaven upon the Babylonian system, we then are prepared to heed the Heavenly counsel of our Lord to exercise wisdom in observing the numbers mentioned in Rev. 17, particularly the number eight. When we give consideration to this number it will readily be seen just why this number eight should be mentioned in Rev. 17; a chapter we have already shown is written to bring to light the work of the Lord as God and Saviour of His people and to reveal Satan working deceivingly through the Babylonian system, the counterfeiter of the Lord, and the destroyer of the people of God. 

The book of Revelation cannot be understood aright when read with narrow, limited views. This book reaches the pinnacles of grandeur, and depicts the great struggle between Christ and Satan in terms that embrace the world. Any attempt to cramp its fuller meaning to mere localities, to limited events and only at certain times, will cause its prophetic imagery to be misunderstood. It is the capstone of prophecy. As it is made up so largely of quotations from the Old Testament it becomes obvious that it is better understood when read as the interpreter and the consummation of the Old Testament. The Revelation does not stand on its own as an independent book, but rather as the supplement and complement of all preceding books. So when we read concerning the number six (6) or the number eight (8) in the Apocalypse we know that they have a bearing on the use of those numbers in other books of the Bible. For instance, we draw attention to the very first table of genealogy given in the book of Genesis, namely, that of Cain's–see Gen. 4:17, 18. Here, it will be observed, six names are mentioned: Cain, Enoch, Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, Lamech. Now, anyone who has learned to know that things mentioned in the Revelation have a bearing upon the age-long controversy between

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Christ and Satan, and observes how Jesus "the Wonderful Numberer" has drawn our attention to the significant use of the number six, knows that there is a significant reason why Cain's genealogy should contain the names of only six persons. Cain's line of descent numbered more than six, but only six names are mentioned in this table of genealogy. Therefore, believing that the Lord's appeal to us to consider the number six (6) in Revelation and knowing that things in that book have a bearing upon other books in the Bible, we look for the reason why only these six names are given in Cain's genealogical table. And it does not take long when one's mind is alerted by heeding the divine call for us to use wisdom with reference to the number six (6) to discover that this table of genealogy begins and ends with a murderer–Cain and Lamech. 

It will be observed that the murder of Abel by Cain is the big thing before this table of lineage, for it fills the inspired Record from v. 8 to v. 16. Then it will be observed that the limelight is focused upon Lamech, for the murder of another "young man" by Lamech, the first polygamist and the second murderer, fills the Record from v. 19 to v. 24. Thus the table of genealogy mentioned in only two verses appears between two long accounts concerning the two murderers who commence and end this genealogy. Surely Cain's descendants stand out branded with the number six (6), a number which, from then on through the Holy Scriptures, is employed when pointing out the followers of Satan, whose rebellion against God is camouflaged by religious services. Was not Cain a religious person? Did he not offer a sacrifice unto the Lord –(see Gen. 4:3), and was it not because of his man-made, his self-made system of worship, that he became jealous of his brother whose offering was accepted by the Lord? Was not Abel murdered by Cain because Abel implicitly obeyed the voice of His God with regard to the divine method of worship and restoration to the favour of Heaven? Is this not the very thing that is brought to view in 

Rev. 13, where the false system of worship is branded with the number six; a system that seeks like Cain to slay those who offer their sacrifices in exactly the way laid down by infinite Wisdom; a system that begins and ends with murder or attempted murder? Rev. 17 was written to point out that this evil system, still rebelling against the exact commands of God but doing so under a garb of religious zeal for God, is yet to arise again to power to control the governments of earth to attempt to murder the people of God. Thus, as Cain's line began and ended with murder, so this wicked system, though apparently zealous for God, is Satan's fell instrument by which he seeks to destroy the saints of the Most High; it will come to its end in its final attempt to slay the people of God; this being the portent also of 

108 the prophecy concerning the ending of the king of the north and the deliverance of God's people (Dan. 11:44, 45; 12:1). 

The first time that one of God's children–"the Father of all them that believe"–was asked to "count" it was in reference to the number of his seed who would be as plentiful as the stars (Gen. 15:5). The children of Abraham are asked to "count" in reference to the number of the beast, which, as we have observed, is 666, that number employed throughout Scripture from the genealogy of Cain recorded in Gen. 4, to designate those who follow that false system of worship and seek to slay the children of Abraham, who worship God according to Heaven's plan. 

As we have already shown at some length, the beast of Rev. 13. representing the Babylonian system of worship, counterfeits the things of God., This feature is again brought to view by the fact that it is not only numbered 6 but also 666. That is, that this man-made, Satan-led system has the daring effrontery to place itself among the Trinity, for the number three is employed, throughout Scripture as the symbol of the Trinity. By its attempted change of God's Law, this power has thus sought to exalt itself above all that is called God (2 Thess. 2:3-8; Dan. 7:25; 11:36, 37). 

It is because "the kings of the earth and of the whole world" (Rev. 16:14; 17:12, 13) join with this beast in the attempt to slay the people of God that the earth will be desolated and remain thus for the millennium. It is because the whole world follows the principles of Babylon in its religious camouflage under which it seeks to slay God's people, that the 1,000 years of the earth's desolation is mentioned 6 times in the Revelation–see ch. 20:1-7. As we have already mentioned, the name "Babylon" is mentioned 6 times in the Revelation, and it should be noted that when it is mentioned for the 6th time in Rev. 18:21, it becomes the occasion for the angel to proclaim a time of rejoicing for the forces of righteousness that the long-threatened doom of Babylon has now come to pass: here, where the 6th and the last time that the name Babylon is mentioned in the Apocalypse, we are informed 6 times that the things of Babylon will "be found no more at all.” –see Rev. 18:21-23.  

The emphasis in this the last time the name Babylon occurs in the Revelation is thus upon "no more at all", which, in the light of Rev. 17, is of special significance. In Rev. 17 one of the main features of the prophecy is the resurrection of the beast from a state of death; it emerges from the bottomless pit on to the stage wherein the great conflict is being waged between Christ and Satan, and the beast's resurrection is a surprise; it makes the people, and even John, wonder. And the surprising thing about its resurrection is that it comes forth far stronger than ever before, 

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and, panoplied with a far greater manifestation of life and energy, employs all of its renewed powers to persecute the people of God. Thus the beast in Rev. 17 does come back to life again, when it looked as if it had gone for good. Therefore the natural question for anyone to be concerned with after this surprising resurrection from the dead, would be to wonder if it would thus come forth after its next "death-stroke" to again annoy the people of God. Thus the explicit promise of God to His people that this time, the last time the name Babylon is mentioned in the Revelation, Babylon goes down to death and infamy and will never again rise to persecute the people of God. The same promise was made through the prophet Nahum: "What do ye imagine against the Lord? He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time" (Nah. 1:9). 

The rising of Papal power in the world today has mystified Protestants who have not the light of the third angel's Message; its further rise will astound them, for their belief is that the Papacy being the evil thing that it is and under the curse of God, is destined to make way for the progress of the gospel. From the time the deadly wound was inflicted upon the Papacy (in 1798) and down to 1870 when it lost its temporal possessions, and in the years that have followed, Protestants have regarded the Papacy as on the slippery downgrade and on the way out and off the stage of action. When Uriah Smith wrote his excellent commentary on "The Book of Daniel and the Revelation", the then humiliated position of the Papacy, and world conditions generally, naturally led to that conclusion. Being then about threequarters of a century prior to the final conflict, instead of as anticipated "but a few months" (comments on Dan. 11:45, p. 298 of 1883 edition), it was easy to follow popular but erroneous Protestant conceptions regarding the Papacy having lost its power to menace the people of God, especially on a world scale. 

Uriah Smith's interpretation of Rev. 17 was determined by his belief concerning the waning power of the Papacy and by his misinterpretation of "Armageddon" (mentioned in the latter portion of Rev. 16) as a military conflict. In his comments upon Rev. 17:12-14, he says: "This language must refer to the past, when the kingdoms of Europe were, unanimous in giving their support to the Papacy, and upholding its pretensions. It cannot apply to the future." (Emphasis mine.) Believing that the Papacy was then shorn of its power, and not being able to envisage a time when that power would be restored in the sense required to fulfill prophecy, he declared that the fulfillment of v. 16, regarding the king's hating the harlot and making her desolate and eating her flesh and burning her with fire, had been partly fulfilled. He said: "A part of this work the nations of Europe have been doing for years." 

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That such an eminent commentator, even with a knowledge of so much that pertained to the third Angel's Message, could not envisage the rising of the Papacy again from a state of death, is in itself an indication of the source of wonderment engendered by the present resurgence of Papal power. Despite the prophetic word, it seemed unbelievable, and men interpreted the Scriptures accordingly. And those today who read Uriah Smith's commentary on Daniel and the Revelation, should always remember that this erroneous conception caused him to misinterpret those parts of Daniel's and the Revelator's books relating to the resurrection of the Papal power in the last days, which would lead the whole world to war against God and against His people in the events leading up to and including the battle of Armageddon. We believe that if Uriah Smith were with us today he would re-write those parts of his book based upon that faulty premise, and correctly interpret those parts of the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation depicting the resurrection of the Papacy to a position of great political power among the nations which result in the persecution of the people of God. 

Having mistakenly arrived at the conclusion that the political power of the Papacy was practically defunct and that it would never thus rise again to any marked degree, it is understandable that he should also have a wrong conception concerning the application of Rev. 18 to "another great branch of Babylon, namely, the harlot daughters". However, as we are endeavoring to point out, the very words employed in Rev. 18:21-23 indicate that it refers back to the resurrection of the Papal-Babylonian beast of persecution mentioned in Rev. 17, though the assistance rendered by Protestants is included. "No more at all" indicates that it had come to life from the dead–there had been "some more" of this persecuting beast when it seemed dead and buried. However, the assurance is given that after this final rising from a state of inactivity it will "be found no more at all". As we have already intimated, even this expression has a modified application after the millennium, for all the forces of Babylon will again be resurrected, but that resurrection will not occasion the saints any further pain from persecution, for they will be safe within the ample protection of the massive walls of the New Jerusalem. Then, after the destruction of all Satan's hosts, will be seen the larger fulfillment of these significant words, as may be seen of all such prophetic pronouncements, that, after suffering extermination in the cleansing fires of that final day, the wicked will "be found no more at all". 

It has been necessary for us to point out by a few illustrations that the Lord's appeal in Rev. 13:18 for us to count the number 

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of the beast means more than merely to count the Latin numerals in the title of the Pope; it involves a study of the use of the number six (6) throughout the Scriptures, a number which brands the Babylonian system as a counterfeiter of the truth and a persecutor of the people of God. Thus there should be no effort made to separate Babylon mentioned in Rev. 18 from Babylon mentioned in Rev. 17; nor should any effort be put forth to separate the destruction of Babylon at the hands of the Lamb (Who intervenes to save His people from the kings employed by the Babylonian whore, mentioned in Rev. 17) from the destruction of Babylon mentioned in Rev. 18: both refer to the same thing. Rev. 17 emphasises that destruction under the burning of a harlot–the fate of a priest's daughter who played "the whore", see Lev. 21:9-and Rev. 18 pictures that same destruction under the figure of the burning of a city devoted to destruction. 

Thus we see from the foregoing facts that it is impossible for anyone to fully grasp the significance of the Lord's call for His people to count the number of the beast in Rev. 13 and also count with respect to the beast and its 7th head which is numbered eight, without a consideration of the numbering system the Lord has employed throughout the Scriptures and particularly in the Apocalypse.