Luke 21:8

Christian, Be Not Deceived!

CHAPTER TWELVE

WHY THE 7th HEAD OF THE BEAST IS NUMBERED EIGHT. 

The beast of Rev. 12, 13 and 17 has only 7 heads, and to look for an actual eighth head betrays a failure to grasp the essential feature of the remarkable prophecy of Rev. 17. There is not to be an eighth head; the 7th head is numbered eighth because of its symbolic meaning. 

Having shown that much is involved in the Lord's call in Rev. 13 for His people to count the number of the beast, we shall now proceed to show that much is also involved in the Lord's call in Rev. 17 for us to exercise wisdom in counting with reference to the 7th head being numbered eight. We stress again the fact that in both Rev. 13 and Rev. 17, the Lord has arrested our attention and urges us to employ our minds mathematically in counting the number of the beast and also regarding the 7th head of the beast being numbered eight. We have had occasion, repeatedly, to observe that the interpretation of the symbols employed in Rev. 17 is on the principle of the things of Babylon being a counterfeit of the things of Christ. So accordingly we apply that principle with reference to the number six (6) mentioned in Rev. 13:18 and the number eight (8) mentioned in Rev. 17:11. The number of the beast is brought to view in connection with "the name of the beast"-note carefully Rev. 13:17, 18. Now it is an interesting and important fact that as the Pope's official title numbers 666, so the Lord's name JESUS, in the numerals of the Greek language, numbers 888. (Jesus name is mentioned a number of times in the Apocalypse.) 

Thus by following the principle that Rev. 17 particularly mentions the things of Babylon as they relate to Jesus, we now see that the number eight used in relation to the coming of the beast out of its state of death in a likeness to the resurrection of Jesus, also emerges with a further resemblance to Jesus, even with the number eight which is the number expressed i n the name of Jesus, Who rightfully is a member of the Trinity, 888. 

As with the number six (6), which we find significantly employed throughout many places of Holy Writ, so the number eight (8) is also employed significantly in the Scriptures as the symbol of the Lord's resurrection and triumph over His enemies. This fact is well-known to those who have given consideration to the numeric system, which is clearly revealed in the Bible. By knowing that 

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the number eight (8) is the Bible symbol of the Lord's resurrection and triumph over His enemies, we can grasp the meaning of Rev. 17:11, which reads: "And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth and is of the seven, and goes into perdition" The beast that received a "death-stroke" and whose deadly wound is to healed and all the world wonder after it, according to Rev. 13, Ascribed in Rev. 17 as having a resurrection: thus imitating the death and resurrection of Jesus. As Jesus triumphed over His enemies and arose in glorious power to use that power to save His people, so this beast will emerge from its place of death to a position of even greater power, which it will seek to employ for the destruction of the people of God. Rev. 17:11 refers to "the beast that was [i.e. had life and power], and is not [lost life and power for a time], even he is the eighth [i.e. it is to have a resurrection to life and power] . . . and goeth into perdition." The servant of the Lord says: "The influence of Rome in the countries that once acknowledged her dominion, is still far from being destroyed, And prophecy foretells a restoration of her power. (GC 579.) 

Guided by Bible principles which I have dealt with in "The Certainty of the Third Angel's Message", we know that this, resurrection to power before the millennium is a spiritual resurrection, that is, a resurgence of the Papal system and not the resurrection of the same people who controlled that system in days gone by; whereas it will be a literal resurrection at the end of the millennium of all the people who have comprised Babylon down through the ages. The Apocalypse is written upon the principle of the enlargement of the past until it reaches its climax with the destruction of the wicked. By this principle we see that Rev. 17 can have an application to events in Europe during the Dark Ages when kings in Europe did lend their power and strength to the Papacy, but that is to be duplicated in a worldwide manner in the final conflict. The same application is also to be made of the French Revolution mentioned in Rev. 11, which was largely a revolt against the Papal church. The scenes enacted during that revolution are also to occur in a world-wide manner at the end when the kings and the people that have supported the whore turn upon her and rend her asunder, as portrayed in Rev. 17. 

Before turning to Scriptural examples of the use of the number eight (8) as the symbol of the Lord's resurrection and triumph over His enemies, we pause a moment to show that there is a connection between the numbers six (6) and eight (8) in the Apocalypse. Sin reigns upon this earth for 6,000 years before the second advent.--see GC. 659, 673. Then comes the 1,000 years of Rev. 20. Thus at the end of 7,000 years from creation we come to the fuller and 

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final application of those prophecies depicting the final conflict–a principle which I have considerably enlarged upon in "The Certainty of the Third Angel's Message". Then, at the end of 7,000 years from creation, the commencement of the 8th millennium brings us to the final triumph of the Lord over His enemies, a triumph shared by all the redeemed. 

 Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week made a certainty of the destruction of His enemies at the end of millennium. His resurrection proved that He conquers His enemies by His divine, Almighty power and changeless character, and it foreshadows the complete conquest of all the wicked, and points to the new world which will arise from the ruins of the old at the commencement of the 8th millennium. The baptism of each believer declares the same thing, for baptism is a symbolical repetition of the Lord's death and resurrection. And the believer, dying with the Lord, experiences the power of His resurrected life. As stated by the apostle Paul: "So many of us as are [margin] baptised into Jesus Christ are baptised into His death. Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness o f life. For if we be planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom. 6:3, 4). Now the New Testament connects circumcision with baptism. Observe the following: "In Whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, Who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him" (Col. 2:11-13). 

The significance of Christ's resurrection and its symbolical repetition in the baptism of each believer in connection with the number eight, may be observed when it is remembered that “the Wonderful Numberer" specifically commanded that circumcision be attended to on the 8th day (Gen. 17:12). It should be fully noted also that the inspired record states: "And when days were accomplished for the circumcision of the child, ` is name was called JESUS" (Luke 2:21). Thus the name JESUS, which means "Jehovah the Saviour  was given to our Lord when He was circumcised on the 8th day. It is because He is Jehovah and possesses almighty power that each believer is quickened after dying with Him and experiences a resurrection life, an experience which is symbolized by baptism. By the rite of circumcision, not only was the individual consecrated to God, but it was a sign that future life would belong to the Lord: not only the new life of the 

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baby but the children to follow were thus dedicated to God. The number eight from ancient times has been the Lord's chosen number to symbolize new life. 

The foregoing facts enable us to understand why Peter connects baptism with the waters of the flood. He says: "Once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:20, 21). The flood brought about a complete separation between the old and the new world; baptism also makes a complete separation between the old and the new life. The 8 souls who were saved from the old world by the flood waters were saved to walk a new life in a new world; baptism thus signifies not only the living of a new life in this world made spiritually new by the power of an indwelling Saviour, but it also points forward to the new world where there will be an eternal separation between it and the old world of evil destroyed in the fiery billows of the lake of fire. As we have already seen, baptism, in Col. 2:11-13, is connected up with circumcision which was to be done on the 8th day and was a symbol of the dedication of the new life to God. The name "Jesus", in the Greek, numbers 888, and He received it when He was circumcised on the 8th day. 

Why the First Day of the Week is Mentioned Eight Times in the New Testament. 

God's enemy, in his endeavor to have Sunday observed as a holy day, makes a wrong use of the significance of the number eight (as he does with other things of God) in connection with the resurrection of Christ. He has sought to have Sunday of each week called "the eighth day", and has laboured to make the reference to the "eight days" of John 20:26 refer to the first day of the week. Satan's effort to label Sunday, the first day of the week, as an eighth day, is an attempt to literalize the number eight (8), which is used in Scripture as the symbol of the Lord's triumph over His foes. The errors taught under Satan's tuition frequently contain some degree of truth, but in a counterfeit. Christ's resurrection is definitely connected up in the Scriptures with the number eight (8). For instance, the first day of the week is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament: Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9 Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2. Thus, the resurrection day of our Lord is mentioned 8 times, because it was the day when He arose in triumph, to a new life. Satan takes the fact of the symbolic use of the number eight (8) in connection with Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week and uses it to foster his rebellion against God. However, the point to notice is that, while Christ's resurrection 

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day is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament, we are nowhere enjoined to observe that day as a holy day, or to honour that day every week. The resurrection fell upon a Jewish annual feast-day, and there was no need to thrust aside the positive commandment to keep holy the 7th day in order to honour Christ's resurrection every week. The service in the old ceremony, which typified the resurrection (the waving of the first fruits), was enacted once each year; whereas, sacrifices representing the death of Jesus were slain daily. As orthodox Christian churches see fit to commemorate Christ's death annually, surely an annual event would have been sufficient to commemorate an event which was only prefigured by one annual service in the old economy; whereas the death of Jesus, which they commemorate once a year, was set forth daily in the Mosaic economy! 

However, the fact remains that the first day of the week is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament– not that the first day each week might be regarded as an eighth day, but because the number eight (8) is the Bible symbol for Christ's resurrection and triumph over His foes and points to His eternal triumph in recreating–resurrecting a new world out of the ruins of the old world, at the commencement of the 8th millennium from creation. 

The New Testament, wherein is recorded the resurrection of Jesus (and the teachings of the gospel regarding the new life in Christ, based upon that wonderful fact), was written by 8 different writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude. 

The Lord's church is symbolized in Rev. 12 as a pure "woman". This church not only believes historically in the resurrection of her Master, but has experienced resurrection power surging through her life, and has found victory over Satan and sin. Therefore, the symbol–the woman–of the church of Jesus is mentioned 8 times in Rev. 12. See verses 1, 4, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Thus, the number eight (8) is a symbol which, with the symbol of the woman, serves as a double check upon our study of this chapter. By this number eight (8) we know that our conclusions concerning the other features associated with this pure woman are correct. Futurists say that this woman symbolizes literal Israel (see Scofield's Bible). But that belief will not harmonize with the number system of Scripture, without considering all the other factors with which it is at variance. The number eight (8) is not a symbol of literal Israel but is the symbol of those who believe in, and experience, the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and who, through Him, triumph over their spiritual foes. 

 As the church of the resurrected One is symbolized by a woman, so the counterfeit church, "the synagogue of Satan" (Rev. 2:9), is symbolized by a woman, but, in contrast to the 8 times the church of the resurrected Saviour is symbolized by the pure 

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"woman" of Rev 12, the Babylonian impure "woman" of Rev. 17 is mentioned therein 6 times. See verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 18. 

Thus, the numeric system of the Bible guides us in our study of the Scriptures. 

The gospel of John sets forth the new life which is to be found in the "Son of God". "Life"–"everlasting life"–is one of the keywords of John. The expression "Son of God" is mentioned 8 times in John's gospel. But the only way this new life in Jesus could come to the sons of men was by the "Son of God" becoming the "Son of man". The term "Son of Man" is applied to Jesus 88 times in the New Testament. 

David, a type of Jesus, was the 8th son of Jesse. Solomon, also a type of Jesus, was the 8th son of David. There are 8 steps into the new kingdom: 

Faith     Patience 
Virtue   Godliness 
Knowledge   Brotherly kindness 
Temperance  Charity 

"For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." 2 Pet. 1:5-11. There are 8 "things" mentioned as being in the new kingdom. See Col. 1:16-20. Eight times Jesus is said to be "in the midst"the 8th being when the saints are gathered into the new kingdom: Luke 2:46, 47; 4:30; Matt. 18:20; John 19:17-19; Rev. 1:10-13; 5:6; 7:11-17. 

The Sabbath and the Number Eight 

The Book of Acts shows the church filled with the new life which came to it following Pentecost. That new life was shown in the mighty works they did by the Creator's power-the sign of which is the Sabbath. The Sabbath is mentioned 8 times in the Acts 13:14, 27, 42, 44; 15:2,1; 16:13; 17:1-3; 18:4. 

The adult members of the generation of the Israelites who came out of Egypt failed to enter into their Canaan rest after their toil through the wilderness. When they could have entered the promised land, their hearts were filled with unbelief. From this, Paul, in Heb. 4, in a deeply spiritual application presents the relation that exists between the weekly walk of life and the Sabbath rest at the end of the week, with the pilgrimage of life which ends (to the enduring, trusting believer) in the eternal rest of the everlasting Canaan. Those who learn to rest in the Lord every day of the week are the ones to enter into the proper spirit of Sabbath rest at the end of the week. Those who rest in the Lord throughout the whole of life's desert pilgrimage, will surely enter into the eternal rest after toiling across the wilderness of life. 

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In writing to the Hebrews of that eternal "rest", Paul uses the Greek word "Katapausis" 8 times, The eighth time points us to the new world, which will be after the resurrection. "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." v. 11. 

In the book of Hebrews there are 8 "better" things: 

1. Heb. 6:9 Things. 
2. Heb. 7:19 Hope. 
   
3. Heb. 8:6 Covenant. 
   
4. Heb. 8:6 Promises.  
   
5. Heb. 9:23 Sacrifices. 
   
6. Heb. 10:34 Substance.
   
7. Heb. 11:16 Country.
   
8. Heb. 11:35 Resurrection.
   

Thus, it is seen that the eighth "better" thing in Hebrews is the resurrection. 

Seven days were occupied in the consecration of the priesthood, and, on the 8th day, they entered upon their work. See Lev. 8:33; 9:1; 14:10, 11. With the cleansing of the leper, too, the 8th day marked a new beginning, for on that day he was presented by the priest before the Lord. Lev. 14:9-11. 

In Luke 9, we have the record of what Jesus told His disciples of His coming sufferings, and then of a day when He would come in all His glory, v. 26. Then the Sacred narrative presents an inspiring description of the transfiguration of the Lord in the presence of Peter, James and John, who were privileged to see a wonderful outshining of that predicted glory. Verse 28 says that this took place about "an eight days after". Jesus looked past his sufferings to the new kingdom illustrated by the transfiguration. 

Jehovah made 8 covenants with Abraham: seven before Isaac was offered up, and the eighth when he had received Isaac " in a figure" from the dead. See Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:13-21; 17:1-22; 18:9-15; 21:12; 22:15-18. 

Elijah performed 8 miracles: 

1. The shutting up of heaven, 1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17; Luke 4:25. 
2. Multiplying the widow's meal, 1 Kings 17:14-16. 
   
3. Raising the widow's son, vv. 17-23. 
   
4. Causing fire to come down from heaven, 1 Kings 18:37, 38. 
   
5. Causing rain to come down from heaven, vv. 41-45. 
   
6. Causing fire to come down from heaven, 2 Kings 1:10. 
   
7. The same, v. 12.
   
8. Dividing the Jordan, 2 Kings 2:8. 
   

Typical Experiences and the Number Eight 

In previous publications we have shown that the whole of the experiences of Israel were typical of the experiences of spiritual Israel. This, of course, is what is explicitly taught in 1 Cor. 10:6, margin, 11, margin; etc. Their passage across the Jordan has long been seen as the symbol of death-the dividing line between the wilderness journey and the entrance into the everlasting Canaan, which, we know, depends upon the resurrection at the second coming of Christ. It will be observed that Elijah's eighth miracle

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was the dividing of the Jordan after which he was translated to heaven. Elijah is typical of the people who will preach the closing message of God, and who will live till the coming of the Lord. Before God's dear saints are taken to glory the Jordan must first be divided–the power of death must be broken–and then will follow the entrance into Canaan's fair land, to ever be with the Lord. 

 The Feast of Tabernacles, in the old typical economy, was the only feast which was kept eight days. The eighth is distinguished from the seventh. See Lev. 23:39, and compare verses 34-36; Num. 29:39; and Neh. 8:18. As we all know, the Feast of Tabernacles typifies the gathering of all the saved in the New Jerusalem, after the world's harvest has been reaped. "Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a Sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath." Lev. 23:39. Thus, in the typical service, the first and the eighth days (which, recurring annually; would come on different days of the week) of the Feast of Tabernacles were Sabbaths. They were not, typical of the first day of every week, for the were entirely independent of, and bore no relation to, the weekly cycle. The anti-type of this typical service belongs to the new world-after the harvest which is reaped at the end of the world. See Matt. 13:30, 39; Rev. 14:14-16. The eight-day Feast of Tabernacles will have its fuller application when sin has been entirely banished (as it will be at the end of the Millennium) and the new world begun at the commencement of the 8th millennium from creation. 

Gathering in the Heirs of the New World 

There are 8 miracles, or "signs", in the book of John, namely: 

1. Water turned into wine. 
2. Nobleman's son healed. 
   
3. Impotent man healed.
   
4. Feeding the multitude.
   
5. Walking on the water.
   
6. Blind man healed.
   
7. Lazarus raised.
   
8. ​The miraculous catching of 153 fishes, which took place after Christ's resurrection. This prefigures the gathering in of all the fish caught in the gospel net. See also Matt. 4:18-20; 13:47-49. According to the latter reference, the fish caught in the gospel net are gathered to the eternal shores at the second Coming of Christ–after the resurrection. 1 Thess. 4:16-18.
   

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Eight times Genesis, Chapter 5, records "And he died"–verses 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31. Death is the prominent feature in "the book of the generation of Adam", verse 1. The only other time that this same expression–"the book of the generation of" is used in the Bible is Matt. 1:1, where we read of "The Book of the generation of Jesus Christ". Here we do not read "and he died", as in Adam's table of genealogy, but, instead, we find that the word "begat" is repeated 39 times. Not death, as in the book of the first Adam, but life–new life–is stamped throughout the book of "the last Adam". "The last Adam was made a quickening spirit." 1 Cor. 15:45. In "the book of the generation of Jesus Christ", given in the first chapter of Matthew, the fortieth time a new life is born it is that of Jesus. Forty, of course, is 5 times 8. Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born, is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament. 

As we have shown, there are eight miracles brought to view in John's Gospel; the eighth being performed by Christ after His resurrection. This miraculous draught of fishes when the disciples dragged their net to the shore, symbolizes the time when the Gospel net will bring to the eternal shore all that have Teen saved by those who have been fishers of men. When Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes He also emphasized the number eight (8) with reference to the eternal kingdom. By observing carefully Matt. 5:3-10 it will be seen that the expression "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" occurs in only the first and the eighth Beatitudes. 

With these facts before the reader he will not be surprised to learn that while the number eight is mentioned but once in the Revelation in regard to pre-millennial events, and that too in reference to the seventh head being numbered "the eighth", yet the number is often brought to view by a closer study of the Apocalypse. The use of the number eight (8) in reference to the beast is, as we have shown, a counterfeit, an imitation of that which pertains to the Lord. The stamp of 8 upon this resurrected beast thus reveals this power as one that not only imitates our Lord but anticipates the conditions of peace and security to exist in the new world. Speaking of the time when the miracles of Spiritualism will unite the world in its opposition to the truth of God, the Lord's servant says: "Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world, the ushering in of the long-erected millennium." (GC. 588, 589.) It is also because this persecuting beast will profess to bring about peace and safety through the enforcement of Sunday observance, that it is stamped with the resurrection number; the number that belongs to the new world. 

The silence, outwardly, of the Revelation in dealing with pre-millennium 

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events regarding the number eight (8) except in this instance concerning the beast, obviously points to its rising from a state of death and also to its professing to bring about conditions that actually will not exist upon this planet until the commencement of the 8th millennium. The use of the number seven (7) throughout the Revelation, especially in those prophecies running through the centuries from the first coming of Christ until the second coming of Christ and in a fuller sense at the end of the millennium, are all intended to point to the coming of the 8th millennium when the new world will be established. This background may be seen throughout the Revelation. We draw attention to the first chapter to show the employment of the number eight even in places where it is not outwardly prominent. 

In Rev. 1:5-16 are to be found 8 quotations from Old Testament books, and the order of these books from which those quotations are taken, is as follows: (1) Isaiah, (2) Daniel, (3) Zechariah, (4) Isaiah, (5) Isaiah, (6) Zechariah, (7) Daniel, (8) Isaiah. In order to clarify the presentation of the quotations concerned, we will give the main word or words quoted and the Old Testament book from which each is quoted. Observe the following: 

It is important to remember that these are the first 8 quotations employed in the book of Revelation, a book that is practically a vast mosaic of notations from the Old Testament. It is estimated that at least 550 direct quotations from the Old Testament are found in the book of Revelation, though references to the Old Testament are not confined to actual quotations. The following extract from "The Revelation of St. John", by Prof. W. Milligan, D.D., p. 72, states briefly the situation that presents itself in a serious study of the Apocalypse. Prof. Milligan says: "The Book is absolutely steeped in the memories, the incidents, the thoughts, and the language of the church's past. To such an extent is this the case that it may be doubted whether it contains a single figure not drawn from the Old Testament, or a single complete sentence not more or less built up of materials from the same source. Nothing can convey a full and adequate impression upon the point, except the careful study of the book itself in this particular aspect of its contents." 

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The fact that the Revelation employs so many quotations from the Old Testament adds interest to discover, if possible, from the first 8 of those quotations, the principle underlying their use. Therefore let us give closer attention to these quotations. First of all it will be observed that no quotations occur between v. 8 and v. 11, but mention is made of "the Lord's Day", which, as every Seventh-day Adventist knows, is the 7th day Sabbath. Later chapters of the Revelation reveal that the great controversy between good and evil is a mighty conflict raging around two persons: Jesus and Satan. Jesus is Satan's personal enemy. The conflict began with Lucifer's jealousy toward the Son of God, and it was brought to a head by Lucifer not being included in the counsels of the Godhead concerning the creation of this world (PP. 34-38). Because Jesus created this world (He had also created all other worlds) He became in a special sense the object of Satan's malevolence. As shown in the book of Revelation, the final conflict will be centred around the keeping of the Seventh-day Sabbath, "the Lord's Day". 

Sometimes the question is raised as to why this expression "the Lord's Day" is employed in Rev. 1:10 instead of "the Sabbath of the Lord thy God". In the Revelation, which is a book largely made up of quotations from the Old Testament, it is all the more remarkable that a somewhat new term (its equivalent being used elsewhere) is employed by which to designate the Sabbath instead of many quotations which could be obtained from the Old Testament. However, it should be remembered that one of the main purposes of the Apocalypse is not to argue which day is the Sabbath, but to reveal Jesus as the Jehovah of the Old Testament and the Creator of all things. In this book that reveals Jesus as Lord or Jehovah, it is more to the point that Jesus be exalted as that Lord than to raise any question respecting which day is the Sabbath of the Lord. In the fourth Commandment, three times the name Jehovah is employed when emphasizing the 7th day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God. Therefore when the Revelation proves that Jesus is Jehovah, it automatically determines that the 7th day is the Sabbath of Jesus the Jehovah. 

A study of the Old Testament sanctuary services is that the whole of these services revolved around the Ten Commandments; They were the centre of the whole Jewish economy. Now it is a fact that by actual count of the words of the Commandments, the phrase “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Jehovah thy God” occupies the very centre of the Decalogue. Thus everything in the Old Testament economy centered in the 7th day Sabbath and the name Jehovah. Now this is the same truth brought to view in the first 8 quotations brought into the structure of the book of Revelation. 

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As will be seen by those quotations referred to above, the mention of "the Lord's [or Jehovah's] Day" is also right in their centre. 

But that is not the only significance brought to view in an analysis of those quotations, for by looking a little closer it will be observed that the quotations immediately before and immediately after the mention of "the Lord's day" declare that Jesus is the great "I AM" and also "the First and the Last". At first glance it would seem merely to be a repetition to quote from Isaiah concerning "the First and the Last" in verse 8 and then again in verse 11 of Rev. 1. Why does Jesus say in verse 8 "I AM Alpha and Omega [the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet]), the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty", and then repeat again in v. 11, "I AM Alpha and Omega, the first and the last". Jesus, Who warned against "vain repetitions", doubtless had some wise reason for this repetition. What then is the reason for this repetition? Jesus has deemed it necessary for the salvation of His people to make Himself known as the Creator, the great I AM, Who, in the verses in Isaiah from which the quotations in verses 8 and 11 are obtained, is said to be the "I AM", "Jehovah of hosts", "Jehovah the King of Israel", "his Redeemer", "the First and the Last" besides Whom "there is no God"–see Isa. 44:6, etc. The three tenses brought to view in Rev. 1:8, as we have previously shown, contain the significance of the name Jehovah–the self-existent One, the I AM of the past, and of the present, and of the future. We have also stated that the name Jesus means Jehovah the Saviour". 

How fitting, indeed, that the three passages in Isaiah which refer to the Creator-Redeemer-King of Israel, the First and the Last, the I AM, Jehovah, should be quoted before and after the mention of "the Lord's Day", for the 7th day Sabbath is the memorial of the creative power of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and that almighty power He exercises on behalf of those who look to Him for salvation. Three passages in Isaiah declare that the Jehovah Creator is the First and the Last; 3 times Jehovah is mentioned in the Sabbath Commandment. A further analysis of the first 8 quotations employed in the Apocalypse reveals that they point to their centre: Jesus as Jehovah Whose Sabbath day is the sign of His Lordship as the Almighty God. Observe that these 8 quotations are so employed as to form an Epanados, which is defined by Webster as "a figure of speech in which the parts of a sentence or clause are repeated in inverse order". These verses may rightly be designated an Epanados because of the repetition of the books but in inverse order. As shown above, the 8 books are quoted in this order: 

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(1) Isaiah, (2) Daniel, (3) Zechariah, (4) Isaiah, (5) Isaiah, (6) Zechariah, (7) Daniel (8) Isaiah. 

There is an alteration of the order of the books of Daniel and Zechariah in the latter four quotations. The same books are quoted but in inverse order. In the first half Daniel precedes Zechariah; in the latter half Zechariah precedes Daniel. By this arrangement it will be seen that they work to the centre, which is Jehovah and His Sabbath day, the sign of sanctification and redemption in the plan of salvation. The two central verses, being those in which Jesus declares Himself to be the I AM, the First and the Last; and working to either end from this centre the books are in precisely the same order: (1) Isaiah, (2) Zechariah, (3) Daniel, (4) Isaiah. The books of course are in the same order also if the order of the books is reckoned from either end. In order to simplify the thoughts expressed the reader is requested to observe the following: 

(1) Isa. 55:4 quoted in Rev. 1:6.
   (2) Dan. 7:13 quoted in Rev. 1:7.
      (3) Zech. 12:10-14 quoted in Rev. 1:7.
         (4) Isa. 41:4; 44:6; 48:12 quoted in Rev. 1:8.

         I AM Jehovah, Creator, God Almighty

         Rev. 1:10, "The Lord's Day" - Jesus' sign of Almighty power.
         (4) Isa. 41; 44:6; 48:12 quoted in Rev. 1:11.

      (3) Zech. 4:2 quoted in Rev. 1:12.
   (2) Dan. 7:9, 13, 22; 10:5, 6 quoted in Rev. 1:13-15.
(1) Isa. 49:2 quoted in Rev. 1:16.

By this unique arrangement of these first 8 quotations employed in the Revelation we are pointed to Jesus, the great I AM, Jehovah the Creator, Who exercises all His Almighty power in the salvation of His people. Law and grace, and glory and power, meet in the person of our Saviour. By this arrangement of these first 8 quotations we are pointed to the very centre around which Satan's controversy rages; later chapters in the Revelation being the enlargement of what is thus presented in the opening verses of this wonderful Revelation. 

By a glance at the arrangement of the verses as set forth above, it will be seen that the reference to the first and the last has an added significance, for not only are the first and the last verses from the same book–Isaiah–but it will also be observed that quotations from either end operate upon the same principle; that is, the second from the first and the second from the last are from the same book; the third from the same book as the third from the last. Thus the principle of the first and the last runs throughout these 8 quotations which point as an arrow to their centre even to Jesus the Creator and Saviour. 

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That the number eight (8) is intended to be of special importance in the study of the Revelation may also be seen by turning to the second quotation from the Old Testament, which, as we have seen above, is "Behold, He cometh with clouds." Working through the same 8 quotations we have already dealt with in the first group of 8, and moving along another one at the end of that original 8, thus forming another group of 8, we come to the description of the face of our Lord: "And His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength" (v. 16). This is a quotation from Dan. 10:6. This description of our Lord's face given in Rev. 1:16 is referred to in GC. 641 where the servant of the Lord outlines a vivid description of the Saviour's second advent. She says: "His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun." Thus by commencing with the second quotation from the Old Testament employed in the Apocalypse and proceeding down to the 8th from that one, we find that both the first and last of this group of 8 quotations picture the Lord as He descends the heavens in all His regal glory. The writer desires to quote these two verses–the first and the last of the second group of 8 quotations–together, and then compare them with the statement made by God's servant in GC. 641. They are as follows: 

Rev. 1:7, 16: "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him. His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." 

GC. 641: "The firmament seems filled with radiant forms.... As the living cloud comes nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life.... His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun." 

In other words, by combining these two verses–Rev. 1:7, 16–at the commencement and the ending of the second group of 8 quotations, we have precisely the same combination of verses as presented by the servant of the Lord in describing the second advent! The writer has had occasion hundreds of times in observing the astonishing accuracy of the Spirit of Prophecy in its citation of Scriptures, some of which we have mentioned in previous publications. 

We will cite another instance of how the number eight (8) is employed significantly in the Apocalypse. Still making use of the verses already referred to, we point out that there is an 8-fold description of Jesus as "the Son of man". Notice the following drawn from Rev. 1:13-16: 

  (1) His Clothing
  (2) His Head and Hair
  (3) His Eyes

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  (4) His Feet
  (5) His Voice
  (6) His Right Hand 
  (7) His Mouth
  (8) His Countenance

This 8th reference to the person of "the Son of Man" is the 8th in the second group of 8 quotations (beginning and ending with the second advent), and the 88th time that the term "the Son of Man" (as a designation of Jesus Christ) occurs in the New Testament, is found in Rev. 14:14 where John again describes Jesus coming as "the Son of Man": "Behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of Man." In that and succeeding verses, John depicts Jesus coming to reap the harvest of this world when earth's long reign of sin will be over and immortal life begins in the new kingdom. "The harvest" which Jesus comes to reap at that time–"Ho therimos" in the Greek–has the numeric value, in the gematria of the letters, of 704, which is 8 times 88. We cannot take further space to continue this most interesting line of study but, from what has been presented, one thing is certain–the number eight (8) is the resurrection number, the number for the new life. 

Our final reference to the number eight (8) pertaining to Rev. 17 (where the 7th head is numbered 8 because the persecuting beast rises from a state of inactivity) is in connection with "the Book of life" which is mentioned in connection with the rising of this beast whose 7th head is numbered 8. All the world will wonder after this resurrected beast, except those "whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and is to come, or is at hand" (Rev. 17:8). 

"The Book of Life" is mentioned 8 times in the New Testament–see Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; 22:19. The New Testament was written by 8 different writers, who wrote of the first day of the week 8 times–the resurrection day! "The Book of Life" contains the names of those who will inherit the new world. Then, the earth will be restored back to its primeval glory-but it will be far more honoured, and more glorious: for "the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it". 

This principle of coming back to where a thing commences is clearly outlined in the Scriptures, and by its use we are able to simplify the understanding of the prophecies dealing with the closing scenes of earth's history. In the musical world this principle is represented by the octave. The octave brings us back to begin again–only an octave higher–on the same note. This note, which is 8 above the same note below, has so many more vibrations. 

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By the use of the number seven (7) on the surface throughout the Apocalypse we are directed to the second coming of Christ when earth's harvest will be reaped and a new kingdom be entered into by the righteous. The number eight (8) though not on the surface, is nevertheless kept ever before us in connection with our Lord Jesus and the kingdom we shall share with Him after the resurrection.