Sir Godfrey Gregg OHPM

Grand Commanding Officer

The Number 7

The number 7 perhaps speaks of perfection or completeness. God’s complete provision in His dealings with men.

Some examples:

• 7 days make a complete week
• 7 colours make a perfect spectrum
• 7 great land masses form a complete earth
• 7 notes make a perfect scale
• 7 great bodies of water form a complete ocean

There were the 7 days of creation as well as many other examples throughout the Scriptures:

Zechariah 3:9 For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ says the LORD of hosts, `And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

Revelation 1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

1. To the Jew, every 7th day was a Sabbath.
2. Every 7th year was a Sabbatical year.
3. After the 7th Sabbatical year was the year of Jubilee.
4. Every 7th month was holy and had 3 feasts.
5. There were 7 weeks between Passover and Pentecost.
6. The Passover feast lasted 7 days.
7. The Feast of Tabernacles lasted 7 days.
8. At Passover 14 lambs (7 twice) were offered daily.
9. At Tabernacles 14 lambs (7 twice) and 70 bullocks were offered.
10. At Pentecost 7 lambs were offered.
11. The time of mourning the dead was fixed to 7 days.

and so on…

Seven continues to have symbolic prominence in the New Testament, with Jesus telling Peter that it is not enough that he forgive the brother who had sinned against him seven times, but “seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). Seven is also the number of Greek-speaking Christians appointed by the Twelve Apostles in Acts 6:3.

The New Testament concludes in a “great surge of sevens, with heptads, explicit and implicit, tumbling forth from many verses.”

In the Book of Revelation there were:

• The 7 letters to the 7 Churches.
• The 7 Seal Judgements
• The 7 Trumpet Judgements
• The 7 Bowl Judgements
• The 7 Golden Lampstands
• The 7 Stars
• The 7 Angels
• The 7 Spirits of God
• The Lamb with 7 Horns and 7 Eyes.
• The 7 Lamps of Fire
• The 7 Claps of thunder
• The Fiery Red Dragon with 7 heads and 7 Crowns.
• The Leopard-Like Beast with 7 heads.
• The Scarlet-Colored Beast with 7 heads.
• The 7 Mountains
• The 7 Kings