John is seeing the vision of the time of trouble during the last days before God’s kingdom. The faithful believers are to be sealed with the seal of God so that they might survive the tribulation. John hears a voice describing the sealed as coming from the 12 tribes of Israel. But when he looks, [...]
Answers about symbolism
The number 7 occurs many times in the Bible, beginning with the seven days on which God created and rested (Gen 2:3) through to the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues (Revelation 21:9). It is used so often that God must be telling us something by its repetition, [...]
Some people like to find a symbolic significance for all or some colors mentioned in the Bible. However, the Bible never provides any clear indication that colors are used symbolically, or what each color meant if they are symbolic. So if there is any symbolism intended, the only way to find it is to read [...]
Sometimes in the Bible ‘stars’ are simply just that: literal stars, ‘fixed luminous point[s] in the night sky which [are] large, remote incandescent [bodies] like the sun’.1 For example: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that [...]
The number 666 is the number of the beast in Revelation, the last book of the Bible: This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. (Revelation 13:18) The “beast” in Revelation is a symbol [...]
The word “shadow” is used in several ways in the Bible. There is the obvious and literal meaning (e.g., 2 Kings 20:9-11; Acts 5:15). Then there are places where it means shelter (e.g., Psalm 17:8; Isaiah 30:2). It can also be used figuratively to mean things that are symbolic of something else. For example, the law [...]
Sapphires are gemstones and are mentioned in the following passages: Exodus 24:10 Exodus 28:18 Exodus 39:11 Job 28:6,16 Song of Solomon 5:14 Isaiah 54:11 Lamentations 4:7 Ezekiel 1:26 Ezekiel 10:1 Ezekiel 28:13 Revelation 21:19 Most likely, this stone was actually lapis lazuli rather than the stone we now know as sapphire. The Bible does not [...]
Some Bible readers interpret many numbers symbolically. Certainly some numbers occur with sufficient frequency that they seem to have meaning beyond their numerical value. For example, the number 7 occurs frequently, especially in the book of Revelation, and appears to indicate completeness of some kind. Also the number 12 occurs often (e.g., 12 tribes, 12 [...]
