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The Bible advises wisdom, not naiveté: 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 (ESV): 20Do not despise prophecies, 21but test everything; hold fast what is good. Proverbs 2:9-11 (ESV): 9Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. 10For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11Discretion will ...

I think some numbers are symbolic. For example, the number 666. If you think about the number 7, it's typically, in the Bible, the number representing completion or perfection. God rested on the 7th day. Jesus tells us to forgive someone 70*7 times. On and on it goes. If 7 is the number of perfection, then three sevens would be a trinity of ...

Numbers as language Ordinarily, what a number refers to is more important than the number itself. 153 fish is a lot of fish. 2 small copper coins is a tiny amount of money. 14 years is a certain period of time. But to quote Bill James, sometimes numbers "have acquired the powers of language." When that happens, the numbers themselves begin to have ...

It is a superstition, but one that is co-incident with the development of the Scripture. In many ways, it is like a preacher who uses references to television shows in the sermon - it is a touchstone which communicated meaning well to the original hearing. Additionally, preachers like numbers such as 3 because they are memorable (and because then you have ...

As you indicated, there certainly is a difference between being superstitious about numbers and recognizing beauty in the way God has ordered things. Analogously, there is a great difference between astronomy and astrology. One is the laws of the stars (asto nomos), while the other is the word or message of the starts (astro logos). We can appreciate the ...