"trinities" & Other Numbers In Our Faith Tradition

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Genesius

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I wasn’t sure exactly where to post this as it has both Scriptural reference as well as Catholic Tradition reference, but I just decided since there are more Scriptural references I would post it here. I’m also not sure if it would be considered to be apologetic in nature. Just contemplative.

Obviously, for the most part in the Christian tradition when referring to “the Trinity” we know we are referring to the Godhead; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; 3 distinct persons in one essence.

However, we also know that in a broader sense the term “trinity” simply refers to any group of three, or trio. In contemplating that I considered many “trinities” that appear in our faith tradition, as well as other numbers that seem to repeat themselves (i.e. 40, 7, etc.). Here are some I thought of:

"trinities"
  1. Obviously, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit
  2. Jesus rose on the 3rd day
  3. The Holy Family (Jesus, The Blessed Mother, Joseph)
  4. The Synoptic Gospels
  5. 1st, 2nd, 3rd John
  6. Peter denied Jesus 3 times
  7. Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times
  8. The Three Musketeers…oops…never mind. Q&A Archive - The Coming Home Network
  9. Three levels of teaching: defined dogma, popular teaching; & thological opinion
  10. Three points of authority: Teaching authority of the Magisterium, Sacred Tradition, and Sacred Scripture
Seven
  1. God rested on the 7th day
  2. 7 Sacraments
  3. 7 Golden Candlesticks; 7 Churches mentioned in Revelation
Twelve
  1. The 12 tribes of Israel
  2. 12 Apostles
Forty
  1. Rained 40 days & 40 nights; Noah
  2. The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years
  3. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days
Can anyone think of any others?
 
8
Jewish day of Circumcision (Exod 22:30); Jesus appeared to all apostles (John 20:26)

666
number of the beast
 
Just as a warning, while numerology is interesting and fun to study…don’t get caught up in it. I cannot tell you how many people I have seen lose their faith or at least have it greatly shaken when all their good math and “theology” comes to nothing. You can totally study this stuff if you wish but remember that it should not determine your faith or salvation.
 
PAboy57 said:
8
Jewish day of Circumcision (Exod 22:30); Jesus appeared to all apostles (John 20:26)

666
number of the beast
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I had heard somewhere that the 666 was originally a number referencing King Herod.
 
Mojoforyeshua said:
Just as a warning, while numerology is interesting and fun to study…don’t get caught up in it. I cannot tell you how many people I have seen lose their faith or at least have it greatly shaken when all their good math and “theology” comes to nothing. You can totally study this stuff if you wish but remember that it should not determine your faith or salvation.
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You are correct. However, our Christian tradition is a fullfillment of Judaism. As such, we have a lot of our roots in Judaism. Some apocalyptic literature, particularly the book of Revelation or as traditionally referred to as the Apocalypse, was written in the same style as ancient Hebrew literature; full of numerology and metaphorical language. The ancient Hebrews attached some sort of spiritual meaning to numbers (i.e. 7 represented perfection - God rested on the 7th day after He saw that His creation was good; 3 represented eternal things, etc.).

Dispensationalists always make a big deal out of the mark of the beast while ignoring in the same few verses the reference to the mark of God.

Yes, some people like to sensationalize numerology (something that was never originally intended), making numbers say anything. For instance, a lot of people were saying that Ronald Reagan was the antichrist simply because his first, middle, and last name each contained 6 letters. Of course, that’s absurd. It totally dismisses the character of the person.

Certainly there are many people who have a tendency to fixate so much on the sensationalism of eschatology (end times) that they miss the whole message of the gospel, and how we are to live our lives today. There is also a practical message on almost every page of the book of Revelation that is often missed. Endure and overcome through your suffering. :stretcher:

When I was a dispensationalist I used to say I was a pantribulationist…I figured God will pan it all out in the end anyway. Now I am more of a pretorist. It’s hard to imagine that in over 2000 years of Church history, and since the book of Revelation and other apocalyptic literature was written, that a good portion of things predicted have not already happened. 🤷
 
Genesius said:
I had heard somewhere that the 666 was originally a number referencing King Herod.
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One thing I read is the the number 6 is the number for man and 3 is the perfect number. When I read that ( I beleive it was no the agape bible study site that someon has posted above) it dawned on me that if 3 is perfect and is the Trinity of God and 6 is man ( less than perfect) that 666 would be the most imperfect man the furthest form God.

Just a thought.
 
Genesius said:
Thanks oneGODoneCHURCH. That is an interesting thought. 👍
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if i may add to what oneGODoneCHURCH said.

since seven is the perfect number, six is short of perfect, now repeating it 3 times is a mockery of the Holy Trinity.

that is why when the devil/evil spirit manifest themselves to humans they do so in threes, example. knocking on your door three times, meant to mock the Holy Trinity
 
catholicarchie said:
if i may add to what oneGODoneCHURCH said.

since seven is the perfect number, six is short of perfect, now repeating it 3 times is a mockery of the Holy Trinity.

that is why when the devil/evil spirit manifest themselves to humans they do so in threes, example. knocking on your door three times, meant to mock the Holy Trinity
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I also heard somewhere that 3am is the demonic “witching” hour, when demons are more active, also to mock the Holy Trinity.
 
catholicarchie said:
if i may add to what oneGODoneCHURCH said.

since seven is the perfect number, six is short of perfect, now repeating it 3 times is a mockery of the Holy Trinity.

that is why when the devil/evil spirit manifest themselves to humans they do so in threes, example. knocking on your door three times, meant to mock the Holy Trinity
Click to expand...
Thank you I did mean to put that about 7 . 👍
 
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