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I have consistently stated that the number five infers grace in the Scriptures. I’ve also consistently linked the letter hey (ה) with grace, so I thought it most important to show how and why. In reality the letter hey is a window in Ancient Hebrew meaning it reveals something; to say behold! to say look!. The rabbis agree: they do not know what it reveals. Windows illuminate and permit the light to shine through and nothing is hidden. The fact that they cannot see what the window illuminates only shows their condition:
Exodus 34:33 (KJV) “And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.”
Exodus 34:35 (KJV) “And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.”
Exodus 40:21 (KJV) “And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.”
There’s a saying “Where the old conceals, the new reveals.” We can see that the Glory of God was being concealed, whether the reflection of God in Moses’ face or the Mercy Seat; they were concealed.
But what in the New Testament is being “revealed” about this?
2 Corinthians 3:12-16 (KJV) “Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.”
How and when was this veil taking away?
Matthew 27:50-51 (KJV) “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”
So the veil commanded by God to cover the Mercy Seat was ripped by God when He died on the cross. This is the Good News (Gospel): that man has become reconciled with God, and that His Mercy Seat is revealed. If one cannot see that, they are lost and not His children.
2 Corinthians 4:3 (KJV) “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:”
Two things you should notice about how the veil was ripped: top to bottom; hung on a rod. First, the veil was ripped from top to bottom. If it had been ripped from bottom to top, they could have said someone did it. But it is said that the veil before the Holy of Holies in the Temple was 30 feet high, 15 feet wide and 4 inches thick. The ability of someone ripping it from top to bottom is almost impossible because of the height and thickness. Even if someone were to tear it from the bottom and pull to the sides, they probably would not have been able to lift it. It would have taken a team of men to tear it. Next, it hung on a rod. When God ripped the veil in two, it would have acted like curtains on a window, revealing the Mercy Seat of God. Another word for mercy is grace.
So you ask, how does the number five come to mean grace? Hey is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and holds the value of 5 when written as a number. If you look at the Hebrew calendar depicting the full year, we are in the fifth millennium so every year starts with the letter hey, meaning 5000. The year 2012 is 5773 (ה׳תשע״ג) in the Hebrew calendar. Everything in the Scriptures is by design, so let’s look at the occurrences of the number five (I’ll let you find the Scripture references):
- The fifth word (in Hebrew) of the Scriptures starts with the letter hey and when a prefix means “the” as in “the heavens”.
- The fifth day of Creation, God filled the waters with life. Living waters.
- The first instance of the number five (aside from its use to determine the ages) was when the five kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were attacked by Chedorlaomer and Lot was taken. God sent Abram to overtake Chedorlaomer and he brought back all the goods and kidnapped people, including Lot. Again the five kings were saved by Abram and his 318 men. Interestingly, this is the only time the number is mentioned in Scripture and 318 is the sum of the prime numbers from 7 to 7 squared and of which, there are twelve prime numbers: 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, & 47. The fact that these men were “born in his house”, and lead by Eliezer (אליעזר), Abram’s heir apparent, whose name letters sum to 318. This shows the utter intricacies of the Scriptures, that the primary salvation will come from Abram’s loins and from the twelve tribes of Israel. That’s so far-fetched you say; well, do you have a meaning to 318? 🙂
- Five is mentioned is when Abraham asks for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared if there are fifty (5 x 5 x 2) righteous and he lowers the count by five twice and then by ten three times – asking for mercy (grace) overall five times for others.
- Joseph is by far the greatest example of the life of the Lord Jesus, so one would expect grace to abound and thereby the number five. Joseph was sold to the world for 20 (5 x 2 x 2) pieces of silver. He is 30 (5 x 2 x 3) years old when he stands before Pharaoh and begins his mandate. Joseph feeds his step-brothers but gives his blood brother, Benjamin, five times as much food. Grace is unmerited favor: Benjamin got more for just being who he was; he did nothing to earn it. Next Joseph reveals himself to his brothers when there are yet five years of drought remaining and he tells them how he was sent ahead to save them according to God’s will. Pharaoh commanded that they not worry about anything, that all Egypt was theirs and the good of the land. More grace: they didn’t earn it, but were blessed because of who they were – Joseph’s brothers. When they leave to go get Jacob all are given a change of clothes, but to Benjamin, he is given 300 (5 x 5 x 12) (!) pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. When they return Joseph presents five of his brothers to Pharaoh to seek permission to stay in the land of Goshen (גשׁן – letter meaning: travel, provision, life). They found grace in the eyes of Pharaoh.
- Next, if a man steals an ox, he is to restore it fivefold, to find grace.
- The entire tabernacle is made up of measurements of multiples of five as well as all the measurements of spices for the anointing oil: 1500 (2 × 2 × 3 × 5 × 5 × 5) shekels of spices and 5 quarts of olive oil. The oil was used for blessing, healing, and anointing – to make holy. More grace.
- Next the first peace offering made to God by the people of Israel was by Nahshon the son of Amminadab of the tribe of Judah where he gave five rams, five he goats, five lambs. Interestingly his name means: Diligently Observant son of People of Liberty! His sister, Elisheba, was wife to Aaron, and his son, Salmon, was husband to Rahab after the taking of Jericho. Each tribe made the same peace offering to God.
- The firstborn of man or beast are redeemed to the Lord with five shekels of money. Here is a clear example of linking redemption to the number five, paying the price, if the previous examples were not enough.
- Next are the five kings that ruled the land and hid in a cave. Joshua knew where they were and had the captains of war place their feet on the backs of their neck with the promise of God that this is what will happen to their enemies if they’d trust the Lord.
- Israel fought for five years to take the land and the land was divided up among the tribes. A land they lived off of from farms they did not plant and houses they did not build. Grace and more grace.
- Another example is when the five lords of the Philistines were stricken with a plague of mice and emrods because they had the ark of God. As a trespass offering to God, they made five emrods and five golden mice so that God would lift the plague from them.
- Next, David picked five smooth stones to fight Goliath. His name means to reveal, and the letters in his name mean travel, control, deed, mark. He came from Gath which means wine-press. Through the grace that David believed in, God delivered Israel, overcoming insurmountable odds with a shepherd boy and a smooth stone under God’s control to hit the mark and Goliath was crushed like a grape.
- David also took five loaves of showbread which was meant for the priests alone.
- Abigail brought David five sheep and five measures of parched corn when her husband, Nabal, lived up to his name by being stupid with David’s men and refused them. She brought these and 200 loaves, 100 clusters of raisins and 200 fig cakes – multiples of five – as a trespass offering to David. Later her husband died and David called to her to become his wife and she came with five damsels with her. Seeking grace, she became a queen!
- Solomon’s temple was filled with measurements of multiples of five. God’s dwelling place is full of grace.
- The fifth time Noah is mentioned in the Scriptures it says: Genesis 6:8 (KJV) “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. “
- The fifth time Ruth is mentioned in the Scriptures it says: Ruth 2:2 (KJV) “And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.”
- The fifth time David’s name is mentioned after meeting Saul, the Scriptures says David found favor in Saul. 1 Samuel 17:37 (KJV) “…And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”
- There was a boy whose lunch was five loaves and two fish. Jesus took them, blessed them and gave them to the people and fed 5000 men besides the women and children and he had them sit in groups of 50 (5 x 5 x 2)! They took up 12 baskets full after the people had their fill. The people didn’t have to do ANYTHING except be obedient. And each apostle received their own basket in the end for being obedient! Grace is Unmerited Favor! This is where this clinches it for me. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked to heaven, blessed and broke them. Imagine you see Jesus having two fish in one hand and the five loaves in the other holding them up to the Father. Father in Hebrew is ab (אב) and Jesus reveals the Father John 14:9 (KJV) “Jesus saith … he that hath seen me hath seen the Father…” so remember that the letter hey (ה) means a window. If you put this window between the letters for father, you get the word love! (אהב) The heart of God the Father is love, Jesus, Lord God is Love and Grace. John 1:17 (KJV) “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” So if you see Jesus standing there with the fish in one hand (the meaning of the letter nun – נ – is fish), the number two is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet is beyt (ב), together beyt and nun spell the word Son (בנ). And the loaves in His other open hand (open hand is the meaning of the letter yod – י) and with the five loaves; the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the letter hey, which together spells the word Jah (יה) meaning God. And finally, the numeric value of the letter nun is 50, fifty is Jubilee and the day in which the Holy Spirit was given (Pentecost means 50 days from Passover). In this picture of Jesus holding the two fish and five loaves, you have God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in love to give grace! John 1:16 (KJV) “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.” The word “for” here means “anti” or “opposite, in place of” which gives us the understanding that when grace runs out, there’s more grace.
I know that it seems coincidental and a bit “mathematical” but it’s there for you to see. Do you see? In these days of cynicism, how much coincidence is required for one to believe? What if this is correct and accurate? If the Word of God is inspired, wouldn’t it contain more than just feel-good sermons, but integral nuances that would point to what the Author wanted to convey in the plain text as well as deep within? How many examples are required before one takes serious the Word of God? I hope to kick the fence you’re sitting on, and fall one way or the other. I’m not selling anything or guiding you to some site to buy a product or go to some church or donate to my charity, I’m here to point out the wonderful gems written in plain view for those wanting to know more about Jesus. Christians especially have such a warped sense of who God is. Grace is the reason we all stand before God either to eternal life or eternal damnation: we are inexcusable! Romans 2:1.
Not to leave the faithful with a sour tone, I want to point out what this year in the Hebrew calendar says to those watching the news. Those that have read my study on the chronology of man according to the scriptures know that this year isn’t 5773, but much later, however, God knows we’d be watching with the incorrect calendar. The year 2012 is 5773 (ה׳תשע״ג) in the Hebrew calendar. Look up the meaning of each letter and you’ll find it says: the, covenant, provide, see, travel. The covenant [people – us] are provided the means to see travel! The Rapture! Wouldn’t that be great if He comes this year?! Next year, 5774 (starting 5 Sep 2013) will mean: the, covenant, provide, see, establish! The covenant people will see the establishment [of the bride of Christ]! God bless and I hope you enjoyed this note.