In the past 15 years as an active Christian who spends hours studying the Bible, I have been fascinated with how often the number 3 stands out. I’ve noticed that there are numerous things presented in 3s throughout the Old and New Testaments, and so I mentioned it once to my church pastor, who went on to ask me about what the number signifies because, like everything else in the Bible, 3 could also be a metaphor holding more power and meaning than its surface-level meaning. With this new task, I researched further, and my findings have been mind-blowing. So, what does number 3 symbolize in the Bible?
The number 3 is considered a sign of completion because Jesus prayed thrice at the Garden of Gethsemane in Luke 22:43-44, it also symbolizes harmony and wholeness. Its association with the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) represents perfection, wholeness, and reflections on self-sufficiency. Three is also associated with the righteous patriarchs, the power of God, and it also puts emphasizes on the intensity of God’s power.
In this post, I’ll delve deeper into the significance of number in the Bible, its spirituality, symbolism, and the use of the number 3 throughout the Bible.
What is the meaning of number 3 in the Bible?
The Number three appears several times in the Bible, and it’s believed to represent completeness, perfection, the power of God, wholeness, and harmony. It appears 467 times throughout the Bible, and it derives its meaning from the fact that it’s the first out of the four spiritually perfect numerals. Three is also associated with the righteous patriarchs in the Bible – Abel, Noah, and Enoch, as well as the three righteous fathers mentioned in the Bible, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The details concerning the meaning of this number are as follows:
Completeness
This number represents completeness, albeit to the third power. It represents the total number of books in the New Testament (27 – which is 3 cubed). It’s worth noting that three means something that is good and complete. Also, the Hebrew word for three is Shelosh, to mean good. This is believed to correspond to the fact that there is no symbol or relationship that seems better or stronger than the Holy Trinity. Together, the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, represent something that is together, perfect or whole.
The use of the number 3 to represent completeness or the end to a task is further referenced in in the Garden of Gethsemane, where it’s inferred that Jesus Christ prayed three times before he was arrested, and led to his crucifixion. But that is not all, it’s recorded that Jesus was crucified on the cross on the third hour of the day and that He died on the 9th hour. Additionally, there were three hours of complete darkness throughout the land after Jesus was crucified – the darkness lasted from the 6th to the 9th hour. Matthew 27:45-54
Resurrection of Christ
Number 3 is also regarded as a sign of Jesus’ resurrection since it’s suggested that Jesus Christ was dead for three whole days and nights or complete 72 hours.
The Trinity
The Trinity is also believed to represent self-sufficiency and God’s aseity, and it points to the importance of The Trinity in Christian Faith. Overall, this wholeness is critical to faith in God while also serving as a reminder of the fact that Jesus, the Son of God, ultimately rose to Heaven and made things complete.
On the contrary, the Book of Revelation 16:13 outlines the existence of the evil trinity made of Satan, the Antichrist, as also the False Prophet. However, it’s worth noting that the evil trinity isn’t comparable or equal to the Holy Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit).
References to Sex Sins
3 is also meaningful because it represents the bible mentions of sex sins and that they mean to Christians. Number 3 is referenced thrice, first in the New Testament in Romans 1:20-32, where the Bible talks about the people who reject God and who defile themselves through sexual immorality. The mention of the sex-related sins also appears in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 where the Bible, through Apostle Paul, was dealing with local church where incest was happening openly. Sex-related sins are also mentioned in scripture in Revelation 2:19-25 where a female presenting as a prophetess with the spirit of Jezebel in the Thyatira Church was teaching different believers about spiritual adultery and sexual immorality.
Prophesies
This number is also a relevant part of the prophesies made in the book of Revelation. Revelation 8:13 implies that there exist three angels who were charged to cry three woes to the individuals living on earth, warning them about all the trials and tribulations that they would face. It’s believed that the bodies of the three would be there for all to see for three days throughout Jerusalem before their resurrection.
It is also believed that it was prophesized that there was a triple threat from unclean spirits (Battle of Armageddon). These spirits would deceive the world, and they’d also fight the Second Coming of Jesus Christ in the battle of Armageddon – Revelation 16:13-16.
The other important prophesy mentioned in the New Testament is suggested in Revelation 21:13, where New Jerusalem would be created by God as a replacement for the new earth. The New Jerusalem would be shaped like a square, with three gates on every side.
Repetition by the threes
It’s suggested that several things or events were repeated three times in several sections in the Bible. In Luke 22:34, it’s implied that Jesus had told the apostle Peter that the rooster would crow after Peter’s denial of Christ thrice. This is believed to have happened because Peter didn’t believe in Jesus as the Savior, and though Jesus told him that he’d reject him, he didn’t agree with that and swore that he’d never deny Jesus. However, the prophesy passed, and Peter denied Jesus thrice. It’s believed that this repetition meant that Peter wouldn’t forget Jesus’ statement.
Why is the number 3 important in the Bible?
The number 3 is quite important throughout the Bible because it represents the number of that different important events happened.
Witnesses to the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ
For starters, this number is important because it represents number of people that witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on Mount Hermon. These individuals who saw Jesus transfigure in His full glory were Peter, John, and James. Mark 9:2-13.
Paul Quoting Three Greek Poets
The Apostle called Paul is believed to be one of the most exceptional and a highly educated individual mentioned in the Bible. It is implied in Acts 17:28, Titus 1:12, and 1 Corinthians 15:33 that this Apostle quoted Greek poets directly in three primary occasions. It’s believed that the Apostle Paul was also quite privileged, and he got to visit the site of God’s throne or the third heaven –2 Corinthians 12:2-4.
Three days
Three is also an important number in the Bible because there are several events that took place over a span of three days. It is implied in John 2 that Jesus Christ prophesized the temple’s destruction and its reestablishment in a period of three days.
Before Jesus was crucified, it is believed that he was spoke to his disciples and made them aware of the fact that He’d be delivered to men who would kill him, but he’d rise to heaven after 3 days – Matthew 17:22-23.
After Lazarus passed on, John 11:39 suggests that Martha warned Jesus Christ against removing the stone from the tomb that Lazarus lay because there would be a stench – at the time, it’s believed that three days had lapsed after the death of Lazarus.
Also, Matthew 12:40 suggests that Jonah was in the belly of a great fish for a total of three days and nights.
Three words repeated
The number 3 is also important because it’s believed to place importance on certain words. In Isaiah 6:3, the word ‘holy’ is repeated thrice, and Jeremiah 22:29 suggests that the word ‘land’ is repeated three times.
Three prayers
Three also symbolize the three prayers that the early Christians were required to make throughout the day, as implied in Daniel 6:10 and Psalm 55:17.
Three days in the tomb
After his crucifixion, it’s suggested that body of Jesus Christ lay in the tomb for three days before his resurrection as implied in Matthew 28:1.
Three primary angels
Scripture suggests that there were three main angels – Michael, Gabriel, and Lucifer; as implied in Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7, Daniel 12:1, 2 Corinthians 11:14, Luke 10:18, Luke 1:19, and Daniel 8:16.
Three words appearing once throughout the Bible
Number 3 is also symbolic because there only are 3 words which appear only once in the scripture – throughout the Bible. These words are Scripture as it appears in Psalms 111:9, Eternity in Isaiah 57:15, and the word Grandmother that is found in 1 Timothy 1:5.
<