Spiritual Significance of Numbers – The Number 16
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Spiritual Significance of Numbers – The Number 16
[Study Aired February 27, 2027]
If the number eight signifies new beginnings as in the putting off of the flesh on the eighth day (Lev 12:3), Christ being resurrected on the eighth day (Mat 28:1-7), and Christ calling all men to Himself on “the eighth day, that great day of the feast”, signifying the great white throne judgment (Joh 7:37, Rev 20:11-15), then sixteen, 2×8, amplifies the putting off of, and the destruction of, our old man, the birth and the new beginning of the new man, and the great white throne judgment with the assurance of salvation for all men of all time through the faith of Jesus Christ. The number sixteen simply amplifies and extends that all of those messages.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
1Co 15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
1Co 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 list 16 qualities of love, demonstrating how this number amplifies the positive significance of the number 8:
1Co 13:4 1) Charity suffereth long, and 2) is kind; charity 3) envieth not; charity 4) vaunteth not itself, is 5) not puffed up,
1Co 13:5 6) Doth not behave itself unseemly, 7) seeketh not her own, 8) is not easily provoked, 9) thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:6 10) Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but 11) rejoiceth in the truth;
1Co 13:7 12) Beareth all things, 13) believeth all things, 14) hopeth all things, 15) endureth all things.
1Co 13:8 Charity 16) never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Charity (love) is what God is, and the number sixteen amplifies that love by the putting off of the flesh on the eighth day (Lev 12:3), Christ being resurrected on the eighth day (Mat 28:1-7), and Christ calling all men to Himself on “the eighth day, that great day of the feast”, signifies the great white throne judgment (Joh 7:37, Rev 20:11-15).
Joh 7:37 In the last day [the eighth day], that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [By which all men will be dragged to Christ]1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world [G2889: ‘kosmos’].Mat 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week [the eighth day], came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Sixteen is 4×4, which confirms and emphasizes the all-encompassing effect of circumcision on the eighth day, resurrection on the eighth day, and the salvation of all signified by the last great day, the eighth day of the feast of Tabernacles.
Sixteen is 15+1, fifteen signifying by its three fives the number of spiritual progression towards spiritual completion, the sixteen, being 15+1 is signifying the completion of that progression toward becoming a new spiritual body.
The completion of our progression from our rebellious, carnal-minded old man to the destruction of that old man and the birth of a repentant, submissive new man in the faith of Christ, requires sixteen days to cleanse the Lord’s temple, His house, which temple we are:
2Ch 29:17 Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. [Finished cleansing the Lord’s temple]
1Co 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1Co 3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy [our filthy, defiled, old man]; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
The sixteen souls that Zilpah, the handmaid of the despised wife, Leah, “bare unto Jacob”, signify the whole of the church which Christ has chosen from the weak and despised of this earth:
Gen 46:18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.
1Co 1:26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
The eight boards, which formed the west end of the tabernacle, were supported by sixteen silver sockets. Two silver sockets under each board to hold it upright.
Exo 26:25 And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
Exo 36:30 And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets.
It is instructive for us to notice that the west end of the tabernacle is as far as one can go into the tabernacle. The west end of the tabernacle is where the ark of the covenant and the cherubim were located, signifying the Lord and His Christ. That is where the sixteen silver sockets were located. Those sixteen sockets supported the eight boards which held up the curtain on the west end of the tabernacle.
There were thirty-two thousand female survivors of the war with Midian. It was the Midianites who had seduced Israel at Peor when the Lord would not permit the prophet Balaam to curse Israel for the king of Moab. Half of the thirty-two thousand were given to the people who had not gone to war, and the other half were kept by the men who had gone to the war and of that half the Lord took His tribute.
All the males of Midian were slain, and there were sixteen thousand women who were spared of the slaughter of the Midianites who had “had not known men” and had not participated in the seduction of Israel at Peor.
Num 31:40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was thirty and two persons.
The half of the virgins of Midian that went to the people who had not gone to war was another sixteen thousand:
Num 31:43 (Now the half [of the spoils of the war with Midian] that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
Num 31:44 And thirty and six thousand beeves,
Num 31:45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,
Num 31:46 And sixteen thousand persons; )
Of course there is a negative use of the number sixteen. Both kings of the northern kingdom of Israel and kings of Judah who reigned sixteen years were both evil kings who did not fear the Lord
2Ki 13:10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.
2Ki 13:11 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein.
Sixteen years returns to its positive application signifying one of the good kings of Judah who was sixteen when he began to reign:
2Ki 15:1 In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign.
2Ki 15:2 Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem.
2Ki 15:3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done;
Azariah is another name for Uzziah, king of Judah. Azariah was sixteen when he began to reign. He was a good king, and his son Jotham was also called a good king of Judah whose reign lasted sixteen years:
2Ki 15:32 In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.
2Ki 15:33 Five and twenty years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.
2Ki 15:34 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD: he did according to all that his father Uzziah had done.
Ahaz was another evil king of Judah who reigned sixteen years:
2Ki 16:2 Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD his God, like David his father.
Shimei, a descendant of Simeon, had sixteen sons and multiplied much more than his brothers:
1Ch 4:27 And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters; but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah.
Sixteen signifies that there were more chief men of the sons of Eleazar than the sons of Ithamar of the families of the priests.
1Ch 24:4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar; and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers.
While Shimei, a descendant of Simeon, had sixteen sons, Abijah, king of Judah had fourteen sons and sixteen daughters:
2Ch 13:21 But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.
We have already mentioned Uzziah, who is also called Azariah, who began his reign at sixteen years of age. What I failed to note was that Azariah’s reign was one of the longest in the history of the kings of Judah:
2Ch 26:3 Sixteen years old was Uzziah [Azariah] when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem.
Sixteen is 10+6 which signifies in its negative sense the perfection of our flesh. The flipside of that coin is the perfection of our new man.
Ten is the Zenith of the Flesh
Sixteen is 12+4 signifying the whole of the foundation of the family of God and the city of God:
Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the [12] tribes of the children of Israel [12x12x1000].
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth [The whole world].
Sixteen is also 4×4. Any number multiplied by itself will always amplify the significance of that number. Just as the sixteen sockets supporting the eight boards at the farthest end of the tabernacle, so does this number sixteen, 4×4, signify the meaning of the whole work of the Lord’s whole creation.
Sixteen is 11+5 signifying the grace through faith (5) which brings a new man out of the destruction and dissolution of our old man:
Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Joh 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Joh 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
A single seed buried in the earth will ‘die’ and decompose. In the process of decomposition, it gives up its life, and in doing do it spouts into a plant which will produce many more seeds. A caterpillar goes through this same 11+5 process of wrapping itself in a coffin-like cocoon, literally dissolving, the spiritual significance of the number 11, and coming out of that cocoon as a beautiful butterfly now capable of ascending into the heavens, the spiritual significance of the number 5. That is the spiritual significance of 11+5 which equals 16.
Sixteen is 13+3, signifying the process of the judgment (3) of the rebellion of our carnal-minded old man, signified by the number 13.
I will close this study of the number sixteen with its sum of nine plus seven. Sixteen is 9+7 signifying the completion, 7, of our judgment, 9.
The Number Nine: The Number of God’s Judgment
While the religions of this world dread ‘the day of judgment’, the Lord’s elect are aware of the fruits of all of the Lord’s judgments. Look at Isaiah’s mindset when considering the fruits of the Lord’s judgment. Isaiah and Paul and Peter all express their great gratitude for the Lord’s judgments, and they all meditate on the outcome of His judgments:
Isa 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Isaiah 26:8-9 is the product of 9+7. These two verses are that which the number sixteen signifies spiritually.
Here is how Paul thinks of the judgments of God:
1Co 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
1Co 11:29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
1Co 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
1Co 11:31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
1Co 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
I am that person who has eaten and drunk unworthily and have been weak and sickly among the Lord’s body. It is my desire to be judged in this present time and not be judged at a later time. It is the ‘desire of my soul’ to be found in the way of the Lord’s judgments and to learn righteousness… in this present time’ and not at a later judgment. It is much better to be chastened of the Lord in this life than to be chastened of the Lord at the great white throne judgment. Here are the advantages of judging ourselves in this present time, which in reality is the Lord’s chastening grace working in our lives:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [G3811: ‘paidueo’], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Not one Christian in a thousand or more realizes that the Lord’s chastening and scourging IS the display and the work of His grace in our lives spoken of in:
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching [G3811: ‘paideuo’, chastening and scourging] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Knowing what ‘grace’, the Lord’s love, does in our lives, knowing that grace chastens us to forsake ungodliness and worldly lust and to live Godly lives in this present world’ adds a whole new meaning to this verse of scripture:
Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace [God’s ‘paideuo’ His chastening and scourging of Hebrews 12:6] did much more abound:
If the Lord chastens and scourges us in this present time then we are of all men most blessed as the apostle Paul reveals:
Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
It is “ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the spirit, groaning within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies”, living out the spiritual significance of the number 7 being completed, added to the spiritual significance of the number 9, being judged now, in this present time.
Peter was inspired by the same holy spirit of God and said the same thing about the number nine doing its spiritual work in our lives in this present time:
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
1Pe 4:19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Paul tells us that all of our persecutions and all of our tribulations, are a token of our salvation:
2Th 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
2Th 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
It is through much tribulation that we must enter the kingdom of God, but the suffering is not worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed in us if we are granted to have a part in the blessed and holy first resurrection and come out of our graves with a new spiritual body, which is the spiritual significance of 2×8 and 7+9… the number sixteen.