Spiritual Significance of Numbers – The Number Twelve: Number of Foundations

[Study Aired February 13, 2026]

Christ is our foundation. Being our foundation and having the power to “work all things after the counsel of His own will” makes Christ Himself the most prominent spiritual significance of this number which signifies foundations:

1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Eleven being the number of the disintegration of fleshly perfection, twelve reverses that process of disintegration. Twelve is therefore the solution to the destruction and dissolution signified by the number eleven. The scriptures demonstrate that the number twelve spiritually signifies foundation, spiritual perfection and completion. This is true whether it is concerned with the seed of the serpent as symbolized by Ishmael and his “twelve princes” or whether it is dealing with the seed of the woman, as symbolized by Jacob, who also had ‘twelve princes’ known as ‘the twelve tribes of Israel.’

It is essential we realize that the unveiling of Jesus Christ first includes a “marred vessel of clay.”

Jer 18:4  And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

The first scripture which demonstrates the significance of this number twelve has to do with the foundation, not of God’s elect, but of God’s rejected “seed of Abraham.”

Gen 17:20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.

So why is Ishmael brought to our attention before Jacob with His twelve sons? Here is why:

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The unveiling of Jesus Christ necessitates that the physical creation of “the first man Adam” comes first. That “first” Adam, by God’s design is:

1Jn 2:16 …all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

This lust-filled physical creation is actually the first step in the Lord’s plan to make mankind in His image:

Col 3:9  Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man [“The first man Adam”] with his deeds;
Col 3:10  And have put on the new man [“Christ in you, the hope of glory”], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

If we must “put on the new man… after the image of Him that created him”, then it is manifested that our “first man” was not yet in the image of Christ, and thus  Genesis 1:27 is mistranslated:

Gen 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

All three times the verb ‘created’ appears in that verse, it is always in the Hebrew Qal stem which is in many ways similar to the Greek aorist tense. Qal and aorist are both more concerned with aspect, whether the action is finished or not, rather than with the past, present or future. Knowing this Truth, the Concordant Version is a far better translation of:

Gen 1:27 And creating is the Elohim humanity in His image. In the image of the Elohim He creates it. Male and female He creates them. (CLV)

The  physical, marred vessel of clay (Jer 18:4) He made in Eden was just the first step toward “the new man… after the image of Him that created him.”

Col 3:10  And have put on the new man [“Christ in you, the hope of glory”], which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

That is why Christ tells us… “I am the Alpha… the beginning… the first… and the last.”

Rev 1:11  Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

This first Adam, our carnal-minded flesh, is loathe to relinquish its supremacy, and when we discover that the flesh has to be completely forfeited, we cry out with Abraham:

Gen 17:18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!

However, our corruptible carnal mind and bodies will not be tolerated in the kingdom of God and must be cast out of our lives:

Gen 21:9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking.
Gen 21:10 Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.
Gen 21:11 And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
Gen 21:12 And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Who said “cast out the bondwoman and her son?” Galatians 4 tells us that Ishmael signifies modern Christ rejecting Judaism:

Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Gal 4:30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

Many western ‘Christians’ have been led to believe that since we are “in Christ” we are therefore the spiritual “seed of Abraham”. It is thought simply believing in Christ makes one God’s elect who cannot be rejected. What does Christ tell us about such carnal-minded thinking?

Gen 21:13 And also of the son of the bondwoman [“seed of Abraham”] will I make a nation, because he is thy seed.

Both the son of the bondwoman and the son of the freewoman are “thy seed… the seed of Abraham,” who typifies Christ, the True “Father of the faithful”, our spiritual Father only “if [we] continue [G3306: ‘meno’, abide] in [Christ’s] words”:

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If [G1437: ‘ean’, uncertainty] ye continue [G3306: ‘meno’, abide] in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

Since the time Christ was rejected by the physical nation from which He was physically descended, the definition of the words ‘Jew’ and ‘Israel’ have changed dramatically. That change is so dramatic that “Jerusalem which now is… is in bondage with her children” and is now considered by God to be “the son of the bondwoman”, while believing Gentiles are now accounted by God as “the children of the freewoman… Jerusalem which is above.”

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren [Including Gentile Galatian Christian converts], as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Gal 4:29  But as then he that was born after the flesh [Ishmael, physically descended from Abraham] persecuted him that was born after the Spirit [Isaac was supernaturally conceived in Abraham and Sarah’s old age], even so it is now.
Gal 4:30  Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman [“Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children”] and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
Gal 4:31  So then, brethren, we [Including Gentile converts] are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

There it is. Physical descent is not a foundation on the Rock because we “no longer know each other “after the flesh.” After Christ’s sacrifice we don’t even know Christ Himself “after the flesh.”

2Co 5:16  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more [after the physical flesh of Abraham].
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Going back to Galatians four we see how Paul put this doctrine into practice in his own mind:

Gal 4:22  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are [signify] the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar [Hagar, the bondwoman].
Gal 4:25  For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Gal 4:26  But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
Gal 4:27  For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.

Paul was taking his cue from the Lord Himself who told the “Jews that believed on Him but could not abide in His doctrine”:

Joh 8:37 I know that ye are Abraham’s [physical] seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s [spiritual] children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:41 Ye do the deeds of your [spiritual] father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Joh 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Here is Strong’s definition of the Greek word G1437, ‘ean’, which is translated as “if” in John 8:31:

G1437
ἐάν
ean
eh-an’

From G1487 and G302; a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty: – before, but, except, (and) if, (if) so, (what-, whither-) soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to whom, [who-] so (-ever). See G3361.

Total KJV occurrences: 297

It was “those Jews which believed on Him” who were “of your father the devil.” Can this possibly have an application to God’s elect? Here is what the holy spirit says:

Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches [The physical Jews] were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
Rom 11:22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if [G1437, ‘ean’, “uncertainty”] thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

So after the natural is made manifest, then the spiritual foundation of God’s people is manifested. However, look at what is still right there within the sons of the freewoman:

Gen 35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

Gen 37:2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

When we are commanded to “come out of her My people” (Rev 18:4) what God’s people (his “children of the freewoman”) “come out of” is God’s people, His “[children] of the bondwoman”, signified by Ishmael, “the son of the bondwoman.”

This is, was and will be true. The “twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel” are redeemed out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.” “The twelve tribes of Israel” is speaking of the foundation of “Jerusalem which is above”. It is not speaking of physical Jew in the diaspora:

Rev 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Rev 5:10; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

There must be twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes as the foundation of the government of God on this earth. Anything less is the “one is not” of this verse:

Gen 42:13 And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest [is] this day with our father, and one is not.

God’s elect must be “separated from their brothers.”

Deu 33:13 And of Joseph [A type of Christ and His elect] he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
Deu 33:14 And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun [signifying Christ], and for the precious things put forth by the moon [signifying Christ’s bride, (Gen 37:10)],
Deu 33:15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
Deu 33:16 And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and [for] the good will of him that dwelt in the bush [Christ in the burning bush, (Exo 3:2)]: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.

God’s elect are all “separated from [their] brethren [who remain in Babylon]:

2Co 6:17  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18  And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

The number twelve signifies the foundations of the kingdoms of both our flesh and our new man in Christ. The kingdom of our old man always comes first and flourishes and prospers into “a great kingdom” with many cities and a capital with a throne and a king before our new man ever begins to lay the foundations of his kingdom. Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whose mother and he were cast out of the family of God, was given by God to have twelve sons and become a great nation long before Jacob and his twelve sons ever came out of Egypt. Just like Abraham we all hesitate putting our old man out of our lives, and we all cry out with Abraham:

Gen 17:18  And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
Gen 17:19  And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
Gen 17:20  And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.
Gen 17:21  But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.

The fact that Esau came “with four hundred men” to meet Jacob and his eleven sons (Benjamin was not yet born), demonstrates how little fear we have of the death of our old man while we are so prosperous and still trusting in our physical relationship with Abraham and his physical seed.

In time through the great spiritual struggles signified by the threats against Jacob from both Laban (Gen 31:22-24), and Jacob’s fear of Esau (Gen 32:6-7) we all wrestle with Christ and come away with a new name and a new heart (Gen 32:24-28):

Gen 49:28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

This is all type and shadow of God’s elect. God’s elect are the spiritual, foundational  “twelve tribes of Israel.”

Gal 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Gal 6:16 And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Here is the GW version of Gal 6:15-16:

Gal 6:15  Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation.
Gal 6:16  Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God.

Even in the wilderness twelve is the number of spiritual foundation.

Exo 15:27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

This happens before Israel even comes to Mount Sinai. We begin to develop our spiritual foundation very early. Even then we build on that foundation of Jesus Christ with wood, hay and stubble before we are granted to build with gold, silver and precious stones.

1Co 3:1 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
1Co 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1Co 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
1Co 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
1Co 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
1Co 3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1Co 3:8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
1Co 3:9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, [ye are] God’s building.
1Co 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
1Co 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1Co 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1Co 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day [of judgment] shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. [By judgment, (Isa 26:8-9)]
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; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
1Co 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
1Co 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
1Co 3:20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
1Co 3:23 And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

The ‘shew bread’ symbolizes God’s word, which is Christ. It consisted of twelve cakes made with finely ground flour.

Lev 24:5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.

Each part of the body must do its part warring against the enemies of  the people of God:

Num 1:44 These are those that were numbered, which Moses and Aaron numbered, and the princes of Israel, being twelve men: each one was for the house of his fathers.
Num 1:45  So were all those that were numbered of the children of Israel, by the house of their fathers, from twenty years old and upward, all that were able to go forth to war in Israel;

The cross is signified by the altar which is itself foundational to our walk:

Num 7:84 This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, the princes of Israel: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold; twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold;

I hope all these verses in which the number twelve appears helps us all to understand that the spiritual significance of the number twelve is foundation of which Christ is the head of the corner, the foundation on which we are, at the appointed time, building upon with “gold, silver, and precious stones

We will close with a few verses which contain multiples of the number twelve. These verses signify that we, with Christ, are His foundational firstfruits, the “New Jerusalem, the mother of us all” (Gal 4:26):

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 [twelve] tribes of the children of Israel.

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.

Rev 21:9  And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
Rev 21:10  And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11  Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Rev 21:12  And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
Rev 21:13  On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14  And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.