Audio Download

The Spiritual Significance of Numbers:  The Number Four Signifies the Whole

[Study Aired January 9, 2026]

The first mention of the number four is in Genesis 1 in connection with the fourth day of creation:

Gen 1:14  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Gen 1:15  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
Gen 1:16  And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day [The Sun], and the lesser light to rule the night [The moon]: he made the stars also.
Gen 1:17  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
Gen 1:18  And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Gen 1:19  And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

This first mention of the number four gives us the establishment of the four parts of the physical universe. First was the earth, and then here on the fourth day the Lord creates ‘the sun, the moon and the stars for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.’ This is the whole universe which is now in place. His work upon His creation is not complete but with these additions it is now whole. ‘Whole’ and ‘complete’ are two separate concepts, and the Lord wants us to make that distinction. The signification of the number seven is completion.

The number four throughout God’s Word signifies the whole of whatever is under discussion.

The Whole Earth

Gen 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Waters in scripture symbolize God’s nourishing Word. It is symbolized here as the nourishment for the WHOLE earth.

Gen 2:6  But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

The Whole Tribulation of God’s Elect

Gen 15:13 And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

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.

Four hundred years symbolizes the whole period of tribulation endured by God’s elect at the hands of the world. Egypt was a very religious society. Going into Egypt for four hundred years symbolized Israel being carried away into Babylon long before Israel was carried away as slaves into Babylon. Babylon is simply God’s people in captivity in the world. Four hundred years signifies the Whole as opposed to the complete period of time when God’s elect are “strangers in a land that is not theirs.” Four hundred years is the symbol for the time God’s elect spend serving the flesh:

Job 14:1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth [“a land that is not theirs”]

1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

The Whole of the Flesh is to be Subdued by God’s Elect

2Sa 21:22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Notice that four words are used to describe the destruction of our flesh, and only two words are dedicated to our rulership with and through Christ:

Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, [1] to root out, and [2] to pull down, and [3] to destroy, and to [4] throw down, to [1] build, and [2] to plant.

We will see this principle of using far more words to describe our destruction than are used to discuss our victory and rulership with Christ. We will see this at the end of this study when we examine how the number four is used in relation to our judgment.

The Whole of God’s Elect Who are Rejected by This World

1Sa 22:2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

Three groups of men signify the whole body and family of God. 

The Whole Process of Salvation

Pro 30:15 The horseleach [Judaism, the mother of harlots] hath two daughters [Protestants and Catholics], crying, Give, give. [Indulgences, tithes, offerings, etc.] There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, four things say not, It is enough:
Pro 30:16 The grave; and the barren womb; the earth that is not filled with water; and the fire that saith not, It is enough.

Four Signifies the Whole Process of Apostasy

Pro 30:18 There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
Pro 30:19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
Pro 30:20 Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

Adultery signifies spiritual apostasy, and “as the way of a man with a maid… such is the way of an adulterous woman.” It is not out in the open, and it is vehemently denied when confronted with the truth of her infidelity. Do not even attempt to tell any of the daughters of the great harlot that:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

God has blinded the great harlot and all her daughters from seeing that twice repeated word “NOT.” Anyone who denies that Truth is being unfaithful to these words of Christ Himself:

Joh 4:21  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain [Samaria, signifying the religions of this world], nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the [true] Jews [“which is one  inwardly”, (Rom 2:28-29)].
Joh 4:23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers [“inward Jews… of the spirit”] shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth [The Truth of Romans 2:28-29].

Abraham’s physical pedigree is no longer of any more significance to God than that of a Samaritan. Physical circumcision takes away the flesh of the foreskin but does nothing at all to the fleshly heart. Our nation and the great harlot and all of her daughters, both Catholic and Protestant, are committing spiritual adultery when they deny this straightforward doctrine of Christ. Like any harlot, they vehemently deny their adulterous infidelity due to the fact that all that matters to God now is that we all come to know Christ, have His mind, and become a new man:

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
Rom 2:16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

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. (GWV)

Notice that this “Israel of God” is opposed to “Israel after the flesh.”

We have all been spiritual adulteresses:

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all [the whole world] had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world [Through his work in the great harlot]: he was cast out into the earth, and his [adulterous] angels were cast out with him.

‘Four’ in the New Testament

The whole body should care for the whole body:

Mar 2:3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

Joh 4:35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest [We are ‘harvesting’ each other].

Eph 4:15  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Four parts of the body are mentioned to signify the whole body:

1Co 12:20  But now are they many members, yet but one body.
1Co 12:21  And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

Four days signify the futility and the destruction of death:

Joh 11:17 Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

There are four kinds of corruptible flesh:

1Co 15:39  All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

Four states of being signify our whole experience in these vessels of clay:

Rev 22:11  [1] He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and [2] he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and [3] he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and [4] he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Our whole covering is Christ as our own four-part garments, and the ‘four… soldiers’ involved in His crucifixion signify the whole of mankind:

Joh 19:23 Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

Four things in Psalms and four things in Acts are used to signify that all men of all time contributed to the crucifixion of their own Savior:

Psa 2:1  Why do [1] the heathen rage, and [2] the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2  The [3] kings of the earth set themselves, and [4] the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, The whole of mankind is being called of God:

Act 4:25  Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did [1] the heathen rage, and [2] the people imagine vain things?
Act 4:26  [3] The kings of the earth stood up, and [4] the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

The “four corners” of the sheet of Peter’s vision signify that salvation is coming to all men:

Act 10:11  And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
Act 10:12  Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
Act 10:13  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
Act 10:14  But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
Act 10:15  And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common [The ‘beasts’ in this four-cornered sheet represent the whole of mankind].

Four days signify the patience given us by the Lord:

Act 10:30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

Four quaternions of soldiers is used to signify the whole-hearted vigilance on the part of the Adversary.

Act 12:4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

Philip’s four daughters signify that the whole church serves as the witnesses of Christ:

Act 21:9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.

The four men who are still “zealous of the law” signify the whole church which is still under the law:

Act 21:20  And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
Act 21:21  And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Act 21:22  What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come.
Act 21:23  Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
Act 21:24  Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself [Paul himself at this time] also walkest orderly, and keepest the law [The whole Jewish church was still under the law].

Four anchors keep us safe through the dark stormy night:

Act 27:29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

For winds of heaven signify the whole Word of God which unites His whole church:

Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The four beasts signify the whole of the elect who are even now in downpayment form, seated with Christ, enthroned with Christ, in the heavens:

Eph 1:14  Which is the earnest [the downpayment] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.

Rev 6:6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Rev 15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever.

The whole church is working in the whole earth and is holding the whole spirit of the earth to accomplish the Lord’s will on the earth:

Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

Here is both the negative and the positive accomplishment of these ‘four angels’:

Jer 1:9  Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth [The four angels].
Jer 1:10  See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to [1] root out, and [2] to pull down, and [3] to destroy, and [4] to throw down, [1] to build, and [2] to plant.

The holy spirit uses twice as many ways of describing the destruction of our old man as it uses to describe the blessings of our new man.

This is a principle which we will observe is used by the holy spirit to make us aware of the fact that “in [our] flesh is no good thing” (Rom 7:18).

Nevertheless we must [1] root out, and [2] pull down, and [3] destroy, and [4] throw down all the giants within our land inwardly first. Then “through Christ who strengthens [us]” we will be given “[1] to build, and [2] to plant” :

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

The whole work of the cross (the altar is the cross), is signified by “four angels” who are even now working to destroy the strength of our flesh:

Rev 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
Rev 9:15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.

The whole world is deceived:

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

We will close with an examination of how the number four is used to express the whole of the Lord’s “four sore judgments”; once in Jeremiah 15 and once in Ezekiel 14.

Jer 15:1  Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
Jer 15:2  And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are [1] for death, to death; and such as are [2] for the sword, to the sword; and such as are [3] for the famine, to the famine; and such as are [4] for the captivity, to the captivity.
Jer 15:3  And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: [1] the sword to slay, and [2] the dogs to tear, and [3] the fowls of the heaven, and [4] the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, [1] the sword, and [2] the famine, and [3] the noisome beast, and [4] the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

It is interesting to note that in Jeremiah 15 the “four kinds” of judgment consist of one inanimate object, 1) “the sword,” and three animate objects  1) dogs to tear, 2) fowls of the heaven, and 3) beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

In Ezekiel the order is reversed and there are three inanimate “sore judgments” 1) the sword, 2) the famine, and 3) the pestilence, and just one animate judgment [1] the noisome beast.

Both are groups of four, and both signify the whole of our judgment.

Finally, we will see that the holy spirit employs about four times more words and phrases to enumerate all of the curses for our disobedience than it does to tell us about the rewards and blessings of being obedient.

I will not read the whole chapter, known as the chapter of blessings and cursings, but I am referring to Deuteronomy 28. All the blessings for obedience are found in the first 14 verses. I will quote just the first three verses of each section:

Deu 28:1  And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
Deu 28:2  And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
Deu 28:3  Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

The next eleven verses inform us of all the blessings which will come upon us if we are granted to “listen diligently to the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all of His commandments”.

This 28^th chapter of Deuteronomy is 68 verses long, and the next 54 verses all inform us of the curses which will befall us “if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes”. Here are the first three of those 54 verses.

Deu 28:15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
Deu 28:16  Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Deu 28:17  Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.

If we multiply 14, the number of verses describing our blessing for obedience, by four we get 56 verses. The total of those two numbers is 70, and 70 is just two verses more that the actual number of verses in this chapter of 68 verses total. The point being that the holy spirit sees fit throughout scripture to emphasize the curses of our self-righteous, carnal mind far more that it emphasizes the blessing of being spiritually minded. That demonstrates the counterintuitive wisdom of the mind of Christ who knows what wretched men we all are and just what is needed to best make us aware of that fact:

Rom 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.