Rough Notes:
Seven
SEVEN 7
San Antonio Temple sealing room window, note the 7 branches of the tree. Grouping of 4 and 3 = 7 Seven base window segments that rise to three then one.
Complete CycleJesus ChristMysteryPerfectionPuritySevenWhite
COMPLETE CYCLE
“Hundreds of scriptures point to 7 in association with the concepts of full, satisfied, or complete, most in connection with spiritual perfection, accomplished in a complete time period involving 7 day, 7 weeks, or 7 dispensations.”
Val Brinkerhoff, “The Day Star: Reading Sacred Architecture” (Book 2), 68
“The heptad expresses a complete event having a beginning, middle, and an end through seven stages, which keep repeating.”
Michael Schneider, “A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe,” 223
LIGHT
“Newton divided the spectrum into seven named colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. He chose seven colors out of a belief, derived from the ancient Greek sophists, of there being a connection between the colors, the musical notes, the known objects in the solar system, and the days of the week.”
Via Wikipedia
MYSTERY
“…7, 9 and 11 are considered numbers of mystery. They cannot be constructed…with a compass and straightedge. They’re mysteries, they’re here but they’re not here. Like 7, the rainbow, it’s here, the seven colors of the rainbow are there, but nobody can grab it. Seven is always about things you can’t grab, can’t hold on to, the seven notes of the musical scale…same with 9 and 11.”
(Michael Schneider, Oral Interview, via YouTube)
REVELATION
Coming soon…
PERFECTION
See “Complete Cycle”
PURITY
Coming soon…
VICTORY
Coming soon…
Seven is the most common of all symbolic numbers.96 It is employed more frequently, and with more consistency, than any other number, theologically or culturally.97 In fact, there are so many references to the number seven in scripture and Semitic literature that one scholar suggested this is proof that something symbolic is intended.98 This same source suggested that it would take nothing short of a miracle to chronicle and explain all of the references to the number seven in the Bible, let alone in Judaeo-Christian ritual and extracanonical religious texts.99
Seven symbolizes fulness,100 completion,101 entirety or totality,102 and spiritual perfection.103 As a rule, multiples of seven carry the same spiritual or symbolic significance.104 Etymologically, seven is connected with the Hebrew words for “full,” “satisfied,” or “complete.”105 According to one text:
In the Hebrew, seven is shevah. It is from the root savah, to be full or satisfied, have enough of. Hence, the meaning of the word “seven” is dominated by this root, for on the seventh day God rested from the work of Creation. It was full and complete, and good and perfect. Nothing could be added to it or taken from it without marring it. . . . Seven means . . . according to its etymology, that which is spiritually complete or satisfying.106
Another source states, “The root of the Hebrew word for seven (sheva) is identical to the Hebrew verb that means ‘to take an oath,’ thus connecting the word sevento covenants and covenant making.”107
The following is but a minute sampling of the hundreds of scriptural references to the number seven as a symbol. A thorough exegetical study of the number seven in scripture would produce a text hundreds of pages long. Constraints on space will allow only a few examples.
In all four accounts of the creation we are informed that the great work of organizing this earth and its inhabitants to a state of completion, or perfection, took seven days or periods.108 Additionally, there are seven days in a whole week, both models implying “a complete period or cycle.”109
Enoch was said to be “the seventh from Adam” (Jude 1:14). This is likely not a coincidence, because Enoch is the prophetic model of perfection. One scholar noted that the Hebrew phrase “the seventh from Adam” totals eighty-four (or 7 x 12) in gematria. This may be an innuendo regarding Enoch’s complete or perfect(no. 7) priesthood power (no. 12).110
Noah was said to have taken seven of every kind of clean beast onto the ark (see Genesis 7:2). As chapter 10 of this books suggests, the number seven, when used in relation to animals, represents the idea that they were positive or clean symbols. It suggests that they were symbolic of people who had learned to keep and live the commandments of God fully.
In a most chivalrous act, youthful Jacob worked seven years for Rachel but was tricked into marrying Leah. So Jacob worked another seven years for Rachel, implying the totality or fulness of his love for her (see Genesis 29).
In Pharaoh’s dream, as interpreted by Joseph, it was foretold that Egypt would encounter seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine, a symbolic warning of Egypt’s initial perfect state of plenty followed by a fulness of famine (see Genesis 41).
In Exodus, chapter twelve, Israel was commanded to remove all leaven from their homes for a period of seven days (see 12:15, 19). Leaven was a symbol for sin and corruption.111 In this episode the number seven suggests that all sin and corruption must be entirely removed from one’s life. The Atonement (symbolized by the Passover) was the vehicle by which that took place.
Although a number of features in the Mosaic tabernacle had numerical significance, the seven branches of the candlestick placed between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies seems particularly significant (see Exodus 25:31–32). It was the only light in that windowless chamber and thus served as the source of light or direction to pass from the outer (telestial) court to the Holy of Holies (or equivalent of the celestial room). As a symbol for the Holy Ghost,112 the seven branches serve to highlight the perfect nature of that gift.
The law of Moses required that a leper be sprinkled seven times in order to be fully cleansed (see Leviticus 14). Lepers were symbols for those who are spiritually unclean, spiritually dying because of their sins, just as a leper is one who is physically dying because of disease.113 Spiritual death is overcome through full or complete (no. 7) repentance.
One commentator recorded: “On the great Day of Atonement the blood was sprinkled ‘on the mercy-seat eastward’ . . . seven times . . . because this was the perfect testimony for the people that the atonement for their sins was accomplished” (see Leviticus 16:14). Additionally, “the day of atonement was [celebrated] in the seventh month.”114
The Israelites under Joshua exercised “full” faith and obedience by marching for seven days around Jericho, encompassing it seven times on the seventh day—after which the city walls collapsed, making their victory “complete” (see Joshua 6:2–4, 15).
In the book of Proverbs we read, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief” (24:16). The use of seven here is a clear effort to highlight the degree to which the man is just and the totality of his dedication to the cause. He always gets up again no matter how often he proverbially falls.
There is a curious comment in the book of Isaiah, offered here only by way of conjecture and in light of the consistent symbolic connotations of the number seven. We read, “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach” (4:1). The Hebrew versions of the Old Testament always place this verse as the last verse of chapter 3.115 Most commentators also place it in the context of chapter 3 rather than in chapter 4.116 If the Hebrew placement is correct, then the context changes from millennial to pre-millennial.117 Current editions of the Book of Mormon place the verse in a millennial context. However, the current chapter and verse breakdown was not part of the original manuscript.118 If one examines the printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon, the verse comes in the middle of a rather lengthy run-on sentence that connects chapters 3 and 4 of Isaiah.119 Thus the original text of the Book of Mormon, as well as the Joseph Smith Translation, offers no help in determining what the context of the verse is.
If one assumes that the Hebrew is correct, then the passage seems to be highlighting very worldly women in a pre-millennial era who will do anything physically to attract men. If the context is the Millennium, then a literal reading of the verse would suggest a possible restoration of plural marriage. However, noting Isaiah’s employment of the symbolic number seven, an alternate millennial reading may be drawn. As a possible suggestion, note the following rendering of the verse: “In the Millennium seven women [the entire Church?] will lay hold of one man [Christ?] and say to him, We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes: but let us be called after thy name [through covenants, also associated with the number seven] that we might have our shame removed.”120
Delilah cut off seven locks of Samson’s hair. In so doing, she left him completely destitute of strength (see Judges 16:15–21).
Matthew records Christ’s command to forgive not seven times but seventy times seven (see Matthew 18:21–22). Christ’s point is not that we should forgive 490 times, after which forgiveness is no longer required. On the contrary, his point is that we must forgive all men completely, every time we have reason to be offended.
While nailed to the cross, Christ is said to have made seven significant statements (see Matthew 27:46; Luke 23:34, 43, 46; John 19:25–28, 30).
The book of Revelation informs us that once John wrote down his vision, he sent it to seven branches of the Church in Asia (see 1:4). The number seven here serves as a symbol for the fact that John’s vision was for the whole Church.121 Similarly, when John speaks of the “seven seals,” we understand that he means the entire history of the world (see 5:1, 5–6). One source indicates, “In the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, seven seems to be the predominating number, not only used as a numeral, but in the occurrences of the important words:—’Jesus’ occurs 14 times (2 x 7) (seven times alone, and seven times with ‘Christ’). ‘Lord’ [in the RSV] occurs 21 times (3 x 7). ‘Spirit,’ 14 times.”122 The list of these “sevens” and multiples of seven in the book of Revelation is extensive. Biblical scholar E. W. Bullinger chronicles several pages of words or things mentioned seven times (or some multiple of seven) in the book of Revelation.123
In the days of Alma, the city of Zarahemla had “seven churches in the land” (Mosiah 25:23). However, because the members were all so united, the record states, “Notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church” (v. 22). Thus these seven branches of the Church served as a symbol for the whole Church, “even the church of God” (v. 22).
In symbolic terms, Ammon’s slaying of seven marauding Lamanites constituted a complete or utter defeat of King Lamoni’s enemies and potentially reflected Ammon’s omnipotence in the eyes of Lamoni (see Alma 18:16).
One scholar noted that the number seven seems to be ingrained in the reproductive process. He noted that with the human species, the gestation period is 280 days, or 7 times 40. Since seven means full or complete, and forty represents mourning and trial, the combination of the two represents full or complete mourning. It will be remembered that upon her fall in Eden, Mother Eve was told, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16; Moses 4:22). Thus in sorrow—multiplied sorrow—women bring forth children. The pain and suffering that accompany labor and childbirth, coupled with the very real possibility of death from the experience, certainly brings cause for mourning. Clearly, the penalties of the Fall as pertaining to Eve have been passed on to all women in the form typified by the significant length of the gestation period. “Thus the number seven is stamped upon physiology. . . . May we not expect to find the same phenomena in the greatest of all God’s works, viz., His Word?”124
EIGHT 8
Eight lights segmented into eight sections in a San Antonio chapel.
LDS Chapel entrance in Las Vegas Utah chapel entrance with a window segmented into eight parts with an arch containing eight segments. Each door has eight segments as well. Granite Stake Tabernacle Octagon-shaped Pulpit, from ldsarchitecture.wordpress.com
Highland Park Ward Chapel, from ldsarchitecture.wordpress.com Octagon ceiling over an LDS temple baptismal font
Octagon-shaped tower on Nauvoo Temple, with several elements repeated in eights. Toscana Pisa baptismal font Novara Battistero baptismal font
Cattedrale di Palermo baptismal font Cathedral Saint Sauveur Baptistery, Aix En Provence
The baptistery pool Milan The Lateran baptistery St. Giovanni Baptistery in Florence, Italy
Nauvoo temple glass Eight-sided middle section of LDS Stake center steeple.
Octagrams on LDS Temple Eight-pointed star with a connection to the moon. Salt Lake Temple annex octagram Christ the Redeemer sanctuary in Rio de Janeiro with octagon-shaped ceiling mediating between heaven and earth, photo credit Ramiro de Queiroz Martins Silva
AtonementEightGreenMiddleRebirthStructural NumbersVenus
JESUS CHRIST (AS MEDIATOR)
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
1 Timothy 2:5
MEDIATION
See “Renewal”
REBIRTH
“Eight-niched soars this temple for sacred rites
Eight corners has its font
Right to build this baptismal hall about the sacred number eight
For here the people are reborn.”
Interior inscription for the baptistry of Milan
RENEWAL
“[Eight] is a starting-over number and is pervasive throughout scripture…”
Val Brinkerhoff, “The Day Star: Reading Sacred Architecture” (Book 2), 68
“The octagon draws on the symbolism of the number eight, emblematic of renewal. Eight-sided forms were felt to mediate between the symbolism of the square, representing earthly existence, and the circle (standing for heaven or eternity).”
Jack Tresidder, “Symbols and Their Meanings,” 154
SACRED SPACE
Discovering sacred teachings in LDS Chapel architecture
Early Analysis of the Potential Symbolism of a New South Jordan Meetinghouse
See “Rebirth”
STRUCTURE
“…3 and 4 and 6 and 8 and 12 are considered structural numbers, the numbers nature builds with.”
(Michael Schneider, Oral Interview, via YouTube)
TRANSITION (EARTHLY TO HEAVENLY)
See “Jesus Christ (as Mediator)”
SCRIPTURE, HISTORY, AND PRACTICE
8 souls were saved by the ark of Noah.
Israels solemn assemblies were on the 8th day.
The High Priest of the temple wore 8 different articles of clothing: 1 crown, 2 breastplate, 3 robe, 4 apron, 5 white undergarments, 6 belt, 7 turban, 8 pants.
Circumcision was done on the 8th day.
Christ was resurrected on the 8th day.
The shape of the New Jerusalem, as described in the Book of Revelation, is described as an 8-sided cube.
The 8th millennium will be the beginning of the new age of our eternity.
The resurrection of some will be in the 2nd resurrection in the 8th millennium before the final judgment.
The Brother of Jared built 8 barges.
Nephi and his family spent 8 years wandering in the wilderness.
Alma and his people traveled 8 days to escape King Noah and his army.
The Book of Mormon golden plates had 3 as well as 8 other witnesses and were 8 inches long.
The Interpreters or Urim and Thummim that Joseph Smith had were 8 inches long and the silver bow was bent into a figure 8 shape.
In LDS theology, a person must be a minimum of 8 years old to be baptized.
Many LDS chapels feature 8 lights, 8 pillars (4 on each side of the entrances), octagon-shaped clocks, and other 8-sided architectural motifs.
LDS temples commonly feature 8-sided motifs.
Additional References
Discovering sacred teachings in LDS Chapel architecture
An LDS Meetinghouse in American Fork, UT Emphasizes 8
Early Analysis of the Potential Symbolism of a New South Jordan Meetinghouse
The number eight is associated with the concepts of resurrection,125 new beginnings,126 rebirth,127 and baptism.128 Because of its association with resurrection, it is sometimes also seen as the number of Christ. Additionally, some commentators call the number eight the sign of superabundance.129
The Apostle Paul associated baptism with the symbol of resurrection rather than cleansing. He stated:
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:3–5.)
In reference to this passage, one numerologist wrote, “Christ rose from the dead on ‘the first day of the week,’ that was of necessity the eighth day.”130 Since, for all of those born in the covenant, baptism is to be performed at the age of eight (see D&C 68:27), the connection between the symbols of baptism, resurrection, Christ, and the number eight are natural and appropriate. Indeed, the reason the number eight is utilized as a symbol for Christ, resurrection, baptism, new beginnings, and so on is that they are all intricately related ideas.
Continuing this theme, it is noteworthy that only eight humans survived the deluge of Noah’s day. In 1 Peter 3:18–21 we read:
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
A number of commentaries note that Peter’s declaration is clearly a symbolic reference to the saving powers of baptism.131 Just as Noah and his family were “saved by water,” those who accept Christ and his revealed ordinances—including baptism—are also “saved by water.” Reference is made in the passage to the symbolic number eight, baptism, Christ, and, by default, a new order of things—as Noah and his family witnessed the destruction of all and began anew the human family.
According to the law of Moses, circumcision was to be performed on the eighth day (see Genesis 17:12). As a foreshadowing of the ordinance of baptism, that time frame served as a reminder to Israel that their children were not accountable until their eighth year (see JST, Genesis 17:4–20).
Aaron and his sons were consecrated on the eighth day, after waiting “at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days” (Leviticus 8:35; 9:1). The number eight here is likely a symbol, both of their new beginning as consecrated priests and also of their typification of Christ, whose number is eight.132 Indeed, E. W. Bullinger noted, “Eight is the dominical number, for everywhere it has to do with the Lord. It is the number of His name, Jesus,” which totals 888 in Greek gematria.133 He indicates that “other Dominical Names of Jesus are also marked by gematria and stamped with the number eight as a factor.”134
Regarding eight as a number for both Christ and resurrection, one commentator offers an interesting insight: In the Bible “the risen Christ was seen by 512 persons. And 512 is the cube of 8 (83). The number of the disciples gathered in the upper room (Acts i. 15) was 120 (8 x 15).”135
One pioneer LDS typologist, Lenet Hadley Read, pointed out that “the beginning of God’s new kingdom of glory” will be the “eighth age” and at the conclusion of the Resurrection.136 She added, “The age of Latter-day Saint baptism . . . fits perfectly into [the] pattern: Circumcision, eighth day; baptism, eighth year; Christ’s resurrection, eighth day; the beginning of God’s new kingdom of glory, eighth age. Each time period signifies becoming a member of God’s covenanted people and (for those faithful to the covenant) entrance into God’s glory.”137
The number eight may have symbolic value in the Book of Mormon as well. For example, the Jaredites prepared eight barges so that they could cross the waters and obtain the promised land (see Ether 3:1). This crossing has been compared by one LDS author to the ordinance of baptism as a step on the voyage to the celestial promised land.138 In 1 Nephi we read that Nephi and his family spent eight years in the wilderness before embarking on their journey to the new land (see 1 Nephi 17:4). Eight here seems symbolic of the concept of new beginnings. We read further that Alma and his new converts traveled “eight days’ journey into the wilderness” to escape King Noah and his men (Mosiah 23:3). Not coincidentally, one of the early symbols of their newfound faith was their participation in the ordinance of baptism, after which they began new lives in Christ (see Mosiah 18).
OCTAGRAM 248
San Diego Temple Hexagram Seven base window segments that rise to three then one. Octagrams on LDS Temple Salt Lake Temple annex octagram
EightFourJesus ChristMelchizedekRebirth
REGENERATION
“The eight-pointed star symbolizes regeneration. The number eight is traditionally associated with the idea of regeneration or baptism.”
Friedrich Rest, Our Christian Symbols, 60
PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST
“By popularizing this image [two interlocking-squares], a handful of Latter-day Saints have created a new symbol—a modern Star of David or cross. The pattern of interlocked squares or eight-pointed star has been endowed with religious meaning, and an entire folklore has developed around it to show that divine origins have been behind the symbol and its employment on certain temples. Through a simple misunderstanding of a caption under a picture in a book, Mormons have unintentionally created a symbol that has erroneously been connected with Melchizedek and his priesthood. Given that the interlocked squares (or eight-pointed star) is not an ancient symbol for the Melchizedek Priesthood and that the proper ancient name for this design is not the seal of Melchizedek, we are left with the question, is it appropriate for modern Latter-day Saints to take an unaffiliated design, such as dual overlapping squares, and turn such a design into an official symbol for the Melchizedek Priesthood or for the act of making one’s calling and election sure? Because this article is unlikely to end the popular practice among Mormons of claiming the aforementioned design as the ancient seal of Melchizedek and a symbol for the higher priesthood, I leave it to readers to decide whether to embrace or reject the symbol. For this author it matters little—though frankly, if we as a people are to adopt this symbol, it would be more appropriate to interpret it as a representation of Christ rather than as a symbol of one whose life typified him.”
Alonzo L. Gaskill, “The Seal of Melchezidek?” in Religious Educator 11, no. 3 (2010): 95-121. – Link