However, it's important to remember that the Bible is the written word of God, whilst Jesus is the living Word of God abiding within. First and foremost we should hear Him. Also, the Bible as a book of faith and revelation, is not primarily intended to be a mathematical textbook. While numerical patterns and symbolic meanings can enhance our understanding of the text, they should never overshadow the core message of the gospel.
The ultimate purpose of the genealogy in Matthew 1 is to establish Jesus' messianic lineage, to follow the lineage leading to Him and stand in awe of the Old Testament prophecies and promises culminating in Grace manifested in the flesh. The genealogy and its very construct, is a testament to God's faithfulness and His plan for redemption.
By studying the genealogy of Jesus and the underlying numerical patterns, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the intricate details of the biblical text. However, it is essential to approach such studies with humility and a willingness to hear from the Word Himself.
Let’s get really technical!
Where to start?
In the Greek language (language of the New Testament) Matthew 1 presents a genealogy of Jesus in a fascinating way. It traces Jesus' lineage back to Abraham, highlighting His royal descent from King David. The way that this genealogy is constructed is not merely a historical record but a divine blueprint with spectacular numerical multiples, revealing profound divine involvement in the writing thereof and exhibiting some overwhelming spiritual truths.
… and some of these fascinating truths lay just beneath the surface to be discovered, but we must be warned that they are so profound that they might just knock us off our feet!
The theory of probability and heptadic patterns
The theory of probability is an interesting field based on the mathematical analysis of the occurrence of random phenomena (such as Matthew 1: 1-17 and the occurrence of heptadic values). It's built upon the concept of likelihood and the possibility of different outcomes in a given situation.
So, what is gematria and a heptadic pattern?
Firstly, gematria is a method of assigning numerical values to letters in the Hebrew or Greek alphabet. Each of the 24 letters in the Greek alphabet has a numerical value, starting at alpha as numeral 1 and following through to the last letter, omega (Ω) at 800. By analysing the numerical values of names, words (all types of words) and sentences, we can uncover hidden meanings, patterns, and connections.
Secondly, a heptadic pattern is a pattern of seven - everything occurs sevenfold and is either a multiple of seven or divisible by seven.
Seven in the Bible is often associated with divine order, perfection and completion, such as the seven days of creation, the seven churches of Revelation, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven deadly sins, etc.
To further elaborate on a heptadic application, we have to note that very few languages throughout the world utilise their alphabets as numbers concurrently, so that each letter consistently refers to a relevant numerical value. Yet, two very significant languages that do so, are the Greek and Hebrew languages of the original Bible scripts. And we’ll be awestruck to find out why.
When we examine the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, we discover an intriguing numerical (heptadic) pattern (structure) emerging. This heptadic structure is not only difficult to plan and execute, but also humanly impossible to write and to do so in a rational way.
While gematria is a complex field of study, exploring the numerical significance of names can offer deeper insights into the biblical text.
So, the theory of probability?
We also have to look at the theory of probability in order to make sense of the likelihood of some of these heptadic structures occurring and recurring.
By understanding the fundamental concepts and principles of probability theory, we can better understand and quantify uncertainty in the world around us.
Here are the fundamental principles of probability theory:
Sample Space: This is the set of all possible outcomes of a random experiment (Matthew 1:1-17 based on heptadic occurrence). A sample space example is when flipping a coin, the sample space is {Heads, Tails}.
Event: An event is a subset of the sample space. For example, getting "Heads" when flipping a coin is an event. In our case it would be getting a division or multiples of 7.
Probability Measure: This is a function that assigns a probability to each event in the sample space.
To get the probability we use exponents and the multiplication principle where we raise a number to a power. We are essentially multiplying that number (7 in our case) by itself a certain number of times. In the context of probability, this relates to the multiplication principle.
The Multiplication Principle states that if one event can occur in m ways, and a second event can occur in n ways, then the two events can occur together in m X n ways.
Example: Rolling Dice
Imagine you have two six-sided dice. For each die, there are 6 possible outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
First Die: 6 possibilities
Second Die: 6 possibilities
To find the total number of possible outcomes when rolling both dice, we multiply the number of outcomes for each die: 6 x 6 = 36.
If we have n events, each with m possible outcomes, the total number of possible outcomes is mn.
So, in applying the multiplication probability measure, we’ll look at some further examples.
Coin Tosses: Flipping a coin twice: 22 = 4 possible outcomes (HH, HT, TH, TT).
Dice Rolls: Rolling three dice: 63 = 216 possible outcomes.
Password Combinations: A password with 4 digits, each digit can be 0-9: 104 = 10,000 possible combinations.
The Matthew 1 test in practice
In 1890 Dr Ivan Panin, a Harvard University mathematics graduate, discovered some of the phenomenal mathematical design patterns underlying both the Greek text of the New Testament and the Hebrew text of the Old Testament.
He spent over 50 years of his life painstakingly exploring the numerical structure of the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures before he passed away in October 1942.
The probability test that Panin ran on Matthew 1: 1-17 included:
The number of words must be divisible by 7, evenly.
The number of letters must also be divisible by 7, evenly.
The number of vowels and the number of consonants must also be
divisible by 7.
The number of words that begin with a vowel must be divisible by 7.
The number of words that begin with a consonant must be divisible
by 7.
The number of words that occur more than once must be divisible
by 7.
The number of words that occur in more than one form must be
divisible by 7.
The number of words that occur in only one form must be divisible
by 7.
The number of nouns shall be divisible by 7.
Only 7 words shall not be nouns.
The number of names shall be divisible by 7.
Only 7 other kinds of nouns are permitted.
The number of male names shall be divisible by 7.
The number of generations shall be divisible by 7.
Apart from the above, other heptadic repetitions that occur in the Matthew 1: 1-17 text, include seven multiples in vocabulary as well as combined gematrical values of letters used in those words (each multiples of 7 and a combined multiple of 7).
Let’s get to the application
To write and construct the narrative of Matthew 1:1-17 with multiple occurrences of seven:
one occurrence - would translate to a factor of 7 - i.e. where there is one instance only of an occurrence of multiple sevens. This is a factor of 71 = 7 or, if 10 minutes are spent per attempt, 70 minutes.
with two occurrences - that is 7 X 7 or 72 = 49 it will take 490 minutes should 10 minutes per attempt be spent.
with three occurrences - the writing at 10 minutes per attempt could take longer at a factor of 73 = 343 or 3430 minutes (roughly 57 hours or 2.375 days without sleeping).
with four occurrences - the factor increases with the probability, i.e. 74 = 2,401, or 24010 minutes (16.67 days). 75 = 16,807, or 168070 minutes or 116.71 days.
Making sense of these numbers in terms of probability
These figures get even more ridiculous going to the probability for more occurrences. Let's try to make sense of it all (I also asked AI to help a little).
An occurrence of 9 multiple sevens, translating to 79 = 40,353,607 attempts @ average of 10 minutes/attempt = 403,536,070 minutes or 3,362 years. In other words, in the realm of probability, a number like this often represents a very large number of possible outcomes or combinations. For example, if you have 7 different options for each of 9 choices, there are 40,353,607 possible combinations. If each configuration is equally likely, the probability of randomly selecting a specific configuration would be 1 in 40,353,607. This is a very small probability, indicating that the specific configuration is highly unlikely to be chosen at random.
To move on further than these numbers, we’ll need to employ the processing speed of supercomputers that have the ability to process billions of calculations in just one second (discarding the 10 minutes per attempt).
So, for 34 occurrences of multiple sevens, 734 = ~5.4 x 1028 tries would be needed. There are ~3.15 x 107 sec/year with 400 million tries per second at 4 x 108 tries/sec, it would take about 4.3 x 1012 supercomputer-years to process such a probability to occur (or for a team of approximately 1,000,000 supercomputers it will take at least 4,300,000 years to come up with this narrative attempt).
Now, let's look at the probability of multiple sevens in Matthew 1: 1-17
In Matthew 1: 1-11 there are 14 such occurrences just in the genealogy text alone, which calculates to a probability of 714 = 678,223,072,849 or 6782230728490 minutes at 10 minutes per human attempt. This alone would need 12,895,230.8 years to construct such a narrative for all 14 to occur.
The latter probability is with only 14 distinctive features of sevens, but Panin identified 75 multiple sevens in Matthew 1:1-17!
The probability of 775 is beyond the ability and reach of several hundreds of thousands of supercomputers. Processing will have to be done uninterrupted for some 4.3 millions of years by these computers to come up with this kind of narrative.
I had to phone a friend
As an example, I asked AI what happens to probability should we calculate an occurrence of multiple sevens to the power of 75 (i.e. 775) in the case of genetic variation, and here is the answer:
If we calculate 7 raised to the power of 75, we get an incredibly large number:
775 ≈ 2.41186503 x 1063
This is a number with 63 zeros after the 2! It's a mind-bogglingly large number, far beyond human comprehension.
To put this into perspective, the estimated number of atoms in the observable universe is around 1080. So, 775 is a massive number, even though it's significantly smaller than the number of atoms in the universe.
In the context of genetics, such a large number would represent an almost infinite number of potential genetic combinations. However, real-world genetic factors are much more complex and influenced by various constraints and limitations.
Without any doubt we are able to say that such a probability of 775 is not just unlikely, but rather absolutely impossible (zero). It is beyond the means of artificial intelligence and processing abilities that modern computer science does not even have.
Even in coming up with a numerical construct of multiple sevens in Matthew 1:1-17, the narrative still has to be written in such a way to make sense and tell a logical story.
What can we conclude on the genealogy of Jesus?
The genealogy is cleverly constructed and divided into three sections of fourteen generations each. The number seven, or heptad is deliberately used, just so that we can see the divine Hand. And so, it highlights the perfection and completeness of God's plan for redemption.
The genealogy of Jesus Christ, as presented in Matthew 1:1-17, is more than just a historical record. It's a carefully crafted narrative that reveals profound historical, prophetic and messianic truths. The meticulous structure, the specific names, and the underlying numerical patterns all point to a divine hand at work.
The heptadic structure, in particular, is striking. The repeated multiples of seven in the genealogy and the words used to describe these generations suggest a deliberate design, hinting at divine perfection and completeness. By employing gematria and other numerical analysis techniques, we uncover hidden patterns and deeper meanings within the text.
However, it's crucial to remember that while such numerical analyses can be intriguing, they should never overshadow the core message of the Gospel: the love and grace of God. The genealogy ultimately points to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the fulfilment of God's promises in any and each possible way.
As we delve into the Scriptures, we must balance out intellectual curiosity, numbers and structures with spiritual discernment and keep our focus on Who it is all about. While numerical patterns can offer valuable insights, the heart of the matter lies in the Word of God itself.
* In our next post we’ll be taking a closer look at the meaning of names used in this genealogy and how it all works together towards what happened on that awesome and fearful (reverent) day of YHVH
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