Lessons; symbolism 

Symbolism of numbers

1; the One God.

2; The Old and New Testament. The two stone tables.

3; The Holy Trinity. The wise men from the East. Belief, hope and love.

4; The four Evangelists and the four Books: Matthew, Marc, Luke and John. The four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. The four points of the compass: north, east, south and west. The four elements: air, fire, water and earth. The four streams of paradise.

5; The five wounds of Christ. The five senses of Man: to see, to hear, to feel,

to smell and to taste. The books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numeri and Deuteronomium.

6; The six jars at the wedding in Kana. The six works of charity: giving food and water to the hungry and thirsty, caring for strangers, clothing the poor, visiting the sick and prisoners. Later caring for the dead was added, making up six acts of charity.

7; The holy number: 3 + 4, the number for the Trinity and four, the number of the world. The four elements and the four wind directions. The seven days of creation. The seven armed candlestick. The seven gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, reason, advice, strength, Godliness, science and fear of God .

8; The number of the resurrection and recreation in Christ. The first day of the new week. By baptism one is reborn and starts a new life. The eight-armed candlestick of the Chanoeka feast.

9; 'And on the ninth hour Jesus called out with loud voice' (Marc.15:34). A woman carries her child for nine months (2 Makk.7:27).

10; The Ten Commandments. The ten drachmen (Luc.15:8). The ten lepers (Luc.17:11).

12; The number of sons of Jacob, also called Israel. From them originate the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen.35:22-25, Gen.49:1-28). The twelve disciples (Marc.3:16-19). The twelve articles of confession. The twelve months of the year.

40; 'Forty days the flood went over the earth' (Gen.7:17), 'Moses went into the cloud and climbed to the top. He stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights' (Ex.24:18), 'Forty years I have let you roam the desert' (Deut.29:4). In forty years a whole new generation has grown up. Jesus stayed forty days and forty nights in the desert and fasted (Matth.4:2).

Alfa and Omega
The first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, sign to God who is the beginning (Alfa) and the ending (Omega) (Relevation Openb.1:8).

X and P
Greek initials of Christ (X=ch en P=r). The combination of these letters is often used as monogram for Christ.

IHS
Abbreviation of the Greek name for Jesus during the Middle Ages.

I.N.R.I.: 
Latin abbreviation for Jesus Nazaraeus Rex Judaeorum.

T (Tau)
Cross to the memory of Saint Antonius and the brothers and sisters of Franciscus and Clara of Assisi. Tau is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

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Last update of this page 23.05.2004