That's an interesting number. For those who don't know, when Peter hadn't caught any fish all day and Jesus came along and told him to cast his net, the net was full of 153 fish. Also, it's clear from scripture that God actually counts or knows down to the last person who lives and who dies. Scripture mentions an earthquake where 7,000 people die--I'd be willing to bet it was exactly that number as a sign.
 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110613/us_nm/us_weather_tornado_missouri
 
Steve Mullin