A Correspondence with Pastor Jim on Number 17, and 153
by atrueott

I thought a few of my Christian readers may find this quite interesting.

"Pastor" Jim worked as an electrical engineer with Hewlett Packard, before becoming the pastor of the small Christian fellowship "church" body that I personally attend here in Utah.

Following up on a discussion we had Sunday, here is what Jim e-mailed me;
Brother,
I just ran across this in some old notes of mine and thought you'd be interested.
You know how the Rabbi's were obsessed with all things numeric regarding the Torah. So they took the age of death for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and factored them. There's a sequence! Check it out:
Abraham 175 = 5 x 5 x 7 5 + 5 + 7 = 17
Isaac 180 = 6 x 6 x 5 6 + 6 + 5 = 17
Jacob 147 = 7 x 7 x 3 7 + 7 + 3 = 17
“Through their factorial patterns, the patriarchal chronologies constitute a rhetorical device expressing the profound biblical conviction that Israel’s formative age was not a concatenation of haphazard incidents but a series of events ordered according to God’s grand design.” Sarna, N., Genesis. , p.324, JPS Torah Commentary 1. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989
The fact that the numerical progression fits not two but THREE of the patriarchs, in sequence, means a lot. And the fact that there is not only a sequence of factors but that the sum of the factors each add to 17 is beyond human design. Of course, it's way beyond human design when you figure that you cannot manipulate the age of your natural death!
Too cool, he?
Out of curiosity, I extended the sequences before and after the patriarchs. I don't know if it's meaningful, but the number before Abraham would be 4x4x9=144 ... or 12 squared, like the 12 tribes if Israel. And the number after Jacob would be 8x8x1=64 which is 2 to the 6th power. What does that imply? I don't know.
Then, he followed that e-mail up with this one:
Okay...this Patriarchal "age series" got me intrigued.

If you let the series extend both higher and lower, allowing negative numbers, you get a plot of ages that I plotted in the attached graph.
View Patriarchal Age Series.jpg in slide show
Interestingly, the three ages on the plot closest to that peak in the middle of the curve are those of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! That's interesting! In calculus, we would call that bump a "local optima". Keep that in mind because the larger graph goes from very positive (good) on the left side going to very negative (bad) on the right side with just a brief interlude in the middle where things looks good for a moment. It's as though the formula takes a break from its inevitable downward slide so that something "good" can happen for a short time. Was that how God viewed the three patriarchs? A brief moment when things went well before they continued their decline?
Then I got to wondering. What is the value of that peak, that "local optima"? With calculus you can calculate the answer EXACTLY. You know what it is? It is the fraction 17/3 to the third power, exactly! I was a little blown away by that because I remembered that the 3 factors in the age series all added to 17 for the 3 patriarchs? 17/3 to the third power!
That's wildly "coincidental".
I'll have to chase down the numerology in 17 and 3. It's just too prominent in this series.
Oh, and I forgot to mention. See where the graph touches zero? That's the fifth generation before Abraham. You know what happened during the fifth generation before Abraham?

The flood.
Spooky he?
Here is my response:
Ok - Brother Jim. Since you cracked open this window - are you ready for the full force of the breeze on your face? (Of course you are!) It's not just "spooky" - it's downright exhilarating! You have just licked the icing of a triple-layer cake, my good man!

When I was studying statistics in college, my crazy German mind was swirling with the structured world of math, trig, geometry, physics, and the numbers of "gematria". In 1981 I stumbled upon a HUGE numerical "code" in the KJV bible texts - found by reversing the English into the Greek and Hebrew equivalents, and then studying the numbers for STATISTICAL anomalies. Without a doubt the Spirit of God moved upon me in a mighty way as I discovered this information - and when I enthusiastically shared it with my LDS "authorities" I was strongly counseled to "Quit seeking after the mysteries" - and to just "Follow the Brethren". DUH!!!! Luckily, I saved my notes in my most personal papers.

Let's start with the number 17 - God's numerical code of the three patriarchs - then we can go even deeper down the numerical rabbit hole if you wish after that.

The number 17 is the code of God's eternal covenant which is His symbol for SECURITY and SAFETY (Protection). It is a combination of two different numbers which in the Hebrew Gematria signify completeness - the combining of the numbers 7 and 10. As I told you Sunday, 7 is God's WATERMARK - not only in the bible texts, but also in the creation of the human DNA. 17 is such a biblical statistical anomaly, however. For instance, the Biblical Flood began precisely on the 17th day of the 2nd month - exactly 7 days after Noah entered the Ark. When did the Ark touch dry ground? Exactly 5 biblical months of 30 days (150 days) - ON THE 17th DAY of MONTH NUMBER 7! It is NOT coincidence that 17 just happens to be also the 7th PRIME NUMBER (2,3,5,7,11,13,17) It signifies abundance, and fulfillment of God's promises, Jim.

Buckle up, here comes some more. Take a deeper look into the KJV text of Romans 8:35-39. The theme here is of course SECURITY and ETERNAL LIFE, right? Paul enumerates things that "Separates us from the Love of Christ". Let's count them: 1: tribulation 2. distress 3. persecution 4. famine 5. nakedness 6. peril 7. sword 8. death 9. life 10. angels 11. Principalities 12. powers 13. things present 14. things to come 15. height 16. depth 17. any other creature. Coincidence? Nope - for it is just one example.

My personal favorite scripture is Psalm 23. There we find 17 personal promises of safety and security from the Lord. Count them: 1. Lord is my Shepherd 2. Shall not want 3. lie down in green pastures 4. leads beside the still waters 5. Restores the soul 6. Leads in the path of righteousness, 7. For His Name's sake (his glory) 8. No fear in the valley of the shadow of death 9. Lord is with me 10. The Rod gives comfort 11. the staff as well 12. prepares a table in the midst of enemies 13. anoints the head with oil 14. the cup runs over 15. Goodness will follow 16. Mercy will come, and last, but assuredly not least: 17. Will dwell in the House of the Lord FOREVER.

Like I said, EXHILARATING.

But we're just getting warmed up! Let's go deeper. There are 10 commandments of the Law of Moses, which merged with 7 "gifts" of the Holy Spirit as taught by Christ for another manifestation of 17.

I'm sure you've heard of "triangle" (aka Trinity, aka Triad) numbers? They are statistically speaking, the "Sum of All Things, - i.e. the Sum of all Numbers". Graph them, and they form a pattern of ALL CREATION, Jim - and I submit they reveal the great secret of who Christ was and IS. As a refresher: First triangle number = 1 second = 3 (1+2) third = 6 (1+2+3) fourth = 10 (1+2+3+4) etc. ad infinitum. Well, the 17th Triangle (Triad) number just happens to be the number 153!! Does that ring any bells? Of course - especially since we are studying the Gospel of John.

In the last chapter of the last gospel, the resurrected Christ directs 7 (there it is again, mirroring the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12 lists them: 1. Administration / Ruling 2. Encouraging / Exhorting 3. Giving 4. Serving / Ministry 5. Showing Mercy 6.Prophecy / Perceiving 7.Teaching) of his disciples exactly where to cast their net. John 21:11 tells us that there were exactly 153 fishes caught in the net. Why 153, and not 151, or 165?

Why is it so important for John, The Beloved, to make sure the exact number of fish is documented recorded forever? Because it is extremely important to those who understand the math numbers! The number 153 is the SAVIOR NUMBER of all who are governed by the Trinity (the number 3), and all who are able to recognize Christ as His disciples did that day. (One even did the Forrest Gump thing - jumped ship and swam to Jesus - he was so excited to see Him.)

The early Greek Orthodox Christians adopted the sign of the fish, with the number 153 in the middle. Today, Christians still are symbolized by the fish symbol on their cars, but I doubt many understand the importance of HIS number 153 - not so much the fish.

ALL NUMBERS GOVERNED BY THREE ARE "NETTED" BY THE NUMBER 153!!!! Go ahead. Add all the numbers from 1 - 17 (1+2+3+4+5 ------- +17) and the number is 153. Furhtermore, to make sure the mathematician was paying attention, add the first five factoral numbers 1! + 2! + 3! + 4! + 5! and you also get 153.

This explains also the Parable of the Net - Matthew 13:47-49. Good fish are kept, the bad fish are thrown away. "This is how it will be at the end of the age." I have this cross-referenced to Zechariah 13:8-9. TWO THIRDS WILL BE STRUCK DOWN, BUT ONE-THIRD WILL BE LEFT IN IT (The Land.)

I submit this is explained in the math of the number 153. This is really COOL, Jim. Check it out:

Take any number you can think of that is a multiple of three. How about the number 1776 (592 X 3) which is also a pretty neat year. Apply the "trinity principle" to it and continue to apply it. 1 to the 3rd power, plus 7 to the 3rd power, plus 7 to the 3rd power, plus 6 to the 3rd power = 903 (1st outcome). Do the sequence once again, and the 2nd outcome is 756. 3rd outcome = 684 4th = 792 5th = 1080 (don't get discouraged, 1080 is also a sacred number) 6th = 513 (another sacred number) and 7th = 153. IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT THAT WAY! It doesn't matter how big the number or even how small - as long as it is a direct multiple of 3 - the heart of all multiples of three (the Eternal Trinity) is the number 153. Of course, perform the sequence on 153, (which is 51 X 3), and there is only ONE sequence involved. (The ONE God - the TRINITY in ONE, you see.) 513 takes two sequences, and 1080 takes 3. Even Satan's number 666 goes back to Christ (153) - but it takes 6 sequences. (Six in Hebrew Gematria also literally means the NAIL - the enigmatic enemy of the Cross. Mormon Temples and Chapels all have the NAIL on their spires instead of the Cross. The Mormon Temple SIGN OF THE NAIL given to the duped people attending - thus is the number of Satan.)

If you add up the Hebrew symbol gematria of the English phrase: "My Son Is The God" - you get the number 153. Furthermore, numbers are the universal language, whether you are Chinese, English, or Russian - the language of numbers is universally understood. Again, 153 is the 17th Triad (Godhead) number. Sadly, it appears that only 1/3 of the earthly souls will come to accept and recognize Christ.

Sum it up: there are three triune qualities of 153 - 1. It is the 17th triangle number and the sum of all numbers 1-17. It is the KING - the summation. 2. it is the sum of the first 5 factoral equations. and 3. All multiples of three eventually find peace and sanctuary in the number 153. (There is no other outcome.)

It is our responsibility to be "Fishers of Men" - to call the 1/3 to Him, right Jim?

I saw all of this in a dream years many years ago. Thanks for not letting me forget.

True