Curiosity sent me to the internet again. James Strong is thought to be a Mason and was not fluent in either Greek or Hebrew.  And we let him guide us in all those numbers?  I will stay with Matthew Henry and his explanation of "bow" as a weapon in the constellation of Sagittarius and E. W. Bullinger.  Also the white horse is the Holy Spirit and the red horse is the antichrist.  All those other guys are of the same opinion. 

 

Ted your article was interesting but soooo long.  All that math....!! The numbers were fantastic.  But even with just the Scripture we know that the time is very short.  I've come to the same conclusion with my chronological study and the Hebrew calendars. God uses time lines and appointed times and the alphabet represents numbers as well as the Greek.    jfh

 

James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D., the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.

 

Many have claimed that he was a Mason and that this affects the authenticity of his work. But does it really affect whether his work can be trusted? Yes. First, the claim that he was a Mason is a rumor.

        Who was James Strong? He was born in New York City in 1822 and died in Round Lake, NY in 1894. Dr. Strong was a Methodist and lay minister. He graduated valedictorian from Wesleyan University (a purely Methodist university) in 1844. In 1856 Wesleyan University granted him Doctor of Divinity (D.D.). From 1858 until 1861, Strong was both Acting President and Professor of Biblical Literature at Troy University (New York). In 1868 he became Professor of Exegetical Theology at Drew Theological Seminary, where he remained for twenty-seven years. In 1881 Wesleyan honored Strong with the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.).

His work on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance has been criticized by some solely for the fact that he was never fluent in either Greek or Hebrew, But is this really reason to criticize his work? Yes. However, if he was indeed a Mason? Should we be concerned? Yes.