What’s so amazing about how God designed His Book is He specifically uses the reader’s curiosity of faith to propel that person to further and further mine the depths of His Word, thereby gleaning the precious reward of rare understanding and treasure for the soul.

In the Bible, numbers, for example, are very important and there are more often than not underlying spiritual truths associated with them throughout Scripture. For at least the first 13 numbers, the meanings are pretty clear to a student of the Word.

Jordan says, “It’s God’s Book and He’s put it together in such a way that actually, in whatever language you’re studying, you’ll find these meanings. In Greek and Hebrew there’s an underlying numerology—called Geometry—in the original language, just like there is in the English language. What it’s doing is demonstrating God’s Word is living. It’s not bound to one language and you can find fascinating confirmations of the truth and reliability of the text you’re reading when you’re reading the proper translation of the proper underlying text.”

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Just as it is in much of folklore, the No. 13 biblically is associated with bad things. An astounding 85% of all 13s in the Bible deal in the negative. Consistently, 13’s the number of rebellion.

The word “thirteen” first appears in Genesis 14:4: “Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.”

Genesis 10 reveals Nimrod, a type of the Antichrist, is the 13^th from Adam. He leads the rebellion against God at the Tower of Babel.

In Gen. 13:13 we see the rebellion of Lot when he pitched his tent toward Sodom and its excessive wickedness.

It’s in John 13:26 that the identity of Judas Iscariot, the one who would betray Jesus Christ, is revealed. Interestingly, 26 is two times 13.

Proverbs 13:13 reads, “Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.”

Jordan says, “In Isaiah 41:26, if you want to know where rebellion in Israel really began, it says it began with rebelling against God’s Words. There are 39 words in that verse. Two times 13 (for the verse number) plus 3 times 13 (for its number of words). A lot of times these things are hidden below the surface.”

In Romans 1:29, the 13^th characteristic of a “reprobate mind” is being “a hater of God.”

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While people like to think America was founded by good God-fearing Christians who loved the Word, it’s extremely fascinating to consider the predominance of 13s early on in our nation’s life.

As Jordan reveals, “There are 13 letters in the motto ‘E Pluribus Unum.’ There are 13 original colonies. There are 13 stars and 13 stripes in the original flag. The symbol on that flag was a serpent and the slogan across it, ‘Don’t Tread on Me,’ which is 13 letters long. The confederate flag had a cross on it with 13 stars overlaying the cross.”

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In Numbers 14, there are 12 tribes of Israel but there are really 13 because of the tribe of Levi doesn’t have an inheritance.

“With Joseph’s two boys, Ephraim and Manasseh, one took Levi’s place and the other took Joseph’s place, so that’s where you get 13 from,” explains Jordan. “But after this rebellion’s over, God says take a rod one from each tribe and lay them out there and then go get that 13^th tribe’s rod (Aaron’s rod) and lay it out. This is where you get ‘Aaron’s rod that budded.’ And verse 10 says that Aaron’s rod that budded is to be kept as a token against the rebels.

“In the Ark of Covenant were the table of Commandments, the pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. There’s the broken law, covered over by the Mercy Seat, and then there’s Aaron’s rod that budded. It’s a picture of the resurrection of Christ—the new life in Christ—and it’s a testimony against the rebels in Israel; just like in the day of Pentecost there was a witness to the resurrection of Christ against the rebels who had rejected Him. But it’s the 13^th rod that’s a testimony against the rebels.”

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Jordan continues, “Now you can do this over and over and over in the Bible. Like I said, it isn’t always on the surface. It can be tied up in the text where you have to look for it. In Isaiah 7:8, Ephraim is going into captivity for 65 years. Now, just for fun of it, divide 65 by 13. Five is the number of death. Because of their rebellion, they’re going to suffer death; they’re going to go off into captivity.”

In Ezekiel 4, Ezekiel is told to lay on his side for 390 years, symbolizing the destruction of Israel for her rebellion. That’s 30 times 13.

“For 13 months, he laid there,” says Jordan. “Why? Because of their rebellion they’re going into captivity. And that was the sign.”

(Editor’s Note: Sorry for such a long absence. I am just getting back into my writing and the muscle needs rebuilding! Tomorrow I will cover the significance of the Bible number 666)