The Meaning of the Number Three in Scripture—Part 18

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Introduction and Review

This is the eighteenth part of a series that examines the number three and how it categorizes themes in Scripture. The previous lesson studied the lives of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther and how their life events are associated with this number. (Links to all articles in this series are listed at the end of this installment.)

This lesson will explore the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel and how the number three highlights certain elements of their lives.

Old Jerusalem, Jewish Quarter, Hurva Square - biblical verse engraved on a stone: Isaiah 51:3: The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD.

Isaiah—Awake, Awake

The phrase "Awake, Awake" occurs three times in Isaiah chapters 51 and 52. Before we look at that, I want to mention that the word awake comes with the idea of arising, and this particular Hebrew word is translated as such on occasion, as shown in the following verse.

Assyria founded it for the wild beasts of the desert.
They set up its towers,
They raised up its palaces.

— Isaiah 23:13

The first occurrence of the double "awakes" actually uses the word three times total in the following verse.

Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake as in the ancient days,
In the generations of old.

— Isaiah 51:9a

The second occurs in verse 17 and also contains a summons to stand up, a form of arising.

Awake, awake!
Stand up, O Jerusalem,
You who have drunk at the hand of the Lord
The cup of His fury

— Isaiah 51:17a

The third is at the beginning of the very next chapter and is followed by a command to arise.

Awake, awake!
Put on your strength, O Zion;
Put on your beautiful garments,
O Jerusalem, the holy city!
For the uncircumcised and the unclean
Shall no longer come to you.
Shake yourself from the dust, arise;
Sit down, O Jerusalem!
Loose yourself from the bonds of your neck,
O captive daughter of Zion!

— Isaiah 52:1-2

The Prophet Isaiah depicted by Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891)

Isaiah 33

Isaiah 33, beginning in verse ten, follows the same theme of the number three and "arising" with three "now" statements, each of which connects to this concept.

"Now I will rise," says the Lord;
"Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.

— Isaiah 33:10

Later in the chapter, God, who is Spirit, is characterized in three ways.

... the Lord is our Judge,
The Lord is our Lawgiver,
The Lord is our King ...

— Isaiah 33:22

One other attribute of God is mentioned three times in Isaiah: His wonderful counsel, which means "miraculous," implying that it is something only God can do.

... His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor ...

— Isaiah 9:6

O Lord, You are my God.
I will exalt You,
I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things;
Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

— Isaiah 25:1

This also comes from the Lord of hosts,
Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.

— Isaiah 28:29

Ezekiel as depicted by James Tissot

The Book of Ezekiel

The Book of Ezekiel is the third book of the prophets. It consists of three prophetic messages: the first concerns a judgment against Jerusalem and Judah; the second, against foreign nations; and the third, concerning future salvation and restoration.

Like Jesus, Ezekiel was thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was also a priest, and the central topic of his message concerns the priesthood and a vision of a temple.

Ezekiel's wheels and winged creatures.

Ezekiel 1-3

In keeping with our theme, in the book of Ezekiel, God's Spirit is mentioned in three verses relative to being "lifted up." All refer to Ezekiel's vision from the Lord that occurred in the thirtieth year of the Babylonian captivity.

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: “Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place!" I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise. So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.

— Ezekiel 3:12-14

He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy.

— Ezekiel 8:3

Ezekiel begins in chapter 1, proclaiming the following.

... the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God ... the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

— Ezekiel 1:1

The phrase "word of the Lord" is used no fewer than 60 (3 x 20) times in the book of Ezekiel, more than in any other book of the Bible, making it a strong connection to our topic of three: spiritual matters and God's Word.

Ezekiel next describes four living creatures from his vision, which are very similar to those in Revelation. He continues with the following description.

... each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
— Ezekiel 1:12

Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. (three "the spirit")
— Ezekiel 1:20
When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ("lifted up" and "lifted together" three times)
— Ezekiel 1:21

Notice in the center verse that "the spirit" receives three mentions. "Lift" receives 33 (3 x 11) total mentions, and "Wheel" gets 30 (3x10) mentions in the book altogether. We might wonder what a wheel has to do with this theme, but a wheel illustrates something that doesn't end. A circle has no beginning or end.

"Vision," a spiritual event, is mentioned 18 times (3 x 6) in the book of Ezekiel. These visions were described in terms of things they were like, using three Hebrew terms throughout their accounting. "Ki כי" means "like." "Demut דמות" means 'looked like,' and "kimo כמו" means 'like in appearance.' "And I looked" and gets six (3 x 2) mentions in the entire book.

Chapter two opens with "Son of man," a phrase that occurs 93 (3 x 31) times in Ezekiel. This phrase closely connects with a coming Messiah, the Lord Jesus Himself, who would come from heaven to the earth to save men's souls. Ezekiel presents a type and shadow of this in terms of the "Son of man."

And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.
— Ezekiel 2:1

This scene is accompanied by a visual of resurrection: "Stand upon thy feet." This verse is immediately followed by a mention of the spirit and another picture of a man arising.

And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.
— Ezekiel 2:2

The mission of the "Son of man" is to confront the people with their sinfulness and need for salvation, which the remainder of the chapter does.

The word "scroll" was mentioned earlier in this section in connection with the living creatures around God's throne in the book of Revelation, with its 9 (3x3) mentions. Ezekiel chapter three opens with three mentions of "scroll" within this chapter.

Moreover, He said to me, "Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you." So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness.
— Ezekiel 3:1-3

The scroll that Ezekiel is commanded to eat is the Word of God.

Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.
— Ezekiel 3:4

A three-verse chiasm concerns the word "spirit" here in chapter three. The first of which mentions three sounds.

Sounds are not visible.

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and
I heard behind me a great thunderous voice: "Blessed is the glory of the Lord from His place!" I also heard the noise of the wings of the living creatures that touched one another, and the noise of the wheels beside them, and a great thunderous noise
— Ezekiel 3:12-13 (first mention)
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong upon me.
— Ezekiel 3:14 (second mention)

Before the third mention, Ezekiel is sent to warn the people. He is told that he will be held responsible for their outcome if he doesn't. Then comes a type of resurrection.

Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, “Arise, go out into the plain, and there I shall talk with you."
So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face.
— Ezekiel 3:22-23

Notice three mentions of God's glory in both verses 12 and 23. And then comes the third mention of "the Spirit."

Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and spoke with me and said to me: “Go, shut yourself inside your house.
— Ezekiel 3:24

The concept of being "shut-in" or a door shutting is reminiscent of two other judgments in the Bible, making a total of three.

So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.
— Genesis 7:17
And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door. But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.
— Genesis 19:9-11

This concept of shutting is also mentioned in the New Testament, following the same theme involving "The Son of Man."

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
"And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
"Afterward, the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
"Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
— Matthew 25:1-13

Sonia Hildalgo's illustration of the third Temple.

The Third Temple of Ezekiel

The third temple in Scripture is known as Ezekiel's temple. It is recorded in Ezekiel chapters 40-48. The first temple that sat on the mount in Jerusalem was Solomon's temple. Its destruction occurred when the southern kingdom was taken captive by Babylon. After the captivity, the people returned and rebuilt the temple. The second temple was rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity and was overseen by three rulers: Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. The details of this rebuilding can be found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. This structure remained until its destruction in 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed it after Christ's death.

There have been many speculations about Ezekiel's temple and its meaning, considering that it hasn't been built yet. Many assume it will be rebuilt on the Temple Mount in these end-time events. Before this study, I had no idea how to interpret it, but after all, we learned about the number three and its meaning, which is obvious. The third temple is spiritual and contains a resurrection of sorts. Either way, I think it is worth looking to the "threes" in this structure to see what the resurrection of a third temple entails.

Ezekiel's Vision
Matthaeus Merian (1593-1560)

Three-Times Repeated Phrases in Ezekiel

Chapter six of Ezekiel kicks off with the phrase "Know that I am the Lord," repeated 63 (3x21) times in this one book. This first mention concerns a type of "resurrection" of God's people from Egyptian bondage by God's outstretched arm to a land that was promised to three patriarchs.

Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments.

And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians

And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to

1. Abraham, to
2. Isaac, and to
3. Jacob;

And I will give it to you as an heritage: I am the Lord.

— Ezekiel 6:7

In contrast, another three-times repeated phrase in the book of Ezekiel confronts the issue of idolatry among God's people. Interestingly, much like the verse above, the discourse ends with God reminding His people that He is the Lord.

... the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

"Therefore speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols."'

"Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I, the Lord, will answer him by Myself. I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.

— Ezekiel 14:3-7

Idolatry is a spiritual problem, as the prophet Hosea confirmed.

My people ask counsel from their wooden idols,
And their staff informs them.
For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray,
And they have played the harlot against their God.

— Hosea 4:12

"They do not direct their deeds
Toward turning to their God,
For the spirit of harlotry is in their midst,
And they do not know the Lord.

—Hosea 5:4

Chapter eight uses a thrice-repeated phrase in the Old Testament that pictures the resurrection in its third verse: "between earth and heaven."

He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem...
— Ezekiel 8:3, I Chronicles 21:16, Zechariah 5:9

Sources used for all parts of this series can be found in Part 20, the final installment.