Symbolism of 1 in the Temple

One is a symbol of God and heaven and eternity and unity.

The principle of unity is expressed nowhere better than the Lord’s intercessory prayer before he wrought His atoning sacrifice for us:

That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one.

The sun is “one” and represents both the celestial kingdom and God. And the sun is one of the elements of the creation.

"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun."

"And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament."

"the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings"

A one side figure is a circle. It is commonly used as a symbol of heaven or eternity.

A circle is drawn with a compass.

The first dispensation of the priesthood was Adam.

The number 1 is represented by the letter Aleph which has the principle meaning of ox, and sometimes attributed a secondary meaning of strength or leader.

Symbolism of 2 in the Temple

2 represents duality. This is an important concept for choice and agency.

Right in the beginning there was a choice to follow God’s plan with our savior Jehovah or follow Lucifer’s plan.

In the garden of Eden, 2 represents the choice to partake of the tree.

2 represents the dual nature of the savior both mortal man and eternal god.

2 represents male and female, Adam and Eve.

In geometry, two points make a line. Lines divide into two parts. This was important during creation. Dividing the night from the day or dividing the firmament above from the firmament below.

The spirit world is divided by a gulf into a spirit paradise and a spirit prison.

2 represents covenants. Abraham divided his sacrifices in two parts and the representation of God passed through the midst of the parts. The Hebrew word for covenant is “beriyth,” which comes from the same root word as “cut”.

Moses parted the Red Sea and led his people out of Egypt

Joshua parted the Jordan River and led his people into the promised land.

We break bread to renew our covenant.

Covenants involve two parties.

2 reminds us of the yoke of Jesus Christ. It is the covenants that bind us to Him.

 The 2nd dispensation of the priesthood was Enoch, who established Zion and was taken into heaven

The number 2 is represented by the letter Beth which means house or tent. (Beth-el means the house of God, Beth-lehem means the house of bread, Beth-hesda means the house of mercy, Beth-any means the house of happiness.)

Symbolism of 3 in the Temple

3 is a symbol of the Godhead, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost

That combination is important during baptism. Jesus was baptized and the Father testified of Him, and the Holy Ghost descended.

We are always baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost unlike most other ordinances which are done in the name of the Son.

3 as a marker of the Holy Trinity is used to symbolize the spiritual.

Other spiritual concepts come in threes:

The three pillars of eternity: the creation, the fall, the atonement

Faith, hope and charity

Love God, Love your neighbor, Love yourself

The water, the spirit and the blood

Things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come

An isosceles right triangle creates angles of 45 degrees. It is used to draw triangles and other shapes like the octagon.

The third dispensation of the priesthood was Noah. The flood of Noah is sometimes likened to a baptism of the earth.

The number 3 is represented by the letter Gimel which means a foot or camel

Symbolism of 4 in the Temple

4 symbolizes the world.

“Gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”

North, South, East and West. 

All the people of the world are sometimes referred to with this tetrad "every nation, kindred, tongue and people."

A four-sided figure is a square or a rectangle. It is drawn with a draftsman’s square.

4 can also symbolize exactness because of the right angles.

4 can be a symbol of a solid construction (the concept of "establish") with 4 cornerstones.

The fourth dispensation of the priesthood was Abraham. The promise to Abraham was “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

The number 4 is represented by the letter Daleth which also has the principle meaning of door or secondary meaning of path.

Symbolism of 5 in the temple

5 symbolizes the law of Moses and the Aaronic priesthood and the Old Covenant.

There are 5 books of the law.

Moses led the 5th dispensation of the gospel.

The number 5 is represented by the letter Hey it also represents jubilation with an image of a man with arms reaching to heaven or a window with a secondary meaning of "behold."

Symbolism of 6 in the Temple

6 is the symbol of mankind. Man and woman were created on the 6th day. Man always falls short of perfection, i.e., less than 7.

Jesus came to earth as a man in the 6th dispensation of the priesthood. Jesus was crucified on the 6th day. 6 represents Jesus as a mortal who died for us.

6 is also a symbol of Satan. (There are several symbols that represent both Jesus and Satan such as the serpent or the morning star.) 6 is an incomplete counterfeit to God’s perfection, i.e., less than 7.

666 is the mark of the beast.

The number 6 is represented by the letter Vav which has the symbol of a hook, or a fastener like a nail. (This also suggests His crucifixion.)

Symbolism of 7 in the Temple

The number 7 shows up in many places in the scriptures.

In the beginning, in fact, 7 is the number of the creation. God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day establishing 7 as a holy day or a sabbath.

7 is often used as a numerical symbol for many or multitude. Jesus' teaching about forgiveness is well known: “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” But this is not just used for positive concepts like forgiveness. For example Lamech claimed a multitude of vengeance. "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold" Isaiah described the conditions prior to the millennium symbolically, "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man." i.e. many churches will lay claim on the one savior.

7 is a symbol of complete. Complete and perfected are synonymous in the Greek of the New Testament.

On the 7th day, the crucified savior’s body rested in the tomb, but his spirit went into the world of spirits and opened the gulf that separates paradise and prison.

7 is a very heavily used symbol in the Book of Revelation. There are seven churches, seven lampstands, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vessels, etc. There are also seven stars mentioned. Stars have various symbolic meanings, but one of those meanings is the Telestial Kingdom.

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

Stars also represent heavenly messengers or disciples. And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

The seventh dispensation of the priesthood is the restoration or the dispensation of the fullness of times. This is our dispensation.

7 is represented by the letter Zayin which has been associated with a weapon.

Some of these numbers can be appropriately combined together:

Spiritual is symbolized by 3 and worldly is symbolized by 4. 3+4=7 is the spiritual and physical combined = complete

Seven is also the combination of 6+1. Man plus God equals perfect.

Symbolism of 8 in the Temple

8 symbolizes resurrection and rebirth.

7 is complete, so the next number in the sequence, 8, suggests a new beginning.

Circumcision was performed at 8 days of age.

Baptism is performed at 8 years of age.

Jesus was resurrected on the 8th day. Since that time, Sunday has become the day of the Lord and the day that we now keep the Sabbath.

8 represents the resurrected savior.

8 represents the new covenant. The New Testament was written by 8 authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, Jude.

In the Book of Mormon 8 is associated with travel to a promised land:

Jaredites built 8 barges. Lehites traveled 8 years in the wilderness, Alma and his people traveled 8 days in the wilderness.

At the conclusion of the Book of Mormon, Moroni makes 8 exhortations the eighth is to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.

The 8th dispensation of the gospel will be the Millennial reign of the resurrected Lord.

The octagon is a shape about halfway between a circle and a square. It is the transition between heaven and earth. It represents Jesus as our mediator.

An octagon is drawn with a compass, and a square and an isosceles triangle.

In Greek (language of the New Testament), the letters Jesus add up to 888 (Iesous or Ἰησοῦς)

8 is represented by the Hebrew letter Chet which has the principle meaning of courtyard or tent wall and a secondary meaning of separation. Jesus is the veil of the temple. 

Symbolism of 10 in the Temple

10 is another number that means complete or full.  It is often used as a multiplier for emphasis.

For example King Nebuchadnezzar had a high opinion of the Israelites: "And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm."

10 commandments

10 plagues of Egypt

10 lepers

10 virgins

10 servants and 10 pounds 

Tithing is one tenth.

Multiples of 10 like 100 or 1000 emphasize fullness.

Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born to fulfill the promise of the covenant.

People will live to age 100 during the millennium: "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old"

The millennium is 1,000 years, (10^3.) A fullness of fullness of fullness.

"beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."

The number ten can be represented by the letter yod, which means hand.

Symbolism of 12 in the Temple

12 is a symbol of Israel and the priesthood.

Jacob had 12 sons and there are always 12 tribes of Israel. (It actually gets complicated because Joseph was given a double portion when his sons Manasseh and Ephraim were adopted and Levi is sometimes counted special. Yet it is always 12.)

There are 12 oxen under the brazen sea of the temple.

The high priest has 12 precious stones in his breastplate.

The heavenly city has 12 pearl gates.

There are 12 apostles.

Males can be ordained to the priesthood when they are turning 12 years old.

The number twelve has two digits; yod which means hand and beth which means house

Symbolism of 14 in the Temple

The number 14 shows up in two important and highly symbolic places in the scriptures.

Passover is on the 14th of Nisan (which is the first month of the year, so it is the 14th day of the entire calendar.)

Passover represents Jesus in multiple ways. He is our unblemished lamb, and He was sacrificed for us. He is literally sacrificed on Passover.

So, 14 represents Jesus’ role as our savior and specifically His atoning sacrifice.

In turn, it might represent our sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit.

14 is also an important number in the genealogy of Jesus. According to Matthew “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.”

The number 14 symbolizes the coming forth of Jesus. It includes all the promises to the ancient patriarchs and very specifically connects Jesus to Abraham and David.

The Abrahamic covenant is recorded in Genesis 12. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The number 14 is commonly associated with David because the letters DVD have numerical value of 4+6+4 which equals 14.

The Davidic Covenant includes this promise, “thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.” This is often described as an unconditional covenant. But I’m not sure such a thing exists. In 2 Chron 6 the covenant is reiterated and sounds more conditional. “There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me.”

The initiatory “includes special blessings related to the person’s divine heritage and potential.” As we receive the ordinances of the temple we are cleaned from the blood of our lineage and adopted into the royal lineage.

Abraham held the rights of the priesthood. David was anointed king of Israel.

When we are adopted by Jesus, we receive that lineage. The number 14 symbolizes these concepts. It is a numerical symbol of Revelation 1:6 "And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

14 is properly represented by the letters yod and daleth. Together those letters spell the simple word for “hand.” Actually, yod represents hand all by itself and daleth represents a door. These symbols suggest the “hand” of the Lord extended to us through the veil or the “door” to heaven.

Some of these numbers can be appropriately combined together:

2 is a covenant and 7 is completion. Jesus was perfect and he makes us perfect 7*2=14

6 symbolizes Christ as a mortal, 8 symbolizes Christ as the resurrected LORD 6+8=14

Symbolism of 28 in the Temple

The number 28 shows up in very few places in the scriptures. It is mentioned in the building of the tabernacle. The inner curtains of the tabernacle were 28 cubits in length.

28 is also a symbol for the moon because the lunar cycle is about 28 days. (In reality, the lunar cycle is 27.3 days, but because of the orbit of the earth around the sun it takes 29.5 days to complete all the phases of the moon) The moon is a temple symbol for two reasons.

The moon is a symbol of progression. Because of the various phases of the moon, it can symbolize our spiritual progression. The moon is also key to marking the times and seasons. In the Hebrew calendar each month starts with a new moon. In the days of Jesus, it was an official responsibility of the Sanhedrin to watch for the new moon and initiate the new month. Many holidays were celebrated on the full moon.

The moon is a symbol of the terrestrial kingdom.

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the moon is one.

The moon does not have its own light, but reflects the light of the sun. This reminds us that we are to let our light shine by shining forth the light of Christ.

The moon is one of the symbols of the coming forth of the church out of obscurity. That thy church may come forth out of the wilderness of darkness, and shine forth fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners.

28 can be a symbol for female fertility. The monthly cycle is part of the plan of salvation that allows a couple to participate with God in the creation of life.

The number 28 is represented by kof and chet. This is an open palm (in the sense of a cup shape) and a courtyard or tent wall. The letters kof and chet spell the Hebrew word koach (rhymes with Noah.) This word means power or strength. This word is used in the Old Testament 125 times. For example this passage from Isaiah 40: 

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Symbolism of 40 in the Temple

40 indicates a long time and wilderness. The Israelites traveled 40 years in the wilderness, Moses and Elijah and Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness.

Noah's flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights and made the whole earth a watery wilderness.

40 is represented by the letter Mem which has a principle meaning of water and a secondary meaning of blood or chaos. In Hebrew, the concepts of water or sea and wilderness both reflect back to chaos which has connections to creation and organization.

Symbolism of 48 in the Temple

48 is represented by the letters Mem and Chet. This spells the word moach in Hebrew. The modern interpretation of moach is "brain," but the biblical use of moach was "marrow." This word only shows up once in the Old Testament in Job 21:23 "his bones are moistened with marrow."

The concept of marrow shows up in a few other contexts in the scriptures:

Psalm 63:5 "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness"

Proverbs 3:8 "It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones."

Isaiah 25:6 "And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined."

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

D&C 89:18 "And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones"

Symbolism of 400 in the Temple

400 symbolizes the captivity of Israel in Egypt. (This number actually begins with Abraham in Egypt and extends to the Exodus with Moses.)

400 is represented by tav the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It means sign of the covenant or tally mark. Because tav comes at the end of the alphabet it also suggests complete.

It is the largest number in the Hebrew system that doesn’t require combining digits.

Mathematical operations +-*/^

Creation is symbolized by division and multiplication. First the chaos is divided. Light and darkness, firmament above and firmament below, night and day and seas and land.

Then the earth is ready for multiplication. The plants bear seeds. The fishes, the birds and the beast are commanded to multiple. Adam and Eve are commanded to multiply.

Addition is just the combination of symbols. The best example is 3, 4 and 7. 3 symbolizes spiritual. 4 symbolizes physical. Add the two together and they are complete or perfect, 7.

Multiplication and raising to a power are different ways of combining numerical symbols and adding emphasis. My favorite example for this is the 144,000 in the book of Revelation. This number is derived from 12 and 10. 12 squared times 10 cubed.

Repeating a symbol makes it superior or superlative. There is Holy, then there is Holy, Holy then there is Holy, Holy, Holy. We would say holy, holier and holiest. This also works for Woes. (Watch out if you see "Wo, wo, wo!") Numerically this might show up like Lamech's 77 fold vengeance or the mark of the beast 666. It also makes sense with Jesus' admonition to forgive 70 times 7.