Unto Us (Mighty God)

Main Text: Isaiah 9:6
Jeremiah 32:18
John 1:1-8
Romans 1

Knowing that He is mighty without seeing that He is mighty.

The numeric value of the four names mentioned in this verse from Isaiah—“Wonderful
Counselor” (287), “Mighty God” (242), “My Father of Eternity” (87), and “Prince of
Peace” (876)—add up to 1492.

Two expressions in Isaiah 53 add up to this same amount:
“He was afflicted yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, like a
sheep” (v. 7)
and
“in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth” (v.
9).

The phrases “[The LORD] declares to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make your
enemies a footstool’” (Ps. 110:1) and “God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1)
also add up to 1492.

The shared numeric value of these words connects them together and points out that the
suffering servant is not Israel but the Messiah, who would have both a divine and human
nature.

The numbers 8 and 888 reveal some additionally profound mysteries and connections
between David and Jesus, the Son of David. David is the eighth son of Jesse. To
understand the significance of this, we must understand a bit more about the number
eight in the Bible.

Eight is the number of covenant. God commanded through Abraham, and again through
Moses, that every male Jewish child must be circumcised as a sign of the covenant on the
eighth day.

Seven is the number of the completion of the natural world, but eight is the
number of the supernatural that causes one to rise above the natural order of things.
Eight is also the number of new beginnings.

Thus, as we saw in the introduction, eight is associated with the messianic age. When the
Messiah comes, the world will experience a new beginning—literally a “new heaven and a
new earth” (Rev. 21:1)—and humanity will finally transcend the Fall and be restored to
our supernatural state when we receive our glorified bodies.

This all connects to Jesus, the supernatural Son of David (the eighth son of Jesse), who
rose from the dead on the eighth day. “The Messiah died on Friday, which is the sixth day
of the Hebrew week, rested as God did on the seventh day after finishing the work of
redemption, and rose on the eighth day, which was also the first day of the week. His
resurrection caused the supernatural (8) to be made manifest in the natural (7). An eight
turned on its side is the symbol of infinity. With the resurrection of the greater David,
infinity and eternity broke into time and space.

The genealogy of David at the end of the book of Ruth begins with “These are the
generations” (4:18). The values of these words add up to 888. This is mind-blowing since
Jesus (Greek, Ιησούς) adds up to 888, which relates to Matthew 1:16. This numeric
connection speaks directly to the fact that Jesus fulfilled the genealogy of Ruth.

What’s also amazing is that 888 is found in connection with several messianic prophecies
in the book of Isaiah. In Isaiah 9:6, 888 is the numeric value of the phrase in Hebrew “His
name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father” (NKJV).*
But there is an even deeper connection. Encoded in every seventh Hebrew letter of the
verse, there seems to be a mathematical reference that the words are actually pointing to
Jesus:
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be calledWonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa. 9:6 NKJV)

The sum of every seventh Hebrew letter in Isaiah 9:6 equals 888.

This sum total also ties back to King David’s genealogy. This can be no coincidence. What
makes this even more plausible is that the number 888 occurs in the following verses from
Isaiah 52–53, which is the longest and most significant messianic prophecy about the
suffering and death of the Messiah

In the same way the book of Revelation uses 666 in reference to the Antichrist, the book of
Isaiah seems to use 888 as a hidden calculation encoded in the Hebrew text that points to
the person and work of the Messiah.

The difference between the number of the antichrist and Jesus is 222—the value of the
bechor (“firstborn”), one of the titles of the Messiah. “He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15).

The number 222 connects to Jesus as the second person of the Godhead and the ultimate
Son—two to the maximum. “The voice of God” also equals 222, which points to the way
Jesus, as the messianic Son of David, will defeat the Antichrist and all the enemies of God:
“With the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked” (Isa. 11:4) and “From His mouth
comes a sharp sword” (Rev. 19:15; see also Rev. 1:16).

All Jesus has to do is speak, and His voice overpowers those who are hostile to Him. This
is seen when He spoke to those who came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane:

So when Yeshua said to them, ‘I am,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (John 18:6).
As we’ve noted, the day that Jesus rose from the dead is simultaneously the third and the
eighth day. Jesus performed His miracle of turning water into wine on the third day to
point to His future resurrection and the abundant blessing that would result from it. The
phrase “on the third day” (Greek, he hemera he trite) totals 888 (John 2:1).

The prophet Malachi, speaking of the appearance of the Messiah, wrote:
“Suddenly He will come . . .
—the Lord whom you seek—
and the Messenger of the covenant . . .But who can endure the day of His coming?
Or who can stand when He appears? . . .
For I am ADONAI. I do not change.” (Mal. 3:1–2, 6)

The words “I am ADONAI. I do not change” total 888. Thus 888 alludes to the divine and
unchanging nature of Jesus, the firstborn Son. Only the One who does not change can
effect eternal change and transform us.