CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Number 12
The number 12 represents the people of God. Let’s see how this symbolic meaning was derived.
In the Old Testament, God selected twelve men from whom the nation of Israel would be birthed. Likewise, in the New Testament, twelve disciples were selected to be representative of the innumerable host of true disciples who would follow down through the centuries. In both cases, the number 12 represents God’s people.
Another illustration of the number 12 as it relates to God’s people is the healing of the woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years (Mark 5:25). When she touched Christ’s garment, she was immediately healed. The Bible was specific in saying that she had suffered for twelve years and no one could help her. This woman was symbolic of all human suffering. As children of God, we are made whole by His virtue alone. No one else can help us.
When we consider the miracle that Jesus did for a twelve-year-old girl by raising her from the dead, we again see the prophetic significance of this number:
And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. (Mark 5:42)
Why was it important to mention the age of the girl? Because this miracle is representative of the raising up of a people who were formerly dead in sin–the Body of Christ:
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:1-7)
There is repeated prophetic relevance to the number 12 in the book of Revelation:
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. (Revelation 21:10-21)
John saw twelve tribes, twelve angels, twelve foundations with twelve precious stones, and twelve gates with twelve pearls. These gates led to God’s city, which measured twelve thousand furlongs
Was the repeated use of the number 12 just a coincidence? No, it was not. The number relates to the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles, two groups that represent God’s people under the old and new covenants. God’s people from both Old and New Testament eras are represented symbolically through the inscription of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the names of the 12 disciples. The new Jerusalem described in the book of Revelation is God’s city prepared for God’s people. Hence, the number 12 is used symbolically and frequently.
The twelve stars in the crown of the woman in Revelation chapter 12 are also symbolic of the people of God:
And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.
(Revelation 12:1)
Most commentators agree that this woman represents the true church. The woman is clothed with the sun, a striking emblem of Jesus Christ, the light and glory of the church. The woman has the moon under her feet. The moon derives its illumination from the sun, as the church derives its light from Christ. Upon the woman’s head is a crown of twelve stars. This represents the twelve apostles, who were founders of the church and by whom the gospel was extended throughout the world. Again, God’s people are represented by the number 12.