Following the theme of “there is more to the Bible than meets the eye” I have noted Menorah designs, Torah designs and Alphabetic designs. These have mostly been found in the Old Testament. The Lord also placed these designs in the New Testament. Alphabetic designs are based upon the twenty-two letter Hebrew alphabet. Over the centuries, or even millennia, the rabbis have noted certain meanings attached to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. One of the clearest scriptural examples is Psalm 118, which is divided alphabetically. Each division follows the theme of, or includes an example of its specific letter.

The Revelation contains twenty-two chapters and Dr. Gary Stearman has written an article showing how each chapter follows the theme of its corresponding Hebrew letter. Perhaps this can be the subject of a future lesson. Perhaps the clearest example is chapter four. The fourth Hebrew letter is the Daleth, which indicates a door or the way. In the first verse of Revelation chapter four John sees a door standing open.

There are other Alphabetic designs in the Revelation. The word “sea” appears in twenty-two verses in the Revelation in the King James Version. It appears that these twenty-two occurrences follow the Hebrew Alphabetic design. One of the more obvious occurrences is the 13th time “sea” appears. It is in chapter 13 of the Revelation. The 13th letter is Mem, which means water and concealed or revealed. In this verse, the Beast is revealed by rising out of the water.

Another example is in chapter 20, which contains the 20th occasion in which “sea” appears. The 20th letter is Resh, which indicates the wicked. The verse in which it occurs tells of Satan, the deceiver, going out to deceive the nations. This certainly fits the description of the wicked.

There are also Menorah designs in the Revelation. You may recall that the Menorah is the seven-lamp candlestand the Lord designed for the Tabernacle. The center lamp is the Servant Lamp and in a Menorah design refers to light, fire or the Throne of God. The word “altar” appears seven times in the Revelation and these appearances form a Menorah design. The fourth occurrence of “altar” is in the Revelation 9:13 and describes the altar before the Throne of God.

In the Revelation 14:14-19 the word “sickle” appears seven times and creates a Menorah design. The fourth occurrence, in the Servant Lamp position, tells of an angel coming out of the Heavenly Temple with instructions for the angel with the sickle. The Heavenly Temple, of course, is where the Throne of God is located.

Because the Revelation is so unlike the other books of the New Testament, liberal scholars say that it is not really a part of God’s Word, and certainly has no meaning for Christians in the 21st Century. The occurrences of alphabetic and Menorah designs in the Revelation are not mere coincidence. The Lord through the Holy Spirit placed them there. It is the Signature of God. May His Name be praised now and forever!