# The Lampstand and 66 Books?



## The Author of my Faith (Sep 2, 2012)

I am wondering if anyone can give some insight into this idea about the Lampstand and 66 Books of the Bible. I have heard this several times over the past years but not sure if it is just speculation or valid. I had a few books that I read years ago by Kevin Conner on the Tabernacle and Feasts and it was in his book that I heard this for the first time. Over the years it has come up again and again. But I have never heard this from a Reformed preacher or theologian?

This is just one of numerous places to find this information, so I am not promoting this site or its theology but just using it as an example. Has anyone else ever heard this before? Any thoughts?



_
"Exodus 25:31-40 Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand--three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair--six branches in all. The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold. Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories. See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."_


"_Now here is some very cool confirmation that this lamp stand speaks of the word of God. God instructed Moses to make a lamp stand that had seven branches – three branches on each side of a center branch. On each of the branches there were to be 3 cups (in the form of flowers) and each cup had buds and blossoms. The center branch had 4 cups with each cup again having buds and blossoms. Now I see you drifting off... Stay with me here because this is where it gets interesting! The total number of decorations on each of the outer branches is therefore 9 (3 cups/flowers, 3 buds and 3 blossoms). The total number of decorations in the center branch is 12 (4 cups/flowers, 4 buds and 4 blossoms). So the overall total number of decorations (taking into account all seven branches) is:

9 + 9 + 9 + 12 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 66. Why 66? Because the lamp stand is a picture of the word of God and there are 66 books in God’s word the Bible that gives light to all that would read and study its words! But look also at the splits - If we take the first 4 branches we get 39 (9 + 9 + 9 + 12). There are 39 books in the Old Testament. The remaining 3 branches give us 27 (9 + 9 + 9) which speaks of the 27 books in the New Testament. Pretty amazing really. And remember that the lamp stand was made of pure gold. So too is the word of God. The Bible is a divinely inspired book! _ " 

Jesus in the Tabernacle - The Holy Place


----------



## CharlieJ (Sep 2, 2012)

It's too bad that the original audience, unaware that there would be 66 books of the Bible, missed out.

It's also too bad that this seems conspicuously Protestant. The Jews have a different number of books in the OT. The Catholics and Orthodox have more. For most of church history, the number of books has been unclear. 

There is real numerology in the Bible, but you can only understand it by replicating the numerology of the authors, not trying to pull stuff out of thin air.


----------



## The Author of my Faith (Sep 2, 2012)

That was my exact thought as well CharlieJ. The Jewish OT does not have 39 books so it puzzled me to try to reconcile the math. It reminded me of Harold Camping's Numerology to some extent.


----------

