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Study: Why 153 fish?; OP AnAmericanSaint
Topic Started: April 30, 2012, 4:57 pm (873 Views)
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AnAmericanSaint December 15th, 2006 06:02 AM
Study: Why 153 fish?

Some meat for you mature Christians to chew on (I think I've found the reason, and I'll share it after a few people have posted their conclusions).

Why did the bible say that 153 fish were caught in the net in the 21st chapter of the Gospel of John?

(This Excerpt taken from the New King James Version)

Quote:
John 21
Breakfast by the Sea
1 After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately[a] got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. 4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?”
They answered Him, “No.”
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea. 8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish. 9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.
Jesus Restores Peter

15 So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16 He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[c] do you love Me?”
He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.”
He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah,[d] do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?”
And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” 19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
The Beloved Disciple and His Book

20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

Joel December 15th, 2006 06:33 AM
http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?t=143379



Quote:
a new thought has recently been given by Lieut.-Col. F. Roberts, who finds that amongst the multitudes who received direct blessing from Christ there are recorded exactly 153 special individual cases! We append his list, with one or two alterations: and if any names appear to be missing, it will be found on examination that there is good reason for omitting them; e.g., Nathanael is the same as Bartholomew; while Matthias, and Barsabas (Acts 1:23), Joses, Barnabas (Acts 4:36), Stephen, though they with many others may have received blessing from Jesus Himself, and probably did, yet it is not so stated. Of course Zacharias, Elisabeth, John the Baptist, Joseph, Simeon, and Anna, are not included, as they were all in blessing before the birth of Jesus.



The following is the list:—

1. The leper, Matt 8:2 (1)
2. Centurion and servant, Matt 8:5 (2)
3. Peter's wife's mother, Matt 8:14 (1)
4. Two possessed with devils, Matt 8:18 (2)
5. Palsied man and bearers [Mark 2:3], Matt 9:2 (5)
6. Jairus and his daughter, Matt 9:18 (2)
7. Woman with issue of blood, Matt 9:21 (1)
8. Blind men, Matt 9:27 (2)
9. Dumb man, Matt 9:32 (1)
10. Eleven Apostles, Matt 10:2 (11)
11. Man with withered hand, Matt 12:10 (1)
12. Blind and dumb devil, Matt 12:22 (1)
13. Brethren of the Lord [Acts 1:14] Matt 13:55 (4)
14. Syrophoenician woman and daughter, Matt 15:22 (2)
15. Lunatic child and father, Matt 17:14 (2)
16. Blind men (leaving Jericho),* Matt 20:30 (2)
17. Simon the leper, Matt 26:6 (1)
18. Mary (sister of Lazarus. See Nos 32 and 47), Matt 26:7 (1)
19. Centurion; Matt 27:54 (1)
20. Salome (mother of Zebedee's children), Matt 27:56 (1)
21. Mary (mother of James, and wife of Cleopas), Matt 27:56 (1)
22. Mary Magdalene, Matt 27:56 (1)
23. Joseph of Arimathaea, Matt 27:57 (1)
24. Man with unclean spirit; Mark 1:23 (1)
25. Man, deaf and dumb, Mark 7:32 (1)
26. Blind man, Mark 8:22 (1)
27. Son of the widow of Nain, Luke 7:12 (1)
28. A woman, a sinner, Luke 7:37 (1)
29. Joanna and Susanna, Luke 8:3 (2)
30. A disciple—"follow Me", Luke 9:59 (1)
31. The seventy disciples, Luke 10:1 (70)
32. Martha, Luke 10:38 (1)
33. Woman with infirmity, Luke 13:11 (1)
34. Man with dropsy, Luke 14:2 (1)
35. The ten lepers, Luke 17:12 (10)
36. The blind man (approaching Jericho),** Luke 18:35 (1)
37. Zaccheus, Luke 19:2 (1)
38. Malchus [John 18:10], Luke 22:51 (1)
39. Penitent thief, Luke 23:43 (1)
40. The two disciples at Emmaus, Luke 24:13 (2)
41. Nicodemus, John 3:1 (1)
42. Woman of Samaria, John 4:4 (1)
43. Nobleman and sick son, John 4:46 (2)
44. Impotent man (Bethesda), John 5:1 (1)
45. Woman taken in adultery, John 8:11 (1)
46. Man born blind, John 9 (1)
47. Lazarus, John 11 (1)
48. Mary, mother of Jesus, John 19:25 (1) = (153)

* Bartimeus being one of them (Mark 10:46), these two being healed as Jesus left Jericho.


** The blind man (No. 36) was healed (Luke 18:35) "as He was come nigh unto Jericho," and therefore is additional to the two who were healed as He was leaving Jericho (No. 16). See Matt 20:30; Mark 10:46.




We give the above not as an alternative solution, but as an additional illustration, believing that all may be true; and at any rate, that all contribute to, and increase the cumulative evidence in support of the same great and blessed fact, that it is true of the Lord's people as it is of the stars, "He calleth them all by their names" (Psa 147:4). The book of Exodus is the book in which we first hear of redemption (Exo 15:14), and the Hebrew and divinely canonical name for this book is "THE NAMES," because His people are redeemed by name!


This is the lesson of the 153 great fishes.

http://www.levendwater.org/boeken/numbers/13666.htm


Quote:
I find this intriguing..




2 Kings 1:9-14

*
Then the king sent unto him (Elijah) a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.


And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

*
Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.


And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

*
And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.

Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.


2 Kings 1:15


And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.


What we have here is a very repetitous, peculiar account, like it's saying attention, look at me! It's also the very preceding chapter right before Elijah is raptured out of earth. .

So there has to be an underlying connection.
(As if the number fifty isn't symbolic enough in scripture!)

1.
Three captains.
2.
Three hosts of fifty.

50 + 50 + 50 = 150 + 3 captains = 153 men that dealt with Elijah before his depature.

1/3 of that group was spared and righteous, the other 2/3 was judged.




Quote:
Like I said, the very next chapter deals with Elijah departing this earth..

2 Kings 2:1-8



And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.

*
And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

*
And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the LORD will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.

And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

*
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two (Elijah, Elisha) stood by Jordan.

And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.






2 Kings 2:9-17

1.
And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
2.
And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
3.
And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
4.
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
5.
He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
6.
And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

*
And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
*
And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
*
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.


Quote:
Found this just now as I was doing a word search for another topic incidentally..



2 Chronicles 2:17
And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.

2 Chronicles 2:18
And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.

*
(153, 600) strangers (read: GENTILES)
*
The fulness of the gentiles?



Quote:
My theory so far with this set of 153 is tied into what Elijah represents in Matthew 17 - the transfiguration account.

Matthew 17:1-3

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.



I've always believed this passage was a clear foreshadowing of the rapture after 6,000 years (6 Days). The language points to what we all expect and await for. The timing conincides with what it foreshadows.



And the kicker is Moses and Elijah were present.. -representative of..



Moses - the righteous dead saints (He also ascended another mount and died at 120 years of age - or: 6,000 years = 120 jubilees)



Elijah - the righteous living saints (He was taken up alive in a whirlwind after crossing the 'descender' - the Jordan river literally means that.. Typically the Jordan has been found to be symbolic of death, and subsequently new life in its scriptural usage. So crossing over 'death', Elijah found life everlasting. Reminds me of the rapture 'O death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory?')



Anyhow, if ELijah is representative of the righteous living saints at the timing of the resurrection - He is representative of the current church body, all true believers in Jesus Christ. This current dispensation which shows favor and light to the Gentiles.



If the sum of 153 men dealing with Elijah were required before He was raptured away in the next chapter, so too, 153 perhaps IS the number for the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (Romans 11:25) - concerning the 153 fish, the 153,000 strangers in Israel.. likewise, until this living body of Christ is raptured away in same manner.
If that even made sense. :heh

Joel December 15th, 2006 12:17 PM
It's symbolic of the fulness of the Gentiles IMHO.

I doubt it's a literal count. We know from testimony of christians preceding us nearly two thousand years... their are way more than 100,000 christian gentiles from Christ unto now. Especially now. The gospel has been delivered now more than ever en masse in the past century.

AnAmericanSaint December 15th, 2006 07:52 PM
Quote:
2 Kings 1:9-14

*
Then the king sent unto him (Elijah) a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.


And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

*
Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.


And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

*
And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.

Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.


2 Kings 1:15


And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.


What we have here is a very repetitous, peculiar account, like it's saying attention, look at me! It's also the very preceding chapter right before Elijah is raptured out of earth. .

So there has to be an underlying connection.
(As if the number fifty isn't symbolic enough in scripture!)

1.
Three captains.
2.
Three hosts of fifty.

50 + 50 + 50 = 150 + 3 captains = 153 men that dealt with Elijah before his depature.

1/3 of that group was spared and righteous, the other 2/3 was judged.
This is the section of scripture that I was hoping that someone would post :P: . It's interesting the type of symbolism involved with this section of scripture, but let me take a crack at what I believe it means. The 153 is symbolic of the three sets of 50 and their captains. 2/3rds of the 153 were judged and destroyed, while 1/3 remained. What's interesting about this scripture is what happens when you combine the symbolism of judgement with the symbolism of the evangelistic endeavors of the fish, caught up in the gospel nets. I contend that this scripture is saying that 2/3rds of the fish caught up in the gospel nets will be bad fish, and 1/3rd good (see the parable of the sower, both caught up together in the gospel nets--fishers of men). 2/3rds of people will turn out to be false converts (stony ground hearers), 1/3rd will true converts.

Interesting, isn't it?

AnAmericanSaint December 29th, 2006 07:17 PM
Other interesting points for further study.

heb 2:10 jesus is the captain of our salvation, who interceeds for us (just like the captain of the final 50)

Matt 13:47-48 '“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.'

Matt 13:33 'Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures[c] of meal till it was all leavened.”' Very unusual for Jesus to compare heaven to leaven, which was forbidden to be put into bread. Luke 12:1 tells us what the leaven is, hypocrisy. Right in the midst of God's people sit hypocrits, pretenders who are only fooling themselves and others that they are Christians.

I also like that you pointed out that verse ann, I was going to go there soon.

Zech 13:7-9

The Shepherd Savior
7 “ Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,
Against the Man who is My Companion,”
Says the LORD of hosts.

“ Strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered;
Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the LORD,

“ That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one-third shall be left in it:
9 I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

Joel December 29th, 2006 07:31 PM
Revelation 8

* The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

* The second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood, and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

* The third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

* The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.



Revelation 9

* And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.. By these three was the third part of men killed: by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.



Revelation 12

* And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.



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