25: The Importance of Numbers in the Bible

The number twenty-five is a Square Number (5x5) and the sum of the first single-digit odd numbers (1+3+5+7+9). It is the atomic number of manganese and the number of years in a silver wedding anniversary. In baseball, the number twenty-five is generally reserved for the teams best “slugger”, i.e. the person most likely to hit the ball the hardest. 
 
In the USA, twenty-five is the minimum age to serve in the US House of Representatives. There are also twenty-five cents in a quarter dollar. In Great Britain, the slang term “pony” refers to £25. In Ireland, there is a card game known as Twenty-Five. The national game of India “Pachisi” means twenty-five in Hindi.
 
In Islam, there are twenty-five prophets mentioned in the Qur’an but where does the number appear in the Bible? It is believed that the number twenty-five symbolises grace upon grace due to it being composed of the numbers twenty (redemption) and five (grace). Five (grace) multiplied by five (grace) equals twenty-five (grace upon grace).  
 
The number twenty-five plays a significant role in Ezekiel’s Temple Vision. “In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me and he took me there.” (Ezekiel 40:1, NIV) During this vision, the measurements of the prophetic temple are revealed, five of which are twenty-five cubits long.

• Ezekiel 40:13 (NIV): Then he measured the gateway from the top of the rear wall of one alcove to the top of the opposite one; the distance was twenty-five cubits from one parapet opening to the opposite one.
• Ezekiel 40:21 (NIV): Its alcoves—three on each side—its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as those of the first gateway. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
• Ezekiel 40:25 (NIV): The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide.
• Ezekiel 40:29-30 (NIV): Its alcoves, its projecting walls and its portico had the same measurements as the others. The gateway and its portico had openings all around. It was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. (The porticoes of the gateways around the inner court were twenty-five cubits wide and five cubits deep.)

 
These are not the only mentions of twenty-five in the Book of Ezekiel.

• Ezekiel 8:16 (NIV): He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
• Ezekiel 11:1 (NIV): Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the house of the Lord that faces east. There at the entrance of the gate were twenty-five men, and I saw among them Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.
• Ezekiel 45:12 (NIV): The shekel is to consist of twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels equal one mina.

 
It is thought there are about thirty mentions of the word twenty-five in the Bible. Let’s have a look at a few examples:

• Numbers 8:24 (NIV): This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting
• 1 Kings 22:41-42 (GNT): In the fourth year of the reign of King Ahab of Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah at the age of thirty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. 
• 2 Kings 14:2 (NIV): He [Amaziah] was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan; she was from Jerusalem.
• 2 Kings 15:33 (NIV): He [Jotham] was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.
• 2 Kings 18:2 (NIV): He [Hezekiah] was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother’s name was Abijahdaughter of Zechariah.
• 2 Chronicles 36:5 (NIV): Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God.
• John 6:19 (YLT): having pushed onwards, therefore, about twenty-five or thirty furlongs, they behold Jesus walking on the sea, and coming nigh to the boat, and they were afraid.

 
Although the number is not mentioned directly, there are twenty-five thrones mentioned in Revelation 4:4 (NIV):  Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. Twenty-Four plus one equals twenty-five. 
 
During my research, I found information about the number twenty-five that does not appear in the Bible but is believed to be true by some groups of Christians. Ann-Catherine Emmerich, for example, had a vision that revealed that the Three Magi travelled for twenty-five days to reach Bethlehem, which was a distance of 672 leagues (approximately 2016 miles). Another vision revealed to Emmerich the twenty-five paths converging to the Tower of Babel and the twenty-five tribes that took part in the building work.
 
Ann-Catherine Emmerich’s visions have also revealed that Luke wrote his Gospel twenty-five years after the Ascension of Jesus, and the apostle John was twenty-five when he was called to be a disciple, as was Judas Iscariot. 
 
The apocryphal Gospel of Barnabas mentions twenty-five miracles of Jesus Christ. The gospel, however, generally contradicts the New Testament and has strong parallels with the Islamic faith; therefore, we do not give Barnabas a lot of attention.
 
The book of Acts contains material from twenty-five books of the Old Testament. The book of 2 Kings is made up of twenty-five chapters. Philemon and Jude, however, only contain twenty-five verses. Finally, to end this article, the Holy Spirit is quoted twenty-five times throughout the four Gospels.