ONE (a unit), the Primary Number. The symbol of that which is single, alone, or representative. One hour, and one day, in the Revelation stand for a relatively short time, and a half‐hour for a clearly limited period, even though these may not be actually short from the human point of view. The fractions one‐half, one‐third, and one‐fourth do not represent definite parts, but in a general way portions less than the whole, that which is of limited extent in relation to the whole.
TWO (a pair), the Lowest Plural Number. The symbol of confirmation, of added strength and surety, especially the number of confirmation in witness‐bearing. The Two Witnesses in chapter eleven, and the Two Beasts in chapter thirteen, it will be seen, serve to strengthen each other.
THREE (a triad), the Divine Number. The symbol of the Trinity; of the spiritual as contrasted with the material; of blessing in the Old Testament. A small total that is deemed sufficient; a limited plurality; spiritual completeness. The smallest number with a beginning, a middle, and an end—a fact that impressed the Jewish mind.
THREE AND ONE‐HALF (one‐half of seven), a Broken Number, the half of the Perfect Number. The symbol of the finite or undetermined; a broken and uncertain period without a fixed limit; a shortened period of time when applied to duration, and usually one of tribulation; a period of trial and judgment. Three and a half years is the period of the church’s conflict in the Revelation, the age of the church militant, the church‐eon; and three and a half days is the short and indefinite period of world‐triumph in which the church suffers oppression—the equivalent of the half‐week in Daniel. Three and a half years, the period of drought in Elijah’s time, of the little horn in Daniel, and of Christ’s public ministry, is introduced four times in the Revelation, viz. it is the period of the Two Witnesses (ch. 11:3), of the Woman in the wilderness (ch. 12:6, 14), of the Dragon’s rage (ch. 12:14), and of the power of the Beast (ch. 13:5), each of which is a time of tribulation.
FOUR (the four corners or sides of a square), the Earth Number. The symbol of the physical creation, having relation to this present world which is usually thought of as evil; also used of world‐wideness, universality of extent, as all parts of the earth without any moral significance.