THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NUMBER SEVEN IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

Every prayer that we pray in the Church of Christ ends with an entreaty to and declaration of the blessedness of the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit which then ends with the words “unto the ages of ages, Amen”.  These are not just meaningless or filler words.  As with all the words spoken by the Holy Spirit in the Church they teach us some important salvific truth.   These words remind us that there are seven ages.  So we end our prayers declaring the blessedness of the Holy Trinity in this age and the age(s) to come.

The earth was created in six days and God rested on the seventh, i.e. Saturday.  The Church teaches us that these seven days represent the seven ages of the earth.   After the seventh day will begin the “Eighth Day” which is the day of eternity that has no end.  It is generally held that the seventh age began at the time of Christ’s Resurrection which represents the symbolic thousand year reign of Christ on earth, i.e. the reign of peace and righteousness in the Church, not a materialistic and wordly reign on earth as taught by chiliasm or millinnialism.

God instructed Moses to place a candelabra in the Tabernacle with seven lamps,  revealing the significance of the number seven that typifies the seven ages and the seven gifts of the Spirit.  Seven is the number of completion or perfection.  Thus, we are to forgive, not merely seven times, but seventy times seven.  

The seven churches of the Apocalypse represent the seven ages of the Church and show the condition of the Church throughout these ages battling indifference, luxury and wealth, heresies, lukewarmness, etc.  The ages are not clearly distinct but seem to overlap through the centuries with some of the problems showing up in each age but being predominate in a particular age. 

There are seven heavens.  “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”  Thus, the “Our Father” prayer says, “Our Father which art in the heavens…”.   In the Creed we say of the Saviour, “who ascended into the heavens…”.  St. Paul was caught up to the third heaven. 

There will be different rewards in heaven with some occupying different levels or different heavens, as it were.   When the Saviour ascended back to the Father He ascended through all the levels of heaven.  The angels are assigned to the different levels or different heavens.  Only the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones (first rank of the nine ranks of angels) are in the seventh heaven around the throne of God crying Holy, Holy, Holy day and night as they cover themselves with their wings and guard the throne.   Thus, when Christ ascended and passed into the third heaven, the angels did not recognize Him since they had only seen Him as the invisible Word before His incarnation.  Now, He is ascending as the Incarnate Word.  So the angels in the second heaven herald out the words of the Psalm (XXIII) to the angels in the third heaven, “Lift up your gates, and be lifted up, O you eternal gates, that the King of glory may enter in.”  And the angels in the third heaven wondered and replied, “Who is this King of glory?”  To which the angels who had already seen him replied, “The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory.”

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.