In Scripture, the figure 9 symbolizes godly perfection and the ultimate conclusion.
In other words, some process has been completed or some quota has been met, and this completion is the end of that process or the fulfillment of a certain amount of something.
The end may be a necessary precedent for something new (like a pregnancy ends on the ninth month and then a birth results), or it may simply be a fulfillment of something that won’t continue in a different form, like how God allows a certain amount of sin before judgment falls (Genesis 15:16, Matthew 23:32).
God uses numbers to speak to us and guide us.
In a temporal context, like the one we live in in our fleshly bodies on earth, numbers are basic to life. We understand time and money based on numbers.
Beyond this, we can understand spiritual truths that impact our wellbeing because of the concept of numbers. God tells us for example, to number our days that we may “gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).
He’s not the only one who speaks to us using numbers, though.
After He cast his most beautiful angel, Lucifer, from heaven because he wanted to be greater than Him, he too (now Satan), has attached his own meaning to numbers.
The Number 9
In blatant Satanism, the number 9 is celebrated because Jesus Christ died at the ninth hour. When you turn 9 upside down (reversing things and calling evil good and good evil is a hallmark of Satan’s work), you have a 6.
As most people know, the number 666 signifies the mark of the Beast (Satan) that will identify people’s allegiance in the last days.
Though influenced by Satan but more popularized and considered harmless is Tarot card reading. The character of a Hermit is the ninth trump card in a tarot deck.
According to The Tarot Guide, if the card drawn is the Hermit in an upright position, a person is usually entering a time of “spiritual enlightenment, soul searching, self-reflection, introspection…”
If the Hermit is upside down, a person is or will experience negative aspects of aloneness, such as “loneliness, paranoia, isolation…” (thetarotguide.com/the-hermit)
A special property of the number 9 that conveys its meaning of completion and finality, is that whenever you multiply 9 by any whole number you can add the numbers of the answer and get 9 (9 x 2 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9; 9 x 3 = 27, 2 + 7 = 9; 32 x 9 = 288, 2 + 8 + 8 = 18, 1 + 8 = 9 etc.). Reductionism is involved in the higher numbers, but the concept of the property holds true.
The Number 9 in the Bible
By looking at the different examples when the number 9 is mentioned in the Bible, many Christians feel that God is telling them something significant has been accomplished or has come to a finish so that something astoundingly new can come about.
For example, the Bible mentions a Roman military man named Cornelius. (At this time, the Romans were occupying Jewish lands.) He knew of God and was praying at the ninth hour, an established time of prayer for the Jews.
He sees an angel in shining garments who tells him that his prayers and alms have “ascended as a memorial before God” and instructs him to send for Peter.
Peter comes to his home where he has gathered his close friends and family to hear the gospel, and they are the first Gentiles preached to. This meeting takes place at the ninth hour. (Acts 10: 1-33)
Significant Mentions of the Number 9 in the Bible
Most significantly, Christ dies at the ninth hour (3 p.m.).
Thank God that this was not the end, but a completed, destined act that needed to happen for God to then raise Him from the dead – a completed process (human life) that ends in order for something new to begin.
In this case, because God is so great, many new things happened because of Christ’s death and resurrection.
One of these was the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit given to believers to build up the church and bring glory to God. (1 Corinthians 12:8-10)
Significance of The Number 9 in the Old Testament
In the sixth century B.C. when Persia ruled and the Jews had been allowed back to their homeland, they were supposed to rebuild the Temple that the Babylonians had destroyed.
Because they neglected this in favor of building rich homes for themselves, the Lord spoke to them through a prophet and explained that things weren’t going well for them because they were under judgment for their neglect.
There were nine judgments: “drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produced, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of [their] hands.” (Haggai 1:11)
The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians on the ninth day of the month of Av on the Jewish calendar. The second Temple was also destroyed on the ninth day of the month of Av. This time by Romans. (jewishhistory.org)
Significance of The Number 9 in the New Testament
Another new thing that happened after Jesus’ death and resurrection was that believers would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Through the Holy Spirit working in our lives, there are nine fruits He desires to cultivate in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galations 5:22-23)
The Bible mentions nine people that are stoned to death, seven in the Old Testament and two people in the New Testament, Stephen and the apostle Paul. (biblestudy.org)
What Does the Number 9 Mean in the Bible?
The number 9 in the Bible means completion and finality. Some quota has been met or some process has ended so that something else can happen.
God is speaking to us through the many occurrences of the number 9 in the Bible, just a few being that Jesus Christ is essential and that prayer is vital, able to bring about wonderful acts of God’s mercy.
