Have you ever had someone point out a pattern of repeating numbers to you, perhaps on a clock or a cash register, and call it an “angel number”? Perhaps you had no idea what this meant, so that person suggested that the numbers meant that an angel was conveying a secret message to you.
As Christians, what should we make of this idea? Can Christians believe in angel numbers, and if so, what does the Bible say about them?
Christians should not believe in angel numbers. They are a form of numerology that is popular in New Age movements. There is no Biblical support for angel numbers.
What are Angel Numbers?
As we’ve explored previously, numerology is the mystic practice of interpreting signs and secret messages in certain numbers. Most numerologists trace their work back to the ancient Greek mathematician, Pythagoras, who believed that everything in the universe was comprised of—and could be expressed by—numbers.
New Age numerology has taken off since the 19th century, but the concept of angel numbers is a very recent phenomenon. The term was first coined by writer Doreen Virtue in the early part of the 21st century.
The premise of angel numbers is that repeating patterns of the same digit (such as “333” or “1111” represent communications from angels for a specific purpose. The particular digit and the number of repetitions combine to relay a particular sort of message (such as comfort or warning).
Are Angel Numbers Biblical?
The Bible uses certain numbers in a symbolic manner to explain or emphasize certain truths. Some of the best-recognized symbolic numbers in scripture are 7, 12, and 40. God has woven these numbers into the Biblical story in an intentional and obvious manner that helps to plainly convey His truth.
These symbols are not difficult to identify and understand.
The practice of finding hidden meaning in numerical patterns, however, is not the same as identifying clear, easy-to-see symbols. Numerology is actually a form of divination that purports to rely on secret supernatural knowledge.
Divination in all of its forms is an offense to God:
When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
Deuteronomy 18:9-11
Discerning Spirits
God uses angels as messengers at various times in the Bible. If you’ve read our article on spirits, then you know that not all angels are sent from God. So how can we tell if an angel is sent from God? John offers us a simple test:
This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.
1 John 4:2-3a
When God sends angels to relay a message on His behalf, they act in obvious deference and subservience to the Lord:
- Joshua: Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” – Joshua 5:13b-14a
- Mary: The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” – Matthew 1:28
God’s messengers act with a clear purpose in a way that draws the hearer’s attention and mind toward God. By contrast, the purported messages contained in angel numbers draw the user’s attention to a specific “angel,” a departed loved one, or an inner feeling. These are self-absorbed messages that are not consistent with God’s means of communicating with us.
What about the Patterns?
A repeating pattern of numbers such as “111” might stand out more prominently to us that a series of non-repeating digits. And when we see a pattern in more than one place, we are apt to notice a correlation.
However, this is because our brains are designed to recognize patterns and filter our sensory input through them.
We encounter more numbers than we realize every day. If we were to consciously process all of them (and all of the other information that our senses gather), our brains would be too overloaded to function. So God enabled us to use shortcuts in order to interact with the world around us.
Angel numbers are a means by which deceiving spirits can take a kernel of truth (the fact that numerical patterns exist and we are predisposed to identify them) and use it to construct an elaborate lie.
The apostle Paul warned us that this is how deceiving spirits operate:
For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
And the sad truth is that as people are deceived by such spirits, they themselves are used to propagate the same deception to others.
Standing on Scripture
Don’t just take my word for it. Earlier I mentioned Doreen Virtue, the person who literally wrote the book on angel numbers.
According to the biography on her website Doreen came to saving faith in Jesus in 2017, and has since renounced her previous belief in—and teaching of—angel numbers and other New Age practices[1].
God has already provided us with the special revelation contained in His Word. In the pages of scripture, we find everything that we need in order to know God, understand His character, and grow in Him.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Through scripture reading, prayer, and fellowship with like-minded believers each of us is able to apply the truth of God’s word to our lives so that we may live out His grace. We have no need for numbers, patterns, or any other “hidden” knowledge to live as God intends us to live.
[1] https://doreenvirtue.com/about-doreen-virtue/ accessed June 21, 2022
