The Secret Meaning Of The Number 33

What does the number 33 mean? Why do I see the number 33 all the time? Does 333 connect us to guardian angels? What does the Bible say about the number 33? Bible verses on the number 33

“During the Middle Ages, alchemy was not only a philosophy and a science but also a religion. Those who rebelled against the religious limitations of their day concealed their philosophic teachings under the allegory of gold-making. In this way they preserved their personal liberty and were ridiculed rather than persecuted. Alchemy is a threefold art, its mystery well symbolized by a triangle. Its symbol is 3 times 3–three elements or processes in three worlds or spheres. The 3 times 3 is part of the mystery of the 33rd degree of Freemasonry, for 33 is 3 times 3, which is 9, the number of esoteric man and the number of emanations from the root of the Divine Tree.

It is the number of worlds nourished by the four rivers that pour out of the Divine Mouth as the verbum fiat. Beneath the so-called symbolism of alchemy is concealed a magnificent concept, for this ridiculed and despised craft still preserves intact the triple key to the gates of eternal life. Realizing, therefore, that alchemy is a mystery in three worlds–the divine, the human, and the elemental–it can easily be appreciated why the sages and philosophers created and evolved an intricate allegory to conceal their wisdom.” – Manly Hall, Secret Teachings Of All Ages.

For anyone remotely familiar with the occult and New Age movement it is obvious that there is a great deal of significance, mystery and fascination connected to the number 33. It is a degree of mastery in Freemasonry. Numerous New Age, mystic websites and beliefs revere it. But what is the Biblical meaning of the number 33? This article will reveal the origin behind this most mysterious number and why it holds so much special meaning to the occult.

Angel Number 33

“Angel number 33 is an auspicious sign from your angels that you are in alignment with your divine creative source and able to manifest whatever you desire into form.” – (source).

“When your angels send you a message containing a number with a high vibration like angel number 33, it is a reminder of your connection to Divine Source and the Ascended Masters.” –
(source).

For those familiar with the Bible, quotes like the ones above should immediately raise alarms. There are many, many teachings today that connect numbers, especially the number 33 or 333, to angels. They point to a special connection a person may have if 33 keeps popping up in their lives. But what does it really mean? Well a Christian should go to the Bible which holds the answer.

Numbers in The Bible Have Special Meanings

“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” – Revelation 13:18

The passage above which details the number of the Beast or Antichrist – the satanically-empowered false messiah who will rule the Earth in the final 3 ½ years before the Second Coming of The Lord Jesus Christ, the Scriptures make it clear that certain numbers hold special meaning in the Bible. The Apostle John, writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit stated “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count…”

Numbers are used as symbols in the Bible. 6 is the number of mankind. This goes all the way back to the first chapter of the Bible when God created Adam on the 6^th day of the Creation Week. The Earth was completed on the 7^th day, which throughout Scripture is connected to completion or perfection. 40 years served as a time of testing in the wilderness for the Israelites. The Lord Jesus Christ fasted for 40 days in the wilderness before being tested and tempted by Satan. Which brings the number 33 or one-third. It is specifically associated with the rebel angels who joined Satan to wage war against God and His holy angels and human believers. This is detailed in the vision of John the Apostle in Revelation 12:

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” – Revelation 12:1-4

In this passage, Israel is symbolized by a woman in the sky. The stars, sun and moon around her body connect it to the prophetic dream of Joseph in the book of Genesis:

“And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.” – Genesis 37:9-11

The nation of Israel started by Joseph and his 12 brothers (patriarchs of the 12 tribes) would ultimately give birth to Jesus Christ, the “man child” in the vision. And the Dragon who appears and seeks to destroy the Child is Satan. Revelation 12 makes this clear:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” – Revelation 12:9-11

Similarly, in the Revelation 9 we read: “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.” This “star” was an angel who received this key.

The Dragon is the Devil and in the end times, he will finally have his access to Heaven revoked and his fallen angels or stars will join him as they are banished to Earth. This one third or 33 1/3%, became a reference to the apostate angels.

A 19^th century Biblical commentary confirms the interpretation:

“The dragon who stood ready to devour him, is Satan. His tail draws a third part of the stars of heaven, and casts them down, in allusion to his seducing great numbers of angels to their fall.” The Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review, James A. Peabody, Volume 26, 1854, p. 291.

Other examples of the significance of 33 or 1/3 include:

• Joseph, a foreshadow of Jesus Christ, was imprisoned with 2 other men. And through prophetic dreams he and one of the other men were set free while the third (who was a criminal) died.

• Noah had 3 sons who helped to restart the human population after the flood. 2 of them were righteous, while the third – Ham, was wicked. And Ham’s son Canaan was the forefather of all the postdiluvian Nephilim.
• In the book of Numbers chapter 33 the Israelites refuse to enter the Promised Land after encountering 3 Nephilim giants – descendants of the fallen angels who married human women in Genesis 6.

• In the wars against the Nephilim giants, Joshua and Moses combined to defeat 33 Kings. (Joshua 12:1-6; Joshua 12:24). Their arrangement in the land of Canaan into 33 kingdoms was symbolic of their fallen angelic forefathers.

• The crucifixion – in which 2 men (Jesus Christ and the thief who believed in Him) were in paradise after death while the third man (1/3) went to eternal punishment.

• The Lord Jesus Christ took on the sins of the world, sacrificing His life on the cross at age 33. 

Time and time again, the number 33 or one third relates to rebellion, the judged and the legacy of the fallen angels. In the end times, when God unleashes the supernatural judgments of the Day Of The Lord (or Great Tribulation) as described in Revelation, both the unsaved world and angels will be judged. God will also redeem a remnant of Jewish believers and specifically states that He would preserve one third of them:

“And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” – Zechariah 13:8-9

As one-third of the angels betrayed and abandoned Heaven in ancient times, the one third of Israel that believes in The Lord Jesus Christ during the Day of The Lord judgments will symbolically replace them.

Fallen Angels And 33 – Idolized by The New Age And Occult

Contrary to the Bible’s negative connotation, the New Age and occult movements have embraced the number 33 wholeheartedly declaring it a “master number.”

According to 33^rd degree Freemason philosopher Manly Hall 33 is a key to achieving immortality:  

“The 3 times 3 is part of the mystery of the 33rd degree of Freemasonry, for 33 is 3 times 3, which is 9, the number of esoteric man and the number of emanations from the root of the Divine Tree. It is the number of worlds nourished by the four rivers that pour out of the Divine Mouth as the verbum fiat. Beneath the so-called symbolism of alchemy is concealed a magnificent concept, for this ridiculed and despised craft still preserves intact the triple key to the gates of eternal life.”

Notice that in the passage Hall refers to the Garden of Eden which has four rivers running from it and a Divinely-planted tree. All of this hearkens back to the original deception by Satan of Adam and Eve in the Garden:

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:1-5

Satan took God’s words and twisted them in order to seduce Eve into sin. Similarly, the New Age movement takes Biblical allusions and bends and stretches them to entice unwitting followers into their own movements. Here is a quote from a Gnostic website that directly references Jesus Christ in highlighting the supernatural significance of the number 33:

“33 represents Christ consciousness.

Jesus was crucified at Golgotha (place of the skull) at age 33 in the year 33 A.D.

God corresponds to 1/3 (33.3%) as seen in Revelation 12, where the great red dragon is sweeping 1/3 of the stars from heaven.

The number of turns in a complete sequence of human DNA equals 33.

Mount Hermon is at 33 degrees latitude and longitude. (In the Book of Enoch, Mount Hermon is the place where the Grigori; “Watchers, Sons of God or the Nephilim,” a class of fallen angels descended to Earth.)” (source).

Note that this site not only references The Lord Jesus Christ, but the book of Revelation and the Nephilim as well. In mystic and New Age circles they recognize the Bible inasmuch as it supports their erroneous teachings. But even they see it as a basis for truth in spiritual matters.

Kundalini Yoga And The Third Eye

Other websites point to the fact that the human spine contains 33 vertebrae as holding special spiritual significance that can unlock spiritual energy. Here is an excerpt from a blog on Kundalini yoga and awakening the spiritual powers and consciousness:

“The nervous system is very complex. We talk about it as a nervous system, but it is actually three nervous systems in one: central, sympathetic, and parasympathetic. The main one is the central nervous system which is our spinal column with its 33 vertebrae and the brain. These are one thing. You cannot separate the brain from the spine. They are one thing. This is why an injury to the spine is so devastating. The whole body depends upon it. This central nervous system and all its functions are symbolized in the Bible as the Tree Of Life. That is because it is our own Tree of Life inside. Without it we cannot live.

The important thing here is that the energy that will awaken the Consciousness and will give us the spiritual insight we need is enclosed within Muladhara, trapped, asleep. This is where Kundalini rests and awaits for us to come and awaken it. …That sleeping force is represented symbolically as a serpent that is coiled three and a half times and is sleeping.” – Gnostic Teachings. (source).

The Biblical allusions are stunning. This website refers to the “Tree of Life” – the tree God planted in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve to eat from and live forever:

“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.  And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden…” – Genesis 2:8-9

After the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, God banished them from the Garden, lest they eat from the tree and live forever as sinners who could not be reconciled to God:

“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.” – Genesis 3:22

And what is the key to unlocking the Kundalini spiritual energy? Awakening the serpent that is within the base of the spine’s 33 vertebrae. The same serpent that led one-third or 33 1/3% of the angels to rebel against God just happens to lay coiled at the spine “three and one third” times.

The unlocking of the Kundalini energy through “chakras” or sacred energy points in the spine can also open the “third eye” or pineal gland. According to New Age belief, opening the 3rd eye makes one’s consciousness truly awaken and now they can access the spirit realm.

There are thousands of blogs, podcasts and videos dedicated to the process of opening the Third Eye. And again, this goes back to the deception of Satan – the true serpent in the Garden of Eden:

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5

The Devil promised Eve that if she disobeyed God, her spiritual eyes would be opened and she would be “as gods.” And all that occurred was sin, judgment upon mankind and the curse of death that required Jesus Christ to save us from.

Imagine the seduction for an unsaved person who sees the number 33 or 333 in their every day lives and wonders: “is there a greater meaning to this?” Many people are searching the internet with curiosity about the number 33 and are then told by New Age websites that they have a “special connection to an angel” or that an angel is watching over them, or they have distinct purpose.

In an age where Biblical Christianity is miscast as an outdated, bigoted and mean-spirited religion, the New Age, with its many paths, lack of judgment and promotion of love and inner strength is an exciting new way to get in touch with one’s spirituality. And now that lost soul is one more step away from God and salvation.

Beginning And End detailed the same phenomena with the number 11:11 in our article “11/11/11 Deception – The Meaning Behind The Phenomenon”. Events, conferences and massive gatherings were arranged for November 11, 2011 all based on a belief that there was a special spiritual force behind the number 11:11. And just as was the case for the number 33, the Bible holds the true meaning.

Why Should The Number 33 Matter to a Christian?

The Bible states that: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” – 2 Corinthians 11:3-4

We are living in an age of an explosion of belief New Age, occult and witchcraft. And much of it is infiltrating the Church. If you are not a Christian but are interested or curious about the number 33, remember that on the cross, the 33% were the ones who questioned and mocked Jesus Christ. Know that Jesus was on that cross because of the sin humanity was deceived into by Satan and his 1/3 of fallen angels. And that the number 33 does indeed have spiritual meaning and does link to angels – but not the ones who want good for us. Its to lead us away from free forgiveness, true Oneness with God and getting to Heaven. Do not be deceived.

As the passage above attests, the Devil will use “any means” to beguile and deceive people into either following him, some occult doctrine or “another Jesus” under the pretense of being Christian. Bible believing, born again Christians need to not only be aware of these issues but sound the alarm to fellow believers and the unsaved alike. And point people away from the serpent and sin and back to the cross where we receive forgiveness and true peace with God.