FOUR-- in prophecy

What does the number four mean in the prophecies?

Four rivers in Eden (Gen. 2:10)

Four angels, four winds, four living creatures, four carpenters, four horns, four great beasts, etc.

Some examples:

Jeremiah 49:36
I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation...

Ezekiel 1:4-10,26 a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. ...each had four faces and each had four wings ...had hands as a man under their wings on four sides. .. they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle....And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it...This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

Ezekiel 10 describes these four creatures again. There were also four wheels.
vs 9 "the four wheels by the cherubims, one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub:"

Ezekiel 14:21 four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence
Ezekiel 37:9 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

Daniel 72 behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
7:3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
7:6 a leopard with four wings like a fowl, and four heads


Zehariah 1:18 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
1:19 ...and he answered me, These [are] the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
1:20 And the LORD showed me four carpenters.
1:21 These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
Zechariah 6:1
there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains [were] mountains of brass.
6:2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;
6:3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.
6:4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?
6:5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

Revelation 4:6- round about the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes before and behind.
And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second was like a calf, and the third had a face as a man, and the fourth was like a flying eagle.
4:8 And the four living creatures had each of them six wings about him

Revelations 6, seals
First four seals show four horses.
Each of the four seals was explained by one of the four living creatures.

Revelation 7
"I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth
Revelation 9
9:13-15 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed...

Revelation 20:7 Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth,


The earthly sanctuary had many "fours". From curtains to furniture we find -- four rings, four corners, four horns, "the candlestick [shall be] four bowls made like unto almonds" There were four pillars with four sockets. The curtains were all four cubits wide. The high priest breastplate was four square with four rows of precious stones.

There were also
Four rivers flowing out of Eden (Gen. 2:10

So what does FOUR mean in prophetic prophecy?

Four, when used symbolically seems to represent wholeness, a complete "all".
Four seasons equal one year. (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)
Four corners of the earth equal all directions (east, west, south, north)
Four winds equal all commotion, bad or good sweeping over the earth.
Four horns equal full power
Four pillars equal full stability

Four is also seen by some as the number of the earth, and used in scripture to portray what earth once was before sin, the process of lifting it back up to what it once was as a "new earth" after the old is passed away.

Interesting study -- just beginning.

On the fourth day, God created the stars for ?signs, seasons, days, and years?: all variously integral parts of prophetic messaging.

Genesis 1:14 ?And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years?.