“The Sign of Four” has nothing to do with Sherlock Holmes’ adventure of that title. Rather does it relate to my previous PT79, “The Name”. We saw that the name contained hidden numerical information about the Trinity, and man’s place in God’s heart. We shall now see that this grouping of four items is reflected in a number of other important settings in the Bible and in Science. It is as though God’s Holy Name is the Key to far more than we had ever imagined or contemplated. In this series of 4 I’ll take one group at a time. Our first examination refers to the Four Covenants God made with mankind.
To recapitulate, the Divine Name, which many pronounce as JEHOVAH, and others as YAHWEY, contains Four Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet, Y H V H. We saw how the Persons of the Godhead were displayed by the two Hs and the Y, whilst Man is sandwiched inbetween, “hidden beneath the shadow of His wings”. So far as I am aware, this truth has never been presented before in any Theological Journal, and correspondents have been amazed at the wonderful truth locked up within the name.
Now let’s have a look at God’s Covenants. These are four in number, namely, that of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, the “New Covenant”. They occur chronologically in the reverse order to the letters in the Divine Name, as I shall explain as we proceed.
| NOAH | ABRAHAM | MOSES | JESUS |
| H | V | H | Y |
The Covenant with Noah came just after the Flood, and using the Rainbow as His sign, the Lord affirmed that He would never again destroy all mankind. “I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. While the earth remains, Seedtime and Harvest, Cold and Heat, Winter and Summer, and Day and Night shall not cease.” (Gen.821-22, 9:11) This is an UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT.
The Covenant with Abraham was delivered just after the sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah. It was given as a result of his obedience to a most drastic and painful command – to slay his son. “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Gen.22:16-18) This an UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT.
The Covenant with Moses (and the people of Israel) was delivered at Mount Sinai, and based on the Ten Commandments. “If you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my Covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.” And the people said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” (Exod.19:5-8). This is a CONDITIONAL COVENANT, which the children of Israel broke.
The Covenant of Jesus is the “new covenant” to replace that which had failed due to man’s disobedience. “Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant.” (Heb.12:24) “In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the New Covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.'”
(1 Cor.11:25) “Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.” (Heb.7:22) “He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.” (Heb.8:6) This is therefore an UNCONDITIONAL COVENANT, by which the salvation of the world will be accomplished in the years ahead.
On reflection, we see that the Covenant of Abraham was based upon his obedience to the death of his only begotten son. This is why he is placed beneath the letter V, the symbol for Man. The Covenant of Jesus is the prophetic fulfilment of Abraham’s obedience, and He comes under the letter Y, for the Son of God. The other two covenants were delivered by God the Father and the Holy Spirit, as shown by the two Hs. A careful consideration of all this brings us to see how the Covenants were also a part of the Divine Name by their correspondences.
