Properties of the number 53

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Symbolism

• Represent the sanctification of the human nature.

General

• In the recitation of the rosary, the prayer of the Ave Maria is repeated 53 times. Moreover, the prayer of the Pater is told 17 times in the Rosary, this one being composed of three rosaries. And 53 is the 17th prime number (counting the number one).

• The September 19, 1846, the Virgin Mary appeared to Salette in France, at two children, Melanie and Maximin, who received secrets to be revealed only in 1858. Melanie has been learned that Lucifer, with a multitude of demons, would be loosened of the hell in 1864, that they would destroy the faith, that Rome would lose the faith and would become the seat of the Antichrist. And 53 years after 1864, that is to say after the release of Lucifer and a multitude of demons, the Virgin Mary appears for the first time on May 13, 1917 in Fatima to three young shepherds revealing to them a secret divided in three parts of which two only were revealed in the whole world. In her messages, Mary speaks about the red Dragon of Russia which she asks the consecration to her Immaculate Heart. Otherwise, Russia will spread its errors through the world, causing wars and the persecution of the Church.

• In the ceremony of the mass, the prayer of the "gloria Patri" (in Latin) has 34 letters and the prayer which answers it, "sicut erat", has 53 letters.

• The Jews did not read any more the chapter 53 of Isaiah. Formerly, indeed, this passage was precisely called "the bad conscience of synagogues". Isaiah announced that Israel would reject the Messiah that it waited (Is 53,1-3), because this one would not be covered of the royal splendor, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;", "And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken." (Is 53,7-8).

• According to W. Keller, in his book "La Bible arrachée aux sables" (The Bible extracted from the sands), we read: "Babylon was not only the capital businesses but also a religious metropolis. An inscription reveals that there had 53 temples devoted to the great gods, 55 chapels of Marduk, 300 chapels for the divinities of the earth, 600 for those of the sky, 180 altars for the Ishtar goddess, 180 for the gods Nergal and Adad, and 12 for others divinities". That makes a total of 1380.

• The First World War lasted 53 month, from June 28, 1914 with the attack to Sarajero, until Austria proclaims the republic and its return to Germany, November 11, 1918.

• The Africa has 53 countries, independent for the majority since the Sixties.

Occurrence

• The cardinal number 7 is used 53 times in the Revelation.

• Among the 365 different numbers found in the Bible, 53 only are used both in the OT and the NT.

• In the Bible, 5 numbers are multiple of 53: 212, 318, 530, 2067 and 5300. And the sum of their respective occurrence also gives 5.

• The term "I am" is mentioned 53 times in the Gospel of saint John whose 3 times it is found in the words pronounced by John the Baptist and 50 other times in those of Jesus. The word Pastor is used 53 times in the OT and the word rescuer word, 53 times in the Bible.

• The three synoptic Gospels contain in all 53 mentions of cure stories by the word or the hands of Christ: 18 in Matthew, 17 in Mark and 18 in Luke. 24 times it is specified that these cures concerned the demonic, or although the ills were delivered of the impure spirits.

• The sum of the occurrences of all numbers of the New Testament equal or higher than 666 gives 53.

• The Bible of Jerusalem has in the Old Testament 18 books called "Prophetic Books" starting from Isaiah and ending with Malachi. These 18 books has on the whole 53 different numbers written in their cardinal form.

• The word "perfect" is used 53 times in the NRSV.

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Last modification: December 19, 1998

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