Bereansearching Bible Studies

Introduction

The Island of Melita (now known as Malta) is a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, which is only mentioned once by name in the entire Bible. The Island of Melita, while geographically not very significant, nonetheless holds great Biblical significance as this study will show. The Island of Melita is another example of a “Geographical Parable“, which God provides in throughout the Bible. A Geographical Parable is a real “earthly” physical place, which serves to represent a real “spiritual” place and thereby conveys a “spiritual” meaning.

Melita Was Paul’s Journey’s End Via Shipwreck

When the Apostle Paul was on his way to Rome, being sent as a prisoner on a sailing ship Acts 27:1, we later read in Acts 27:9-12, that Paul had forewarned the Centurion, who was guarding him, that they should not take the journey so late in the year, but rather stay and safely winter in a harbor called “The fair havens” along Crete’s southern coast.

We read in Acts 27:9, “¶Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished  (παραινέω (paraineō))^G3867 [them], And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, [and there] to winter; [which is] an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.“

The Centurion did not heed the exhortation of Paul. He “believed the master and owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul“, and took the shipmaster’s counsel, who decided that it would be better sail a bit further to the west to winter in the more protected harbor of Phenice. As a result of not taking Paul’s counsel… not heeding his admonishment/exhortation…not believing his words, the sailing ship was soon caught in a catastrophic storm (“Euroclydon“), which blew the ship carrying Paul from the Island of Crete westward across the Mediterranean Sea, which ultimately led to the total destruction of the ship.

During the storm, when everyone on board thought that they were about to die, we read the following: Acts 27:21-26, “¶ But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of [any man’s] life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.“

Later in Acts 27:37, we learn “And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.“ and then in Acts 27:42-44, when the ship was wrecked on rocks, we read, “¶And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from [their] purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast [themselves] first [into the sea], and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on [broken pieces] of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.”

Finally, In Acts 28:1, we learn that the “certain Island” of which Paul prophesied earlier, was named “Melita” (Melita is currently known as Malta), “¶And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.” Melita (Μελίτη (melitē)^G3194 means “Honey” in the original Greek language.  

Conclusion: Melita Means “Honey“, and Melita Is an Allegorical Reference to “Heaven”

The entire historical acount of Paul’s Journey through the sea that ended in shipwreck on the shores of the Island of Melita was another Historical Parable, used by God to portray the Great Tribulation period leading up to the end of time. Just as God wrought His stormy wrath upon the ship and destroyed it, so too during the Final Tribulation, God will be bringing His Wrath upon the apostate corporate church and destroy it just before Judgment Day. But please also note that although the ship that carried them was completely destroyed, nonetheless, All of the 276 souls on the ship were saved! That makes it clear to us that although the apostate corporate church would be the object of God’s Wrath, all of the faithful believers would nonetheless be assured of gaining entrance into “Heaven” as typified by the Island of Melita.

The Final Tribulation Is Like a Storm Leading to a Shipwreck

God makes clear that in the Final Tribulation, in the prelude to Judgment Day, God will loose the devil to bring an evil pre-judgment upon the world (examples of how and why this is the case is provided in the study on the book of Nahum). We are also told that this last period of time will be cut short, otherwise “there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” (Matthew 24:22 and Mark 13:20). However, the devil along with all of God’s enemies, will be destroyed when Jesus comes down from Heaven with all of His Saints on Judgment Day. The Saints will then be in the presence of Almighty God for eternity in the new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (Isaiah 65:17,  Isaiah 66:22, and 2 Peter 3:13)

And note what the Apostle Paul also said in 1 Timothy 1:18-20, “¶This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.“

We should also take note of the fact that after Paul had spoken things were not getting better. We read of two accounts that occurred subsequent to the above:

1. “¶But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some country; And sounded, and found [it] twenty fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found [it] fifteen fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.” Given the allegorical context, these verses come to mind: Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Luke 21:31, “So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.”
2. Acts 27:33-37, “¶And while the day was coming on, Paul besought [them] all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take [some] meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken [it], he began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took [some] meat.“

POSTSCRIPT #1: The Land Flowing with “Milk and Honey” is another Allegory for Heaven

Why is it significant that the Island of Melita is named for “honey”? Well, we also know that the “Promised Land (Which God used to allegorically typify Heaven) is often described in the Bible as a land that is flowing (or floweth) with “milk (חָלָב (ḥālāḇ)) ^H2461 and honey (דְּבַשׁ (dᵊḇaš))^H1706“(see for example Exodus 3:8). The phrase “milk and honey” is actually found 20 times in the Old Testament.  Is it not interesting that both milk and honey are related to this Creation of God, and, hence are not reliant in any way on the work of man? They are also dependent on green grass and flowers to be produced, but they result in a means of sustenance for man. Only those who are the chosen of God can enter into that land of rest (from work), a land that is flowing with milk and honey, hence that land of milk and honey is an earthly picture of the Spiritual Heaven wherein mankind can have eternal rest and sustenance for that which it cannot labor. For a more detailed review on how honey is described in the Bible please see the post on “The Meaning of Honey in the Bible“.

POSTSCRIPT #2: All of the 276 Souls “escaped all safe to land“

The “276” souls saved in the shipwreck on island of “Melita” (“Honey“)

We has observed earlier in Acts 27:37, “And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.“ and then later as was described earlier in Acts 27:42-44, that the Centurion in charge of the Apostle Paul, ”commanded that they which could swim should cast [themselves] first [into the sea], and get to land: And the rest, some on boards, and some on [broken pieces] of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.”  

The ship was completely destroyed, yet every soul was saved! That is the plain, literal, and historical understanding, for which there is no argument on that point. But why did the number of souls total exactly “276“? Could there be some kind of spiritual meaning that is particularly Iinked to that number? YES, Indeed there is!

When we look at the original Greek language translated into English by the King James translators, we find that the number presented as “two hundred threescore and sixteen” (“276“) is διακόσιοι (diakosioi) ^G1250 (“200“), ἑβδομήκοντα (hebdomēkonta) ^G1440 (“70“), and ἕξ (hex)^G1803 (“6“).Each of those numbers has spiritual significance.

The “two hundred” (2 x 10 x 10) is representative of the church (“2”, like the two witnesses) in totality (“10” squared). Mark 6:7, “And he called [unto him] the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;“

The “seventy” is a perfection of time indicator as we know from the 70 years of desolation of Jerusalem and the Babylonian captivity during that same 70 year period (Daniel 9:2 and Jeremiah 25:12, Jeremiah 29:10). Then there are the 70 weeks of years (490 years) in Daniel 9:24 prophesying the exact time in the future that Jesus would make Atonement “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” We also know that there were “seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel,” who were doing abominations back in the Old Testament in Ezekiel 8:11, and then in the New Testament we read where Jesus effectively set forth a replacement seventy men as we read in Luke 10:1, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” and then in Luke 10:17, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.” Significantly, Jesus told those seventy men in Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Those 70 men were appointed by Jesus and were granted entrance into Heaven. Seventy years was also the time period of captivity after which Jerusalem would be restored, picturing the end of time when the New Jerusalem would be revealed.

Finally the number “6”. The number six is most closely aligned with both man and work. God created man on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26-31). That was God’s “Work”.

So then, using this understanding of how God has used these specific numbers in the Bible, we can see that it involves the Eternal Church when God will finish His Work of restoration at the end of time leading to the era of the New Jerusalem in Heaven.

276 Is Also a Unique Number

The number 276 can also be broken down another way 3 x 4 x “23“. The number “3”, a prime number, represents “the Purpose or Will of God”, while the number “4” represents “Universality (global, all creation)” (like the four points of the compass) These specific meanings will be provided in another more detailed study on how numbers in the Bible can convey spiritual concepts. The number “23” is a larger prime number”, because it cannot be broken down further, and it represents God’s Wrath, particularly in “the Final Tribulation“, which occurs just before Judgment Day, when God’s wrath is poured out on the apostate corporate church, over which the abomination of desolation takes control because God will have loosed the devil as we read in Revelation 20:3&7.  The giant storm “euroclydon“, a clear form of God’s Wrath, was sent by God against the ship (representing the devil being loosed the apostate corporate church) because the Centurion did not heed the counsel of Paul but rather the shipmaster.

276 Is Also a Unique Number

The number “276” is also a unique number! This is because we can also find that the prime number “23” that is being particularly highlighted in a way that is not possible with any other number. If we add 1 +2 +3 +4 +5…..+23, then we find that the sum of all the numbers equals 276!  So then, the spiritual meaning that God has crafted into this historical account is that the Jesus (represented by the Apostle Paul, as a “Type” of Christ) would bring the souls of all of the believers into Heaven (those who were previously within the corporate body, the church) during the last days after it is destroyed by God for its becoming apostate, in not heeding God’s Counsel, during in the Final Tribulation. 

Scriptural Evidence to show the number “23” points to “Judgment”, particularly in the context of punishing the corporate church for its apostasy during the “Final Tribulation”:

1. It was stated that the temple would be trodden under foot for 2300 (“23” X “100”) days to signify the period of the Final Tribulation when God judges the corporate church for its apostasy. Daniel 8:13&14, “¶Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? ¶And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.“
2. The two witness (the true Church) would prophesy for 2300 (“23” X “100”) days, making clear once again that the Final Tribulation period is highlighted by the number “23”: Revelation 11:3, “And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
3. 23,000 (“23” X “1000”) Israelites were killed in one day in the plague of God’s Judgment in the Sinai wilderness as we read in 1 Corinthians 10:8, “Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.“
4. It was in the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign when Judah was completely destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah 52:30, “In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the persons [were] four thousand and six hundred.” (And please note that the 4600 is also 2 x 2300)!

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