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Is 777 'the number of God' or just another superstition?
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Very recently, while engaged in a casual conversation, I was asked to spell out my full name, Timothy Michael Barello. Upon doing so, a particularly fascinating response emerged: “you must be one lucky son of a [expletive].”
Slightly taken aback, I retorted. To that, this person replied “you don’t know what I’m talking about, do you?” while offering only a gleaming, eerie smile.
“No. I’m sorry. I don’t. Do you?” I said, flashing a playfully callous New York grin.
“You’ve never heard of lucky sevens? Look, your name breaks down to 777,” she explained, while writing out my full name to demonstrate the corresponding threefold occurrence of seven letters in a row.
“Wow, that’s pretty crazy. No, I never realized that before. But thanks for letting me know,” I said, before politely excusing myself from the tête-à-tête. While walking away, I had a Bill Lumbergh moment-of-sorts, and I quietly joked to myself, “Yeah…I’m going to have to go ahead and ask that [expletive] freak to never talk to me again.”
As fate would have it, my perpetually-inquisitive mind has since assumed the better of me, and thus, I hit the net to find out why people believe in Lucky Sevens.
Obviously, everyone knows that 777 is a special number in Las Vegas (or Atlantic City/Foxwoods/Mohegan Sun for us East Coasters). Typically speaking, it is the luckiest combination of numerals that one can generate while playing slots.
On the other end of the spectrum, 777 also connotes a host of meanings for the superstitious; according to Urban Dictionary – one of Time’s 50 Best Websites of 2008 – the most popular entry on the subject claims it is:
The Number of God. Its counterpart is the Number 666, also known as the Mark of the Beast. 777 is a lucky number because it’s the number of God.
Other popular Urban Dictionary submissions claim that 777 is everything from “the number of perfection” to a “pejorative term for an excessively promiscuous person.”
Puzzled, I now know that some would say I’m blessed to have the number of God and perfection in my name, while others may believe this means I am some sort of gigolo (a high-priced one, no doubt).
Either way, I do often feel a deeply personal connection to God, but it’s much easier to justify that through my Christian upbringing – in lieu of attempting to validate superstitious beliefs.
At this point, I morph into “Typical Tim” and neurotically research the root of these 777 speculations; after hours of web browsing, I uncover an abundance of hearsay and practically no facts. Frustrated, I go back to basics, and decide to look into the meaning of my name, figuring that would be far more useful than endless trails of unverifiable assumptions.
So what do I find?
Timothy Michael is a mildly common name, and thus, in-and-of-itself, it is nothing to write home about. As I browse through several pages of Google search results, however, something immediately stands out.
The recently installed Archbishop of New York is Timothy Michael Dolan. This is a moderately interesting observation, I suppose; equally fascinating is the fact that he – like me – is an Aquarius. However, as I note this, I admit that astrology is often ridiculed, so this discovery cannot be used to form an insurmountably logical conclusion.
Moving forward, I look into the meaning of each respective name, and as you will see, everything that follows is generally mind-boggling. It is also 100% true.
The name Timothy originated from Ancient Greece, and it reportedly means “honoring God.” Michael comes from the Hebrew name Mikha’el, which translates into a rhetorical question: “who is like God?” Both names are also attributed to Biblical Saints – St. Timothy and St. Michael.
Timothy is venerated as a saint by numerous churches; the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church (I am a descendent of parishioners from both sects) celebrate his feast on January 26, which also happens to be my birthday.
I ask my parents, separately, if I was named Timothy because of this; they adamantly deny that is the case, and both maintain this peculiarity was discovered – on their part –years after my birth.
Oddly enough, the similarities do not end there.
Timothy also had Jewish blood from his mother, Eunice, and he often traveled with St. Paul; in real life, my best friend and former roommate is named Paul, and believe it or not, his mother’s name is Eunice.
I have Jewish blood from my grandmother, and although her name was not Lois (like St. Timothy’s grandma), I do have a matron cousin named Loris, who – like Lois – also has a sincere sense of faith in God.
According to New Advent, an online version of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Michael is recognized in Christian tradition with four main qualities:
- To fight against Satan.
- To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.
- To be the champion of God's people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament.
- To call away from earth and bring men's souls to judgment.
Notwithstanding intimate acquaintances of mine, it will be difficult for readers-at-large to deduce the relationship between the aforementioned objectives and my personal aspirations; that being said, readers have the ability to browse my recent writings and blog postings (particularly, the older ones). In doing so, you should be able to draw some conclusion about what I stand for.
To be sincere, certain individuals have recently inquired to ascertain whom I ultimately “work for” – they believe my writings complement domestic and foreign intelligence operations – and to those interested entities, please accept this direct response: I only answer to One Party, and that authority is found directly within the Trinity.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get back to the topic at hand.
In consideration of all that has been unearthed vis-à-vis this report, quite frankly, I am left wondering, “What does it mean?”
We have 777, Timothy Michael Barello, and numerous Biblical parallels that should not be dismissed as mere coincidences. While I cannot answer the previous question, one thing is certain: I won’t be visiting any similarly-titled websites to seek their spin on all of this.
Secondarily, does this mean that my research actually proves 777 superstitions as legitimate? Is God somehow validating my existence – and the purity of my better personal objectives – through my name and circumstances in life?
Obviously, these questions will generate many subjective viewpoints.
Regardless, people should be able to agree on two points: God works in truly mysterious ways, and when He is communicating, you will always know it. That may very well be true in this case, but I am in no position to dictate anyone’s beliefs on this matter.
This scenario reminds me of Fox News’ slogan…I report, and you decide.
So, what do you think: does 777 live up to superstitions, or has Timothy Michael Barello simply lost his mind? You decide.
Hidden-meanings or not, I hope the following is evident: I am a good hearted young man. I believe in God and I believe in freedom, especially the freedom of religion. I want to do great things for this world, and I sincerely want to help the less fortunate out there; in this regard, I believe in charities – not governments. Finally, I intend to leave a positive mark on mankind, and I will only move forward through the Divine Guidance of God, each and every day.
More than anything else, I am honored to say that I can endorse the directly aforementioned statements as representing factual certainties.
Now, if leaders in business and government were inclined to adapt – and live by – similar mantras, perhaps the world would be a much better place?
You decide…vote!
[Photo Credit: The Better Slots Company]
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