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Elliot Ziwira Senior Feature Writer
All 23 candidates in the presidential race that will come to a climax on July 30 in Zimbabwe’s harmonised elections signed a peace pledge on Tuesday, committing themselves and their parties to peaceful campaigns ahead of the plebiscite.

The pledge, which is historically significant in regard to the country’s elections, was signed hard upon the White City Stadium blast, which claimed two lives and left 47 other Zanu-PF party supporters injured, including security details.

The presidential contestants, the Bulawayo blast and the dates of the elections raise an interesting element; the significance of numbers.

Yes gentle citizen, numbers do not lie; they have both numerical and spiritual connection. This is why gentle citizen, friend and countryman, we put so much faith in numbers; there is something about numbers which makes them more than just digits. The numbers that really have prompted this piece are 6, 7, 8, 23 and 26.

Zimbabwean politics, which pervade our experiences as a nation, can be put to scrutiny through the aforementioned numbers.

It was on Saturday, the 6th day of the week, in the 6th month of the year and on the 23rd day that a blast rocked White City Stadium. There are 23 candidates vying for the highest office in the land, who signed a peace pledge on the 26th of June ahead of harmonised elections on July 30, 2018, thus, giving prominence to the numbers 6, 7, 8, 23 and 26.

Using the scriptures, six is symbolic of the 6th day of creation, preceding the Sabbath; the day of perfection when God took a break from His splendid work. Seven, therefore, is considered the number of perfection, and the second perfect number in numerology.

It is symbolic of fullness, perfection of spirit and convent union. Elections are slated for the seventh month, which gives so much hope for the nation.

According to the scriptures, Man is commanded to toil six days in the week. The sixth commandment admonishes murder, (Exodus 20:13).

The sixth clause of the Lord’s Prayer petitions the deliverance from sin, (Matthew 6:13). Jesus Christ suffered on the cross for six hours as recorded in Mark 15:25. The six letters representing the number system of the Roman Empire gives the number 666. A lot of deplorable and heinous shenanigans were revealed in the build-up to the military intervention of November 15, 2017, which really called for divine intervention.

In Matthew 18:22, Peter asks Jesus, the Messiah, the number of times he must forgive a sinful brother. He asks: “As many as seven times?” and Jesus replies: “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times seven times.”

This translates to say without limit because to err is human. Since elections are in the seventh month, then peace and forgiveness will take us forward as the President has always said: “Peace begins with me, peace begins with you, peace begins with all of us.”

Because seven is the number of perfection, it is symbolic of cleansing of rogue elements for an unblemished outcome. One of the numbers that our nation hinges on is eight, which is symbolic of equilibrium as is reflected in its shape.

It is the Karmanic equaliser, which, according to R Allenby, leads to the liberation of nirvana, which is defined as: “Absorption of individuality into the divine with extinction of personal desires and passions.”

It is a state of bliss that comes with the negation of individual values.

Because of its nature, the number eight is as destructive as it is constructive, as spiritual as it is materialistic.

Individualism, lack of diplomacy and disregard of others lead to the negative attributes of the symbol. Although it is the number of authority over adversity and success, on the flip side it leads to frustration, dissatisfaction, anger, aggression and insomnia.

A closer look at eight highlights a lot that has been happening in the ZANU-PF power matrix since 1980.

President Mnangagwa was poisoned at a rally in Gwanda in August 2017, which is the 8th month of the year, is expelled from ZANU-PF on November 6, effectively becomes the leader of the republic on November 22, 2017 after the resignation of former president Robert Mugabe on November 21, and is sworn in on November 24. The number 23, which is also under scrutiny, slots in between 22 and 24.

But as has been outlined earlier on, eight is the symbol of balance; therefore, the negation of the individual and the appreciation of others become pertinent.

Transparency is one of the attributes of eight, which is why it is the only card in the French deck of playing cards that declares and disregards any other card, and it does not close because closing is individualistic. Honesty and openness are its catch, which plays to the President’s advantage with his call for peaceful, free and fair elections as well as his opening up of space to the opposition and his call for re-engagement for the benefit of all Zimbabweans.

Driven by the ambitious symbol (8), the President survived attempts on his life on several occasions and remains strong in the face of adversity.

Cahal Milmo and Tom Willetts (2007) noted that the number 23, which falls between 22 and 24 (significant to Zimbabwe), is the lowest prime consisting of consecutive digits, with 23 numerical coincidences.

The symbol, which has both negative and positive attributes, features as both the date of the White City blast and the number of presidential candidates to battle it out to the helm of the nation state.

The number 23 has both positive and negative attributes, and it has numerical coincidences.

The Hiroshima bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945 at 8.15am; 8+15= 23. In the calamitous movie, “Airport”, the bomber takes seat 23. A train derails in subway station 23 in “Die Hard With A Vengeance”.

Characters in the television series “Lost” are haunted by a combination of six numbers adding up to 23, which they have to computer generate to avoid calamity. The disturbing mighty of the symbol 23 manifests in terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the US. The sum of the figures in the date of the disaster ((9+11+2+0+0+1) is 23.

Although in sport 23 has drawn particular interest as a harbinger of good fortune, with Michael Jordan in basketball, Shane Warne and Marcus Trescothick in cricket and David Beckham in football, Manchester City has retired jersey number 23 since 2003, after their player Marc Vivien Foe collapsed and died in the second half of his country, Cameroon’s win over Colombia in the Confederations Cup semi-final match in Lyon, France on June 26, 2003.

The number 23 also features prominently in the Bible; for both the good and the bad. It is believed that Adam and Eve had 23 daughters. The 23rd verse of Genesis chapter one closes the act of creation, and death purveys the 23rd chapter. Number 23 is the most quoted Psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.” Thus, there is divine hope for the nation.

If a group of 23 people is selected randomly, according to the Birthday Paradox, there will be a probability higher than 50 percent that two people will share the same birthday, thus share their cakes.

According to Joane Sacred Scribes, 23 is an angel number that combines the energies of 2 and 3, which “resonates with duality and balance, diplomacy and cooperation, faith and trust, duty and service, and your divine life purpose and soul mission.”

The number 26 is quite an interesting one. It is the date of the signing of the peace pledge. The sum of 2 and 6 is 8, a key symbol in the nation’s fortunes.

The President is known to play his cards close to his chest; such an enigmatic player that he is, which brings us to a deck of cards. A deck of French playing cards, which is also known as the English or Anglo-American deck, has 52 cards; and the sum of 2 and 5 is 7.

In the Babylonian numerology adopted by Jews, there is a link between numerical value and a word or phrase.

In the Rubik Cube, which is a 3-D combination puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian Professor of Architecture, Erno Rubik, 26 is “God’s Number”, which is the minimum number of moves needed to solve any distorted cube.

God needs the minimum number of moves to solve a puzzle, therefore, 26 has divine significance.

The number sums up the letter values of Tetragrammaton (the Hebrew letters YHWH and their pronunciation). The Hebrew biblical name of God, Yahweh: Yod +Heh+Wan+Heh=10+5+6+5=26.

The word Yahweh is found in Genesis, which has 26 verses; and it begins with Adam and ends with the name of God.

There are 26 letters in the English and Latin alphabets. By placing values to the English letters from A-Z, (A=1, Z=26) in correspondence, the sum of the letters G.O.D (God) is 26. The 26 letter Italian word “precipiterolissimevolmente” created in 1677 means “as soon as possible”. With God’s intervention through the leaders that he anoints, no task is mammoth.

A close analysis of the scriptures reveals that God has really come to the nation’s rescue. Divine intervention is at hand. Cracks in the ruling party started rearing their ugly head in 2006, 26 years into Independence, at the revolutionary outfit’s annual conference in Goromonzi, which led to the “Bhora Musango” scourge.

Using the scriptures once more, the number of generations from David to Christ is 26. David was so much loved by God despite his shortcomings, and it took 26 generations for the Lord to save the world from sin through His Son, Jesus Christ. The symbol 26 is also the number of generations from Adam; the milestone of Creation, and Moses; the first to receive God’s commandments. According to the Talmud, the Torah would have been revealed to the 26th generation of the history of the world, starting from Adam, to Moses who received it.

Jesus was 26 when his adoptive father Joseph died, according to the visions of Mary Agrede. The number 26 shows its uniqueness as it is only used once in the Bible and the gospel of Luke uses 26 different numbers. It is also interesting to note that the number 18, which marks the date of our Independence, and the year of the much anticipated harmonised elections, is used 26 times in the Holy Book.

As we put our hands together in prayer for our nation, it may also be worthwhile to know that the word “Beloved” appears 26 times to represent the LORD in Song of Songs. The words “prescription” and “baptism” are used 26 times in the Bible; and the word “merciful” appears 26 times.

Hence, as the nation moves forward, those who erred should be embraced through baptism; as this may be the solution.

Perchance, to some, it may be a baptism of fire.

Inasmuch as God is merciful, we also need to be merciful and forgive those who trespass against us, if they show contrition, because it is abominable to kick a man who lies down. It is a disciplined soldier who knows that only a coward shoots an adversary who strips himself of his weaponry, casts it down and surrenders.

The sum of the numbers 6, 7, 8, 23 and 26 is 70; and that of 7 and 0 is 7, the symbol of perfection, and the second perfect number in numerology, which is also the month of Zimbabwe’s elections.

As July 30 approaches, there is need for self-introspection as the numbers beckon. Our nation turned 38 years old on April 18, 2018 in the year that we go to the polls for the 8th time and the sum of 20 and 18 is 38, therefore, the symbol eight should be closely watched; for it has a way of humbling individuals and rewarding selflessness.