Does 12-13-14 Have Any Special Meaning?

I imagine that the numerologists are very busy today looking for arcane messages in today’s date, 13 December 2014. This date can be represented as 12-13-14.  This alignment of dates will not happen again for 100 years.  Surely it must have some cosmic significance! Personally, I think it is just a coincidental arrangement of numbers due to our current dating system.

When I noticed the 12-13-14 arrangement, I thought about the significance of numbers, especially in the Bible, which does use numbers as symbols. Think of the numbers 3, 7, 666, and 1000. Some people think that they see beyond the obvious symbolic use of numbers and that they can detect many numerological messages secretly embedded in the text by God. This is on the same order as belief in the controversial Torah Bible Codes.

The hidden messages which do undeniably exit in the Bible were of human origin. For instance, investigate ATBASH. An example occurs at Jeremiah 25:26. These messages were meant by the writers to obscure the true meaning from hostile governmental authorities who might read the texts. The idea is "to hide in plain sight." Also investigate the use of acrostics, an intentional literary form used by some of the Old Testament writers. Two examples of biblical acrostics occur at Proverbs 31:10-31 and Psalms 119.

I do not believe that the Bible is full of hidden supernatural messages. That is a pagan Gnostic idea. God inspired the writing of the various books of the Bible as a coherent whole and it is intended to be understood. It is a tool, a book of revelation about the nature of God, not a book of puzzles.

The Bible tells us that God is not a man and that His ways are not our ways. God is totally other, unknowable, and perfect.  He moves in the sub-atomic places and in the cosmic places. The Bible is part of God’s effort to make the utterly unknowable (Himself) understandable, at least partly, to our inadequate tiny little minds. Over and over we are told, “the Kingdom of God is like ….” I believe that God has used the entire Jewish religious and cultural system to explain what He is like. The entire Bible points toward Jesus, Who is the ultimate revelation of Who God is.

The Connection of the Bible Codes to Kabbalistic Thought, Part 2

It is important to us as Christians to understand the Jewish origins of our faith since Jesus and his followers were observant Jews and were, at first, recognized as such by other Jews.

One stream of Judaism is the ultra-orthodox, many of whom believe that God dictated the Torah letter by letter. This is one basis of the thought which has fostered the study of the Bible Codes phenomenon.

One Jewish school of thought, considered heretical by some Jews, developed from a mixture of mysticism and ultra-orthodoxy to become what is known as Kabbalism.  “Kaballah” in Hebrew means “receiving,” and is concerned with secret doctrines, hidden meanings, and commentaries about the relationship between an unchanging God and the ever-changing world.  The early Jewish mystics developed in the first and second centuries at the same time that the Gnostic sects were developing among the Christian community.

Kabbalism remains strong among modern Hasidic Jews.

The emphasis of the Bible Code researchers on the Torah reflects, at least in part, kabbalistic thought about the true nature of the Torah.  The Rambam (Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon, b. 1135, Spain – d. 1204, Egypt) declared that “… the entire Torah is the names of the Holy One.”

The Zohar Yitro 87a declares, “We have already taught; The Torah in its entirety is the Holy Name, for there is no word in the Torah which is not included in the Holy Name.”  So, according to the Kabbalists, the Torah is God’s Name.

Kabbalism teaches that God created the universe by the manipulation of the letters of the Torah. In other words, He created the universe by the use of His Name.

The most that a Christian can say on this is what the Bible says. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1: 1-3.

As to the name of God, He has answered the question:

“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  Exodus 3:13-14.

The Connection of the Bible Codes to Kabbalistic Thought

I have said before that I am not a believer in the Bible Codes.  I think that some simple code sequences  can clearly be shown to exist (see the sample below), but the more advanced codes which Israeli computer researchers are finding depend on very artificial manipulations of the text like skipping uneven numbers of letters between consecutive letters, etc.  It might be a case of finding codes because you are searching for them.  The patterns might have occurred by mere chance.

In Genesis 1:22-26; the name of Abraham is spelled out (from the top line down, enclosed in the added boxes) by the letters in the passage with each letter of the name separated from the preceding letter by forty-nine (seven times seven; seven was a sacred number, Genesis 2:2, 4:24, 21:28)) intercalary letters.  In each of the forty-nine letter sequences, אֱלֹהִים (elohim/God, backlit in gray) appears.

Also, the researchers insist that the codes cannot be used to predict the future.  My question is, if the codes are real, why not?  God is not bounded by time.  Tomorrow is the same to Him as The Creation.  It is all Now.

The Israeli researchers also insist that the codes cannot prove that Jesus is the Messiah.  Are they afraid that the codes, if real, might do this?  Rabbi Jacob Rambsel, a Messianic Jew, insists that he has found a code, "Jesus is my name," in the Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 53.

The most strict theory of the codes is that they apply only to the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.  This is because one Jewish tradition insists that God dictated the Torah letter by letter. 


Because it is important for us to understand the Jewish background of our faith,  I will talk tomorrow about the direction in which one stream of Judaism, the Kabbalists, has taken these concepts.

Jesus, the Suffering Servant

Yacov Rambsel, a Messianic Jewish rabbi, claims to have found the name Yeshua (Jesus) embedded in every major Old Testament messianic prophecy.  No matter what you think about the possibility of the reality of the Bible Codes, this is very interesting.  I am still very undecided on this.

Rabbi Rambsel says that in the "Suffering Servant" passage in Isaiah 53, counting every twelfth letter, the following is spelled out, "Jesus is my name."

The Acrostic in Proverbs 31:10-31

Acrostics are an artificial literary form, not hidden Bible Codes.  They were a favored poetic convention in Hebrew poetry and represented conscious effort on the part of the writer to place the text into a complex pattern while still retaining its readability and meaning.

In Proverbs 31:10-31,  "tThe Excelent Wife" passage, the initial letters of the Hebrew verses go successively through the Hebrew alphabet in the correct sequence. In languages other than Hebrew, the word order appears to be random.  In the English below, the initial words of each Hebrew line are in BOLD text.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

The Hebrew text below, with the first letters of each line in Bold text, makes the acrostic clear:

אשת־חיל מי ימצא ורחק מפנינים מכרה׃

בטח בה לב בעלה ושלל לא יחסר׃

גמלתהו טוב ולא־רע כל ימי חייה׃

דרשה צמר ופשתים ותעש בחפץ כפיה׃

היתה כאניות סוחר ממרחק תביא לחמה׃

ותקם בעוד לילה ותתן טרף לביתה וחק לנערתיה׃

זממה שדה ותקחהו מפרי כפיה [כ= נטע] [ק= נטעה] כרם׃

חגרה בעוז מתניה ותאמץ זרעותיה׃

טעמה כי־טוב סחרה לא־יכבה [כ= בליל] [ק= בלילה] נרה׃

ידיה שלחה בכישור וכפיה תמכו פלך׃

כפה פרשה לעני וידיה שלחה לאביון׃

לא־תירא לביתה משלג כי כל־ביתה לבש שנים׃

מרבדים עשתה־לה שש וארגמן לבושה׃

 נודע בשערים בעלה בשבתו עם־זקני־ארץ׃

סדין עשתה ותמכר וחגור נתנה לכנעני׃

עז־והדר לבושה ותשחק ליום אחרון׃

פיה פתחה בחכמה ותורת־חסד על־לשונה׃

צופיה הליכות ביתה ולחם עצלות לא תאכל׃

קמו בניה ויאשרוה בעלה ויהללה׃

רבות בנות עשו חיל ואת עלית על־כלנה׃

שקר החן והבל היפי אשה יראת־יהוה היא תתהלל׃

תנו־לה מפרי ידיה ויהללוה בשערים מעשיה׃

This is why some people are fascinated by the Bible Codes.

GENESIS 1: 22-26

The Hebrew text above is one example of why many people believe in the phenomenon of the Bible Codes.  I must admit that I tend to be a skeptic about things like this, but you can see why this would intrigue people.

Rabbi Chaim Michael Dov Weissmandl (1903-1957), the driving force behind the Bible Codes movement, found the following in Genesis 1:22-26; the name of Abraham is spelled out (from the top line down, enclosed in the added boxes) by the letters in the passage with each letter of the name separated from the preceding letter by forty-nine (seven times seven; seven was a sacred number, Genesis 2:2, 4:24, 21:28)) intercalary letters.  In each of the forty-nine letter sequences, אֱלֹהִים (elohim/God, backlit in gray) appears.

 In the midrash Bereshit Rabbah (68, 11f), Rabbi Nehemiah said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, united His name with Abraham; with Isaac too he united His name."  

One of the names of God is "Yahweh" (in biblical Hebrew this is represented as HWHY, read from right to left).  Remember that the ancients believed that names and even the letters of which the names were composed carried meaning and power.

When God confirmed His covenant to Abram by declaring that Sarai's son would be the long-promised heir, He inserted himself (the "H") into their names, giving them new and suddenly different lives.  Abram became Abraham; Sarai became Sarah.  Isaac means "he laughed" which is what elderly Abram did when God told him that he and and his very old wife were going to finally have a son. 

The text (Genesis 1: 22-26) into which this insertion of the name of Abraham occurs says nothing about Abram.  He wouldn't be born until centuries later.

"And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.  And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.  And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

***********************************
There are often odd spacings and other abnormalities in the text when Hebrew and other Semitic languages like Arabic are inserted into a text.  Microsoft Word insists on reversing the letter order to conform to English usage (unintended ATBASH?)  Word processors need special software to properly handle these alphabets; without the software you have to try to trick Microsoft Word which doesn't always work.

Atbash

Interest in the possibility that secret codes (inserted by God) exist in the first five books of the Bible has inspired much discussion and numerous books.  The Bible Codes and possible humanly inserted acrostics have been discussed in this blog.

There is another Hebrew biblical convention known as Atbash (ATBS).  This is a simple monoalphabetic substitution cipher which was used to "hide in plain sight" secret messages intended only for those who knew the code.  The code consists of reversing the Hebrew alphabet.  The third letter from the beginning of the alphabet would be replaced by the third letter from the end of the alphabet, etc. An example from   Jeremiah 25:26 and 51:41 is the substitution of Sheshak (שֵׁשַׁךְ) for Babylon (בָבֶל).

Book Comment: Cracking the Bible Code

"All that was, is, and will be unto the end of time is included in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible."  So said the Lithuanian (though born in Belarus) Talmudic scholar Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720 - 1797).  He was a mathematician and bible commentator who memorized the Talmud.  


When the rabbi was challenged, "Where is the Rambam?" (The 12th Century Rabbi Moses ben Maimonides), he instantly responded, "Rabot (may be multiplied) Moftai (my wonders) B'eretz (in the land of) Mitzraim (Egypt)."  This is Exodus 11:9.


Rabbi Moshe Cordevaro (1522-1570) had earlier said, "The secrets of our holy Torah are revealed through knowledge of combinations, numerology (gematria), switching letters, first-and-last letters, shapes of letters, first- and last- verses, skipping of letters (dilug otiot) and letter combinations."


Both men were echoing an ancient Jewish tradition that the Torah was dictated by God to Moses letter by letter and that it contained coded or encrypted information about the past, present, and future.*  This is the subject discussed by Jeffrey Satinover in Cracking the Bible Code (1997).  For example, Satinover points out that AHRN (Aaron) occurs twenty-five times in the Hebrew text at equidistant spaces in Leviticus 1:1-13, a passage in which Aaron is not mentioned.


The claim of hidden messages in the scriptures is at the heart of Kabballah, Jewish mysticism.  There are currently many teams of researchers using computers to search for names, sentences, predictions, etc.  Many claim to have found mentions of historical and modern persons and events.  Most are using the Old Testament Hebrew text; a few are attempting to use the same techniques on the Greek text of the New Testament.


Who knows?  It seems unlikely, but who would dare to insist it is not true?  Is it a situation like what is said in the film, The Number 21, "You're finding it because you're looking for it."?  It does seem dangerous, though, to base one's faith in the Bible on Bible Codes, religious relics, the Shroud of Turin, or other such things when we have the Bible itself and the witness of the Apostles.  The Bible Codes might be equivalent to seeing Jesus' face in a plate of spaghetti.    


















* Many modern theologians, including many Jewish scholars, believe that someone, possibly Moses, assembled the Torah from earlier, far more ancient, sources.  

Gematria

     In several of the prior posts I have been discussing the interesting subject of divinely inserted hidden codes which some believe that God placed into the Talmud, the first five books of the Bible.  Much of this work (or garbage depending on your belief about the subject) depends on the Cabalistic Jewish numerology system known as gematria.  

     The Cabalists believe that the Old Testament is written in a highly coded mathematically based  language.  Gematria, which originated in eighth century BCE Babylonia, is a system of numerology which assigns numbers to each letter of an alphabet (in this case, Hebrew). The numbers are used to decipher the true, hidden meaning of the texts.  It has been used in divination, magic, dream interpretation, and Old Testament interpretation.   

Abraham in Genesis 1:22-26, Updated

 I finally have the 8 October 2009 post fixed.  The title is Abraham in Genesis 1:22-26.  To view it, click on this post's listing in the Blog Archive in the right side column of this blog.

God Inserted His Name Into Abram's Name

(See the post today titled "Abraham."  This post is related to the October 6th and 7th posts; "Abram to Abraham; Sarai to Sarah."  I'm new at scanning so what you will see was what I was able to do.  I'll get better.)

     Regardless of what you think about the controversy over the idea of divine code's having been inserted into the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) by God in a letter-by-letter dictation of the books to Moses, what I am about to tell you will leave a buzz on the back of your neck.

     Rabbi Chaim Michael Dov Weissmandl (1903-1957), the driving force behind the Bible Codes movement, found the following in Genesis 1:22-26; the name of Abraham is spelled out by the letters in the passage with each letter of the name separated from the preceding letter by forty-nine intercalary letters.  In each of the forty-nine letter sequences, the word "elohim," one of the names of God, appears in the text.

     I admit wholeheartedly that the mathematics, statistics, geometry, and computer science being used to search for hidden divine messages in the Torah are all far above my understanding.  Even so, I found the book, Cracking the Bible Code, by Dr. Jeffrey Satinover to be a fascinating read.

     The book claims that names of specific individuals, dates, events, and other subjects have been found hidden in the Talmud with specific locations stated and grids of Hebrew letters presented with the discovered words and phrases highlighted.  To me, it was chilling that the following has been found: "AIDS" ("AYDS"), "virus" ("VYRUS"), "in the blood," and "immunity;" all in the same letter array.

     I don't have enough understanding of the subject of the Bible Codes to make an informed judgement.  It may be as Walter Sparrow's wife says in the film The Number 23 (2007), "You're finding them because you're looking for them."  What is true is that there are numerous rabbis, Hebrew scholars, mathematicians, and computer scientists working full time on the subject right now in Israel.

Gone!

     I just spent the last week in Mundelein and Vernon Hills in Illinois and came away with an odd feeling.  I saw maybe eight black people the entire time I was there and several of them were employees of restaurants and stores I visited.  I saw plenty of Asians and Hispanics but almost no blacks.  It felt creepy, a whole group of people suddenly just gone.  I live in the Deep South where African Americans have a heavy and very visible presence.

     During my alone time during the week I read Cracking the Bible Code by Jeffrey Satinover.  One of the prime movers in the Torah Bible Code movement was Rabbi Michael Dov Ber Weissmandl,  who spent the last years of his life pursuing the codes.

     The more obvious historical significance of Rabbi Weissmandl is his role in at least being able to delay the extermination of the Jews of Slovakia by bribing and deceiving numerous Nazi officials.  It haunted him the rest of his life, but, ultimately the rabbi was not able to save even his own immediate family.  In total, over six million Jews were murdered.  It was as if the entire Jewish population (about 5.2 million in 2009) of the United States were missing.

     The near absence of black people reminded me of the sudden disappearance of the Jews from Europe.  There and then suddenly just gone.