Last week one of the cable channels ran two programs, one of which I had seen a few years ago, about hidden messages in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. To explain this simply, or as well as I can, mathemeticians have developed complex systems for sorting arrangements of letters that appear in groups in the Hebrew rendering of the Old Testament. Several years ago the first book, The Bible Code, was published, claiming that these scriptures contained hidden revelations that correlated to world events. In the past year or two a second book, The Bible Code II, has been published with even more of these revelations. These, as I recall, are based on certain texts, such as the Masoretic texts, which have the letters arranged neatly in rows and columns. Biblical researchers have explained that this was done for the purpose of accuracy. After an older manuscript was transcribed, the new copy was then submitted to an examination in which the letters and number of lines were compared to the older copy. If the numbers matched then there was certainty that the manuscript had been copied accurately. This led certain theoretical mathmeticians to the discovery of words that could be formed using certain intervals in the appearance of these letters. In the Bible Code II, one of these combinations contained a page in which the words "twin towers" and a few others were found and interpreted as an interpretation of the events of September 11, 2001. One researcher pointed out that while these words could be formed, there was no indication of a time, date or location. One particular researcher refuted this finding pointing out that this could possibly be applied to a number of situations. Others, however, have stated their belief that within these scriptures there are statements about events that allow some to correlate them to present and future events. Thus, according to some, the Old Testament scriptures contain a hidden revelation from God.
This is all very interesting and provokes some thought. However, Biblical prophecy, as we know it, has been very specific. For instance, Isaiah prophesied the virgin birth of the Messiah (Isa 7.14). Isaiah and Micah both prophesied the establishment of the Church as an eternal kingdom that all nations would flow to (Isa 2.1-3, Micah 4.1-2). Isaiah also prophesied that God would call His people by a new name (Isa 62.2) which was fulfilled in the early days of the Church (Acts 11.26). Numerous prophecies concerning the life and death of Christ are found in the writings of the prophets. Moses himself stated that God would raise up a prophet like Moses that the people were to hear (Deut 18.18). Other prophecies are contained in the scriptures concerning Christ's resurrection (Psm 16.10) and His betrayal by a "familiar friend" (Psm 41.9). The list goes on and on. In the New Testament we find the fulfillment of these prophecies which, if we accept and believe them through faith, will lead us to obedience. As I watched these programs I wondered what any of the things that these people have "found" had to do with salvation and obedience. After careful consideration, the answer was nothing. They have absolutely no bearing on the revealed, and plainly stated, doctrine and teachings of the scriptures. I wondered what use they were then, something that certain skeptics of these "discoveries" also wondered. Again the answer was nothing. They have no useful application. One of the researchers who has worked on these things even admitted in the program that one could not use them to predict the future and admitted that they were more valid when applied to events after the fact.
What effect does this have? Like questions surrounding the translation of the Dead Sea scrolls, these findings spread FUD. Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. Fear that the scriptures are not complete. Fear of future events. Uncertainty about divine inspiration and the validity of the New Testament. Doubt about the teachings of the scriptures and the need to read, understand and obey the word as revealed in a simple form. I finally concluded that if there were hidden messages in the scriptures, God would at least have given us an indication of this at some point. There is none. I keep thinking of Ralphie in the movie "A Christmas Story", who waited impatiently for his Little Orphan Annie decoder ring only to find that the coded messages were an advertisement for Ovaltine. God has not told us about any such thing, nor has He indicated that we need a mathematical decoder ring. We need to remember that the simplest approach is many times the most accurate. Read the word. Study the word. Obey the word. Why is that so hard to understand?
TLC