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Bible Codes Real or Fake?
by Ethel Ashe-Frear Years ago, my Mom sent me a newspaper article written about Eliyahu Rips and Doron Witztum. These two well-known mathematicians using a computer program in 1994 discovered codes in the Hebrew letters of the Old Testament events that already happened in our lifetime written into the Bible 3000 years ago. "What kind of make-believe stuff was that?" I thought to myself. I placed the news clipping in my strange information file. Can we know the future or even the past and what could happen next by reading it in the Bible? What if by some strange and unusual coincidence words had been documented in a book some 3000 years ago? I had to find the truth. Checking out the new books in the Borders bookstore, my eye fell on one called, "The Bible Code," by Michael Drosnin published in 1997. "That's an interesting title, where have I heard it before?" I had a light bulb moment from the news clipping my Mom sent! I walked over to one of the comfortable lounge chairs located in the coffee area and began thumbing through the book. "Looks like a lot of gibberish," I said to myself. I was on page 41 and began flipping through the book. I came to page 99, my eye caught the words - "Sealed before God." Just at that moment, the Lord said to me, "There are several different codes in the Bible." That's interesting. I didn't ask a question, but received an answer. Still flipping, got to page 134 and heard His voice again. "This is a valid code one of many." Okay, now I was really intrigued and purchased the book. Written on the jacket cover of this book it said the Bible codes "Foresaw both Kennedy assassinations, the Oklahoma city bombing, the election of Bill Clinton - everything from World War II to Watergate, from the Holocaust to Hiroshima, from the Moon landing to the collision of a comet with Jupiter." It was suggested that the hidden text was set in a time-lock which turned out to be the computer. As I continued to read, the thought came to me. "Codes can't predict the future, because we don't know what the future holds for us." Still flipping around I got to page 39 and the Lord said, "You can't look up future events because you don't usually know what they will be . . . . . with this code." As you can see, there was a pause before I received the last three words of His message. Was He saying there is another code in the Bible that will do this? That is, reveal future events. On page 58, I found information regarding an atomic holocaust and a world war. The thought came to me, "Can these codes be changed?" HE said, "The 'other' codes can do that!" I did not understand. "What other codes?" Reading to page 60, I again said to myself. "Lord, I don't understand the answer. The original codes can be changed?" I heard the answer - "Because the crossing over codes will change it." How this can be accomplished is still a mystery to me. Maybe as different kinds of codes are discovered in the Bible the answer will be revealed. "Eliyahu Rips original article was published in the U.S. scholarly journal, "Statistical Science" in August 1994 (vol. 9, no. 3), and again in August 1994, pp. 429-438, called "Equidistant Letter Sequences (ELS). It is based on skipping of letters. A complete explanation can be found in the Appendix in the "Bible Codes." One comment I found on pages 116-117 was interesting. Encoded in the Bible was a code about a Doomsday cult. The words "Aum Shinrikoy" was encoded in the Bible listing subway gas and plague mentioned two times in the same place. The leaders of Aum Shinrikoy's group had been caught and could not carry out their plan to release nerve gas. The code was, "Tokyo will be evacuated." It turned out that this was an unfulfilled prophecy. The author states, "A plague of Biblical proportions had almost been unleashed on Tokyo, and what might have happened was encoded in the Bible." "It looks to me as though some things can be changed." Getting to page 126, I was becoming slightly alarmed. There comes a warning of a frightening and devastating Armageddon. As the investigation continues, it is mentioned that the "sealed book" will be opened. World War is encoded and atomic holocaust and it is stated that World War III could begin soon. The date is unclear. The author states that Armageddon on page 134, is a real place; a Greek name for an ancient city in Israel, Megiddo. Israel's critical Air Force base is located here. What I found amazing was that Michael Drosnin states in his second book, "Bible Code II - The Countdown," that he is not religious, and does not believe in God, but is certain the Bible codes are real. He is an investigative reporter who has no preconceived notions about anything, but just followed the facts as they were laid out in his research. I'm only going to touch on a few major codes in the "Bible Code II" book. Looking on page 190, it stated that, "The United States Supreme Court stole the election from Al Gore, who had won the popular vote, by halting the Florida recount." It is also coded in the Hebrew text the words, twin, towers and airplane. In Chapter 3 - the words, "Clinton" was encoded with "President." In addition, the words "impeachment" and "Hidden secret, lover of maidservant," and codes found on page 56, "nation against impeachment." Continuing on page 224, we read that a code talks about an economic crisis, depression and falling stocks. There is mention of a terror attack encoded with the name "bin Laden" and the words "atomic holocaust." This goes back to my story. The Lord gave me 3 words in a dream which I investigated and wrote about in my article called, "Unconventional Nuclear Weapons - Osama bin Laden." Written on pages 200-201 in "Bible Code II," we find the words, "the next terrorist," and "atomic." Eliyahu Rips states that these codes are probabilities not determined events. "Okay," I thought, "does this explanation really make me feel any better?" Michael Drosnin states on page 235, "I fear that one morning we will wake up to the news that a whole city has been destroyed-not two big buildings, but an entire city that New York, or Tel Aviv, or Jerusalem just does not exist anymore." I asked myself this question. "Why am I reading this now?" This answer came from the Lord. "Because it's near, the time is near." I became a believer in the codes. I needed to prove to myself how these codes actually worked. I sent for the software from Israel called, "Bible Codes, Plus." The information said I could search for any event or name, including my own family. It worked. I followed the systematic instructions and was fascinated with the program. The supernatural awaits us; an awakening, good or bad, is just around the corner. Is the Bible outdated and irrelevant? I don't believe it is we have only just begun to find the answers behind the mystery of Jesus death and resurrection - and there's so much more to discover. Internet info and books available: Bible Codes, Michael Drosnin Bible Code II: The Countdown, Michael Drosnin http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Code-Michael-Drosnin/dp/0684810794 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliyahu_Rips. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_code http://www.biblecodedigest.com/page.php/26 Graduate - Baptist Institute for Christian Workers, Bryn Mawr, PA; NRI McGraw-Hill Center for Writing, Washington, D.C. Studied only Wesley Seminary, D.C. & Asbury Theological Seminary, Orlando, FL (2 yrs). Completed on-line course Jewish Seminary, N.Y. Past student - The Christian Writers Guild. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |