Q. Why would God hide a message in codes? …Why wouldn’t He just say it?
Answer:
Fascinating question, and one shared by many. I’m not sure we have a completely definitive answer. A lot, if not most that is written about this subject is speculation. But, here are some suggestions that interest us.
Glory in Discovering Hidden Things
In Proverbs 25:2 King Solomon made a puzzling statement.
“It is the glory of God to
conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is
to search out a matter.”
Cryptography
This passage appears to say that God knows things we don’t. It could refer to the intricacies we find in science or the universe. But, at any rate it is an honorable and wonderful pursuit to search out and to discover truth and things hidden. The process of finding and deciphering codes is known as “cryptography.”
God loves hidden things and seems to enjoy allowing mankind to find them. Here are some other hidden things:
Strange glowing Flora & Fauna
For example, due to advanced technology scientists have discovered something wonderful hidden in the deep canyons of the ocean floor. There in the deep darkness are astounding plants and fish which seem to illuminate from within. They are magnificent colors and shapes which glow with an iridescent shine.
What are they doing there? Why would God create things that couldn’t be discovered until we reached an advanced state of technology?
The Bible says that God teaches us a little at a time.. “a little here and a little there.” Otherwise we could not handle all of the knowledge He has.
Outer Space Exploration
In Psalm 8 rests another strange saying. Verses 3 through 6 states that the work of God’s fingers is the heavens (outer space), the moon and the stars. Verse 6 tells us that mankind was meant to rule over the works of God’s hands! In other words, mankind was meant to have authority and dominion over all of outer space!
We have not achieved rulership over the heavens yet. But, we are promised a life of reigning with Christ over a new heavens and earth in the future. And this from a new gorgeous home for us in what can only be a space-city, no less!
Dr. Joseph Dillow writes,
“Man attempts to exercise dominion, but he cannot do it. This desire was planted in man’s heart in the Garden, and the vestige of it remains today. That is why men throughout history have dreamed of having dominion over the planet. That is why we cannot keep off the highest mountain. That is why we want to go to the stars” (Dillow 2006).
Indeed, we will go to the stars! That is our future. The prophet Daniel even says we “shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3, ESV).
Revelation 21: 1-2 describes it briefly:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth – for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Secrets of Creation within the Torah
Centuries ago a group of rabbis theorized that all information pertaining to life itself is encoded within the Torah (the first five books of the bible). Many generations of rabbis have held to this amazing belief for thousands of years.
Many thought this was just a quaint belief system until the Bible codes were discovered through the use of sophisticated computer programs.
Isaac Newton & Bible Codes
Did you know that Sir Isaac Newton told us centuries ago that there are hidden codes in the Bible? He noted that it is in the skipping of letters that hidden messages could be found. Obviously, we didn’t believe him either. Yet, Newton devoted over a million words to this subject alone.
Book of Life
Yet, now we are beginning to wonder if the bible itself could be that “Book of Life” mentioned again and again throughout the pages of scripture. Many famous names from history may be encoded within the bible along with dates of birth, death, and pertinent information about each person.
Bible code researchers claim to have discovered names and deeds of persons like Hitler, Eichman, Clinton, Bush, Obama and others embedded within the texts. Christian and Jewish code researchers have also searched for their own family names with these software search programs. Many claim to have found themselves and their families encoded within the texts, too!
Is all of this just a coincidence? Should we dismiss it without question? (Many do).
Heavenly Records
The Bible may be that heavenly record called the Book of Life in texts such as Philippians 4:3: …“I ask you to help these women…and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
Revelation 3:5 – “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not erase his name from the book of life…”
Revelation 13:8 – “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life…”
Revelation 20:12 – “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened – and another book was opened, which is the book of life…”
Thus it seems that the bible itself may be the book of life – possibly among others that currently exist in heaven.
Is it possible that our personal DNA codes are recorded in the book of life, too? Is this what it means to be “enrolled” or “recorded” in the book of “life?”
Data Compression
By placing hidden codes within the biblical texts, God may not only have given us something to “search out,” but He may also have made good use of “band width.” It is a form of “data compression.”
Multiple uses of Texts
God wasted no space within the holy texts. Information is encoded straight forward, backwards, in the skipping of letters, criss-crossed, and in ways we can only yet imagine. Some feel the texts are extra dimensional as well – our computerized code-search software may be too limited at this point-in-time to discover all that there is to know about hidden bible codes.
Holograph – Protection from Hostile Jamming
In a holographic image, just one small piece of the photographic image contains the whole. Each fragment duplicates the entire image. The Bible appears to function the same way. This may be God’s method for preserving the bible from any of Satan’s attempts to destroy it. It would function as protection against “hostile jamming.” It would defend against sabotage. The Bible repeats its message over and over in multiple texts. In fact, the Bible is a unified message from start to finish.
Genesis 5 – example of a Hidden Message?
For example, did you know that the entire New Testament gospel message is hidden within a genealogy listed in Genesis 5? So says Dr. Chuck Missler of www.Khouse.org.
To find these phenomenon Dr. Missler first determined the Hebrew meaning of the Genesis 5 names. (All ancient Hebrew names meant something like “sorrow” or “one who seeks,” and so forth). When he made the translation of the Genesis 5 names he discovered a sentence revealing the New Testament salvation message:
Adam – Man
Seth – Appointed
Enosh – Mortal
Kenan – Sorrow
Mahalalel – The Blessed God
Jared – Shall come down
Enoch – Teaching
Methuselah – His death shall bring
Lamech – The despairing
Noah – Rest, comfort
The sentence reads: “Man is appointed mortal sorrow. But the blessed God shall come down teaching that His death shall bring the despairing rest & comfort.”
Is that awesome or what? Certainly no rabbis would have conspired to hide the Gospel message in code within their Torah!
Blessings & Curses – Multiple Applications
We also know that God made good multiple uses of prophetic texts. In Ezekiel 7 and Deuteronomy 28 & 29, we find texts that reveal rewards for following God’s law and curses which result from disobedience. These applied to rebellious Israelites and to the nation of Israel. But, it also applies to all nations throughout time. In addition, its passages apply to individuals and to families, too.
Multiple Interpretations Accurate
Those theologians who teach that we must strictly adhere to interpreting a passage from its context – considering the culture in which and to whom it was written, the time, the circumstances, and so forth – may be placing unnecessary and mistaken limitations upon principles of interpreting Bible texts.
Text Proof:
For example, the prophetic passage, “And out of Egypt I called My son” (Hosea 11:2) is taken completely out of context when applied to Jesus’ parents. Yet, Matthew recorded it in Matthew 2:15 as a direct fulfillment of prophecy when Joseph fled from King Herod and took Mary and his child to safety in Egypt. After King Herod’s death they returned, thus fulfilling this prophecy.
Is it possible that God protected young Jesus’ life by “concealing” this passage from the eyes of Satan? If Satan remained ignorant as to the whereabouts of the young Jesus, then King Herod could not hunt him down and kill him when he ordered the slaughter of all male children two years and younger.
Literary Devices
The Bible contains patterns, types, models, and other forms of literary devices. In them the sacrifice of Isaac models the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, for example. The flood of Noah is a foreshadowing of judgment of evil men by revealing the salvation of Noah’s family and some animals (making us wonder about the future possible resurrection of animals).
The Torah contains accounts of the deliverance of Hebrew slaves from Egypt, the establishment of Israel during 40 years of desert wanderings, the giving of the Law and the Ten Commandments. Yet, these writings also contain hidden prophecies such as the feast defining Jesus as a perfect Passover Lamb, Moses and Joseph as “types” of Christ, and so on.
The New Testament plainly tells us that the example of the wilderness wanderings is given for our instruction and guidance: “Now these things took place as examples for us” (1 Corinthians 10:1-12). Hebrews chapter 11 gives us champions of faith to follow such as Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah and others – all “models” from the Old Testament.
Contact, the Movie
In the movie, Contact, a superior being encodes a message and blueprints for a space travel machine within a historical film documentary about Hitler. In a sense this may be similar to Bible codes. God may have used the straightforward texts of the Bible (like the Hitler film) to also encode personal names, current historical facts, past history, and statements regarding mankind among many other things.
We know that only a superior being has the capability to author complex yet interconnected messages within books written through or by over forty authors in a time frame of well over 1600 years. Not only that, but only a superior being who transcends time is able to encode historical facts within 3,000 year old texts before these events even occur! This is called fulfilled prophecy.
Bible codes may “stamp” God’s signature onto the ancient texts.
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Summary of Possible Reasons for Encoded Messages:
– God created us with a need to explore & discover things.
– Exercising dominion over things we have discovered is in our nature.
– The Bible itself contains information to discover & explore.
– The Bible itself may be a “book of life” containing DNA blueprints and individual names.
– Bible codes may reveal good use of data compression, band-width, and holographic information.
– The Bible makes multiple uses of types, patterns, images & models both apparent and concealed for different generations.
– The bible contains security guards against “hostile jamming,” sabotage, or destruction by duplicating its message.
– Hidden prophecies and codes may have protected Jesus against harm, and may protect future generations against attempts to destroy prophetic plans for the planet.
– The bible may be a container for encoded blueprints and creation designs.
– Hidden codes may be God’s “stamp” of divine authorship upon ancient texts.
How wonderful are Thy works and Thy Word! Beam me up, Lord. I’m ready to go to New Jerusalem! (1 Thess. 4:17)
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References:
Dillow, Joseph C. 2006 ed. The reign of the servant kings. Hayesville, NC: Schoettle.
Jeffrey, Grant. 1998. The signature of God. Nashville, TN: Word.
Missler, Chuck. 1999. Cosmic codes: Hidden messages from the edge of eternity. Coeur d’Alene, ID: Koinonia House.
Muncaster, Ralph. 2000. Are there hidden codes in the Bible? Eugene, OR: Harvest House.
Websites:
www.biblecodedigest.com
www.grantjeffrey.com
www.khouse.org.
www.thebiblecodes.com
www.michaelsheiser.com. (A non hysterical look at why codes may not work).