In recent days we have seen a great deal of publicity on the discovery of hidden messages in the Torah, the five books of the Mosaic Law, based on what are now called “equidistant letter sequences” (ELS). These have only been discovered due to the rise of high-speed computers, and therefore the information could never have been available prior to the last twenty years or so.
But there is another field of cryptology, known from antiquity, but seldom given sufficient attention by modern investigators. The hidden information has a cross-over between the two Testaments, and tends to tie them together into a single document, not just a Bible as we know it, but a codification of ideas, concepts, and beliefs. It is doubtful whether the ELS technique would work on New Testament Greek, due to the many variations found in extant manuscripts, but the Numerical Code here to be explained can be shown to pervade the WHOLE Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
One wonders what St. Augustine had in mind when he wrote,
“Numbers are the thoughts of God – – the Divine Wisdom is reflected in the numbers impressed on all things – – the construction of the physical and moral world alike is based on eternal numbers.”
In 1686 Goad (CelestiaI Bodies’ iLi.156) wrote,
“I am perswaded – – that there may be something in Cabala, Gematry, something in the mysterious Force of Numbers, in Critical Days, Climactic Years, etc.”
Goad was referring to the practice of GEMATRIA, whereby the letters used in ancient Hebrew and Greek texts also have a numerical value (NV) simply because the languages used letters for WORDS and NUMBERS alike, they never had different symbols as we do today. The word GEMATRIA is Greek in origin, compounded of GE and METRIA, in other words ‘land measurement”. We obtain our word GEOMETRY from it, and now use it to describe that branch of mathematics that deals with AREAS and VOLUMES.
At the end of this article the two alphabets are given, together with the numerical values of each letter.
Two simple examples will then explain how GEMATRIA works. In Hebrew the word for FATHER is AB, compounded of the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Hence its NV would be 1 + 2 = 3.
In Greek the word AND is KAI and this has an NV of 20 + 1 + 10 = 31.
Our purpose in writing this brief article is not to force conclusions, or to manipulate people’s beliefs, but rather to present strange and cryptic information which may help some in their own personal struggles of life to determine and define the parameters of their faith. Some may find a supernatural, unseen hand at work. Many Jews have used the ‘Bible Code” with its ELSs to strengthen faith in the Torah. Other Jews have strongly objected! Each one has to use the information as he/she wills.
The following is a pot-pouri of examples we have gathered, something to whet the appetite of those who wish to enter this field of study for themselves. And in PTs 110 to 113 to follow, further examples will be given.
In Genesis 14:14 we find Abraham about to go to war with 318 of his own trained servants from his household. The exactness of this number is intriguing. Why should it have been necessary to state it as such? Buf even more so when in the next chapter, the name of Abrahams chief servant is given as ELIEZER, and the NV of his name comes out to be 318. We quote this example first to show that there is perhaps a clue here to ancient methods of computation, because the NVs only work on the basis of a DENARY SYSTEM, in other words, counting in the base 10.
In 1 Kings 10:14 and 2 Chronicles 9:13 we are told that King Solomon received revenue from his satellite states amounting to 666 talents of gold per annum. That is a colossal sum! But two points should be mentioned here. (a) The Authorised Version says, “six hundred, three score and six” making it seem as though Hebrew used a Septenary System. but in fact it was a device of the English translators rather than the original, which reads “Six humdred, sixty, and six.” (b) thenumber itself generates great interest today amongst people. We recall reading in the Daily Telegraph (2nd May 1991) an article headed “Devil of a problem for cars with 666”. Apparently the DVLA in Swansea found that there were so many reports of strange accidents involved with cars having the number 666 that it was decided to scrap it altogether. “It has been agreed that under DVLA regulations the 666 is not used on any registration because it is the number of the devil”! Certainly the number 666 generates interest, but we have already covered much of this material in a previous PT, (No. 34, entitled “Money Lovers”) and will not therefore duplicate it here.
In John’s Gospel 21:11 we read about Peter hauling a net full of fishes ashore and counting them. The precise tally is given as 153. Once again, why should it have been necessary to state the number to this degree of accuracy? Would it not have been sufficient to have said “about 150”? But some researchers have found that in Genesis and Job the expression “sons of God”, which in Hebrew is B’NAI FIA-ELOHIM has an NV of 153. Can there be some cryptic message intended here by John? We shall return to this subject in PT 111.
. Then again, we find in John 1:42 (and quoted by Paul five times in his letters) that Simon is not only surnamed Peter, but given an extra name CEPHAS. Now this name is taken from the Hebrew KEPHA, meaning a stone. So why did they put an S on the end, making it KEPHAS? Could It be something to do with its NV? It turns out to be 729, which is very significant, being a CUBIC NUMBER, i.e. 9 X 9 X 9. Ancients were particularly keen on SQUARE and CUBIC numbers, hence the word GEMATRIA, as we have already shown. But this is not the end. Jesus said “Upon this ROCK I will build my church.” The word ROCK is PETRA in Greek, having an NV of 486, and 486 just happens to have the factors of 9 X 9 X 6. One is almost drawn to a conclusion that Peter was to be the EMBODIMENT of the truth he’d uttered about Jesus being“the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Were the disciples also students of GEMATRIA? Was their Master also teaching them the hidden meaning of numbers? We shall never know for sure, but there are these, and a great many other indicators throughout the Bible to suggest that it could have been so.
Several scholars have written papers on the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, which they have found to be cluttered with an amazing number of occurrences of the numbers 7 and 37. On reading these papers, we have been amazed at just how much numerical magic is present. Why 7? Why 37? One answer to the 37 may come from the New Testament and the name of Jesus. In the Greek it reads IESOUS, and has an NV of 888. This number, apart from its contrast with 666, has factors of 37 X 24, and 24 itself is 8 + 8 + 8. Is there some hidden magic about 37? Once again, we shall leave it for the moment and return in more detail in PT 113.
We return now to the subject of Kephas, whose name had a number hidden within it, 729 or 9 X 9 X 9, making an ashlar, or cubic stone. But Jesus told him that he would be called Peter (PETROS in Greek) also meaning “stone.” Because of the three-dimensional nature of the name KEPHAS, it suggests a search for other words that have a cubic nature. In the Old Testament the word for the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the Tabernacle or Temple, was called DEBIR in Hebrew. Its number is 216, or 6 X 6 X 6. The Greek word for the Altar is TO THUSIASTEERION, which adds up to 1728, or 12 X 12 X 12. The thematic view of these words is that of the Church, or the New Jerusalem, which in Revelation is actually described as having equal dimensions of length, breadth, and height, being 12,000 stadia each way. And Peter, being a foundation stone of that structure, seems to have been given a name containing his function in the building of the Church. He was the one who, on the Day of Pentecost, was the main speaker, and he was also the one who was sent, by vision, to Cornelius to open the “door” to the Gentiles. Others stepped into his shoes in later times, but he was the one appointed to act in the first instance to both Jew and Gentile.
Finally, some further thoughts about the name of Jesus, which so cryptically adds up to 888. The name itself is identical toJOSHUA in the Old Testament, a name which means SALVATION OF GOD. The Angel spoke to Mary about the birth of her Royal Son, saying “You shall call His name Jesus, because He shall save His people from their sins.” As with so many Bible characters, Jesus was no exception, in that His name was encoded to be a depiction of His work. In Isaiah 52:10, we read the expression, “Salvation of our God.” The Hebrew reads YESHUATH ELOHEENU, and its NV is 888. There could hardly be a clearer numerical forecast of Messiah’s coming to His people.
This is not all. In Malachi 3:6 we read “I am Jehovah, I change not.” The NV here is the same, in other words 888. To those who are eager to believe it, the Jehovah of the Old Testament seems to be the Jesus of the New. That is a theological point, and not the focus of our present paper, but we have no doubt that it might arouse interesting discussion in many church circles, and perhaps even amongst the Jews!
When Abraham returned from the warfare that we mentioned near the beginning of this paper, he made an impassioned remark, as follows, (Gen.14:22) “I have sworn by Jehovah God most High, possessor of heaven and earth.”This has an NV of 1776, or 888 X 2. In this sequence, the Thematically Related Gematria (TRG) has small boundaries, and seems wholly connected with the Godhead. But the number 888, as we showed before, is 37 X 24, and therefore takes on the character of 37. It may be of interest to know the following connected sequence –
Godhead is THEOTEES, NV = 592. or 37 X 16
Jesus is IESOUS, NV = 888, or 37 X 24
Christ is CHRISTOS NV = 1480, or 37 X 40
But the title that Jesus persistently used of Himself is “Son of Man”, which is HUIOS TOU ANTHROPU in Greek, having an NV of 2960.
It isn’t immediately obvious what this number means, other than saying that its factors are 37 X 80, but when it is realised that it is the SUM OF 592, 888, and 1480 (i.e. Godhead + Jesus + Christ) then it comes as somewhat of a bombshell, providing as near proof as most people might want to authenicate the principles of Gematria.
Father, Son and Spirit in Greek is PATER, HUIOS, KAI PNEUMA, and this has an NV of 1776, again having factors of 888 X 2. Our last thought is that Jesus called Himself “The Way, the Truth, and the Life.” The Greek word for Truth isALEETHEIA, an it has an NV of 64 which is 8 X 8. What more fitting number could there be under the circumstances of the whole Gospel message? And to make a personal testimony of belief, we declare that Jesus is not only the Son of God, but GOD THE SON. We believe the Trinity is the Cornerstone of our doctrinal belief structure, without which the whole structure would fall down. This was stated in our paper on the Trinity, No. 96.
We shall leave it there. It is but a brief survey, and all of it comes from well established sources.
