CONTENDING FOR FAITH
~ The Received Text ~
ONCE DELIVERED TO THE SAINTS
CHAPTER IV
THE BIBLE CODES
“Don’t just read your Bible – Count It!” – David Bay
|
|
KJV BIBLE CODES
It becomes difficult to dismiss the thought that Gail Riplinger is performing the same function as the “Christian Kabbalists” of the Italian Renaissance and the Rosicrucians of the English Renaissance, who also claimed to be “Christian Kabbalists.” The first batch of false converts posed as enlightened Christians in possession of the key to understanding the hidden truth of Scripture – the Cabala – and they managed to gain the confidence of the Roman Catholic hierarchy by claiming that Kabbalah could be used to prove Christian doctrine. Their hidden agenda, however, was to introduce Kabbalistic methods of interpreting Scripture which could also be used to introduce false doctrines.
Gail’s promotion of Kabbalists and their quest for hidden meanings in the letters of Scripture is conditioning her readers for the false teaching that Francis Bacon and his Rosicrucian brotherhood encrypted secret information in the King James Version. In a 2006 presentation to the Prophecy Club, Gail informed the audience of an exciting discovery by “mathematical statisticians” of Equidistant Letter Sequences (ELS) in Genesis:
“This particular article is called ‘Equidistant Letter Sequences in the Book of Genesis.’ Several Hebrew scholars took the book of Genesis and using a computer they discovered Equidistant Letter Sequences. They found embedded in the text of the Hebrew Bible the names of people...not people like Moses, but people who lived in the 1900s. It included not only their names but the day they were born, the day they died, and the cities they were born and died in. Now these were in the Hebrew text, not written straight out, but they were equidistant letter sequences. In other words, every third letter would spell their name or every fourth letter. It could be across, down, diagonally, and only a computer could pull all of this information out. The men that they found, the names of the people they found lived in the 5th century, 6th century, 10th century, 19th century.”
Gail did not mention that the data plugged into the computer were ...“personalities...taken from the
Encyclopedia of Great Men in Israel” and that
the encoding of names and dates of “great Torah sages” [read: Kabbalists] proves the “divinity of the Torah,”
which is a fundamental principal of Kabbalah. (See: “Equidistant
Letter Sequences in the Book of Genesis”
by Doron Witztum, Eliyahu Rips and Yoav Rosenberg)
Other promoters of the popular Bible Code phenomenon include Chuck Missler, the author of Cosmic Codes: Hidden Messages, Grant Jeffrey (The Mysterious Hebrew Codes) and other “Christian” Kabbalists who have been cracking the “Bible Codes” which Francis Bacon and his band of the Knights of the Helmet supposedly encrypted in the KJV.
David Bay, who sells the books of Missler, Jeffrey and other Kabbalists, advises Christians, “Don’t just read your Bible – Count It!” This exhortation links to an article on “Bible Numerics” which is a tribute to the work of numerologist, Ivan Panin, whose computations led him to conclude that God did not inspire the Textus Receptus at all but, instead, put his seal of approval on the Greek Text of Westcott and Hort:
“Without the aid of Wescott and Hort I could not have really done my work, because the text of the Authorized Version from my point of view – not from the point of view of salvation or doctrine even, but from the textual point of view – the text of the Authorized Version was useless to me, and for this reason: it has too many inaccuracies for my special purpose…
“…Wescott and Hort based all their work largely on the Vatican and Sinai MSS., and decided that wherever the two MSS. agreed, that should generally settle the reading. Well, you know, there has been some doubt cast upon the Sinai MSS., because a very shrewd Greek copied a great many MSS. and tried to foist his own MSS. on the folk, so that has left a cloud on the Sinai MSS., and some people see fit to cast doubt on it even now, when there is the question as to whether the British Government did wisely to take part in its acquisition ... I have analysed the Greek words for the Sinai and Vatican Codexes. I have here page after page of the numerics of those words in Greek. Whenever we wish to study numerics relating to our own affairs or life or anything else, we must always remember that the language in which God wishes us to count is Greek, because He left the name of the anti-christ in Greek. You and I will have to stand the test when anti-christ comes. The Holy Spirit has given us warning. ‘Be sure not to receive this mark of the beast upon you,’ because it will be the number of the beast upon ourselves. The Holy Spirit warns us that he is 666, that is, in Greek. You and I have to go to numerics in Greek when we wish to prove the correctness of a passage. The three words show striking numerics. There is a system there of sevens and nines at once on the blackboard. I have here page after page of the numerics of those three words. The Sinai Codex has a separate scheme of its own and the Vatican Codex has a separate scheme of its own.’
“That is how God has set His seal on His book; so that by the aid of the text presented to us by Wescott and Hort, I was able to verify everything they stated, and verify all the doubtful readings, so that those two great MSS. can be established in such a way that no one can attack their authenticity. This is the testimony of numerics as to any aspersion on the Sinai Codex.” (“Bible Numerics Examined" – Part II)
According to one critique of “Bible Numerics Examined”, Ivan Panin doctored the Greek Text to arrive at a predetermined conclusion:
“One of the best-known examples of Ivan Panin’s work concerns the first part of the New Testament, namely the first one or two chapters of the Gospel of Matthew… Ivan Panin was not the only writer to undertake this study. In 1923, R. McCormack published The Heptadic Structure of Scripture (Marshall Brothers), which also showed a great many features of the number 7 in the first two chapters of Matthew… In order to produce these patterns, they modified the text using the many variant readings that appear in old manuscripts. In addition to this deliberate cooking of the data, they presented some of the vast number of features of 7 that appear in any text by pure chance. The only logical conclusion we can draw from this sorry episode is that neither author achieved anything beyond self-delusion.” (Brendan McKay, “In Search of Mathematical Miracles”)
Even William Varner, a proponent of modern versions, dismissed Ivan Panin’s “Bible numerics” as meaningless, since numerics, like statistics, can be manipulated to prove whatever theory the numerologist wishes to promote:
“Another writer on ‘numerics’ popular among some evangelicals is Ivan Panin. Panin’s elaborate system of ‘Bible Numerics’ actually attempted to establish the true text of the NT. The real problem with this and all methods of gematria is that one receives from their use just what he puts into them. The possible number of permutations is endless, particularly when dividing numerical totals into factors! For example, consider Panin’s treatment of Gen 1:1:
“‘The numeric value of the first word of this verse is 913; of the last 296; of the middle, the fourth word, 401; the numeric value of the first, middle and last words is thus 1610, or 230 sevens (Feature 7); the numeric value of the first, middle, and last letters of the 28 letters of this verse is 133, or 19 sevens (Feature 8). If now the first and last letters of each of the seven words in this verse have their numeric value placed against them, we have for their numeric value 1383, or 199 sevens.’
“Factoring number totals can prove almost anything. The practice also lends itself to omitting anything that does not fit a particular theory…
“There is no objective basis for controlling this methodology. The interpreter selects his words, and the combinations of numbers that he wishes. In other words 7 might have several combinations (6 + 1, 5 + 2, 4 + 3). How do we know which of these combinations the author intended to bear symbolic implications? This whole system is based on a false premise. There is no proof that the Hebrews of the Old Testament used their alphabet in this manner (i.e., in Gematria). As was pointed out earlier, the Moabite Stone and the Siloam Inscription have their numbers written out. This is the case in all the Old Testament. If we should grant that the Hebrews did use their alphabet in this manner, it has yet to be proven that these two factors (i.e., Gematria and Number Symbolism) are combined in Scripture.” (“The Christian Use of Jewish Numerology”)
Panin’s Bible numerics prove to be a hoax; however, like Westcott and Hort, his New Testament scheme was not in vain, for nearly a century later Christians are turning to Bible codes to ascertain which of the Greek Texts is the inspired Word of God. The average Christian, who knows little or nothing about mathematics or Greek texts, will probably never figure out that these Kabbalists “cooked the books” to promote a hidden agenda.
One kabbalistic work by David Lane titled “The Mystery Religions & the Seven Seals” reveals what we believe is the endgame of the Bible code cult. Lane’s essay begins by crediting the King James Bible to Francis Bacon and the Rosicrucians who encoded “ancient wisdom” within the sacred text.
“By the simple process of changing letters to numbers or numbers to letters both mathematical and written messages can be encoded. Sir Francis Bacon and the initiates who constructed the English language authorized King James Bible formed it as a device to encode the ancient wisdom. It may well be the most intricate such book in history. In addition the division of the bible into books, chapters, verses and words form it into a physical representation of the seven squares called the ‘Seven Spirits of God,’ and these match the hidden codes in the text…”
Like David Bay, the author of this piece of blasphemy appeals to Psalm 46 as “proof” of Francis Bacon’s authorship:
“The author of the KJV, Sir Francis Bacon, used as his cipher signature the numbers 666 and 33. That is why you will find 33 words in the center chapter and shortest chapter of the bible, Psalm 117. Now count 666 chapters backward from the end of the bible (Revelation 22). You will find that the 666th chapter from the end is Psalm 46. Count 46 words from the beginning of the psalm and the word is ‘shake.’ Exclusive of Bacon's signature word ‘Selah,’ you will find that the 46th word from the end of the psalm is ‘spear.’ And that is how we are told that Sir Francis Bacon wrote the works falsely attributed to Shakespeare and that he is responsible for the KJV of the bible…
“Remember that Sir Francis Bacon and other initiates formed the modern English alphabet and thousands of root words, including those used in religion and politics by deliberate design and with complete knowledge. For example, in earlier times Jesus was Yashua and God was Yahweh in the older languages. Jesus and Jesus Christ were Hermetic creations, although in some respects they echo older formulations.”
According to Gene Gordon writing for the Authors’ Den, the so-called “Baconian ciphers” are shoddy evidence that Francis Bacon authored, not only the 1611 KJV, but the complete works of Shakespeare and countless other works attributed to famous poets, playwrights and novelists:
“…And, we are asked to believe, Bacon was also author of the 37 ‘Shakespeare’ plays and 154 Sonnets! Nay, more! Bacon wrote the Authorized Version of the Bible, Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy, the plays of Marlowe plus those of more than seven additional dramatists of the time, Montaigne’s Essays in the original French, the works of Milton, Swift, and even Thomas Carlyle of the 19th century!
“The primary method of proof they teach at the Bacon school is cryptography or ‘secret writing: the enciphering and deciphering of messages in secret code or cipher.’ The Baconians are like children who cannot go without their game of anagram. Here’s how it works: in Love’s Labours Lost there is a so-called nonsense’ word ‘honorificabilitudinitatibus.’ Baconians will swear that Sir Francis himself inserted this word, for it forms an anagram revealing that he is the true author. The letters shuffled around give us in Latin ‘hi ludi F. Baconis nati tuiti orbi’ or ‘these plays born of F. Bacon are preserved for the world.’ The idea is that Bacon invented this nonsense word so we would decode it and uncover his identity. How foolish and ignorant are the Baconians! The word honorificabilitudinitatibus is a real word, a medieval Latin word, going back to 1055 AD. Dante used that long, long word more than once, and so did other authors of the time. It means ‘the state of being able to achieve honors,’ a state in which the Baconians are decidedly not to be found.
“Here’s another hilarious Baconian ‘proof:’ Look at the Title Page of the First Folio. (SHOW FOLIO) You see the numbers 1623 (the year of publication). Now assign numbers to letters of the alphabet - A equals 1, B equals 2, C equals 3, and so forth. Then the 1 in 1623 becomes A, the 6 becomes F, the 2 becomes B, and the 3 becomes C, yielding AFBC. Now to AFBC we must add the two letters ‘ON’ from the word LONDON (which also appears on the Title Page). Now we have AFBCON and this gives the cryptic secret signature of Francis Bacon. For don’t you see, if you shift around the letters AFBCON you get F. BACON! Stunning proof!
“By the way, with a method such as this we can easily ‘prove’ that Shakespeare wrote the King James Bible. When in 1611 the King James Bible appeared Shakespeare was 46 years of age. The number 46 is crucial. If we take Psalm 46, the 46th word from the beginning is ‘shake’ and the 46th word from the end is ‘spear’!
“With such wretched and pitiful tricks and games as these the Baconians ‘prove’ their case. And they write books 1,000 pages thick (the New York Public Library has 134 books on Baconian cryptography) – books full of obscure and esoteric letters and numbers. Nay, they go beyond that: some use ouija boards and make contact with Bacon’s spirit at séances.” (“The Fat's in the Fire: Shakespeare is Bacon”)
David Lane then proceeded to dismiss the words of God as meaningless in a literal sense, and meaningful only as a parable encrypted with ancient wisdom:
“The bible is in fact a huge Hermetic parable from end to end, and attempts to read it literally will only drive men insane or lead to division into hundreds or even thousands of competing sects, and ultimately religious warfare…
“An initiate in the mysteries, if seeing the bible for the first time, would note immediately the masses of numbers having nothing to do with moral tenets and know that it was hermetic coding, or what Jews call ‘cabalism.’… By now you should begin to realize that the words of the bible mean virtually nothing unless combined with number and the wisdom of an initiate. The words are filler, not history...” (“The Mystery Religions & the Seven Seals”)
The words of God are “filler,” having nothing to do with moral tenets? What would Jesus say about the so-called Torah codes?
“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men,... And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition... Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.” (Mark 7:6-13)
JESUS CHRIST ≠ THE ANTICHRIST!
Having diverted the reader from the literal interpretation of Scripture – what God actually said – and having convinced him that the “secret codes” contained therein are the “key” to understanding the “deeper truths” of the Bible, Kabbalists are then in unique position to alter the doctrines of Scripture. This they do with astonishing brazenness, and in the process they reveal their true colors as Kabbalist Jews who, like the Pharisees of old, are determined to prove, not only that is Jesus Christ not the Messiah, but that He is the very Antichrist!
Compare the blasphemy of the Pharisees with the blasphemy of Kabbalist David Lane:
“And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.” (Matt. 12:23-24)
|
“When Sir Francis Bacon and others formed the structure of the King James Bible, added letters to and set in order the letters of the English alphabet and formulated the names associated with Christianity in the English language, it was done in conformity to the ancient and sacred number canon… “In Chapter 1 the number 74 is represented in the words Jesus and God. Shortly we shall see that the holy names are designed to both conceal and accomplish far more than just 74. “Do not be dismayed by the connection between the number 666 and the holy names through the Sun Square and the number 74. Instead learn to read the authorized version English language King James Bible with the eyes of an adept in the mysteries. The famous verse, Revelation 13:18 reads in part, ‘count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.’ A Hermetic philosopher would look at that sentence and conclude the following: 1) There are two entities, a man and a beast, both associated with the number 666. 2) Since 666 is stated, there must be something else to count that will in turn relate to 666. 3) Since 666 is one of the seven spirits of God the Creator, and the beast is evil, then the beast must usurp the number of the man…
“Here are Jesus and God in the English language as the names were designed by Sir Francis Bacon and other initiates.
J E S U S
G = 7 O = the Sun and Sun Square inside the Zodiac circle D = 4 (…)
G = 7
“The 666 Sun Square contains 9 squares and rectangles whose four corners total 74, as 9 x 74 = 666.
Concentric Squares:
6 + 1 + 31 + 36 = 74
Rectangles:
7 + 30 + 12 + 25 = 74
“The ancient mythology of a Sun God, born at the winter solstice, resurrected near the vernal equinox, worshipped on Sun-day, whose name demonstrates the Kabalistic number canon is a certain sign of a hermetically created Mystery religion. ‘Jesus’ equals 74. J = 10
E = 5
S = 19
U = 21
S = +19
74
“‘Just coincidence!’ cry the believers, as their eyes glaze in irrational denial.” (Mystery Religions & the Seven Seals)
|
This gematric feat purports to ‘prove’ the foundational thesis of Astrotheology – that Jesus Christ was the Sun God – however, it doesn’t stop there but pushes this blasphemous proclamation one step further and declares that the Christian God, Jesus, is therefore the Antichrist. On the Benny Hinn show, Messianic Rabbi Itzhak Shapira declared that gematria proves that Jesus is the Serpent.
|
“Itzhak
Shapira, Jewish Mystic & author of the Kabbalistic book, ‘The Return
of The Kosher Pig,’ to Benny Hinn: ‘The Hebrew words SERPENT &
MESSIAH are the SAME WORD.’
“One of the main teachings of Shapira is that Christianity is Edom, which is responsible for the current 2,000-year exile of the Jews. This fable is expounded upon in the kabbalistic mystical book, Kol HaTor, and in the 1932 book, The Jewish Utopia, by Rabbi Michael Higger. “While claiming to be a follower of ‘Yeshua,’ (Again, Yeshua is NOT Jesus) Shapira has made countless videos in which he vehemently tells Christians to leave Christianity and return to Judaism. According to the Midrash, the mystery of the kosher pig’s return is summed up in an end-time paradigm shift scenario in which Christianity undergoes a spiritual transformation and rejection of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, which renders them kosher.” |
As we have seen, David Bay heartily endorsed the use of gematria in his tribute to “Ivan Panin: Russia's Gift to Christianity.” Since gematria doesn’t work with the KJV if the words are ever changed, David had to assure his readership that “even though some of the most evil men in world history had their hands on the King James Bible from the inside out, they could not change one bit of the text!” This also explains why Gail Riplinger admonishes her readers that not even one word or syllable or even a letter of the King James Bible may ever be changed lest “grave consequences” ensue.
“Since the words of the historic English Bible are the source for letter meanings, the Holy Bible cannot be changed or replaced. Moving from its words removes readers from the key to understanding their own language…
“No word can be changed in the Holy Bible without grave consequences to its order. If the meaningless ‘hairs of your head are all numbered,’ how much more would he number each pen stroke of ‘one jot or one tittle’ in his word (Matt. 5:18 and 10:30). (In Awe of Thy Word, p. 108-9)
To reinforce her solemn warning that not a word of the King James Version may be changed, Riplinger attaches a short list of coincidental “11s” and “22s” found in the KJV – a list which reveals her talent for occult numerology.
|
“No word can be changed in the Holy Bible without grave consequences to its order. If the meaningless ‘hairs of your head are all numbered,’ how much more would he number each pen stroke of ‘one jot or one tittle’ in his word (Matt. 5:18 and 10:30).
“Erasmus said, ‘God is in every syllable.’ (The Bible Through the Ages, p. 306)
“(Similar ordered phenomena are discussed elsewhere in the book, e.g. chapter 10 and p. 332)” (In Awe of Thy Word, p. 109)
|
Riplinger’s emphasis on the numbers 11 and 22 is revealing, for they are “Master numbers” in “cabalistic studies,” according to The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince:
“There is a good reason for the emphasis on eleven and twenty-twos: these numbers are both ‘Master numbers’ in the occult. They are particularly significant in cabalistic studies.” (Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ, Touchstone, 1998, p. 203)
Aleister Crowley wrote in his Book Of The Law, channeled by his Holy Guardian Angel Aiwass, that the angels (demons) have numbers: “My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us.”
Kenneth Grant, the current Grand Master of Aleister Crowley’s outfit, the Ordo Templis Orientalis (OTO), explained that “11” is the number of a most important Sephiroth on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life:
“…eleven is the number of Magick and of the sephirah on the Tree of Life, called Daath, which is the ‘Gateway’ to the backside of the Tree and to the Gods...” (571)
In the nineteenth century, William Wynn Westcott co-founded the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn with S. L. MacGregor Mathers. Westcott translated the Hebrew text, the Sephir Yetsirah, the most famous of the ancient Kabalistic texts, to use as a primary source for the rituals and lectures of the Golden Dawn. The Sephir Yetsirah is the oldest Rabbinical treatise of Kabalistic philosophy on the alphabetic and numeric processes involved in the origin of the universe and mankind. According to the Kabbalist Rabbis, “Jehovah” converted the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet into sounds which created all things and then revealed the mysteries of the 22 letters to the patriarch, Abraham, who wrote the Sephir Yetsirah.
|
“Section 1. In thirty-two (1) mysterious Paths of Wisdom did Jah, (2) the Jehovah of hosts, (3) the God of Israel, (4) the Living Elohim, (5) the King of ages, the merciful and gracious God, (6) the Exalted One, the Dweller in eternity, most high and holy—engrave his name by the three Sepharim (7)—Numbers, Letters, and Sounds.(8)
“2. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth. (9) Twenty-two are the Letters, the Foundation of all things; there are Three Mothers, Seven Double and Twelve (10) Simple letters...
“10. The second: God produces air from this spirit and converts it into 22 sounds, the letters of the alphabet... But even above these does the spirit stand in value.
“JHVH, through the 32 paths, inscribed his name using the 3 forms of expression called letters, numbers and sound. There are 10 sacred Sephiroth. The foundation of things are the 22 letters. Of these, three are mothers; seven double and twelve simple are the remainder. but the Spirit is first and above these.”
CHAPTER II “Section 1. The twenty-two sounds and letters are the Foundation of all things. Three mothers, seven doubles and twelve simples. The Three Mothers are Aleph, Mem and Shin, they are Air, Water and Fire Water is silent, Fire is sibilant, and Air derived from the Spirit is as the tongue of a balance standing between these contraries which are in equilibrium, reconciling and mediating between them. “2. He hath formed, weighed, and composed with these twenty-two letters every created thing, and the form of everything which shall hereafter be... “5. For He shewed the combination of these letters, each with the other; Aleph with all, and all with Aleph; Beth with all, and all with Beth. Thus in combining all together in pairs are produced the two hundred and thirty-one gates of knowledge. (32)
“6. And from the non-existent (33) He made Something; and all forms of speech and everything that has been produced; from the empty void He made the material world, and from the inert earth He brought forth everything that hath life. He hewed, as it were, vast columns out of the intangible air, and by the power of His Name made every creature and everything that is; and the production of all things from the twenty-two letters is the proof that they are all but parts of one living body. (34)”
CHAPTER VI
4. And after that our father Abraham had perceived and understood, and had taken down and engraved all these things, the Lord most high (55) revealed Himself, and called him His beloved, and made a Covenant with him and his seed; and Abraham believed on Him (56) and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. And He made this Covenant as between the ten toes of the feet--this is that of circumcision; and as between the ten fingers of the hands and this is that of the tongue. (57) And He formed the twenty-two letters into speech (58) and shewed him all the mysteries of them. (59) He drew them through the Waters; He burned them in the Fire; He vibrated them in the Air; Seven planets in the heavens, and Twelve celestial constellations of the stars of the Zodiac. |
“The geometric configurations and mathematical formulae concealed within the seven spirits/seals are almost infinite, and the King James Bible forms through code wheels and gematria a physical representation of the seven figures. Thus again, there is a Hermetic meaning for John 1:1, God is the Word. A reason for the admonition at the end of Revelation to not add or subtract from this book of prophecy, is because addition and subtraction are mathematical functions. We are told to not alter, not change, not edit, not modify, not switch, not substitute, not transpose or any other such possibilities.” (“The Mystery Religions and the Seven Seals”)
The reason Kabbalists forbid revising the text of the King James Version is that any changes would mess up the Hermetic codes which (they believe) reveal the ancient wisdom. Is retaining the “Bible codes” in the KJV—which will be used by Jewish and “Christian” Kabbalists to blaspheme Jesus Christ—the hidden agenda of David Bay and Gail Riplinger?