A popular book claims that there is a secretly embedded code in the Bible, discernible by computer calculations. Is this true?
Answer:
The idea that God designed the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. so that special computer programs would be necessary to find clues hidden in the text is spurious. While it is true that God inspired the ScripturesThe divinely inspired writings of both the Old and New Testaments. The term Scripture is used in the New Testament to refer to both the Hebrew Bible (Luke 24:44-45) and the new apostolic writings accepted as inspired (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:18). in a way that veils their meaning, the key to understanding is God's Spirit—not a codebook or a clever mathematician.
The apostle Paul wrote, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God...nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). The Spirit of God is a gift to the children of God, not restricted to a few who discover the keys to a hidden code.
Read the words of this related prophecy found in Isaiah 29:10-12: "For the Lord has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes [blocked your understanding]… The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed [closed, unable to be understood], which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, 'Read this, please.' And he says, 'I cannot, for it is sealed.' Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, 'Read this, please.' And he says, 'I am not literate.'"
Neither the religiously educated nor people who do not study the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. can understand it without God's help. All will be able to understand spiritual truth, not because they discover a secret code by mathematical formula, but rather because God supernaturally opens their minds. God reveals truth to those whom He calls, who show themselves willing to obey Him (Acts 5:32).
We recommend that you review our booklet, Transforming Your Life: The Process of Conversion, which explains what the BibleThe books (Greek, "biblia" ) that are acknowledged as canonical (authoritative) by the early Christian Church. It includes both the books of the ancient Hebrew prophets and those of the apostolic witnesses to Jesus Christ. says about how a person comes to repentance, receives faith, undergoes baptism and receives the gift of the Spirit of God.
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