A number of books, articles, and Internet sites have in recent months been devoted to the subject known as the Bible code, Torah codes, or Equidistant Letter Sequences (ELS). Much excitement concerning this subject has followed the publication of a paper on the subject in Statistical Science in 1994. [1] In this peer-reviewed paper, the authors conducted controlled experiments which provided rigorous statistical proof that meaningful information about then-future individuals was encoded as equidistant letter sequences (ELS) in Genesis in patterns that were much too improbable to have occurred by random chance.

Since that time a number of disputes have arisen concerning the subject. One such dispute is whether the phenomenon is limited only to the Torah (the five books of Moses, also called the Pentateuch) or is found in the rest of the Tanach (the Hebrew Scriptures, referred to by Christians as the Old Testament) as well. Another dispute has been whether or not any meaningful codes provide evidence that Jesus of Nazareth [Yeshua, or ayin (A) - vav (U)- shin (Sh) - yod (Y) in Hebrew (remember that Hebrew is read right to left)] was the Messiah. A reasonable hypothesis is that if Jesus was the Messiah, G-d [2] would have provided evidence for this not only in the prophecies of the Tanach which Christians claim were fulfilled by Jesus, but also in the equidistant letter sequence phenomenon so recently validated scientifically. Conversely, if Jesus were not the Messiah, G-d would have indicated this by ELS since He is history's leading candidate (by far) for the Messiah. This paper addresses this issue.

A handful of books by Christian authors [3] contain material noting that A-U-Sh-Y or various phrases containing the word A-U-Sh-Y have been found as ELS's in the Hebrew Scriptures. The relevance of these findings has been criticized by noting that this four-letter combination with two of the most frequently occurring Hebrew letters (Vav, and Yod) will occur hundreds or thousands of times as ELS's in any reasonably-sized Hebrew text. (For example, it occurs as an ELS, forward or reverse spelling, 1564 times in Genesis using a skip distance of 1 to 500.) Another criticism is that the phenomenon is valid only with ELS's that are at minimal or near-minimal skip distances [4], and that many of the occurrences of A-U-Sh-Y that are cited by these authors are not at minimal or near-minimal skip distances. These are both valid criticisms.

In light of these two factors, I decided to do a search for the near-minimal skip distance occurrences of one phrase mentioned in the books by Rambsel and Jeffrey. That phrase is Yeshua Shmi (yod-mem-shin-ayin-vav-shin-yod), or "Jesus is My name". Rambsel and Jefferey report [3] that this phrase (in reverse spelling) is found at a skip distance of 20 in Isaiah 53:8-10. This is part of a passage (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) universally interpreted by Christians to be a prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion. As such, the ELS would be very relevant to the text in which it is found. Secondly, for a seven-letter phrase, it seemed possible that a skip distance of 20 might be the shortest skip distance occurrence of this ELS in the entire Hebrew Scriptures. [5] It was therefore decided to search [6] through the Tanach for the ELS yod-mem-shin-ayin-vav-shin-yod (forward and reverse spellings) at a skip distance range of 1 to 200. Thus for any other near-minimal skip distance occurrences, one could see whether or not the phrase was relevant to the text in which the ELS was found. [7]

The search yielded four occurrences in this skip distance range, as shown in the table below. (Note that the chapter, verse, word, and position within the word of each Hebrew letter in the ELS are shown.)

In Job 33:9,10 Elihu is paraphrasing Job's argument. "I am pure, without transgression; I am innocent and there is no guilt in me. Behold, He invents pretexts against me; He counts me as His enemy." [8] It must be noted that the passage is not part of a messianic prophecy, and I am not claiming it to be so. However, one may ask if the text is relevant to the ELS 'Yeshua Shmi' ("Jesus is My name"). Superficially, one might apply only verse 9 to Jesus, saying it shows His purity and innocence. On the other hand, one might also superficially only apply verse 10 to Jesus, saying it shows that Jesus was G-d's enemy. However, one must apply both verses to get the full importance of the statement. According to Christian belief, Jesus was the sinless Son of G-d who died on the cross for the sins of humanity. While on the cross, He bore the world's sins, and thus for that time was treated by G-d the Father as His enemy. "For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." (1 Peter 2:21-24, NASB). "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to G-d, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit." (1 Peter 3:18, NASB). "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of G-d in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB). "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, NASB). "Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to G-d through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself." (Hebrews 7:25-27, NASB).

The occurrence in Isaiah 53:8-10 had already been found by Rambsel and Jeffrey, and it will be discussed next. As mentioned above, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is universally interpreted by Christians to be a messianic prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion. Several verses are now quoted. "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken by G-d, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the L-RD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of My people to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit found in His mouth. But the L-RD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the L-RD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sins of many, and interceded for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:4-12, NASB).

Many historical details of Jesus' arrest, trial, and crucifixion can be seen here. He did not try to defend Himself against His accusers (Mark 14:53-64). He was scourged (Matthew 27:26). He was "pierced through" signifying the piercing of His wrists and feet by the nails driven into the cross. He was laid in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).

In addition to the historical details we find the theological significance of Jesus' crucifixion. "He was pierced through for our transgressions ... the L-RD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him ... the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities ... He Himself bore the sin of many". This is the repeated claim of the Christian gospel, that God's justice required the punishment of man's sins, but that God loved us so much that He took the punishment upon Himself, thus providing salvation and eternal life for those who accept by faith Christ's death for them. "But G-d demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of G-d through Him." (Romans 5:8,9, NASB). "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." (2 Corinthians 5:14,15, NASB). "By this the love of G-d was manifested in us, that G-d has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved G-d, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:9,10, NASB).

Not only is Jesus' death alluded to, but also His resurrection. "If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the L-RD will prosper in His hand." Because Jesus submitted Himself to the cross, G-d the Father honored His sacrifice and validated His claim to be the Messiah and the Son of G-d by raising Him from the dead. "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection" (Romans 6:4,5, NASB). "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you." (Romans 8:11, NASB). "These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come." (Ephesians 1:19-21, NASB). "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also G-d highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name" (Phillipians 2:8,9, NASB). The Father's validation of Jesus through His resurrection is of such importance that the Apostle Paul wrote, "and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins." (1 Corinthians 15:17, NASB). Because Jesus has arisen from death, we who trust in Him know that we too shall see eternal life in heaven. [9]

The third shortest skip distance occurrence of 'Yeshua Shmi' occurs in Nehemiah 12:47-13:5. Like the example in Job, the passage is not part of a messianic prophecy, but we can still ask if the text is relevant to the ELS 'Yeshua Shmi'. At the end of Nehemiah 13:2 is the phrase, "However, our G-d turned the curse into a blessing." Again, this fits perfectly into what Christian belief claims about Jesus. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us -- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree' -- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3:13,14, NASB). How could the Law given by G-d be called a curse? The Law was a curse, because we could not keep it. It therefore pointed out our need for a Savior, who took the curse upon Himself and thus paid our sin debt. "Is the Law then contrary to the promises of G-d? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would have indeed been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up all men under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." (Galatians 3:21-25, NASB). "For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, G-d did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:3,4, NASB). "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Colossians 2:13,14, NASB).

The book of Hebrews teaches that the animal sacrifices instituted by G-d under the Law were meant to point toward the eventual substitutionary sacrifice of the Messiah for our sins. "For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of G-d for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year, which they make continually, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." (Hebrews 9:24-10:4, NASB).

The final occurrence of the ELS 'Yeshua Shmi' ('Jesus is My name') is its fourth shortest skip distance occurrence in the Tanach and its shortest skip distance occurrence in the Torah. It is in Exodus 20, the beginning (or prologue) of the giving of the Law, the section containing the Ten Commandments. It begins with G-d saying, "I am the L-RD your G-d". The central doctrine of Christianity is the deity of Jesus Christ. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d. He was in the beginning with G-d. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-3,14, NASB). "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9, NASB). Jesus claimed for Himself the title of G-d which He revealed to Moses in the burning bush: "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." (John 8:58). The New Testament reveals that the L-RD G-d is both unity and trinity. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19, NASB). As Deity, He has eternally existed. This is indicated in the Tanach. "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth from Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." (Micah 5:2, NASB). Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1) and will physically reign after His second coming. It is at Christ's second coming that God proclaims "I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and supplication, so that they will look upon Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born." (Zechariah 12:10, NASB). At that time the Jewish nation will recognize its Messiah, and will all be saved. "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.' 'And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.' " (Romans 11:25-27, NASB).

Do these occurrences of the ELS 'Yeshua Shmi' constitute mathematical proof that Jesus is the Messiah? Not in a way that can be calculated and quantified. The statistical method developed by Rips, Witztum, and Rosenberg deal with the occurrence of two conceptually related ELS's, each at minimal or near-minimal skip distances and in close proximity to each other. Thus their method cannot be used to perform a statistical analysis in these cases. However, these occurrences are very suggestive. Considering the importance of whether Yeshua was the Messiah, and given the precedence already discovered concerning the relevance of an ELS to the surface text in which it is found (see note 7), one might expect the minimal skip distance occurrence of the ELS 'Yeshua Shmi' to occur in a passage containing text relevant to the death of Jesus and Christianity's claims concerning Him if Jesus truly was the Messiah. If Jesus was not the Messiah, one might expect the minimal skip distance occurrence of the ELS 'Yeshua Shmi' to occur in a passage dealing with false prophets or rebellion against G-d or, at the very least, to occur in a passage with no demonstrable link to the claims of Christianity. However, not just the minimal skip distance occurrence, but the four most minimal skip distance occurrences of the phrase 'Yeshua Shmi' all occur in passages containing text which points to the central claims of Christianity. Three of the four occur in passages with text which points toward the theological significance of Jesus' death for the sins of mankind. The fourth points toward the deity of Jesus Christ. I would propose that these cannot be dismissed as mere accidental occurrences. Not only does each occurrence fit the idea that G-d deliberately encoded this phrase to indicate the Messiahship of Jesus, but they support and complement each other.

There is an additional piece of evidence from the Bible code supporting the Messiahship of Jesus. The shortest skip distance ELS (forward or reverse spelling) of the phrase yod-cheth-yod-shin-mem-ayin-vav-shin-yod ('Yeshua My Messiah' or 'Yeshua My Anointed') is found at a skip distance of 45 in the Psalms. It starts with yod at 21:13 word 7 position 3, is followed by cheth at 22:1 word 4 position 3 and ends with yod at 22:12 word 8 position 2. Like Isaiah 53, Psalm 22 is universally interpreted by Christians to be a messianic prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus. Psalm 22:1, "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" was the cry of Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:46). This was not the cry of a man who had lost His faith. Rather it was the cry of One who for the first time in eternity was separated from fellowship with His Father as the sin of the world was placed on Him. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21, NASB). Psalm 22:6-8 speaks of how the crowds turned on Jesus, mocking Him saying "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." (See Matthew 27:39-44.) "I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint" (Psalm 22:14, NASB). This refers to the drop of the crosspiece on which the victim was nailed onto the pole of the crucifix, the force of which often jerked the bones out of joint. "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws" (Psalm 22:15, NASB). This refers to the incredible thirst (see John 19:28) experienced by the victim of crucifixion. "They pierced my hands and my feet." (Psalm 22:16, NASB). Like Isaiah 53:5 ("He was pierced through for our transgressions"), this refers to the piercing by nails of the hands and feet during crucifixion. "They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." (Psalm 22:18, NASB). This was fulfilled by the Roman soldiers, as recorded in John 19:23,24.

For the Jewish individual contemplating this information, realize that one does not have to give up one's Jewishness to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. Messianic Jews worldwide worship Yeshua as the Son of G-d, but retain their Jewish identity, culture, and heritage. They still worship the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They still read the Hebrew Scriptures. They still participate in the same religious holidays as other Jews. However, they recognize an added dimension to these holidays. Passover becomes a celebration both of G-d's deliverance of the nation of Israel from Egyptian bondage and of Jesus' death on the cross as our sacrificial Lamb. If you are a Jew who has become convinced of the Messiahship of Jesus, ask Him in prayer to become L-rd of your life, and then seek out a Messianic Jewish congregation in which you can follow Him in baptism and grow in your faith with fellow Jewish believers.

For the secularist reading this paper, can you confront the evidence concerning G-d's existence and remain an unbeliever? The book of Genesis has been proven in a mathematical journal to contain deliberately encoded information about then-future individuals and events, and similar results have been obtained from other books of the Hebrew Scriptures. Astronomers and physicists have discovered that the physical constants of the universe appear amazingly fine-tuned for life. [10] Biochemists have examined the intricacies of life at the cellular and molecular levels and come away convinced that living organisms were designed rather than evolved by chance. [11] Even granted billions of years for an old earth and universe, that amount of time would not have allowed the slightest chance for the complexities observed in life to have evolved by random chance. [12] The intellectual can be a believer. In fact, the intellectual can potentially have the strongest assurance of G-d's existence because he is best able to understand the many proofs of His existence. Why not pray to G-d, ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart, and then find a church or other body of believers so you can follow Jesus in baptism and grow in your newfound faith?

For the Christian reading this paper, one who is already convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, please remember the Jewish people in prayer. Even if they are vehemently opposed to our faith, "from the standpoint of G-d's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of G-d are irrevocable." (Romans 11:28,29, NASB). The reestablishment of the nation of Israel proves that G-d is not finished with the Jewish people. Not only pray for the Jewish people, but also pray for the nation of Israel and its physical protection from its enemies. Remember the security needs of Israel when writing your elected representatives. Become involved with and financially contribute to Christian organizations which minister to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Condemn anti-semitism. Remember that Christianity developed from Judaism. The Jewish Scriptures form our Old Testament and are more than two-thirds of the Christian Bible. [13] It is to be rightly interpreted in light of the New Testament, but it is not to be ignored. Jesus, the twelve disciples, Paul, and James were all Jewish. The Son of G-d was born a Jew, and the Jewish people remain beloved of G-d to this day. What good does it do to seek to show the Jewish individual that Jesus was the true Messiah if he only senses hatred for him coming from the Christian community, the very ones proclaiming the name of Jesus? "By this the love of G-d was manifested in us, that G-d has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if G-d so loved us, we also ought to love one another." (1 John 4:9-11, NASB). This means not only to love our fellow Christians who accept us but to love those non-Christians who vehemently reject us, and in so doing to follow the example of Him who died to bring us life.

1. Doron Witztum, Eliyahu Rips and Yoav Rosenberg, "Equidistant Letter Sequences in the Book of Genesis", Statistical Science, 1994, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 429-438.
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2. Because of reverence for the Name of Deity, ancient Jewish practice was to never pronounce His name. Similarly, modern Jews have the practice of omitting the vowels when referring to Deity, thus writing 'G-d' and 'L-rd' (or 'L-RD'). Since this paper is intended for a broad audience (Jews, Christians, and secularists), this practice denoting reverence to the Name of Deity is adopted, and this footnote is included to explain the practice to those who may be unfamiliar with it. This practice is also followed when quoting from the Bible throughout this paper and in the book title citations in endnotes 3 and 12 (although all three book titles in the original fully spell out the name of G-d).
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3. These books include Yacov Rambsel's Yeshua: The Name of Jesus Revealed in the Old Testament and His Name is Jesus: The Mysterious Yeshua Codes, as well as Grant Jeffrey's The Signature of G-d and The Handwriting of G-d, all published by Frontier Research Publications, Inc.
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4. Based on the statistical method developed by Witztum, et. al., a domain of minimality is assigned for each ELS. This is the percentage of the text searched for which a particular ELS is at minimum skip distance, thus providing a "weight" for the calculations of this particular ELS. Since the domain of minimality decreases as skip distance increases, only those ELS's of a particular word at its minimal or near-minimal skip distance will be statistically significant.
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5. As mentioned above, the Torah (or Law) consists only of the five books of Moses, or Pentateuch. The Tanach (Hebrew Scriptures or Christian Old Testament) consists of the Law, Prophets, and Writings. All of the Tanach was believed to be canonical by the Pharisees (the most influential Jewish sect of the first century A.D.), Jesus (who quoted not only from the Torah but also from the rest of the Tanach) and the early Christian church. (This was in contrast to the Sadducees, who only believed the Torah to be canonical.) Based upon this common belief of the Pharisees, Jesus, and the early church, I would expect the ELS phenomenon to exist in both the Torah and the rest of the Tanach (though possibly operating by different "ground rules"), although to date only the phenomenon occurring in the Torah has been the subject of peer-reviewed published research.
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6. Computer searches were performed using the "Bible Codes" software from Computronic Corporation of Israel.
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7. Equidistant letter sequences believed to be genuine codes are sometimes (but not always) related to the surface text in the passage in which they are found. Two examples where this is the case are described by Jeffrey Satinover, M. D., in Cracking the Bible Code, 1997, William Morrow and Company, Inc. The first example is described on pp. 25-40. In Leviticus 1:1-13 (the introduction to the book detailing laws regulating priestly service), the high priest 'Aaron' (nun-resh-he-aleph) is found as an ELS 25 times, when statistically it should only be found about 8 times. The second example is described on pp. 144-147. All 25 trees and plants said by oral tradition to have been in the Garden of Eden were found as ELS's in the opening passage of Genesis describing the Garden of Eden.
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8. All Bible quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, The Lockman Foundation.
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9. An excellent presentation of the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection can be found in Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands A Verdict, 1979, Here's Life Publishers, Inc.
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10. See Hugh Ross, The Creator And The Cosmos, 1995, NavPress. Ross, who is a Christian, has a Ph.D. in astronomy.
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11. See Michael J. Behe, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge To Evolution, 1996, Free Press. Behe, who is a Christian, has a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Note that Behe and others have no problem with microevolution, changes within species over time, which has been empirically observed. However, the leap from microevolution to the theory that all organisms evolved by random chance from non-living organic compounds is simply not supported by the evidence.
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12. It is often noted that the Hebrew word for 'day', yom, can refer to either a literal 24 hours or to an extended period of time, based upon the context of its usage. For an interesting discussion of the day-age interpretation of Genesis 1, see Gerald Schroeder, The Science Of G-d, 1997, Free Press. Schroeder, who is Jewish and has a Ph.D. in physics, shows how one can take seriously both the creation account of Genesis chapter one and the scientific evidence for the old age of the earth and universe.
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13. A question I have heard asked is whether the Bible code is evident in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures or Tanach). It does not appear that the Bible code can be found in the New Testament. There are a number of possible reasons for this. A follower of Judaism might claim that this would indicate that the Hebrew Scriptures are from G-d and the Christian Scriptures are not. This is not necessarily the case. For one, the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek. The Hebrew language uses mostly vowel points instead of separate letters for vowels (though aleph, ayin, vav, yod, and he can serve as vowels or semi-consonants). Therefore many words or phrases will use fewer letters in Hebrew than in Greek. The more letters in an ELS the less frequently it will occur in a text. Thus it would be technically much more difficult for a Greek text to contain both a meaningful surface text and deliberately encoded information as ELS's than it would be for a Hebrew text. A second consideration is that the Tanach is accepted as canonical by both Christians and Jews. Thus the Bible code in the Tanach is evidence of the existence of the G-d of the Christians and Jews. If it further provides evidence that Jesus is the Messiah, this would be validation of the New Testament as well. A third possible reason is that G-d having validated the Old Testament alone by ELS, Christians would be induced to remember their rootedness in G-d's revelation to the Jewish nation, a fact that the church has often tragically neglected during its history. In conclusion, one of the outcomes of all the research, discussion, and debates on the Bible code in the Tanach may be the reconciliation of Jews and Christians as Jews reconsider the evidence that Jesus was the Messiah and Christians get back in touch with the Jewish roots of their faith. If this is truly what G-d intends, to Him be the glory.
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