[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for your reply!

Do you know whether anyone has ever been able to discover some "truth" about God, Jesus, man, salvation, whatever, from the so-called "Bible codes" that could not be discovered by simply studying the Bible?

If not, what good are they?

Looking for and declaring God's signature both in nature and in the Scriptures is all about praising Him - not becoming enlightened or being able to predict the future, etc.

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. - Psalms 19:1

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: - Romans 1:20

Equidistant Letter Sequencing in Genesis points in the same direction as geometric physics, i.e. the unreasonable effectiveness of math. In sum, underlying "all that there is" is so great a structure that it could not exist by happenstance but only by the will of God.

Praise God!

[topcat54]

"On the June 20, 1996, "Praise the Lord" television broadcast host Paul Crouch came face to face with a brand new approach to apologetics. Before the program concluded that day, he had become one of its most ardent proponents. He was so convinced of its authenticity that he immediately began to ridicule skeptics: "I think it’s safe to say that the eggheads are squirming like a worm on hot ashes right now."

"The new apologetic Crouch discovered that day is popularly referred to as "Equidistant Letter Sequencing" (ELS). I, however, prefer to call it magic apologetics. At first blush it appears compelling. On closer examination, it is little more than "smoke and mirrors."

"In sharp contrast, the Christian Research Institute has denounced esoteric methods of biblical interpretation such as ELS for almost four decades. Even a cursory examination of ELS unmasks it for what it is — little more than a fringe variety of Jewish mysticism (i.e., the cabala) repackaged for Christian consumption. While in the past, cabalistic interpretations of the Torah have not been taken seriously by the Christian community, Crouch and other leaders’ enthusiastic endorsements are today giving it widespread credence.

"Furthermore, ELS is a rigged "game" complete with after-the-fact prophecies and self-validating "messages." Although, as in the esoteric message "CRI yes" used in my illustration above, it might be tempting to conclude that its self-validating message is "the signature of God," in reality this technique is virtually identical to those used by psychics." (Magic Apologetics by Hank Hanegraaff )

[P-Marlowe]

There are some interesting ELS sequencing, but I would tend to think that to use them to divine the future is improper. To use them to show the Glory of God is a noble pursuit. Just as the names in Genesis tell the story of the Gospel message, there are other concealed messages in the Bible that are clearly worthy of finding. Where the Glory of God is revealed in the things that are hidden it is an honorable pursuit to seek them out.

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.
(Proverbs 25:2)