II. PROOF THAT GOD INSPIRED THE BIBLE
God Describes His Physical Nature
In most cases, whether it be in law, science, history or religion, it is necessary to have at least two witnesses that agree. On this site, there are two dissimilar proofs that the Bible is God’s message (one from Bible Numerics and the other from the Bible’s own history). On this page is the second proof that mirrors the numerics found in Exodus 34:6b-7.
Revelation 1:8 is a New Testament verse describing God in words and numbers with features confirming those found in Exodus. These two verses are compared because they are unique. Nowhere else does God describe His character and physical nature so completely.
Three Points To Consider
There are three points which should be considered before examining Revelation 1:8 for Bible numerics.
1. New Testament Scripture
If the New Testament authors were questioned whether their writings should be considered scripture, it is unlikely any of them (with the possible exception of the Apostle John for the book of Revelation) would have equated their work with that of the Hebrew Old Testament.
Only the Gospels contain the words of Jesus, and only Revelation came by a vision. The bulk of the New Testament does not follow the Old Testament pattern of, “God said...”, “God did...”, or “God sent...” The New Testament is quite different from the Old Testament. It was “canonized” as scripture centuries after its individual books were written.
This one point raises the legitimate question whether numeric features can be found in the New Testament. And if they exist, do they have to equal those found in the Old Testament?
2. Differing Manuscripts
Unlike the Hebrew Old Testament, where there is only one major manuscript (the Masorite Text), in the New Testament there are several Greek versions. The two most important versions are the Textus Receptus (the “Received Text”), and one simply called the Greek New Testament.
In this article, the Textus Receptus will be referred to as TR
and the Greek New Testament will be referred to as GNT.
The TR was copied, recopied and handed down through the centuries. The original manuscript is no longer in existence. The GNT was compiled from older manuscripts not previously available. Many of these documents were discovered only in the 1850s.
This article will not debate which version (TR or GNT) is better, or go further into their history. It is enough for the reader to know there are differences in the Greek text.
Some of these differences can be seen in the two versions of Revelation 1:8 presented below. (Although the text is different, the meaning is the same.)
Greek New Testament version.1
Textus Receptus version.2
| Greek Textual Differences | ||
| Basic Feature | GNT | TR |
| Number of words | 21 = 7 x 3 |
23 |
| Number of letters | 69 = 23 x 3 |
75 = 5 x 5 x 3 |
| Spelling differences | Alpha is spelt out. |
Alpha and Omega are only letters. |
| Extra words | "The god" |
"The beginning and the end" |
| Numeric sum of passage (according to Ivan Panin). |
8395 = 73 x 23 x 5 |
8095 = 1619 x 5 |
Unlike the Exodus verse, neither version has a sum total divisible by 7. The GNT has 21 words, but the number of letters is not divisible by 7.
Which version is to be used for Bible numerics? Is one correct, and the other incorrect? Could they be both correct or are they both incorrect?
3. Greek Numerics
Ivan Panin’s Greek numerics are not the same as the Hebrew numerics. The values for 6 and 90 were omitted. One of these (the sixth letter) was “Digamma”. It was a letter that fell out of use. In essence, Panin accounted for the value in his chart even though it did not appear in the New Testament. The same may have occurred with the 18th letter (valued 90).
Ivan Panin’s Greek Numerics.
From these three points, it would seem unlikely for the numerics in the New Testament to be exactly like numerics in the Old Testament. Even though Revelation 1:8 is closely tied in with Exodus 34:6b-7, the numeric features may not be as numerous, obvious or clear.
Adjusting The Numbers
Very few numeric features appear in Revelation 1:8. The ones that do appear seem unrelated to the Exodus verse. The relationship remains hidden because one major point has not been accounted for.
Greek is not Hebrew. A minor adjustment to the numerics associated with the Greek is necessary. The clue lies in the assigning of values to each letter. In the Hebrew, different values are assigned to each of the 22 letters in sequence: 1 to 10, then in groups of ten from 20 to 100, and finally in groups of hundreds from 200 to 400.
In the Greek, two values in the “pattern” are missing: 6 and 90. The figure below shows this adjustment of Ivan Panin’s numerics to follow the Hebrew pattern with no omissions. (The final letter “Omega” now has a value of 600, rather than 800.)
Ivan Panin’s numerics adjusted to follow the Hebrew pattern.
When these numeric changes are applied to Revelation 1:8, the relationship to Exodus 34:6b-7 quickly appears.
Click for the full GNT numeric conversion.
Click for the full TR numeric conversion.
Revelation Confirms Exodus
The following table lists the main features of the Exodus verse. The same techniques are applied to both versions of Revelation to show the similarity.
| Numeric Feature | Match* | |||
| Feature 1 | The number of words. | |||
| Exodus | 33 = 11 x 4. The sum of the factors: 14 = 7 x 2. | |||
| GNT | 21 = 7 x 3. | O | ||
| TR | 23 (Prime number. No features.) | N | ||
| Feature 2 | The number of letters. | |||
| Exodus | 119 = 17 x 7. | |||
| GNT | 69 = 23 x 3. (Sum of factors: 26 = 13 x 2). | O | ||
| TR | 75 = 5 x 5 x 3 (Sum of factors: 13). | O | ||
| Feature 3 | Sum of the entire passage. | |||
| Exodus | 6174 = 73 x 32 x 2 | |||
| GNT | 5516 = 197 x 7 x 22 Sum of the factors: 208 = 13 x 24 Sum of secondary factors: 21 = 7 x 3 (Exodus yields three 7s on the first try. In order to find more features in the GNT, a deeper search has to be made with the factors.) |
Y | ||
| TR | 5824 =13 x 7 x 26 | Y | ||
| Feature 4 | The sum of the first letter of each word. | |||
| Exodus | 1330 = 19 x 7 x 5 x 2 | |||
| GNT | 1861 [No match with Exodus.](The sum of the positions of these letters: 637 = 13 x 7 x 7.) |
O | ||
| TR | 1964 = 491 x 22 [No match with Exodus.](The sum of the positions of these letters: 741 = 19 x 13 x 3. The sum of these factors: 35 = 7 x 5.) |
O | ||
| Feature 5 | The sum of the last letter of each word. | |||
| Exodus | 1722 = 41 x 7 x 3 x 2. | |||
| GNT | 2096 = 131 x 24 [No match with Exodus.]
|
O | ||
| TR | 2061 = 229 x 3 x 3. [No match with Exodus.]
|
O | ||
| Feature 6 | The sum of all letters in odd positions.* | |||
| Exodus | 3388 = 112 x 7 x 22 | |||
| GNT | 3360 = 7 x 5 x 3 x 25 | Y | ||
| TR | 3227 = 461 x 7 | Y | ||
| Feature 7 | The sum of all letters in even positions.* | |||
| Exodus | 2786 = 199 x 7 x 2(The sum of the factors is 208 = 13 x 24. The sum of the secondary factors is 21 = 7 x 3.) |
|||
| GNT | 2156 = 11 x 72 x 22 | Y | ||
| TR | 2597 = 53 x 72 | Y | ||
| Feature 8 | The number of letters in the verse. | |||
| Exodus | 119 = 17 x 7(The sum of all the letter positions from 1 to 119 is 7140 = 17 x 7 x 5 x 3 x 2 x 2. The rules of math ensure that this is so.) |
|||
| GNT | 69 = 23 x 3 [No match with Exodus.}(The sum of the positions from 1 to 69: 2415 = 23 x 7 x 5 x 3.) |
O | ||
| TR | 75 = 52 x 3 [No match with Exodus](The sum of the positions from 1 to 75: 2850 = 19 x 5 x 5 x 3 x 2. Again no match.) |
N | ||
| Feature 9 | The sum of every 7th letter (God’s number of perfection) plus the sum of every 22nd letter (number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet) or every 24th letter (number of letters in the Greek alphabet). | |||
| Exodus | 465 (every 7th letter) 669 (every 22nd letter) 1134 = 7 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 2 The sum of the factors is 21 = 7 x 3. |
|||
| GNT | 308 (every 7th letter) 69 (every 24th letter i.e. Greek alphabet) 377 = 29 x 13 The sum of the factors is 42 = 7 x 3 x 2. |
Y | ||
| TR | 465 (every 7th letter) 161 (every 24th letter i.e. Greek alphabet) 626 (No features) |
N | ||
| Feature 10 | Factor the number of letters in the passage. Use the factors to add up every nth letter. | |||
| Exodus | Number of letters: 119 = 17 x 7 465 (every 7th letter) 186 (every 17th letter) 651 = 31 x 7 x 3. |
|||
| GNT | Number of letters: 69 = 23 x 3 2077 (every 3rd letter) 86 (every 23rd letter) 2163 = 103 x 7 x 3. |
Y | ||
| TR | Number of letters: 75 = 5 x 5 x 3. 1871 (every 3rd letter) 376 (every 5th letter) 2247 = 107 x 7 x 3. The sum of the factors: 117 = 13 x 3 x 3. |
Y | ||
| Feature 11 | Use the letter values of the Hebrew divine name (10 5 6 5) 13 times and 26 times to count through the letters of each passage. | |||
| Exodus | First 13 times: 2828 = 101 x 7 x 2 x 2. (The sum of the factors: 112 = 7 x 24) 26 times: 5509 = 787 x 7 (This means the second 13 times the pattern was run, the sum was 5509 - 2828 = 2681 = 383 x 7. The sum of the factors of the second group of 13 is 390 = 13 x 5 x 3 x 2.) |
|||
| GNT | First 13 times: 4159 (prime number) 26 times: 8634 (No feature) |
N | ||
| TR | First 13 times: 3426 (No feature.) 26 times: 7220 (No features.) |
N | ||
| Feature 12 | Add up the middle letter of each word. (Skip words that do not have a middle letter.) | |||
| Exodus | 1741 (Prime number. No features.)(The sum of the positions of these letters: 1085 = 31 x 7 x 5.) |
|||
| GNT | 949 = 73 x 13. (Less the single letters: 49 = 7 x 7.)(The sum of the positions of these letters: 476 = 17 x 7 x 2 x 2.) |
Y | O | |
| TR | 911 (Prime number. No feature. However, subtract single letter words: 911 - 841 = 70 = 7 x 5 x 2.)(The sum of the positions of these letters: 544, no features.) |
O | ||
| Feature 13 | From the values of the divine name in Hebrew (10 5 6 5), add up the every 10th, 5th, and 6th word in each passage. | |||
| Exodus | 203 (every 10th word) 908 (every 5th word) 998 (every 6th word) 908 (every 5th word again) 3017 = 431 x 7. (Rather than using words, the above instructions could also apply to letters. No numeric features appear in Exodus when letters are used, but parallel features do appear in the GNT, and TR.) |
|||
| GNT | 120 (every 10th word) 200 (every 5th word) 280 (every 6th word) 600 (No feature) 193 (every 10th letter) |
O | ||
| TR |
335 (every 10th word) 995 (every 5th word) 276 (every 6th word) 1606 (No features.) (128 (every 10th letter) |
O | ||
| Feature 14 | List the words whose sums are divisible by 7, along with their positions in the passage, and the positions of their letters. | |||
| Exodus |
Word position: 16 19 23 33
Word sum: 126 161 126 322
Letter positions: 57-59 69-72 82-84 115-119
The sum of the word positions: 91 = 13 x 7. |
|||
| GNT |
Word position: 4 8
Word sum: 322 42
Letter positions: 10-13 20-24
The sum of the word positions: 31 (no feature). |
O | ||
| TR |
Word position: 11 21
Word sum: 112 770
Letter positions: 29-33 55-63
The sum of the word positions: 32 (no feature). |
O | ||
|
Notes
Matching Features A Parallel To Features 6 & 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ...
35
69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 ...
The first number position, plus the last number position: 1 + 69 = 70 = 7 x 5 x 2. The sum of the factors is 14 = 7 x 2. The second number position, plus the second last number position gives the exact same result. The sum of all the number positions is 70 x 34 (pairs) + 35, or 2415 = 23 x 7 x 5 x 3. Notice that odd numbers are paired with odd numbers. There are 17 pairs of odd numbers, and 17 pairs of even numbers. Since each pair is already divisible by 7, this means the sum of all odd (or even) number positions is also divisible by 7. In the case of the odd number positions, the sum is 17 (pairs) x 70 (value per pair) + 35 = 1225 = 7 x 7 x 5 x 5. An extra factor of seven appears. As seen in Feature 6 and Feature 7, the sum of all odd letters in the passage is divisible by 7. And the sum of all even letters is also divisible by 7. The positions of the letters matches the values of the letters. One could say it didn't matter what value was assigned to the Greek letters. The letter positions would maintain this feature. God’s hand is seen not only at the beginning and end, but also throughout the passage in two different ways. This is God’s double assurance He is fully with us in the present. |
||||
There are many other numeric features which are unique to only one of these three texts. At the same time, there are features in both the GNT and TR, but not in Exodus. Finally, there are features common to all three. The fact that there are two Greek versions suggests that it would be wiser not to make Bible translations a sticking point among Christians. Sometimes it is necessary to consult more than one translation/text to get a better sense of the original meaning.
Conclusion
The GNT has a closer match to Exodus’ mathematical features than the TR. Out of fourteen different features, the GNT matches Exodus six times. Seven times it has a parallel feature, and once it has an extra related feature. Only once does the GNT not match Exodus at all. The TR matches Exodus only four times. Six times it has a parallel feature, and four times it does not match Exodus.
Given the problems mentioned above (the change from Hebrew to Greek, the question of scripture, and the difference in numerics), it was expected that the features in Revelation 1:8 might be fewer in number, different, or not as obvious. This expectation was borne out. The features are not as consistent as in the Hebrew, but it is amazing how both Greek versions still maintain so many numeric features related to Exodus. This can only be due to God’s influence.
Revelation 1:8 is the second witness (proof) that the whole Bible (i.e. the Old Testament and the New Testament) is God’s message. The New Testament may not be like the Old Testament, but it is the continuation and fulfillment of the old covenant. The testimony of Jesus (i.e. the New Testament) is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).
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Notes:
1, 2 Bibleworks 3.2, Hermeneutika, Big Fork, Montana, 1995
Copyright© 2002 by Jerry Chin