God has given us an incredibly awesome Book in His Bible! Praise His wonderful Name for that! The Word of God is the means by which we are Born Again! Through its preaching the captives are set free. Nations and kingdoms are rooted out and planted through its prophetic power.
In the past couple of decades, the assault against the Bible has been intensified, even from within the church. At the same time, science has sought to dethrone the Bible as the ultimate source of truth. God, however, is not surprised by any of this.
Today, for many people, science and technology have become the new "gods" of this humanistic age. Thus, I believe it is entirely appropriate that God should provide more mathematical proof of His Word than ever before. Elements of this have started to emerge in the past couple of years with the so-called "Bible code'' phenomenon.
Some Christians are uncomfortable with this kind of thing. The fact that unbelieving Israeli scholars could use statistical analysis or the Hebrew Bible to wring out intriguing references either to Yeshua (Jesus) or to key figures of the last two millennia in Jewish history disturbed them. I have heard Christian writers decry this by saying that God would not reveal such things to apostate Jewish scholars. Others have said it is a form of fortune telling - trying to know the future through ungodly or esoteric means.
In spite of my occult background prior to salvation, I wasn't so certain that these brethren were correct.
When I first met Al Neal in August of 1998, I knew that I was meeting an exceptional man of God who had been earnestly studying the Bible For longer than I had been saved. All those years from 1968 through 1984 that I had been immersed in the occult, the Qabalah, and witchcraft; he was ministering the Word of God and allowing the Word to minister to him.
As Brother Neal began to share what the Lord had shown him about the numbers and Hebrew alphabet, I knew that he was onto something even more important than finding Yitzak Rabin's name in the Torah. I also knew his zeal and commitment to the cause of Christ could not be fairly questioned. His work here only serves to confirm the fact that the Bible could not be a simply human book. This is something true Christians have known all a long.
I am not a mathematician, but I know that when you look at some of the things in the following pages, you will see something well beyond the norms of statistical probability. The odds against the correspondences revealed in Brother Neal's work are astronomical if they were to occur by chance.
Let me address the concerns mentioned earlier. First of all, Brother Neal is a devout Christian teacher, so the objection about God not showing things to apostate people does not even apply. God's Word is clear, in Amos 3:7 we read, ''Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. ''
Some object that God does nothing in secret. That is not entirely true. Certainly, Jesus said in John l8:20 that ''... in secret have I said nothing. '' But that pertained to His earthly ministry. There are things that God keeps hidden until in HIS timing and wisdom, it is time to reveal them.
Look at the gospel of grace given to Paul. This was hidden by God (Col. 1:26), and only faintly visible through Old Testament types (Mt 13:35. The whole idea of the crucifixion of the Son of God was hidden from the world and even from virtually all of the chosen people (l Co 2:7-8).
To be certain, we understand a lot more of the revealed truth of God than did Moses or Abraham. God reveals everything in its time and He reveals them to whomsoever He chooses:
De 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law..People forget sometimes that the Bible is a ''living'' Book (Hebr. 4:12). Like a wondrous flower, it constantly unfolds more and more of its beauty to those who have discerning eyes and humble hearts to see and understand it.
Remember what the wisest man who ever lived wrote: "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. '' (Pr 25:2) Solomon should know, he was a king. But remember we are children of the King of Kings.
This scripture tells us that God conceals things ultimately to glorify Himself and that it is honorable for men and women of wisdom to search out such matters. However, as Brother Neal says in his preface, we must not let these studies distract us from the basic duties of the gospel, ''... the first principles of the oracles of God; '' (Hebr. 5:12). This would include soul winning, Bible study, prayer, etc.
This kind of material is for the mature, seasoned Believer. It is meat and not milk! That does not mean it is wrong.
Hebr 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.Indeed, there are incredible riches to be mined within the Word of God; but you must pray for the leading of the Holy Spirit and for Him to keep your heart always humble and inclined toward Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word.
As far as this kind of study being occult or numerology, nothing could be further from the truth. Christians understand that numerology is a counterfeit, but they forget that a counterfeit must, by definition, have a genuine article it is imitating.
The devil is a copycat. He cannot come up with anything original, since he has foolishly cut himself off from the source of all creative power. When God ordains prophets, Satan comes up with fortune-tellers or the ''Psychic Friends Network.'' While there is true healing from the power of God, there are also bogus healers. Similarly, there is certainly evidence that God put together the Bible in a form of number-letter code long before there was numerology.
It can hardly be coincidence that God wrote the Old Testament in a language where the alphabet was also letters. Great men of God like Bullinger have written excellent material showing a divine pattern in the way numbers are used in the Bible. It is not coincidence that Jesus' name in Greek adds up to 888 and the number of the Beast is 666.
Indeed, the Lord Himself endorses a form of Bible interpretation using numbers:
Rev. I3:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.Note, please. Two of the seven ''Spirits of God'' are mentioned here: wisdom and understanding. True wisdom and understanding can only come from the Lord, for it is in Jesus that all the treasures of wisdom dwell: (Col. 2:3) ''In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. '' There again, we see the word ''hid.'' These treasures are not always out there in plain sight. Interpretation ultimately must come from the Holy Spirit as well (Dan. 2;28).
Please understand. This is not to say that you must be a mathematician or a Hebrew linguist to be saved (Praise God!). The truths of the gospel have been clearly and plainly straightforward for nearly 2000 years. A child can understand them. But beyond the ''first principles'' I believe the Lord is showing His servants ways in which we can better understand His Word and His will for their lives, and also better ways to explain the divine nature of the Bible text.
There are people who may not be persuaded in other ways, who will find this sort of material powerfully compelling. I have already been blessed to lead a man to Christ who was very scientific and had always believed the Bible was just a fairy tale. Where other methods fail, this one succeeded for him and he is now a solid Christian. In terms of evangelism, this may be just one more way to ''bait your hook.'' Of course, ultimately it is the Holy Spirit Who convicts and Who brings to the altar.
The bottom line difference between this and numerology is in the heart attitude. That is where sin always begins - in the heart. I spent sixteen years in the occult and witchcraft, and I know that usually the bottom line for occult numerology is a desire for power and control. Often, these people wish to manipulate others or to manipulate the future. They want answers that God may not want them to have - as of yet.
Occultism is about trying to force the hand of God (if indeed He is even acknowledged) or the universe - to bend the universe to the practitioner's will. That is why the root of the word ''witch'' is the Old English Wicce, meaning ''to bend or twist.''
True spirituality under the Lordship of Jesus Christ realizes that we have no control. That can be a scary thing to a control freak (like myself. Jesus is the master, and we are His bond servants. We cannot force the hand of God, we can only open ourselves ever more fully to allow His mighty hands to mold us and shape us that we might be better vessels of His will.
The heart attitude of a Christian in approaching this material should be one of worship, awe and wonder. This is not a way to manipulate God or the world, but a way to make yourself more transparent to His glory (remember Proverbs 25:23 and His will.
I believe that is what Al Neal did as the Lord began showing him these things. As he shared them they were a tremendous blessing to me. I pray that they will be a tremendous blessing to you as well. What a mighty God we serve!
Ps 92:5 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.Al Neal P.O. Box 1171 St. Albans, WV 25177 USA