Does The Bible Encode Alternate Possible Futures?

Does The Bible Encode Alternate Possible Futures?

Author: Keith York

In the past several years, much has been written about the phenomenon known as the Bible Code and many arrays have been found containing several details of historical events. Since these events were millennia in the future when the Bible was written, the arrays have constituted strong supporting evidence for the idea that God encoded this information into the original Hebrew text of the Bible. Some people have sought to use the Bible codes to predict the future. There have been claims that a few predictions originating from discovered codes have come to pass. However, even if one accepts the veracity of these claims, a much larger number of predictions have been made which did not come to pass. As a result, some have proposed the theory that the Bible has encoded details of potential futures. Which potential future becomes reality depends upon our choices. One person who has advanced this view is Michael Drosnin, author of The Bible Code, Simon & Schuster, 1997. "The Bible code may be a set of probabilities. The sealed book might hold all our possible futures. Each predicted event appears to be encoded with at least two possible outcomes." (The Bible Code, p. 102). "But the Bible code is more than a warning. It may be the information we need to prevent the predicted disaster. ... It is not a promise of divine salvation. It is not a threat of inevitable doom. It is just information. The message of the Bible code is that we can save ourselves. In the end, what we do determines the outcome." (The Bible Code, p. 179). Is this view biblical? This paper shows that it is not.

Does God know THE future or only potential futures? If He states that something will happen, will it definitely happen or can we change the outcome based on our choices? "Remember the former things long past, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying 'My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure." (Isaiah 46:9,10; NASB) [1]. "So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11; NASB). "The LORD has established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all." (Psalm 103:19; NASB). "But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." (Psalm 115:3; NASB). These verses clearly state two things. (1) God knows THE future, what WILL happen, not just potential futures and what might happen. (2) God is powerful enough to ensure that what He has foretold will come to pass. Furthermore, Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 say that "God cannot lie" and "it is impossible for God to lie" (NASB). If God deliberately encoded details of an event which did not happen, then God would be lying, for He would be foretelling something which He knew would not occur. Thus the view advanced by Michael Drosnin is in direct contradiction to the clear teaching of Scripture and therefore must be wrong.

Since we have proven that the Bible code only encodes details of actual events, not potential events which might or might not happen, how do we explain arrays which appear to predict events which do not occur? First of all, the array in question might be just a random pattern rather than a valid code placed there by God. Secondly, part of the array might be valid but the "researcher" has found random ELS's of words which God did not intend to be part of that array. Thus he misinterprets a valid array because of bad data. Finally, part of the array might be valid but the "researcher" may not have found all the ELS's God intended to be in that particular array. Thus he misinterprets a valid array because of insufficient data. In any case, the failure of a Bible code prediction to occur is always the fault of the human predictor. It is never the fault of a supposedly less-than-omnipotent/omniscient God. As John 17:17 says, "Thy word is truth" (NASB). What God has truly encoded will truly come to pass. "Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19; NASB).