Our Response to the September, 1999 Code Findings
July 21, 1999
Codes found by Tom Gaston, Bonnie Gaunt
Additional information available at http://watch.org 

We've received numerous emails asking us what we think about the code findings for September 11, 1999; and September 15, 1999. We also received several emails from people who thought one of our staff members found the codes, and somehow got staff@thebiblecodes.com as the email address for the people who found the codes.

Nobody involved with our staff found those codes, and nobody associated with us found those codes, just to make that clear. The codes were found by researchers Tom Gaston, and Bonnie Gaunt. That is another thing we would like to make clear. We are very impressed by both Mr. Gaston's, and Ms. Gaunt's love and zeal for the Lord, and diligence. We have a great deal of respect for them, and wish them the best. Do not misunderstand us. Bonnie Gaunt, Tom Gaston, and Bill Koenig are all reporting this as a possibility, they are not saying it WILL happen. It is the people who have heard about it, and are ignorant of how the Bible Codes work that are saying this. We are not against Bonnie, Tom, or Bill, or any of their work. We just want to let people know our opinion on the findings.

Bonnie Gaunt's Sept. 11, 1999: Rapture Code Findings
As with any code dealing with a future date, the validity of the claim, depends entirely on whether or not the date is there by chance. How can we know? She gives several reasons why she believes there is something about the 1st of Tishri being connected to the Hebrew word for "rapture." For those who don't know, "1st Tishri, 5760" on the Hebrew Calendar corresponds to "September 11, 1999." According to Bible prophecy, it would make sense for the rapture to fall on Rash Hashanah, which the 1st of Tishri is. In addition, Orthodox Jews believe that September 11 of this year is the 6000th anniversary of mankind.

However, we are not convinced by any code findings that say so. Many people talk about the numerous amount of times that "1st Tishri" and "5760" appear together near "rapture." They then think that that makes it obvious when the rapture will be. The only reason why that date has been found so many times, is because it was the only one that was tried. When you're dealing with 3-5 letter words, and just going by a trio of words being found together, you can find anything you want by chance. We tried "1st Heshvan" and "5760" which corresponds to October 11, 1999; just for fun. Here is a few examples of what was found:

Rapture
1st Heshvan
Year 5760



Rapture
1st Heshvan
Year 5760

These findings can easily be duplicated by other books, such as War and Peace:

Rapture
1st Heshvan
Year 5760

This is what got WRR in so much trouble. It was their content that word pairs alone are significant, and others have claimed that single phrases alone are significant.

We think you could find similar codes to these for almost any date. Many people will say, "yes, but she found a lot of words together along with the three main terms." If you find 100 words, you may have a significant code about the rapture of the church. However, if any one of those three main terms is there by chance (that is a very good possibility), then the researcher's claim is wrong. This is why it's nearly impossible to pinpoint a date for a future event using the Bible Codes.

In summary, Bonnie MAY have found a significant code about the rapture. However, nobody has found anything regarding WHEN the rapture will be, that we think is significant

There are people on our mailing list and on Bill's mailing list that are prophesying to all of their friends that these things WILL happen. Whenever someone comes out saying that "The Bible Code" says something will happen on such and such date, we always want people to remember three things.

In this specific case, the key points to remember are:
1. Although those three terms can be found at very low intervals in very close proximity, it is very possible that 1 or more of those terms could be there by chance.
2. No matter how many additional terms you add to the matrix, if one of those three main terms ("1st Tishri," "5760," or "Rapture") is there by chance, then the claim made by the researcher (that the rapture will be on 9-11-99) is in error. There is NO WAY to be certain that each and every term in the matrix is not by chance, therefore, there is NO WAY to predict a future event with any degree of certainty using the Bible Codes. If you have 100 terms that describe an event, and then a date, you still don't know when that event will be, because although there is a significant code about that event, that one single date may not be a part of the code.
3. "The Bible Code" does not say when the rapture will be. Researchers guess when the rapture will be. If the researcher's guess is wrong, then the researcher was wrong, not the Bible Codes. 

We are still of the opinion that God did NOT put the codes in there so we could predict future events. He put them in there to show that all scripture was inspired by Him, and to give glory to Him.

Tom Gaston's Sept. 15, 1999 Code Findings
The same three things apply to Mr. Gaston's findings. He may have found a very significant code about the signing of the peace process, and the abomination of desolation. However, if that one single date is there by chance, then his claim is wrong. There is no way to be sure that that date is meant to be there.

Closing Words
Mr. Gaston and Ms. Gaunt may be right. Our point is simply that we cannot be sure. It's something to keep in the back of your mind, not to go telling everybody and declaring it as fact. We should be ready for the rapture any day, and we hope that it does come in September (or sooner for that matter).

We thank them for their work, and for their zeal for the Lord. We are not doubting their research abilities. We are just saying that you can't know for sure, and they probably agree. This article is not a rebuke to them, but to those who proclaim it as fact.

Lastly, we hope this article will help show people that ELS codes were NOT designed to warn us of future events. They were designed to give glory to God, and show that He is the author of the Bible. So many people get their new codes software, and immediately look for future codes, without having the slightest clue about how the Bible Codes are structured. We issue this warning to all codes researchers, both expert and novice: Don't spend all your time looking for future codes. People who look for codes on future dates think they find something, and then prophetically and authoritatively proclaim it to the world. They are prophesying their own prediction as if it was from God, and in doing so, they become false prophets.

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