Question [greatly condensed composite of several]: I was distressed by your endorsement in your ...

Question [greatly condensed composite of several]: I was distressed by your endorsement in your September 1996 newsletter of the secret codes in the Torah. True believers don’t need this and unbelievers are not necessarily convinced. Only Genesis seems to contain them; why not the rest of the Bible? Rabbis promoting this are using it to prove that they alone can unlock the true meaning of Scripture and to oppose Christ. This is like gematria and the techniques of kabbalists to find secret messages. And to embed names of famous rabbis from the Middle Ages? Is God approving them? Furthermore, I’ve heard of refutations of the Torah codes. And to have Genesis:15:17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
See All... decreeing the assassination of Rabin seems to have God blessing a murder. You need to be more cautious before giving your endorsement to such things.

Response: I appreciate the thoughtful objections. As for Genesis:15:17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
See All..., the facts are undeniable: change the space between a few letters and it reads, “Decreed God into Rabin, evil fire fire.” Does that have God condoning Rabin’s murder? No more than the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon and the Romans, anti-Semitism, etc. which God (and Christ) foretold. He “decreed” it only in the sense that He foretold and allowed it. In this case, as I said, it could be coincidence, though unlikely.

The Torah codes, however, are purely mathematical. I gave my opinion that we must accept the testimony of mathematics experts. I have not read the articles in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society and the Statistical Science journal, assumed the quotations to be accurate, and relied upon the prestige of these scientists. If there is any flaw, a refutation would have been published in those journals. As yet I have heard of none. If you have a credible rebuttal, I would like to see it.

If only Genesis works, so be it. Why not? Nor are the mathematics invalidated because unbelievers remain unconvinced or rabbis seek to use the data for their own ends. I can’t argue with mathematical facts, no matter who discovers, uses or misuses them. The inclusion of famous rabbis’ names is no more an endorsement by God than the inclusion of Hitler and the Holocaust.

And please don’t call this “gematria” (assigning number values to letters to find messages), which I repudiate. There is no relationship. And it cannot be likened to any kabbalistic device, so objections on that account are not valid. This is pure mathematics.

I agree with you that these hidden words are not needed by those who believe, and may not convince those who don’t. On the other hand, the mathematical evidence of supernatural authorship on this basis is irrefutable, if the data is indeed valid. If you can prove otherwise, please let me have the evidence. Again, thank you for your concern and for writing.