Hidden code in John 1:1 ... and why it’s there

Hidden code in John 1:1 ... and why it’s there

The first verse of the gospel of John says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is Jesus (see John 1:14).

Built into the verse, in the original Greek, is a number pattern ... a “code” ... that helps to verify the original text of the New Testament ... and it ties the New Testament to the Old Testament ...and it addresses a question ... WHY did God create the heavens and the earth?

Here is John 1:1 as it was first delivered, in Greek: ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗΙ ΗΝ Ο ΛΟΓΟΣ, ΚΑΙ Ο ΛΟΓΟΣ ΗΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΝ ΘΕΟΝ, ΚΑΙ ΘΕΟΣ ΗΝ Ο ΛΟΓΟΣ.

The words on the screen are in upright letters, in a form that we can recognise, close to the way they were in Bible times, but very different to the form studied by Bible students today.

The earliest New Testament texts looked like this (image). Modern Greek Bibles look like this (image) ... different. It's in cursive script. It's a form of Greek writing that was developed many hundreds of years after the time of Jesus.

The dot points are called diacritic marks. They weren't in the original writing. Mostly, they are there to help with pronunciation, but that's not all. This tiny mark under the last letter of the second word is called an iota subscript. It tells us that in the original text there was a letter here ... a fifth letter in this word ... but the letter was dropped when the writing style changed.

Restoring the letter, as we have done, is vital if we are to see the “code” that has been hidden until our days. Restoring the letter makes no difference to the way people read the Greek, or understand it, or translate it ... but it does affect the letter count and the numeric value of the verse. It's a reason why many miss what you will see in this video. The “code” is out of plain sight. A change in the way Greek was written obscures a feature that God built into His Word.

Every letter of the Greek alphabet has a numeric value. (Note: two letters are missing in this chart ... digamma (it had a value of six), and qoppa (which had a value of 90). In the classical era, the two letters were in the Greek alphabet, with numeric values, but when the New Testament was written, they had fallen from use. That won't concern us. It doesn't affect the “code” or numeric calculations in the New Testament.

Apply the letter values and we come up with a value for each word in John 1:1 ... 55 719 58 70 373 ΕΝ (55) ΑΡΧΗΙ (719) ΗΝ (58) Ο(70) ΛΟΓΟΣ (373), ΚΑΙ (31) Ο (70) ΛΟΓΟΣ (737) ΗΝ (58) ΠΡΟΣ (450) ΤΟΝ (420) ΘΕΟΝ (134), ΚΑΙ (31) ΘΕΟΣ (284) ΗΝ (58) Ο (70) ΛΟΓΟΣ (737).

The total value of all the words is 3,627. And 3,627 is 31 x 3 x 3 x 13. Three one three ... and three one three. It's a pattern: three one three. And it's repeated. That seems to be by design.

That the numeric value of John 1:1 in the original Greek, produces a pattern of 3 1 3 is one thing. But we also see it in the first verse of the Bible. Genesis 1:1 says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the original Hebrew: bereshit bara elohim et ha'shamayim ve'et ha'aretz.

Note the arrangement: There is a mid-word and there are three words to the left of the mid-word and three words to the right of the mid-word ... three one three. We might think that it's by chance, but the pattern of 3 1 3 continues in Genesis 1:1.

Every letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a numeric value. Apply the value of each letter and we come up with a value for each word. Here are the word values (on screen). The value of word one is 913 and the value of word two is 203. 913 + 203 = 1,116. And 1,116 is: 31 x 3 x 12 ... three one three. Is that by chance?

The value of the first and last words ... 913 + 296 = 1,209. And 1,209 is: 31 x 3 x 13. Three one three ... three one three.

The different ways that the first verse of the Bible highlights three one three looks like design. And 3 1 3 is also highlighted in the first verse of the gospel of John. Perhaps we are meant to notice this. Why?

Both verses, one Old Testament and the other New Testament, start by saying: “In the beginning ...” “In the beginning ...” of what? It wasn't the start of eternity. God has always existed. But it was the start of something. And we read, at the end of Isaiah (Isa 65:17, Isa 66:22) and at the end of the Bible(Rev 21:1) that there is going to be a new heavens and a new earth.

The Bible shows that the life we have been born into, on a physical earth, with a vast array in the heavens above, is going to be done away with one day. This world is temporary. It was created for a purpose. It had a beginning and it is going to have an end. That's the start to finish Bible story. It's all going to be replaced.

The New Testament is about Jesus. Jesus created the heavens and the earth (John 1:3; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2). Jesus is the living Word of God. Jesus took on human form to come, and to redeem us with His sacrifice of Himself on the cross.

The New Testament is about Jesus ... and the New Testament fulfils and completes the Old Testament. Hardly surprising ... the pattern of 3 1 3 shows up when we count the words of the New Testament.

In the original Greek of the New Testament there are exactly 137,720 words. And 137,720 is: 313 x 11 x 40.

When 3 1 3 shows up in the New Testament word count, and in Genesis 1:1 and in John 1:1, it's reasonable to ask, "Is God hinting at something?" There is a mathematical structure to the Bible, and it must be there for a reason.

Our effort to identify, and verify, the original text of the New Testament is covered on our website: .. LivingGreekNT.org. There are videos on the Findings page and on our YouTube channel. These particular videos verify the count of 137,720 Greek words in the original text: “Genesis, Exodus and Jesus”; “Ancient light on the NT text”; “137,720 Greek words in the original NT text”; “The miracle of the I AM statement of Jesus”; “God's promises fulfilled in Christ: a proof by numbers”; “Signs from God prove this Bible text”

If you accept that there is a mathematical structure to the original text, and if you accept our count of words in the New Testament word, and if you recognise these patterns of 3 1 3, then you may well ask ... WHY has God built this feature into the text?

To find an answer, we go to the 17th chapter of the gospel of John. John 17 is important. It is Jesus' “high priestly“ prayer. It is the prayer that Jesus prayed after the Last Supper. It is the prayer that Jesus prayed before He went to the cross.

John 17 is a key chapter and John 17 is the 1014th chapter in the Bible. 1014 is 3 x 13 x 26 ... three one three. John 17 is in this order in the Bible for a reason. It's part of the mathematical structure. The “code” connects the start of the Bible to Jesus' prayer.

And then there's this: From the start of the New Testament to the end of John 17 there are exactly 3,627 verses. And 3,627 is 31 x 3 x 3 x 13. Three one three ... three one three.

The number of New Testament verses up to the end of John 17 is the same as the numeric value of John 1:1. The “code” connects the start of the New Testament to Jesus' prayer.

The verse count produces the same pattern ... three one three ... three one three.

John chapter 17 is not simply an incidental, and sentimental, prayer of Jesus. John 17 is critical to an understanding of what God is doing on the earth, even now.

What is the heart of Jesus' prayer in John 17? Jesus asks the Father to make His people one. “... keep them in Your name which You gave to Me ... so that they may be one as We are one.” (John 17:11). And Jesus continues ... “Not for these only do I ask but also for those believing in Me through their word,
so that all of them may be one just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You,
so that they also will be in Us so that the world may believe that You sent Me ...
so that they may be one as We are one ...
so that they will be perfected
so that the world will know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.” (John 17:20-23).

It defines Jesus' mission on earth. It defines God's purpose in redemption ... to rescue a people for Himself ... to join Gentiles of faith with a believing remnant of Jews, and to make us one in God.

This final prayer of Jesus tells us why God created the heavens and the earth, and why He is allowing history to unfold to a conclusion. It's a test ... of faith. So that ... so that ... seven times the passage in John 17 says “so that ...” God has a purpose, and He is interested in who will knit hearts with Him in His purposes for eternity. It's important. And the Lord is highlighting this for us by highlighting the numeric structure in the Word.