review of R. Edwin Sherman's book
Bible Code Bombshell: Compelling Scientific
Evidence That God Authored the Bible
by Roy A. Reinhold, June 2005

Recommendation: This is a revised and expanded book from mid 2004 by a new publisher, and the revision makes it an even better book. Excellent book that is well worth reading and retaining in your personal library. It has advanced code terms as sentences, making its findings scientifically and statistically significant far beyond previously published books on the Bible code. Downside: For those whose interest leans to "National Enquirer" type code results, this is not the book to satisfy your plebeian questions.

People new to the Bible code are always looking for answers as to the validity of code findings. That's really the core question that anyone should ask, "Whether the findings are scientifically significant or whether the code critics have a valid point?" Ed Sherman's book addresses that core question directly with tangible results--the development of long ELS terms that are phrases and sentences versus early Bible code findings that were by and large individual words as terms. He shows that while the Bible code critics may have had a valid point in the 90's with matrices that were simplistic with single-word terms, today's level of code findings with terms as sentences completely destroys the critics' objections. The skeptics have now been completely disproven. For that reason alone, Bible Code Bombshell deserves a read by anyone seriously inquiring into the Bible code itself.

However, one can still find an abundance of websites on the internet where beginner-level codes researchers are still doing simplistic matrices with single-word terms. I would never discourage these enthusiastic beginner-level codes researchers, since all matrix development starts that way. Yet, the casual reader ought to be wary of websites making fantastic claims; but whose matrices are comprised of single-word terms. The fact is that their matrices just aren't well-developed enough to know whether what they have found is statistically significant or randomness. If randomness, then of course their claims are invalid until the matrix is further developed enough to know whether it corroborates or disproves their earlier claims.

The value of Bible Code Bombshell and other material on their Bible Code Digest website, is that it provides that mathematical underpinnings for one to judge validity, and at the same time addresses common sense issues like, 'does the long term make sense?' That last question ought to be primary. For example, if someone came up with a lengthy Bible code term in a matrix on the theme of Thomas Edison, that read, "He invented the lightbulb. Spaceships travel throughout the galaxy. Many people don't eat enough vegetables. He invented the phonograph."; we would read that and say to ourselves that it looks grammatically correct, yet parts of it are entirely out of place with the theme of Thomas Edison. And we would be correct in our conclusion. I think Ed Sherman addresses the issue well in his book, of the 'common sense' test.

The subtitle of Bible Code Bombshell: Compelling Scientific Evidence That God Authored the Bible tells us that Ed Sherman has matrices on the topic of God in the Bible code in his book. He does have those matrices. Yet I think that a few well-developed and statistically significant open matrices does not fully prove the thesis; but then again Mr. Sherman says "compelling evidence" and not "irrefutable proof", so he backs up his claim without hyperbole.

As anyone can see by examining the more advanced matrices on this website, Codes in the Bible, the trend and future of the Bible code is advanced matrices with terms as sentences. That's the level of codes that is beyond the skeptic's capabilities; is beyond chance in the universe; and presents irrefutable proof of the validity of the Bible codes.

Buy and read Bible Code Bombshell, since it is the first of what I hope will be many advanced books on the Bible code that will completely demolish the skeptics' non-defendable positions. 300 pages in large Trade Papercover size from New Leaf Press, new June 2005, ISBN 0892216239. Available at Amazon.com for 20% off, $11.19 (Dec 2006).

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