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The Hebrew Language and the Computer


April 1999


by Zola Levitt

Dear Friends,

s I prepared to go to the God's News Behind the News prophecy conference in Florida, I was asked to speak on subjects I never learned from the Bible. The most interesting topic was "Y2K Chaos - Fact or Fiction?". I am more accustomed to explaining Passover, the Tabernacle, and the types and shadows of the Lord, etc, but the computer is a matter of concern these days. We are all, more or less, dependent on these machines.

To that end, I started looking into the Hebrew language and certain computer designations. I've said some of this before, but it probably bears repeating. In any case, here is the information I contributed to the workbook handed out at that conference. I hope it gives you food for thought.

The Hebrew language has always been the best clue to understanding Biblical affairs. Not only is it the original text of most of the Bible, but it is full of hidden clues to meanings. It is rich in describing spiritual things, for which it was originally conceived. An example of the hidden clues might be the recent book on Bible codes, which seems to reveal some prophetic material established by looking at the arrangement of Hebrew letters in the text. While I'm not ruling favorably or unfavorably on that particular example, it does serve to show that the Hebrew language can guide us to greater knowledge of Scripture.

THE CONCLUSIONS BELOW ARE NOT DOGMATIC, BUT MERELY INTERESTING. They pertain to Y2K and how looking at certain computer terms, as they would be rendered in Hebrew, might elucidate it.

To begin with, the familiar symbol for the Internet, World Wide Web or "www", would be rendered in Hebrew as vav, vav, vav, (the Hebrew alphabet does not have a "w" and Hebrew-speaking people use the vav, or "v" , in place of our "w"). The interesting part is that since Hebrew letters also have numerical values (Hebrew speakers do not prefer Arabic numerals), we have a number for the letter vav. Since it is the sixth letter of the alphabet, the expression "www", in Hebrew, is 666.

In addition, most Bible commentators agree that Adam was born about 6,000 years ago. If we assume that he was born in exactly 4000 B.C. on our calendar, then we have spent 5,998 years to the present day. (We deduct one year when adding A.D. years to B.C. years since 1 B.C. and 1 A.D. were the same year.) What we now call 1999 is really 5998. 5998 in Hebrew is heh, tet, tet, peh, which would be "http", another computer address.

And further, September 9, 1999, could conceivably be the day that marks what the disciples called "the end of the age." According to computer researcher Michael S. Hyatt, "On this date, many computers will encounter the infamous "99" problem. For decades, programmers designated the end of a file, or the termination of a program, by entering a series of four nines in a row (i.e., "9999") in a date field. This code, like the millennium bug, is embedded in millions of computer programs throughout the world. Unless it is tracked down and removed, these programs will abruptly terminate, often with unexpected results."

This year, on September 9, 1999, computers will confront the date just that way, 9 9 99, but the results don't have to be so unexpected to Bible students.

Those familiar with the schedule of the seven feasts realize that the Rapture of the Church may occur on the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah. This year, that festival will begin at sundown on September 10! Could it be that the Age of Man, that is, the time from the creation of Adam to the end of the Church Age, will indeed terminate on September 9? And then will the Kingdom Age for believers, and the day of God's wrath for the world, begin with the catching up to heaven on September 10?

Finally, the popular search engine, Yahoo, is an important Hebrew word repeated often in the Scriptures. The name Yahweh is shortened to Yah in names; and hu, in Hebrew, stands for the pronoun "he". Thus, "Yahoo" on the end of a name in Hebrew, such as Netanyahu, means "he? the gift of God." The prophets Isaiah (Yeshayahu) and Jeremiah (Yirmeyahu) also had yahu on the ends of their names. These were meant in complimentary terms, but in the case of the Antichrist, Yahoo by itself expresses exactly his counterfeit: "he is God."

There might be still more to learn from the Hebrew equivalents of computer terms, but a message might be gleaned from the above information like this: 5,998 years after Adam, the one who claims "he is God" will control all men through the designation 666, or some similar idea.

The above reasoning would place the coming of the Antichrist later in this very year, 1999 A.D., and would agree with expositors who say that the year 2000 will mark a huge change in human affairs - Y2K and the start of the Tribulation Period, etc.

We could guess at the Antichrist's delusion by which he explains away the Rapture. He could simply say, "The survivalist nuts have departed because of the oncoming Y2K problems." The missing church will be characterized as screwballs who ran into the hills. They will not be particularly identified as Christians since certain "Christian" denominational churches will still be full after the Rapture.

All of the above is, of course, speculation. It is interesting, though, that the Hebrew equivalents produce so convincing a display. One such clue might be interesting, and two a coincidence, three is noteworthy, but four seems especially convincing since they all pertain to the computer and its tremendous influence in modern affairs.

One more caution: I am not a date-setter and am only offering the above speculations a just that - speculations. Our Lord tells us that "No man knows the day or the hour?" In the Jewish wedding, the bride did not know the wedding day.

Borrowed from LEVITT LETTERS
April 1999 issue

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