Greetings Family,

I would like to share some things with the group that the Lord has allowed me to see in the word of God. The Lord brought my soul to life on May 1st 1993 when He baptized me with the Holy Ghost. But even though I was a new creature in Christ on that day, I did not immediately fall in love with His word. I went to church, had good fellowship, gave in the offering, but there was still not a hunger for His word like there should have been. I'll never forget the message that my pastor gave one evening when he said that if you don't have a hunger for God's word, then you need to pray to God to stir that desire up in your heart. He went on to say that when you are born again, you are born of God's Spirit. If you are born of God's Spirit, then the Spirit within you should bring to life a desire for God's word. I realized that night that I did not have that desire like I should have. I went home and fell on my knees before God and asked Him to forgive me. I asked Him to give me a burning desire for His word. I picked up my Bible from that day till this and I have fallen in love with His word.

As I have read my Bible over the years, I began to notice that God is an awesome God. He hides little nuggets in His word that excite the inner man and that give people encouragement to keep digging. Here are some things that I have discovered over the years that have strengthened my faith in God's word. You can call these things coincedences if you want to, but I like to call them "God's Signatures".

1. Jesus Christ was 33 years of age when they took him up on a hill and crucified Him. In the book of Numbers the 33rd chapter is the retelling of the 42 times that Israel camped from Egypt to the crossing of Jordan. The 33rd time that they camped, Aaron the high priest went up into a mountain, they stripped him of his garments and He died. Aaron is a type of Christ(John 19:23<->Ex. 39:22-23).

2. In John 19:36&37, ther are two prophecies fulfilled from the Old Testament. John 19:36 comes from Exodus 12:46.

Ex. 12:46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.

John 19:37 comes from Zech. 12:10.

Zech. 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Zechariah is the 36th book after Exodus. Both prophecies are in the 12th chapter of each book. If you subtract 10(Zech 12:10) from 46(Ex. 12:46) you come up with 36. Six is the number of man. 6 x 6 is 36. The prophecy of Jesus in Zechariah is the last prophecy that was fulfilled as far as Jesus being the Son of man.

3. Knowing that six is the number of man, notice the following about the New Testament. There are 6 chapters in the New Testament that contain 66 verses or more. They are Matt. 26:66;Matt. 27:66;Mark 14:66;Luke 1:66;Luke 22:66 and John 6:66. Notice that the 6th time is the 6th chapter of John, the 66th verse. It reads as follows.

John 6:66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

4. The 6th book in the New Testament is the book of Romans. The 6th chapter of Romans, the 6th verse reads as follows.

Rom. 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

5. There are 66 books in the Bible. If you count the almonds,knops and flowers on the branches of the candlestick in the Tabernacle, you come up wtih the number 66.

6. In the 3rd chapter of Luke, if you count the generations from Noah to Christ it is 66 generations.

7. The word "hour" occurs only 5 times in the Old Testament. The 5th occurence is in the 5th book of the Prophets(Daniel), the 5th chapter, 5th verse. It reads as follows.

Dan. 5:5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

There are 5 fingers on a man's hand.

8. The word "sweat" occurs only 3 times in the entire Bible. The 1st occurence has to do with the curse put on the 1st man Adam(Gen. 3:19). The 2nd has to do with the priesthood that will offciate in the temple that Ezekiel saw in his vision(Ez. 44:18). The 3rd occurence has to do with the last man Adam as he died out to His will(Luke 22:44).

9. The number 4 denotes time or the end of a cycle. There are 4 watches in the night. There are 4 seasons. The sun and the moon were created on the 4th day and they were created for times and seasons. Knowing this, notice what the 4th letter of Paul the 4th chapter, 4th verse says.

Gal. 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,

10. The word abomination is used quite extensivley in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, it is only used 6 times. Two times referring to the Abomination of Desolation(Matt. 24:15;Mark 13:14). Two times in Rev. 17 describing the Great %#&@$!(Rev. 17:4&5). Once describing one of the things that will prohibit you from entering in to the Heavenly Jerusalem(Rev. 21:27). These are five of the six occurences. They are descriptions of something or have to do with prophecy. The only place in the New Testament where Jesus used the word "abomination" in His teachings to describe something that was detestable to God is in Luke the 16th chapter. It reads like this.

Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

11. We are all familiar John 3:16. But have you ever noticed the similarity of John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16?

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

12. There are those that would debate with you about whether or not Paul wrote the book of Hebrews. After all, he never put his name at the beginning of the letter as he did with his other letters. Whether or not, Paul wrote the book of Hebrews I do not know for sure. But notice something very peculiar about the book of Romans and the book of Hebrews. In the book of Romans, the word "better" is used only one time(Rom. 3:9). Thirteen books later, in the book of Hebrews, the word "better" is used thirteen times.

13. Along this same line of thought, the 12th chapter of Romans the 1st and 2nd verse says this.

Rom. 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The 12th chapter of Hebrews, the last two verses says this.

Heb. 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

[Biblestudent]

Amazing "coincidences", gophgetter! Thanks for sharing that.

I have one comment, however, concerning being "baptized with the Holy Ghost". I think it would be more appropriate to say to have been "baptized by" the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Being baptized with the Holy Ghost is more of being "filled with the Holy Ghost", the pouring of the Spirit, and is manifested with speaking in tongues (Acts 2; Joel 2). But being baptize BY the Holy Spirit is being put or "buried (Rom. 6:1-4) into the body of Christ. (Just sharing the little that I have learned.)