Letter from a chaplain

Dear Dr. Jones,

Regarding the book you suggested in one of your latest blogs, Theomatics. I read that book back in the late 1970's maybe early 1980's and had a miraculous visitation from God confirming the truth therein and had to wait decades to find your and teachings confirming that God indeed does divine cross words. 

The only other folks I was exposed to were I think Grant Jeffries and a Jewish newspaper writer Michael Drosnin "Torah Codes". Drosnin was against finding codes in the New Testament.... we can easily surmise why.

In 2000 my systematic theology professor announced to the class that God does not do divine crossword puzzles in the Word of God! That was not the first time or the last time I disagreed with their far gone conclusions. Many Years earlier I had such a profound introduction to Biblical codes It would affect my seeking  God's word greatly for such phenomenon! Especially when I found in the pseudo Barnabas writings how he detailed why Abraham had 318 servants fighting for the redemption of captured Hebrews in Genesis 14:14!  

When I was at home in Inglewood I had a conversation with God as was my custom not realizing that God does not talk with everybody, but he did me as long as I expected him to talk back. 

I read somewhere that God knows the end from the beginning and he was all-knowing but I challenged that premise by telling God even He could not know what decision that I will make in the future knowing that I am fickle and subject to change and I am motivated by various stimuli so I told God since I don't know if I will go to the beach and run in the sun or go to the library to study if I did know how can He? 

My internal argument went as follows: After all, since you gave us free will then we can choose to do something and then change our mind and there were too many variables to predict an outcome. Since I have not yet made up my mind whether I am going to the beach or going to the library or even a third choice that could come up unexpectedly God himself could not know if I will choose one over the other. 

God took me up on the challenge and took me into the Spirit and as far as I can tell I was in a trance.

I saw that I was in the library and it was exactly 3 p.m. The reason I knew that I saw a clock in the isle that I was sitting on the floor and saw the red seconds hand hit 3pm when I opened a book and the chapter was a titled "Why 153 Fish" were specifically mentioned in the Gospel of John. 

Earlier that day when I was communing with God when I challenged God about his ability to know the end from the beginning I asked why does it mention in the book of John a 153 great fishes. I mean what is the point? There has to be some specific reason!  

I prepared to go to the beach and out of the trance I did not know or even think about which destination I would end up and it was late in the day already past 2 p.m. and my sunshine was slowly evaporating away! Surely the beach seemed to be influencing me more that day! 

The library was along the route and as a last moment I wondered if a theologian had already solved the riddle of the 153 fish so I went to the library and looked up scholars on the book of John. There were not many there at the public library. I did not find what I was looking for, but in the Theology section I really got interested in the book called Theomatics by Jerry Lucas because I followed his basketball career with the Knicks since the Lakers beat them in the 71 season with Wilt Chamberlain, but the Knicks came back to win it in 1972. 

When I opened the book was I was amazed the book fell open to my amazement to a chapter that read "Why the 153 Fish?" I was sitting on the floor at the time and was drawn to look at the clock which was on the wall which only could be seen from the isle that I was in and it's red seconds hand just struck 3 p.m. I instantly remembered the vision I had in the trance and said to myself and if God was watching "He does know the end from the beginning". Now I wondered how much of our lives is only perceived free will when in fact we are being directed? 

Needless to say when I discovered your web site I was flabbergasted with all the connections to the times and numbers of the Lord in the Word of God!

Chaplain Timothy McKindley,