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The Covert Bible... Bible...

part 1
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Do you realize that the Bible has some verses which have a covert or hidden meaning? These are sometimes not readily apparent to the average reader or Bible study student. However these covert meanings could shed a bit of light to understanding the message that Holy Scripture is presenting to us. Some of these meanings are definitive and others are of conjecture. They can be found in the beginning of Scripture and in the end (the bookends), and in many books in between. Following are several examples. I would not hesitate to say that there are probably hundreds more that would be beneficial as powerful teaching tools.

Genesis 1:3, the first day, "And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light." But then in Genesis 1:13-18, not until the third day, did GOD make the sun and the 18, moon to give this light. So the covert message is, "what (or Who) gave the light on the first day?". Conjecture? Maybe, but maybe not. Let us look in the last book for an a answer. Revelation 21:22-24, "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (23) And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb (24) By its light shall the nations Lamb. s walk; and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it,"

Genesis 1:26-27, "And he said: Let us make man to our image and likeness: and let him have likeness:

dominion over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth. (27) And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him male and him: female he created them." Notice in verse 26 that GOD referred to Himself as plural, 'Us' and 'Our'. But in verse 27 He has referred to Himself as 'his' and 'he'. These verses covertly taught us that GOD is more than one person, yet in only one GOD.

Genesis, 2:21-22, "Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it. (22) And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman: and brought her to Adam Adam." A covert addition to these verses is that the first woman came from man, and after that, all men came from woman.

Genesis 11:4-8, "Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." (5) And the LORD came down to see the city and the ." tower, which the sons of men had built. (6) And the LORD said, "Behold, they are hich Behold, one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; and nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. (7) Come, let us go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech (8) So the LORD scattered them abroad speech." from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city city. Notice in verse 5 and 8, the word 'Lord' is singular and in verse 7 the Lord said "let us go down", plural, again showing a hint of the Holy Trinity. Why was the Lord upset that the people were building the tower? It is because in the first verse they said they did not want to be scattered upon the face of the whole earth. That was against the previous commands of the Lord 'to fill the earth' in Genesis 1:28 and 9:1. Genesis 1:28,

"And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all living , of creatures that move upon the earth." Genesis 9:1, "And God blessed Noe and his sons. And he said to them: Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth."

Genesis 18:1-3, "And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day. (2) He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behold,three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, (3) and said, "My Lord, if I have found favor , in your sight, do not pass by your servant." Did you see the hidden message in those three verses? The word 'Lord', singular, is used twice in those three verses, yet there are three men, not a singular man. singular Those verses taught us that there are three persons in one GOD, a reference to the Holy Trinity.

Exodus 12:37, King James. "And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children children." The Douay, Septuagint, Vulgate, and Geneva Bible versions are about the same lgate, reading as the KJ. It should be easy for you to see what is missing in this verse, what with all those men and all those children and yet no women. Covertly, they must have been there. They simply were not mentioned. Interestingly, some later Bible versions do mention women in this verse, but as you can see, five of the older versions do not. Doesn't that suggest that the terms 'political correctness' and/or 'inclusive language' have been injected into the newer Bible versions?

2Kings 2:11, "And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold, a fiery chariot and

fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven." Was Elias really taken up to the heaven of GOD? If you think he was then you have a big problem, a Biblical conflict. roblem, John 3:13, heaven, "And no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven heaven." In order to resolve this dilemma, you have to know something about Hebrew beliefs. They believed in multiple heavens with GOD in the highest. Elias was taken multiple up to the heavens, the sky. See 2Corinthians 12:2 where Saint Paul mentioned a third heaven.

Micah 5:2, "And thou Bethlehem Ephrata, art a little one among the thousands of Juda, out of Juda thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." This is a covert message for those who are still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. Anyone who has seen Bethlehem recently will note immediately that it is no longer a 'little one' but has had great growth. So doesn't that tell us that the Messiah must have already arrived sometime in the past?

Malachi 1:11, "For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts." n This is a prophesy of the sacrifice of the Mass. Covertly or by conjecture, it is Gentiles who will offer the sacrifice of the Mass and not those who are still awaiting the arrival of the Messiah. rival

Matthew 2:1-3, "When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of king Herod, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, (2) Saying: Where is he

that is born king of the Jews For we have seen his star in the East, and are come to Jews? , adore him. (3) And king Herod hearing this, was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." Why was Herod troubled? Well one reason is that he did not want to have another King to challenge him and his realm. But there is another covert reason. Herod was an Idumean (Greek for the Hebrew word Edomite), and he was well Greek aware of a prophesy in the book of Numbers as Edom being dispossessed, as a Star rises from Jacob. Numbers 24:17-18, "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not near. A STAR SHALL RISE out of Jacob and a sceptre shall spring up from Israel: and shall strike the chiefs of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth (18) And he shall possess Idumea: , Idumea the inheritance of Seir shall come to their enemies, but Israel shall do manfully."

Matthew 11:11, "Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than ; he." Whoa! Some will say that this verse teaches us that John the Baptist is greater than the Blessed Virgin Mary since she was born of woman. This is a prime example of someone taking a verse out of context in order to make a point. First of all, Jesus Himself was born of woman. Those who say John was greater than the BVM will then have to admit that he was also greater than Jesus. Second, Jesus was talking about Prophets. See the two previous verses 11:9 and 11:10 for the context. Third, take a look at Luke 7:28, "For I say to you: Amongst those that are born of women, there is not a greater For prophet than John the Baptist Baptist. But he that is the lesser in the kingdom of God is greater than he." (Douay and KJ) he."

Matthew 13:10-11, "Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" (11) And he answered them,

"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to To them it has not been given." ." See Mark 4:10-11, and Luke 8:9 11, 8:9-10 for similar verses. Now, can you think of a reason why Jesus said what He said in those verses? I can think of one covert reason. It was because He was setting up His Church as His teaching authority. Saint Paul said it best in: 2Timothy 2:2, "and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."

Matthew 28:19-20, "Going therefore, teach ye all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father nations: and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. (20) Teaching them to observe all things Ghost. whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." ." 'Teach all nations' means 'universal', the meaning of the word 'Catholic'. ch 'Catholic Again we see the word 'name', singular, for all three persons of the Holy Trinity. The last sentence is overt but in case someone doesn't realize it, this is where Jesus case promised to be with His Church every day in every century until the end of time. This means there will be no gaps, not one single day, and not a chance of His Church going into apostasy, as some suggest that it did. ,

Mark 1:40-45, "And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean." (41) Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, " will; be clean." (42) And immediately the leprosy "I left him, and he was made clean. (43) And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, (44) and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, "See show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, , for a proof to the people." (45) But he went out and began to talk freely about it, (45) and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter." Lepers were not allowed to enter towns and mingle with the people.

Leviticus 13:46, "He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean; he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp." So, what is the covert meaning regarding Mark 1:44? Why did Jesus say to tell no one? It was because He knew He could not enter towns anymore because of the crowds use flocking to Him after hearing of His miraculous healings. However the cleansed lepers could now go into towns but Jesus could not.

Mark 6:3, Is Mary, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him." There are two covert messages in the underlined portion of that verse. 1. It says 'the son of Mary' instead of 'a son of Mary'. This taught us that Mary had only one son. 2. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus is not mentioned. This indicated that he was probably dead at the time. Go here to see who were the true parents of the 'brothers' mentioned in that verse.

Luke 8:22-25, "Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they lake. launched forth. (23) But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. (24) And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, ed and there was a calm. (25) And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they . faith being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him." Did you see the covert association in these verses? Here are a couple of hints:

Isaiah 54:11, "O poor little one, tossed with tempest, without all comfort, behold I will lay thy tempest, stones in order, and will lay thy foundations with sapphires," 1Peter 3:20, "Which had been some time incredulous, when they waited for the patience of incredulous, God in the days of Noe, when the ark was a building: wherein a few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." ." The covert simbolism is that the Church which Jesus Christ founded is associated with ships caught in stormy seas. The only souls that were saved in the great flood n were those who were inside the Ark. In the storm at sea as recounted in Luke 8, those who were aboard the ship were saved by Jesus. The covert message here is that Jesus will come to the aid of His Church when it appears to be under attack attack.

Luke 22:19, "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me y me." I will bet that almost everyone missed the covert fact that Jesus held His own body in His hands as He said those words.

John 7:3-5, "So his brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may see the works you are doing. (4) For no man works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show your yourself to the world." (5) For even his brothers did not believe in him him. This is a perfect covert message to make plain for those who claim that Blessed Mary had other children, the ' 'brothers' of Jesus. Jesus lived with His mother and foster father until he started His ministry at age 30 (Luke 3:23). His supposed 'brothers' must have lived in the same household for brothers' many years with Jesus. His mother and foster father knew who he was. So are th those who insist that Jesus had brothers are saying that His brothers did not know who he was, and did not 'believe in him'?

John 8:31, "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed him: If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed. (32) And you shall know the truth: and the truth shall . make you free." These verses are intentionally covert from many non Catholic sources. non-Catholic How many times have you heard them say, 'the truth will make you free'? It is a classic example of taking a passage out of context and ignoring the rest. There is that little very BIG word ' ' that makes 'the truth will make you 'IF' free' a two way conditional statement. 1. First you must keep the word as Jesus said, "If you continue in my word", so all If word of the commands of Jesus must be kept. 2. Second, you must know the truth before it will make you free. So the converse is free. applicable too. If you do not know the truth then the truth will NOT make you free free.

John 14:16-17, "And I will ask the Father: and he shall give you another Paraclete, that he may And abide with you for ever: (17) The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, nor knoweth him. But you shall know him; because he shall abide with you and shall be in you you." This verse is very clear but some simply do not get the message. Let us put it into int context. In these verses, said during the last supper, Jesus spoke to His Apostles, who will be the future leaders of His Church. Read all of John 13 and 14 and you will see several Apostles named. The 'Spirit of truth' will be given to the leaders of His Church only, and not to the world. It is a complimentary verse to s 1Timothy 3:15, which states that it is the Church that is the foundation and pillar of truth. And why is it? We are given the answer to that question in John 14:17. It is because the Spirit of Truth abides in the Church which Jesus Christ founded. it What about Judas Iscariot? Was this promise given to him also? No, notice that he left the last supper in John 13:30 13:30-31.

John 15:22, "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin: but now they If have no excuse for their sin." ."

Did this verse register with you? There is a lot of covert inspiration in it. h Remember, truth is a person, the person of Jesus the Christ (John 14:6). Jesus did come and speak truth to the people, as He walked the Earth then. Where do you find His truth today? Through what or whom does He speak today? Holy Scripture told us where: 1Timothy 3:15, "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." So you hear the truth through the one and only Church that Jesus the Christ founded. 1Timothy 3:15 does say 'church' (singular) and not churches, does it not? Elucidation: When you are told the truth through His Church today, you have no excuse for not His believing it.

Acts 1:8, "But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall But be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the and uttermost part of the earth." ." Now what did that verse tell you that is not readily apparent? There are many verses in Holy Scripture similar to that one in that they may have additionalcommon sense clues that are helpful in our understanding of the message that they convey to us. It is in the last part where Jesus commissioned His Apostles to be witnesses for Him in Jerusalem (local), Judea and Samaria (spreading out) and even to the uttermost salem part of the world (world wide). The Apostles can easily satisfy the first three locations in their lifetimes, but what about "to the uttermost part of the earth"? How will the Apostles accomplish that in one lifetime? The answer is, they cannot. les There you can clearly see continuity. The Apostles will not live long enough to continuity. spread the word to the whole world, so they will have to pass to someone else the they commission that Jesus bestowed upon them. The message of continuity of the Church which Jesus Christ founded was not readily apparent overtly, but it was however, there covertly.

Acts 1:8 has set the stage for Apostolic Succession, continuity of His Church without even overtly mentioning it, but covertly it did, and it did it quite well.

Acts 2:32, "This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses." , Acts 10:39-40, "And we are witnesses to all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; (40) but God raised him on the third day and made him manifest manifest;" There are many verses which state that GOD raised Jesus from the dead. There is no verse that said Jesus raised Himself from the dead. Overtly, this is not explained by Holy Scripture, but covertly it is. Remember that Jesus the Christ has two natures, one divine (the Christ) and one human (Jesus). In natures, His human nature, He could not raise Himself from the dead, but in His divine , nature He did. We must remember that the Holy Trinity consists of three distinct but not separate persons in one GOD. Where one is, so are the other two.

Acts 20:31, "Therefore watch, keeping in memory that for three years I ceased not with tears to admonish every one of you, night and day day." This is an interesting verse. Since Saint Paul admonished the people of Ephesus for three years, then why is his letter to the Ephesians only six chapters long and can be read in one hour or less? Has this verse instructed us covertly that only a e fraction of what Saint Paul taught the Ephesians night and day for three years is in the Bible (John 20:30,21:25)?

Romans 15:20, "And I have so preached this gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man a foundation." Non-Catholics try to show from this verse that Peter was not in Rome. However, Catholics Peter Romans was written at Corinth during the winter of 57 58 and Peter went to Rome 57-58 before that time. Eusebius wrote that St. Peter had been Bishop of Rome for 25

years. Since he was crucified in 67, that would place Peter in Rome in the year 42. in St. Paul alluded to another Apostle in this verse, that he did not want to build upon anothers foundation. That other was no doubt St. Peter. Why would St. Paul be writing an Epistle to the Romans unless the Church was already established there?

1Corinthians 11:26-29, or "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (27) Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. (28) Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup cup. (29) For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself." Those verses are glossed over or ignored by Non Catholics, and yet, they are so Non-Catholics, clear. Verse 26: Non-Catholics say that Catholics sacrifice Christ over and over again in Catholics the Mass. The key word in that verse is 'proclaim' which means to declare, preach, show, speak of, teach (Strongs). That is what the Catholic Church does. Verse 27: Non-Catholics teach that the Holy Eucharist is only a symbol. Well if that Catholics symbol were true, how could anyone profane a symbol? Verse 28: 'Examine himself' means to take an examination of conscience to make sure that we are not in mortal sin before partaking of the Eucharist. If it were only a symbol, then why examine ourselves? ine Verse 29: This verse said 'without discerning the body If it is only a symbol, then without body'. symbol what body? In these verses there is nothing covert to those who know the truth of what they teach us. But for those who do not know, or try to ignore the truth, then to them the messages are covert.

Galatians 1:18-19, "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. (19) But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother." The Lord's brother? The Lord had a brother? Well, Saint Paul told us in the sam same

verse that James was also an Apostle, the covert message. There were two Apostles named James, so to delve into the covert meaning of the verse we must determine who the parents of each of them were. Scripture teaches us that one was the son of Alpheus as shown in Acts 1:13, and the other was the son of s Zebedee in Matthew 4:21. Consequently, neither James was the blood brother of the Lord.

2Timothy 3:15, "And because from thy infancy thou hast known the holy scriptures which can instruct thee to salvation by the faith which is in Christ Jesus." Well here is a stealthy verse, a very covert one indeed. Can you figure it out for yourself? If not, consider this: 2Timothy was written by Saint Paul just before his death, as he wrote in 2Timothy 4:6-8. It is known that he was beheaded in 67. So this book, probably his last, was written in 66 or 67 A.D.. St Paul addressed this book to Timothy who was the Bishop of Ephesus at the time (1Timothy 1:3). In order to be a bishop Timothy must have been at least 30 years old. By simple subtraction, 66 or 67 minus 30 would put Timothy's infancy at about 36 or 37A.D.. That date predates what is thought to be the first book written by Saint Paul y (1Thessalonians, written about 52) by many years. Consequently, the 'Holy Scriptures known by Timothy from his infancy' could be only the Old Testament.

Hebrews 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for Obey your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not they with grief: for that is unprofitable for you you." Who are those who 'have the rule over you and 'for they watch for your souls'? have you' for souls It can be none other than the Bishops in the Church which Jesus founded. It is the duty of the Bishop to guide us unto salvation. We have a duty to be obedient to our Bishop and not cause him grief.

Revelation 13:18, "Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six. man: sixty Aah, the infamous 666 verse, the number of the beast. And who is the beast? Well the verse said it is a man. But does that mean it is really and truly a man? Languages: Holy Scripture was originally written in several languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. But are you reading it in the original language? No, you are reading Scripture in English if you are reading this page. The book of Revelation was written in Greek by Saint John, so you are reading an English translation of a aint Greek verse. Since every language has its own meaning of words that do not necessarily agree 100% with the English translation, then it becomes mandatory to go to the original language for the proper interpretation of a word in question. The proper word in question in this verse is 'man'. The Greek word used in this verse for 'man' is 'anthropos'. Thayer Definition: Anthropos 1) a human being, whether male or female 1a) generically, to include all human in individuals 1b) to distinguish man from beings of a different order Usually the first of multiple definitions as this, carries the most weight. So the Thayer definition said that it could be either a man or a woman. An additional note: Throughout the Bible, women were sometimes not even mentioned even though le, covertly they must have been there. Previously we looked at Exodus 12:37 where there were 600,000 men on foot, not counting children (KJ, DRB). Children but no women? How in the world did those 600, 600,000 men accomplish that?

Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify to every one that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book: If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book. (19) And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy

city, and from these things that are written in this book." Now covertly, do these words apply only to the book of Revelation, or do they apply to all of the books in the Bible? There are arguments on both sides of that question. Those that answer 'no' say that Revelation was written in around 95 A.D., so Saint John had no knowledge of an assemblage of the books to be included in Holy Scriptures centuries after his death. Those who answer 'yes', point to the fact that "All Scripture is inspired by GOD, and is useful for teaching:" (2Timothy 3:16). And therefore none of it can be added to or deleted. That statement is reinforced by several additional verses in other books: Deuteronomy 12:32, "Everything that I command you you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to it or take from it." Psalms 119:57, "The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep thy words." Proverbs 5:7, "And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth." Proverbs 30:5-6, "Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. (6) Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you, and you be found a liar." Wow! Some pretty potent warnings in that verse. Ecclesiastes 3:14, "I know that whatever God does endures for ever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has made it so, in order that men should fear before him." Jeremiah 23:36, "And the burden of the Lord shall be mentioned no more, for every man's word shall be his burden: for you have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God." Galatians 1:8-9, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema. (9) As we said before, so

now I say again: If any one preach to you a gospel, besides that which you have received, let him be anathema." How many times have you seen a verse repeated as that one was? Why does anyone repeat himself? 1Peter 1:25, "But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel hath been preached unto you." 2Peter 3:16-17, "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction. (17) You therefore, brethren, knowing these things before, take heed, lest being led aside by the error of the unwise, you fall from your own steadfastness." So by taking Revelation 22:18-19 and adding all of the above verses to it, the covert consesus from both the Old Testament and the New Testament is: DO NOT ADD TO OR DELETE FROM THE HOLY WORDS OF GOD

The Covert Bible, part II:

Do you realize that the Bible has some verses which have a covert or hidden meaning? These are sometimes not readily apparent to the average reader or Bible study student. However these covert meanings could shed a bit of light to understanding the message that Holy Scripture is presenting to us. Some of these meanings are definitive and others are of conjecture. They can be found in the beginning of Scripture and in the end (the bookends), and in many books in between.

Following are several examples. I would not hesitate to say that there are probably hundreds more that would be beneficial as powerful teaching tools.

Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." The word 'beginning' is a modifier for the word 'time'. Before this there was no time. The creation of time is confirmed in Genesis 1:5, "God named the light day, and the darkness he named night. There wa evening, was then morning-the first day." the

Genesis 3:9-13, "But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" (10) And "Where you he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (11) He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have "Who naked you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" (12) The man said, eat?" "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I he ate." (13) Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have "What done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate." ?" GOD asked four questions in those five v verses. Since GOD knows all, including the answers to His questions, can you think of a covert reason why He asked them at all? It is a prefigurement of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. GOD wanted to hear Adam and Eve confess their sin. And what were their answers to GOD? Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. Neither was willing to take the blame. It is a classic example of passing the buck.

Exodus 2:1-2, "Now a man from the house of Levi went and took to wife a daughter of Levi. (2) Now The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months." Notice that both the father and mother of Moses are of the priestly tribe of Levi. This alludes to Moses as being a figure of Christ, the High Priest.

Exodus 12:5-8, "It shall be to you a lamb unblemished, a male of a year old: ye shall take it of the lambs and the kids. (6) And it shall be kept by you till the fourteenth of this month, and all the multitude of the congregation of the children of Israel shall kill it t toward evening. (7) And they shall take of the blood, and shall put it on the two door doorposts, and on the lintel, in the houses wherein they shall eat it. (8) And they shall eat the flesh in this night roast with fire, and they shall eat unleavened bread wit with bitter herbs." Overtly these verses are quite clear as being a type of the Eucharistic sacrifice. However, covertly note very carefully that the Hebrews had to eat the body of the lamb, and not a mere symbol of the body of the lamb. Remember, an Old Testament type is always inferior to a New Testament reality. Therefore a mere New Testament symbolic gesture of an Old Testament type is an impossibility.

2Samuel 2:1, "And after these things David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go up into one of And the cities of Juda? And the Lord said to him: Go up. And David said: Whither shall I go up? And he answered him: Into Hebron." ." 2Samuel 12:13, "And David said to Nathan: I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to And David: The Lord also hath taken away thy sin: thou s shalt not die. Those verses have a meaning that are overt to some but covert to others. Do you see one of the seven sacraments typed in those two verses? Sometimes extracting short phrases from the verses one at a time will help in understanding the messages they convey. 1. In the first verse, David spoke directly to GOD and asked Him two questions. 2. And GOD answered him directly both times. 3. In the second verse, David confessed his sin to Nathan, a mere man, but a man ond of GOD. 4. It was Nathan who said that GOD had taken away his sin.

5. David received GOD's forgiveness not by Him speaking directly to David, but through a human person. 6. It is the same today in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 7. The priest, acting 'In Persona Christi' (in the person of Christ, 2Corinthians 2:10), conveys GOD's forgiveness of sins to the sinner.

2Samuel 6:6-9, "And when they came to the floor of Nachon, Oza put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it: because the oxen kicked and made it lean aside. (7) : (7)And the indignation of the Lord was enkindled against Oza, and he struck him for his rashness: and he died there before the ark of God. (8) And David was grieved God. because the Lord had struck Oza, and the name of that place was called: The striking of Oza, to this day. (9) And David was afraid of the Lord that day, saying: How shall the ark of the Lord c come to me?" Just by touching the Ark of the Covenant, Oza was struck down by GOD. The wooden Ark of the Old Testament is a type of the New Ark of the New Testament. children, For those who say that Mary had other children, they simply do not see the connection to 2Samuel 6:6-9. 9. Compare "How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?" in the last verse (9) listed How me?" above to the following verse: Luke 1:43 "And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? And me?" The old wooden ark contained the types of what the New Ark carried.

Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel Emmanuel." "And his name shall be called Emmanuel"? I thought His name was to be called Jesus.

How can this be resolved? Well the answer to that one is that Hebrew names had a meaning, a title, and that is explained very nicely in the following verses. Matthew 1:21-23, "And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. For he shall . save his people from their sins. (22) Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled ins. which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: (23) Behold a virgin shall be with child, and bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." ."

Isaiah 9:6-7, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty : God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (7) Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this this." These two verses are absolutely loaded with overt and covert meaning. It is a very loaded overt prophesy of the coming of the Christ and His founding of His oneChurch. one 1. Notice that the word 'government' is singular, and it can only refer to His Church. 2. Of the increase of His 'government' (His Church), there shall be no end. Don't non-Catholics teach that His Church went into apostasy early on at some unknown Catholics and unprovable time and without a shred of documentation on their part to prove that it ever happened? Also, by claiming this heresy, aren't they saying that what Isaiah prophesied is untrue? His Church has been growing and increasing for almost 2000 years, despite the attacks from heretics and others. Today it has at least 1.1 billion members, and is still adding more and more e every day. 3. Even the word 'government' disarms those who say that Jesus founded an invisible church. How can a governing body ever be invisible, (Matthew 5:14) what with legislatures, governors, courts, etc.? 4. The last part of verse 7 clearly says that He will establish His government and IT

WILL LAST FOREVER. And who will insure this? In the last line it is GOD Himself. Here is yet another Himself. verse that has to be denied by those who say His Church went into apostasy at some unknown time and with no documented proof whatsoever to support their false charge. Since 'the LORD of hosts will perform this', does that mean that those who present these false charges are guilty of Acts 5:39, that they will be found to fight e even against GOD?

Isaiah 11:10, "And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek and his rest shall be glorious." seek: s Jeremiah 16:19, "O Lord, my might, and my strength, and my refuge in the day of tribulation: to thee the Gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth, and shall say: Surely our earth, fathers have possessed lies, a vanity which hath not profited them." And Gentiles, Micah 5:8, "And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the beasts of the forests, and as a young lio among lion the flocks of sheep: who, when he shall go through, and tread down, and take there is none to deliver." Acts 28:28, "Be it known therefore to you that this salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles: and Be they will hear it." Romans 3:29, "Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles he also." Romans 9:24, "Even us, whom also he hath called, not only of the Jews but also of the Gentiles Even Gentiles." Romans 11:25, "Lest you be wise in your own conceits, I want you to understand this mystery, brethren: a hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of the

Gentiles come in." Ephesians 3:6-7, "That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body: and copartners of That his promise in Christ Jesus, by the gospel (7) Of which I am made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God, which is given to me according to the operation of his power." Do you see a common thread among those verses? Gentiles are mentioned in all of the verses. Gentile: a person who is not of the Jewish faith, or is of a non Jewish nation. e: non-Jewish In the Old Testament it is prophesied that Gentiles will come to the same GOD of the Jews. In the New Testament is the fulfillment of those prophesies. Covertly they show that Chris Christianity must be true.

Isaiah 65:14-15, "Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. (15) And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:" It is easy to see from the context (read Isaiah 65:1 13) that GOD is not pleased with 65:1-13) His chosen people. They will be slain (it happened in 70 A.D. by the hands of the Romans). Now can you guess what 'another name' will be for His servants? How about "Christians" (Acts 11:26)? out

Jeremiah 17:13, "O Lord, the hope of Israel: all that forsake thee shall be confounded: they that depart from thee, shall be written in the earth: because they have forsaken the Lord, the vein of living waters." , It has always been a mystery as to exactly what Jesus wrote in the dirt in John 8:6. e

It is by conjecture that what He wrote might have been what Jeremiah said in the above verse. Jesus certainly had many depart from Him. Read John 6:66 for one verse out of many. 666???

Matthew 16:15-17, "He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (16) Simon Peter replied, "You But am?" are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (17) And Jesus answered him, "Blessed " are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." Well, what have we here? It is a tailor made verse for those who claim that Peter tailor-made did not have the primacy. It was only Peter who knew that Jesus was the Christ. How did Peter know? GOD the Father told him directly. Throughout Holy Scripture there are verses where GOD spoke directly to His prime person, the Father figure. Here are a few example verses out of many more: Abram/Abraham in Genesis 12:1, and in many verses thereafter. Moses in Exodus 3:4, and in many verses thereafter. David, in 2Samuel 2:1, and in many verses before and after. Show me a verse in the New Testament where GOD spoke directly to those that non-Catholics say had the primacy instead of Peter? Catholics

Matthew 18:15-18, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him If alone. If he listens to you, you have gained yo brother. (16) But if he does not your listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. (17) If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (18) Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth

shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in loose heaven." In those verses Jesus told us that the final authority is with His Church and that we must listen to it. He even told us what to do to those who refuse to listen to His Church. One covert message in these verses is, if His Church fell into error or apostasy as some non-Catholic sects teach, then GOD has deliberately deceived us. Catholic However, we know that GOD can neither deceive nor be deceived.

Mark 3:32-35, "And the multitude sat about him; and they said to him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. (33) And answering them, he said: Who is my mother and my brethren? (34) And looking round about on them who sat about him, he said: Behold my mother and my brethren (35) For whosoever shall do the brethren. will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, and mother. mother." Some would charge that Jesus put down His mother in these verses. However, the context shows that He is not talking about His natural family but about a higher order, His supernatural family.

Luke 1:28, "Hail, And when the angel had come to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. women." In order to uncover the covert exegesis in this verse we must revert to the original Greek language in which it was written. The word 'Hail' (Chairo in Greek) is an honorable salutation given to royalty such as 'Hail Caesar' or 'Hail King of the Jews'. Archangel Gabriel, using 'Hail', conveys to us that Mary is being addressed as royalty. Did you notice that Gabriel did not call her by name by saying 'Hail Mary full of grace'? It is an indication that she was given a new title, "Full of Grace".

The original Greek word used (kecaritomene) for 'Full of Grace' translates in English nal to 'a plenitude of Grace'. St Jerome used the Latin words 'Gratia Plena' for the term in the Latin Vulgate, the first translation of the New Testament from Greek. GOD used "The Lord is with thee" to embolden certain people to which He had given a special and difficult calling. A few Old Testament recipients are Moses (Exodus 3:12), Joshua (Joshua 1:5,9), and Gideon (Judges 6:12-13,16). 13,16). Mary is the only person in the New Testament to be called "Blessed art Testament thou among women". Those words are repeated again to her by Elizabeth in Luke 1:42.

Luke 1:41-42, "And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. (42) And she cried out with a loud voice and said: Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." There is a very interesting covert message where Elizabeth 'cried out with a loud voice'. Here is an excellent example where reverting to the original Greek gives us much more to delve into and where the English translation falls short. The Greek word used here is 'Anaphoneo'. This is the only time this Greek word is used in the New Testament. This same Greek word appears five times in the Septuagint or LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament where it describes Levitical Old priests praising GOD before the Ark of the Covenant. 1Chronicles 15:28, "And all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of a horn, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, playing loudly cymbals, (anaphoneo) on lutes and harps." 1Chronicles 16:4-5, "And he appointed before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, Levites to minister and lift up the voice (anaphoneo), and to give thanks and praise the Lord God of

Israel: (5) Asaph was the chief, and next to him Zacharias, Jeiel, Semiramoth, and Jeiel, Mattathias, Eliab, and Banaeas, and Abdedom: and Jeiel sounding with musical instruments, lutes and harps, and Asaph with cymbals: (anaphoneo)" 1Chronicles, 16:42, "And with them there were trumpets and cymbals to sound aloud (anaphoneo), re and musical instruments for the songs of God: and the sons of Idithun were at the gate." 2Chronicles 5:13, "And there was one voice in the trumpeting and in the psalm singing, and in the psalm-singing, loud utterance (anaphoneo) with one voice to give thanks and praise the Lord; and ance when they raised their voice together with trumpets and cymbals, and instruments of music, and said, Give thanks to the Lord, for it is good, for his mercy endures for ever: then the house was filled with the cloud of the glory of the Lord." ouse So what do you see as the covert message here? It is praise given to GOD in front of the old wooden Ark of the Covenant, and the same praise given before the theNew Ark of the Covenant, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Luke 2:6-7, "While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have her child. (7) She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there wasn't any room for them in the inn." This is the Incarnation, when GOD took on a human nature. All of the substance and DNA of Jesus the Christ came from the substance and DNA of His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. is

Luke 2:51, "And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was subject to them And them. And his mother kept all these words in her heart." How covert, the meaning of this verse. Did you notice that the creator of the universe was subject to a mere human universe

creature by the name of Mary until He started His ministry at the age of 30 (Luke 3:23)? Name another woman so blessed?

Luke 24:30-31, "When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. (31) And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight." In order to put what happened in these verses in context, you might want to read from verse 13 on. Two disciples were walking on the road to Emmaus when Jesus whom they did not recognize joined them. The covert meaning here is that they did not recognize Him until He 'broke bread'. Remember at the last supper when H broke bread He said, "This is my body". He This body Breaking of the bread is the Holy Eucharist, the true presence. Now if that is only a symbol as some say, how could a mere symbol cause them to recognize Him immediately?

John 10:27-28, "My sheep hear my voice. And I know them: and they follow me. (28) And I give . them life everlasting: and they shall not perish for ever. And no man shall pluck them out of my hand." This the classic verse that some non non-Catholic sects use to 'prove' their 'once saved, always saved' false teaching. ' Let us put this into context. First of all, 'My sheep hear my voice', means that they obey His commands and My voice', follow Him, as He said in the second sentence. The last sentence says nothing about those who voluntarily jump out of His hand and simply walk away from Him and His Church (John 6:66---again, for one). again,

John 20:17-18, "Jesus said to her, "Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father. But Do go to My brothers and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God, and your God." (18) Mary Magdalene came bringing word to the ." disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He told her these things." and In this very overt set of verses, for those who say verse 17 'proved' that Jesus Christ had 'brothers', a covert message that they did not see proved them wrong. Jesus told Mary Magdalen to go to His ' 'brothers'. But who did she go to in verse '. 18? She went to His 'disciples'. Those 'disciples' were the Apostles, and they were certainly not His blood brothers. Also, some people might be confused since throughout the New Testament, His Apostles are sometimes called His disciples. A disciple is one who follows Christ as do the Apostles. There are many disciples, but few Apostles. Apostles are disciples, but not a disciples are Apostles. all

Acts 3:15, But dead: "But the author of life you killed, whom God hath raised from the dead of which we are witnesses." Revelation 1:17-18, "And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon dead. me, saying: Fear not. I am the First and the Last, (18) And alive, and was dead. And behold I am living for , . ever and ever and have the keys of death and of hell." Revelation 2:8, "And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead and is alive alive:" This section is for those who say that GOD did not die on the cross. Here are a few questions for you: 1. In the first verse, who is the author of life? 2. Doesn't that verse say that He was killed? 3. In the verses from Revelation, who is 'The First and the Last'?

4. Do those verses from Revelation say that He was dead and by words from His own mouth? 5. Did the 'Author of Life' and 'T First and the Last' die? 'The 6. Holy Scripture said He did did... 7. So then why do some say that He did not?

Acts 5:38-39, "And now, therefore, I say to you: Refrain from these men and let them alone. For if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought: (39) But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God. And they consented to him." This should be an easy verse for anyone to uncover its covert meaning. Since truth is a person, the person of Jesus Christ (Jo 14:6), (John He promised that His Church would last every day in every century until the end of time (Matthew 28:20). Scripture also tells us that He is the Savior of His Church (Ephesians 5:23). The one Church that He founded has endured the slings and arrows from myriads of sources and from every direction and in every century for almost 2000 years, proving beyond any doubt that His Church is not the work of men. No man has been able to overthrow it, and those who have tried can only be fighting against GOD.

1Corinthians 10:9-12, "We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by We test, serpents; (10) nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the did Destroyer. (11) Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come come. (12)Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. Therefore fall." Wow! If I were a member of the ' 'once saved always saved' crowd, those verses would have me shaking in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). If I claim that I am already saved, isn't that putting the Lord to the test? that After all, it is He and not any human person that determines who is saved and who

is not. Verse 12 drives the final nail in the ' 'once saved always saved' coffin.

1Corinthians 11:18-19, "For, in the first place, when you assemble as a church, I hear that there are For, divisions among you; and I partly believe it, (19) for there must be factions among ; you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized recognized." In John 10:16 Jesus said, "And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they And will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd shepherd." In John 17:21-23 Jesus prayed, 23 "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their I through word, (21) that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. (22) The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, (23) I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved , them even as thou hast loved me me." In both of the quotes in the Gospel of John, Jesus said that we must be one and not Jesus divided. That is GOD's way. Satan is the divider. Divide and conquer is his way. Division is evil since it comes from Satan. However, from this evil arises good in that true and genuine Christians are manifested as shown in 1Corinthians 11:19 as shown above. Heresy must exist, for in studying it we can separate the truth from the lie. So what is the covert message here? It is revealed in the following verse: Genesis 50:20, "Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it Even it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now now." See also Romans 3:8 and 8:28.

2Thessalonians 2:15, "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by So us, either by word of mouth or by letter. letter." That is a very important verse with a widely overlooked covert message. "Hold to the traditions which you were taught by us. us." 'Taught by us' is Apostolic Tradition. ught What is the Bible? The Bible is tradition written down. The best proof of this is right from the words of Saint Luke in the prolog to his Gospel: Luke 1:1-4, Inasmuch the "Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us (2) just as they were delivered to us by those us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word (3) it word, seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus (4) that you may know te Theophilus, the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed. informed." It is widely taught that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament, commonly called The Torah. Those books cover thousands of years, so the only way he could have written them hose was by tradition handed down from generation to generation.

1Peter 5:13, "The church that is in Babylon, elected together with you, salute you. And so does The Babylon, my son, Mark." So at the time of writing of 1Peter, was there a church in the Babylon, which lies in what is today called Iraq? The covert answer to that question is no, simply besause after 130 B.C., Babylon faded into obscurity, and ruins. It wasn't until the mid 1800's that its location was found again and archealogical 's unearthing began. So where is the Babylon that is mentioned in the verse? Christians, especially the Apostles, were under constant persecution by both the

Jews and the Romans from the very beginning and had to practice the faith and underground in the homes of believers, and in the catacombs of Rome. In order to recognize one another as fellow Christians, they used code words and symbols. The fish symbol (icthos) was used for recognition, and Babylon was the code word for Rome. If Peter had said he was writin to a Church in Rome, then no doubt, it would have writing aroused Roman suspicion.

1John 4:6, "We are of God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and he who is not of God does We not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error error." This Epistle by Saint John was written about the same time as his Gospel which was around 100 A.D.. By this time all of the other Apostles were dead. John uses the plural 'we' and 'us' in that verse and obviously he could not mean the other Apostles. So who are the 'we' and 'us' that he refers? What is the covert answer? e' It could only be the Bishops, a fine example of Apostolic Successsion, and the , priests.

Revelation 8:10-11, "And the third angel sounded the trumpet: and a great star fell from heaven, burning as it were a torch. And it fell on the third part of the rivers and upon the fountains of waters: (11) And the name of the star is called Wormwood. And the third part of the waters became wormwood. And many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter bitter." Let us again extract short phrases from those verses one at a time, as those verses may contain a surprise for some. 1. "A great star fell from heaven". 2. What makes a star? Nuclear energy. 3. What makes an atomic reactor? Nuclear energy. 4. "The name of the star is called Wormwood." 5. In 1986 a nuclear reactor destroyed itself at Chernobyl Ukraine.

6. This man made disaster killed thousands and contaminated the land and waters for miles around. 7. So what is the point? 8. The stars name was 'Wormwood'. 9. Wormwood translated to the language of Ukraine is 'Chernobyl'.

Revelation 11:19-12:9, "And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and voices and an earthquake and . great hail. (12:1) And a great sign appeared in heaven A woman clothed with the heaven: sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. (2)And twelve stars being with child, she cried travailing in birth: and was in pain to be delivered (3) delivered. And there was seen another sign in heaven. And behold a great red dragon, having dragon seven heads and ten horns and on his heads seven diadems. (4) And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered: that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son. (5) And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And her son was taken up to God and to rod. His throne. (6) And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her, a thousand two hundred sixty days. (7) And there was a great battle in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels. (8) And they prevailed not: , neither was their place found any more in heaven. (9)And that great dragon was (9)And cast out, that old serpent, who is cal called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the , whole world. And he was cast unto the earth: and his angels were thrown down with him. Whew! There is a lot of overt and covert meaning to those ten verses. 1. First of all, notice that we continue from the last verse of chapter 11 to the first verse of chapter 12. This is because of that little word 'and' (kai in the Greek), the first word in 12:1, which ties the two chapters together, so that makes 12:1 a continuation of 11:9. In 11:9 it is said that the Ark of the Covenant was seen in Heaven. Is that the wooden man-made ark of the Old Testament? made No, since the prophet Jeremiah hid it in Mount Nebo (2Maccabees 2:4 2:4-8). What was seen in Heaven is the New Ark Ark.

Here is an interesting trivia question for you. Is there anything man-made in Heaven? 2. Who is the woman 'clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet'? Remember to always hold to the context of a chapter. There are four beings mentioned in those verses. 2a. There is a great red dragon mentioned in verse 3, and he is identified in verse 9 as the devil and Satan. 2b. There is the Archangel Michael, identified in verse 7. 2c. The man child who was to rule all nations with an iron rod in verse 5 could be none other than Jesus the Christ. 2d. The context demands that the fourth person be identified also as the Blessed Virgin Mary, who gave birth to Jesus the Christ. Here is a flowchart representation of the 'woman' of Revelation 12:1. 3. Study of the book of Revelation could be likened to peeling back layers of a head of lettuce or an onion. As each layer is peeled back, it reveals a deeper layer of exegesis. 3a. The woman has been seen also as the Church as 'she cried travailing in birth: and was in pain to be delivered'. The Church which Jesus Christ founded has for almost 2000 years given birth to millions through Baptism, and not without travail, pain, and suffering. 3b. The woman has also been seen as Israel, since promised Messianic deliverance would come from inhabitants of Israel (Isaiah 26:16-21).

The Covert Bible, part III:

Do you realize that the Bible has some verses which have a covert or hidden meaning? These are sometimes not readily apparent to the average reader or Bible

study student. However these covert meanings could shed a bit of light to these understanding the message that Holy Scripture is presenting to us. Some of these meanings are definitive and others are of conjecture. They can be found in the beginning of Scripture and in the end (the bookends), and in many books in bookends), between.

Following are several examples. I would not hesitate to say that there are probably hundreds more that would be beneficial as powerful teaching tools.

Genesis 28:16, "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place; and I "Surely did not know it." (17) And he was afraid, and said, "How awesome is this place! " "How This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. heaven." How many have glossed over these two verses and not seen the covert meaning? It is the "House of GOD", and not the ' 'houses of GOD' that is the "Gate of Heaven". H There is only one GOD who dwells in only one house, not multiple houses. See Psalms 127:1...as a refresher...

Genesis 29:3-4, "and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place upon the mouth of the well. (4) Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where do My you come from?" They said, "We are from Haran." Covertly, did you catch that phrase "My Brothers"? Do not non-Catholics teach that the Blessed Virgin Mary had 'other children' Catholics 'other children because of the word 'brothe mentioned in the New Testament? 'brothers' Well, here we are in the Old Testament. Are those to whom Jacob spoke his blood brothers? No! They were simple shepherds who were watering their sheep.

Exodus 9:6, "And on the morrow the LORD did this thing; all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but of the cattle of the people of Israel not one died." Exodus 9:19-20, "Now therefore send, get your cattle and all that you have in the field into safe shelter; for the hail shall come down upon every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home, and they shall die. (20) Then he who feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his slaves and his cattle flee into the houses." Whoa! What is happening here? Verse 9:6 said that all of the cattle of the Egyptians died, but just a few verses later the Egyptians were urged to take their cattle to shelters if they did not want them to die. Is this a Biblical conflict? Is this an error in the Bible? THERE ARE NO ERRORS IN THE BIBLE, ON 'APPARENT' ERRORS. ONLY So where is the 'apparent' here? What is the covert message here? It is the original language words used in Hebrew for the Old Testament, and Greek for the New Testament that were translated to the English word 'all'. In both '. Hebrew and Greek translations when the English word 'all' is used, it does not necessarily mean 'every', but 'many' or 'a great many'.

"What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun. sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9 Exodus 13:17, "When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest the people repent when they see war, and return to Egypt. Egypt." This is a prime example of having to know Biblical geography and history in order to see the covert meaning of Exodus 13:17.

The land of the Philistines is now the land of the Palestines (Palestinians) and includes Gaza. So GOD, who was leading the Exodus (Exodus 13:16, 21 21-22), led the Israelies away from Gaza by a longer route in order to avoid a possible war with the Philistines. The Exodus is thought to have happened around 1440 B.C., over 3400 years ago. Here we are 3400 years later and today the Israelites and Palestinians are still at it. Perhaps that could be the worlds longest war.

Exodus 31:16-17, "Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the sabbath, observing the sabbath throughout their generations, as a perpetual covenant It is a sign for ever between covenant. me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." How many have simply glossed over those two very important verses? Surely the sabbatarians have. Seventh-Day Adventists, sabbath keeping Baptists, and other non ewish non-Jewish sabbatarian sects have apparently ignored them completely. To put those verses in context, GOD is speaking directly to Moses (Exodus 31:1). It is so clear in those two verses that it is the Israelites, the Jews, who are commanded to keep the sabbath as a "perpetual covenant". There is no verse in the entire Bible where GOD commands Gentiles (anyone other than a Jew), to keep the sabbath. Next time when you are in conversation with sabbatarians who call themselves Christian, ask them if they are Jews. If they are not, then the onus is upon them to show you the verse(s) where GOD commands Gentiles to keep the sabbath.

Numbers 30:1-16, For brevity, I have included just a few verses of this important and interesting section of Holy Scripture. I would suggest that the reader go to the Bible and read all sixteen verses to put them in the proper context. (3) "Or when a woman vows a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by a pledge, he

while within her father's house, in her youth, (4) and her father hears of her vowand of her pledge by which she has bound herself, and says nothing to her; and then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand." And (6) "And if she is married to a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself, (7) and her husband hears of it, and says nothing to her on the day that he hears; then her vows shall stand, and ing her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. stand." Can you see the covert message in those verses? The Blessed Virgin Mary, no doubt, knew the Old Testament very well and must , have known about the vows vows. Those verses provide justification for her to have taken a vow of perpetual virginity.

Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel." Ah, the famous prophesy of Isaiah, " "Behold a virgin shall conceive". The problem here is that in a few bibles the translation reads, "a young woman translation shall conceive". The covert message that is evident with that translation is that Isaiah's prophesy becomes no prophesy at all since 'young women' conceive all of the time. Not only that but a translation which reads "a young woman shall conceive" young (the type), loses meaning with its antitype of Luke 1:26-38 and Luke 2:1-7, the story 38 2:1 of the virgin birth of Jesus the Christ..

Matthew 5:1, "Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (2) And he opened his mouth and taught them... them..." We have at least two important covert meanings hidden within those two verses.

1. Jesus 'went up upon a mountain mountain'. Throughout Holy Scripture, important things happened high on a mountain. ture, GOD give Moses the tablets of the Ten Commandments from high on a mountain (Exodus 31:18). Moses is a type of Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 18:15, Acts 3:22, 7:37). The Transfiguration of Jesus took place on a high mountain (Matthew 17:1-8). 17:1 From a mountain Jesus gave us the Beatitudes. 2. After Jesus had sat down, He taught. In the following verses of Matthew 5, He taught the Beatitudes. Jesus taught while sitting in the barque of Peter (Luke 5:3). Sitting while teaching is a sign of teaching with authority. Kings rule while sitting on thrones (1Kings 2:19). Judges make decisions while sitting in judgment seats (John 19:13). The Pope teaches infallibly on faith and morals while sitting in the Chair of Peter. Chair

Matthew 12:30, "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me He scatters." This is a covert message for non non-Catholics who fail to see it at all. Who does the gathering? When a person gathers, that person ends up with one assembly or Church. Jesus founded only one Church, and He said that we must be one. Who does the scattering? When a person scatters, that person ends up with multiple assemblies or sects. multiple There are now more than 39,000* sects in the world today that call themselves Christian. How can those who have done the scattering, ever call themselves followers of the Bible?

*Global Christian Statistics,, mid 2008, a Protestant publication. See line #43.
Matthew 17:8, "And they lifting up their eyes, saw no one, but only Jesus. And Jesus."

This is the last verse of the story about the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Are you troubled, worried, bothered, or upset over how things are going in the world today? Then if you cannot remember anything else, please remember that one short verse. It will give you much comfort, as it is the only thing that really matters. The covert meaning is to blot out everything else by concentrating only on that one verse. So when you are feeling down, lift up your eyes and see no one but Jesus the Christ.

Luke 2:7, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling And clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." John 19:41, "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a Now new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. (42) There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." Can you see the covert meaning of those three verses taken together? overt He was born from a virgin womb. He was buried in a virgin tomb. Another note: There was no place in the city for Him to be born (Bethlehem). There was no place in the city for Him to die (Jerusalem). He was crucified on Mount Calvary (Luke 23:33), which is outside of the walls of Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:12). Yet one more note: After His mother brought Him into the world she wrapped Him in swadling clothes. Then we see in Mark 15:46,

"And Joseph, buying fine linen and taking him down, wrapped him up in the fine g linen and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock." He was wrapped after He was born and wrapped after He died.

Luke 5:3, "Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little Getting from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. boat." There is a covert meaning to that verse that probably most people do not see. Notice that there was more than one boat for Jesus to board but He chose Simon's. Why? Could it be that Simon Peter held the primacy among the other Apostles? It certainly adds to the fact that it was Simon Peter who was chosen to be the visible head of the Church which Jesus Christ founded (Matthew 16:18 16:18-19, John 21:15-19). Could it be that the boat was to hold an important symbolic message to proper understanding of Holy Scripture? We remember Noah's Ark, where the only people who were saved were those who the were aboard it when the flood came (Hebrews 11:7, 1Peter 3:20, 2Peter: 2:5). Notice that Jesus first sat down in the boat and then He taught from it. Part of the interior of Catholic Churches is called the 'Nave'. It is the place of 'Nave'. worship in the Church. The word 'Nave' comes from the Latin word 'Navi' which means 'ship'. From the Latin word 'Naves' we get the plural word 'ships'. Mark 4:36, "et dimittentes turbam adsumunt eum ita ut erat in navi et aliae naves erant cum illo." Mark 4:36, "And sending away the multitude, they take him even as he was in the ship: and there were other ships with him." : As Christ taught from the boat of Saint Peter, so does the Catholic Church teach the Gospel to the whole world from the nave of the successor of Saint Peter.

Luke 10:16,

"He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who He rejects me rejects him who sent me. me." Those are simple but oh so powerful words from Our Savior. There is the obvious meaning to that verse, and there is the covert meaning that is not grasped by many. . First, establish the context. To whom was Jesus speaking? The first verse in this chapter told us: Luke 10:1, "After this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two , by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come." So the Lord Himself appointed others to speak in His behalf. Through Apostolic Succession it is the same today, men of His Church appointed by the Lord Himself to speak in His behalf. The first six words of verse 16 are the promise of Jesus Christ that His Church would not, and could not, teach other than what He Himself has said and taught, has and that could only be the fullness of truth. Anything coming from the teaching of His Church comes from Him, and He is truth personified (John 14:6). He speaks to His Church and His Church in turn speaks His Word to the whole world. If you reject the word of His Church, then you have rejected His word, since His Church is His body (Ephesians 1:22 1:22-23, 5:23).

John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word: and the Word was with God: and the Word was In God." This is an extremely important verse since covertly it refutes three heresies. 1. The Word was there from the beginning. GOD is more than one person. 2. The Word was with GOD. The Word is a distinct person. OD. 3. The Word was GOD. There is only one GOD.

John 2:4, And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not O yet come." Some interesting covert meaning is hidden in that one verse. When Jesus called His mother "woman", He has acknowledged that He is the second Adam (1Corinthians 15:45), because it brings to mind the first words of Adam when he called Eve "woman". Genesis 2:23, Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she wa taken out of Man." was John 2:4 also implies that His mother is the second Eve. After all, we have the first Adam and the New Adam. And we have the first Eve, so the context demands that there must be the New Eve.

John 2:5, "His mother said to the servants, " whatever he tells you." "Do The covert meaning to that verse is that Mary started Jesus in His ministry by saying. "Do whatever He tells you." The miracle of Jesus changing water into wine at Cana did start His ministry: John 2:11, "This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; This, glory and his disciples believed in him." In the previous example of John 2:4, Jesus said, "My hour has not yet come." "My come Yet He aquiesed to His mother and performed His first miracle for all to see. GOD obeyed His mother, a mer human creature. mere One last note regarding John 2:5; The words spoken by Mary in John 2:5 are the last words that she spoke in Holy Scripture.

However, her last words are words that we all should live by, as they are the gist of the message of the New Testament to "Do whatever HE tells Testament you."

John 2:19-20, Destroy "Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (20) The Jews then said, " has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and "It six will you raise it up in three days? days?" John 2:20 is one of those verses which at first glance seems irrelevant. How However, covertly it is extremely relevant. Sometimes we must go outside of the Bible in order to understand just what it is teaching us. Josephus,* a Jewish historian of the time, wrote that Herod started rebuilding the temple in the 18th year of his reign. (Josephus, Antiquities, 15.11.1.) It was in 37 B.C. that Herod began his reign so his 18th year would be in 20 B.C. when he atarted rebuilding the temple. Now add 46 years to that date and it comes to 26 A.D. when Jesus started his ministry. Remember also that when you go from B.C. to A.D. there is no year zero. You go from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D..

* Flavius Josephus 37-101 A.D. was a Jew and a Jewish historian. He 101
wrote many books about Jewish history from their very beginnings until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.. His writings are valued by scholars, as tion some of what he wrote is the only source for some of the events. He also dated the events which very few writers in the early times did.

John 14:6, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the I

Father, but by me." Acts 9:1-2, "But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest (2) and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Da Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem." Acts 19:9, "but when some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples with him, and disciples argued daily in the hall of Tyrannus." Acts 19:23, "About that time there arose no little stir concerning the Way." Acts 24:14, "But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets," Acts 24:22, "But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, "When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case." Jesus called Himself "the Way" in John 14:6. self The covert message in these verses is that His Christian movement, at first, was called "the Way".

Acts 12:16-17, "But Peter continued knocking; and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. (17) But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Tell this to James and to the brethren." Then he departed and went to another place." ren." place. There is a covert and conjecture mixture in those verses.

It would be helpful to keep the following verse in mind: Matthew 10:23, "And when they shall persecute you in this city, flee into another. And another." In the Acts verses, Peter had been under persecution and imprisoned, and was miraculously unchained and escaped. So he was a wanted man and had to flee to another city. "Then he departed and went to another place. place." That other place had to be far enough away from those who persecuted him and it away is thought that 'other place' was Rome. St Luke wrote the book of Acts, and it is possibile that he did not name the 'other place' because Emperor Claudius had commanded that all Jews depart from Rome (Acts 18:2), and Peter was a Jew.

The Book of Romans - all, "St. Paul had not been at Rome when he wrote this epistle, which was in the year fifty-seven or fifty-eight..." (Haydock* Introduction to Romans).

*Haydock Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859.


Also the Confraternity Catholic Bible intro to Romans lists the same dates and sets so the place of writing in Corinth. So the covert message here is that if the Church which Jesus Christ founded was not already established in Rome, then why did St. Paul write an epistle to the Romans at all? He gave us a hint of who founded the Church in Rome in the following verses: Romans 15:19-20, " By the virtue of signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Ghost, so that from Jerusalem round about, as far as unto Illyricum, I have replenished the gospel of Illyricum, Christ. (20) And I have so preached this gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man a foundation. foundation." St. Paul admited that at this time he had not preached the Gospel any farther than

Illyricum which is present day Dalmatia. So obviously he was not to be found preaching in Rome by this time, but he hinted that another man laid a foundation that is no dou in Rome, since here he is doubt writing to the Romans. St. Peter was already in Rome as genuine historical writings show. At the time of the writing of the Book of Romans, the Church in Rome w under was great persecution and had to practice underground in the catacombs. Consequently, St. Paul would dare not reveal St. Peter's name for fear of jeopardizing his safety.

Romans 3:10-12, As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; (11) no one understands, no one seeks for God. (12) All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one." Overtly these verses seem to say that none of us are righteous. Some teach that Some this is true. However, the covert meaning of these verses is quite different. The key to the correct understanding of these verses is in the first few words, " it "As is written". Paul is quoting Psalms 14:1-3, and Psalms 14 clearly refers to the righteous and the 3, corrupt. Psalms 14:1-3, "To the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They God. are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none that does good. (2) The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any that act wisely, that seek after God. (3) They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt; there is none that does good, no, not one." Paul is talking about the corrupt, not all mankind. Trivia for Psalms 14:1: "The foo says in his heart, "There is no God." The fool Did you know that the people mentioned in that verse have their own holiday? That is easy. It's April first.

1Thesalonians 5:23, "And may the God of peace himself sanctify you in all things: that your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Here Saint Paul has separated a human person into its three distinct entities*. *Entity: That which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence. Many times you have probably seen or heard of body and soul, or body and , spiritual soul, in reference to a human person. How many times have you seen them separated as in the verse above? Covertly or by conjecture can you see a miniature trinity pattern for each human person?

James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one, he is guilty of all. For all." How many cafeteria Catholics see this covert message aimed directly at themselves? How many simply ignore it? This verse sends a strong message to those Catholics who accept some Catholic teaching and reject what they see as not befitting themselves. The verse strongly admonishes all Catholics to either accept all of what the Church erse teaches, or they have rejected it all. Remember: "He who hears you hears me... He me..." So who are cafeteria Catholics really rejecting? "To reject but one article of faith taught by the Church is enough to destroy faith, the as one mortal sin is enough to destroy charity..." St. Thomas Aquinas

One lifetime is not long enough for any human person to digest everything written overtly or extracted covertly from the one book that we call the Bible.

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