Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite

Matthew Diefenbach’s Hidden Parable Theory discusses the presence of numerical codes in ancient artifacts, religious relics, and natural phenomena, linking them to biblical teachings. Drawing from Jewish Gematria, Diefenbach identifies symbolic patterns within these codes, revealing connections to the divine. For example, in the Leaf Cross Parable, he links numbers like 12, 18, and 666 to doctrine. The theory extends to pre-Christian rituals, suggesting they influenced Christian rites like baptism and communion. Diefenbach also speaks on the relationship between biblical symbolism and mathematical models in nature, such as the golden ratio and the Fibonacci sequence. He details how numbers in the Gospels, particularly in Jesus' miracles, reflect these codes, as well as identifying how early scientists, like Newton and Pascal, unknowingly incorporated these codes into their work, bridging theology and science, among many other examples.

There's a lot to unpack after reading Hidden Parable Theory: The Biblical Codes Found in Nature and the Universe by Matthew Diefenbach, but it is an absolutely fascinating deep dive into the hidden numerical patterns in religious relics, nature, and scripture. The author’s research is impressively exhaustive, and his analysis of various artifacts and symbols across multiple cultures is thorough. Admittedly, I found some of the mathematical content to be out of my reach, but Diefenbach does a great job of explaining these in a way so that even I understood them. Naturally, not every reader will fully agree with his conclusions, but there's no reasonable way to completely disregard his arguments. The most engaging part for me was the look at Norse mythology, where Diefenbach dissects specific numerical patterns in myths like the building of Asgard’s wall and the story of Ragnarök. Intelligent, thoughtful, and impossible to ignore. Very highly recommended.