by COGwriter
Do you read the Bible?
When physically hungry and tempted by Satan, Jesus quoted the book of Deuteronomy:
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).
His other responses to Satan also relied on an application and quoting of scripture (Matthew 4:7,10) instead of human reasoning (or conflicting traditions of men).
Why were the Holy Scriptures given to us?
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (II Timothy 3:16-17).
Thus the Bible itself states that it is the source of doctrine so that God's followers can be complete and do what God wants.
It is necessary to read the Bible, because,
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires they have itching ears, they will heap up to themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and, and be turned aside to fables" (II Timothy 4:3-4).
Jesus prayed to the Father to,
"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).
The Psalms declare,..."Your law is truth" (Psalm 119:142b).
Since God's law and His word are the truth, how can you know the truth without reading the Bible or hearing it read?
Reading the Bible is the way to measure whether or not something is true. The Bible teaches us doctrine and how to live.
Paul was a preacher of God, but how would people know this? They would know it from their knowledge of the Bible.
How do you get knowledge of the Bible? First by reading it. Then by studying it.
When Paul preached in Berea it was reported that:
"There were more fair-minded (margin - noble) than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word in all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).
The Bereans searched the Scriptures daily; we should too. The late evangelist Dibar Apartian used to teach that the Bible was not like other books--you do not simply read it, you need to truly study it and live by it. And that is true (Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4).
One of the sayings of our Church is, "don't simply believe us, believe what we say only if it is in the Bible or otherwise shown to be true." Scripture was inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16) and was not the opinions of its writers. Its prophecies came from God, "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (II Peter 1:20).
In addition to providing instruction, doctrine, and correction, reading the Bible even helps you to learn the thoughts and intents of your heart.
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
Study the Bible. How to Study the Bible David Jon Hill wrote this initially and Dr. Thiel added scriptures, tips, and suggestions to it. A 2015 sermon is available and is also titled How to Study the Bible.
The Bible was primarily written in Hebrew and Greek (see Was the New Testament Written in Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic?)--it was in those languages that God's Spirit inspired the writers of scripture--not English, not Latin. Thus, unless ancient Hebrew and classical Greek are well known to you, you will need to read a translation of the biblical texts.
The source of translation has had some controveries. The Nestle-Aland NA27 edition of the Greek text of the New Testament ( NA27/UBS4) claims to have used all Greek manuscripts, but considers the older manuscripts to be closer to the original writings--but it tends to overlook the importance of the Byzantine texts and rely too heavily on the Alexandrian texts. The argument is that the Alexandrian texts are older, but while that is generally true, the reality is that there are other records point to the Byzantine texts as being the more accurate and closer to the originals (the originals no longer exist).
The best text is the original, and it seems to be that a version of something like the "Traditional Text"--out of which the Textus Receptus originated. The "Traditional Text" appears to have been the text of the historic church from Asia Minor. Interestingly, when the Greco-Roman churches tended to move away from the biblically 'Semiarian' view of the Godhead in the late fourth century, they started to rely less on the "Traditional Text" (Burgon JW. The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels. Original 1896; reprint Cosimo Classics, 2007, p. 2).
Two of the most commonly used English translations are the 1611 King James Version (KJV) and the 1982 New Kings James Version (NKJV, which is used predominantly). Both of these are attempts to be a word-for-word translation (the KJV is based on one of the texts called the Textus Receptus), which usually better for Bible study that paraphrase versions of the Bible. For daily reading I now tend to use the New Kings James Version as it is one of the more accurate translations (though it, like all translations I have read, contains some translator errors/biases and for several passages the NIV is superior) and uses modern language. I have read several other translations.
Notice also:
What many advocates of both King James-onlyism and Douay-Rheims-onlyism do not know is that neither Bible is the original issued in the 1600s. Over the last three centuries, numerous minor changes (for example, of spelling and grammar) have been made in the King James, with the result that most versions of the KJV currently on the market are significantly different from the original. http://www.catholic.com/tracts/bible-translations-guide viewed 01/17/15
I used to use the KJV a lot more, but it is difficult for many to understand--younger people, especially, have trouble with the old English it uses and non-native English readers find it confusing. Plus, it, despite the beliefs of some, also has translation errors (the KJV mistranslates Acts 12:4, Hebrews 4:9,etc. and improperly adds 1 John 5:7-8 )--it is not superior to all other versions as some believe. Nor does the Bible ever suggest that God's Spirit would lead translators to produce a better version that the original Bible (as some KJV and some Septuagint advocates seem to believe).
Sometimes for clarity, I will cite the NIV (New International Version). Though it is not always a word-for-word translation, sometimes it translates certain passages more accurately than the NKJV or KJV do. I also will use other translations depending upon their applicability to the subject I am covering..
In many Catholic related articles I will normally use the 1610 Douay Rheims translation (DRB) or its later version (it was revised from 1749-1752 by Bishop Richard Challoner)--but because it is a translation of a translation (Jerome translated the Bible into Latin near the end of the fourth century and Douay-Rheims is a translation from Jerome's Latin into English) I do not consider that it should be a primarily used translation.
Catholics also use the New Jerusalem Bible--it is more of a word-for-word translation than the DRB. It is not a translation from Latin, but from texts in Hebrew and Greek. It is the primary English-language version used by Catholics outside of the USA. And I because it is uses more modern language, I find the NJB helpful, especially if I am intentionally reaching out to Catholic audiences.
One of the newer translations of the New Testament I am aware of is called A Faithful Version (AFV), and its second revision came out in November 2004 (then a 'special' second edition in 2011). I have used this sometimes. When it comes to being grammatically accurate related to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, it is the only correct translation that I have ever seen (the GOD'S WORD® Translation is a rare translation that gets John 15:26 correct, but even it gets John 14:26 wrong, hence is not as reliable there). The AFV is based upon the Stephen's text of 1550, which is also called the Textus Receptus (several Greek Byzantine manuscripts have been called the Textus Receptus).
Perhaps I should add that I was told that Dr. Daniel Wallace of Dallas Theological Seminary wanted that corrected when the ESV (English Standard Version) was being produced, but was overridden be the supposed 'biblical' scholars there as it went against their theological traditions. The New Testament portion of the AFV was translated by Fred Coulter, a former minister in the old Worldwide Church of God. He did some editing of the English of the Old Testament, but did not personally translate Hebrew into English.
Sometimes it is helpful to read multiple translations which can help your understanding, although sometimes translator bias can be a problem (some on-line Bibles and helps can be found at this link for Bible and Historical Resources on the Internet). But the more you actually read the Bible, the more you should be able to discern the truth as opposed to biased traditions of men.
Perhaps it should be pointed out that the original KJV also contained non-canonical books that are part of what is called the Old Testament Apocrypha--this was not inspired by God. While the Apocrypha was later pulled out of the KJV, it was in fact part of it originally. Perhaps it should also be noted that Protetant reformers John Calvin and John Knox endorsed the Geneva Bible--which first came out in 1557 and also contained the Apocrypha. (See also The Old Testament Canon.)
As far as the canon for the New Testament is concerned, here is a link to an article: The New Testament Canon - From the Bible and History. Furthermore, some have had questions about whether certain parts of the New Testament should be part of it. The following address three of the most commonly questioned passages:
Is Matthew 28:19 in the Bible? Some have claimed that Matthew 28:19 has added words as part of a trinitarian plot. Is that true?
Should Mark 16:9-20 be part of the Bible? There are many who say no. Is the biblical and historical evidence for or against?
1 John 5:7-8 and the Trinity Did the Apostle John write all of what is sometimes referred to as 1 John 5:7-8? If not, where did that seem to come from?
Documented Errors in the King James Version of the Bible
Is the original King James Version (KJV) of the Bible the one you can completely trust?
On March 13, 2020, I received something in the mail from Chick Publications that also was pushing the KJV. Two days later, I went to their website and here are a few comments that they posted:
The King James Bible is a true and direct translation from the original languages. … What if you found out it’s the one English Bible that deserves your complete trust? … the King James … should be the only Bible that you need —and can completely trust. … trusting the KJV. Build your faith in God’s Word by learning why you can trust the KJV alone and why it is the most accurate translation in English. https://www.chick.com/products/item?stk=1425 accessed 03/15/20
Is that accurate?
No.
While the KJV is superior in many ways to many translations, it was translated by men.
Men are fallible.
Other writings from Chick Publications indicate that because of God’s inspiration and because so many men checked and rechecked it, the KJV had no bias and is completely accurate.
But that simply is not true.
That argument reminds me of the argument that the Eastern Orthodox have about the Septuagint. The Eastern Orthodox basically claim that God inspired the translators to correct and improve the Old Testament when they translated the original text from Hebrew to Greek. That is blasphemous. God did not need His word corrected.
Nor is it correct to state that you can completely trust the KJV translation.
The King James Version was written over 400 years ago. In the time since, the English language has undergone many changes. Sometimes those texts which are vague and unclear in the King James can be cleared up very easily by just reading a more modern translation.
Since some have attempted to challenged me about translation errors in the KJV, I thought I would share something another put together about it:
II Kings 2:23, should be "young men", not "little children."
Isaiah 65:17 should be "I am creating [am about to create] new heavens and new earth . . . ."
John 13:2 should be "And during supper" (RSV) rather than "And supper being ended" (KJV).
I Timothy 6:10 should be, "For the love of money is a [not the] root of all evil . . . ."
Hebrews 4:9 should read, "There remaineth therefore a keeping of a sabbath to the people of God."
Revelation 14:4 should be "a firstfruits", because the 144,000 are not all the firstfruits.
Revelation 20:10, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [correction: should be 'were cast' because the beast and false prophet were mortal human beings who were burned up in the lake of fire 1,000 years previous to this time, Revelation 19:20], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The point is that Satan will be cast into the same lake of fire into which the beast and false prophet were cast a thousand years previously. (Errors and Mistranslations in the KJV Written by: Richard Nickels. http://www.angelfire.com/hi2/graphic1designer/errors.html accessed 07/16/17)
It is not that the KJV is always a terrible translation, or that others are perfect, it is just people should not insist that God inspired the translators to do a perfect job. Because, obviously He did not. THE KJV CANNOT BE COMPLETELY TRUSTED AS IT IS NOT THE ORIGINAL INSPIRED TEXT.
The mistranslation of Genesis 1:2 has resulted in many not understanding about the age of the world and various aspects of prehistory (see How Old is the Earth and How Long Were the Days of Creation? Gap Theory?). This has resulted in many Protestants making scientifically unsound statements that have turned many against the reliability of scripture.
Th KJV translators intentionally mistranslated the Greek term sabbatismos (ςαββατισμóς) which is actually found in Hebrews 4:9 (Green JP. The Interlinear Bible, 2nd edition. Hendrickson Publishers, 1986, p. 930). This mistranslation by the KJV translators has resulted in many people not realizing that the New Testament enjoins the seventh-day Sabbath. Hence, the KJV translators have misled many to violate the fourth commandment (see also The Sabbath in the Early Church and Abroad). They also intentionally mistranslated passages related to the biblical Holy Days (for details, see the free online book Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays?)–this has result in many NOT understanding God’s true plan of salvation (see also the free online book Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation).
Notice also the the Latin Vulgate was mentioned related to 1 John 5:7-8. The original Latin Vulgate as translated by the Catholic saint and doctor Jerome did NOT have this error–it was added later (see also 1 John 5:7-8 and the Trinity).
And as far as the word “Easter” does any thinking person really believe that God wanted the word for Passover changed to the name of a pagan goddess in His word? That is absurd (more on Easter can be found in the article Did Early Christians Celebrate Easter?). EVERY TRANSLATOR IN THE KJV WHO ‘CHECKED’ THAT PART OF THE ‘TRANSLATION’ HAD TO HAVE KNOWN THAT WAS IN ERROR–PARTICULARLY SINCE THAT SAME WORD IS TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK IN THE KJV 28 TIMES AS ‘PASSOVER’!
Now, one of the things that Chick Publications likes about the KJV is that it often uses the word ‘hell.’ Chick Publications indicates that using the actual Greek words of the New Testament transliterated into English results in people not understanding about God’s punishment. Notice some of what it says about that:
Question: Gehenna is not hell, is it? It was a valley where outcasts, thieves and infected people where thrown when they died. The Bible refers to “Gehenna” as the place of death and pain. The word “hell”, as you so often use, where eternal pain and fire awaits is actually “Gehenna”. If you have read a bible written before 1400, you will notice a very important thing: “HELL” is missing. Instead it says “Gehenna”. There is no fire breathing eternal pain demon hell!! In fact YOU are committing a sin here. Telling people, or lying to people about hell, when you should know about “Gehenna”. There is no hell. Only the valley of “Gehenna”. A graveyard!!
Answer: The word “Gehenna” is properly translated “hell” in the King James Bible. …
Even though the word “Gehenna” comes from the Valley of Hinnom, simply rendering it as “garbage dump” or “valley of waste disposal” or “burning garbage” could not be an accurate translations, because that’s not what Jesus and the apostles meant when they used the word. It meant “the place where people go when they die.” That’s what we mean when we say “hell”. …
Not until Young’s Literal Translation in the late 1800s, followed by the Catholic New American Bible of 1970 was the untranslated “Gehenna” put in. … And “hell” accurately translates the meaning of the word “Gehenna.” “Gehenna” is not a translation; it is just a transliteration (translating letters, but not meaning). https://www.chick.com/information/article?id=does-gehenna-mean-hell accessed 03/15/20
In other words, Chick Publications is saying that IT KNOWS BETTER WHAT THE WORD IS SUPPOSED TO MEAN THAN THE WORD JESUS HIMSELF USED.
Now, we in the Continuing Church of God rarely use the word “hell.” The word “hell” originally meant to cover or to hide. Another old meaning of word was “a tailor’s receptacle” according to Merriam-Webster. In time, it tended to mean being underground.
Furthermore, consider that the KJV IMPROPERLY TRANSLATES THREE DIFFERENT WORDS TO MEAN THE SAME THING!
There are three different words in the New Testament–Hades, Gehenna, or Tartaroosas–which the King James Version of the Bible translated as “hell.” And not one of them means what most people think the word hell means.
The fact of the three different Greek words, as well as various understandings and traditions, has resulted in confusion concerning what hell means.
Now, since the term has become highly used in cursing and in various vulgarities it is often not appropriate to use.
Furthermore, because of influence from Dante’s book The Divine Comedy, the area he called the Inferno/Infernus many people got the wrong impression that God has a place of torturing that would last forever. And later the term hell got attached to it, and that is how most Protestants (including Chick Publications as its tract Some Like It Hot shows) and Roman Catholics now view it.
Yet, Chick Publications and others should know better. Even in its post against Gehenna, it had the following:
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). No power on earth can destroy a soul. The soul is a part of a person that exists beyond physical death (Revelation 20:4). “Gehenna” has to be a place to destroy both the body and the soul. https://www.chick.com/information/article?id=does-gehenna-mean-hell accessed 03/15/20
Note Chick Publications admits that the body and soul are destroyed in Gehenna. In Jesus’ time what was tossed into Gehenna burnt up and was no more. In the Gehenna to come, the same thing will happen.
Chick Publications also has the following:
“Hades” has a big pagan meaning that is completely divorced from the Bible. “Sheol” is a Hebrew word without any meaning at all to an ordinary reader. Have you ever heard people say they don’t want to “go to gehenna?” … We need a Bible with a lot of hell in it. We need to know where we are not going. The whole purpose of evangelism is to save people from hell. … That forceful warning word, “hell,” is found in the King James Bible. https://www.chick.com/information/article?id=Who-Needs-Hell accessed 03/15/20
No, the whole purpose of proclaiming the good news of the Bible is not to save people from the type of hell that Chick Publications wants to believe in. One of the main purposes of evangelism, according to Jesus is to have “gospel of the kingdom … preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations" (Matthew 24:14) and to “make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This way, those converted will build godly character so that they will be able to give love in a unique way to make eternity better for them and all who ultimately will accept Jesus (see also our free online book: The MYSTERY of GOD’s PLAN: Why Did God Create Anything? Why did God make you?).
What about Gehenna? This Greek word represents “the Valley of HINNOM which lay just outside of Jerusalem and was the place refuse was constantly being burned up.” It is first referred to in scripture in Joshua 15:8. It was also associated with pagan fire practices in 2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chronicles 28:3, 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31-32, 19:2-6, & 32:35.
Trash, filth, and the dead bodies of animals and DESPISED CRIMINALS were thrown into Gehenna. Ordinarily, everything thrown into this valley was DESTROYED by fire. Christ used it to picture the terrible fate of UNREPENTANT SINNERS! Please understand that JESUS USED THE WORD GEHENNA 11 TIMES IN THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS (the text that the KJV was translated from). Jesus knew what it meant! But instead, Chick Publications (and others) want you to not comprehend what Jesus was really teaching!
Now, consider that Chick Publications says that Hades has a pagan meaning, but apparently overlooks the true meaning of the word Easter (the name of one or more pagan goddesses – Ishtar and Eostre). That being said, JESUS USED THE WORD HADES 5 TIMES IN THE TEXTUS RECEPTUS (the text that the KJV was translated from). Jesus was NOT trying to teach a pagan concept. Hades means the ‘grave.’ It does NOT mean an ever burning hell fire of torture.
On the use of the word “hell” in the New and Old Testament, let’s read what an old Bible dictionary, edited by James Hastings, a leading authority on such technical matters, says:
In our Authorized Version the word ‘hell’ is unfortunately used as the rendering of three distinct words, WITH DIFFERENT. It represents, 1. the ‘sheol’ of the Hebrew Old Testament, and the ‘hades’ in the New Testament … It is now an entirely misleading rendering, especially in the New Testament passages. The English revisers, therefore, have substituted ‘Hades’ [going back to the original Greek word] for ‘hell’ in the New Testament …. In the American revision the word ‘hell’ is entirely discarded in this connexion ….
The word ‘hell’ is used 2. as equivalent to [the Greek word] ‘tartaros’ (II Peter 2:4), … and, 3. more properly as the equivalent of [the Greek word] ‘gehenna’ (Hastings J., ed. Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 2. 1900, pp. 343-344)
So, we see that the real MEANINGS of three different Greek words – “hades” (“sheol” in Old Testament), “tartaros,” and “gehenna” – have been confused with each other because translators, like those of the KJV, have attempted to make the ONE English word “hell” cover all THREE meanings! But now let us amplify the foregoing facts.
The original Old Testament HEBREW word “sheol” and the New Testament Greek word “hades” mean basically the same thing. These original words have been translated “grave” in many places in the Bible.
THE WORD “SHEOL,”… It is never used by Moses or the Prophets in the sense of a place of torment after death; and in no way conflicts with the statement already proved, that the Law of Moses deals wholly in temporal rewards and punishments.
This position, also, I wish to fortify by the testimony of Orthodox critics, men of learning and candor. They know, and therefore they speak.
Sheol is a reference to the grave, as is the word hades.
Note that the Greek word TARTAROS, which has also been translated into the English word “hell” in the KJV, occurs only once in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:4) and does not refer to humans, but to the RESTRAINED condition of fallen angels. Its meaning, translated into English, is “darkness of the material universe,” or “dark abyss,” or “prison.”
More on ‘Hell’ can be found in the following: Study the Bible Course Lesson 15: What is “Hell”?
Furthermore, the KJV erred by assigning the male gender to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. The Hebrew term for spirit in the Old Testament is grammatically female, and the Greek term in the New Testament is grammatically neuter–this is noted by even trinitarian scholars, such as Dr. Daniel Wallace of Dallas Theological Seminary (see also Did Early Christians Think the Holy Spirit Was A Separate Person in a Trinity? ). This MISTRANSLATION by the KJV translators has resulted in a major misunderstanding of the Godhead and has resulted in many believing differently about the Godhead than early Christians did (see also Binitarianism: One God, Two Beings Before the Beginning).
Now, getting back to the KJV Bible, many do not realize that it originally also included, basically as an appendix, what the Roman and Eastern Orthodox Catholics called the deuterocanonical books (otherwise known as the Apocrypha)--these books were NOT inspired by God and should not have been in the Bible. Yet, for about two centuries they were part of the KJV.
But since they have not been in it for about two hundred years, many people do not realize that flaw with the KJV.
Do not be deceived by men who do not want to hold to what the original biblical text teaches. The KJV has real errors and most certainly CANNOT BE COMPLETELY TRUSTED as an accurate portrayal of the words of God.
Do not be deceived by men who do not want to hold to what the original biblical text teaches.
ALL TRANSLATIONS by men are subject to error. And while the KJV and the more modern NKJV are fine in many areas, both have translation flaws, many of which are intentional.
Believe the originally inspired word of God. That is what God had recorded in the original languages in the Old and New Testaments. It was NOT English. It was NOT the KJV translation.
(For more on unbiblical Protestant errors, check out the free online book: Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God differs from most Protestants).
In our day and Jesus' day, many were relying on their own opinions and not God's.
Jesus was not please when He said,
"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophecy about you, saying:
'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men'" (Matthew 15:7-9).
The obvious way to know the difference between traditions of men and the doctrines of God is to read the Bible. And it properly understand it, the Bible needs to be studied (see also What is the Appropriate Form of Biblical Interpretation?).
Remember, since it has been prophesied that the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine and will turn aside from the truth (II Timothy 4:3-4) and that since God's word is truth (John 17:17), please read and study the Bible regularly so you will be able to discern between the truth and fables.
How to Study the Bible David Jon Hill wrote this initially as a booklet and Dr. Thiel added scriptures, tips, and suggestions to it. A 2015 sermon is available and is also titled How to Study the Bible.
B. Thiel. Read the Bible. www.cogwriter.com (c) 1998/2006/2007/2009/2012/2013/2014/2015/2017/2020 0315