Which Bible Can We Trust?
by Evangelist Roy Lister
The TEXTUS RECEPTUS, original Greek text from which the Authorized King James Bible was translated, has been the target of textual critics since 1611. Yet copies of it substantially exist today without error. This is the Bible you can trust. All this talk about older and more dependable manuscripts, like the theory of evolution, hangs upon an UNPROVEN HYPOTHESIS.
HERE’S THE ACID TEST
Any version of the Bible which omits Acts 8:37, or “Through His blood,” in Col. 1:14, evidently has for its foundation a corrupted manuscript. This corruption can be traced to 200 A.D., when there lived one of the world’s foremost theologians whose name was Origen. Being a TEXTUAL CRITIC, he is supposed to have corrected numerous portions of the sacred manuscripts. Evidence to the contrary shows that he changed them to agree with his own human philosophy of mystical and allegorical ideas. Thus certain original MSS. became corrupt and it is evidently from this source the revised Bibles of this generation have come. Read pages 900-902, Vol. 16, 1936 edition Encyclopedia Britannica and you will see that Origen taught the “LOGOS” is “KTISMA,” meaning the Lord Jesus Christ is a created being. Thus, he could easily omit Acts 8:37 and other texts which testify to Christ’s deity.
Should You Choose The Bible of Your Choice?
THE BIBLE IS AN INSPIRED BOOK
The Bible is a supernatural gift from God and has been both inspired and preserved by the Holy Spirit. By inspired I mean that the Holy Spirit so moved upon the hearts of men that they recorded the very words that God wanted written in the Holy Bible. The Bible would be no more accurate or authoritative had God written the Scriptures with His own hand. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21).
THE BIBLE IS A PRESERVED BOOK
God has safeguarded the Bible in the past from the wicked poison of human reasoning and He will continue to do so in the future. God is not the author of confusion and therefore He has only inspired and preserved one Bible. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).
ONLY ONE BIBLE CAN BE THE WORD OF GOD
It has been estimated that there are nearly one hundred versions of the Bible available in the English language today. However, this multiplicity of Bibles does not alter the fact that God has inspired and safeguarded one Bible. This one Bible is written in the Greek language in the New Testament and is called the Textus Receptus or Received Text. The Old Testament has been preserved in the Masoretic Text and is written in Hebrew. The Textus Receptus of the New Testament and the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament combine to give us the complete Word of God. The King James Version of the Bible stands alone as the one Bible in use today which has been faithfully translated from these God- given manuscripts. All of the modern versions are based wholly or in part on corrupt texts.
MODERN TRANSLATIONS ARE DIFFERENT BIBLES
Modern translations are not just simply different versions of the King James Bible written in contemporary language. These perversions are different Bibles entirely. Their foundation is not the God-preserved Textus Receptus of the New Testament. Instead, they are based on contaminated, Christ-denying manuscripts which had been rejected by the early church fathers.
This turning away from the true Bible to a wicked counterfeit is largely the work of humanistic scholarship. Men who call themselves textual critics have placed their thoughts and ideas above those of God and have presumed to improve upon that one Bible which has been given by God. One can only conclude that they have been so blinded by their compromise and delusions of self-importance that they forget God has already given us His Word. The duty of every believer today is to take the one Bible which God has given and proclaim its glorious message of salvation to a sin-sick world.
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel . . . As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6, 9). Almost 2000 years ago men were preaching another gospel no doubt from another Bible. However, never since the Bible was given has it been under such Satanic attack as it is in our generation. Humanistic scholarship has deviated from the Textus Receptus in about 6000 places. This has the same effect as questioning the inerrancy of the Holy Bible in 6000 places. One disciple it very well when he said, “The craving to alter the Word of God is accursed. This is the crime of the present day. The Lord preserve us from it.”
THE PURE FOUNDATION OF THE KING JAMES VERSION
The Old Testament of the King James Bible was translated from the Masoretic Text. This text was in use during the time of Christ and He quoted from them many times. If the Masoretic Text was acceptable to Christ then it certainly should be accepted by every child of God. This text was kept pure by the Hebrew priests who were given the responsibility of caring for it.
The New Testament of the King James Version was translated in 1611 A.D. from the Greek manuscripts known today as the Textus Receptus. The scholars who did this work were giants in their field. They were far superior to the self-proclaimed scholars in Biblical criticism who are responsible for the rash of modern perversions.
The Textus Receptus from which the King James Bible was translated is a faithful reproduction of the original manuscripts, which were penned by the writers of the Scriptures. The T. R. or Traditional Text as it is also called has been traced back to the early church.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE KING JAMES VERSION
- From the birth of Christ to 100 A.D. the original manuscripts were written in the Greek language.
- by 170 A.D. — 20 N.T. books had been accepted by the early Christians.
- by 400 A.D. — all 27 books of the N.T. had been accepted by the early Christians as they were guided by the Holy Spirit.
- The Holy Spirit guided so that only the genuine books were included.
- The Holy Spirit also guided in the selection of the pure manuscripts.
- The Holy Spirit so guided that false gospels and manuscripts were set aside.
- the original manuscripts were lost but the Received Text that was produced during this time was a faithful reproduction of the original autographs.The New Testament was compiled by 400 A.D.
- 452-1453 A.D. — The Textus Receptus was used by the Greek Church during this time under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
- 1516 A.D. — Erasmus edited the first printing of the Greek N.T.
- This was in agreement with the Textus Receptus.
- 1526 A.D. — Tyndale’s New Testament in English was printed. He was burned at the stake in 1536 because he had the Bible printed in English.
- 1550 A.D. — Stephens Greek N.T. (Textus Receptus).
- 1611 A.D. — The King James or Authorised Version of the Bible was translated from the Greek Textus Receptus in the N.T. and Hebrew Masoretic Text in the O.T.
- 1611 A.D. — To the present. Infidels and assorted enemies of the Bible have attacked our Bible in every way known to man, but God’s Word shall abide forever.
THE CORRUPT FOUNDATION OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS
The “other Bibles” which are so prevalent today are as dependable as quicksand. They will vary even from printing to printing as the constantly changing whims of man directs. However, each new Bible will continue down the same path of confusion and error. You cannot produce good fruit from a rotten tree.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE “OTHER BIBLES”
- From the birth of Christ to 400 A.D. False prophets wrote polluted gospels and other books of the Bible at the same time that the true books of the New Testament were being written. Paul makes mention of this in 2 Cor. 2:17, “For we are not as many, which corrupt the Word of God …. “Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit these tainted manuscripts were cast aside and were not included in the Textus Receptus.
- 331 A.D. Constantine ordered that an “ecumenical Bible” be written that would be accepable to every stripe of Christian that was under his jurisdiction. A man by the name of Eusebius was assigned to direct this undertaking. Eusebius was a follower of Origen who rejected the deity of Christ. He claimed that Christ was a created being. The Jehovah’s Witnesses of today believe the same thing. This error is called the Arian heresy.
- 1481 A.D. The Vatican manuscript was discovered in the Vatican Library. This is a corrupted manuscript which repeatedly casts aside the deity of Christ. It reflects the Arianism of Origen and is thought by some to be one of the surviving manuscripts done be Euscbius at the command of Constantine. The date of its writing coincides with the “ecumenical Bible” of Constantine.
- 1844 A.D. The Sinaitic manuscript was discovered at Mt. Sinai in the monastery of Saint Catherine. It agrees closely with the Vatican manuscript and minimises the deity of Christ and is Arian in nature. It is safe to suggest that these two manuscripts were two of the fifty that were written for Constantine.
- 1881 A.D. The Westcott and Hort Greek Text was introduced. This text departed from the Textus Receptus and follows the Vatican and Sinaitic corruptions. Most scholars from every spectrum of Christianity have knowingly or otherwise promoted the Westcott and Hort text from that time to the present.
The Jehovah’s Witness Bible entitled the “New World Translation of the Scriptures” was translated from the text of Westcott and Hort. Their friendship with Westcott and Hort is not surprising. They reject the deity of Christ and gain strength from this corrupt text.
Most, if not all, of the modern translations of the Bible follow the path of the two worst manuscripts which are in existence. They almost seem to loathe the Textus Receptus. This is evidenced by the fact that most Bible colleges, seminaries and schools use some Greek text other than the Textus Receptus. Nevertheless, the new versions are founded on faulty texts and are not acceptable for any purpose.
GOD’S BIBLE COMPARED WITH “ANOTHER BIBLE”
1 PETER 2:2
The King James Version:
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”
In our God-inspired and preserved Bible the meaning of this passage is very clear. Those who have been born again (by receiving Christ) should feed on the Word of God that they might grow in the Christian life. Christian growth has nothing at all to do with initial salvation. Salvation takes place first and then the newborn child of God is to grow. Please note that all of the following new versions leave the door open for a gradual salvation, i.e., one of works.Good News for Modern Man:
“Be like newborn babies, always thirsty for the pure spiritual milk, so that by drinking it you may grow up and be saved.”
New World Translation: (Jehovah’s Witnesses)
“And as newborn infants, form a longing for the unadultered milk belonging to the word, that through it you may grow to salvation.”
New American Standard Bible:
“Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”
The wording may be slightly different in each of these new Bibles, but it should be obvious that they all have the same corrupt source. No amount of polish can correct an untrustworthy text.
MATTHEW 18:11
The King James Version:
“For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
New World Translation: Verse omitted.
The Amplified New Testament:
The entire verse is in italics. Their explanation for this omission is as follows: “Italics indicate certain familiar words or passages found in the King James Version, but generally omitted now because they are not adequately supported by more recent scholarship.” Would any care to hazard a guess as to who the more recent scholars are?
The New American Standard:
The verse is included with the following footnote. “Most ancient manuscripts omit this verse.” Since when is 5% of the manuscripts considered a majority?
The Living New Testament:
The verse is included (in a manner of speaking) with the following footnote. “This verse is omitted in many manuscripts, some ancient.”
THE PERSON OF CHRIST AND SIX NEW BIBLES
- New American Standard Bible
- Revised Standard Version
- Living New Testament
- Good News for Modern Man
- New English Bible
- Amplified New Testament
John 6:69 — Christ is omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Acts 9:20 — Christ is changed to Jesus in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Acts 15:11 — Christ is omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Acts 16:31 — Christ is omitted in 1, 2, 31 4, 5, (italicised in 6).
Romans 1:16 — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, (italicised in 6).
Romans 16:24 — entire verse about Christ emitted in 1, 2, 5, (verse italicised in 6).
1 Cor. 5:4 — Christ omitted twice in 1, 2, (omitted once in 3), 4, 5, (omitted once and italicised once in 6).
1 Cor. 9:1 — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
2 Cot. 11:31 — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, (italicised in 6).
Eph. 3:14 — Lord Jesus Christ omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (italicised in 6).
Col. 1:14 — blood omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, (italics in 6).
1 Thess. 2:19 — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, 6.
1 Thess. 3:11 — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (italics in 6).
1 Timothy 1:1 — Lord omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, 6.
1 Timothy 5:21 — Lord omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, 6.
2 Timothy 4:1 — Lord omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Titus 1:4 — Lord omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, (italics in 6).
Hebrews 3:1 — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
1 John 1:7 — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 4, 5, (italics in 6).
2 John 3 — Lord omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Rev. l:9b — Christ omitted in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (italics in 6).
Verses quoted and emissions listed are by no means exhaustive. They are merely given to show the common bond which exists between all of the new Bibles. They stand or fall together. One cannot accept one and reject another.
It should be plain for all to see that Satan’s strategy is to lure even God’s own people away from the true Bible. Without the inerrant Word of God there would be no salvation. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
I thank God for my salvation and I thank Him for preserving His Written Word for my use and for all who will rest in Him. I am convinced that the King James Bible I hold in my hand is a completely faithful reproduction of the Word of God. I can hold my Bible in my hand and say without fear that I am in possession of the Word of God that has been passed down from generation to generation by the providential protection of my Heavenly Father.
IMPORTANT CONCLUDING SUMMARY
The King James Version is the only English Bible in use today which is taken from the Textus Receptus. Therefore, this must be the only Bible used by pastors, Bible students, churches, missionary groups, educational institutions or Christian laymen.
In that it is the only authoritative and trustworthy Bible, it should be studied consistently and systematically. Every born-again believer in Jesus Christ should start the day by meditating in the only Word of God and by talking to God in prayer.
Every born-again, Bible-believing Christian should endeavor to enlighten others about the dangers of the modern counterfeit Bibles. This must be done if we are to heed the admonition to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3b). God wants you to join with us in sounding the alarm against those who would rob this generation of the only Bible. “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
All over the world there is an alarming increase in the worship of Satan by outright willful submission to him through occult practices. He is now loosing his forces on the civilized world which has known the Gospel for centuries but which is not presently heeding that Gospel. We may look for an increase in satanic miracles and strange behavior as multitudes resort to witchcraft, astrology, spiritism, and fortune telling.
ITS INSPIRATION
There can be no Christianity without an inspired and authoritative Bible. One preacher once said, “The turning point of the battle between those who hold ‘the faith once delivered to the saints’ and their opponents, lies in the true and real inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. This is the thermopylae of Christendom. If we have in the Word of God no infallible standard of truth, we are at sea without a compass, and no danger from rough weather without can be equal to the loss within. ‘If the foundation be removed, what can the righteous do?’ And this is the foundation loss of the worst kind.”
The Bible is a supernatural Book. It is God’s voice speaking, not only in the sense that the Word springs from Him, but from the standpoint also that it is expressed by Him in His own vocabulary.
The fundamental claim of the Bible in relation to its inspiration is found in five passages: Luke 1:70, “As He spake by the mouth of His Holy prophets which have been since the world began,” 1 Cor. 2:13, “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.” 2 Tim. 3:16, “ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Heb. 1:1-2, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.” 2 Pet. 1:21, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
It is important in these days of open attack upon the Bible and increased versions of the Bible to make clear what we mean by divine inspiration of the Scriptures. We do not mean what the modernists mean who claim a kind of “human genius” residing in all great writers; nor do we moan as Barth and Brunner and modern neo-orthodox and neo-evangelicals who hold that the Bible is the Word of God because some passages reveal a word from the Lord. This teaching tells us that the Bible contains the Word of God but is not essentially and verbally and wholly the inspired Word of God.
While there is open opposition from outside the true Church in lands like Russia against the Word of God and against those who read it, there is also opposition from within religious circles through the modern day versions of the Bible, RSV, Good News for Modern Man, Living Letters, New English Bible, Amplified Version and a host of others.
I need not remind you that most of these versions have been prepared by committees whose members reject the infallible inspiration of the Scriptures, the deity of Christ, the blood atonement of Christ, and other essential doctrines. I need not emphasise that many of these versions are ecumenical efforts to unite Protestantism and Romanism into the great whore church of Revelation 13 to 17, the ecumenical church of Antichrist.
What is not generally realized, however, is the fact that these revisers are true successors of Jehoiakim, the King of Jerusalem, whose mutilation of Scripture is given in Jeremiah 36:22, 23. A message from the Lord was dictated by Jeremiah to Baruch, son of Nerah, who carefully wrote it in a roll. Jehoiakim came to know of this divine oracle and sent Jehudi to get it and read it to him. As Jehudi read, whatever did not please the king he would cut out with his penknife and cast into the fire, burning on the hearth. Jehoiakim continued with his mutilation of the written Word of God until nothing was left but a heap of smoldering ashes.
Let us notice, however, how God dealt with the penknife king. He had the burial of an ass (Jer. 22:18,19). The king was denied the glamorous burial belonging to a good sovereign. He was drawn outside the gates of Jerusalem, as the body of a dead ass is dragged and left to corruption and the beaks of the vultures.
Surely such a record constitutes a warning not to tamper with the Word of God. Yet many modern versions have used the penknife of liberalism and the penknife of the ecumenical movement to tamper with the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. Yes, but the end is not yet in sight. As modern versions and perversions continue to cut out, rearrange, and change Scripture to suit themselves God’s eye is upon it all and His Word shall never pass away.
ITS AUTHORITY
The increasing efforts of men to do away with the Authorised King James Version of the Bible are directed against the authority of the Bible. Under the guise of “better translations,” “clearer readings,” “church authority,” “Christian tradition,” “later manuscripts,” and “helps for the reader” the corrupters of the Bible with their many perversions have sought to undermine the deity of Christ, the blood atonement, and other doctrines that offend the natural man.
You will notice that the modern versions have as their goal the “return to the original Greek texts.” The New American Standard Bible, for example, is based on Nestle’s Greek New Testament. Nestle’s text, as the Westcott and Hort text, is the classical Greek of Alexandrian scholarship, written in Italy. It is not the koine Greek of New Testament scholarship, written in Asia Minor. Nestle’s “original Greek” is built on the theory of Vaticanus (the Catholic manuscript which contains the seven corrupt books of the Apocrypha, never recognised by Jesus or Paul, and shows its source of corruption as Rome itself) as the most perfect text. Therefore “going to the Greek” to correct the Authorised King James Version involves running to Romanism to correct a Bible-believing Protestant translation.
Even since Adam fell there has been a bias in his descendants to listen to the Devil who repeats today what he said in the Garden of Eden, “Hath God said?”
The textual critics of our day, profoundly trained, called higher critics, are also saying, “Hath God said?” The more lofty textual scholars have so falsely put together the knowledge they have gained that our generation now doubts if there is a Bible it can completely trust and say with assurance, “God hath said.”
The Bible teaches “In the beginning God.” This is true of the Bible itself, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). As the Spirit of God “moved upon the face of the waters” in the day of creation (Gen. 1:2), so “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). God is the Creator of the universe, the creator of man, and the Author of the Word of God, the Bible.
It is possible to know that behind all the marvellous creation of the universe there is a God, a Creator, but let us never forget that the God of creation is also the God of revelation.
Paul makes clear in 1 Cor. 2:9-14 that we can only receive and understand this Word as a supernatural revelation (vs. 10), given by supernatural illumination (vs. 11,12,14).
God has given us the inspired scriptures for a definite purpose as recorded in 2 Tim. 3:16, 17 so that man could have a sure authority and standard for his reproof and correction and for “furnishing” him for right and good living by a perfect rule. Paul made clear in speaking of the total unity of the Bible which would shortly be completed that “when that which is perfect is come” (1 Cor. 13) that is, the full and completed New Testament, then other temporary aids allowed to the earthly church would “be done away.”
The early church believers not only “received the word with all readiness of mind,” but they gave it the place of final authority, and searched “the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). In their search for truth they did not turn to the evaluations of human reason, nor to the traditions and declarations of the church, but to the written Word of God.
— THE PEOPLES GOSPEL HOUR
THE WONDER OF THE BOOK
The wonder of the Book grows upon us as our experience is enlarged, for the more deeply we search it, the more we feel that the Bible is not merely a book, but The Book. It alone is the universal Book, the eternal Book, the Book for all time. It is the voice of the Lord. It stands alone, unapproachable in its grandeur, as high above all other books as heaven is above earth, or as the Son of God is above the sons of men.
THE WONDER OF ITS FORMATION
One of the first things about this Book that evokes our wonder is the very fact of its existence, for there was never any order given to any man to plan the Bible, nor was there ever any concerted plan on the part of the men who wrote to write the Bible. The way in which the Bible grew is one of the mysteries of our time. Little by little, century after century, it came out in fragments, written by various men, without any concerted arrangement. One wrote a part in Arabia, another in Syria, a third in Palestine, another in Greece and Italy, and the first part was written hundreds of years before the man who wrote the last part was born.
Here is a Book that took at least fifteen hundred years to write, spanning sixty generations of this world’s history. It enlarges our conceptions of God and gives us new ideas of His infinite patience as He watched the strain, the haste and restlessness of man across the feverish years, while slowly the great Book grew. Here a little, there a little, history, prophecy, poetry and biography, it came forth before a needy world in its finished completeness.
There was no pre-arrangement by men. It is not as if Matthew, Mark, Luke and John met in committee and after solemn conference and seeking for the leading of the Spirit, Matthew undertook to write of Christ as the King, and Mark agreed to write of Him as the Servant, Luke undertaking to delineate Him as the Man, and John determining to crown it all by writing of Him as the Son of God. It was not as if Paul and James met and after talking and praying about it agreed that Paul should write of the doctrinal and James of the practical aspects of the Christian faith. There is no trace of such a thing. They simply wrote as they were moved by the Spirit to meet a present need, to teach some glorious truth, to express some earnest longing, and from the aggregation of their writings came this miraculous unit that we call the New Testament.
THE WONDER OF ITS UNIFICATION
The Bible, though regarded as a Book, is in fact a library of sixty-six volumes written by between thirty and forty different authors, in three languages, on totally different topics and in extraordinarily different circumstances. One wrote history, another biography, one wrote on theology, another poetry, another prophecy, others on philosophy, jurisprudence, genealogy, ethnology, and narratives of wonderful journeys. Here in the Bible we have them all, in a little Book that a child can carry in its little hand. The strangest thing of all is that, although their subjects are so diverse and difficult, and although it was impossible for the man who wrote the first pages to have the slightest knowledge what others would write 1500 years later, yet this collection of writings is not only unified by men in one Book, but so unified by God, the Author, that we can never think of it today as anything else but one Book! And one Book it is indeed — the miracle of all literary unity.
THE WONDER OF ITS INTEREST
Another marvellous thing about this Book is that it is the only book in the world read by all classes and all sorts of people. Literary people rarely read a child’s book, and children do not read books of philosophy and science. There is but one Book that is read by the wisest of men, read to the little child, and read by the old man as he trembles on the brink of another world. Professor Dyson Hague asked the nurse what she was reading to his daughter, and she replied, “I am reading the story of Joseph in the Bible,” and the child added, “And please do not stop her, father.” She was listening with delighted interest to a story that had been written in Hebrew three thousand five hundred years before. Not far away from the same room where the child was listening, there sat one of the greatest of modern scientists, Sir William Dawson (a humble believer in the Lord Jesus Christ), reading with profound devotion and higher delight the pages of the same marvellous Book. Here is a phenomenon — one of the ablest of modern scientists delights in reading a Book which is the joy of a little child in the nursery!
THE WONDER OF ITS LANGUAGE
The Book was not written in the seats of learning, either at Athens in Greece or at Alexandria in Egypt, but in Palestine. Some of the writers were not distinguished for their scholarship. Some did not speak even their own language perfectly. Peter was betrayed by his Galilean dialect, and he and John were described in Acts 4:13 as “ignorant and unlearned men”. Many of the men who wrote the Bible were of that character. One was a farm-hand, another a shepherd, others were fishermen. They were men of no literary reputation, and yet by the mysterious power of God the Book has become the standard of language of the most literary nations of the world.
THE WONDER OF ITS PRESERVATION
The Bible has withstood ages of ferocious and incessant persecution. Century after century men have tried to burn it and to bury it and to extirpate it. Kings of the earth set themselves and rulers of the church have taken counsel together to destroy it. Diocletian the Roman Emperor inaugurated in AD 303 a terrific onslaught upon the Book. Bibles were destroyed, Christians were slain, and the Emperor boasted that the very name of the Christians was blotted out, and yet after a few years, the Bible came forth as Noah from the ark to repeople the earth, and in AD 325 Constantine enthroned the Bible as the Infallible Judge of Truth in the great council of the Church held in that year.
Later the Church of Rome denied the Scriptures to the people and for ages the Bible was practically an unknown book. Martin Luther was a grown man when he said that he had never seen a Bible in his life. No jailor ever kept a prisoner closer than the Church of Rome kept the Bible from the people.
The worst opposition of all has been during the last two hundred years, with rationalism and modernism seeking to undermine the authority, inspiration and inerrancy of the Holy Scriptures. It was Voltaire’s boast that within one hundred years of his death not a Bible would be found save as an antiquarian curiosity. Many more than one hundred years have passed, and other pens and other voices have joined in the attack, but the Bible remains and is being more widely distributed and used than ever before.
THE BIBLE IS SELF-AUTHENTICATING
You need no historical critic for God’s own Word. The Holy Spirit, who is the Author of the Book, makes it speak to our souls in such power as to give divine conviction. Men may arise to unsettle and destroy, but the Spirit of Christ comes to validate and confirm, with a certainty that is incommunicable by mere reason, and is impervious to the assaults of doubt. A preacher of old spoke of a poor woman who was challenged by an agnostic to prove that the Bible in her hand was God’s Word. She pointed to the sun and said, “Can you prove that there is a sun in the sky?” The unbeliever answered, “Of course, the proof is that it warms me and I see its light.” “That is it,” she replied, “and the best proof that this Book is the Word of God is that it warms and lights my soul.”
IT CANNOT BE IMPROVED
We do not gild gold. We do not paint rubies. We cannot brighten diamonds. Neither can any artist add any final touch to this finished Word of God. It stands as the sun in the sky and this proud age can add nothing to it. It has the glory of God and any attempt to improve it can but disfigure it. It speaks with authority and breaks upon you as the Voice from heaven. Five hundred times in the Pentateuch, three hundred times in the following books and twelve hundred times in the prophets, the declarations are prefaced or concluded with such expressions as “Hear the Word of the Lord”, or “Thus saith the Lord”. No other book dares thus to address itself to the universal conscience. No other speaks with such a binding claim or presumes to command the obedience of all mankind. The Book speaks to the inner conscience with the authority of God Himself.
IT IS LIVING AND POWERFUL
Men think of the Bible as a Book that was inspired, and this is true, but it is also true that it still comes sweeping into the hearts of men today, and the same breath of God that gave it life makes it living and spiritually energising today. This is a most remarkable and unique feature of the Bible — I feel that it is mine. Its promises are mine. The 103rd Psalm is not ancient Hebrew, it is a present day message to my soul. The other day I took up an old Bible that my mother gave me, in which years ago I had marked Genesis 28:15 when I was in great trouble and had to leave my wife and children and travel in quest of health in distant lands. One day as I opened the Bible at random these words came before my eye. Shall I ever forget the flood of comfort that swept over my soul as I read that verse? “Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again to this land.” All the critics in the world could never persuade my soul that those words were a mere echo of some far-off relic of a Babylonian legend or oriental myth. No, no! That was a message to me, and it swept into my soul as a voice from heaven and lifted me up. No man will ever shake me out of the conviction that that message was God’s own Word to me — inspiring because inspired.
IT REVEALS CHRIST
It changes men’s lives and alters their destinies. It inaugurates world-wide movements. A single text transformed Luther and launched the greatest of modern epochs. It comes today into communities of unrighteousness as a regenerating force.
The supreme wonder of the Book is Christ, Who is its fulness, its centre, its great subject. Of the whole Book it may be said, “The glory of God does lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof”. As long as men live upon the face of the globe, the Book that tells of Christ the Revealer, Redeemer, the Risen, Reigning, Returning Lord will draw men’s hearts like a magnet, and men will stand by it, and live for it, and die for it.
Do not think that we ought to read this Book as we read any other book, or study and analyse it just as we do any text book in literature or science. No! When you come to this Book, come to it with reverence. Read it with a plea for the Spirit’s help. “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Other books are of the earth. This is from heaven, it is the living Word of the Living God, Supernatural in origin, divine in authorship, regenerative in power, infallible in authority, personal in application, inspired in its every part.
(Summarised and selected from “The Wonder of the Book”
by Prof. Dyson Hague, M.A.)
CONCLUSION
Let us make ourselves very clear where we stand in relation to the Authorised Bible, God’s Word. We believe the A.V. Bible was translated by 47 scholars, men of God appointed to carry out this vital work. These men under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit translated from the Greek into English words, placing commas, etc., where necessary, thereby giving us the true meaning in our language. There is no room for alteration to words or commas, etc., as they stand in the A.V. Bible. So vital is this that God has distinctly warned against tampering with His Word. He has placed in our A.V. Bible these warnings. In Deut. 4:2a, “Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it …. “; In Prov. 30:6a, “add thou not unto His Words” and in Rev. 22:18, 19, “(18) For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto l hese things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are 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 the things which are written in this book.”
Let us here give one example of tampering with God’s Word, and how vital commas are in our English translation. In Heb. 10:12, the A.V. reads, “But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God;” Some translations have placed the comma after sins making it read “After He had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down on the right hand of God” thus making the return of Our Lord impossible. This of course makes Roman Catholic doctrine, leaving the priests free to celebrate “mass” as often as they please, in spite of Our Lord Jesus Christ having offered one sacrifice for sins forever. Heb. 10:12.
We can be sure the A.V. is God’s infallible, inerrant, and no less inspired word than was the original Greek and Hebrew from which it was translated. Would God have neglected the preservation of His Pure Word?, if so, He certainly could not hold us responsible. He would have left us without a Bible in which we could place our trust, further more as few of us read and understand Greek, what an impossible position we would find ourselves in, in relation to our salvation.
All Things Must be Examined by the Scriptures
When we are confronted by some new doctrine, etc., we must do as the Bereans did, Acts 17:11. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.” In addition, we must, under the guidance of The Holy Spirit learn to “rightly divide the Word”. 2 Timothy 2:15.
We would further draw the attention of those who would seek to alter or improve (as they imagine) the A.V. by using some Greek text which does not agree with the A.V. if so there is only one place for the text, the waste paper basket, as you are probably using one of the many corrupt Greek texts, possibly Westcott and Hort’s. This has been altered and differs in something like five or six thousand places from the Received text from which the New Testament of The A.V. Bible was translated into English. We stand or fall on this Bible, God’s Word given to us in English.
Remember! God wrote only one Bible.
Paul said he did not adulterate the Word of God but presented it in all its purity. However, man today has corrupted it by adding to it through the rapid production of new translations, paraphrases, versions, perversions and amplifications of the Scriptures. The best that can be said for them all is that they are helping to increase sales in most Bible Book Stores and helping the publishers to make large profits. The Christians are left without their money and end up in greater confusion than ever.
Compiled by-
BIBLE TRUTH SOCIETY R.D. Oratia
Auckland
New Zealand
With grateful acknowledgement to our many friends in The Lord Jesus Christ, who, by their prayers and support have enabled us to carry on the fight against the Apostasy in the Churches, and the Masterpiece of Satan, the perversion of The Word of God.
Much more on Bible Versions Here
How We Know the Bible is the only Holy Book on Planet Earth [podcast]
Articles
FAKE THEOLOGIAN DESTROYED: Is Learning Hebrew and Greek Necessary to Understand God’s Word?
The question of whether or not knowing Hebrew and Greek helps one to understand the Bible
Matthew 11:25 – God says that He reveals His truth, truths to even the babes in Christ and you say that God’s people have to go learn 2 new languages before they understand God through His Word? Both can’t be right and so one of you is lying, is bearing false witness.
Notice how that “from a child” Timothy knew the “holy scriptures” and the wisdom they give us.
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17
Perhaps some of these guys are insecure novices who have found a way they think they can attempt to elevate themselves over others. They are full of pride. This is why God’s Word says that in the qualifications for overseers among Christ’s saints, the Word says “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6).
This is an important discussion. There are many would-be “theologians” who go around touting that they read the original manuscripts and know Hebrew and Greek, and that you can’t understand God’s Word unless you “go back to the Hebrew and Greek, etc.” This is a dangerous and diabolical ploy to mislead people.
The good news is that God provided every single inhabitant of earth the blessing of knowing Him and knowing His Word. This He did to secure them for His eternal kingdom and to protect them from the “MANY false prophets” He promised would “deceive MANY” (Matthew 24:11).
“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” Psalms 119:130
Do we not call God a fool for bringing His Word into our language and yet we’re not even able to understand it?
Saying that we need to read the original language of manuscripts makes any one want to give up before they start.
Anyone telling you that you need to learn Hebrew and or Greek to understand the Bible is pulling the wool over your eyes…. is a lying snake, wolf, and false prophet, who is attempting to seduce you to elevate THEM in your mind and to perhaps trust in and follow them because, after all THEY, only THEY really understand God’s Word. Beware. We were warned.
To the deceiver, it serves a satanic purpose to tell people that they have to go learn two whole new languages in order to understand God’s Word:
- It makes the hearer think they need the one giving them this lie.
- to hide the truth from the common people.
Beware of those who seek to remove the key of knowledge from the people so they can corral and exploit them (Luke 11:52).
Telling you that you need to go learn two whole new languages is to their benefit – they are manipulating you – to put you under their control… because after all, THEY have the key of knowledge, the Hebrew and the Greek, and you don’t, so you need them. It’s a self-appointed elitist club and you’re not in it. Their agenda is to put you under them, to position you to exploit (2 Peter 2:19).
Make no mistake, my intent was to bury this filthy wolf who is misleading people to believe they need to go learn two whole new languages in order to understand God’s Word which God Himself made sure we have in our own language. Beware of Satan’s agents like this.
There are those who pretend to preside over the understanding of God’s Word. Beware. They are absolutely self-serving ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15).
In this exchange (below), please know that my intent was to rebuke this man sharply as the Holy Spirit commanded us to do to false teachers, wolves who mislead and devour Christ’s flock (Titus 1:13).
MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM A FAKE “bible” DEFENDER WHO PRETENDS TO BE A SCHOLAR:
“I use multiple sources so i dont have a ‘fake bible’ as you claim. And by your definition, all bibles would be fake that are english translated. I study manuscripts from as close to the 1st century as i can. So that means i use many sources. Any good student does the same. And since He is the Master, and I’m the student, then that makes my responsibility extremely important to study as one to be approved. You really need to repent of your anger and maliciousness. And before you comment on things being fake, make sure you study the original language used to determine if the translation is correct. And even then you have to be careful. Satan has done a masterful job at contaminating the scriptures.”
REPLY:
In other words, you are saying that anyone who doesn’t undertake to study the “original languages,” the Greek and Hebrews for the rest of their lives, cannot possibly understand the simple truth of God given to all men in His Word? …. hmmmmm OH OF COURSE THEY HAVE THE OPTION OF JUST PATRONIZING HIGH AND MIGHTY YOU WHO CAN TELL THEM WHAT GOD SAYS, RIGHT? How convenient.
Notice how you cowarded out and didn’t even answer the simple questions I asked of you concerning a mere sampling of Bible verses that have been perverted in the fake “bibles” you defend.
Here were the simple questions I asked you and you refused to answer:
-
- Why is the “BLOOD” of Jesus removed from the fake “bibles” you are defending? In Colossians 1:14.
- Why is Romans 8:1 chopped in half in the phony “bibles” you promote and defend?
- Why are whole verses such as Matthew 17:21 and Acts 8:37 completely removed from the cheap counterfeits you believe are the Bible?
You are now claiming that God did not keep His promise to preserve His Word to our generation (Psalms 12:6-7)…. which is a grand indictment upon the Almighty. Not impressed with your “study” of manuscripts because the LORD told us He would preserve His Word for us in our own language (Psalms 12:6-7). The pharisees were supposedly very learn-ed and yet hell bound (Matthew 23, etc.). You have been straight up rebuked, your false tables are turned over and now you’re trying to gaslight me, blame me for it. The need to learn the original languages has been debunked long ago. Typically, like an antichrist pharisee, the enemy of Christ, you desire to take away the ability for the average person to learn and know God’s Word (Luke 11:52). “Woe unto you, lawyers! (doctors of the law) for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.” What you are doing is selling people on the lie that YOU know things they can’t possibly know because they don’t know Hebrew and Greek. Do you speak Hebrew or Greek? No. Do YOU write in Hebrew or Greek? No, you don’t. So by your own false standard YOU can’t even understand the Word of God. So the god you serve is Satan because the God of the Bible makes known and makes available His truth to the humble and lowly who seek Him. Jesus says “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matthew 11:25). This is the typical esoteric deception where certain wolves among the people claim to have exclusive access to secret knowledge as they seduce and attempt make people to be dependent upon them and not God. No one needs you or me, sinner. Repent now.
“At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” Matthew 11:25
You are clearly a false prophet who wants people to come to you, to rely on you and your pretended knowledge of God and His Word. That is, you want them to patronize you instead of going to God Himself, in His own Word, which He gave us in our own language as He promised to do (Psalms 12:6-7). The demons in you are the same wicked spirits that inhabited the now burning in hell false leaders of Christ’s day who took away the key of knowledge from the common man (Luke 11:52). You and those spirits want people to hear your perverted, pretended version of what God says. God makes His Word available to all men so that they can know Him and His truth and not be deceived by the “MANY false prophets” whom Jesus said would “deceive MANY” in the final days before Jesus returns (Matthew 24:11).
A Classic Case of Antichrist Self-Promotion
Simon the Sorcerer
“But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, GIVING OUT THAT HIMSELF WAS SOME GREAT ONE: 10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time HE HAD BEWITCHED THEM WITH SORCERIES.” Acts 8:9-11
This type of self-idolatry and worship of a mere sinful man is all too common today and comes in various packages, yet is the same principle of fact. Till Jesus returns, there will be those who give out that they are some “great one” when they are merely ungodly sinners. Recently a man was promoting himself as one who “reads the original manuscripts” and so he is higher and more special than others. He laughably went so far as to say that anyone who wants to understand the Bible must go to the original manuscripts. Would someone like to inform this self-serving wolf that God kept His promise to preserve His Word to us in our own language? It’s called the King James Bible.
So, do we trust in today’s wolves who claim THEY have the key of knowledge, of understanding God’s Word and pretending that people need them? Or do we trust GOD Himself who gave us HIS Word in our own language ….. and He alone can give us His understanding of His Word?
“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” Psalms 119:89
The LORD graciously gave us His written Word in our own language to nourish, edify, feed, and protect us—His very people.
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield (protection) unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6
PRAYER: Father thank You for preserving and giving us Your written Word in our own language. Please teach us Your ways and grant Your children discernment. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Abiding
WHY were 24,000 of God’s People Killed at Peor? [podcast]
“Baal was most often portrayed as a strong warrior and was considered the god of storms and fertility. He was said to rule from his palace atop Mount Zaphon, the highest peak in Syria. Baal is referenced several times in the Bible’s Old Testament, where he is depicted as the main rival of the god of the Israelites.”
We must understand that God is severe in His judgment of rebels of which there are “many” who claim they are saved. Eternal damnation awaits all rebels (Matthew 7:13-23, etc.).
“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” Romans 11:22
DIVINE JUDGMENT, the “severity of God,” IS NOT GOING AWAY JUST BECAUSE YOU OR SOME FAKE PREACHER IGNORES IT!
Christians avoid doing as did the Israelites when they worshipped baal by worshipping the LORD, the Father and Jesus Christ “in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 1:3) This begins with fresh and complete repentance, confession of all sin, and denouncing of all dependence, idolatry, all pagan practices like yoga and mantra chanting, etc., and by understanding that truly worshiping the LORD, the one true God, is based on sincere loyalty to Him and not to get things from Him like success or possession in this fleeting world. The heart of the disciple of Jesus must be circumcised perpetually and this is happening as we examine our hearts for idols, the daily crucified life, living a life of prayer, setting boundaries against temptations, and being wholly accountable to the LORD, while avoiding syncretism (mixing pagan rituals with Christian practice) and prioritizing God’s Word.
Deuteronomy 4:1-10
24,000 of God’s own people, men, departed from obeying the instruction, the standard, the Word of God and were destroyed. They partook in the soul damning sin of fornication.
“Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you. 4 But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day. 5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. 6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? 8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? 9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons; 10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.” Deuteronomy 4:1-10
Departing from the pure Word of God always leads to sinful living as was the case with 24,000 of God’s people’s worship at Baal Peor.
“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Luke 4:4
In Deuteronomy 4, Moses warns God’s people not to change or depart from the LORD’s Word and brings up the example, reminds the people of God’s judgment upon 24,000 of His own people for doing so (Numbers 25).
Of the worship of Baal-Peor, one writer notes:
“Yet what was this worship of Baal-Peor and why did it draw such wrath from God? Baal-Peor is a Moabite god who was worshipped with obscene rituals. The name means ‘Lord of the Opening’ from Baal meaning owner/ husband and Peor coming from pa’ar meaning ‘open wide.’ ‘I found Israel Like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season. But they went to Baal Peor, And separated themselves to that shame; They became an abomination like the thing they loved.’ (Hosea 9:10) The worship of Baal-Peor IS an abomination. Notice that those who join themselves to Baal-Peor also ‘become’ an abomination before the Lord.”
Every person who has an idol, just one, has demons (Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:19-21). Repent now. Follow Jesus.
In Deuteronomy 4:3, Moses brings back to the memory of God’s people the judgment that fell upon the 24,000 of His own people for their idolatry and fornication. This idolatrous abomination is recorded in Numbers 25.
“And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; 8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.” Numbers 25:6-9
Dear reader, camp out on Numbers 25, the whole chapter. Your life is not complete without this vital component of divine truth.
Of Baal, one source notes:
Baal was a major ancient West Semitic storm and fertility god, meaning “lord” or “master,” prominent in Canaanite and Phoenician cultures, associated with rain, thunder, and agriculture, and often depicted with a thunderbolt. He was seen as a powerful deity, central to life, but became a focal point of biblical opposition as Israel’s worship of him (linked to lust and sometimes child sacrifice) was seen as idolatry against God, culminating in Elijah’s famous challenge on Mount Carmel. In later demonology, Baal (or Bael) is a powerful archdemon, and the name appears in various modern media as a demon or powerful entity.
In Ancient Religions
- Identity: A powerful god of fertility, weather (rain, lightning, wind), war, and kingship, often identified with the storm god Hadad.
- Worship: Widespread in the Levant (Canaan, Phoenicia) and beyond, with temples and rituals often involving cultic prostitution and sometimes human sacrifice, especially during droughts.
- Mythology: Key myths involve his battles with the sea god Yamm and the god of death Mot, representing natural cycles, and his dwelling on Mount Zaphon.
- Biblical Conflict: The Bible portrays Baal worship as a major temptation for Israelites, a rival to God, whose priests (including those of the Phoenician goddess Asherah/Astarte) were famously confronted by Elijah.
In Demonology & Culture
- Demon: In demonology, Bael (Baal) is a powerful archdemon, often the first of the three kings of Hell in grimoires, associated with invisibility and wisdom.
- Modern Media: The name appears in many forms, from Diablo and Dungeons & Dragons (Bhaal/Bael) to anime like Gundam and Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun, often as a powerful demon or god.”
Not one of us has lived perfectly holy and yet, at this moment in time, some will choose to truly repent and confess their sins and others will refuse (Proverbs 28:13). Eternity depends on true repentance which always, without fail, yields a changed life, a holy life (Matthew 3:7-10; Luke 13:3).
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16
These 24,000 Israelites were slain for their sin. God is still holy and “The wages of sin” is still death (Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:4).
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:4
Zimri, a Simeonite (of the tribe of Simeon) was the Israelite whom Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, did slay for his utterly audacious display of sin, having brought the fornication in the middle of the camp of God’s people and even into the midst of their worship (Numbers 25:6, 14).
The great apostle brings this very incident to account 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 and warns New Testament saints never to partake lest they also be destroyed. The sins Paul cites form the natural acronym L.I.F.T.M. = lust, idolatry, fornication, tempting Christ, murmuring.
5 Soul Damning Sins Named! Learning from History! [podcast]
The spear of Phinehas must begin with ourselves – as we truly repent, lay down our lives in this world, and cut off the hand, pluck out the eye of any sin in our lives. The conscious eternal suffering, the severity of eternal judgment coming on any person who dies in sin is most profoundly declared by the Son of God Mark 9:43-49. Many of the new fake “bibles” removed this important passage.
The new “bibles” have lowered the standard and weakened many by their changing of God’s Word which Moses specifically warns us of in this main text, Deuteronomy 4.
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are 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 the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18-19
Departing from the Word of God, not obeying God on His stated terms, is the sure way to be weakened, destroyed, here and eternally. The LORD speaks often in His Word about this.
“Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:” Jeremiah 26:2
Each Man is Choosing to Drink from One Cup or the Other
Baal was ultimately Satan himself and involved things like sacrificing ones own child in exchange for being blessed by this false good. Jesus informed us that Satan has come “to steal, to kill, and to destroy.” (John 10:10).
As was the case at Baal Peor, Satan is behind every idol and so all idolatry is the worship of Satan.
“What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. 22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?” 1 Corinthians 10:19-22
This passage above is speaking of the Baal Peor event and also to the temptation of Satan and his children today. Baal worship is alive and well today, calling God’s people to worship at the altar of devils, to partake is vile atrocities that separate one to Satan and away from the LORD. “No man can serve two masters” and anyone living in sin is not serving the one, true, holy LORD and Savior (Matthew 6:24)
“They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. 29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. 30 Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and so the plague was stayed. 31 And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations for evermore.” Psalms 106:28-31
One writer notes:
“Baal Peor, or the Baal of Peor, was a local deity worshiped by the Moabites. When the Israelites, following Moses to the Promised Land, were in the vicinity of Peor, some of them fell into idolatry and worshiped Baal Peor. As a result of their sin, the men of Israel were judged by God.”
Baal Peor consisted of the worship of a false god, Satan, and fornication. Satan is behind the worship of all idols and such idolatry is filled with his devils/demons (1 Corinthians 10:19-22).
Modern day types of Baal Peor are the pornography, strip clubs, and everything in our society that has to do with any form of fornication. Movie and media are filled with such evil. The 24,000 who were destroyed in Moses day (Numbers 25), departed from the Word of God and the standards set forth there for holiness and the divine prohibition of sex outside of marriage between one man and one woman (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8). Read Deuteronomy 4 and Numbers 25 side by side.
“Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: 6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. 7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. 8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
Before their blunder at Peor, after God brought them out of Egypt (the world), Israel was innocent. Judgment, destruction ensued their sin of all who participated. Today, we can witness that many who once worshipped God with a pure heart, have now turned away to the worship of idols involving fornication of all kinds. Those who would rebuke these backsliders could be liked unto Phinehas.
“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.” Hosea 9:10
“I found Israel – The Lord speaks of himself in the person of a traveler, who unexpectedly in the wilderness finds a vine loaded with grapes; such love did God bear to Israel. Your fathers – Whom I brought out of Egypt. As the first – ripe – As the earliest ripe fruit of the fig – tree, which is most valued and desired. Separated themselves – Consecrated themselves to that shameful idol. Their abominations – Their idols, and way of worshipping them. As they loved – As they fancied.” John Wesley
Deuteronomy 4, Numbers 25, and 1 Corinthians 10 speak of the same event – the sin of God’s people in Baal worship at Peor and the consequent divine judgment that fell upon 24,000 of them. This is an eternal memorial for the judgment of God against all sin, namely idolatry and fornication.
“What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. 22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?” 1 Corinthians 10:19-22
“To abstain from idol feasts was the clear duty of all Christians. By partaking of heathen sacrifices which were offered to demons, they became one with the demons and their votaries; just as in the Lord’s Supper we show our oneness not only with the Savior but with each other. It was clear, therefore, that the Corinthian Christians could not consistently partake of idol feasts and the Lord’s Supper. What an incentive is given here to frequent and reverent participation in the Lord’s Supper! It proclaims our union with Him and His people, and it gives us a distaste for all that is alien to its spirit.” FB Meyer
Those who depart from the standards set forth in God’s Word separate themselves to idols, to devils and are under divine judgment from the unchanging God (Malachi 3:6).
The Examples of Phinehas and Jael
Perhaps we can liken what Phinehas did in spearing the sin out of the camp of God’s people, with those who call His people to worship Him in Spirit and in truth and according to His pure, uncorrupted Word (Numbers 25:10-18; Psalms 12:6-7; Proverbs 30:5-6; Revelation 22:18-19). Phinehas boldly, courageously in the fear of God stood up and stamped out sin in the camp. The judgment ended. Those who stand and boldly, fearlessly declared the Word of God and call out sin among God’s people, are the Phinehas’ of our day. Do we have a Phinehas priesthood in our midst?
“Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” Psalms 94:16
In Job 4:21-22; 5:24-27 we read about another bless-ed patriarch of the faith who stood up, who rose up against sin, slaying a wicked king.
In both the cases of Phinehas and Jael, these biblical accounts make specific record that the LORD greatly blessed these faithful followers of His, and their families, and He will do the same today for His true bold witnesses who stand against the evil of this late hour.
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Apostasy
“The Certainty of the Words of Truth” [podcast]
Nicholas, the Apostate Deceiver
Historians say that Nicholas (Acts 6:5), a deacon in the first century church, backslid, and led his followers to believe that living in sin would not affect one’s relationship with Christ. The term Nicolaitans is said to come from those who followed Nicholas. Nico-laitans is a compound Greek word. Nico means “to conquer,” and laitans means “the laity.” Satan used Nicholas to conquer his followers through the lie of lawlessness. The evil spirit of Nicholas lives on today through many lawless leaders who operate in the church world in this late hour.
Nicholas taught free love. He and his followers taught that the deeds of believers could not affect their relationship with God. This is antinomianism, which means lawlessness. The Bible clearly refutes such a lie as we will witness in our walk through the Holy Scriptures.
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19
“They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:16
The Bible states here, that those who “profess that they know God” and yet “deny him…in works,” are “abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”
By this lie of lawlessness, the enemy of souls conquered the people.
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans (means “conquer the laity”), which I also hate…So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” Revelation 2:6, 15
Here is some modern terminology for this age-old doctrine:
- Once Saved, Always Saved
- Eternal security (unconditional)
- Calvinism, perseverance of the saints doctrine
In Revelation 2, Jesus Christ tells us that He “hates” two things — “the deeds” and “doctrine of the Nicolaitans.” The Son of God despises the doctrine that teaches that the deeds of men have no effect upon their relationship with Him.
The Scriptures continuously reveal the divine hatred for the acceptance, and even doctrinal authorization, for living in the sins which the LORD tells us violate His holiness, reveal a wicked heart, and will prevent one from entering into the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Revelation 21:8, 27).
The word “lasciviousness” appears six times in the Bible and means “lack of restraint (from sinning); license for sin; licentiousness.”
To underscore the utter, divine hatred against this lie of lawlessness, it should be noted that this is the only place in Scripture where Jesus Christ, Himself, states that He hates something.
Though they may vary in packaging, these are all kin to the same lawless “ye shall not surely die” lie, which is the lie of the ages.
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” Deuteronomy 4:2
“For ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.” Jeremiah 23:36b
“Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word.” Jeremiah 26:2
“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are 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 the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18-19
“Hath God said” ?
Always remember that whenever you have someone casting doubt on God’s Word, words, you are dealing with a person who is under Satan’s control, is a rejecter of the LORD, and therefore His truth, and is a child of the devil. Every time.
Notice what we see Satan doing in the Garden of Eden just before he changed, altered, added one word to God’s words:
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1
Then, in verse 4 we read how Satan added just one three-letter word which changed the meaning of what God said and changed world history.
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:” Genesis 3:4
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17
“Thou shalt surely die” from God was then changed by Satan to “Ye shall NOT surely die.”
This is the first time we see what’s known as the “eternal security” lie. It’s also known as “once saved always saved” or “perseverance of the saints” heresy. Any person teaching or believeing this lie has partnered with Satan himself.
Knowing “the certainty of the words of truth”
“Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
19 That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
21 that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee? Proverbs 22:17-21
“that I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth” – and how can we “know the certainty of the words of truth” if we aren’t even reading them – if we are not reading the preserved Word of God but rather a cheap counterfeit?
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