Words of Jesus Christ in "Red" 
There is a great deal of argument today over which translation of the Scripture is most reliable. Should you use the New International Version (NIV), New American Standard (NAS), King James Version
(KJV), New King James Version (NKJV), Amplified Bible (AB), New Century Version (NCV), or a host of other translations.
There are a group of believers who hold that the King James Version (1611) is the only Word of God available today. These people, known as Onliest believers, feel that the KJV is alone pure and all others are false in their representation of God's Word.
I admit that I have a deep love for the KJV, and, as you will see through this site, generally only quote from that text. I love the richness of the language and, since this was the Bible I was introduced to after salvation, it holds a great deal of sentimental value for me. But we must be careful to establish one translation as being the only valid one on the market today.
When the KJV first premiered in 1611 it was poorly received by the Christian public. The various versions of the Bible in 1611 caused so many arguments that King James I appointed 54 scholars to make the KJV. Once it became popular, it retained this popularity for 250 years. Yet, over time, various newly discovered Bible manuscripts (original language texts) were discovered, and this spurred scholars to translate the various other
versions on the market.
The KJV itself, it must be noted, was not a "new" translation of the Bible. Though the 54 scholars translated texts from the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, they also used portions of the Geneva Bible (1557-1560) and the Bishop's Bible translations (1568). The Geneva Bible was, in turn, a retranslation of both the Beza's Latin New Testament (1556) and the 1539 Great Bible. So the KJV was not in reality a new translation, but was a hybrid translation from both original manuscripts and previously translated versions.
I said all this, not to impugn the KJV, but to make us understand the reality of the Scripture. What you read when you read a Bible translation is just that - a translation from Greek and Hebrew manuscripts that archeology has uncovered.
This is the reason that I often refer to the "original languages" when teaching a verse of Scripture. My suggestion to every Christian is to choose the translation that is easiest for you to read in your own personal study - there are many available on the market - and then use it. You may also want to consider buying the version of Scripture your Pastor teaches out of. It's mighty hard to follow along in a NAS if the Pastor is reading out of KJV.
Also I suggest you buy a copy of "Strong Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" which will allow you to research the original language origin of the key words you are studying in the Bible verse. The Strong's is very easy to use, very inexpensive to buy (I've found them as cheap as $6.00 apiece in local book warehouses), and are integral for good Bible study.
Now, I am certain that the KJV Onliest group will immediately say, "These other translations omit important parts of Scripture". The NIV crowd will say, "The KJV uses archaic and outdated manuscripts". Let me introduce you to another bit of truth: If you are a Christian, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God:
Ephesians 1:12-14 "That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
And this same Holy Spirit indwells you to guide you into all truth:
John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."
If there are vagaries in your translation, (and I assure you, there is vagaries in all the translations) then the Holy Spirit will guide you as you study and help you overcome them. "No translation is absolutely true to the original Greek and Hebrew texts." That is because these original languages are much more expressive than our English language is, and you always lose something in the translation.
But, dear believer, do not assume that God expects you to be a Biblical Translator! Your Heavenly Father loves you, and wants to reveal the truths of His Word to you. So seek Him, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you as you study. We are partners together with God:
1 Corinthians 3:7-9 "So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building."
It is presumption to say, "God will not give me growth unless I only study the KJV". God will give you growth as a believer if you seek Him in His Word, whatever the translation. You need to seek
with a willing heart, He will fill that need.
You need to understand that translations of the Scripture are man's best effort to make the original language manuscripts of Scripture readable. This is a difficult task. Let's consider the language of the New Testament, Koine Greek, and you'll understand why. About 350 years before Christ's ministry on earth Philip, the King of Macedonia, was being held captive by Greece. Greece was in a war with Sparta, and wanted to insure that Philip wouldn't lead troops against them, so he was captured and held prisoner. While held as hostage, Philip was impressed by the combat prowess of the Spartan soldiers. Though Sparta lost the war, Philip took all he learned from the Spartan military back to Macedonia and incorporated their tactics into his armies. Philip had a son that he named Alexander, and he trained that son in Spartan military tactics. By the time Alexander was 16 years old he was a divisional Commander in his father's armies. Philip was poisoned (palace intrigue and jockeying for power rarely allowed Kings to live long lives), and after his father's death Alexander easily took over as King of Macedonia. Alexander (later known as Alexander the Great) was a warrior King. He organized his troops, and started conquering various areas of Greece. As Alexander conquered he offered the defeated enemy positions in his army, treated them right, and as he assimilated his enemies (and turned them into friends) his army grew. Alexander wanted to conquer Persia with this massive army, but he had a serious problem: a problem of communication. Different areas of Greece spoke different dialects, and some were so radically different that it was impossible for orders to be relayed directly. Each detachment had to have its own translator, who would translate Alexander's command so the troop could understand it. So Alexander decided to create a "language of command" that would unify his troops, a language he called "Koine" (Common) Greek. Once this language was developed and all the troops were required to learn it, Alexander conquered all of his known world in seven years. In fact, this language was so reliable and expressive that it infiltrated itself into most of the empires of that day. By 300 BC the known world spoke Koine Greek. When Israel was captured by Rome, the Romans spoke Latin (official language of Rome) and Koine Greek (cultural language of Rome). Israel stayed in captivity for so long that, by the time Jesus walked the earth, very few of the Jews (other than scribes and scholars) spoke or understood Hebrew. They grew up hearing Koine Greek spoken, and this was the language they spoke. The problem was so widespread that the scholars of Israel translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Koine Greek. This translation, called "The Septuagint", allowed the common Jew to read the Scriptures in their "inherited" language. Koine Greek is what our New Testament is written in, and what I'm referring to when I say "the original manuscripts". Your KJV, NAS, NIV (or whatever) New Testaments were translated from the Koine Greek. Do you see God's hand in this? Before He sent His Son to the world, He gave the world a "common language" and had the Word written and taught in that "common language" so that everyone could hear the Word! Is our God AWESOME or what? Do you catch this most important and beautiful thing about our God? Do you feel the love of our God in doing this? "My fellow believer's, this fact alone send "chills" up and down my spine when I realize what a "'LOVING'" God we have to do this for all of us!
Each verb in Koine had four "flags" on it to prevent it from being misunderstood. This makes sense, because if a commander ordered "charge" he would want you to understand exactly what this verb meant. A military moves on verbs - they must be understood or else the military fails to act as a single unit. Throughout the studies at this site you will often see us break down the original language "flags" for a verb in order to make the passage clearer. These "flags" are: Tense The "Tense" of the verb expresses the action or the time of the verb. The tenses are:
Voice The "Voice" of the verb expresses the relationship between the subject of the sentence and the verb:
Mood The "Mood" of the verb suggests when the action of the verb must be accomplished:
Before some scholar who has had years of language studies pompously writes to state that I have oversimplified this description of Koine, let me hasten to explain that this list is not all inclusive. It takes years of training to understand the intricacies of Koine Greek, and I can't possibly teach the language to you in this article. What I am endeavoring to do, however, is to give you a basic understanding of Koine so you will be better equipped to understand the lessons found at this site. "This outline will not make you a scholar, but if you allow Him, God the Holy Spirit will use it to help you understand God's Word as you study it." It will be a tool, a beginner's tool, that God can use to help you grow in knowledge of His precious Word.
Shortly after becoming a Christian if you get serious in studying your Bible (and well you should) you will encounter those who tell you that "the Bible is full of error". Usually, if you dig below the surface of this person, you'll find someone who is either a "Carnal Christian" or someone who is "Unsaved" and wants to justify his miserable living conditions. If you tell someone that fornication (illicit sexual activity) is a sin, and they are living in fornication, then their first action will usually be to justify their lifestyle. The best (and most sinful) way for this person to "justify" himself is to attack the Bible, the source of his conviction. Did you know that there are actually groups of people on the Internet whose sole purpose is to study the Scripture with the intention of finding error in it? Did you know that there are fraternal societies in many of our universities that exist for no other reason than to dissect the Word and look for alleged discrepancies? I have found, over the years, there's no sense in arguing with anyone over the Scripture. God said:
It is up to God to break the heart of the sinner, not us. Don't listen to those that are repeatedly impugning the Word of God. To us, such people are slightly mad. If we disbelieve someone on the Internet (and there are many we do) then we just don't go to their sites anymore. But to waste time posting reply after reply - time is short. "God doesn't give us liberty for such foolishness!" We believe the Word of God is true in all that it affirms. If Satan tells a lie, and the Word records it, then though we disbelieve Satan we believe that God recorded the message just as it was written. In countless years of studying the Word we have found nothing to make us doubt its veracity. You would do well, as a Christian, to approach the Word in the same way. Accept in your heart that it is true, and know that you are indwelt by the same Holy Spirit that indwells every Christian - and that He will guide you into the truth. You will, just as we have, run across Biblical passages that you do not understand. If you persist in studying the passage, praying that God will guide you, you will be enlightened. But, quite frankly, many of us today are conditioned by the McDonald's mentality. We want it, and want it now! We want to know it all with little effort, little prayer, little seeking. God is not some speaker you yell your order into and get something delivered up hot and fresh (?) in just minutes.
God rewards the seekers, those who earnestly seek Him through His Word. He does not reward the McChristians, or the McHeathen, or the McBackslidden. There will "always be difficulties" when you approach God's Word as if it already has error. And there will "always be difficulties" anytime the finite (that's us) study the Immensity of God. And there will "always be difficulties" when you, with sin in your heart, go to the Holy Word. "Repent, then study. Pray, then seek."
John W. Haley wrote a book called "Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible", where he examined all of the so called errors found throughout Scripture. In 99% of the Scripture errors discovered Haley presents a proper interpretation of the text that shows that the error was in the mind of the critic, not in the writing itself. Though this work is out of print, you can review and/or order a copy through Amazon.com (Click Here or vist our Book Selections) for around $7.00. We highly recommend this book for all Christians who are seriously studying the scriptures. Difficulties in the Scripture are, as we said before, to be expected. You would not expect to take your first year of Algebra in High School and breeze right through it. Try Calculus, or Trig, or any one of a hundred other difficult subjects and tell me how easy they were to assimilate. You expect studies by finite men, scholarly men to be difficult to grasp. Yet people read the Scripture, a Word written by an Infinite God, and expect it to be a cakewalk. How foolish! A difficulty in a doctrine of Scripture, or your grave objection to a doctrine, does not in any way prove that doctrine to be untrue. I have yet understood why E=MC2, yet scientists have proved the Theory of Relativity over and over again in their research. The fact that you cannot solve a Scriptural difficulty does not mean that it cannot be solved, just that you don't know the answer yet. Alleged discrepancies are, in reality, insignificant when you compare the Book's many and marvelous excellencies, and how this Book has impacted (positively, we might add) the lives of believers for thousands of years.
Most of the difficulties that we encounter in our English Bibles are directly traced to problems in translating the original texts to the English. God did not leave us the original autographa (autographed copies) of the Scripture, but left us with numerous manuscriptic copies that translators compare under the science of Textual Criticism. By comparing the Scribal copies the translators are able to assemble an English text that is 99.9% accurate to the original autographa. Yet, even so, translators are human.
For instance, this verse is incorrectly translated from the Greek. Jonah was not three days and three nights in the "whale's belly", but three days and three nights in KETOS, KAY'-TOS; probably from the base of Greek CHASMA, "a huge fish". This was not a "whale" but a "huge fish". There are several such minor mistranslations throughout every version of every Scripture, not just the KJV. Yet, bear in mind, that these defects are more superficial than they are profound to the believer in fellowship with God. Again, the Holy Spirit is your guide. When we read the Scripture we have a tendency to superimpose our experiences on it, and this often causes error. The Bible was written in a simple language, and never suggests that it is a scientific textbook. We must understand that the passages we read were originally addressed to people in a certain time in history, in a certain geography. Though the text is just as applicable to us today, you will often find difficulties if you do not understand the historical and geographic context of the passage. If you are ignorant as to the conditions under which the Book was written, then you will naturally find difficulties. Finally, you must understand the scope of the Scripture. Unless you have an overall view of the Scriptures, unless you see how one Scripture interlocks with another, you will find Biblical difficulties. Too many people approach the Scriptures as if they were a novel, or sixty six novels. I have met many people who have said "I've read the Bible" then waited for me to pat them on the back for being such a good person. Quite frankly, "reading" the Scripture is no real accomplishment. If you were to read the Scripture at "pulpit speed", that is, at a speed that a person would read each verse out loud slowly enough so that other listeners could distinguish each word, it would only take you about 72 hours to read from cover to cover. If you were to break this down into bits, you could take 12 minutes a day and read through the Scripture easily in a year. "Yet, sadly, this approach will not be enough to fully equip you as a Christian." "Reading the Scripture is important, yes, but studying each verse, word by word, is much more lasting." I could read through a book on electronic theory, but at the end of the reading I wouldn't expect to receive a diploma as an Electronic Engineer. Reading leaves an impression, but does nothing to saturate my soul with His Word. The Bible is not man's book, it's "God's Book", and should be revered and treated as such if you expect to grow as a Christian.
My advice to every believer intent on knowing the mind of God is that they approach the Word of God with an open mind. Too many people have closed their minds to the Scripture before they open the Book. Then they wonder why these wonderful words of life have no impact on them, while others become giants in the faith. They come to the Book with objections like: Humanistic Creation Thoughts "Doesn't the first chapter of Genesis say that the world was created in six 24 hour days? Science has proven that it took the earth millions of years to evolve, therefore the Bible must be wrong!" Yes, the Scripture does teach that the world was created in six 24 hour periods. Some Christians, anxious to vindicate the Bible, have quoted:
To try and reconcile the long period that science has said earth evolved in with the Biblical creation account. Yet Peter was not saying that "to God a day is just like a thousand years", but was saying that time is meaningless to our infinite God. To use this passage to reconcile Scripture with science is foolish, and without merit. Genesis 1 repeatedly uses the phrase "and the EVENING and the MORNING were the first day", "and the EVENING and the MORNING were the second day", etc. These phrases show that God was referring to a day in our frame of reference, not His - a 24 hour earth day. The Bible does use the term "day" generically at times to refer to something other than a 24 hour day (see Joel 3.18-20; Zechariah 2.10-13; 13.1-2; 14.9), similar to our phrase "those were the good old days". Yet this is not the case here. Genesis clearly states that the world was created in six 24 hour days.
So science says that the earth shows great age, whereas the Bible shows the earth was created in a short period of time. Let me ask you this: "how many scientists were there at the creation of the earth?" Couldn't science be wrong? This wouldn't be the first time. I remember a time when science said that it was unsafe to use wooden cutting boards in food preparation and everyone should use plastic ones. But then changed their stance and said it was better to use wooden cutting boards instead of the plastic cutting boards. In the "Golden Age of Television" science allowed tobacco companies to hawk a deadly product, and "some scientists even endorsed cigarettes as good for you." Science allowed power stations to build up in residential communities, and only recently has it come to light that proximity to extremely high voltage can cause cancer. Science is not an infallible god, but throughout its history has made the most terrible blunders. Consider the "millions" of children that science has murdered since Roe vs Wade via abortion, fetal tissue testing, cloning, the atomic bomb ... need I go on? Science has invented ways to get us to our destination faster (combustion engines) while destroying the environment around us. Science has developed ways to keep a dead body mechanically alive, whereas it cannot restore the soul that was lost at death. Science has developed means to freeze people after death, charging their estates exorbitant amounts of money to keep the body hard as ice, in a futile hope to bring it back to life again. Science has polluted by industry, created styrofoam that won't biodegrade, and wasted countless taxpayer dollars to study the mating habits of obscure creatures all in the quest for knowledge. Is science an infallible god? "By no means - look at its history." Consider this as well. Our God, as immense as He is, "created the earth and life in six 24 hour days." Why would it be impossible for Him to create some things with the "appearance of age?" If it suited His purpose, He could create something new and yet create it billions of years old. "What is beyond our God?"
The problem is not one of Scripture's inconsistencies with science, the problem is that "your God is too small!" Do not make Him small, because He's not. God is immense, and able to do all that He desires.
There are those who find fault in Genesis because it states that all light was created (made on the first day) before the sun was created (made on the fourth day). Yet anyone familiar with the Nebular Hypothesis of science knows that cosmic light existed before the light of the sun. Furthermore, the Scripture tells us of a time in the future when the sun will be no more and yet there will still be light:
For the light will come directly from God. The early earth was lit, and separated into day and night, by God Himself. It was only by the fourth day that God set up the system of the sun and the moon to give light to the earth. Why not create the sun and moon first? "Because it suited Him to do it the way He did it!" He is God, not you or I. He created as He did for it was best, and the Christian is wise to accept His will on faith. Humanistic Historical Thoughts Still others point out discrepancies in the chronology of the Bible. The Biblical critic states that the Scripture shows a chronology of about 4000 years from Adam to Christ, yet the Egyptian and Babylonian empires were highly developed well beyond this time frame. It is wise to understand that God did not write the Scripture as a "blow by blow" chronology, or as a history book. The Bible gives us the information that God felt was needed by the believer. For example, if you were to read Exodus 6:16-24 and take these verses as a complete chronology then it would appear that Moses was the great grandson of Levi. Yet there were actually 430 years between Moses and Levi. You see, God often decided what was and was not necessary to include in the genealogies, and often only showed major historical figures while skipping others. The genealogies in Genesis 5 and 11 also may be incomplete. In fact, the Hebrew for "beget", YALAD, may refer to either immediate decendancy or to the next generation. In Genesis 10:15-18 Canaan is shown to YALAD whole nations, which is a physical impossibility. Again, God did not show the entire chain of events in the genealogy of Canaan, just those we needed to know. This does not make the Scripture less valid, it makes it more valid. "Why would a loving God give us information we don't need?" Information for information's sake is useless. Humanistic Moral Thoughts
Still others ask silly questions like, "Where did Cain get his wife?". Where do you think? He married his sister (Genesis 5:3-4). Wipe the shocked look off of your face, because one way or the other we all came from the seed of Adam and Eve. In the beginning of time the sin nature in man was not as developed as it is in man today, and you naturally had to marry within the family. To that extent, we are all in some way related to Adam and Eve. If you believe in the drivel evolution teaches then you still have to believe you came from common stock, though that stock slithered up out of the mud and, wonder of wonders, male and female whatever crawled out at the same time and mated. "Boy, it takes more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in God!"
Others point to texts like this and wonder how anyone could believe in a God so terrible that He would have the Israelites destroy whole civilizations of people. "How terrible, how rude!" they say. Yet few bother to research and find out that these people routinely sacrificed their children to false gods (much as we sacrifice our children via abortion to the god of convenience), skinned their children alive and used their skin as heads for their drums (much like scientists today use aborted children for research and vivisection). These nations also tolerated mass orgies, drunkenness, and blasphemies as entertainment (sounds like Ameri .... oops, sorry), and God wanted these people eradicated before they perverted the nation, Israel, that carried the bloodline of Christ. To sinners God is indeed terrible, for He just loves to ruin their evil fun. We too often forget that our God is not only Love, He is also Just and Righteous. He left us this record to show us how serious He is about that righteousness, that standard we are to live to, and the standard we are to avoid. Too bad we aren't paying attention today. Wake up, America!
If you are one of those Christians who find that they have no joy in their faith, consider where the source of this joyless existence is coming from. You can only attain joy when you grow in Grace as God has intended, and you can only grow in Grace by "prayer" and as you "study" and "apply" His Word to your life. To chip away at the Scripture that God gave you for growth, or to pray only when it is convient for you, is truly foolish. Approach the Word of God with an open mind, believing that it is effectual and trusting in the Holy Spirit that indwells each one of us. Avoid the rebellious crowd of apostates that cry "foul" on the Bible. They are joyless - do not let them draw you down to their level by their devious theologies. Remember:
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