June 27, 2014

Bible Transmission Accuracy


So, How Accurate Is Your Bible?

Okay, we have taken a pretty hard look at the Bible in this study and you are now aware of the problems in doing translations.  Verses have been dropped, verses which have been added, words which have changed their meanings, words have been dropped, and words have been added.  All of these changes at the discretion of the translator.

Do you use a NIV, NASB, NRSV, RSV or the NKJV?  If so, how accurate do you feel your favorite Bible is?  I use the Amplified Bible, it gives you every shade of meaning for any word that is questioned by anyone.  And, even at that, I was stunned this year to find an outright error by the translators in the book of Luke.  Gees, is no translation safe from mistakes? 

Well, let us continue our look at the validity of our Bible’s base translation by just looking at the Bible in general and more specifically, just one book.

It is sometime in the 1940’s and two British soldiers are a bit bored while stationed in Baghdad.  So, what better way to liven up a dull evening than to open up a tomb?  Well, not just anyone’s tomb, in this case, Ezekiel’s.  Yeah, Ezekiel the prophet.  Ezekiel the writer of the book by his name in our Old Testament.  Want to guess what they found?  Yeah, a whole series of stone tablets, sixty-six in all, with the complete text for the Book of Ezekiel carved on them.  Exactly as documented in the Talmud….

Eureka!  An original book of the Bible – or at least one which existed during the time of Ezekiel!  The world should be astounded!  But, it wasn’t.  After all, these two soldiers were just looters and not scholars (hmmm, there is a difference?).  So, even if the tablets are completely documented as having come from Ezekiel’s tomb (lots of witnesses), there is no question it is Ezekiel’s tomb, and still the tablets are not acceptable to science.  Why? 

Well, it means that what is on those tablets might just be true and then just maybe, God is true.  And, well, after all, we are enlightened enough to know that this is just not possible.  Right?

Yeah, even when confronted with rock hard evidence, man still turns away from God.  Think about it, a dream Biblical find and no one really cares.  Okay, Ezekiel existed and he really did write a book after all.  And, oh look, it is probably the original.  Hey, it even predates the liberals strongest arguments of 167bc for the writing of the entire Old Testament – by about four hundred years.  Darn!  It’s just not fair….

And in the seventy years since these were found, has there been a rush by the liberal theologians to either embrace or attempt to disprove this proof? 

Nope.  They just look for other excuses to believe what they want to believe -professing themselves wise, they became fools….  (Ok, out of context but sure seems appropriate!)


What about the tablets?  Yeah, well, when the sixty-six of them were compared with the contemporary Hebrew texts of today, there are nine differences.  Today’s Hebrew text uses the term “King” before the name of the king, when he is referenced.

Apparently, in Ezekiel’s time, everyone already knew who the king was, and so he was not given a title.

Nine differences.  Nine!  That sure is not what liberal scholars would want you to know about your Bible’s accuracy!

Is your Bible reliable?  Yup, it appears God has protected his Word pretty well across the millennia of time – as the book of Ezekiel has shown.

But, What About the New Testament?

Ok, so we can see that the Old Testament is strikingly reliable, but how about those New Testament, new translation problems we have been looking at?  Well, you can just use the King James Version and live with those problem verses if you are more comfortable with that thought.  After all, your salvation is based entirely upon your faith in Jesus, as the Christ, as your payment for your sins, not whether or not you handle snakes and drink poison as the end of the book of Mark tells you to. 

So, hey, even the NIV will work!  You just have to remember that there might be some verses missing or perhaps a verse worded oddly from the original.  And, by the way, the NIV is the second most popular version – in sales volume.  The KJV is still number one!

And, you know, God can and still does do strange and wonderful things.  If you need physical safety from poisonous snakes and poisoned food – He is quite capable of keeping you safe.  Whether He originally told you so in your translation for the book of Mark or not.  And, one of these days, maybe we will find the original of Mark in an Egyptian desert and it did contain those questionable verses after all.…

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