Post by JEM on Jul 13, 2008 6:05:07 GMT
Published keeping an open mind in the search for TRUTH
INTRODUCTION of EXPLANATION for RETAINING THIS ARTICLE ON THIS SITE.
This ARTICLE is one man's opinion. A man who has since died, The Founder of the Stewarton Bible School linked to this article, material on which readers may find of interest.
It is also largely the view of the Trinitarian Bible Society which only sells the 4th Revision of the Authorised Version of 1762 , which is the only version they are licensed to sell and they promote it because of that fact, not because it is the best, the only, or the most accurate, which it isn't.
They used to claim that only the Authorised Version of 1611 was the right Bible but that was untrue as well and has been unobtainable for a couple of centuries.
The AV is the Bible appointed by the Bishop's of the Established State Church of England to be read in their churches and was published by their clergy, including many right wing Puritan scholars who later left the Church of England to form a more rigid protestant community.
The AV was commissioned to replace the Bishop's Bible which the Church of England had previously followed and used as they did not like the Protestant English Bible, published in Genera by exile from religious persecution in England
The Geneva Bible continued to be the Protestant Bible well into the 18th century, until it was banned, after which the AV 4th Revision was the only English Bible available. And was easy to read then, and was adopted from 1804 by the new Bible Society and promoted by them until the Revised Version was published in 1881- 1885 and again revised in 1901, which in turn was revised as language changed and republished in 1952 as the Revised Standard Version
This was followed by a new translation the New English Bible produced by a committee of scholars
of a range of denominations of the Church in England
From 1762 onwards there were lots of translations of the New Testament and the Bible as a whole by individual scholars including by John Wesley the leader of the Methodist Revival; and later John Darby the leader of the Brethren out of the Adventist Movement in the Southern States of America. Later called the Bible Belt.
Since 1901 and since 1952 there have been a further spate of English translations of the NT and then of the Bible by individual scholars, such as J B Philips, William Barkley, etc and worldwide there are now over 110 English translations
I was brought up in Sunday School and Grammar School to regard the AV 4th Revision of 1762 as The Holy Bible and to view any other translation with caution as dodgy with the added comment that it can be useful to read a modern English version along side it to bring out a stronger understanding of the words of the AV.
Since then different methods of translation have been developed, and we have had a spate of Paraphrased Versions including by the Bible Society, pioneered through the Scottish Bible Society of the Today's English Version popularly promoted the Good News Bible
Later many Christian denominations in America pooled their resources of scholarship and funds to produce the New International Versions which now outsells all other translations world wide, although it is not the most accurate , but has a very readable style. It has since passed through 3 revisions, so was not that accurate to begin with, but the idiom and vocabulary of english is changing all the while with various versions of English language around the planet.
The newest most readable and most accurate English translation now is the English Standard Version [ ESV ] published in 2007.
But still individual scholars and other denominations and sects bring out their own versions and there are about 115 English Translations available now.
The Lighthouse Prayer Ministry[ MCCPF ] otherwise known as LHPM tends to quote from the NIV as that is the one on our computer but recommend the SEV
In practice I tend to use the RSV 1952 for accuracy, the NIV for readability and that it is in so wide use, but I have read in worship the ESV borrowing a copy.
LHPM distribute what friends donate and that has included the AV, RV, RSV, NEB, TEV, CEV,
J B Phillips, W Barclay, Living Bible, Amplified Bible, NIV, NKJV,
Our contacts in Malawi prefer the AV or local language editions. Our contacts in Nigeria prefer the AV or the NIV. Our contacts in Zambia and Ghana prefer the TEV.
We distribute Gospels of John with a Lantern on the cover, which is NKJV, from the Open Air Mission, or the PTL Bridge Builders who use the NIV
It is estimated that only 10% of the Population of Britain reads the Bible nowadays so we need to promote the most accurate modern English Versions rather than the traditional AV which is really a Tudor English Edition.
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The first Translation into English – Anglo Saxon English was by King Alfred the Great's gospels translated from Latin.
Next came John Wycliff's English translation from Latin of the whole Bible.
Later came the translation of the scholar William Tyndale into Tudor English in the 1530's from the Hebrew, and Greek languages using the Classical Greek New Testament of the Roman Catholic Satirist Erasmus . The manuscript document he use were 8 in number, all inaccurate, and disagreeing with each other. The earliest and best of these manuscripts was a copy from the10th Century AD and he made the least use of it because it differed so from the so called Common Received Text.
William Tyndale was burnt at the stake in 1536 on orders of the Pope, the evil ill advised chief minister or priest of the Roman Catholic Church, then steeped in errors and corruption, some of which it has since been reformed of, but not yet completely. William was executed before completing his Old Testament translation. This was completed by his assistant Myles Coverdale whose New Testament was published first in 1535
Tyndale's translation thus became the standard foundation for
The Coverdale Bible 1535
The Matthew Bible 1537 published in the name of Thomas Matthew which was probably a pseudonym for John Rogers
The Great Bible of 1539
The Geneva Bible 1560
The Bishop's Bible 1568
In 1582 the Roman Catholic Church published at Rheims an English translation of the New Testament from the Latin Bible.
The King James Bible commissioned in 1604, and first published in 1611 and much later called the Authorised Version, was produced by a committee of great English scholars including many Puritans. They used for the New Testament the Greek Testament edition of an Italian scholar Beza published in 1589 which closely followed that of the Dutch scholar Erasmus published in 1516 – 1535. Beza had access to 2 great manuscripts of great literary value of the 5th and 6th century
but made very little use of them because they differed much from the text published by Erasmus.
Erasmus made mistakes because of the speed with which he worked as he was in competition with another scholar to win the prestige of being the first to have the printed edition of the New Testament.
In 1853 scholars Westcott and Hort produced a new revised Greek New Testament using newly discovered Bibles from the 4th century from Egyptian origin from the old College of Philosophy in Alexandria, thought in the early 19th and 20th centuries, probably mistakenly, to have been altered by those influenced by the Arian heresy that hit the whole Church in the 4th century, including the Church at Antioch that was divided into two “camps” by it, Antoich being the source of the manuscripts commonly called the Received Test, on which Tyndale's translation was made.
Westcott and Hort who went on to become C of E Bishops, were Anglo-Catholics who did not like Evangelicals, Protestants, Non-Conformists, Tyndale or the AV and these facts immerged from their diary evidence published later.
They produced their edition out of spite and persuaded the Revising Committee of the 1870's working to produce the Revised Version of 1881 – 1885 to adopt their text instead of Erasmus and Tyndale. This was only partly true, but the 1901 text was based more on the Westcott-Hort edition.
Since 1901 many more early manuscripts have been discovered, particularly in 1931 and 1946 and since then it was discovered that the New Testament had been produced in Common everyday Greek known as Koine Greek not the earlier Classical Greek, and many non-Biblical writings, legal bills, laws, letters have been discovered throwing a light on the Greek Language.
So Biblical Scholars and translators today have much more detailed knowledge of the original New Testament manuscript copies – since 20 centuries later only a few bits of the originals exist.
Today there are over 33,000 manuscript from ancient time on which to base the accuracy of translations and modern translations are based on an Elective Text, drawn from a variety of the best sources.
They also have early first century translations into other Asian and Middle East languages they can understand. Prior to the 7th century the Bible had been translated into over 500 languages, all of which were suppressed and banned by the Roman Catholic Church in it's thirst for power over the lives of everyone else and it's thirst for riches of land, gold, regalia, prestige and everything contrary to Christ's teaching.
All this foreknowledge needs to be taken into account before reading this man's biased and prejudiced opinion but we keep his article here as a warning for caution and as a link to the Bible School he founded before he was misled into this prejudiced opinion of his later life whose other website documents may be regarded as worth reading.
Finally regarding the Name of God . The Jews in the Hebrew language dare not say the sacred name of God so they wrote it as YHWH using just consonants Their word YHWH is called The Tetragrammaton.
Later the name was spelt YAHWEH. Although there is uncertainly as to whether these vowels were use in the way we would pronounce them now. The Y being pronounced as J and the W as V
producing what other translations have used from Greek of JEHOVAH which comes from Medieval times
JEHOVAH is used by the former Watchtower Bible Society in their 20th century title by Jehovah's Witnesses.
There are other Hebrew words used for God,
:- Elohim meaning God; and Adonai meaning Lord
The ancient Greek translators rendered the name as Kyrios meaning Lord, and in Latin it was , Dominus
JEHOVAH does not accurately represent the form of the name of ever used in Hebrew
The use of any proper noun for the one and only God as though there were other gods from whom He had to be distinguished, was discontinued in Judaism before the Christian Era began and is entirely inappropriate for the Universal Faith of the Christian Church.
So more modern versions tend to describe God as GOD or as LORD, and Jesus as Lord.
Far Easter Asian Christians speaking Arabic have tended to describe our God as Allah or El-lah
which the Moslems object to, as being the name of their God in Arabic. This would seem to make it clear that their god Allah is not the same as our God. Allah is regarded as the former pre-Moslem Moon god represented in Islamic circles by the Crescent Moon instead of as for Christians by a Cross.
JEM
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The Authorised Version of the Bible has served us well for almost 4 centuries but it's Tudor English is out of place today and we need clarity in expression and understanding but we also need
accuracy and reliability and a surfeit, a deluge of over 100 English versions we do not need especially if the are flawed.
Constructed as based on the Stewarton Bible School and Trinitarian Bible Society arguments that the Modern Versions are all flawed and unreliable.
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The Bibles in question
ALL THE ENGLISH BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
THAT USE THE MINORITY TEXTS of the
two alleged unreliable 4th Century Codices
The Provisional Versions of 1881-1885: of the Revised Version
The English Revised Version (1885)
The American Standard Version (1901)
The Moffatt Bible (1935)
The Revised Standard Version (1952)
The Amplified Bible (1958-64)
The New World Translation 1961
The Amplified Bible 1965
The Jerusalem Bible 1966
The New International Version 1966
The New English Bible 1970
The New American Standard Bible 1971
The Living Bible 1962-1971
J B Phillips' New Testament 1958 and 1972
New American Standard Version (1971)
Good News Bible (Today’s English Version 1976 and 1994)
The New International Version (1978)
The New King James Version (1984)
New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
International Children‘s Bible 1986
Christian Community Bible 1988
Revised English Bible 1089
New Revised Standard Version 1990
New Century Version 1991
God‘s Word to the Nations 1995
The Contemporary English Version 1995
New American Standard Version 1995
New Living Translation 1996
New International Readers Version 1994-1998
NIV inclusive language version 1997
New English Translation 2001
New Testament and Psalms an inclusive version 1995
English Standard Version 2001
The Message by Eugene Peterson 1993-2002
Holman Christian Standard Bible 2004
Today‘s New International Version 2005
and any more published since
It has to be born in mind that the Trinitarian Bible Society has a financial and vested interest in supporting only the AV 1611 version which they claim to be the only Bible in English that they sell.
They don't tell us about the mistakes in that, or that the translators added a lot of words, printed in italics, that are not in the Greek text
They don't tell us about the Protestant Bibles that preceded the AV or why the AV had to be published at all
They don't tell us that in fact the 1611 edition has not been published for over 2 centuries and the one they publish is the standard edition, the 4th Revision of 1759 - 62
The Trinitarian Bible Society are good at criticising and condemning every one else, but less inclined to mention the
early life of the AV They even claim to support their arguments that John Bunyan used the AV in writing his famous work "The Pilgrim's Progress" He didn't, he used the Geneva Bible of 1560.
The Stewarton Bible School Introduction
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begins by stating that A free printed copy of this booklet is available on request. When e-mailing us for a copy, please mention the title (in this case Bible Versions) and your full mailing address - including the country!
Part 1 The Contents of what the 64 page book deals with
1. Introduction
2. Original Autographs (Masters) no longer in existence
3. Copies of the Masters
A Divine Warning
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4. The Masorites
5. Manuscripts
6. Church Fathers:
Crysostom/Polycarp/Clement/Irenaes/Lucian/Patrick/Columba
7. Ancient Versions:- Penutsta / Armenian / Old Latin Vulgate /
Waldensian / Gothic / Old Syriac
English Bibles:- Wycliffe / Tyndale / Coverdale / Matthew /
Great / Geneva / Bishops'
The King James Version (See Section 10)
8. Textus Receptus ...The Majority Text
Editors:- Lucian / Erasmus / Stephanus / Elzevir Brothers
9. The Minority Text
Misleading Footnotes
Dean John William Burgon
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Vaticanus
Oldest and Best!
The Invention of Printing
10. The King James Version
Archaic Language
Thee & Thou
Alleged Errors: Easter/Passover
KJV Translators
Why the KJV should be Retained
11. Modern Versions & Translators
The Revised Version Committee
Brooke Foss Westcott
Fenton John Anthony Hort
Revised Standard Version Committee
Dangerous Changes
Spiritual Pollution
12.Famine of the Word of God!
A Solemn Warning
Martyrs for the Word of God
The Basic Bible Study
13.SUMMARY
Part Two
Introduction The Proof
Part Three
Reference Books: Publishers/Authors, Useful Addresses
Bible Versions Which is the real word of God?
Part One
1. INTRODUCTION
Two of the greatest deceptions ever to confront the human race came to the fore in the 19th century:
Deceptions so subtle and dangerous that between them they have destroyed the faith of multiplied billions of souls in and out of the Christian Church. The first was the unproved theory of evolution: fascinating, plausible and seized upon by the godless mind which chafes at the commandments of the Almighty God. The second was the Revised Version of the Bible posing as the "Word of God": a version as corrupt as it was potent, for it spawned a host of unholy offspring.
The first deception has, over the years, turned hundreds of millions away from the Christian church: for it taught that the very first chapter of the Bible was not really the truth, but legend. This pernicious theory is still taught, as fact, in thousands of colleges and schools the world over. The theory is really a fallacy!
The second deception, the Revised Bible is equally dangerous, for it casts doubt on the real Word of God and starves believers of the Bread of Life. Sad to say it is also taught in thousands of churches, Bible schools and religious colleges the world over.
This article deals with the second deception - Counterfeit Bibles! Read it with special care, several times over, because if you have avoided the first deception, you are most certainly the target of the second.
DIVINE INSPIRATION
Millions of Christians believe, and rightly so, in the divine and verbal inspiration of the Bible: that the Holy Ghost motivated the minds of the prophets and apostles of old to pen every word of Scripture.
Our faith in divine inspiration is based on Bible texts such as:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
19: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 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. (2 Peter 1:19-21)
PROVIDENTIAL PRESERVATION
Millions also believe in the providential preservation of the Bible: that JEHOVAH, the Holy One of Israel has also preserved His Word down through the ages; and that His work of preservation is every bit as important as His initial work of inspiration.
After all it would have been of limited value if the original inspired Scriptures were lost to posterity a few decades after being penned. Providential preservation, in other words, is as essential a work as that of divine inspiration.
Our faith in providential preservation is based on Bible texts such as:
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. (Psalm 12: 6-7)
Psalm 119:
verse 89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven…
verse 111: Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever…verse 152: Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever… The word of the Lord endureth for ever. (1Peter 1:23-25)
Concerning Providential Preservation the Westminster Confession of Faith (17th century) says this on page 23:
"The Old Testament in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek, being immediately inspired by God and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical, so as in all controversies of religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them."
In the past most Christians accepted these facts, but of late there are a growing number who have strong reservations about divine preservation.
They will allow that the original autographs, which of course are no longer available, were inspired. But they have strong reservations about divine preservation.
They believe that much of Scripture is in need of update, because some of the oldest manuscripts were not available to the 17th century translators of the King James Version (KJV).
That is why, they maintain, the Revised Version of 1881 and its many descendants became necessary; and how that each new English translation (well over 100 at the present count) is an improvement on the one that went before. In other words, the Bible is also evolving and each new version brings us one step nearer the original.
This is an extremely disturbing development: for when we examine modern translations, which are all based on the Revised Version, we find they do not simply use modern language, which, arguably, may have been in order; but they say things entirely different from the early English and foreign language versions of the Scriptures, which in past centuries God used to further His work.
In this article you are about to learn many startling facts about the modern English translations of the Bible, that they:
All present conflicting messages with the King James Version (KJV) and even with each other.
Omit many words, verses and passages of Scripture.
All cast doubt on the accuracy of the KJV and several fundamental doctrines taught in it, such as the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, his divinity, his miracles, his bodily ascension to heaven and his second coming.
All disagree on major doctrinal points with other early European versions of the Bible which triggered the great Protestant Reformation and for which tens of thousands of true believers died during the dark ages.
Are warmly welcomed by the Roman Catholic Church which has long considered the King James Bible its number one enemy.
[ After Vatican Two Council The Roman Catholic Church agreed to support the reading of the Bible in English]
These discoveries are disturbing to say the least and should cause true believers around the world to ask: Is all this true? Are these allegations justified? And if so, what spirit is behind the deception and confusion caused by the modern translations?
Visit any Bible study group where believers are using a variety of modern "Bibles" and comments such as these are common:
'My Bible puts it this way.'
'My Bible doesn't even have that verse.'
'Listen to this Note about ancient and more reliable manuscripts.'
'My Bible says something totally different.'
'My Bible says the very opposite.'
The question is: Which English Bible is the real Word of God? Anyone can see that they cannot all be the Word of God if they are saying different things.
After all, God doesn't contradict Himself and is certainly not the author of confusion. (1Corinthians 14:33) Scores of conflicting translation, all claiming to be His Word, cannot possibly be the work of the Spirit of Jehovah.
Besides, would the Almighty flood the English-speaking world with well over 100 conflicting translations of the whole Bible and over 300 translations of the New Testament? Of course not: the very idea is ludicrous if not blasphemous.
Something is terribly wrong somewhere and it's time to find out.
Since my conversion in 1952, when I was 21 years old, I have used a number of modern versions and translations of the Bible:
The Revised Version,
The Moffatt Bible,
The Revised Standard Version,
The Amplified Bible,
The Living Bible,
The New English Bible,
The Knox Bible,
Good News for Modern Man,
The Jerusalem Bible,
New American Standard
and the New International Version.
During all that time I also used the King James Version (KJV), also called the Authorised Version. But never in all those 45 years did I suspect that anything was seriously amiss with the modern Bibles: or that they are all dangerously flawed!
To be sure I knew that some paraphrased publications, such as the Living Bible, could not be relied upon when deciding doctrine: and that others had several uninspired books (the Apocrypha): but never in the past 45 years did I suspect that EVERY modern English Bible cannot truthfully be called the HOLY BIBLE, the WORD OF GOD!
When and how did I find out? Let me tell you my story.
In February 1996 at the age of 65 years I suffered a massive heart attack and was forced to spend weeks in bed. I was unable to move around much, and even a short walk was an ordeal.
For months I was virtually house-bound. What did I do? I did the very best thing I could; I gave myself over to prayer and Bible study. There really was little else I could manage without pain.
With the help of several reference books and modern versions of the Bible - I possess about 20 - I began an exhaustive study of the History of the Bible: of how we got our Bible in the first place.
This article tells of my findings: of facts so stunning that they shocked me more than any truth I have ever learned; including that of the true weekly Sabbath and Festivals of the God of Israel.
I felt horrified to think that as the founder of Stewarton Bible School (SBS), with students in many countries, I had been deceived for so long and had been guilty of giving sincere students faulty advice.
I determined - yea I prayed desperately - that if JEHOVAH (Yahweh) the LORD God of Hosts would allow me to recover after a triple by-pass heart operation, I would join the growing band of believers who honour the King James Version and tell the world.
This article is the result of my studies and I thank the Almighty for allowing me to live and place it on the Internet. The facts you are about to learn need to be studied prayerfully, several times over.
Particular attention should be given to Part Two where many King James Bible texts are listed for comparison with the modern version/s you may currently be using. I will quote extensively from the reference books on Bible History mentioned in Part Three.
If you are reading this article on the Internet, you are reminded that SBS publications do not carry a copyright clause. Feel free to download, print, photocopy and pass this article to your friends, because, believe it or not, the world is currently being starved of the real Word of God, the HOLY BIBLE!
A great spiritual famine is overtaking mankind and, as I was, the Christian Church is blissfully ignorant of its danger. This article will answer the question: " Which English Bible is the real Word of God?"
[ Editor’s Note.
=========
The author if this article has since died but his article remains on the Internet and others are taking up his cudgel.
This is one man’s story so it should be handled with caution, but it is fair comment to ask why we need 115 different English Bibles, some translations, some paraphrases, and some revisions.
Especially because in England scarcely 3 million people attend church on Sundays out of a population of 50 million, and barely 16% of them read the Bible daily, about 480,000. Less than one percent of the male population attends Church.
Thousands of chapels are on the market for sale, Catholics now exceed Protestants and there are nearly as many Moslems as there are Christians.
There are less than a million communicant members of the Church of England, and that denomination, always a broad church, is hopelessly divided and even allows homosexuals to be priests and bishops, a satanic matter in itself and yet divides over having women bishops, which existed in the lst and 2nd centuries but was banned by the Anti-Church. The Roman Catholic Church.
England is in desperate need of a Spiritual Revival or it is doomed. .
Bear in mind that all the Bible quotations in this article are from the so called Authorised Version of 1611
but come from the Standard Version, the 5th Revision of 1762
It is a historical fact that the 1611 Version was never authorised by anyone.
It was simply “appointed to be read in churches”
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If you want to find out more of what this man claimed and other Bible based articles from his college just type in STEWARTON BIBLE SCHOOL and it will come up.
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I do not necessarilly agree with him for the determination down the centuries has been to make the Word of God clear to ordinary people
and there are now some 33,000 ancient documents of the Bible whereas at the time of the AV being produced there were only a few
and the AV is based on the Greek NT prepared by the Roman Catholic scholar Erasmus based on mainly 1 ancient document, checked by 2 others of the eight he had in total. all of which disagreed with each other at various points.
He worked in haste in competition with a Spaniard who was doing the same job on other manuscripts to get the first printed Greek NT as there was money in who won. and he made the mistake of making his edition in Classical Greek and not in the Common Greek of the original manuscripts..
Furthermore Erasmus though a thorn in the side of the Pope and clerics, remained alway a member of the Roman Catholic Church which is the conterfeit of the real Christinity it dominated. tried to destroy, and replace, and before it was reformed.
The AV was produced by the Bishops of the Church of England for use by the clergy and in the services and prayer book of the State Church of England that rejected the Bible version of the English Protestant Reformation Churches - The Geneva Bible - and the Church of England still remains incompletely reformed as it still baptises babies contrary to New Testament teaching or the teaching of the early Church. That Church eventually banned the Geneva Version and replaced it with their own which is why it was popularised and promoted from 1804 onwards by the Bible Society.
Furthermore clearly today as then God speaks through various translations, no one can limit God, and more to the point He also speaks though his servants, our lives and characters.
No Church - Roman Catholic or State Church in any land can ever be regarded as completely right when they regard their leader as being a Pope. Archbishop or Monarch.
There is only one Head of the Church and that is Jesus Christ and He will not share that role with any other.
JEM
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INTRODUCTION of EXPLANATION for RETAINING THIS ARTICLE ON THIS SITE.
This ARTICLE is one man's opinion. A man who has since died, The Founder of the Stewarton Bible School linked to this article, material on which readers may find of interest.
It is also largely the view of the Trinitarian Bible Society which only sells the 4th Revision of the Authorised Version of 1762 , which is the only version they are licensed to sell and they promote it because of that fact, not because it is the best, the only, or the most accurate, which it isn't.
They used to claim that only the Authorised Version of 1611 was the right Bible but that was untrue as well and has been unobtainable for a couple of centuries.
The AV is the Bible appointed by the Bishop's of the Established State Church of England to be read in their churches and was published by their clergy, including many right wing Puritan scholars who later left the Church of England to form a more rigid protestant community.
The AV was commissioned to replace the Bishop's Bible which the Church of England had previously followed and used as they did not like the Protestant English Bible, published in Genera by exile from religious persecution in England
The Geneva Bible continued to be the Protestant Bible well into the 18th century, until it was banned, after which the AV 4th Revision was the only English Bible available. And was easy to read then, and was adopted from 1804 by the new Bible Society and promoted by them until the Revised Version was published in 1881- 1885 and again revised in 1901, which in turn was revised as language changed and republished in 1952 as the Revised Standard Version
This was followed by a new translation the New English Bible produced by a committee of scholars
of a range of denominations of the Church in England
From 1762 onwards there were lots of translations of the New Testament and the Bible as a whole by individual scholars including by John Wesley the leader of the Methodist Revival; and later John Darby the leader of the Brethren out of the Adventist Movement in the Southern States of America. Later called the Bible Belt.
Since 1901 and since 1952 there have been a further spate of English translations of the NT and then of the Bible by individual scholars, such as J B Philips, William Barkley, etc and worldwide there are now over 110 English translations
I was brought up in Sunday School and Grammar School to regard the AV 4th Revision of 1762 as The Holy Bible and to view any other translation with caution as dodgy with the added comment that it can be useful to read a modern English version along side it to bring out a stronger understanding of the words of the AV.
Since then different methods of translation have been developed, and we have had a spate of Paraphrased Versions including by the Bible Society, pioneered through the Scottish Bible Society of the Today's English Version popularly promoted the Good News Bible
Later many Christian denominations in America pooled their resources of scholarship and funds to produce the New International Versions which now outsells all other translations world wide, although it is not the most accurate , but has a very readable style. It has since passed through 3 revisions, so was not that accurate to begin with, but the idiom and vocabulary of english is changing all the while with various versions of English language around the planet.
The newest most readable and most accurate English translation now is the English Standard Version [ ESV ] published in 2007.
But still individual scholars and other denominations and sects bring out their own versions and there are about 115 English Translations available now.
The Lighthouse Prayer Ministry[ MCCPF ] otherwise known as LHPM tends to quote from the NIV as that is the one on our computer but recommend the SEV
In practice I tend to use the RSV 1952 for accuracy, the NIV for readability and that it is in so wide use, but I have read in worship the ESV borrowing a copy.
LHPM distribute what friends donate and that has included the AV, RV, RSV, NEB, TEV, CEV,
J B Phillips, W Barclay, Living Bible, Amplified Bible, NIV, NKJV,
Our contacts in Malawi prefer the AV or local language editions. Our contacts in Nigeria prefer the AV or the NIV. Our contacts in Zambia and Ghana prefer the TEV.
We distribute Gospels of John with a Lantern on the cover, which is NKJV, from the Open Air Mission, or the PTL Bridge Builders who use the NIV
It is estimated that only 10% of the Population of Britain reads the Bible nowadays so we need to promote the most accurate modern English Versions rather than the traditional AV which is really a Tudor English Edition.
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The first Translation into English – Anglo Saxon English was by King Alfred the Great's gospels translated from Latin.
Next came John Wycliff's English translation from Latin of the whole Bible.
Later came the translation of the scholar William Tyndale into Tudor English in the 1530's from the Hebrew, and Greek languages using the Classical Greek New Testament of the Roman Catholic Satirist Erasmus . The manuscript document he use were 8 in number, all inaccurate, and disagreeing with each other. The earliest and best of these manuscripts was a copy from the10th Century AD and he made the least use of it because it differed so from the so called Common Received Text.
William Tyndale was burnt at the stake in 1536 on orders of the Pope, the evil ill advised chief minister or priest of the Roman Catholic Church, then steeped in errors and corruption, some of which it has since been reformed of, but not yet completely. William was executed before completing his Old Testament translation. This was completed by his assistant Myles Coverdale whose New Testament was published first in 1535
Tyndale's translation thus became the standard foundation for
The Coverdale Bible 1535
The Matthew Bible 1537 published in the name of Thomas Matthew which was probably a pseudonym for John Rogers
The Great Bible of 1539
The Geneva Bible 1560
The Bishop's Bible 1568
In 1582 the Roman Catholic Church published at Rheims an English translation of the New Testament from the Latin Bible.
The King James Bible commissioned in 1604, and first published in 1611 and much later called the Authorised Version, was produced by a committee of great English scholars including many Puritans. They used for the New Testament the Greek Testament edition of an Italian scholar Beza published in 1589 which closely followed that of the Dutch scholar Erasmus published in 1516 – 1535. Beza had access to 2 great manuscripts of great literary value of the 5th and 6th century
but made very little use of them because they differed much from the text published by Erasmus.
Erasmus made mistakes because of the speed with which he worked as he was in competition with another scholar to win the prestige of being the first to have the printed edition of the New Testament.
In 1853 scholars Westcott and Hort produced a new revised Greek New Testament using newly discovered Bibles from the 4th century from Egyptian origin from the old College of Philosophy in Alexandria, thought in the early 19th and 20th centuries, probably mistakenly, to have been altered by those influenced by the Arian heresy that hit the whole Church in the 4th century, including the Church at Antioch that was divided into two “camps” by it, Antoich being the source of the manuscripts commonly called the Received Test, on which Tyndale's translation was made.
Westcott and Hort who went on to become C of E Bishops, were Anglo-Catholics who did not like Evangelicals, Protestants, Non-Conformists, Tyndale or the AV and these facts immerged from their diary evidence published later.
They produced their edition out of spite and persuaded the Revising Committee of the 1870's working to produce the Revised Version of 1881 – 1885 to adopt their text instead of Erasmus and Tyndale. This was only partly true, but the 1901 text was based more on the Westcott-Hort edition.
Since 1901 many more early manuscripts have been discovered, particularly in 1931 and 1946 and since then it was discovered that the New Testament had been produced in Common everyday Greek known as Koine Greek not the earlier Classical Greek, and many non-Biblical writings, legal bills, laws, letters have been discovered throwing a light on the Greek Language.
So Biblical Scholars and translators today have much more detailed knowledge of the original New Testament manuscript copies – since 20 centuries later only a few bits of the originals exist.
Today there are over 33,000 manuscript from ancient time on which to base the accuracy of translations and modern translations are based on an Elective Text, drawn from a variety of the best sources.
They also have early first century translations into other Asian and Middle East languages they can understand. Prior to the 7th century the Bible had been translated into over 500 languages, all of which were suppressed and banned by the Roman Catholic Church in it's thirst for power over the lives of everyone else and it's thirst for riches of land, gold, regalia, prestige and everything contrary to Christ's teaching.
All this foreknowledge needs to be taken into account before reading this man's biased and prejudiced opinion but we keep his article here as a warning for caution and as a link to the Bible School he founded before he was misled into this prejudiced opinion of his later life whose other website documents may be regarded as worth reading.
Finally regarding the Name of God . The Jews in the Hebrew language dare not say the sacred name of God so they wrote it as YHWH using just consonants Their word YHWH is called The Tetragrammaton.
Later the name was spelt YAHWEH. Although there is uncertainly as to whether these vowels were use in the way we would pronounce them now. The Y being pronounced as J and the W as V
producing what other translations have used from Greek of JEHOVAH which comes from Medieval times
JEHOVAH is used by the former Watchtower Bible Society in their 20th century title by Jehovah's Witnesses.
There are other Hebrew words used for God,
:- Elohim meaning God; and Adonai meaning Lord
The ancient Greek translators rendered the name as Kyrios meaning Lord, and in Latin it was , Dominus
JEHOVAH does not accurately represent the form of the name of ever used in Hebrew
The use of any proper noun for the one and only God as though there were other gods from whom He had to be distinguished, was discontinued in Judaism before the Christian Era began and is entirely inappropriate for the Universal Faith of the Christian Church.
So more modern versions tend to describe God as GOD or as LORD, and Jesus as Lord.
Far Easter Asian Christians speaking Arabic have tended to describe our God as Allah or El-lah
which the Moslems object to, as being the name of their God in Arabic. This would seem to make it clear that their god Allah is not the same as our God. Allah is regarded as the former pre-Moslem Moon god represented in Islamic circles by the Crescent Moon instead of as for Christians by a Cross.
JEM
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The Authorised Version of the Bible has served us well for almost 4 centuries but it's Tudor English is out of place today and we need clarity in expression and understanding but we also need
accuracy and reliability and a surfeit, a deluge of over 100 English versions we do not need especially if the are flawed.
Constructed as based on the Stewarton Bible School and Trinitarian Bible Society arguments that the Modern Versions are all flawed and unreliable.
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The Bibles in question
ALL THE ENGLISH BIBLE TRANSLATIONS
THAT USE THE MINORITY TEXTS of the
two alleged unreliable 4th Century Codices
The Provisional Versions of 1881-1885: of the Revised Version
The English Revised Version (1885)
The American Standard Version (1901)
The Moffatt Bible (1935)
The Revised Standard Version (1952)
The Amplified Bible (1958-64)
The New World Translation 1961
The Amplified Bible 1965
The Jerusalem Bible 1966
The New International Version 1966
The New English Bible 1970
The New American Standard Bible 1971
The Living Bible 1962-1971
J B Phillips' New Testament 1958 and 1972
New American Standard Version (1971)
Good News Bible (Today’s English Version 1976 and 1994)
The New International Version (1978)
The New King James Version (1984)
New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
International Children‘s Bible 1986
Christian Community Bible 1988
Revised English Bible 1089
New Revised Standard Version 1990
New Century Version 1991
God‘s Word to the Nations 1995
The Contemporary English Version 1995
New American Standard Version 1995
New Living Translation 1996
New International Readers Version 1994-1998
NIV inclusive language version 1997
New English Translation 2001
New Testament and Psalms an inclusive version 1995
English Standard Version 2001
The Message by Eugene Peterson 1993-2002
Holman Christian Standard Bible 2004
Today‘s New International Version 2005
and any more published since
It has to be born in mind that the Trinitarian Bible Society has a financial and vested interest in supporting only the AV 1611 version which they claim to be the only Bible in English that they sell.
They don't tell us about the mistakes in that, or that the translators added a lot of words, printed in italics, that are not in the Greek text
They don't tell us about the Protestant Bibles that preceded the AV or why the AV had to be published at all
They don't tell us that in fact the 1611 edition has not been published for over 2 centuries and the one they publish is the standard edition, the 4th Revision of 1759 - 62
The Trinitarian Bible Society are good at criticising and condemning every one else, but less inclined to mention the
early life of the AV They even claim to support their arguments that John Bunyan used the AV in writing his famous work "The Pilgrim's Progress" He didn't, he used the Geneva Bible of 1560.
The Stewarton Bible School Introduction
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begins by stating that A free printed copy of this booklet is available on request. When e-mailing us for a copy, please mention the title (in this case Bible Versions) and your full mailing address - including the country!
Part 1 The Contents of what the 64 page book deals with
1. Introduction
2. Original Autographs (Masters) no longer in existence
3. Copies of the Masters
A Divine Warning
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4. The Masorites
5. Manuscripts
6. Church Fathers:
Crysostom/Polycarp/Clement/Irenaes/Lucian/Patrick/Columba
7. Ancient Versions:- Penutsta / Armenian / Old Latin Vulgate /
Waldensian / Gothic / Old Syriac
English Bibles:- Wycliffe / Tyndale / Coverdale / Matthew /
Great / Geneva / Bishops'
The King James Version (See Section 10)
8. Textus Receptus ...The Majority Text
Editors:- Lucian / Erasmus / Stephanus / Elzevir Brothers
9. The Minority Text
Misleading Footnotes
Dean John William Burgon
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Vaticanus
Oldest and Best!
The Invention of Printing
10. The King James Version
Archaic Language
Thee & Thou
Alleged Errors: Easter/Passover
KJV Translators
Why the KJV should be Retained
11. Modern Versions & Translators
The Revised Version Committee
Brooke Foss Westcott
Fenton John Anthony Hort
Revised Standard Version Committee
Dangerous Changes
Spiritual Pollution
12.Famine of the Word of God!
A Solemn Warning
Martyrs for the Word of God
The Basic Bible Study
13.SUMMARY
Part Two
Introduction The Proof
Part Three
Reference Books: Publishers/Authors, Useful Addresses
Bible Versions Which is the real word of God?
Part One
1. INTRODUCTION
Two of the greatest deceptions ever to confront the human race came to the fore in the 19th century:
Deceptions so subtle and dangerous that between them they have destroyed the faith of multiplied billions of souls in and out of the Christian Church. The first was the unproved theory of evolution: fascinating, plausible and seized upon by the godless mind which chafes at the commandments of the Almighty God. The second was the Revised Version of the Bible posing as the "Word of God": a version as corrupt as it was potent, for it spawned a host of unholy offspring.
The first deception has, over the years, turned hundreds of millions away from the Christian church: for it taught that the very first chapter of the Bible was not really the truth, but legend. This pernicious theory is still taught, as fact, in thousands of colleges and schools the world over. The theory is really a fallacy!
The second deception, the Revised Bible is equally dangerous, for it casts doubt on the real Word of God and starves believers of the Bread of Life. Sad to say it is also taught in thousands of churches, Bible schools and religious colleges the world over.
This article deals with the second deception - Counterfeit Bibles! Read it with special care, several times over, because if you have avoided the first deception, you are most certainly the target of the second.
DIVINE INSPIRATION
Millions of Christians believe, and rightly so, in the divine and verbal inspiration of the Bible: that the Holy Ghost motivated the minds of the prophets and apostles of old to pen every word of Scripture.
Our faith in divine inspiration is based on Bible texts such as:
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
19: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 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. (2 Peter 1:19-21)
PROVIDENTIAL PRESERVATION
Millions also believe in the providential preservation of the Bible: that JEHOVAH, the Holy One of Israel has also preserved His Word down through the ages; and that His work of preservation is every bit as important as His initial work of inspiration.
After all it would have been of limited value if the original inspired Scriptures were lost to posterity a few decades after being penned. Providential preservation, in other words, is as essential a work as that of divine inspiration.
Our faith in providential preservation is based on Bible texts such as:
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. (Psalm 12: 6-7)
Psalm 119:
verse 89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven…
verse 111: Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever…verse 152: Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever… The word of the Lord endureth for ever. (1Peter 1:23-25)
Concerning Providential Preservation the Westminster Confession of Faith (17th century) says this on page 23:
"The Old Testament in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek, being immediately inspired by God and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical, so as in all controversies of religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them."
In the past most Christians accepted these facts, but of late there are a growing number who have strong reservations about divine preservation.
They will allow that the original autographs, which of course are no longer available, were inspired. But they have strong reservations about divine preservation.
They believe that much of Scripture is in need of update, because some of the oldest manuscripts were not available to the 17th century translators of the King James Version (KJV).
That is why, they maintain, the Revised Version of 1881 and its many descendants became necessary; and how that each new English translation (well over 100 at the present count) is an improvement on the one that went before. In other words, the Bible is also evolving and each new version brings us one step nearer the original.
This is an extremely disturbing development: for when we examine modern translations, which are all based on the Revised Version, we find they do not simply use modern language, which, arguably, may have been in order; but they say things entirely different from the early English and foreign language versions of the Scriptures, which in past centuries God used to further His work.
In this article you are about to learn many startling facts about the modern English translations of the Bible, that they:
All present conflicting messages with the King James Version (KJV) and even with each other.
Omit many words, verses and passages of Scripture.
All cast doubt on the accuracy of the KJV and several fundamental doctrines taught in it, such as the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, his divinity, his miracles, his bodily ascension to heaven and his second coming.
All disagree on major doctrinal points with other early European versions of the Bible which triggered the great Protestant Reformation and for which tens of thousands of true believers died during the dark ages.
Are warmly welcomed by the Roman Catholic Church which has long considered the King James Bible its number one enemy.
[ After Vatican Two Council The Roman Catholic Church agreed to support the reading of the Bible in English]
These discoveries are disturbing to say the least and should cause true believers around the world to ask: Is all this true? Are these allegations justified? And if so, what spirit is behind the deception and confusion caused by the modern translations?
Visit any Bible study group where believers are using a variety of modern "Bibles" and comments such as these are common:
'My Bible puts it this way.'
'My Bible doesn't even have that verse.'
'Listen to this Note about ancient and more reliable manuscripts.'
'My Bible says something totally different.'
'My Bible says the very opposite.'
The question is: Which English Bible is the real Word of God? Anyone can see that they cannot all be the Word of God if they are saying different things.
After all, God doesn't contradict Himself and is certainly not the author of confusion. (1Corinthians 14:33) Scores of conflicting translation, all claiming to be His Word, cannot possibly be the work of the Spirit of Jehovah.
Besides, would the Almighty flood the English-speaking world with well over 100 conflicting translations of the whole Bible and over 300 translations of the New Testament? Of course not: the very idea is ludicrous if not blasphemous.
Something is terribly wrong somewhere and it's time to find out.
Since my conversion in 1952, when I was 21 years old, I have used a number of modern versions and translations of the Bible:
The Revised Version,
The Moffatt Bible,
The Revised Standard Version,
The Amplified Bible,
The Living Bible,
The New English Bible,
The Knox Bible,
Good News for Modern Man,
The Jerusalem Bible,
New American Standard
and the New International Version.
During all that time I also used the King James Version (KJV), also called the Authorised Version. But never in all those 45 years did I suspect that anything was seriously amiss with the modern Bibles: or that they are all dangerously flawed!
To be sure I knew that some paraphrased publications, such as the Living Bible, could not be relied upon when deciding doctrine: and that others had several uninspired books (the Apocrypha): but never in the past 45 years did I suspect that EVERY modern English Bible cannot truthfully be called the HOLY BIBLE, the WORD OF GOD!
When and how did I find out? Let me tell you my story.
In February 1996 at the age of 65 years I suffered a massive heart attack and was forced to spend weeks in bed. I was unable to move around much, and even a short walk was an ordeal.
For months I was virtually house-bound. What did I do? I did the very best thing I could; I gave myself over to prayer and Bible study. There really was little else I could manage without pain.
With the help of several reference books and modern versions of the Bible - I possess about 20 - I began an exhaustive study of the History of the Bible: of how we got our Bible in the first place.
This article tells of my findings: of facts so stunning that they shocked me more than any truth I have ever learned; including that of the true weekly Sabbath and Festivals of the God of Israel.
I felt horrified to think that as the founder of Stewarton Bible School (SBS), with students in many countries, I had been deceived for so long and had been guilty of giving sincere students faulty advice.
I determined - yea I prayed desperately - that if JEHOVAH (Yahweh) the LORD God of Hosts would allow me to recover after a triple by-pass heart operation, I would join the growing band of believers who honour the King James Version and tell the world.
This article is the result of my studies and I thank the Almighty for allowing me to live and place it on the Internet. The facts you are about to learn need to be studied prayerfully, several times over.
Particular attention should be given to Part Two where many King James Bible texts are listed for comparison with the modern version/s you may currently be using. I will quote extensively from the reference books on Bible History mentioned in Part Three.
If you are reading this article on the Internet, you are reminded that SBS publications do not carry a copyright clause. Feel free to download, print, photocopy and pass this article to your friends, because, believe it or not, the world is currently being starved of the real Word of God, the HOLY BIBLE!
A great spiritual famine is overtaking mankind and, as I was, the Christian Church is blissfully ignorant of its danger. This article will answer the question: " Which English Bible is the real Word of God?"
[ Editor’s Note.
=========
The author if this article has since died but his article remains on the Internet and others are taking up his cudgel.
This is one man’s story so it should be handled with caution, but it is fair comment to ask why we need 115 different English Bibles, some translations, some paraphrases, and some revisions.
Especially because in England scarcely 3 million people attend church on Sundays out of a population of 50 million, and barely 16% of them read the Bible daily, about 480,000. Less than one percent of the male population attends Church.
Thousands of chapels are on the market for sale, Catholics now exceed Protestants and there are nearly as many Moslems as there are Christians.
There are less than a million communicant members of the Church of England, and that denomination, always a broad church, is hopelessly divided and even allows homosexuals to be priests and bishops, a satanic matter in itself and yet divides over having women bishops, which existed in the lst and 2nd centuries but was banned by the Anti-Church. The Roman Catholic Church.
England is in desperate need of a Spiritual Revival or it is doomed. .
Bear in mind that all the Bible quotations in this article are from the so called Authorised Version of 1611
but come from the Standard Version, the 5th Revision of 1762
It is a historical fact that the 1611 Version was never authorised by anyone.
It was simply “appointed to be read in churches”
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If you want to find out more of what this man claimed and other Bible based articles from his college just type in STEWARTON BIBLE SCHOOL and it will come up.
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I do not necessarilly agree with him for the determination down the centuries has been to make the Word of God clear to ordinary people
and there are now some 33,000 ancient documents of the Bible whereas at the time of the AV being produced there were only a few
and the AV is based on the Greek NT prepared by the Roman Catholic scholar Erasmus based on mainly 1 ancient document, checked by 2 others of the eight he had in total. all of which disagreed with each other at various points.
He worked in haste in competition with a Spaniard who was doing the same job on other manuscripts to get the first printed Greek NT as there was money in who won. and he made the mistake of making his edition in Classical Greek and not in the Common Greek of the original manuscripts..
Furthermore Erasmus though a thorn in the side of the Pope and clerics, remained alway a member of the Roman Catholic Church which is the conterfeit of the real Christinity it dominated. tried to destroy, and replace, and before it was reformed.
The AV was produced by the Bishops of the Church of England for use by the clergy and in the services and prayer book of the State Church of England that rejected the Bible version of the English Protestant Reformation Churches - The Geneva Bible - and the Church of England still remains incompletely reformed as it still baptises babies contrary to New Testament teaching or the teaching of the early Church. That Church eventually banned the Geneva Version and replaced it with their own which is why it was popularised and promoted from 1804 onwards by the Bible Society.
Furthermore clearly today as then God speaks through various translations, no one can limit God, and more to the point He also speaks though his servants, our lives and characters.
No Church - Roman Catholic or State Church in any land can ever be regarded as completely right when they regard their leader as being a Pope. Archbishop or Monarch.
There is only one Head of the Church and that is Jesus Christ and He will not share that role with any other.
JEM
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