Category: Bible versions debate

Bible Study 102 #3

Saturday, March 8, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

Many professing Christians spend their whole earthly lives struggling to discern God’s will. They observe their circumstances and attempt to “read between the lines and discern road signs,” they listen for instruction from “still, small voices” in their heads, they ask preachers and teachers (who rarely understand God’s will themselves), they purchase “Christian” literature and “easy-to-read” modern “bible” versions, they attend retreats and Bible conferences, they pray, and it is truly unfortunate that, despite all the effort, they often leave this life without ever getting a solid grasp of God’s Word to them. Most tragically, many not only die without understanding the Bible, but they even die in their trespasses and sins, having never realized they could have had those sins forgiven in and through Jesus Christ!

God’s will for each and every person is clearly delineated in 1 Timothy 2:4: “[God our Saviour; verse 3] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” There are two specific phrases to note: “Who will have all men to be saved” and “Who will have all men… to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (Remember, “men” is a generic term that includes all people—man, woman, boy, and girl.)

Firstly, God wants all people to be saved from their sins and eternal hellfire. The Apostle Peter elaborated on the Apostle Paul’s words: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Secondly, God wants all Christians to be saved from false teaching. “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16).

Let us now briefly examine the first aspect of God’s two-fold plan for man….

Bible Study 102 #2

Friday, March 7, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

Understandably, people get confused when reading the Bible. The primary reasons are: (1) they do not have God’s indwelling Holy Spirit teaching them, (2) they are using a counterfeit Bible version translated from faulty manuscripts predicated upon unsound [critical] textual theories, all of which are further polluted by additional fallible human viewpoint, and (3) neither they nor their Bible translators nor their pastors and teachers have any appreciation for the dispensational nature of God’s Word (“rightly dividing the word of truth;” today’s Scripture).

Textual critics, “experts” (?) who study and evaluate ancient Bible manuscripts, are usually unsaved, spiritually un-regenerated. Rather than allowing God’s Word say what He means and mean what He says to whom and when He says it, they dare not submit to a mere Book that contradicts their human “wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:4-16; 1 Corinthians 3:18-20). Having nothing more than the “spirit of man,” they irreverently assume the role of the “Spirit of God.” Attempting to smooth over Bible “contradictions,” they “correct” the Bible text by retranslating so it makes sense in their sinful minds, thereby discarding God’s wisdom (Isaiah 55:8,9).

For the last 2,000 years, Christendom’s leadership has done a great disservice to us all. Even today, pastors and teachers who are filled with and led by the Holy Spirit (although men often lacking a degree from “seminary”—Bible cemetery) are seen as “know-nothings” when it comes to Bible study. Today, oddly enough, anyone who is skilled in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin is considered a Bible “expert,” whether or not they believe the Bible! (Applying that same line of thought, should we therefore seek Greek-literate, Hebrew-literate, and Latin-literate atheists and agnostics to tell us what the Bible really says?!)

Having God the Holy Ghost is necessary to understand the Bible, for He is the Author of Scripture. Before one can be a dispensational Bible student approved unto God, he or she must first be a Gospel believer….

Bible Study 102 #1

Thursday, March 6, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

You can only enjoy what you understand. If you do not understand something, then it becomes burdensome and you tend to avoid it. This describes the attitude many have toward the Bible, lost and saved alike. While most professing Christians usually know that the Bible is an important Book, they often really do not know what to do with it, so they usually do not expose themselves to its contents unless at church when a preacher or priest “explains” (read that, complicates) it for them. Even then, familiar Bible passages are read over and over and over, and then the Bible becomes boring and even despised.

The goal of dispensational Bible study is to make the Bible understandable—it is the way to understand and enjoy the Bible. When considered dispensationally, the Bible literally becomes an open Book. Its “contradictory” verses are no longer bothersome because it is understood that these opposing verses are written to different peoples living in different time periods under different circumstances. However, if somebody discourages you from dispensational Bible study (and many denominations and churches do in order to keep you coming, giving, and supporting their program!), then they are taking from you the key God gave you to understand His Word! It is that serious, dear friend.

While many theologians and preachers never even partially grasp its meaning, today’s Scripture is very simple. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Of course, you have to have a King James Bible for it to read in this manner, for modern English “bible” translators demonstrate they have no regard for the dispensational layout of Scripture, and by retranslating the verse (which you will then read and believe), they encourage you to join them in their unbelieving scholarship.

Let us proceed to advanced right division….

The Living Words of the Living God

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV).

May you have the world’s most marvelous Book—not only in your hand and head, but in your heart, too!

I recently ministered to a depressed Christian brother experiencing dire circumstances. He told me that, for many years, he had read and studied particular Bible verses. Yet, they did not fully impact him until just recently when he began to re-study them. It was not until he needed those comforting verses that they began to come to his memory, and those living words of the living God soothed his vexed soul. While they did not remove those troubles, the verses encouraged him in those troubles, and they reminded him of what really mattered. It was then that I told him today’s Scripture: God’s Word “effectually worketh also in you that believe.” God’s Word will work inside of us believers, so that is why personal Bible study is critical.

Many professing Christians read books about the Bible, but they never actually read the Bible. The Holy Bible alone has God’s power, not books about it. This is why we need God’s Word in our hearts—if we do not put it there, the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot re-surface it in our minds and hearts when we need its guidance.

There are far too many false books about the Bible and even false “bibles,” and so many professing Christians are relying on them. Thus, God’s power is not operating in their lives; consequently, they are miserable in works-religion, confused about what the Bible really says. If you want God’s power, to think like He thinks in your circumstances (how He would have you to think), you need to get into His Word, the King James Bible, and study and believe it “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15), so that when you need His living words, you will have them in your heart. 🙂

On the Holy Bible

Friday, February 28, 2014

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 KJV).

If you are seeking God’s words today, you can find them today!

Where are God’s words? In non-existent original manuscripts? In a preacher’s inner impressions? In our emotions or circumstances? In a prayer closet? In a denominational handbook, hymnal, Bible commentary, or Hebrew or Greek grammar? In an “angelic visitation?” In Bible study footnotes? In the latest, best-selling modern translation? These are usually the places where people look for God’s words, but despite all that reading and praying, they rarely find them. Very few ever actually find those precious words of God because of the confusion as to where to find them and because nearly all of the places that are presumed to have God’s words have everything but them!

In today’s Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ affirmed that mankind needed spiritual food just as much as he needed physical food. To be physically alive but spiritually dead is not God’s original plan for man! Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, where Moses taught Israel the same principle: Israel had 40 years of physical manna to eat but they were starving spiritually, experiencing “leanness [of] soul” because of their unbelief (Psalm 106:15)!

The prophet Isaiah foretold how God the Father “wakeneth [Jesus Christ] morning by morning, [his] ear to hear as the learned” (50:4). Every morning during His earthly ministry, Jesus studied the Old Testament scrolls, and He learned God the Father’s will (cf. Luke 2:40,52; John 8:26-29). Even Jesus Christ depended on the Holy Bible for wisdom, and He knew today’s Scripture firsthand. Jesus lived completely reliant on God’s Word—living the life God originally wanted mankind to live!

Jesus Christ reassured us, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). We have those preserved words of God in English, the King James Bible. May we never, ever take them for granted and may we never, ever abandon them. May we study them and believe them, lest we spiritually starve!

Bible Study 101 #13

Friday, January 17, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to study the Bible!

Religious tradition has completely destroyed the clarity of the rightly divided Word of God. Hence, many apostasies and heresies (denominations, sects, cults, et cetera) afflict Christendom. By following what God did in the past, we are not doing what God is doing today, and if we are not doing God’s will today, then Satan’s work is accomplished. Thus, dispensational Bible study is critical to understanding God’s plan of salvation for today as well as recognizing his plan for the Christian today.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). All of the Bible is God’s Word, so we study all 66 books of the King James Bible (Genesis to Revelation). But, unlike most churches and professing Christians, we study the entire Bible according to the “revelation of the mystery” (in light of Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon; Romans 16:25,26).

We must stop grabbing and claiming Israel’s verses (Genesis through Malachi, Matthew through John, early Acts, and Hebrews through Revelation), and we must get into the meat of the Scriptures written to us (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon). All of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us (remember, most of Scripture is written to and is about the nation Israel, not us). We follow God’s design for Christian edification, and we seek God’s approval, not man’s approval (today’s Scripture).

When studying a particular Bible passage, you first need to establish the following, in this order:

  1. who is writing/speaking,
  2. to whom are they writing, and
  3. what are they writing.

Again, remember that Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, are what God has to say to you, and the rest of the Bible deals with another program, Israel’s program. If Paul does not instruct you to do it, then God does not expect you to practice it in your life. This is the key to doing God’s will for you….

A Book That Will Teach

Friday, January 3, 2014

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

Today’s Scripture tells us who alone we can trust to teach us God’s truth!

I recently heard a minister give his self-proclaimed “prophetic” message about top headlines that would appear in the coming year. While he reassured his audience that he received this information directly from “the Lord” (?), he gave a disclaimer: “I do not know, but at the end of this year, we will see if what I say came to pass.” Unlike the inner impressions and hunches of this “Christian” preacher, the Holy Bible is infallible, and we can trust its information completely.

Long, long ago, God Almighty wrote a Book, and He preserved it through history through a multiplicity of manuscript copies, so that it could eventually be translated into English, so we could read it even today! (Of course, Satan, the master counterfeiter that he is, most certainly had his own manuscripts—they still circulate today as corrupt Bible translations.) God promised to preserve His words forever (Psalm 12:6,7; Isaiah 30:8; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:25). Consequently, every person will stand before Him one day to give account as to what he or she did with that Bible. Did we reject it in favor of counterfeits? Did we re-translate it to fit our denominational beliefs? Did we apply it to life by faith? Did we even read it at all?

As English-speaking people, we understand—or, at least, we should understand—that we can trust the 400-year-old King James Bible. Sadly, even in many church circles, we are often cautioned not to trust God’s preserved Word. Unfortunately, footnotes, study notes, and seminarians usually attempt to claim that authority by offering “better” readings or “better” manuscripts. Beloved, we can do without unbelieving textual critics and their “scholarship.” God does not need lost people to explain His Word to His children; He never did and He never will (1 Corinthians 2:14). Never forget that!

The Holy Spirit will teach us the King James Bible if we “read” (Ephesians 3:4), “study” (2 Timothy 2:15), and “consider” it (2 Timothy 2:7)!

The Virgin Conception of Christ

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14 KJV).

While Christendom speaks of the “virgin birth of Christ,” according to today’s Scripture, a more accurate term would be the “virgin conception of Christ.” There was nothing unusual about Christ’s birth; it was His conception that was unique because there was no human father!

Interestingly, today’s Scripture has been the point of controversy for over a century (to Satan’s delight!). Some modern Bibles (RSV, NRSV, et al.) translate the Hebrew word here translated “virgin” as the vague “young woman,” thereby leaving room for the heretical idea that Joseph was Jesus’ biological father (and denying Christ’s deity)! If someone ever tells you almah (the Hebrew word translated “virgin”) can mean “young woman” or “virgin,” they are right, but point out that the key to choosing the right translation is not up to a translator, but rather the Holy Ghost!

The author of Matthew’s Gospel, filled with the Holy Ghost, knew which translation—“young woman” or “virgin”—was what God had intended in Isaiah 7:14. If we want to know what God meant in Isaiah 7:14, why not ask God?

“Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, “Behold a virgin shall be with child…” (Matthew 1:22,23a). The Greek word translated “virgin,” parthenos, can only mean “virgin,” not “young woman.” Isaiah was prophesying a virgin, indicated by the words “firstborn son” (Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:7) and “Joseph knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son” (Matthew 1:25). Isaiah 7:14 meant “virgin,” as indicated by Luke 1:34, for Mary “knew not a man.” Again, the Bible is clear that Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father.

Matthew 1:23 indisputably proves that almah in Isaiah 7:14 did not simply mean a “young woman,” who may or may not be sexually pure, but “a virgin,” a woman who never had any sexual intercourse. The Holy Ghost, not Joseph, was the Father of Jesus’ body (Matthew 1:18-20).

Attend a Grace Bible Conference!

Friday, November 29, 2013

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13 KJV).

Before attending a grace Bible conference today, I will briefly discuss what such gatherings are all about.

The Apostle Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus (modern-day western Turkey). According to chapter 1 (verses 3-11), he charged Timothy to address a major doctrinal issue—legalism. Today’s Scripture communicates some of Paul’s instructions to Timothy until he could come and personally assist Timothy in Ephesus.

Timothy was to pay attention to three specific areas of ministry, and today’s Scripture lists them: “reading,” “exhortation,” and “doctrine.” When we Pauline dispensationalists (or “grace believers”) assemble, we do so to read and study God’s Word God’s way, to encourage one another to study and believe God’s Word God’s way, and to uphold and proclaim the doctrine that we learn when we study God’s Word God’s way.

Stated another way, we fellowship around three basic ideas that guard us against the errors in Ephesus (the same threats to our Christian lives today):

  1. FINAL AUTHORITY: We believe in the inerrancy and authority of the King James Bible—God’s preserved Word for us as English-speaking people.
  2. SOUL SALVATION: We believe in the sufficiency of the Gospel of the Grace of God—that Jesus Christ died and shed His sinless blood to pay for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day for our justification (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).
  3. DAILY LIVING: We believe in the validity of the grace life—the doctrines of grace and their resultant manner of living that the ascended and glorified Jesus Christ first committed to the Apostle Paul (found in his epistles, Romans through Philemon).

We do not rely on the modern English “bible” versions for reading. We do not trust in works-religion for soul salvation from sins and hell. We do not believe in legalism (Mosaic law-keeping) as the operating system for the Christian life.

In short, we seek God’s approval, not a denomination’s approval.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJB

NOTE: I plan on video-recording the aforementioned grace Bible conference and uploading the footage to our YouTube channel. Updates will follow in the coming weeks.

The “Our Father” Prayer in HD #6

Saturday, November 23, 2013

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Matthew 6:13 KJV).

Eliminating the static due to religious tradition, we present to you “the official prayer of Christendom” with unparalleled clarity….

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” This fifth and final petition does not involve a daily temptation we all face. Remember, God does not force anyone to sin, and He does not lead anyone to sin: sin is the result of a bad thought in the mind of the one committing the sinful deed. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (James 1:13,14).

Actually, the “temptation” in this petition (today’s Scripture) refers to the seven-year Tribulation, when Israel’s believing remnant will be tested, tried—persecuted and greatly pressured into following Satan’s policy of evil. Specifically, Israel’s little flock of believers will be imprisoned and executed for refusing to follow the antichrist and his satanic religion (Psalm 10:1-18; Daniel 7:19-25; Revelation 13:15; et al.); this is the “evil” (world system) of today’s Scripture from which believing Israel wants to be delivered. The way these Jews “overcome” the antichrist and Satan is to die for Jesus Christ (Matthew 10:16-28; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 12:11; Revelation 15:2; Revelation 20:4; et al.). See also Psalm 37:1-40.

“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.” Absent from the modern English perversions and their underlying corrupt Greek manuscripts, this doxology is found in the majority of Greek New Testament manuscripts and it belongs in the Bible text just as the King James translators’ inclusion affirms. God, in His great power, will deliver Israel’s believing remnant from the Tribulation’s horrors and deception, and He will resurrect them and bring them into His earthly kingdom (which Jesus Christ will establish at His Second Coming, after those seven years), thereby glorifying God forever (Revelation 11:15-17).

“Amen.” Hebrew for “so be it.”

Let us now summarize the “Our Father” Prayer….