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Codex Vaticanus | Codex Sinaiticus | Alterations | Commandments | Westcott & Hort | Critical Text
| Bible Reading Plan | Bible Study Plan | Church History | Bible Maps

| Prayer The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful James 5: 11
Dear God. Help me to see the Bible clearly. If it is your Word, help me to trust that you have taken care of what is essential, so that I can trust in your Word. Thank you.

Bible, from the Greek work "biblia" which means books is the sacred book or Scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. The Jewish Bible, called the Tanakh, is a collection of 39 books written in Hebrew and Aramaic. The Protestant Christian Bible contains the entire Hebrew Bible of 39 books called the "Old Testament" plus 27 other Books called the "New Testament." which were written in Greek. The Catholic Bible contains the Hebrew books plus seven other books, and additions to the original books. These are called apocrypha by the Protestants and deuterocanonical by the Roman Catholic Church. The Bible was written between 1450 B.C. and 100 A.D. by 40 different writers using 3 different original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and koine Greek).
The authenticity of the Bible as the Word of God can only be demonstrated by the following:

1. Eyewitness testimony of the disciples
2. Luke researched it
3. Fulfilled prophecy

Inspiration
Inspiration is the supernatural influence on human writers by which they communicated or recorded what God wanted us to know. Since Early Christians were just people who believed in the Jewish Faith but also believed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah, they adopted the scriptures from Judaism and accepted the Scriptures as authoritative. Christians generally believed that the Bible contained the word of God as communicated by his Spirit � first through the patriarchs and prophets and then through the apostles. The writers of the New Testament books appealed to the authority of the Hebrew Scriptures to support their claims concerning Jesus Christ.
Inspiration could imply one of two things:

1. God dictated to the writers word for word what to say.
2. The writers used their own words to express facts when writing history, describing visions from God, or expressing their own life experiences with God.

Most of the Bible was written by a human being through inspiration or just for recording history.
The only Words God wrote are these:

1. The Ten Commandments on the tables of stone (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 4)
2. The handwriting on the Wall that Daniel interpreted ( MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN ) on the night Babylon fell to Medo-Persia (Daniel 5: 25-26)
3. When Jesus wrote in the dust at the attempted stoning of a prostitute (John 8: 8).

The only words God spoke first hand are these:

1. To create the world (Genesis 1 - 3)
2. The Ten Commandments and many words said to Moses in the Torah.
3. Every Word Jesus Christ said.
4. Visions recorded by his prophets.

The rest of inspired scripture that was not directly written or spoken by God and recorded are either true history or people moved to write about their relationship with God. How He has led and encouraged them. Others are just written in praise to God. While others are letters to individuals or churches preserved as authentic teachings because they were written by those who knew Jesus directly.

Books And Authors Of The Bible
Classifications Of The Books

Division | Total Books | Description | Books
--- | --- | --- | ---
Old Testament TaNaKh (or Tanach)
Torah Shebiksav | 5 | Written Torah | Genesis - Deuteronomy
Nevi'im (Prophets) | 7 (9) | Prophets | Joshua, Judges, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Samuel, Kings
1 (12) | Trey Asar (The Twelve) minor Prophets | Hosea - Malachi
Kesuvim (Writings) | 11 (13) | Writings | The other books
Other Hebrew Writings
Mishna or Torah Sheb'al Peh | 1 | Oral Torah | Mishna
Gemara | 1 | Detailed explanations of the Mishna | Gemara
New Testament - Christian Additions (B'rit Hadashah )
Gospel | 4 | Good News. The life of Jesus by his disciples | Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
History | 1 | History after the death of Christ | Gospels + Acts
Letters | 21 | Letters (Epistles) Written to churches or individuals. Used for doctrine. | Romans - Jude
Prophecy | 1 | Prophecies | Revelation
Apocrypha
False Old Testament writings not recognized by either the Hebrew or Protestant Canon, but by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches
Pseudodepigrapha
False New Testament writings not recognized in the Canon of any division of the church

Books Of The Bible

Book | Author | Hebrew Canon | Protestant Canon | Catholic/Orthodox Canon | Contents
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Old Testament
Law | Torah | Pentateuch
Genesis | Moses 1500 B.C. | B'reishis | Genesis | Genesis | Creation to Joseph a period of 2000 years
Exodus | Moses | Shemot | Exodus | Exodus | Escape to Egypt and the Law on Mt. Sinai
Leviticus | Moses | Vayikra | Leviticus | Leviticus | Ceremonial Laws
Numbers | Moses | Bamidbar | Numbers | Numbers | Census and Sinai-Moab
Deuteronomy | Moses | Devarim | Deuteronomy | Deuteronomy | Repeats Laws. Journey up to Canaan
Major Prophets | Nevi'im | Major Prophets
Joshua | Joshua | Yehoshua | Joshua | Joshua | In the promised land
Judges | Samuel | Shoftim | Judges | Judges | 350 years in the promised land
1 Samuel | Samuel+ | Shmuel | 1 Samuel | 1 Kings | King Saul
2 Samuel | Samuel+ | 2 Samuel | 2 Kings | King David
1 Kings | Compilation | Melachim | 1 Kings | 3 Kings | 400 year reign of Kings, Elijah
2 Kings | Compilation | 2 Kings | 4 Kings | The Kings
Jeremiah | Jeremiah | Yirmiyahu | Jeremiah | Jeremiah | The Babylonian captivity
Ezekiel | Ezekiel | Yechezkel | Ezekiel | Ezekiel | Before and after the fall of Jerusalem
Isaiah | Isaiah | Yeshayahu | Isaiah | Isaiah | Messianic prophecies and the coming destruction
Lesser Prophets | Trey Asar | Minor Prophets
Hosea | Hosea | Hoshaia | Hosea | The Prophecy of Osee | God's great love for an unfaithful people
Joel | Joel | Yoel | Joel | Joel | A call for reformation
Amos | Amos | Amos | Amos | Amos | Repentance for people living in luxury
Obadiah | Obadiah | Hoshaia | Obadiah | Obadiah | Destruction of Edom for their hostility to Israel
Jonah | Jonah | Yonah | Jonah | Jonah | Warning to Nineveh
Micah | Micah | Michah | Micah | Micah | Coming Babylonian captivity
Nahum | Nahum | Nachum | Nahum | Nahum | Downfall of Assyria in 612 B.C.
Habakkuk | Habakkuk | Chabakuk | Habakkuk | Habakkuk | The Just shall live by Faith.
Zephaniah | Zephaniah | Tzefaniah | Zephaniah | Zephaniah | Judgments to Israel and other nations for their sins
Haggai | Haggai | Chaggai | Haggai | Haggai | Rebuild the temple and to bring comfort
Zechariah | Zechariah | Zechariah | Zechariah | Zechariah | After the Babylonian captivity
Malachi | Malachi | Malachi | Malachi | Malachi | Spiritual decline of the Jews
Poetry | Kesuvim | Poetry
Psalms | David and others | Tehillim | Psalms | Psalms | Praise, prayers and petitions
Proverbs | Solomon and others | Mishlei | Proverbs | Proverbs | Wise sayings of Solomon
Job | *Moses | Iyov | Job | Job | The suffering of the good
Song of Songs | Solomon and other | Shir HaShirim | Song of Solomon | Solomon's Canticle of Canticles | A love poem
Ruth | Samuel | Rus | Ruth | Ruth | Lineage of the family of David
Lamentations | Jeremiah | Eichah | Lamentations | Lamentations | The destruction by Babylon
Ecclesiastes | Solomon | Koheles | Eccelesiastes | Eccelesiastes | Vanity of earthly things
Esther | Unknown | Esther | Esther | Esther | Jewish queen of Persia who saved her people from destruction
Daniel | Daniel | Daniel | Daniel | Daniel | End time prophecies during the Babylonian captivity
Ezra | Ezra | Ezra & Nechemiah | Ezra | The First Book of Esdras | After the captivity. Rebuilding of the temple
Nehemiah | Ezra | Nehemiah | The Second Book of Esdras | After the captivity. Rebuilding of the temple
1 Chronicles | *Ezra | Divrei HaYomim | 1 Chronicles | 1 Chronicles | Kings of Israel and Judah
2 Chronicles | *Ezra | 2 Chronicles | 2 Chronicles | Kings of Israel and Judah
New Testament (B'rit Hadashah )
Book | Author | Hebrew | Protestant | Catholic/Orthodox | Contents
Gospel and History
Matthew | Matthew | None | Matthew | Matthew | Life of Christ - Gallilean ministry
Mark | Mark | Mark | Mark
Luke | Luke | Luke | Luke
John | John | John | John | Life of Christ - Judean ministry
Acts of the Apostles | Luke 31-63 A.D. | Acts | Acts | History after crucifixion and spread to the gentiles
Letters (Epistles)
Romans 57-58 A.D. | Paul | None | Romans | Romans | Grace, righteousness by faith
1 Corinthians | Paul 57 A.D. | 1 Corinthians | 1 Corinthians | Letter to church at Corinth against immorality
2 Corinthians | Paul | 2 Corinthians | 2 Corinthians | Letter to church at Corinth to help the poor and to repent
Galatians | Paul 45 A.D. | Galatians | Galatians | Righteousness by Faith
Ephesians | Paul 62 A.D. | Ephesians | Ephesians | Written while in prison for unity
Philippians | Paul | Philippians | Philippians | Paul's first imprisonment
Colossians | Paul | Colossians | Colossians | Written in prison in Rome to combat legalism
1 Thessalonians | Paul | 1 Thessalonians | 1 Thessalonians | Resurrection and the Second Coming
2 Thessalonians | Paul | 2 Thessalonians | 2 Thessalonians | Prophecies
1 Timothy | Paul | 1 Timothy | 1 Timothy | Duties of Ministers.
2 Timothy | Paul | 2 Timothy | 2 Timothy | Duties of Ministers.
Titus | Paul | Titus | Titus | Duties of Ministers. Letter to Titus a gentile minister on the Isle of Crete
Philemon | Paul | Philemon | Philemon | While in prison. Letter about the slave Onesimus
Hebrews | *Paul | Hebrews | Hebrews | Christ's ministry on Earth
James | James | James | James | The brother of Jesus. Works not words. Guide to Christian conduct.
1 Peter | Peter | 1 Peter | 1 Peter | Faithful in persecution
2 Peter | Peter | 2 Peter | 2 Peter | Faithful in persecution
1 John | John 90-95 A.D. | 1 John | 1 John | To combat gnosticism
2 John | 2 John | 2 John | Love is keeping the commandments
3 John | 3 John | 3 John | Letter to Gaius about schismatic work of Diotrephenes
Jude | Jude | Jude | Jude | The brother of Jesus. The dangers of apostasy
Prophecy
Revelation | John | None | Revelation | Revelation | Prophecy of the last days
Rejected Books
Book | Author | Hebrew | Protestant | Catholic/Orthodox | Contents
Apocrypha
Tobit | Unknown | Not recognized | The Book of Tobias | Sorcery
Judith | Unknown | Judith | Unknown
Additions to the Book of Esther | Unknown | Additions to the Book of Esther | Unknown
Wisdom of Solomon | Unknown | The Book of Wisdom | Unknown
Ecclesiasticus | Unknown | Ecclesiasticus | The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach
Baruch | Unknown | Baruch | Unknown
Letter of Jeremiah | Unknown | Letter of Jeremiah | Unknown
Prayer of Azariah | Unknown | Prayer of Azariah | *Daniel The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men
Susanna | Unknown | Susanna | *Included in Daniel
Bel and the Dragon | Unknown | Bel and the Dragon | *Included in Daniel
The Prayer of Manasseh | Unknown | The Prayer of Manasseh | Unknown
The First Book of the Maccabees | Unknown | Recognized as history | The First Book of the Maccabees | History of the Jews fight against attempts to Hellenize their culture and religion. Prayers for the dead
The Second Book of the Maccabees | Unknown | The Second Book of the Maccabees
The First Book of Esdras | Unknown | Not recognized | The First Book of Esdras | Eastern Orthodox canon only
The Second Book of Esdras | Unknown | The Second Book of Esdras | Eastern Orthodox canon only

Comparison
The Protestant Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah are known to Roman Catholics as, respectively, the first and second books of Esdras.
The two Apocrypha books of Esdras constitute an entirely separate entity, usually called together Third Esdras by Roman Catholics. This latter two book Esdras is not considered part of the Old Testament by either Protestants or Roman Catholics. Eastern Orthodox churches hold all the books, including Third Esdras, to be canonical, or part of the Old Testament.
The Prayer of Manasseh was included only in the appendix to the Latin Vulgate Bible.
The Christian and Jewish Old Testament are assembled in a different order.

Canon - How The Books Were Chosen
The canon is simply the recognized body of work by a branch of the Church to determine which writings should, or should not be included in the Bible as scripture. Because other strange works were creeping in over time. It became necessary for each group (Jewish and Christian) to meet and state for an historical record, the source of all their books and writings. Therefore, there is an official Hebrew, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Canon. The Christian Bible is divided into two sections.

1. Old Testament. These are the Jewish scriptures that were used by Christ and the disciples.
2. New Testament. These are the letters, words of the disciples and eyewitnesses of the events that happened during the ministry of Christ.

Each branch of the church, Jewish and Christian made an official list of the writings that would be included in their sacred texts.

1. Hebrew Canon - Council of Jamina/Jabneh 90 A.D. To aid in the rebuilding of Jewish religious life after the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. the Jewish Canon was officially stated at this time although the official canon was considered closed in 400 B.C. Several criteria were used in selecting books:
   1. The book must come from a period considered to be inspired. From the time of Moses to Ezra.
   2. It must be in harmony with the Torah (the first 5 books).
   3. The language of the original book must be written in Hebrew.
   4. The book must be written within the geographical area of Palestine.
2. Protestant Canon - Council of Nicea 325 A.D. Since it was a persecuted church for close to three hundred years, a canon was not declared until the church was officially tolerated. The 27 books of the New Testament and the 39 books of the Hebrew Old Testament were recognized by the entire Church at that time to be the only authentic books.
   At the time, everyone accepted only those writings as the authentic works of the authors. This is the canon that is used in the Protestant Bible. The Old Testament is similar to the Hebrew canon.
   This allowed them to state that the other works were not widely accepted and their origin was suspicious. Several criteria were used in selecting the books:
   1. The book must be written by an apostle or a person with very close relationship to the early church
   2. The book must give clear evidence that it is divinely inspired.
   3. The book must be in harmony with other scripture
   4. The book was to be universally accepted by the church. This criteria highlights the fact that the councils did not meet to decide which books should be included. They addressed the problem of a growing body of works of suspicious origin. They met to confirm what they believed and understood and why. Therefore, the other criteria probably reflects their criticism of the other books.
3. Protestant Canon - Council of Carthage 397 A.D. Again officially recognized only the 27 books of the New Testament and also identified the growing body of apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works.
4. Roman Catholic Canon - Council of Trent in 1546 Accepted the Deuterocanonical works in the Catholic Church, against the advice of former church scholars. Therefore, over 1200 years later, the church included books rejected by earlier groups who were much more familiar with what was happening.

Rejected Books

- Deuterocanonical Books. These are Old Testament books, not recognized by Hebrew or Protestant Scholars as authentic writings. They were officially included into the Roman Catholic canon by the Council of Trent in 1546, 1200 years after the universal church had declared them false writings. From the Greek words meaning "second canon". These are writings not included in the Hebrew Canon but included in the Roman Catholic canon and some canons of the Orthodox church.
- Apocrypha. Apocrypha from the Greek meaning "hidden", it was the word used by St. Jerome to define the books of the Septuagint that were not in the Hebrew Old Testament. These books include Judith, the Wisdom of Solomon, Tobit, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and the two books of Maccabees.
- Pseudodepigrapha. Pseudepigrapha are Jewish and Christian writings that began to appear about 200 B.C. They are writings that all canons consider outside of the authorized canon. The term is derived from the Greek meaning "falsely ascribed" because they were attributed to great religious figures of the past. They include the Book of Jubilees, the Psalms of Solomon, the Fourth Book of Maccabees, the Book of Enoch, the Fourth Book of Ezra, the Apocalypse of Baruch, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.

The Books Of Judaism

The Torah. The word "torah" means "a teaching". The Torah was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. It has two sections, the Torah Shebiksav (the Written Torah) and the Torah Sheb'al Peh (the Oral Torah).
There are 24 books, five in the Torah, eight in the Nevi'im, and eleven in the Kesuvim.
These three sections (Torah, Nevi'im, and Kesuvim) are frequently referred to by the acronym TaNaKh (or Tanach). The Torah Shebiksav has three parts:

- Torah: The five books of Moses also called Pentateuch (five Books) in the Christian Canon.
- Nevi'im (Prophets): This is divided among the former and latter prophets called Trey Asar (The Twelve). In Protestant canon they are also called the major and minor prophets.
- Kesuvim (Writings): These books were written by prophets with God's guidance but are not direct prophecies.

Mishna. The things that were not explained in the Torah Shebiksav, God gave oral explanations to Moses on Mount Sinai together with the written Torah. These are called the Torah Sheb'al Peh, the Oral Torah, because they were meant to be passed from teacher to student. In the years after the destruction of the second Holy Temple there was a danger that the Torah Sheb'al Peh would be forgotten. Therefore, Jewish scholars led by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (The Prince), assembled a basic outline of the Torah Sheb'al Peh into a series of books called the Mishna. The Mishna was completed in the year 188 A.D.
Gemara. The Mishna was intended to serve as a memory aid so that it would be easier for students to remember the Torah Sheb'al Peh. It was primarily an outline and did not include the detailed analysis and explanation behind the laws. These explanations are called gemara.
Talmud. About three hundred years after the completion of the Mishna there was a risk that the gemara would be forgotten. Once again, Hebrew scholars led by Rav Ashi and Ravina, compiled the gemara into a written work as a commentary on the Mishna. This completed work is called the Talmud. The Talmud is a combination of the Mishna and the gemara. It is made up of six sections or Seder (Order) and contains several books called Mesechtos (Tracts). The six Sedarim are:

- Zera'im (Seeds). Laws of agriculture. It also deals with the laws of prayer and blessings. It contains 11 mesechtos.
- Mo'ed (Season). Laws of Shabbos and Yom Tov (holidays). It contains 12 mesechtos.
- Nashim (Women). Laws of marriage and divorce. It contains 7 mesechtos.
- Nezikin(Damages). Civil law, such as laws about damages and theft. It also deals with ethics. It contains 10 mesechtos.
- Kedoshim (Holy Things). It deals with sacrifices. It contains 11 mesechtos.
- Tohoros (Purities). Laws of ritual purity. It contains 12 mesechtos.

The Name Of God
The term HaShem literally means "The Name" is used by Jews to refer to God. Since Jewish tradition since thetime of the Talmud forbids the pronunciation of God's Name, a substitute is used for the actual name of God. The prohibition is based upon the requirement to fear God and to "fear His name"
In Deuteronomy 6: 13, it states " HaShem your God you shall fear..."
In Deuteronomy 28: 58, "...to fear this great and honored Name of HaShem your God."
This is similar to the prohibition of referring to your parents by their names. The most holy of God's name is the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) which was only pronounced in the Holy Temple during the Temple service. It is God's "personal" name. The prohibition extends to other names such as "Adonoy" which means "My Master" It was also as a substitute for the Tetragrammaton which was not to be pronounced during ordinary speech. Therefore, out of respect for God's holy Name, the term HaShem, which means "The Name" is used in ordinary speech.

Respecting The Name Of God
For the same reason of not pronouncing the name of God, Jews will write the word "God" as "G-d".

In written works, the term HaShem is usually used specifically to substitute ltke G-d, for the Tetragrammaton.
The act of destroying or defacing the name of God is at the heart of not printing the name in a permanent form that may be destroyed or thrown away.
Just as the Jews substituted HaShem, the term LORD in capital letters is substituted for YHWH in the Bible.

Early Translations
Before the invention of the printing press, manuscripts were copied by hand and therefore were rare. No manuscripts exists today from the original writers. We have many generations of copies of copies, sometimes in fragments. There are :

- Old Testament. The Septuagint (Greek), Vulgate (Latin) and the Masoretic text (Hebrew)
  - The Dead sea scroll discovery has parts of every book of the Hebrew Old Testament except for the book of Esther.
  - The "Isaiah scroll" is a complete text of that prophet's book.
  - about 8,000 manuscripts of the Latin Vulgate.
  - about 4,000 manuscripts no earlier than 200 A.D.
  - 5400 Greek manuscripts.
- New Testament . The Textus Receptus (mainly Greek manuscripts)

Sources. Basically, these are the sources of the scriptures.

- Masoretic Text (700 AD). This is the Hebrew text that is most commonly associated with the "Old Testament." It was preserved through the work of Jewish scholars, the Masoretes from 700 A.D. It is contained in about 300 manuscripts, none earlier than the ninth century A.D. Before the discovery of the Dead sea scrolls, there were few manuscripts this old.
- Samaritan Pentateuch. This includes only the 5 books of Moses. It includes numerous expansions, rearrangements and other departures from the Masoretic and LXX text.
- Targum. Translations of all or part of the Old Testament into Aramaic that were committed to writing in the fifth century A.D. They originated after the Babylonian Exile to support Jews who did not know Hebrew. After the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem (70 A.D.), scripture was read aloud with a translation in Aramaic in synagogues. Eventually paraphrase (loose translations) and commentary were added.
- Septuagint. The Greek Old Testament came to be the Bible of the early Christian Church. It was commissioned by the Greek emperor Ptolemy II to serve the Jewish people under Greek domination who were no longer familiar with the Hebrew. The name Septuagint was derived from the Latin word "septuaginta" which means seventy. It is sometimes referred to by the abbreviation LXX, the Latin equivalent for 70. Legend states that this number refers to the number of translators used. The Septuagint originally contained only the books of the Torah, but as the centuries progressed, other Hebrew books were translated. By the time of the Christian Era some of the Apocryphal books had crept in.
- The Latin Vulgate (390 AD). A Latin translation by St. Jerome based at first on the Greek Septuagint for the Old Testament. He later consulted the original Hebrew text and produced different versions of the Psalms from this. There was an earlier Latin version used by the early church which was translated with increasing inaccuracy. The present version by St. Jerome is a composite work in which he included parts of the Apocrypha. He recommended that the Apocrypha should remain distinct from the rest of the books, because of the questionable nature of their origin. In 382, at the request of Pope Damasus I, Jerome revised or corrected the New Testament. It has been stated that some of these slight revisions are his work.
- Textus Receptus - Received Text (1453 AD). This arose through an opportunity to study the Greek manuscripts instead of the Latin Vulgate. The "Textus Receptus" or Received Text was the standard Greek text in the sixteenth century after the invention of the printing press. It was the first published Greek text of the New Testament and for many years was the standard Greek text. This Greek New Testament has been edited on the basis of the latest evidence and in some cases corrected to fit the Latin text. The Textus Receptus has many editions, compiled by different groups using different sources, and in some cases were merely translations of the Latin Vulgate to the Greek. Some of the most important versions of the Textus Receptus are:
  1. Complutensian Polyglot, published in 1520
  2. Erasmus's first edition published in February 1516 with many errors.
  3. Erasmus's third edition of 1522 - with a deliberate addition in 1 John 5:7-8.
  4. 1550, the third edition of Robert Stephanus (Estienne) became one of the two standard texts of the Textus Receptus. His edition included variants of over a dozen manuscripts -- including Manuscripts D and L - Codices Bezae (D) and Regius (L).
  5. 1624, the Elzevir text became the primary text but it was basically a copy of Stephanus' work.
  So not all of the editions of the Textus Receptus are identical. Some are based on different manuscripts, some parts are translations of the Latin. Some are copies of earlier poor translations.
- Textus Receptus (700 AD). Textus Receptus (Latin: "received text") is the name given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted the translation base for the original German Luther Bible, the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, the King James Version, and most other Reformation-era New Testament translations throughout Western and Central Europe. The series originated with the first printed Greek New Testament, published in 1516�a work undertaken in Basel by the Dutch Catholic scholar and humanist Desiderius Erasmus. Although based mainly on late manuscripts of the Byzantine text-type, Erasmus' edition differed markedly from the classic form of that text, and included some missing parts back translated from the Latin Vulgate.
- The Complutensian Polyglot (1514 AD). Cardinal Ximenes created a Greek and Latin edition of the New Testament which was was printed in 1514, but published after 1520.
  In the mean time a team of two men, Desiderius Erasmus a scholar, and a printer named John Froben began the work in 1515 and published in February 1516. Erasmus's edition had the Greek text in parallel with the Latin. This edition contained many typographical errors and badly edited sections. The last six verses of the Apocalypse were translated into Greek from the Latin. So the Greek Text included words not found in any Greek manuscripts. This edition was a success and soon many other Greek editions were made, based on this hastily compiled version.
  Problem verses in Erasmus' Edition and Other Editions
  - Erasmus had an incorrect translation of Revelation 17:4
  - Erasmus' last 6 verses of Revelation were not found in any Greek text
  - According to another scholarly evaluation, these texts might also be a problem Matthew 22:28, 23:25, 27:52, 28:3, 4, 19, 20; Mark 7:18, 19, 26, 10:1, 12:22, 15:46; Luke 1:16, 61, 2:43, 9:1, 15, 11:49; John 1:28, 10:8, 13:20
  - The King James version which was translated from the Textus Receptus has these variances, listing differences at Matthew 12:24, 27; John 8:21, 10:16; 1 Corinthians 14:10, 16:1; compare also Mark 8:14, 9:42; John 8:6; Acts 1:4; 1 John 3:16.
  - Some words found in the King James Version are missing from their primary text.
- Dead Sea Scrolls. Discovered in 1947 in 11 caves at Qumran. Dated to about 22 BC.
- Codex Sinaiticus (1844). In May 1844, Lobegott Friedrich Constantin von Tischendorf "found" the world's oldest and most complete Bible dating from 325 AD in a trash basket at St. Catherine's Monastery at Mt. Sinai in Egypt. Forty-three sheets of parchment of an ancient copy of the Greek Old Testament, reporting that the monks were using the trash to start fires.
  He visited two other times, first in 1853 where he discovered a fragment from Genesis as a bookmark. On the last day of his third visit on 4 February 1859, he was shown the text of a Greek manuscript of the complete New Testament and parts of the Old Testament dating to the fourth century - the Codex Sinaiticus not discovered before. The handwritten Codex Sinaiticus includes two books that are not part of the official New Testament (Epistle of Barnabas and The Shepherd of Hermas) and at least seven books that are not in the Old Testament.
  The New Testament books are in a different order, and include numerous handwritten corrections - some made as much as 800 years after the texts were written. The changes range from the alteration of a single letter to the insertion of whole sentences. And some familiar and very important passages are missing, including verses dealing with the resurrection of Jesus.
- Codex Vaticanus B (Greek). Found in a Vatican library in 1481 after it was "lost", it dated "palaeographically" to the fourth century (300-325 AD). In the 19th century scholars realised that the text differed significantly from the Vulgate and the Textus Receptus.
  » Westcott and Hort: A Corrupted Work Spreads.
  Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1903 born in Birmingham) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-1892 born in Dublin, Ireland). They idolized Darwin, loved the grandeur, self-devotion and zeal of the Catholic church even in error, hated evangelicals and fundamentalists and their doctrines, believed that "Protestantism is only parenthetical and temporary", admired the work of John Newman who defected to Rome and led over 150 ministers of the Church of England back to Rome and agreed wth the 7 liberal theologians of the Church of England who wrote "Essays and Reviews" in 1860 and taught that Genesis 1-3, stories of miracles and claims of prophecy in the Bible are myths. They believed that Moses and David were "poetic characters" with David as a spiritual person not a chronological one. Westcott could barely contain his disdain for the Christian religion and one wonders if the admiration he had for the Roman church was admiration for recognizing fellow non-theists, still acting as demi-gods through their ability to control the masses even when vehemently promoting error.

  > "My faith is still wavering. I cannot determine how much we must believe; how much, in fact, is necessarily required of a member of the Church." Westcott: 23 December 1846 (Life, Vol.I, p.46).
  > "But the book which has most engaged me is Darwin. Whatever may be thought of it, it is a book that one is proud to be contemporary with. I must work out and examine the argument in more detail, but at present my feeling is strong that the theory is unanswerable." Hort, 3 April 1860: (Life, Vol.I, p.416).
  > "No one now, I suppose, holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal history - I could never understand how any one reading them with open eyes could think they did - yet they disclose to us a Gospel. So it is probably elsewhere." Westcott, 4 March 1890:

  Westcott was ordained a priest in the Church of England on 21 December 1851 and Hort in February 1856. In January - March 1853, they agreed on a plan to make a joint revision of the Greek New Testament. They concocted their method of "textual criticism" to dislodge the Universal Text of the Authorized King James Version and its Greek text from is place of high regard and replace it with Catholic local manuscripts from "newly found" texts and began to dismantle the Bible.
  It is as if an atheist, provided themselves with the proper Christian credentials, and were in charge of rewriting the Bible in order to make future generations convert to atheism by systematically dislodging them for the cherished "myths" of their parents and embracing the new world image of man in Darwianian theology.
  Extensively used in their edition of The New Testament in the Original Greek in 1881, it is responsible for over 36,000 changes that appear today in the new versions. These changes teach abominable Catholic doctrine. The most widely sold editions of the Greek New Testament are now largely based on the text of the Codex Vaticanus.
- Novum Testamentum Graece (Nestle-Aland Text). In 1898 Eberhard Nestle published the first edition of his Novum Testamentum Graece. He first disseminated it to universities and schools studies for church purposes, based on the insights of the textual criticism of the Greek New Testament by Tischendorf, Westcott/Hort and Weymouth. In 1901 he chose the Bernhard Weiβ's 1894/1900 edition and decided on which to choose in any variations based on the majority. In 1963 printed editions carried the brand name "Nestle-Aland" after Kurt Aland worked for the edition in the 1950's checking the information against Greek manuscripts and editions of the Church Fathers. In 1979 a new approach no longer chose the majority decision of the critical editions. They used new source material from "early papyri" and other manuscript "discoveries" that had been assembled and evaluated in the 20th century. The old lost and found trick, some even from trash bins.
  Now, the new effort starts to subvert theological institutions since the 1970's and by the late 1990's the KJV was being actively discarded in even Adventist schools and spurious new age doctrines were being required. By 2014, theology students were required to learn evolution in Protestant schools because the Catholic schools had already endorsed it by 1950.

These "Older manuscripts" miraculously found on Mount Sinai and in garbage cans were the counterfeit. The New International Version (NIV) is the worst.

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22: 19)
King James Version | Critical Text Translators Changes And Deletions Isslustrated On The KJV
--- | ---
Demoting Jesus Christ | (No Christ) Deleting the word "Christ" or removing His authority and power
| Thou art Christ the Son of God (Luke 4:41) this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world (John 4:42) And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God (John 6:69) And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Acts 8: 37) Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house (Acts 16: 32) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1: 16) The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Romans 16: 24) If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (1 Corinthians 16: 22-23) The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians: 11: 31) the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ (Galatians 3: 17) and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Galatians 4: 7) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision (Galatians 6: 15) from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: (Ephesians 3: 9) For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Ephesians 3:14) peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Colossians 1:2) we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:28) from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1: 1) Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? (1 Thessalonians 2:19) Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. (1 Thessalonians 3: 11) at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:13) that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thessalonians 1:18) (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) (1 Timothy 2:7) The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. (2 Timothy 4:22) Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; (Hebrews 3: 1) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: (1 John 4:3) which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12: 17) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Jesus Is Not LORD | The LORD is not to be believed or obeyed
| Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. (Ephesians 6:1) Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. (Matthew 13:51) said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. (Mark 9:24) that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. (Mark 11: 10) And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? (Luke 7:31) And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: (Luke 22: 31) And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. (Luke 23: 42) appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. (Acts 7:30) the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians: 4: 6) who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians: 5: 18)
and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body (1 Corinthians 11:29) The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47) I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 6:17) before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead (2 Timothy 4: 1) peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour. (Titus 1:4) I will recompense, saith the Lord. (Hebrews 10:30)
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:5-6)
That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. (Philemon 1:6) And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29) Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. (Matthew 16:20)
Jesus Is Not God | The idea of God or Belief In Jesus is rejected
| And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16) But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, (Galatians 1:15) In Jesus Mark 9:42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
| Paternity Of Jesus - NOT from God, NOT GOD'S Son. Not incarnated. Not Pre-Existing.
Is the Father unique like His Son? Or is he any generic or ordinary person
John 10:30 | I and My Father are one (KJV) | I and the Father are one (NIV, NASB, NWT)
Joseph was his real father not His step-father
Luke 2:33 | And Joseph and his mother (KJV) | The child's father and mother (NIV) | His father and mother (NASB) | its father and mother (NWT)
He is not born from God, He is fully human with Joseph as His real father
John 9:35 | Son of God (KJV) | Son of Man (NIV) | Son of Man (NASB) | Son of Man (NWT)
| And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world 1 (John 4:9) And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:25)
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. (1 John 2:7) He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (John 1:27) We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
No Blood Redemption | The death and blood of Jesus Christ is meaningless to many modern theologians
| In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (Colossians 1: 14)
And hath made of one blood all nations of men (Acts 17: 26)
No Sacrifice/ Substitute | The concept of redemption and atonement has no meaning
| For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (1 Corinthians 5:7) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:20) But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof: (1 Corinthians 10:28) And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:24) For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. (Ephesians 5:30)
- | Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12) 1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 1 Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 1 Peter 5:10-11 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
| Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3) Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: (Hebrews 2:7) For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec: (Hebrews 7:21)
Papal Supremacy? Is there no God and only the evolution of man? Is he not equal to the brethren?
No Wise or Good God | If only one is good and it is NOT God or Jesus or there is no God then who is good?
| To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. (Jude 1:25) Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17) And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matthew 19:17) Which Humans Are Not Equals? Not Brethren? Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6:10) And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. (Acts 20:32)
The Lord's Prayer | Fits any authorative human father like the Pope
| Who is "our father" who is not in heaven, who we priase, who has a kingdom on earth to come? Whose will must be done? Who will not deliver us from. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. (Luke 11: 2-4 )
No Creator | Jesus is not the Christ and Jesus is not the Creator because Genesis 1 is an impossible myth
| I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; (1 Corinthians 1:14) Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. (1 Corinthians 7:5)
No Sin. No Truth | No Repentance. We have no need for repentance because we are not evil or lost or need to change
| In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Colossians 2:11) For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: (Colossians 3:6)
Matthew 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Matthew 18:11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. Mark 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. Mark 15:28 And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? (Galatians 3:1) Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing (Philippians 3:16)
No Sin. No Conviction | Only Self-Righteousness (NIV, NASB and NWT)
Their was no need of a conscience to convict them
John 8:9 | And when they heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out. (KJV) | those who heard began to go away. (NIV) | then they heard it, they began to go out one by one. (NASB) | OMITTED (NWT)
It is not the works of Jesus, it is our works. And "him who sent me" may not be obedience to God, but to the pope.
John 9:4 | I must work the works of him that sent me. (KJV) | We must do the work of him who sent me. (NIV) | We must work the works of Him who sent Me. (NASB) | We must work the works of him that sent me.(NWT)
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. (Matthew 12:35)
| No Punishment | No fear. No damnation. No need to listen, or pray. Tradition is OK
| These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. (2 Peter 2:17) Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:44) Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:46) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:15) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. (Matthew 23:14)
| The Unrighteous
| Romans 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Romans 9:28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. Romans 10:15 ... How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. Romans 13:9 ... Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, ... Romans 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 15:29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
| Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. Mark 7:16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 9:49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
Mark 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (Mark 10:21)
The rich will hardly enter the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:24 | how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! (KJV) | how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! (NIV) | how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! (NASB) | how difficult a thing it is to enter into the kingdom of God! (NWT)
Removing Prophecy | There is no such thing a prophecy or predicting the future
| And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.(Matthew 27:35) And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. (Matthew 28:9) But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: (Mark 13:14) And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. (Luke 11:29) And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? (Luke 22:64) that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne (Acts 2: 30) Mark 14:68 But he denied, saying, I know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
Changes
No Resurrection. No Miracles | Jesus was not resurrected and He is not come in the body (incarnation)
| Mark 16 9-20 Deleted. NIV says "earlier manuscripts" do not contain it. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. (Mark 6:16) He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, (Luke 24:6) And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. (Luke 24:40)
And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them. (Mark 1:31) And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust. (Acts 24:15) In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. (John 5:3-4) Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. (John 11:41) And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49) Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11) And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village. (Luke 9:54-56) Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21)
No Heaven | It does not exist. The kingdom is on earth
| Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, (Mark 1:14) 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) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33) Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 25:13 NIV NASB NWT) And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John 3:13) A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. (John 16:16) While I was with them in the world , I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12) And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:51) For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. (Hebrews 10:34)
No Second Coming | It will not happen. The kingdom is on earth
| Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Revelation 2:13 I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: ... Revelation 5:14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. Revelation 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. Revelation 11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Revelation 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. Revelation 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. Revelation 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. Revelation 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. Luke 17:36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Changes
Three Witnesses | God's legal witnessses
| For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one (1 John 5: 7-8)
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5: 13)
Miscellaneous | Other deleted texts
- | Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. (1 Timothy 6:5) Matthew 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. Matthew 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. (2 Timothy 1:11) Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels: (Philemon 1: 12)
- | Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 19:9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. Matthew 20:7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.
(Matthew 19:17)
- | Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. Mark 7:16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 9:49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
- | Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 21:4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had. Luke 23:17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) Luke 23:38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Luke 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
- | Acts 7:37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. Acts 10:6 He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. Acts 20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Acts 23:9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. Acts 24:6-8 Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law. But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands, Commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all these things, whereof we accuse him. Acts 28:16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. Acts 28:29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.

The changes to the Lord's Prayer are appropriate for praying to a god on earth who believes that only his will matters (eg. the pope) and if you no longer believe in heaven or in evil. If you ascribe to the idea that good and evil peacefully coexist then you no longer want to use the term "evil".

Bible Text | Significant teaching | Problem
--- | --- | ---
Missing Text or Old Manuscript Problems
Daniel | None | Dead sea scrolls showed punctuation differences and few spelling variations, but no doctrinal differences
Daniel 9: 1 | None | The Greek Septuagint has these events happening in the third year not the first. And this does not reference prophecy only history.
Revelation 17: 4 | None, error was corrected | Erasmus translated incorrectly
Revelation 22: 16 - 21 | None | Erasmus - last 6 verses do not exist in the Greek
Matthew 12: 24, 27 | None | KJV - problems with the Textus Receptus. After fake manuscripts were spread by the church
John 8: 21 | None
John 10: 16 | None
1 Corinthians 14: 10 | None
1 Corinthians 16: 1 | None
Mark 8: 14 | None | KJV - words found in italics are missing from their primary text
Mark 9: 42 | None
John 8: 6 | None
Acts 1: 4 | None
I John 3: 16 | None
Matthew 22: 28 | None | Unknown
Matthew 23: 25 | None | Unknown
Matthew 27: 52 | People resurrected at the crucifixion | Unknown
Matthew 27: 56 | None | Does not appear in older manuscripts
Matthew 28: 3, 4, 19, 20 | The great commission | Unknown
Mark 7: 18, 19, 26 | None | Unknown
Mark 10: 1 | None | Unknown
Mark 12: 22 | None | Unknown
Mark 15: 46 | None | Unknown
Mark 16: 9-20 | Jesus appears to some after the resurrection. Tongues as a sign. Picking up deadly snakes | Does not appear in "older manuscripts" says NIV
Luke 1: 16, 61 | None | Unknown
Luke 2: 43 | None | Unknown
Luke 9: 1, 15 | None | Unknown
Luke 11: 49 | None | Unknown
John 1: 28 | None | Unknown
John 10: 8 | None | Unknown
John 13: 20 | None | Unknown
John 20: 14 | Mary at the tomb | Does not appear in "older manuscripts"
John 7: 53 - 8: 11 | The story of the adulterous woman | Does not appear in "older manuscripts"
Deliberate Changes
Catholic Cathecism | Commandments | Changes to the Ten Commandments
Catholic Bible | Purgatory, the dead, false writings | Included the apocrypha in the 1400's - books that the early church and the Jewish canon condemned
Jehovah's Witness Bible | Deity of Christ | Adds the name of God where it is not found and changes the text concerning Christ
NIV Version | Deity of Christ | Translator's decision
NASB Version | Deity of Christ | Translator's decision

Determining The Best Translation
With so many fragments and sources, scholars had to develop methods to discern which was the most original texts, especially when differences occurred.

- The Majority (Traditional) Text. This "majority rule" view advocates that the true translation can be found by using what was in the majority of the old manuscripts used for the Textus Receptus.
- The Critical Text. This method of evaluating the various manuscripts is based on the work of Westcott and Hort. They attempted to construct a text closest to its original verbal form by looking at the genealogy of the manuscripts to discover which were copies of copies and which might be closer to the original source. The English Revised version is from the Critical Text

Modern Translations

Translation | Type /Source | Year Printed | Comments or Revisions
--- | --- | --- | ---
Wyclif | Formal | 1382 | Latin Vulgate
Tyndale | Formal | 1525 | None
Coverdale | Formal | 1535 | First complete English Bible
Matthew | Formal | 1537 | None
The Great Bible | Formal | 1540 | None
The Geneva Bible | Formal | 1560 | First English Bible to divide chapters into verses
The Bishop's Bible | Formal | 1568 | None
Douay-Rheims | Formal | 1609 | Catholic English Bible from the Latin Vulgate
Authorized Version | Textus Receptus (Formal) | 1611 | Also known as the King James Version (AV)
King James Version | 1611 | (KJV) Also known as the Authorized Version (AV)
1885 | The Revised Version
1901 | American Standard Version
- | 1982 | The New King James Version (NKJV)
Revised Standard Version | Unknown | 1952 | The Revised Standard Version (RSV)
The Modern Language Bible | Unknown | 1945 | (MLB)
The New English Bible | Formal | 1961 | (NEB)
The Revised English Bible | Dynamic | 1989 | Revision of the NEB
The Good News Bible Today's English Version | Dynamic | 1976 | (GNB, TEV)
The New Geneva Study Bible | Formal | 19?? | None
The New International Version | UBS Greek (Dynamic) | 1978 | (NIV) Used many Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek sources ("Critical Text")
The New International Reader's Version | Paraphrase | 1996 | (NIrV) simplified 3rd grade level
The New American Standard Bible | Formal | 1971 | (NASB)
The New American Bible | Vulgate | Unknown | Catholic Bible with Apocrypha
The Living Bible | Paraphrase | 1971 | Paraphrase of KJV
The New World Translation | Semi - Formal | 1950-61 | The Jehovah's Witnesses Bible

The are three recognized different types of translations, but I will add a fourth:

1. Formal or Literal. The exact word for word translation
2. Dynamic. The translation of an idea or the meaning.
3. Paraphrase. The translation of the meaning in modern speech and ideas.
4. Semi - Formal. Mostly a word for word translation but with deliberate changes not supported by any original text to support a particular doctrine.

All translations have some uses. But to study doctrine, a formal translation should be used. In addition to the different translations, some Bibles use internal notes for a variety of purposes.

1. Scholarly Notes - References by the interpreters about the translation.
   - To give legitimate alternate readings
   - To show where a word might be included to help in the reading. There is no standard way to indicate these words. But these are a few common methods used:
     - Italics
     - Underline
     - Braces [ ]
     - Explanations in the margins
   - To indicate the original was missing or unclear due to wear and tear of the ancient manuscripts.
2. Scholarly Opinions And Helps - Inspired scripture but uninspired references which may not be correct and in some cases are based solely on the personal theology of the author.
   - Provide links to other texts where none might exist
   - To propose a particular viewpoint
   - Maps, charts, historical notes

Honest translations will give you alternative readings that are just as legitimate as the chosen text. However, some translators change words to support their doctrinal views, this is not acceptable. Others add commentary or references to support a view. As long as the reader can separate legitimate alternative readings from the comments which are a man's viewpoint then this is acceptable.

Alterations
There are several types of alterations made to the Bible, and this understanding could affect your understanding of what could have happened to the writings. Some alterations were useful. They usually did not change the meaning of the text. Some alterations might have been accidental because the Bible was manually copied. Other alterations were deliberate attempts to change the meaning:

- Omission. Removing a letter or word.
- Substitution. Using different letters or words in place of others.
- Addition. Adding a letter or word.
- Transposition. Changing the order of letters.

1. Unintentional Changes
   - Ancient copying methods. Scribes might have heard or read the text incorrectly. With the redundant error checking methods that were done it was possible to catch most of these.
   - Typographical and type setting Errors. Before the invention of printing, Jewish scholars (scribes) carefully copied the writings. They used a process of counting letters and words to double check if errors might have crept in. Recent archaeological findings in the Qumram caves reveal that this process was so accurate that barely any changes occurred in the text. Christian translators were not as careful.
   - Destruction of the ancient manuscripts over time, leaving missing text on the document.
2. Translations. The very act of translating into a different language could alter the meaning.
3. Intentional Changes (Not Destructive) to help in reading but not meant to change the meaning. But, as with any changes there could be unintended changes in meaning.
   - Substitutions for the name of God. The Bible uses the word LORD in capitals and the Hebrew text might use the word HaShem to substitute for the personal name of God. This tradition was started out of respect for God. So that His children do no accidentally call Him by His first name when reading the holy scriptures.
   - Addition of Chapters and Verses. Word and paragraph divisions were added by the Talmudic scholars in (200-500 A.D.). The Masoretic Copyists (500-1000 A.D.) added verses to assist in breaking up the text so that sections could be easily located. These can be destructive in the sense that they make artificial separation of thoughts and ideas that the original writer did not intend.
   - Addition of Punctuation. Additional grammatical aids. Although this is not typical, this type of change can affect the meaning. For example, in speaking to one of the thieves on the cross Jesus said
     "I say unto you today you shall be with me in paradise". (Luke 23: 43)
     With punctuation added it could mean the following:
     1. Jesus and the thief would be in heaven that day. This is unlikely because He would not rise from the dead until Sunday.
     "I say unto you , today you shall be with me in paradise"
     2. Jesus was just emphasizing the moment at which he made the promise.
     "I say unto you today , you shall be with me in paradise"
   - The Type of Translation and its purpose. If the translation can keep the original meaning, yet present it in language that is understood, then it would most likely be acceptable. However, meaning is highly influenced by doctrine, politics and lack of knowledge about what was intended and personal opinion.
4. Intentional or Deliberate Changes (Destructive). To the meaning. These are unacceptable, they are almost always done to support a doctrine.
   - The Type of Translation and the beliefs of the translators
   - Changes to support a particular Doctrine
   - Deliberate Changes to the Ten Commandments.
     The second commandment forbidding idols was deleted. The Catholic church says that it can be "assumed" from the first.
     The fourth commandment was changed, probably to help in the changing from the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. In a propaganda move, they began to refer to the "Lord's day" as Sunday, clearly to make the commandment read "to keep Sunday holy"
     The tenth commandment was split into two to make up for the deleted commandment.
     The church argues that the division of the Ten Commandments is not absolute. I would accept that argument if the text of the second commandment was included in the first. But it is not. The words of God (and remember this is what He emptied out part of heaven to come to Mt. Sinai to do - give the Law). The only words written by God were changed.
   - Alternate Translations. A deliberate attempt to use possible alternate translations to support a particular doctrine despite the evidence that another translation might be better. This is technically not a change in words, but it is a change in meaning.
   - Gender Neutral Changes. This supports cultural goals.

The following are examples of changes. Some of these are direct changes to the Bible, others are changes to material represented as authoritative and used for Bible study.

- Changes In Ancient times.
  - Addition of vowel sounds
  - The dead sea scrolls show changes in punctuation and variant spellings but shows that over the years, the Jewish method of copying and attention to the sacredness of the work had introduced few errors.
- Changes In Modern times. Here we find less attention to detail, we find people racing to be the first to produce versions and went to print knowing that there were errors.
  - To synchronize versions we find scholars translating from the vulgate to the Greek. This gives the appearance that the Greek translation included these words.
  - Bad translations
  - Addition of personal biases
  - The proliferation of all types of informal translations, while it might lead to a better reading, in many instances it changes what the Bible says.
- Changes Within A Language. Words change spelling and meaning over time, and this is true of the English. Consequently, the very first King James Version includes words that have a different meaning now. For example, the word prevent did not mean to stop. In those days it meant to go ahead of to precede.
- Changes By The New International Version (NIV) And Modern Translations. There are several objections to the NIV. Only a few are mentioned here.
  - Whole words and phrases are deleted.
  - The divinity of Christ is undermined in this translation.
    For we will all stand before the Judgment seat of God ... So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14: 10, 12) In substituting the first instance of Christ with God, the connection between Christ and God is removed.
  - The blood atonement of Christ is undermined. In modern translations, Colossians 1:14 leaves out the fact that it is the blood of Jesus that gives atonement.
    In whom we have redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins. (KJV)
    In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NASB)
    The NASB also omits the word 'blood' from the translation.
  - Gender related changes. While trying to be inclusive, such changes actually obscure prophecy because the precise gender is necessay to show that certain promises and instructions were aimed at one particular male, Jesus Christ.
- Changes To The Jehovah's Witnesses Bible. The problem with the New World Translation is that is actually changes words to support their doctrine. The critical doctrines of contention are:
  - The role and nature of Christ.
  - The instances of using the word 'Jehovah' where it does not appear.
  - There also seems to be a desire to change the details of the crucifixion.
  The Divine Nature of Christ. It is their contention that Christ was a created being and not God. To support these arguments, they add words to the literal translation supposedly to get rid of 'awkwardness in the literal translation' or so that the "thought content is not hidden".
  - The translations of John 15: 4,5; John 17: 26; Galatians 1: 16; Romans 8: 10; Colossians 1: 27 and 2 Corinthians 13: 5 removes the suggestion that it is Christ living in you that will bring about your salvation. Living in is a power of God. The translation suggests that it is Christ in union - in support of you
  - The translations of Colossians 1: 16, 17 and Philippians 2: 9 are meant to show that he was a created being and that He created all other things after his creation.
  - The Greek words 'Kyrios' and 'Theos' have been translated 'Jehovah' instead of 'Lord' and 'God' in their Bible. However, when it comes to passages such as Philippians 2: 10,11 it is translated 'every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord' instead of being translated 'to Jehovah every knee shall bow' which would have been consistent with their methodology. The same pattern of inconsistency is apparently also in 1 Corinthians 12: 3.
  - Finally, there seems to be an obsession with having Christ dying on a 'torture stake' instead of a Cross. I do not know why they had to make this change.
- Changes To The Protestant Bibles by The Catholic Church.
  They have been orchestrating this masterpiece for centuries. Working before the Dark Ages even during the days of the disciple, Satan produced numerous Gnostic books and only stopped when the church was corrupted and the people were ignorant through lack of education. Even kings could not read.
  When the Protestant reformation began in 1517 and people were again reading their Bibles, they had to attack biblical knowledge at its source by changing Bibles Protestants read. Knowledge was increasing and the Bible would be prevalent, so the plan was to get them to stop reading the Bible through atheism, treat the Bible as myths through evolution and change doctrines by replacing the original reformation Bibles with modern translation with alternative doctrines. To cause this change, they "found" the Codex Vaticanus and Codes Sinaiticus" and Westcott and Horton were instrumental in beginning the final phase of this transformation in 1881.
- Changes The Ten Commandments By The Catholic Church. This is different in the numbering and contents of the commandments. The changes are in their cathecism, which is used for religious instruction, not in their official bible.

Hebrew and Protestant | Catholic Catheism
--- | ---
Number | Text (Exodus 20) | Number | Text | Actions
1 | You shall have no other gods before Me (Verse 3) | 1 | You shall have no other gods before Me | Praying to Mary and saints
2 | You shall not make for yourself any idols or any likeness of what is in Heaven above or earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them. (Verse 4 - 6) | Deleted | Image worship
3 | You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. (verse 7) | 2 | You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain | Priest confessions
4 | Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant, your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the Heavens and the Earth and the Sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the seventh day and made it holy (Verse 8 -11) | 3 Changed | Remember to keep holy the Lord's day. | Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday
5 | Honor your Father and your Mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Verse 12) | 4 | Honor your Father and your Mother | Infallible pope. The holy father
6 | You shall not murder (Verse 13) | 5 | You shall not murder | Persecute heretics
7 | You shall not commit adultery (Verse 14) | 6 | You shall not commit adultery | Church and State union
8 | You shall not steal (Verse 15) | 7 | You shall not steal | Sits on the throne of God as god
9 | You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Verse 16) | 8 | You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor | Tradition in place of the Word of God - the true witness. Claims to be infallible.
10 | You shall not covet your neighbor's house you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Verse 17) | 9 | You shall not covet your neighbor's house | Covets the authority and duties of God. God on Earth, holder of the triple crown with keys to heaven earth and purgatory.
10 | You shall not covet your neighbor's wife

Summary Of Changes
Since no original text exists and since we have thousands of fragments and since the Bible has been hand copied for thousands of years, one would expect that errors would creep in. The best evidence shows that the Hebrew scholars took the very greatest care in copying the words of God. Christ himself probably used the Septuagint which was available during his time. No one gave a hint that anything was seriously wrong at that time.
The church after the fourth century was not so careful. The best thing they did was to establish the canon and separate the books that were universally accepted from those that were not.
By the time some major translations occurred and the printing press became available, the church had several schisms and scholars were not as careful in protecting against human error and we find the rate of errors increased significantly. The Jewish scholars would not have allowed the known errors to be printed as some Christian printers did in their race to be the first to print.
Conclusion. We also find some examples of deliberate changes. One study shows a difference of 6000 between the major works!
However, the good news is that the vast majority of these differences are punctuation, inclusion of vowel sounds, articles to make the sentence read better. They were not merely gross changes in facts. And many people have documented the known printing errors, so we have some idea of what is correct.
Since I am not a scholar, I can only go by the list of texts that other scholars mentioned. Sometimes I don't know what the problem is, only that there is a difference between major ancient manuscripts. Please note also, that some of the problems below may not exist today. They were identified as problems in the past with a translator's work. Even with all these problem there are not significant differences that would cause a great crisis in belief.

Archaeology
We will principally address those archaeological finds that shed light on the changes in the Bible text and on evidence related to controversy over the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation.

Daniel 5 The historical accuracy

All historical records from the third to the first century B.C. are silent in regards to the existence and role of King Belshazzar and mention only Nabonidus as the last Babylonian king. Only the prophet Daniel mentions him. Many questioned Daniel for its accuracy and its claim to be a prophetic book written hundreds of years before the event
Since the prophecies of Daniel mentions the Greek empire it is assumed that they were not prophecies but written after the Greek invasion. Even Greek historians were silent in regards to Belshazzar and attributed an insignificant role to King Nebuchadnezzar. Queen Semiramis was credited with building Babylon
Archaeological discoveries in the nineteenth century of cuneiform tablets have discredited the Greek historians and verified the historical accuracy of Daniel 5.
These facts were only preserved in Babylonian records.
- Queen Semiramis was a queen mother of Assyria, not Babylon.
- Belshazzar was the eldest son of King Nabonidus who reigned with his son and entrusted the rule of Babylon to him while he was in Arabia. Historical documents continued to reference his name only, but his son was the crown prince, heir and ruler while his father was absent

Daniel
The book of Daniel was written by Daniel around the year 553 B.C. Scholars have refused to accept this fact (because of the accuracy of the prophecies) stating rather that the book was written after the fact, possibly during the time of the Maccabees in the second century B.C. because he could not have prophesied the events. There were several things that were disturbing to these scholars:

1. There was no mention of King Beltshazzar in any historical records. It was only mentioned in Daniel. All records show that Nabonidus was on the throne when the Persians invaded Babylon
2. The book was written in 2 languages (Hebrew and Aramaic) supposedly pointing to 2 writers.
3. Many details found in Daniel could not be verified by any other ancient manuscripts

The Evidence
In Matthew 24: 15, Christ himself attests to the reliability of Daniel.
The identity of Beltshazzar has been a great puzzle. He was known only in the book of Daniel and in works that quoted Daniel. In addition, several ancient sources which listed the kings of Babylon ended with Nabonidus as the last king before Cyrus. Several explanations were given since it was not uncommon to give other names to the same people. But the majority of scholars claimed that this was an invention of the writer of Daniel and that the book was written in the second century B.C.
Nabonidus Chronicle. Then at the close of the nineteenth century cuneiform tablets were discovered which mentioned the name of Belshazzar. A text, now called the Nabonidus Chronicle, describes the capture of Babylon by Cyrus and mentions that Nabonidus was in Tema (in Arabia) for several years while his son remained in Babylon. They were father and son joint rulers. Beltshazzar was a crown prince entrusted with royal power during his father's stay in Arabia, but all legal documents continued to be dated under his father's name. Given the fact that all this information was lost to history and that even the Greek historians in the fifth and fourth century did not mention this fact, the book of Daniel must have been written by a contemporary of those times.
Once under scholarly derision, the book of Daniel Chapter 5 excels in certain facts, It uses the name Belshazzar, attributes royal power to him and recognizes that a dual rulership existed in the kingdom.
Since this information was lost by the time of the Hellenistic era only a writer or an eye witness from the Neo-babylonian times could have written it. One other information that was lost was the importance of Nebuchadnezzar as the builder of Babylon. Again scholars relied on the Greek historians who claimed the Nebuchadnezzar played an insignificant role in Babylonian history and that it was Queen Semiramis who built Babylon. Cuneiform evidence shows that Semiramis was a queen mother of an infant king of Assyria and not a queen of Babylon. We just cannot trust those Greek historians!
Still refusing to acknowledge the evidence, scholars who choose to believe the book was written in the second century, like one from Harvard states:

> We shall presumably never know how our author learned that Belshazzar, mentioned only in Babylonian records ... was functioning as king when Cyrus took Babylon ... and that the new Babylon was a creation of Nebuchadnezzar ... as the excavations have proved".

He knew it because he was there, and the book is a detailed prophecy about the future written 300 years before the events.

It is clear that these supposedly impartial scholars refuse to acknowledge anything that might point to a prophecy given by God. Instead they continue to criticize and deliberately ignore facts that do not agree with their view. They would rather call these unexplained mysteries - not a revelation from God or a lucky guess by Daniel.

They reject stories such as Alexander meeting the high priest of Jerusalem as a myth, because it would point to the book of Daniel as a prophecy recognized by that great military leader.

So the evidence states that Daniel is a prophecy not history, because he writes about the rise and fall of empires hundreds of years before the event occurred.

Dead Sea Scrolls On Daniel

- Qumran Cave 1. In Qumran Cave I were three fragments from the book of Daniel from Chapter 1: 10-17; 2: 2-6; 3: 22-30. A comparison with the Masoretic Text shows 16 variations, none of which affected the meaning of the passage.
  - 9 variants spelling differences affecting only one letter, 2 seem to be spelling errors.
  - 4 additions: The words - "and", "that" before an "if" and 2 vowels added to words.
  - There was one vowel in the Masoretic text but not in the fragments.
  - Finally, 2 verbal endings are attributed to scribal errors.
  - Also important is that the fragment in Chapter 2 includes the section where the transition between Hebrew and Aramaic occur. And both the Masoretic Text and the Qumran text agree, the apocryphal book (Song of the Three Children) not accepted by the Jews or the First Christian council does not appear in either text.
- Qumran Cave 4. It contained sizeable portions of the book which are well preserved
- Qumran Cave 6. It contained fragment from Daniel 8: 20,21; 10: 8-16; 11: 33-38. These contain 9 spelling variations.
  Please note that the existence of spelling variations is normal. Over the past 200 years the English language itself had changed spelling. For example "ye" for "you" and "olde" for "old". This is normal. There was also a time when Jewish writing lacked vowel sounds. These were later added to the language.

Archaeology reveals the fact that the scribes took great care in manually copying the text. The Dead Sea Scrolls written during the first century B.C./A.D. revealed that few errors crept in over time.

Discovery | Location | Archaeology and the Bible | Text
--- | --- | --- | ---
Rosetta Stone | Rosetta, Egypt | A black basalt slab with ancient writing. It was the decree was of Ptolemy V in 196 BC in three different languages (Greek, Demotic, and Egyptian hieroglyphics). It allowed us to interpret the Egyptian language and confirm some Bible history
Elephantine Papyri | Elephantine | Letters from Jewish exiles
Nash Papyrus | Cairo | Contains the ten Commandments and the Shema. Before the Dead Sea Scrolls it was the oldest bible manuscript. Dated to 200 BC
Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) | Qumran | In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy found large jars with scrolls in them. They were the oldest copies of parts of all the Old Testament books except Esther. There are 175-200 scrolls written around 300BC-70AD
Black Stele of Hammurabi | Susa | Found in 1902 made about 1780 BC. Elamites carried it to Susa in 1157 B.C. when they defeated Babylon. It contained the written laws of Hammurabi and proves that writing existed before the time of Moses
Mari Tablets | Euphrates River | 20,000 tablets dating to 1800 BC found in 1933. Records of King Zimri-Lim which mention the city of Nahor and the nomadic "Habiru" people (Hebrews) and mentions customs of those times | Genesis 11: 24
Amarna Tablets | Tell el-Amarna, Egypt along the Nile | About 300 tablets found in 1887 dated to about 1400 BC. Correspondence to Amenhotep IV from a Canaanite king named Abdi-Heba for help against an invading "Habiru" or "Apiru". Jerusalem is mentioned as Urusalim. This may confirm the exodus and conquest by Joshua | Joshua
Nuzi Tablets | Euphrates River | Thousands of tablets dating to 1500 BC which mention many bible customs such as birthright sales, household idols and eldest servant inherit your wealth if you were childless | Genesis 25: 31; 31: 19; 15: 2
House of David Inscription | Tel Dan | Scholars doubted that David lived. A stone tablet discovered in northern Israel in 1993 commemorates the defeat of Baasha, king of Israel, by Asa of "the House of David." It is the first mention outside the Bible of David | 1 Kings 15
Sennacherib's Prism | Nineveh | A six-sided prism with Sennacherib's account of his siege of Jerusalem in 701BC. It mentions the fact that Hezekiah did not submit to him | 2 Kings 19. Isaiah 36-39
Sargon's Palace | Khorsabad, Iraq | Scholars claimed that Assyrian King Sargon never existed until they found his palace. The capture of Ashdod was written on the walls and in the bible | Isaiah 20
Ashurbanipal's Library | Nineveh | 22,000 tablets
The Atra-hasis Epic | The Mesopotamian creation story. Man was created from clay | Genesis
The Enuma Elish | The Babylonian creation story | Genesis
The Epic of Gilgamesh | Written on 12 clay tablets 2750 BC. Tablet 11 has a flood story | Genesis 8-11
Sumerian King List | Nippur (2100 BC) | Mentions the flood and verifies that the average age before and after the flood were very different. The confusion of languages and the destruction of a temple tower. "Then Enki ... Changed the speech in their mouths, brought contention into it, into the speech of man that had been one"
Babylonian Chronicles (600 BC) | Ur, Babylon | Found in 1881, 4 tablets translated in 1956. The rise of the Babylonian Empire and King Nebuchadnezzar including the fall of Assyria, Egypt and Judah in the Battle of Carchemish. The capture of Jerusalem on 16 March 598 BC | Jeremiah 46: 2; 2 Kings 24: 7-17, Daniel
Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle | A Babylonian account of the siege of Jerusalem in 597 B.C., the appointment of Zedekiah as ruler of Judah, and the Jews' exile | 2 Kings 24
Nabonidus Chronicle | Found in 1881. Skeptics used to say that Daniel was a lie written after the events and that Belshazzar was a fable because Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon until they found this cunieform tablet. It identifies Belshazzar as the son of Nabonidus who ruled Babylon for his father | Daniel 5: 29-30
Cyrus Cylinder (539 BC) | Babylon | Found in 1879. The fall of Babylon and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem | Ezra 1:1-3
130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets in the British Museum | Babylon | July 2007, a small clay tablet from the collection is a receipt for 1.5 minas of gold paid to the temple. It identifies Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, as "the chief eunuch" of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon. Nebo-Sarsekim, according to Jeremiah, was Nebuchadnezzar II's "chief officer" who was with him at the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC | Jeremiah 39: 3
The Black Obelisk of Shamaneser | Nimrud | A monument found in the palace at Nimrud shows Assyria's King Shalmaneser III receiving tribute from kings including Jehu, King of Israel | 2 Kings 9-10
Hittite Empire | Boghaz-Koy (Hattusha) | Skeptics said that the Hittites never existed and the bible reference is a fable until they found this city and five temples in 1906 | Genesis 15
Ebla Tablets 17,000-20,000 tablets | Tel Mardikh, Syria (Aleppo) | In 1975 tablets were discovered written in an unknown language. They were dated to before Abraham (2400 BC). It mentions creation from nothing close to Genesis. It lists the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar which critics claimed were fables. It mentions Ur in the territory of Haran, Megiddo, Canaan and Salem. They even claimed that writing did not exist at the time of Moses. It mentions Abraham and Ishmael, Esau, Birsha, David, Peleg, Haran, Terah, Nahor | Genesis 11-12, 14: 2
Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) | Dibon/Dhiban (930 BC) | An inscribed basalt monument erected by Mesha, king of Moab, tells of the revolt of the Moabites after the death of King Ahab of Israel. | 2 Kings 3
Merneptah Stela (Israel Stela) | Egypt, Thebes | Discovered in 1896 in Merneptah's mortuary temple in Thebes (1200 BC). Earliest mention of Israel outside the Bible, "Israel is laid waste, its seed is not." | Genesis 32: 28
Rock of Behistun | Kermanshah | Two inscriptions on rocks with the names of Darius and Xerxes | Esther
Pilate Inscription | Caesarea | A limestone slab that identifies Pontius Pilate as the governor of Judea | Luke 23
Babylonian cuneiform writing is now called Akkadian language. A stela or stele is an upright pillar bearing an inscription.

The bible is the most accurate record of ancient history of the Middle East and all the scientific theories of higher criticism which are meant to cast mud at the record are slowly falling flat with each new discovery.

- Documentary Hypothesis ("No Writing Before Moses"). Moses could not have written the first five books of the bible because writing did not exist at that time. They claim that the creation story was written into the bible around the time of Ezra in 400 BC. But the Ebla tablets and the black stele prove that writing existed before Abraham and that their theories and methods for dating artifacts based on the origin of names is totally inaccurate.
- Twelfth century emergence theory. Teaches that the Israelites did not come into Canaan from outside to conquer the land around 1400 BC. They emerged from a local people in the middle of the twelfth century (1150 BC). This casts doubts on the exile and their existence in Egypt. But the Merneptah Stela indicates that Israel was well established by 1210 BC and was not an emerging little people.
- Bible History. They ridiculed this until the Rosetta stone unlocked the meaning of the heiroglyphics. They found that the Egyptian writings agreed with the Bible history.
- Nineveh. They pointed to the existance of ancient Nineveh as a myth invented in the stupid Bible books of Jonah and Nahum because it was not possible that such a major city, the capital of a global empire, could disappear. Then Nineveh was discovered in 1850.

The Gospel

Gospel | Audience | Jesus
--- | --- | ---
Isaiah 9 | Jews | A king who is a light to the Gentiles
Isaiah 53 | Jews | Human Jesus who was an obedient Servant
Matthew | Jews | The suffering Messiah who justifies the nations
Mark | Gentile Romans | Human Jesus who was an obedient Servant
Luke | Gentile Greek | Savior of all mankind
John | Those facing false teachings | The deity of Christ
I Corinthians 15: 1-11 | Greek Christians facing heresy | The resurrected Christ

The gospel is the good news that God has offered us a way out of sin and death, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Scholars recognige seven accounts of the gospel in the Bible, each written for a specific audience and each focusing on different aspects of Christ, either His nature or His purpose.

1. Isaiah 9. A king from the line of David who would bring a light to the gentiles.
2. Isaiah 53. Jesus is the suffering Messiah who will bring light to the world and glorify Israel.
3. I Corinthians 15: 1-11. Written to the Corinthian Christians facing heresy and Greek philosophy, it shows that Jesus was resurrected.
4. Matthew. Written to the Jews to prove that Jesus is the promised Messiah by showing how He fulfilled the Messianic prophecies.
5. Mark. Portrays Jesus as fully human, who performed miracles by the Holy Spirit and was obedient even to death.
6. Luke. To the Gentile Greeks unfamiliar with the prophecies, Jesus was the savior of all mankind.
7. John. Written to combat the heresies of Gnosticism and Adoptionism that denied the divinity of Christ. John shows the deity of Christ.

Gospel | Message
--- | ---
Passover Seder | The suffering on the cross
The Campsites around the Sanctuary | How the tribes treated Jesus in His final seven days
Sanctuary and Offering | The work and sacrifice of Jesus
The Feasts | The Gospel schedule

Through the gift of knowledge, the writer of teachinghearts recognizes other accounts of the Gospel in the Old Testament. These and many Messianic prophecies are summarized in this lesson.

Answers To Critics

- The Bible must have changed. By looking at recent archaeological findings and comparing text from scripture that were hundreds of years apart it became very obvious that the painstaking care which the scribes took to copy the scriptures had not resulted in gross errors.
- They took a long time to write the New Testament, something must be wrong. This is a judgment made based on our way of life. These societies were much more primitive. Literature had to be hand copied and writing materials were expensive. Most of what survives as the New Testament are letters written to encourage Christian groups scattered across the continent. The book of James or 1 Thessalonians was the first New Testament book written and it was written around 50 - 54 A.D. The disciples did not immediately write down the stories for these reasons:
  1. In those days printing of scrolls and books for mass distribution was rare and expensive. In those days the oral tradition served as the main method for passing along information.
  2. The disciples expected Jesus to return soon so no effort was spent in writing down the stories. It was when the eye witnesses started dying off that the gospels were written.
  3. For most of that time the church was under persecution and on the run. At one point the Roman Emperor burned all the Christian materials that he could find.
- The Bible Is Unscientific. Because of the creation story, people charge that the Bible is full of myths. Actually the Theory of Evolution is based on more shaky ground and there is much more scientific evidence for creation that schools will not teach. When the rest of the World believed for thousands of years that:
  - The world was flat
  - The earth was supported on the shoulders of the mythical god Atlas
  - The earth rested on the back of an elephant who stood on the back of a turtle that was swimming in a great endless sea

  The Bible said the following:
  The God Hung the world on nothing (Job 26: 7). This is a concept grasped only in the last 2 centuries.
  The earth was a circle. It is He that sits upon the circle of the earth (Isaiah 40: 22)
  » Bible Science. In 2008, through the gift of knowledge this website uncovered information about basic science in the Old Testament written 3500 years ago that modern science has only discovered in the late nineteenth century. The Torah contains the first template of the Periodic Table and contains a model for particle physics that is superior to the standard model. Also, within the strange process of DNA replication are a set of events that occurred on the day of the crucifixion when God recreated us. Modeled everywhere in microscopic nature that was inaccessible to ancient man are many laws and designs that are written in the Bible, pointing to the existence of a being superior to us who created our systems.

- A group of Men decided what to put in the Bible. Read the section on how the canon was chosen. The religious scholars met to affirm what was popularly accepted to be the scriptures. In one case, because false works which were attributed to the great prophets began appearing, they met to confirm the authenticity of books that were already accepted universally. They did not leave things out. They addressed the fact that spurious works were trying to get in and set a clear distinction between the two types of works as an historical record.
- The Bible was written after the fact. The fact that the Septuagint was translated by 250 B.C. proves that all Messianic prophecies were made at least 250 years before the birth of Jesus, that is, they cannot be revisionist history written after the fact. (In fact, the latest Old Testament prophecies were made in the book of Malachi, about 400 B.C.)
  Scholars make this claim not because they have any evidence, but because that is the only way they account for the accuracy of the prophecies.
- Daniel's Book must have been written after the event. Fact: Alexander the Great was impressed with what the Jewish High Priest showed him about himself in the prophecies, How do they account for other fulfillments, Rome and Europe, the dating of the death of the Messiah. and the political events surrounding his life.
  Until the Nabonidus Chronicle was found, scholars used to criticize the book of Daniel as historically inaccurate. Daniel's account of the rulers of Babylon did not agree with future Greek historians - until the Nabonidus Chronicle proved that Belshazzar existed.
- Christ is not an Historical Figure. Christ had such an impact, that He is mentioned in several ancient works:
  - Flavius Josephus (93 A.D.) - A very respected Jewish historian, wrote about his birth, ministry, death, and resurrection
  - The Babylonian Talmud (70-200 A.D.)
  - Mara Bar Serapion (after 73 A.D.)
  - Pliny the Younger's letter to the Emperor Trajan about 100 A.D.
  - The Annals of Tacitus (115-117 A.D.)
  - Suetonius' Life of Claudius and Life of Nero (120 A.D.).

The Love Of God - Compassion
While other gods were fighting among themselves and plotting treason and taking delight in putting fear and terror in humanity and subjecting humanity to slavery and ridicule, Jesus Christ came in the form of a poor servant, born in the feeding trough of a barn. He became the model of leadership by servanthood, not by grandeur and self exaltation.
While other gods required you to work and suffer and to appease them. God asks you to hold His hand and trust him. While others took, He gave. While others hated, He loved. While others threatened with the power of death, He came with life and hope. He gave His life for us.
He became just like we were. He took His stand with us. Most of His life He was hungry and homeless, subjected to ridicule. The Bible suggests the He was not handsome - He did this so that you would not be attracted to Him for His looks. People were already attracted to Him because of what He could do. His whole life He was subjected to humiliation because of His illegitimate birth. He was a bastard child.
He was gentle. 'A bruised reed He would not break'.
He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He empathized with us.
He cried at the death of Lazarus. He sympathizes with us.
He is not ashamed to call us His brothers. He became human.
He suffered and died while we hated Him, spit on Him, laughed at Him. All for us. He loved us. He loved His enemies.
"Father forgive them", were His dying words.
He became a King without a territory.
A God without the power.
A Priest who was the sacrifice.
A Judge who offers mercy and forgiveness, not condemnation.
He turned upside down every notion we have about power and leadership and self worth.
This truly was a different God, a remarkable God, a magnificent God. A compassionate God.
James says, The Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. (James 5: 11)
He could empathize with the worst of our feelings and deprivation because He was a poor, bastard child, born in a barn, in a feeding trough among the smelly animals. He grew up in the worst part of town on the wrong side of the tracks. Not handsome, homeless, penniless, ridiculed, persecuted, familiar with hunger, unable to fight back, His own brothers called Him crazy. At death, abandoned by the world and His friends, He was abandoned by God Himself.
Do you think He understands the worst of your feelings, your pain, your suffering? He does!

Summary
There is no other religion in which God comes down, reaches down to his people. The Bible proves that there is more to it than other books because of its prophecies.
We can be assured that there have been no changes to critical doctrine that have resulted from any attempts to reconstruct the texts or to make deliberate changes. It is to our credit that we can spot these changes and to document variations in readings so that the reader can make an informed decision. The bottom line is that there is no critical change in meaning that would cause us to throw away everything in favor of no belief. God is one. He loves us. He died for us. He is coming back. This is the message.

Be diligent [study] to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2: 15) | Time: 120 minutes Print: 31 pages
Copyright Updated : October 2002. March 2008 Author: Laverna Patterson. Editor: Patterson (March 2008) Credits: The information was compiled from various sources. New And Old Testament Changes. URL: http://www.biblebelievers.com/williams_d1.html Magic Marker: Changes to the Bible. URL: http://av1611.com/kjbp/charts/themagicmarker.html See the Judaism links for information on Jewish writings See the bible links for information on ancient translations