Sunday, July 1, 2018

King James Bible Part 1 : The Origins of The Newer Versions




Today I'm going to cover why I read the KJV bible in exclusion to the other versions out there, this is part one in a four part series so stay tuned for further post.




Before the Inventions of Printing people made hand written documents know as Manuscripts. Currently there is over 5300 existing Greek manuscripts of the scriptures, from which all the New Testament translations are derived. First you have the majority texts (Textus Receptus)- In which 95% or more existing greek manuscripts support this reading. They were Gathered by various editors such as Erasmus, Lucian, Sephanus, Beza, and the Elzevir brothers. The Protestant Reformers chose the Textus Receptus, when translating from Greek to English, KJV 1611.

Most modern bibles however use what's called the Wescott and Hort Greek Text, aka the minority texts which are based primarily on codex Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. These two codices contradict each other over 3,000 times just in the gospels. Since 1881 most subsequent versions have followed the minority texts. Even though there are some old manuscripts whose textual character seem to conform more to codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, they have all have been traced to a likely source in Alexandria, Egypt, In the 2nd or 3rd century. One of the most influential men among the intellectual community of Alexandria was Origen, it is believed by many that he played a big role in developing the so called Alexandrian texts of which Vaticanus/Siniaticus Represent, in contrast to the Byzantine Text from which the Textus Receptus came.

Origen 184-254 AD attended the theological school of Alexandria, this school mixed Greek philosophy / gnostic beliefs with Biblical teaching. He taught many non christian doctrines. He decided that he wouldn't hand down christian doctrines / beliefs pure and unmixed, but instead wrapped in precepts of pagan philosophy. A student of the Gnostic star worshiper clement, Origen did not believe the bible as historically accurate, he believed man was divine, that souls pre existed , Universalism, purgatory, Christ was created, transmigration, he also denied the literal interpretation of Genesis creation and more.

Eusebius (260-340 AD) was greatly influenced by him. He produced fifty copies of an ecumenical bible at the request of  Constantine. Constantine is remembered for establishing Sunday worship for Catholics, however this does not replace the sabbath as some may believe; he also instituted the Catholic Church as the state religion. Constantine's decision to choose Eusebius rendition of Origens bible was perhaps even more important, because all modern English bibles are based on codex vatianus/sinaiticus which are of the Eusebi-Origen kind.

Constantine became emperor of Rome in 312 AD and a little later he supposedly embraced the christian faith in an attempt to bring about the amalgamation of Paganism and Christianity. Eusebius denied the deity of Christ and also claimed he was a created being. This is know as the Arian heresy.

Codex vaticanus also called codex B is considered to be the most Authorative of the minority texts even though it's responsible for 36,000 changes that appear in today's bibles. This manuscript was found in 1481 in the Vatican's library, where it is currently located and it's also where it got it's name. According to the Westminster Dictionary of the bible"...there is no Prominent Biblical manuscripts in which there occur such gross cases of misspelling faulty grammar, and omission...". It has been corrected by revisers in the 8th, 10th, and 15th centuries, every letter has been run over with a pen. Just reading the gospels you will find it omits 749 sentences,452 clauses,237 other words, all of which are found in hundreds of other Greek manuscripts. The total # of words omitted in Gospels alone in codex B is 2,877, when compared to the majority of manuscripts. John Burgon who personally examined it testified that the scribe intentionally left a space for the last 12 verses of Mark that he withheld. Contains the false apocryphal books and omits Revelation and cuts off Hebrews at 9:14.

Codex Sinaiticus- also called codex Aleph it was discovered by Tischendorf a German evolutionist theologian at St. Catherines Monastery. The first Part of it was discovered in 1844, but the other in 1859 in a waste paper basket. It is assumed that it came from around the 4th century but there was never found proof that it dated any earlier than the 12th century. He counted Nearly fifteen thousand corrections. "...Letters and words, even whole sentences, are frequently written twice over, or  begun and immediately cancelled; while that gross blunder,where by a clause is omitted because it happens to end in the same words as the clause preceding, occurs no less than 115 times in the New Testament" - John Burgon. Mark 16:9-20 omitted, but was originally there and has been erased. It also includes the apocryphal books plus the epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas.

The Jesuites swear to destroy all "heretics", by heretics they mean Protestants and Liberals. In their oath of induction they swear to do such horrendous things such as (hang, waste,boil, flay, strangle,bury alive, rip up wombs of their women and crush their infants heads against the walls or secretly use Poison cup, strangulation cord, steel poniard,or bullet). They are told to exterminate those who will not accept the pope as the vicar of Jesus. The Jesuits were first founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola of Spain during the reign of Pope Paul 3rd, in order to combat the Protestant Heresy. Here's a quote from a Jesuit meeting in Cheri, Italy in 1825 "Then the Bible, that serpent which with head erect and eyes flashing, threatens us with it's venom while it trails along the ground, shall be changed into a rod as soon as we are able to seize it... for three centuries past this cruel asp has left us no repose.(the Jesuits in History, Hector Machpherson)

Quote from Catechism:"what if the Holy scriptures command one thing and the Pope another contrary to it? the Holy scriptures must be thrown aside."

Brook Foss Wescott and Angelican Bishop and John Anthony Hort also a priest and professor at Cambridge were the ones responsible for creating a Greek new testament in 1881 based on the findings of Tischendorf. They also created a theory of textual criticism which underlay their and other Greek new testaments, that produced most of the modern English translations we have today.

Wescott and/or Hort have been quoted rejecting the infallibility of scripture, doubting Future Punishment,denying the literal history of the first 3 chapters of Genesis, as well as Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our sins, as well as some disturbing quotes for Mary worship. Both men were involved with the occult/members of spiritists societies the Hermes club and the Ghostly Guild.

The Textus Receptus is the text that has been used for over 2,000 years by Christians, it's also known as the Traditional text, Majority text, Byzantine Text, or Syrian Text. Before the 20th century virtually all English bibles since Tyndales first new Testament (1526 AD) were based on it including Miles coverdale's bible (1535 a.d), the Great bible(1539), Geneva version(1560), Bishop's bible(1568), and the KJV(1611). Ancient versions followed the reading of the Textuse Receptus including Peshitta version(150 a.d), the italic bible(157), the Waldensian(120 and onwards), the Armenian bible(400 a.d), and more.

Textus Receptus came from Antioch which is mentioned Positively in the bible (Acts 6:5, 11:21-30, 13:1-3) but the minority texts came from Alexandria, Egypt which is mentioned Negatively. (Gen. 12:10-12, Exo 1:11-22, 20:2, Deut 4:20, 17:16, Isaiah 19, 30:2-3, 31:1, 36:6,9, Jere 37, 42:14-19, chapters 43,44,46 Ezek 23:2 chapter 29,30 Acts 6:9, 27:6,11:8).


http://www.1611kingjamesbible.com/textus_receptus.html

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