DENOMINATIONS & DIFFERENT BIBLES

WHERE DID THEY ALL COME FROM ?

Have You Ever Asked Yourself that Question ?

Many People Have Asked Me that Question, so This Booklet

will Briefly Examine "Church History" & Explain the Origins

of the Mainline Denominations & Different Bibles that We See

In Our World Today.

STARTING AT THE BEGINNING

The Best Place to Begin is Nearly Always at the Beginning, and this is no Exception. During the Lord's Earthly Ministry there were Two Groups of Followers that Typically Surrounded Him. We See them so Clearly Represented in John 6:24-71. There were the True Believers Like Peter, who Followed the Lord & were Totally Committed to Continue Following Him because HE HAD THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE John 6:66-69 . The Other Group were Unbelieving Disciples who ONLY Followed Jesus when He Gave Them What They Wanted John 6:24-27 & when He Told Them Things They Wanted to Hear John 6:60-66. The True Be- lievers Like Peter Did Not Try to Change His Words OR to Ignore them & Walk Away when they Did Not Like or even Completely Under- stand the Words of Eternal Life. They just Continued to Follow the Lord & Do What He Told them to Do. Others would Call Him LORD , yet Not Obey His WORDS Luke 6:46 .

Another Striking Example of this Same Kind of Thing Can be Seen Even Earlier in the Bible In the Story of Cain & Able In Genesis 4:1-16. Able Offered the Sacrifice that God Required & thereby Submitted to & Obeyed God's WORD. Cain Refused to Offer the Appropriate Sacrifice & thereby Submit to & Obey God's WORD. Cain Wanted to Change God's WORD Rather than to Submit to It. Cain wanted to Offer to God What he Found to be Acceptable ( the Work of His Own Hands ) Rather than to Offer to God what God Found Acceptable ( the Blood Sacrifice of an Innocent Lamb ). When God Refused to Change HIS PLAN to Suit Cain, Cain Got Mad at God and Decided to Kill his Brother Abel . How Much we See of that Same Spirit Today. Cain Wanted to Worship God ON His OWN Terms Rather than ON GOD'S Terms. Cain Set Up His Own Plan of Worshipping God ( His Own Religion ) & Refused God's Plan. Coming Back to the New Testament and the Church Age we Find that there is a Consistent Chain of Evidence to Show that there has Always been Two Basic Groups Among "Professing Christians." These Two Groups may be Described as Those Who Bow their Hearts & Lives Before the Authority of the WORD of God & Reverence the Bible as Being the "Words of Eternal Life" and Those who Have No Such Reverence Toward the Bible & Have No Problem with Changing God's WORD to Suit their Own Self-styled Religious Program. Because of this Problem there Have Always been in the History of the Christian Church These Two Types of "Believers" and These Two Types of Churches. The First Group Became Know as "Regular" Christians & Churches , While the Second Group Became Known as the "Irregular" Christians & Churches.

SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLES OF "IRREGULAR CHRISTIANS"

Perhaps the Greatest Example that we can See in the Scripture of this Kind of Thing and the Negative Influence that these "Irregular Christians" can Have on a Church is a Man Called Diotrephes in III John Verses 9-12 . Diotrephes was a Member of the Church that Gaius & Demetrius Attended. Diotrephes Loved to Have Preeminence in the Church. He wanted to be a Big Shot and Exercise Such Influence in the Church that If Anyone in the Church Wanted to Receive the Apostle John & His Fellow Laborers for the Lord Diotrephes would Kick them Out of Assembly. John tells Gaius to Not Follow Diotrephes' Evil Example but Rather the Good Example of Demetrius. Even while the Apostles were Still Alive the Devil had Already Gotten Some of his People Positioned in Leadership WHO WOULD NOT OBEY THE WORD OF GOD, and They Controlled the Policies & Direction of their Local Churches. John Also Points Out the Potential for Danger that an Individual & a Church Could Face by Receiving Messengers which were Seeking to Steer People Away from the Truth IN His Day in II John Verses 4-11. These Deceivers may Even Come in the Name of Jesus Christ but Have a Spirit of Antichrist. They would Testify to a Different Jesus. They would Not Abide in the Doctrine of Christ yet would Seek to Spread a Different DOCTRINE IN HIS NAME.

In I John 4:1-6 the Apostle Warns that There were Already Many False Prophets in the World which Had Another Spirit that was ANTICHRIST ( Against the Biblical Jesus ).

Paul Writes in Galatians 3:1 that the Churches of Galatia had Been Bewitched Into Not Obeying the Truth. In Galatians 1:6-9 Paul Writes that He Marveled that they Had So Quickly Been Removed From the BIBLICAL JESUS & Steered Toward ANOTHER Jesus & Another Gospel. He Stated that there were Some which Had Perverted the Gospel -- Even In His Own Time.

In II Corinthians 11:1-4 Paul Expressed His Deep Concern that the Church at Corinth Might be Carried Away to Following Another Jesus & Another Gospel by the Means of a Satanic Corruption of their Minds through False Preachers & False Teaching.

These are Just a Mere Handful of the Many Passages that Could be Cited here to Show the Damaging Influence of False Teaching and Church Leaders who Would Not Receive the Truth of God's Word - yet Still wanted to be Identified Within the Christian Community of Believers & Churches. From the Very Beginning of the Church Age there Has Been these Two Groups of "Professing Christian Believers."

THE FIRST 300 YEARS OF CHURCH HISTORY

During the First Three Hundred Years of the Church Age these Two Groups Battled Over Ascendency ( which Group would Come Out on Top ) in the "Christian Community." MUCH OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS WRITTEN TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM !!! Jesus Said that the Kingdom of God was like a Man who had Sown Good Seed in a Field, but an Enemy Came Along While Men Slept and Sowed Wicked Seed. He Said that the Good Seed were the Children of the Kingdom and that the Evil Seed Represented the Children of the Devil. He Portrayed the Church Age as Being a Time when Both the "Wheat & the Tares" would Grow Together and be Hard to Tell Apart Matthew 13:24-30 .

During this First 300 Years there Developed "Regular Churches" & "Irregular Churches." The Regular Churches were Obedient to the Will of God as Revealed in the Scriptures, & they Had a Reverence Toward the Word of God. On the Other Hand the Irregular Churches Had No Such Reverence Toward the Scriptures & Set their OWN Standards for Worship and Following Christ Acceptably.

Because of the Continuing Battle Over the Issue of Who OR What would Be the Ultimate Authority Among "Professing Christians" ( whether Man's Own Opinions & Traditions would RULE or the WORD of GOD, the Scriptures ) there were Quite Naturally Elements within Each of these Groups that Made Elaborate Efforts to Persuade Others of the Correctness of their Belief System. These Individuals who Worked to Persuade Others were Called Apologists. They sought to lay out their Beliefs in a Methodical & Comprehensive way to Instruct & to Convince All who would Give them an Audience or Read their Written Works.

In order to Keep this Booklet Short I will Not be Dealing in Detail with the Names of the Regular Christian Apologists throughout the Centuries. Rather, I will Focus on the Irregular "Christians" & How their Beliefs & Leadership has Led to the Circumstances we see with Regard to the Different Bible Translations & Different Denominations in Our World Today.

IF THE BLIND LEAD THE BLIND

Jesus Said : "... If the Blind Lead the Blind, Both Shall Fall Into the Ditch " in Matthew 15:14 .

What we will see when we Look into the History of "Professing" Christendom is that there were Many Prominent Leaders who Simply Refused to Accept the "Faith which was Once Delivered Unto the Saints" ( Jude Verse 3 ). These are those that Peter Wrote About who " Wrest " ( or Twist ) the " Scriptures, Unto their Own Destruction " in II Peter 3:16 .

THE SOURCE OF OTHER TRANSLATIONS THAN THE KJV

Justin Martyr - 100AD

The First Man to Rise into Great Prominence as a Corrupter of the "Faith which was Once Delivered Unto the Saints" was Justin Martyr. He was born in a Pagan Home and was the First to Mix Gnosticism with Christianity. Gnosticism taught that the Key to Salvation was Knowledge - Rather than Faith. It also taught that Jesus was Created by God the Father - NOT the Eternal Creator of ALL things HIMSELF .

Tatian - 150AD

The Next Man who Rose to Prominence was Tatian who was a Disciple of Justin Martyr . He too was a Gnostic Like his Master , and he wrote a Harmony of the Gospels using the Christian Scriptures & the Gnostic Gospels which Omitted Certain Scriptures Like John 8:1-11 & Mark 16:9-20 . According to Historians his "Harmony of the Gospels" was "So Corrupt that the Bishop of Syria Threw Out 200 Copies ."

Clement of Alexandria - 200AD

Clement of Alexandria was a Disciple of Tatian . He Taught that there was No Real Heaven or Hell. He Taught that there was No Blood Atonement of Christ and NO INFALLIBLE BIBLE . He Founded the School of Theology in Alexandria, Egypt and Used the Gnostic Scriptures to Teach his Pupils. He Specifically Stated that He would Not Pass Down the Christian Teaching Pure & Unmixed but rather Clothed with the Precepts of Pagan Philosophy.

Origen -- 184-254AD

Perhaps the Most Infamous Man in this Chain of Apostasy is Origen , a Disciple of Clement of Alexandria. He Believed & Taught the Same Things as his Master , but He Even Went Further & Far Out shined his Mentor in Heretical Influence Against the Truths of the Bible. He Taught that the Baptism of Babies was Necessary for to them be Saved. He Actually Stated that "The Scriptures are of Little Use to those who Understand them AS THEY ARE WRITTEN." He was One of the First Advocates of Textual Criticism , and his Work in this Area Resulted in the a Purposely Altered Greek New Testament that Reflected his Own Doctrinal Biases & an Old Testament with Multiple Copies in Hebrew & Greek Laid Out in a Six Column Fashion Called the "Hexapla." His "Bible" ( Also Called the "Alexandrian" Bible or Alexandrian Text because It Came from his School of Theology in Alexandria, Egypt ) Served as the Basis for the Roman Catholic Scriptures INCLUDING the VATICANUS & SINAITICUS. Origen was a Devout Follower of Plato, a Pagan Philosopher. He Also Taught that The Planets & Stars had Souls, that Everything in the Bible was an Allegory, that the demons would be Saved, that Souls Existed from Eternity, and that at Death the Soul MIGRATED to a Higher or Lower Form of Life DEPENDING ON IT'S DEEDS IN LIFE . This is the Man that is the Human Fountain for the Catholic Bible and ALL of the MODERN TRANSLATIONS that we Have in the English Speaking World Today.

Eusebius -- 260-340AD

Eusebius was Trained at Origen's School in Alexandria and was Commissioned by CONSTANTINE , the Roman Emperor, to Provide Him with 50 New Bible Manuscripts in Around 331AD. Eusebius took Origen's "Bible" and - with Additional Editing - Made 50 Copies (Among which Scholars Believe were the Vaticanus & Sinaiticus) for His New "Holy Roman Catholic Church." These Manuscripts were Never Used by the Regular Christian Churches or Even the Protestant Churches from the Days of Martin Luther Until 1881 when Two Men by the Names of Westcott & Hort Came on the Scene.

Jerome -- 340-420AD

Jerome - like Eusebius - Deeply Loved & Revered Origen and Took his Alexandrian Bible to be the Basis for His Own "Latin Vulgate" Bible in 380AD. This Became the Official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, Jerome's Latin Bible Replaced Origen's & Eusebius' Greek Bible for Common Usage , & the Vaticanus Manuscript was Placed in the Vatican Library while the Sinaiticus was Abandoned in a Catholic Monastery in the Sinai -- Not to be Used Again for another 1500 Years Until Wescott & Hort.

Tischendorf - 1869

He was a Liberal Theologian who First Found & Began to Use the Vaticanus & Sinaiticus Manuscripts.

Westcott & Hort - 1881

These Two Men Used the Vaticanus & the Sinaiticus to Produce a Brand New Greek Text that had Never Previously Existed. Their New Text was Used as the Basis for the Revised Version of 1881 and for Every Modern Translation in the English Language Since that Time. Their Bible Differs from the King James Bible Manuscripts 5,788 Times.

In Order to Understand the Reasons why these Men Changed the Bible to Such an Extent that Christianity will Never Be the Same We Must Consid- er the Belief Systems that they Held Before they Began their Task. The Reason this is so Vital to Understand is because of the Result of their Work which was Literally the Turning of the English Speaking World Away from the Greek Text which had been Received by the Regular Christians & Churches from the Very Beginning of the Church Age Until 1881 and the Most Accurate English Bible Available that Came From those Greek Manuscripts. Further, what they Have Turned Us Toward is a Spiritual Famine in the Land : a "Famine" ... " of Hearing the Words of the Lord" as was Prophesied to Israel in Amos 8:11 .

To Begin with They Hated the Manuscripts that the King James Bible Came from. They Called the "Textus Receptus" (which Means Received Text : The Greek Bible Text that Had Been Received by the Regular Believers & Churches Since the Earliest Days of the Church Age) " That Vile Text."

Mr. Hort said : " I am Persuaded that Mary Worship & Jesus Worship Have Very Much in Common." They said : " If the Bible is Taken Seriously, It Becomes a Danger to Religion & to Public Morals." They Said: " The Doctrine of Substitution is Immoral." Neither Believed in the Inspiration of the Scriptures. Westcott Stated that All Religions were Related to One Another and that None was Superior to Another - Even Christianity. Both Denied a Literal Heaven and Stated that Heaven could be Attained Here on Earth as Man Became Better & Better. Both were Supporters of Darwin and Believed that the Genesis Account of Creation was Not to be Taken Literally. They Formed an Organization Called the "Ghostly Guild" and Dabbled in Spiritualism, Consulting Wizards, were Fascinated with Metaphysics and etceteras. Other Things Could be Listed, but these Should be Enough to Cause Us to Ask whether We Want to Trust These Men to Give Us the Word of God or Not.

THE MOTIVATION BEHIND THE MODERN TRANSLATIONS

While we Have Traced the History of the Human Instruments that Changed the Greek New Testament and Provided English Speaking People with the First New Translation of the Bible Called the Revised Version in 1881, we Have Not Yet Examined the Motivation Behind these Changes. We Must Ask the Questions of WHY was there a Desire to Change the Greek New Testament ( the Hebrew OT was Changed as well, but we won't Deal with that Here ) and then the English Bible, WHO was Ultimately Behind the Changes, & WHAT was the Methodology that was Used that Made these Changes so Acceptable ?

Let's Begin with the Question of Who was Behind the Changes in the Bible - Both in the Original Languages and in the English Language Today.

We've Already Traced the Human Element, but there is a Spiritual Element as well : Satan, the Spirit of Antichrist. He is the One that Blinds Men to the Truth & Opposes the Salvation of Men II Corinthians 4:3-4 .

Now, Let's Consider the Question of WHY there was a Desire to Change the Word of God.

On the Human Side it was Simply a Matter of Men Wanting to Be Like Cain. He wanted to Appear to be Righteous as his Brother Able and Offer a Sacrifice to God - but On His Own Terms. Man has wanted to Change God's Terms of Acceptability Since the Garden of Eden.

Satan wanted to Change the terms to Lead Men Astray from God with a Form of Godliness that Denied the Power thereof II Timothy 3:5-8 . His Methodology Can be Easily Traced Back to the Garden of Eden. He Posed Two Simple Questions :

1. Do You Really Know What God Has Said ? , &

2. Do You Really Know What God Meant ? .

THEN, he Directly Denied the Truthfulness of What God Said and Offered his OWN Alternative Version of the Truth.

GOD'S Version Portayed Man as being Created in a Subordinate Role to the Creator & Accountable to HIS WORD.

Satan's Version Portrayed Man as being Able to Decide for Himself & Without that Accountability.

THE SOURCE OF DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS

CONSTANTINE and the Catholic Church

In the Year 312AD (or thereabouts - Depending on which Historian you Read) Constantine was in a Battle to Determine who would Ultimately Control the Roman Empire, and he Saw a Vision of a Cross in the Sky & Heard the Words : "In this Sign Conquer." From that Day Forward He Professed to be a Christian and Sought to Marry the "Church" & the State Under His Authority.

He Sent Out Letters to the Pastors within His Realm, Told them that He had Recently Converted to Christianity, and Invited them to Join Him at His Palace where He Treated them Like Kings. There were 318 Pastors from the Irregular Churches that Accepted His Invitation and Spent 65 Days with Him, but None of the Pastors from the Regular Churches Attended. During this Time Constantine Convinced the Pastors that Attended to Join Hands with Him & Form a World Wide Church Organization which would be Supported by Him but would Also Answer to Him. The Edict of Milan was Issued which Granted Christianity Legal Status in the Empire for the First Time in Many Years - Since Really the Days of Nero. Constantine took Upon Himself the Title of "Pontifex Maximus" and Ruled as the Chief Priest of His New Universal (or "Catholic" Church).

Constantine wanted a New Bible , so He Turned to a Man by the Name of Eusebius who Made 50 Copies of Origen's Alexandrian Text. This New Religious - Political Marriage Begun by Constantine Became the Historical Foundation for what we Know Today as the Roman Catholic Church.

A Subsequent Emporer by the Name of Gratian Renounced the Title of Pontifex Maximus, but at the Same Time the Bishop at Rome Rose to Prominence within the Church Because the Organization had Become Centralized in Rome. Over Time these Factors Led to the Development of the Vatican City at Rome with it's Religious - Political Character, and the Bishop at Rome - Quite Naturally - became It's Supreme Pontiff as we See it Today. Anyone who Argues Against this Conclusion is Not Being Honest with the Facts of History.

Henry VIII and the Church of England

The Catholic Church had Spread It's Influence Greatly Around the World in the 1,200 or so Years Between Constantine & King Henry VIII of England. While the Roman Empire had Crumbled the Influence of the Roman Church had Remained Strong. Henry VIII was a Catholic & had Decided to Divorce his Wife and Remarry because She had Not been Able to Give him a Son to Sit On the Throne After him. However, the Pope would Not Allow him to do so, SO he Renounced the Pope & the Authority of Rome and Started his Own Brand of Catholicism with himself as the Head of the Church. This is where the Church of England was Born. He held to the Same Doctrines but Set Up a New Line of Authority which Proceeded From Himself. In America the Episcopal Church is Our Version of the Church of England.

Martin Luther and the Lutheran Church

Martin Luther was a Catholic Priest who wanted to Reform the Catholic Church. He Never Really wanted to Come Out of the Catholic Church but wanted to Reform it from within. He Emphasized Salvation by Grace through Faith & Only 2 Sacraments - Instead of the 7 of Catholicism. He Taught that Salvation was Tied to an Individual's Participation in the 2 Sacraments of Baptism & Holy Communion. He Maintained the Catholic Practice of Infant Baptism & Believed that a Man who was Once Saved Could Lose his Salvation. Luther was an Excellent Communicator and Served as the Prophetic Voice of the Protestant Reformation - though his Teachings were Not that Far Removed from those of Rome. He Did, however, Strongly Oppose the Sale of Indulgences and was a Mighty Voice Calling for the Reform of the Catholic Church. He Even Began Translating the Bible for the German People in the Common Language & Rejected the Catholic Greek & Latin Bibles as his Source Materials - Turning Rather to the Source of the King James Bible to Use for His Translation.

John Calvin and the Presbyterian Church

John Calvin was the Founder of the Organization we know as the Presbyterian Church. Calvin was Not a Catholic, but He Carried On the Protestant Theme that had Already Begun in Europe through Luther and Others. He was Heavily Influenced by Luther's Teachings but Differed with him in Certain Areas as well. While Luther Stressed His Version of Justification By Faith, Calvin was More Focused on the Doctrine of the Sovereignty of God and HIS Divine Election of those who would be Saved. Luther's Main Labor was in Preaching, while Calvin's Labors were Mainly Directed toward Developing a Formal System of Theology. He Also was Interested in Creating an Organizational Model for Church Government. Additionally, he was Responsible for the Growth of Much of the Democratic Style of Representative Government that we See in Secular Society Today.

John Wesley and the Methodist Church

John Wesley was a Priest in the Church of England ( or the Anglican Church ). He too - like Luther - Didn't Really Want to Disassociate from His Own Denomination, but His Ordination Credentials were Basically Revoked by the Anglican Church when He began Preaching Salvation by Faith as Opposed to through the Sacramental System of the Church. Wesley would Often Draw Crowds in the Tens of Thousands to Hear him Preach and Traveled Thousands of Miles on Horseback In a Regular Circuit to Spread his Message Around. He also was a Prolific Discipler & Writer who Organized his Followers so Methodically that his Movement was Called by that Name, & the Methodist Church was Born.

Anabaptists and the Baptist Church

Historically, the Anabaptists were Never a Part of the Catholic Church or the Protestant Reformation. The Anabaptists were Just "REGULAR" Christians who Never Lost Sight of the "Faith which was Once Delivered Unto the Saints." The Reason that they were Given the Name Anabaptists is because they would RE-BAPTIZE their Converts from Catholicism or any of the "Protestant" Churches which Practiced "Infant Baptism" or "Sprinkle Baptism" or "Baptism by Pouring." These People Believed that Baptism By Immersion After Salvation is the Only Scriptural Method and would Not Practice or Accept Any Other Kind, so they were Given the Name which Means a "Rebaptizer" . Later the Name was Shortened to Baptist. These Believers can Trace their History by the Doctrines they Preach all the Way Back to the Apostles, because they Never Sought to Change the Bible to Suit their Own Beliefs. They Changed their Beliefs to Match the Scriptures. BEFORE they were Called Anabaptists they were Called by Other Names as Well. They were First Called CHRISTIANS at Antioch Acts 11:26 because they were True to the Word of God and Behaved themselves so Much Like Jesus that the Label was a Term of Scorn Originally. Then, they were Called by the Names of their Leaders Before they were Labeled for their Doctrinal Distinctives as Baptists are Today. They were also Called the Waldenses, Montanists, Novations, Donatists, Arnoldists, & Albigenses to Name a Few.

TO BE SAVED YOU MUST:

ACKNOWLEDGE

1. That You are a Sinner who has Come Short of the Standards that Jesus Preached & Lived by Romans 3:23 .

2. That You have Been Like a Sheep Going Astray, and You have Set Up Your Own Standards & have Done Things Your Own Way in Life Isaiah 53:6 .

3. That You have Been Wrong to Do This & that You Should have Been Following Jesus & the Father's Way in Your Life

Isaiah 8:19 & John 14:6 .

4. That there is a Terrible Penalty Placed Upon You By a Holy God Because of Sin Romans 6:23 & Revelation 20:14-15 .

5. That You Need the Forgiveness & Salvation Jesus Offers, because You Can't Save Yourself Isaiah 59:1-2 ;

Galatians 2:16 ; Romans 5:8 ; & I John 1:7 .

REPENT

* Turn Away From Your Life of Self Will & Turn Toward a Life of Surrender To & Faith In the Lord Jesus Christ Mark 1:15 ;

Acts 20:21 ; Isaiah 55:6-9 ; & II Peter 3:9 .

RECEIVE THE GIFT OF GOD

* Salvation is a Gift (Purchased by the Blood of Jesus) that God Freely Gives to All who Come to Him by a Heart of Repentance & Faith In the Sacrifice of Jesus Romans 6:23 ; Romans 10:9-13 ;

Hebrews 7:25-27 ; Hebrews 9:22-26 ; John 1:11-12 .

PRAY THIS PRAYER WITH A SINCERE HEART:

* Dear God, I Know that I'm a Sinner & that I've Lived My Life My Own Way. I Admit that I've Been Wrong, & I'm Sorry God. I Believe that Jesus Died for My Sins, so I could be Forgiven, & I Ask for Your Gift of Salvation through Him. I Repent of Going My Way Lord, & I Choose Today to Live for Jesus for the Rest of My Life, because He Died for Me. Come Into My Heart Lord Jesus; I Receive YOU Today as My ONLY HOPE of Heaven.

In Jesus' Name , I Pray , AMEN !!!

Dr. Gary D. Hall - Pastor / New Life Baptist Church (361) 564-3845

Sunday 10:30AM ; & 7PM / Wednesday Evening 7PM