would guide our steps. If we are truly searching for the truth and not a proof of our preconceptions, He will show us the truth. I have mentioned to any number of pastors, that I felt a need to read I Maccabees and II Maccabees, so that I could make more sense of the silent period between the old and the new testaments. In every instance but one, I was advised, to avoid them, as they were frivolous and dangerous. In the one case, I was told that the Maccabees provided the history I wanted, but that the rest of the apocrypha was rather fanciful. After I purchased a Catholic bible, and began reading, I realized that the threat was, only, the same as in all scripture reading. If the scripture is read out of context, with an eye to putting a personal spin on it, to fulfill an agenda, it is possible to do so. On the balance, if scripture is prayerfully read, with a sincere desire to know what God meant, the Holy Spirit at the proper time will give insight. By reading the apocrypha, I realized the transition between the Selucid and the Roman rule was brought on by the Jewish nation. Interestingly, but outside this study, the man who invited the Romans and thus started setting the stage for Jesus to be crucified at the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, was named Judas, a Maccabee. It rounded out the scene for me and made John 1:11 all the more meaningful, "He came unto his own, and his own received him not.". The Romans were totally incidental, though necessary, and Jesus was put on the cross by his own, tried by a ruling class invited by his own. That's not to say the Romans weren't equally guilty, but they were not his own (Shemite blood line). Well, needless to say, I don't find the other versions threatening anymore. I am still more comfortable in the King James version, but that is because I grew up with it, and the old English in it is comforting to me. One of the arguments against the other versions, set forth by the militant preacher was Revelation 22:18-19 which says: "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this 137 _______________________________________________________________________________ book: 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.". His discussion was that KJV carried gospel that the others didn't. Later in the discussion on which church, we will see that not all churches accept the entire Bible as applying to them. The proponents for the other versions defense is on two fronts. First, citation of the fact that the oldest and best manuscripts, mainly the Greek Sinaiticus and the Latin Vulgate, didn't contain them, and secondly that this passage, Revelation 22:18-19, only applied to the book of Revelation. I have always had trouble on both sides of the discussion. Since the original manuscripts are missing, who can tell which is closest to right, and what is added or taken away? We looked forward with baited breath waiting for news from Qumram and the Dead Sea scrolls to shed light. The only thing of substance released, to my knowledge, comes from cave 4, and has been used to reinforce the validity of some of the translations extant. It is becoming more and more obvious, that those in control of the scrolls, are hampering publication of them, either from desires of self-aggrandizement, or an elitist belief that the general Christian public has no guidance from the Holy Spirit, and therefore can't be trusted to properly use and understand the texts. By that, I mean the general Christian public to be, all those who have the ability to translate the texts for wider distribution to those who can not read and translate the texts on their own. What happened to guidance by the Holy Spirit? Also, if God meant to protect only the book of Revelation from change why did he forbid change in other places in the Bible. One instance is found in Deuteronomy 4:2, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commanded you.". In Deuteronomy 12:32 it says: "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor 138 _________________________________________________________________________________ |
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