The Bible...

[Tigger56]

I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and is a miracle and a proof of the existence of God and shows God's interaction with man. I have seen people want to take whole sections from the Bible and have seen many try to ignore whole sections of the Bible. It is probably the most misquoted and misunderstood collection of books ever printed. I tend to like the King James version best because additions from the original text is in italics.

After saying this... I also think about these things. Will the Bible always be as it is?  Is the Bible still being written?

In regards to the first question... When our Lord returns to the earth and establishes his kingdom and King David is once more over Israel... will his sin with Bathsheba or his sin in numbering Israel always been there for all of eternity?  I know I wouldn't want all of my sins on review forever. If all sin is forgiven and forgotten shouldn't they also be taken from the Bible?  I can't help but feel that the Lord will change things listed in his word.

In regards to the question of the Bible still being written.  I know the last verses in Revelation, Chapter 22 verses 18 and 19. No man is to add or take away from that prophesy. I believe those verses are for the book and prophesy of Revelation not to the whole Bible. But also I do not believe man has the authority to rewrite the Bible, but what if the Lord is still adding to the Bible?  What about the history of the church and many of the faithful?  Is God still writing the book of Acts? Is God still adding to the faith chapter? Man cannot add or take away but surely the Lord can. Does the Lord have his own historians (angels) writing a different version of history than the distorted one done by man? 

I also know that God is not done with interacting with man. Will more be added by our Lord as we live through the end times when all is said and done?

Just things I have pondered....  interested in some of your responses.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Tigger56

[Tzephanyahu]

2 hours ago, Tigger56 said:

Will the Bible always be as it is?  Is the Bible still being written?

Shalom Tigger,

Great questions.  Here is two points I would like to make...

 

1. The Bible is continuing, but retrospectively!

Some people often wonder whether all the 66 books in the Bible are inspired and meant to be included in the canon.  On the contrary, I believe the Bible we have today is greatly stripped down from what it could be!  There are other books which offer further insight into the Kingdom of God, which doesn't contradict the Bible, and make more sense to Christians rather than those in Judaism.  These books are known as the Apocryphal books.  Both those books and others found in the Dead Sea Scrolls are slowly starting to more traction with scholars of today, although some remain sceptical of them.  However, some of these books  make more sense POST the book of Revelation - such ideas of life after death, judgement day, the second coming, the Holy Spirit within us, fallen angels, warnings for the last generation, end times signs and even about the Canon!  As you discover these books, it effectively continues the Bible for us.  It's like they were written way back in the past for future generations - in fact, the Book of Enoch even starts by saying such a thing.  Planned and penned in the past, for a future Kingdom of believers, post-apostles.

 

2. What would our chapter say?

Rather than us as an individual, I mean us as the Church.  If you had to sum up the church, in the last 100 years, in one paragraph (as we might read it in the Bible), how do you think it would read?  Examples welcome!

 

Love & Shalom

[dr3032]

Like a blade on the anvil or wet clay being molded into a pot, I think the Bible has been refined over time. Sure, many things have been lost in translation, but has there ever been such a number of believers? It is not so much the words, after all, so much as the intent behind them.

However, I must protest the notion of the Apocryphal books. Enoch contradicts much within the Bible. Even the existence of "Lilith" is based on some dude assuming that the first woman was not Eve, based on wording from Genesis. It reads like fan fiction, which is largely what the Apocryphal books are.

Things are the way they are for a reason. If Enoch and Lilith were true, would they not be in the Bible? Surely, if the Bible is the inspired word of God and God's authority and will is far above man, would he not then force them into the scriptures, despite scholarly protest?

[shortangel]

I think the Bible is the Word of God that means that God wrote it,  all 66 books includeing the book of Rev are true  & yes we cannot add or take away from the prophesies in the book of Rev

[BeauJangles]

12 hours ago, Tigger56 said:

In regards to the first question... When our Lord returns to the earth and establishes his kingdom and King David is once more over Israel... will his sin with Bathsheba or his sin in numbering Israel always been there for all of eternity?  I know I wouldn't want all of my sins on review forever. If all sin is forgiven and forgotten shouldn't they also be taken from the Bible?  I can't help but feel that the Lord will change things listed in his word.

Not to throw a stick into the spokes, but this has me totally confused. Could someone explain where this is and/or comes from? I could always stand a chance for learning something not previously made aware of. God bless.

Shalom, 

David/BeauJangles

[Willa]

Rom 4:3  For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS ACCOUNTED TO HIM FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Rom 4:5  But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, Rom 4:6  just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: Rom 4:7  "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS ARE FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS ARE COVERED;  Rom 4:8  BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHOM THE LORD SHALL NOT IMPUTE SIN."

God has said that their faith is placed on their accounts as righteousness and their sins are blotted out.

 Isa 44:22  I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”

 Act 3:19  “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

If you have confessed your sins to God He has removed them as far as the east is from the west, and He has cleansed you from all unrighteousness.  He gives us a new heart that wants to do the deeds God wants for us to fulfill.  Christians will be judged by our allowing Christ to fulfill those deeds through us.  

 

9 hours ago, Tzephanyahu said:

Shalom Tigger,

Great questions.  Here is two points I would like to make...

1. The Bible is continuing, but retrospectively!

Some people often wonder whether all the 66 books in the Bible are inspired and meant to be included in the canon.  On the contrary, I believe the Bible we have today is greatly stripped down from what it could be!  There are other books which offer further insight into the Kingdom of God, which doesn't contradict the Bible, and make more sense to Christians rather than those in Judaism.  These books are known as the Apocryphal books. 

The Apocrypha is no more sacred than Shakespeare.  It is OK to read but garbage for doctrinal teaching.  

[Marilyn C]

14 hours ago, Tigger56 said:

I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and is a miracle and a proof of the existence of God and shows God's interaction with man. I have seen people want to take whole sections from the Bible and have seen many try to ignore whole sections of the Bible. It is probably the most misquoted and misunderstood collection of books ever printed. I tend to like the King James version best because additions from the original text is in italics.

After saying this... I also think about these things. Will the Bible always be as it is?  Is the Bible still being written?

In regards to the first question... When our Lord returns to the earth and establishes his kingdom and King David is once more over Israel... will his sin with Bathsheba or his sin in numbering Israel always been there for all of eternity?  I know I wouldn't want all of my sins on review forever. If all sin is forgiven and forgotten shouldn't they also be taken from the Bible?  I can't help but feel that the Lord will change things listed in his word.

In regards to the question of the Bible still being written.  I know the last verses in Revelation, Chapter 22 verses 18 and 19. No man is to add or take away from that prophesy. I believe those verses are for the book and prophesy of Revelation not to the whole Bible. But also I do not believe man has the authority to rewrite the Bible, but what if the Lord is still adding to the Bible?  What about the history of the church and many of the faithful?  Is God still writing the book of Acts? Is God still adding to the faith chapter? Man cannot add or take away but surely the Lord can. Does the Lord have his own historians (angels) writing a different version of history than the distorted one done by man? 

I also know that God is not done with interacting with man. Will more be added by our Lord as we live through the end times when all is said and done?

Just things I have pondered....  interested in some of your responses.

Hi Tigger,

God wrote His word and it reveals His character through His Son. It is the complete revelation of His purpose through Christ for mankind.

Now as to King David ruling over Israel in the Millennium, (Jer. 3: 9,  Ez. 37: 24) it is just a man named David. He marries and has sons, (Ez. 46: 16). King David of old is in the General Assembly awaiting his inheritance, (Heb. 11: 32,  12:23)

Marilyn. 

[Jayne]

6 hours ago, Willa said:

The Apocrypha is no more sacred than Shakespeare.  It is OK to read but garbage for doctrinal teaching.  

Agree.  Wholeheartedly.

Those books of the Apocrypha were never in the original Jewish canon.  When the very first translation happened  - converting what we call the Old Testament  - from Hebrew to Greek, all 39 of our OT books were contained in the Jewish canon.  However, they only had 24 or so books as they combined several minor prophets and I think if memory doesn't fail - 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles were/are combined.

Anyway, the original Jewish canon and our Old Testament are the same thing except for arrangement and combination of some books.

In 200 or so BC, when the first translation was made - it was called the Septuagint.   It took a very long time to translate and along the way other books, Jewish in authorship but not in the canon, were included.  But not translated as the Apocrypha was never written in Hebrew.  Due to there being written not long before Christ was born, these books were originally in Greek.  The Apocrypha - 1/2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, several chapters added to Esther, several chapters added to Daniel [each additional story in Daniel has a name], Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, and 1/2 Maccabees.  

 In somewhere around the year 300 or so AD - it was time to translate again.  This time, into Latin.

It was the job of Jerome who was commissioned by a Pope to put the then - entire Bible, Old and New Testaments - into the language of the people which was now Latin.

Jerome did NOT consider these Apocryphal books to be inspired scripture.  But he was overruled.

By the time the Protestant Reformation came along, many, many people denied the divine authority of these books for very valid reasons.

In fighting with Catholics to have them removed, the Catholic church deemed part of these books AS scripture in defiance of the Protestant movement.

The Catholic churched coined the word "deuterocanonical" [second canon] and keep these [at least some of these] books in their Bibles today.

The King James Bible kept them from 1611 to 1666.

As for other extrabiblical writings such as Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Books of Enoch, The Life of Adam and Eve, the Jubilees, book of Jasher, and so on are not Apocryphal.  They are for the most part pseudographical. [falsely attributed to a person who did not write the book] They are a hot mess of bizarre content.

• The book of Judas has Jesus as the "bad guy" and Judas as the only one with sense.
• The Life of Adam and Eve has the first couple committing suicide over and over multiple times because they feel bad about eating the fruit.  God just keeps raising them from the dead and they just keep on killing themselves.
• The books of Enoch and Jasher have so much direct contradiction to the Bible that it's hard to know where to begin.

Heresy began very early.

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by Jayne

[Tzephanyahu]

7 hours ago, Willa said:

The Apocrypha is no more sacred than Shakespeare.  It is OK to read but garbage for doctrinal teaching.  

What a shocking statement.  Written with such authority and finality.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Tzephanyahu

[Blood Bought 1953]

1 hour ago, Tzephanyahu said:

What a shocking statement.  Written with such authority and finality.

 

.......as it should be