History Online - The Bible
[an error occurred while processing this directive]The Bible
Before the Bible was printed, it was copied by hand by scribes. This was a lengthy and expensive process. Therefore, it was rarely available to the public. Usually the only people who had access to the Bible worked for the church or were were wealth individuals.
We know that it is the Lord's will for people to have a mate if they desire one. In the beginning when God created Adam, God Himself made this statement: "... It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18). The Lord wants to bring a mate to those who will ask Him and have the patience to wait for His choice.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Hebrews 11:1-3
The above verse states very plainly that faith is a reality, something that gives "substance" to things before they become visible to the natural eye. 2 Corinthians 5:7 declares that we walk by faith, not by sight. When we are "born again" we are given spiritual eyes to see things and understand things that otherwise we could not discern without the Holy Spirit. When we are submitted to the Lord, He then begins to guide and lead us by His Spirit; we follow Him in faith knowing He will not disappoint us or lead us astray. We must learn to obey Him even when we do not see or understand how He is leading.
With the horrendous terrorist attack against the U.S.A. still fresh on all of our minds, violence and terrorism in our land has become a major concern of our government leaders at this time. Individuals are also worried and fearful of what could happen to them in an age of such a threatening society.
How are Christians to respond to these evil days? First of all the Lord gave the warning as His second coming approached we would see these attitudes occurring in the world. II Timothy 3:1-4 says, This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.
With Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in 1450, there were other editions of the Bible printed. Jerome's Latin Vulgate was printed between 1450 and 1456. This is known as the Gutenberg Bible, Mazarin Bible, or 42-line Bible. 1488 saw the first printed edition of the Hebrew Old Testament. There were also several Bibles printed of the main languages of Western Europe. The first Greek New Testament was not printed until 1515, 60 years after the invention of the printing press. The first printed Greek New Testament appeared as part of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible; it was not circulated until 1522.
Probably having heard of the Complutensian Bible which was soon to be published, Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus set out to publish a Greek New Testament as well. Erasmus wished to capitalize on this before the Complutensian text was approved. He thus set off to offer the first Greek New Testament for sale.
The printing began on 2 October 1515, and in a remarkably short time (1 March 1516) the entire edition was finished, a large folio volume of about 1,000 pages which, as Erasmus himself declared later, was 'precipitated rather than edited'. Owing to the haste in production, the volume contains hundreds of typographical errors; in fact, Scrivener once declared, '[It] is in that respect the most faulty book I know.'1 Since Erasmus could not find a manuscript which contained the entire Greek Testament, he utilized several from various parts of the New Testament. For most of the text he relied on two rather inferior manuscripts from a monastic library at Basle, one of the Gospels and one of the Acts and Epistles, both dating from about the twelfth century. Erasmus compared them with two or three other of the same books and entered occasional corrections for the printer in the margins or between the lines of the Greek script. For the Book of Revelation he had but one manuscript, dating from the twelfth century, which he had borrowed from his friend Reuchlin. Unfortunately, this manuscript lacked the final leaf, which had contained the last six verses of the book. For these verses, as well as a few other passages throughout the book where the Greek text of the Apocalypse and the adjoining Greek commentary with which the manuscript was supplied are so mixed up as to be almost indistinguishable, Erasmus depended upon the Latin Vulgate, translating this text into Greek. As would be expected from such a procedure, here and there in Erasmus' self-made Greek text are readings which have never been found in any known Greek manuscript- but which are still perpetuated today in printings of the so-called Textus Receptus (Received Text) of the Greek New Testament.
Even in other parts of the New Testament Erasmus occasionally introduced into his Greek text material taken from the Latin Vulgate. Thus in Acts 4:6, the question which Paul asks at the time of his conversion on the Damascus road, 'And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?', was frankly interpolated by Erasmus from the Latin Vulgate. This addition, which is found in no Greek manuscript at this passage (though it appears in the parallel accounts of Acts 12:10), became part of the Textus Receptus (Received Text), from which the King James version was made in 1611.
Thus the text of Erasmus' Greek New Testament rests upon a half-dozen minuscule manuscripts (dated between 800 - 1515). The oldest and best of these manuscripts (codex I, a minuscule of the tenth century which often agrees with the earlier uncial text) he used the least, because he was afraid of its supposedly erratic text! Erasmus' text is inferior in critical value to the Complutensian, yet because it was the first on the market and was available in a cheaper and more convenient form, it attained a much wider circulation and exercised a far greater influence than its rival, which had been in preparation from 1502 to 1514. In addition to Erasmus' five editions mentioned above, more than thirty unauthorized reprints are said to have appeared at Venice, Strasbourg, Basle, Paris, and other places.
The reception accorded Erasmus' edition, the first published Greek New Testament, was mixed. On the one hand, it found many purchasers throughout Europe. Within three years a second edition was called for, and the total number of copies of the 1516 and the 1519 editions amounted to 3,300. The second edition became the basis of Luther's German translation. On the other hand, in certain circles Erasmus' work was received with suspicion and even outright hostility.
Subsequently Erasmus issued a fourth and definitive edition (1527), which contains the text of the New Testament in three parallel columns, the Greek, the Latin Vulgate, and Erasmus' own Latin version. He had seen Ximenes' (Complutensian) Polyglot Bible shortly after the publication of his own third edition in 1522, and wisely decided to avail himself of its generally superior text in the improvement of his own. In the Book of Revelation, for example, he altered his fourth edition in about ninety passages on the basis of the Complutensian text.
Questions and Answers
WHAT DOES GOD'S WORD SAY ABOUT... CHOOSING A MATE?
There are some single people who are constantly out looking for a mate, and they are miserable because God has not sent them one yet. They have prayed and prayed, yet they still have no mate. Some settle for Satan's provision instead of asking God for the patience to wait for the one whom He would send. If they would look to Jesus and seek to please Him, rather than being concerned about a mate, soon they would find the right one crossing their path. Looking for a man or woman to just keep them from being lonely or just to fill their needs or to be a father or mother to their children should not be the only reasons for desiring a mate. They also need to be concerned about what kind of husband or wife they would be for a mate. These single people are still much in the flesh if they just want their own needs met. They should ask the Lord to fill them with His love and peace.
Being single is an important time to prepare us for marriage. It can also be a time to experience a closer communion with God. As we seek God to cleanse us of the world and help us become the kind of wife or husband that would bless someone, we will soon find that we are not lonely. First, the Lord would begin using us to bless others; then we will find we are content in Him. Eventually, in God's plan and timing, He will bless us with a wonderful mate so that both lives can be a witness for Him. We believe if a marriage cannot glorify the Lord, then it would be better to remain alone. There are worse things than being alone. One of these is to be out of God's will by compromising and marrying someone who does not feel the same way we do about the Lord.
Marriage is the second major choice we make in our lives, and we should never enter into it without much prayer. To rush into a marriage can be disastrous. The most important decision of our lives, of course, is our decision to follow the Lord. This decision is not a one-time declaration, but a daily determination to follow Jesus above all. If we allow the emotional or soulish realm to dominate our lives we become more susceptible to the enemy leading us astray through someone. This area of the flesh should be brought under the Lord's subjection so that Satan does not get the advantage and consequently destroy our lives and ministries. So many have failed the Lord because they chose a man or woman over the Lord.
We find this true throughout the Bible, too. Solomon's heathen wives led him into idolatry. Samson lost his eyes because of a woman, Delilah. David committed murder because of passion for Bathsheba.
Our emotions need to be cleansed as they are not the sign of love. The true definition of love is "God is love." If God is not in a relationship it is not true love. What this world calls love is really lust since it is built on what the other person does for me, not what I can do for him or her. If the other person fails to keep up his end of the bargain, a divorce occurs because the offended mate is no longer pleased. This is the attitude of the world's so-called "love." God's love loves without receiving back; God's love is forgiving and patient. God's love is gentle and kind. God's love waits. God's love sacrifices.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT... FAITH?
The Word of God states that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23b). Some people refer to the expression "blind faith," but our faith is not a blind faith; it is faith in a very real person, Jesus Christ. We were blind before our eyes were opened to His love and forgiveness, but now we see Him and a new life and world belong to us.
Romans 12:3b says, "God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." We are then to allow the Holy Spirit to move in our lives so that our faith might grow in Him. For faith to grow and for God to honor our faith there are several principles we must follow in the Word of God since faith alone cannot produce our prayer answers.
Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." We must know the Word of God for our faith to increase. Many times, we take only a portion of His Word and quote it and expect answers, when we must learn other portions that work along with the portion we are quoting. An example would be if we do pray a prayer of faith, yet do not obey God, our faith would be in vain.
Let's look at Hebrews 11:4 for an example of this: "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of His gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh." Why was God pleased with Abel and not with Cain? Cain's heart was not right before God, thus his works were evil therefore his offering was rejected. "Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous" (I John 3:12). Today, many people are doing the same thing, yet expecting God to honor their faith.
God wants you and me to be faith men and women, so that we can have good success in all that we do. Joshua 1:8 says, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."
Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." We can see by this verse that we cannot please God unless we walk by faith. The dictionary defines faith as (1) unquestioning belief, especially in God (2) complete trust or confidence (3) loyalty.
In looking at these definitions, we can take a test and see if we really are trusting God with our lives. Test question number one: Do we rebelliously question what God is doing in our lives? Do we ask God such questions as, "Lord, when are you going to do this thing in my life? How much longer am I going to have to wait for my answer? Why haven't you answered my prayers, God?" All of these questions, if posed rebelliously, are just the opposite of faith as they gender doubt and are questioning what God is doing in our lives. Also, we are referring to people in this test who have made a total commitment to God and are trying to walk in His will. If we have not surrendered to God, there are things that happen to us that are not His fault because we are in the devil's territory. The Lord does not mind us asking any question as long as we are asking it with a submissive attitude and not questioning His goodness.
Test question number two: Do we completely trust God and have our confidence in Him to the degree that when we don't see our answer right away, we wait patiently instead of taking the matter into our own hands and doing it our own way? Do we have confidence in the Lord that He has everything under control, or do we worry and fret and let anxiety rob us of our day? If we trusted Him, we would believe His Word and not doubt His promises.
Test question number three: What about loyalty? Are we loyal to Him? We act sometimes as if God were against us instead of for us. For instance, when we have prayed and asked God for an answer to our prayers but have not received that answer yet, do we begin listening to the devil as he whispers these words to us, "God hasn't answered your prayers; He doesn't really care for you. You know God has all power in heaven and earth so why doesn't He answer your prayers?" Instead of our being loyal and defending the Father, we end up many times agreeing with the devil by turning to God and saying, "Yes, God, why haven't You answered my prayers?" Our devotion to the Lord should be one of defending the heavenly Father with a statement to the enemy like this, "Satan, I don't know why God hasn't answered my prayers yet, but I do know one thing; He loves me and my answers are on the way. If anybody is hindering my answers, it's you, not my precious Father."
Real faith has all the above qualities of total confidence in God, and complete trust and unquestioning loyalty. Do we really have faith in God? In discussing faith we need to point out that it is not the quantity of faith that will accomplish the overcoming in our lives, but rather the quality. "...for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you" (Matthew 17:20). It is not the amount of faith we have but who our faith is centered in. Jesus is faith.
If we feel we do not have sufficient faith to remove our "mountain of difficulty," we can always ask the Lord for the "gift of faith." This gift is one of the provisions for those who are baptized with the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:9). The Lord did not leave us without the tools to overcome our lack of faith. We can simply ask God to give us the gift of faith we need for whatever problem we might have. As we are faithful to exercise our "measure of faith" that has been given to each of us, our faith will grow. Then we can believe God for greater things even without the gift of faith. However, if we need the gift, we can ask and the Lord will supply if our hearts are right.
Faith is not only a gift, but also a fruit of the Holy Spirit plus a part of our Christian armour; so we see the importance of it in our Christian walk (Galatians 5:22). May we be spoken of as were the Christians at Thessalonica, "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure" (II Thessalonians 1:3-4). Faith will carry us through every trial and tribulation. Faith is really not that difficult. God made it easy. In essence, faith is just taking one more step with Jesus; it's believing God for one more hour, and because we do not give up on God, He comes through with our answers when we trust Him.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT...
THE VIOLENCE OF TODAY?
There is no doubt about the hour in which we live being the season for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ as we link the above scripture with others in the Bible. Matt. 24:33 says, So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
In order for us to compare our day with the day that Noah lived we can look in the book of Genesis 6:5-13: 5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9 These [are] the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man [and] perfect in his generations, [and] Noah walked with God. 10 And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
The Bible describes our day very clearly from these scriptures. The condition of violence that caused the earth to be destroyed in Noah's day is the same condition our earth is in today. Many people today are crying for the violence to be removed or restrained in our society. They are demanding that governments do something about this wickedness but they do not realize what is causing it. They believe if only the government would pass certain laws this would correct the violent behavior.
The government has done many of these things and there are simply not enough laws to cover every offense nor enough men to police the system nor enough prisons to contain the wicked. Thank God for good police systems and prisons that hold societies' wickedness in check. God in His mercy has used good governments to restrain lawlessness throughout history. However, corrupt governments have caused much suffering for mankind also.
Today many different kinds of programs and methods are being implemented to deal with the violence. However, it can never be totally removed until its root cause is corrected. Today's madness cannot be dealt with by hiring more policemen to monitor and arrest offenders and then building bigger prisons to hold them. Our prisons are overflowing now.
Men and their programs only prune the branches of an evil tree, while the root system remains intact. What is the root of violence? It's rebellion against God and His laws. Therefore as long as the root system is untouched the tree will only grow more branches and bear more rotten fruit.
To remedy our problems in the earth we must all repent and turn to God and keep His laws and commandments and allow Jesus to change our evil natures into His nature of goodness. This total corporate turning to God can only take place when God brings judgement against evil and removes it, and then sets up His millennium kingdom in the earth. However, we must repent now so we can avoid the violence that will increase. In a time of violence many innocent people are destroyed, as well as the wicked. We should pray and seek God with our whole heart to be among those that shall be spared destruction. Only a true repentance and revival can save us.
The Bible prophesies the events that will take place just prior to this time of the gospel going out to the whole world. The explosion of violence worldwide is one of those events. We are beginning to see this process take place in part as we are in the shadow of the millennium kingdom now. The Bible also speaks of a time of judgement that occurs during a tribulation period before the Lord's second coming.
Matt. 13:38-43: 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The tares (wicked people) in this parable are being bundled for destruction because of their evil ways while God is also separating His people from the world system so He might protect and reward them. Although judgment usually has an evil connotation to it (the execution of the penalty for sin); it also has a positive side. Judgement has to do with the sowing and reaping process. This is defined in Galatians 6:7-9: 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
From this we can see that the negative side of judgment is evil that is sown reaps destruction, while on the positive side, good that is sown through Jesus is rewarded. God's judgement on evil is seen by the curse that is on wicked men, while God's judgement for the righteous will manifest in His blessings and rewards on them. Some innocent people are destroyed also, but they will receive their reward in heaven; The Bible declares the way into the kingdom of God is strait and narrow and few be that find it.
Luke 13:24: Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Matthew 7:14: Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Because men do not like a straight or restricted way we are seeing destruction on a massive level at this hour. This is not God initiating destruction against mankind through the curses in the earth, but it is the result of the fruit of evil manifesting in destruction. God can do no evil. He is righteous and pure. The negative judgments that are in our world, manifesting in violence, terrorist acts, earthquakes, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. are a direct result of broken spiritual laws.
Ezekiel 11:21: But [as for them] whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.
The command to God's people in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation is for us to be lights filled with His love and glory. God promises His people a place of peace and safety in the midst of violence. Just as Noah and his family were kept safe from the flood waters in the ark, we are kept safe from the flood of violence in our spiritual ark, Jesus. The only safe place for us as Christians is our surrender and obedience to God. Then, there is safety in being in the will of God. It matters not what physical place we are living, our safety is in Him as promised to us in Psalm 91. We daily pray and claim these scriptures. A portion of that Psalm should encourage all of us. Psalms 91:5-7: 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; [nor] for the arrow [that] flieth by day; 6 [Nor] for the pestilence [that] walketh in darkness; [nor] for the destruction [that] wasteth at noonday. 7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; [but] it shall not come nigh thee.
Some Christians will ask why they have been victims of violence and suffering if God's Word promises them safety? First, to answer this we must define the two kinds of suffering: (1) Suffering for Christ: This suffering is the kind we go through for the cause of Christ as we are persecuted for being righteous. Examples are: going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, going without pleasures for the gospel's sake, suffering because of others wrong doings toward us, etc. The other is (2) Suffering because of our sins or others: Sins of commission bring curses. These are deliberate sins of rebelling against God's ways. Sins of omission can also cause us to suffer. These sins are the failure to pray, give, obey and take the time to learn of God's ways. James 4:17 says, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. "
