Perfectly Preserved

By Dr. Douglas Stauffer

Satan's Line of Manuscripts

In 1475, a manuscript was logged into the Vatican Library known as Codex Vaticanus. It dates to circa A.D. 350.

In 1844, a second Alexandrian manuscript, called Codex Sinaiticus, was discovered at the foot of Mt. Sinai. This manuscript also dates to about A.D. 350. Many scholars believe that these copies are two of the 50 that the Emperor Constantine instructed Eusebius to prepare for the new churches he planned to build in Constantinople. Thus, Origen (the Gnostic) influenced Eusebius (his favorite student); Eusebius influenced the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts; and-in turn-every modern version taken from these two manuscripts was corrupted! Neither the Vaticanus nor the Sinaiticus was accepted as a "received" text. Thousands of changes have been noted within their pages by many different scribes throughout history.

In 1853, two men named Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort set out to write a Greek text based on these two Alexandrian texts (Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus). Since these two texts by then disagreed with each other in some 3,036 places in the four Gospel books alone, the two men had to come up with a completely subjective text influenced by their views. Consequently, they wrote an "eclectic" text, meaning they preferentially chose certian portions of scripture from the Vaticanus and other portion from the Sinaiticus until they produced a rendering that satisfactorily conveyed theor personal doctrinal views.

In 1898, a revision of Westcott and Hort's Greek Text was made and called "Nestle's Greek Text". The majority of Bible colleges today use Nestle's Greek Text although it differs greatly from the Textus Receptus. Despite this fact, the new versions arise from these corrupted texts, while the King James Bible stands alone in its exclusive use of the Textus Receptus and its rejection of the readings from the corrupted texts. Westcott and Hort had an unusual rule of thumb for determining which Greek text to chose when there was a variant reading. They chose the "neutral" approach. Basically, their method entailed choosing to use the variant (the difference between the Greek texts) that reflected the least doctrinal bias. Why? Westcott and Hort believed that it was more likely to be God's servants who corrupted the text rather than Satan's henchmen!

The English Bible-purified seven times

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (KJB) Psalm 12:6

The SEVEN stages of purification in the Bible for the English language can be outlined as follows:

1. Tyndale (1525) William Tyndale was known as the "Father of the English Bible". He was the first translator to return to the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. All of the English versions before Tyndale were translations of a translation, derived from the Vulgate or older Lation versions. William Tyndale was the sole translator of the first printed English New Testament.

2. Coverdale (1535) Produced the first complete printed English Bible. His work consisted primarily of Tyndale's New Testament and Pentateuch, with the remaining Old Testament book rendered primarily from Luther's German translation.

3. Matthews (1537) John Rodger (pseudonym of Thomas Matthew) continued Tyndale's work while Tyndale was imprisoned in a dungeon.

4. Great (1538) (also Whitchurch & Cranmer's Bible) Named the Great Bible because of its exceptional size. It has the distinction of being the first Bible officially authorized for public use in England's churches.

5. Geneva (1560) Theodore Beza, John Knox, William Whittingham, and Miles Coverdale labored six years to produced the Geneva Bible. This was the first English Bible translated entirely from the original languages, featuring numbered verses and italics.

6. Bishops (1568) The changes institued in the Bishop's Bible were mostly cosmetic, including many pictures and thicker, more expensive paper.

7. King James (1611) The seventh purification of the English translation. Dr. John Reynolds, president of Corpus Christi College at Oxford, suggested to King James that a translation be produced that the common people could understand, read, and love. Approximately 1,000 ministers sent a petition to King James. It was finally agreed that a new translation, absolutely true to the original Greek text, be made which would not include any marginal notes or comments except for explanations of Greek or Hebrew words and the provision of cross-references. Consequently, the King James Bible became the 7th translation/purification directly from the Greek in prophetic fulfillment of Psalm 12:6!