JOHN THE REVELATOR SAW THE IMMUTABILITY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
(THE BLOOD OF JESUS DOES NOT WHITE-WASH, IT WASHES WHITE)
IF THE PRESENT CHURCH WORLD WOULD TAKE THE BOOK OF REVELATION AS THE PERFECT WORD OF GOD, EVERY FOUL DOCTRINE TROUBLING THE CHURCH WOULD VANISH. This book was written to the body of Christ and its truths are immutable, and so are all the other books of the Holy Scripture. That is not my word; that is God’s Word. The great Apostle Paul wrote by the Holy Ghost that it was impossible for God to lie.
Let’s read the exceptional wording where we are promised that all the counsel or words of God are immutable. “For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6: 13-18) The Apostle then states that God’s immutable counsel is “the anchor of the soul.” (Hebrews 6: 19b)
What did the Revelator learn about the visions and prophesies that God had given him by the incredible angels and other witnesses? These visions were spectacular. The scenes covered every great truth of the 65 books of the Bible. From the beginning to the new Heaven and earth, it was all in these breathtaking visions. It was the Spirit that stated, “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) and Jesus was called “the beginning and the end.” John knew the great doctrines of the Old Testament and Christ and saw the book of Revelation as a perfect rendering of all truth.
The Bible is totally immutable. You will be judged by every word or counsel from God. “The Word is forever stilled in Heaven.” (Psalms 119:89) Here are the words of this Godly saint that had just finished walking the “milky white way of Heaven’s revelations.” He said, “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 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.” (Revelation 22:18-19) John was careful to tell us the source of these closing words. “He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:20)
This plain declaration of the words of God and their absolute perfection must stand if anyone is to appear um-condemned before God. There is only one standard or criteria by which the world and every soul will be judged. Grace will not cover sin in that awesome day. God’s grace cleanses sin, it covers over nothing. The Blood of Jesus does not white-wash, but it washes white.
The translator, Bible teacher, or theological Scholar who tampers with the Bible is in for a great surprise. The book of Revelation text certainly applies to the Entire Bible, but let’s concern ourselves with Revelation itself for this article. The Father’s purpose in this book was to take every great truth of future prophesies and give them a chronological order. No previous writer had proposed a systematic picture of the End Times and the judgment of the world. This book is just that and we are forbidden to add our own imaginations.
The mid-wrath Rapture doctrine is a case in point. Nothing is said about a rapture right before the wrath of the last seven vials, but proponents have imposed it anyway. It is exactly what the Spirit had forbidden. The same is true of the Preterist, Post-Millennialist, and A-Millennialist teachings. Men are just not satisfied to take Scripture literally. People that call themselves scholars will impose their opinions, every time. God has forbidden such activity.
To take away one great truth of Holy Scripture is to lose your place in the “Book of Life.” To tamper with the Bible is no different than tampering with the Sovereignty of God, the Divinity of Jesus Christ, or the omnipresence of the Holy Ghost. The Bible is divine truth. It is alive with the fire of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is a book that bleeds with Christ’s divine sacrifice. To take out words or deny certain truths is like trampling on the blood as it fell to the ground.
Nothing that John stated in this masterpiece is more powerful than these closing words. When you look at the emerging church, you can easily see the skeleton of a church where the flesh has been ripped from the bones. The Laodicean church is a graveyard inside ornate buildings, where death is the master. John saw the immutability of the Holy Scripture and warned of unclean hands handling the Word of God. When the blind lead the blind, deception rules the day. Only in the infallible Book do we find truth, peace, and safety.
Ed Wood
This is absolutely right. Now I think it is safe to say that no single translation is perfect, but what can also be said is that a faithfully rendered version will have no errors of significance. In other words, the fundamentals will come through.
My personal favorite and the one I’ve found most accurate is the King James Bible. The original Revised Standard Version is, in my opinion, well done also. Even the original New International Version has merit, however I have been given to understand that this one is no longer available and
subsequent versions are downright misleading.
Travis
Brother Ed,
I have to disagree here. For if not ONE of our english translations was perfect then neither of them have the right to be called “the Word of God.” The King James Bible is clearly the only english Bible to be trusted. The Revised version and original NIV are very much different than our King James. We are not to alter anything in God’s Word. Not one jot nor one tittle. Ever since new versions have came along, the church has dug itself deeper into apostasy. “Yea, hath God said?”
Jesus Christ (the Word) and the written Word (scriptures) are one in the same. If one is not perfect then neither are.
However, I will say this, God can use the enemies weapons against him, that is to say, a different version of the Bible could be used to lead someone to be born again. But that is not to condone any. Gail Riplinger has some fascinating works on the King James Bible, I believe brother Chambers offers a couple of her books too. His Word endureth forever, no matter what language, and it is the same yesterday, today, and forever…therfore perfect!
Blessings! 🙂
Great article pastor Chambers!!
Keith Black
TWISTING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
Dear Joe Chambers,
In GALATIANS 1:6,8,9 The Apostle Paul warned about those who would PREACH ANOTHER GOSPEL that is false. The people got deceived. He even warned about ANGELS (Including Maroni to the Mormons, and also the angel that tormented Mohamid in that cave and gave him the false Islamic Gospel) PREACHING ANOTHER GOSPEL. Paul even warned about those who would PREACH ANOTHER JESUS. Here is an example of ANOTHER JESUS. The JESUS of the LIBERALS is not the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus of the LIBERALS is none other than KARL MARX WITH A ROBE ON. The Jesus of LIBERATION THEOLOGY IS ALSO KARL MARX WITH A ROBE ON. The real Jesus is conservative morally. He is the Conservative King. The THE OTHER GOSPEL IS THE PROSPERITY PORK-BARREL PREACHING where the preachers MAKE ALL THESE UNREALISTIC PROMISES THAT GOD WILL MULTIPLY YOUR INCOME 100-FOLD IF YOU DONATE TO THEM. THE PREACHERS DEMAND GOD TO PAY THE TAXES ON THEIR OUTRAGEOUS PROMISES. These preachers sound EXACTLY LIKE THE POLITICIANS IN WASHINGTON DC, PROMISING MORE PORK TO THOSE WHO SUPPORT THEM. The preachers are RELIGIOUS POLITICIANS IN THE PULPITS. Rick Warren is a PORK-BARREL PREACHER. Liberal Religion is not CHRISTIANITY BUT IS MARX’IANITY OR KARL MARX THEIR MESSIAH.
Sincerely,
Keith Black
Mark Steiner
With all the bad raps the KJV gets from all comers, it must be the best English translation available. Diligently translated. Authorized. No imprimatur, nihil obstat or copyright. The plain, inerrant, inspired Word of the one, living and true God.
The KJV was used for translation from English into other languages. Its intended purity would be preserved in other languages as well.
Ed Wood
Note to Travis.
Thanks very much for your comments regarding the Bible and the King James Version. Even though you disagreed with me, you did it in a very articulate and courteous way which I really appreciate!
As I said, I believe the King James Version to be the most accurate and should be the litmus test against which all other English versions are compared. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is another very valuable tool for those of us like myself that can’t read Hebrew, Aramiac, or Koine Greek because it shows us any word we may want to explore in its original language and meaning.
There are some words which just weren’t rendered well when translated into English. Here’s an example. In Luke 14:26 Jesus said that anyone who doesn’t “hate” his family can’t be his disciple. Wow, that’s pretty heavy. Doesn’t that contradict the Fifth Commandment regarding one honoring father and mother? Let’s see. Strong’s tells us that “hate” comes from the Greek “miseo.” What really is meant to convey is the idea of preference. In other words, one must not “prefer” anyone more than Jesus. This now gets rid of the apparent contradiction. Matter of fact, the translation of Matthew’s account of the same event is actually a much better rendering (Matthew 10:37). Actually the KJV, RSV, and NIV all maintain this differing translation of these passages. I don’t know why.
Another example is the change of meaning of even English words over time. In 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Paul in speaking about the Rapture reveals that those who are alive “shall not prevent them which are asleep.” Sounds strange, but if we consider that “prevent” once meant “precede” rather than “stop from happening,” it all makes perfect sense, which is how the RSV renders the same verse – actually more accurate in this case in today’s language.
Another problem comes in what do we say about other Bibles written in ohter languages for non-English speaking people? Should we say because they are not the English KJV that they should all be avoided? Probably not,because I’m sure there are faithful renderings – and likely some very bad ones -just as there are in English.
I hope this demonstrates why I believe that there is no “perfect” translation of the Bible in any modern language. That being said, I do definitely agree that a faithful one of Scripture from the original tongues has no fundamental errors.
Now as far as the church really sliding into the abyss, I think the main reason is that they don’t regard the authority of the Bible at all. If you’ve read previous posts of mine, you know I experienced this first-hand with the Episcopal Church. As far as I’m concerned it is now nothing more than an apostate pseudo-Christian cult.
Well, this is getting kind of long, so I’ll just conclude by saying thanks again for your thoughtful views and the gracious way in which you presented them.
God bless, brother – keep reading and keep looking up!!
Ed