“The Holy Bible” - By Darryl Eberhart

By Darryl Eberhart, Editor of ETI & TTT // Website: www.toughissues.org // August 12, 2009
A two-page handout // All emphasis is mine unless otherwise stated.

About 15 years ago I began to read through the entire Bible each year, from Genesis (the first book in the Old Testament) through Revelation (the last book in the New Testament). I wish I had started that process at least 50 or more years ago! Why should folks read through the entire Bible each year? One reason for reading the entire Holy Bible is that it is the “operating manual” for the human soul. Pastor Ron Hembree explains in the following quotations from his book, “A Daily Joy”, why folks should read, study, and heed the Words of Holy Bible:

“God’s Word: [1.] Gives us wisdom. [2.] Teaches discipline – necessary for any success. [3.] Instructs us how to live on planet Earth. [4.] Helps us to use the resources God has given us. [5.] Teaches us discretion – the ability to say and do the right things.” (“A Daily Joy”; Page 208)

“God’s Word gives light, showing us how to walk so we will not stumble and fall. …God’s Word brings joy – not sorrow. …God’s Word helps us know the kind of worship our Lord desires.” (“A Daily Joy”; Page 166)

“Faithfully following God’s laws protects us from the evil one and assures success.” (“A Daily Joy”; Pg. 33)

“If we read and heed God’s Word, we will rule our spirits and greatly impact our world.” (“A Daily Joy”; Page 210)

“God’s Word strengthens and lifts us. [Ed.: The Apostle] Paul notes that we should always desire God’s Word. Scripture gives enormous strength and encouragement.” (“A Daily Joy”; Page 341)

“God’s Word defeats the devil’s devices. Jesus [Christ] always used the SCRIPTURE in its proper context to overcome the vicious attacks of the evil one.” – Ron Hembree (“A Daily Joy”; Page 288)

Here are some other interesting quotations concerning the Holy Bible:

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” – George Washington (1732-1799; 1^st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the colonial armies in the American Revolution)

“…For so great is my veneration for the Bible, and so strong my belief, that when duly read and meditated on, it is of all books in the world, that which contributes most to make men good, wise, and happy – that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more steadily they pursue the practice of reading it throughout their lives, the more lively and confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful citizens of their country, respectable members of society, and a real blessing to their parents… I have myself, for many years, made it a practice to read through the Bible once every year… It is essential, my son, in order that you may go through life with comfort to yourself, and usefulness to your fellow-creatures, that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles, for the government of your own conduct and temper… It is in the Bible [that] you must learn them, and from the Bible how to practice them. Those duties are to God, to your fellow-creatures, and to yourself. …The Bible contains the revelation of the will of God. It contains the history of the creation of the world, and of mankind… It contains a system of religion, and of morality, which we may examine upon its own merits, independent of the sanction it receives from being the Word of God…” – John Quincy Adams (1767-1848; Sixth President of the United States) (These excerpts were taken from a letter that John Quincy Adams wrote to his son in 1811.)

“God’s Word must have prominence in our lives. The words of Moses [Ed.: i.e., the words given to Moses from God] were put in the Ark of the Covenant to show the importance that God places on His Word.” – Ron Hembree (“A Daily Joy”; Page 33)

“God’s Word is relevant to all generations for all time.” – Ron Hembree (“A Daily Joy”; Page 204)

“Life’s greatest guide is God’s Word. It never leads us astray.” – Ron Hembree (“A Daily Joy”; Page 188)

“There are wonderful things hidden in the Bible…” – Ron Hembree (“A Daily Joy”; Page 204)

“It is a wise society that takes God’s Word as the basis for justice; a foolish country ignores it. Modern society is now witnessing the tragic consequences when men throw out God’s Word or simply ignore it.” – Ron Hembree (“A Daily Joy”; Page 63)

“…The [Ed.: Holy] Bible, although old, is so relevant. It has proved to be a book for all times because of the divine wisdom found within its pages. In our fast-changing world we now need, more than ever, the unchanging Word of God. …God’s Word was ‘alive’ in the long ago and is still ‘alive’ today. The [Ed.: Holy] Bible is not only spiritual but PRACTICAL, and only foolish people ignore it.” – Ron Hembree (“A Daily Joy”; Page 213)

WHICH BIBLE SHOULD WE STUDY?

The answer to the above question is quite simple: the 1611 Authorized [i.e., the “old”] King James Version. And why should we study the 1611 King James Version of the Bible? The answer to that question is two-fold:

The 1611 King James Version is the only Bible in the English language (that is readily available and reasonably priced) that uses the correct Greek manuscripts [i.e., the Textus Receptus – the Received (Majority) Text] for translating the New Testament from Greek into English. The other, so-called “newer” versions use from two to five corrupt Greek manuscripts (e.g., Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, etc.) for translating the New Testament from Greek into English. (Note: The five corrupt Greek manuscripts that are used as the basis for the New Testament translations in the “newer” versions DISAGREE with each other in thousands of instances! On page 38 of his book, “Did The Catholic Church Give Us The Bible?”, author David W. Daniels tells us: “Those ‘scholarly’ Bibles [Ed.: the Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and Alexandrinus Greek manuscripts] disagree over 3000 times in the 4 Gospels alone! They are what you call ‘false witnesses’.”)

The 1611 King James Version uses a verbatim [i.e., word-for-word] translation technique for translating both the Hebrew Masoretic Old Testament text and Greek Textus Receptus New Testament text into the English language. The so-called “newer” versions use what is called a “dynamic equivalency” translation technique for their translations of the Old and New Testaments. (The translator using this “dynamic equivalency” translation technique writes down what he “thinks” the original writers “intended”, rather than rendering a word-for-word translation!)

Please carefully consider the following quotations that deal with the topic of which Bible to use for study:

“It is my own personal conviction and belief, after studying this subject since 1971, that the WORDS of the Received Greek and Masoretic Hebrew texts that underlie the King James Bible are the very WORDS which God has PRESERVED down through the centuries, being the exact WORDS of the ORIGINALS themselves. As such, I believe they are INSPIRED WORDS. I believe they are PRESERVED WORDS. I believe they are INERRANT WORDS. I believe they are INFALLIBLE WORDS. This is why I believe so strongly that any valid translation MUST be based upon these original language texts, and these alone!” – Dr. D.A. Waite (“Defending the King James Bible”; 1992; Pages 48 and 49; all emphasis is by Dr. Waite)

“The King James Bible is the only Bible in print today translated on a Verbal Equivalency [Ed.: word-for-word] basis. Every other version in America is based on a [Ed.: translation] technique of Dynamic Equivalency.”

James Lloyd (“The King James Controversy: Which Bible Is The Word of God”; 1998; Pages 19 and 20)

“This Textus Receptus that underlies the King James Bible New Testament, was basically Beza’s 5^th edition of 1598. …It is called the Traditional Received Text, or the Byzantine Text, or the Syrian text, or the Textus Receptus. It is the best, and only foundation as far as I can see, to use to translate the New Testament from the Greek language into English or any other language.

…The vast majority of extant [Ed.: i.e., currently or actually existing] New Testament manuscripts all used the Received Text. This includes about 99% of them, or about 5210 of the 5255 manuscripts.” – Dr. D.A. Waite (“Defending the King James Bible”; 1992; Pages 40, 46, and 47)

Note: For more information on this topic: (1) Please read my article, “The Real Bible”, that is posted on Internet website www.toughissues.org. (2) Purchase a copy of the 159-page paperback book, “Did the Catholic Church Give Us The Bible?”, by David W. Daniels [$12.10 postage paid to U.S. locations; call 1-909-987-0771].