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Distinguishing features of the Kingdom Study Bible translation from other Bible translations
1) The Golden Ratio Design is the one true and correct arrangement of the Holy Bible, exclusive to all translations published by JHS Publishing
By far, the first and most important distinctive of the Kingdom Study Bible is the Golden Ratio format arrangement, which is exclusive to all versions published by JHS Publishing. All other Bible versions to date have either continued to rely on the old Chapter and Verse system of Robert Stephanus from the Middle Ages (e.g. the KJV), or only half-heartedly attempted to group the text, but with continued reliance upon the overall organization structure of the Stephanus Chapters and Verses, including the false "Old Testament" and "New Testament" structure.
The reality is that you cannot go half-way with organizing the Bible correctly: it must be 100% Golden Ratio format or not at all. And if you attempt to use the Golden Ratio design without explaining why you are using a Division, Volume, Book, Part, Chapter, Section, and Paragraph arrangement, it would not be clear WHY this is correct and the other arrangements are not correct. The headings and the UCCOO indicators (with the accompanying themes for each one) are absolutely essential to providing the answer to the "Why do it this way?" question.
Compare the following text of the Gospel of John in the two arrangements: The Golden Ratio design in The Kingdom Study Bible; and the Traditional format in the King James Version.
English Kingdom Study Bible
C Book 4.3 (The Gospel of John): Jesus Christ preached the Gospel to individual Jews (1:1 - 21:25)
C Part 1: Jesus Christ revealed himself as the Way of Eternal Life to Israel (1:1 - 10:21)
U Chapter 1.1: Jesus Christ is the Word of God who became the Lamb of God (1:1 - 2:22)
§U Introduction: The Word was God and the True Light, who Tabernacled among us (1:1 - 14)
¶O The Word was God Almighty, and created all things (1:1 - 9)
U
1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; 1:2the same Word was in the beginning with God.
C
1:3All things came into existence through him; and apart from him not even one thing was created of all that was created.
C
1:4In him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men; 1:5and the Light shines in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not.
O
1:6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John; 1:7the same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
O
1:8He was not that Light; but was sent to bear witness of the Light; 1:9that was the True Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.
¶O The Word became flesh and Tabernacled among us as the Lord Jesus Christ (1:10 - 14)
O
1:10He was in the world, and the world was created by him; but the world knew him not.
O
1:11He came to his own people; but his own people received him not.
C
1:12But as many as received him, to them gave he authority to become the children of God: even to them that believe on his Name;
C
1:13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
U
1:14And the Word became flesh, and Tabernacled among us; and we beheld his glory: the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
§C Body: John the Baptist testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Lamb of God and the Son of God (1:15 - 51)
¶U John the Baptist bore witness about the Only Begotten Son (1:15 - 18)
O
1:15John bore witness of him, and cried, saying, “This was he of whom I spoke, saying, ‘He that comes after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.’
O
1:16And of his fullness have we all received, and grace for grace.
C
1:17for the Law was given by Moses;
C
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
U
1:18No man has seen God at any time; the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.”
¶C John the Baptist bore witness about his own ministry to the priests and Levites from Jerusalem (1:19 - 23)
U
1:19And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 1:20And he confessed; and he did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.”
C
1:21And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he says, “I am not.”
C
“Are you that Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”
O
1:22Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What do you say of yourself?”
O
1:23He said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Make straight the way of [Jehovah]!’, as the Prophet Isaiah says.”
¶C John the Baptist bore testimony of the ministry of Jesus to the priests and Levites from Jerusalem (1:24 - 31)
U
1:24And they that were sent were of the Pharisees.
C
1:25And they asked him, and said to him, “Why do you baptize then, if you are not that Christ, nor Elijah; neither that Prophet?” 1:26John answered them, saying, “I baptize in water.
C
But there is One standing among you, whom you do not know; 1:27he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.”
O
1:27These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
O
1:29The next day John sees Jesus coming to him, and says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world! 1:30This is he of whom I said, ‘After me is coming a man who is preferred before me: for he was before me.’ 1:31And I did not know him; but so that he would be made manifest to Israel, therefore I have come baptizing in water.”
¶O Months after the baptism of Jesus, John saw Jesus again and testified that He was the Son of God (1:32 - 42)
U
1:32And John bore testimony, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove; and it remained upon him.
C
1:33And I did not know him; but he that sent me to baptize in water, the same said to me, ‘Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
C
1:34And I saw, and bore testimony that this Jesus is the Son of God.”
O
1:35Again, the next day after, John was standing, and two of his disciples; 1:36and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he says, “Behold the Lamb of God!” 1:37And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 1:38And Jesus, having turned and seen them following, says to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi (which is to say, being translated, “Teacher”), where are you staying?” 1:39He says to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he stayed; and stayed with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
O
1:40One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 1:41He first finds his own brother Simon, and says to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (Which is translated, “The Christ.”) 1:42And he brought him to Jesus; and when Jesus beheld him, he said, “You are Simon the son of Jonas; you shall be called Cephas.” (Which is to say, “A small pebble.”)
¶O Nathaniel believed on Jesus because of his own Word (1:43 - 51)
O
1:43The following day Jesus wanted to go forth into Galilee; and he found Philip, and says to him, “Follow me.”
O
1:44Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 1:45Philip finds Nathaniel, and says to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph!” 1:46And Nathaniel said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip says to him, “Come and see.”
C
1:47Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him; and he says of him, “Behold a true Israelite, in whom is no guile!” 1:48Nathaniel says to him, “From where do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
C
1:49Nathaniel answered and says to him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” 1:50Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree’, you believe? You shall see greater things than these.”
U
1:51And he says to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see Heaven open; and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”
§C Conclusion: His first disciples believed on Him and in his Word (2:1 - 22)
¶C His disciples believed on Jesus because of the water made into new wine (2:1 - 11)
O
2:1And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there. 2:2And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
O
2:3And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus says to him, “They have no wine.” 2:4Jesus says to her, “Woman, what have I to do with you? My hour has not yet come.”
C
2:5His mother says to the servants, “Whatsoever he says to you, do it.” 2:6And six water pots of stone were set there, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. 2:7Jesus says to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 2:8And he says to them, “Draw out now; and take some to the director of the feast.” And they took it.
C
2:9When the director of the feast had tasted the water that had been made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who drew the water knew), the director of the feast called the bridegroom; 2:10and he says to him, “Every man at the beginning sets forth good wine. And when men have drunk freely, then the inferior; but you have kept the good wine until now.”
U
2:11Jesus did this beginning of miracles in Cana of Galilee; and he revealed his glory. And his disciples believed on him.
¶C After his resurrection, his disciples believed the Scripture, the Word which Jesus had said (2:12 - 22)
O
2:12After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brothers, and his disciples; and they continued there not many days.
O
2:13And the Jews’ Passover was near; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem; 2:14and he found in the Temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers sitting. 2:15And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the Temple; and also the sheep and the oxen. And he poured out the changers’ money, and overthrew the tables. 2:16And he said to them that sold doves, “Take these things out of here! Do not make my Father’s House a house of merchandise!” 2:17And his disciples remembered that it was written, “The zeal of your House has eaten me up.”
C
2:18Then the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?” 2:19Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
C
2:20Then the Jews said, “This Temple was forty-six years in construction; and will you raise it up in three days?” 2:21But he spoke of the Temple of his body.
U
2:22When therefore he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture, even the Word which Jesus had said.
Compare the Golden Ratio design above with the Traditional Format in the 1611 King James Version
CHAPTER 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 ¶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 ¶ John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
19 ¶ And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?
20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.
21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.
22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?
23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?
26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
29 ¶ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. 34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
35 ¶ Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.
43 ¶ The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.
51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
CHAPTER 2
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim./p>
8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
12 ¶ After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days.
13 ¶ And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
18 ¶ Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
Analysis and comparison of the two arrangements
The first thing that is obvious to any discerning reader is that the Traditional system of Chapters and Verses is far too simplistic to account for the many real divisions in the text itself.
For example, every "Book" unit in the Bible (such as the five Gospels, the five Books in the Law of Moses, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel), divides cleanly and clearly in the middle, such that it is approriate to label them "Part 1" and Part 2". Accordingly, at the top of the first Chapter of John is "Part 1: Jesus Christ revealed himself as the Way of Eternal Life to Israel." At the top of Chapter 2.1 of John is "Part 2: Jesus Christ revealed himself as the Center of Life to his disciples." These are the two internal themes of John for each Part.
Also, within each Part of every Book in the Golden Ratio design is five Chapters; and within each Chapter is three Sections (an Introduction, Body, and Conclusion); and within the Introduction is 2 paragraphs with five subparagraphs each; within each Body Section is five paragraphs with five subparagraphs each; within each Conclusion is two paragraphs with five subparagraphs each. There are more special characteristics of the Golden Ratio design, but these are sufficient to demonstrate that the Golden Ratio design is much different and complex than the Traditional arrangement/format.
But the Traditional Format (such as found in all other versions and arrangements) completely hides this distinction, since it doesn't recognize anything other than "chapters and verses". The fact that these Books have strongly contrasting content in two major partitions internally is not a secret, and has been noted in a number of Bible commentaries over the centuries. What the Golden Ratio design reveals is that this partition scheme is not just a footnote, but one piece of a perfect arrangement structure on eight vertical levels (including Divisions, Volumes, Books, Parts, Chapters, Sections, Paragraphs, and Subparagraphs), and eight horizontal levels (5 Volumes in Division One + 3 Volumes in Division Two).
The Traditional System is random, and has no discernable rhyme or reason for the "verses" or Chapters; in contrast with the Golden Ratio design, which clearly has purpose and meaning, which could only be there because the God of the Scriptures (Jehovah) built this design into the Word of God without the knowledge of the Apostles and Prophets who wrote the words down.
Best of all, the Golden Ratio design teaches you the meaning of the Bible through the arrangement and the themes; whereas the Traditional system of "Chapters and verses" forces an unscriptural "matrix" upon the Bible text, making it incredibly difficult for even the most well-trained theologians to correctly discern the true meaning of each Bible document and their relation to each other. See "Bibliology vs. Theology" on this site for more information.
2) "Jehovah" is literally translated everywhere in the Bible, with certain exceptions
The Kingdom Study Bible translation is one of the very few in the world today, at least in English, to correctly translate the true Name of God in all places, which is Jehovah. But the KBV goes beyond even those few others, in that citations of Hebrew text in the Greek documents that contain the Name of Jehovah show [Jehovah] in place of "the LORD" where this occurs. For example, the citation of Psalm 110:1 "Jehovah said to my Lord, 'Sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool'" in Matthew 22:44, is shown as "[Jehovah] said to my Lord,...", rather than "The LORD said to my Lord..." as in every other Bible version that I can find. Putting "Jehovah" in brackets indicates that it is the original Hebrew word that is being referred to. The English phrase "the LORD" (used in the KJV) is a "translation of a translation", which is something that hinders correct understanding by putting even more distance between the reader and the actual Bible word, which is Jehovah.
The exception to this rule is where the Greek text uses "Kurios" for Lord, which is synonymous with "Jehovah"; however, it is impossible to be 100% certain in every case, so I refrained from translating "Kurios" as "Jehovah". In other words, "Kurios" in Greek could legitimately be translated as "Lord" in the Hebrew text is translated from the Hebrew "Adonai". So to mandate a translation as "Jehovah", when it might possibly be "Adonai" would be imposing a translation upon the Bible without sufficient support, in my judgment.
In the case cited in Matthew 22:44, the text is citing a portion from the Hebrew part of the Bible; and in that case, we know that the original Hebrew is "Jehovah"; so I believe that it is justifiable to translate the quotation as "Jehovah said to my Lord", because the Greek has no literal equivalent for Jehovah, and it is preferable for the English reader to know that "the LORD said to my Lord" is not accurate, and "the LORD" actually means Jehovah. I placed brackets [ ] around the word "Jehovah" to show that it is not a literal translation from the Greek.
1611 King James Version
Exodus Chapter 20
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12 ¶ Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
The practice of using a pseudonym "the LORD" instead of a literal translation of "Jehovah" is an old one, and is based on a Jewish tradition that saying the Name of God is somehow irreverent and/or blasphemous. But is this practice based on sound Biblical thinking? I do not believe so. See these quotes from the Law and the Prophets, who all directly address God by Name, and do not seem bothered by any guilt associated with doing so.
“And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and he said to them, "I am old and advanced in age. And you have seen all that Jehovah your God has done to all these nations because of you: for Jehovah your God is he that has fought for you.”
“Then king David went in, and sat before Jehovah; and he said, “Who am I, O Lord Jehovah? And what is my house, that you have brought me to this time? And this was yet a small thing in your sight, O Lord Jehovah; but you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord Jehovah? And what can David say more to you? For you, Lord Jehovah, know your servant. For your Word’s sake, and according to your own heart, have you done all these great things, to make your servant know them. Therefore you are great, O Jehovah God: for there is no one like you; neither is there any God beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like your people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself; and to make him a Name, and to do for you great and dreadful things, for your land, before your people, which you redeemed to you from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For you have confirmed to yourself your people Israel to be a people to you forever; and you, Jehovah, have become their God.”
There are literally thousands, if not tens of thousands, of examples like this that could be cited from the Hebrew text of the Bible. The true God is addressed directly by Name as "Jehovah"; He is also addressed as "Adonai" or "Lord" (same word), along with a variety of other Names, such as El-Shaddai, etc. But his Name is Jehovah. It is a holy Name; it is a beautiful Name. We should use it often, with reverence and godly fear; but it is no sin to speak it or to write it, if we use due reverence.
What about the Name of Jesus? Isn't Jesus the most important Name for Christians? Yes, that is true, but we should never forget that Jesus IS Jehovah!! The Name of Jesus literally translated from the Greek, means "Jehovah Saves"!!
This brings up another discussion about the Trinity, which I believe in wholeheartedly. Suffice it to say in this discussion that Jesus is Jehovah walking in a Temple of flesh (now resurrected); the Holy Spirit is also Jehovah; God the Father is also Jehovah! All three Persons of the Godhead have distinct roles in the Plan of Salvation, and speak as individual Persons in the Scriptures, yet there is only one God. The Trinity is impossible for mankind to understand fully. These concepts are all clearly taught in Scripture, and therefore should be accepted as Divine Truth without question. I do not need to understand the Bible fully to believe what it says; and neither do you. God is always right.
The important thing that I see in this discussion for Christians today, is that we need to have Bible versions that do not lamely attempt to hide the true Name of God from us with the unbiblical excuse that it is a Tradition. Jesus blasted the Pharisees for doing the very same thing:
O Then the Pharisees and certain of the scribes which came from Jerusalem came together to him. And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashed hands, they found fault: for the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands vigorously, do not eat, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, unless they wash, they do not eat. And many other things there are, which they have received to hold, such as the washing of cups, pots, bronze vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” He answered and said to them, “Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Nevertheless in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’ For laying aside the Commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups; and many other such like things you do.”
O And he said to them, “Full well you reject the Commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoso curses father or mother, let him die the death.’ But you say, ‘If a man shall say to his father or mother, ‘I am Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever you may be profited by me’: he shall be free.’ And you do not allow him to do anything for his father or his mother anymore, making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition, which you have delivered; and many such like things do you do.”
C And when he had called all the people to him, he said to them, “Listen to me every one of you, and understand: there is nothing from outside a man, that entering into him can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”
C And when he had entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he says to them, “Are you so without understanding also? Do you not perceive, that whatsoever thing from outside that enters into the man cannot defile him, because it does not enter into his heart; but into the belly, and goes out into the latrine, purging all foods?”
U And he said, “That which comes out of the man, that is what defiles the man: for from within, out of the heart of men, proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness; all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:1-23 (Kingdom Study Bible)
Quotations of previous statements, including citations of prophetic statements, statements of God, and even previous statements of Jesus Christ, are bold/semibold.
I don't know of any other Bible version that does this, although there may be some. Changing the text font excessively makes the Bible look rather odd, unless there is a very good reason for doing so. Some Bible versions go to extremes in using odd fonts to show "emphasis" on things they want the reader to notice, but the Kingdom Study Bible only bolds or semibolds quotations, and leaves interpretation to the headings in these situations. I have deliberately tried to keep the text as normal as possible, so as not to distract the reader from the content.
Capitalizations
All capitalizations follow conventional modern English grammatical rules, with the following exceptions:
Every occurence of the word "Name", is capitalized when it refers to God; e.g. "the Name of Jehovah", the "Name of the Lord", etc.
The words "Temple", "Tabernacle", "House of God", "House of Jehovah", "Sanctuary", etc are capitalized when the word directly refers to the Tabernacle or Temple of Jehovah.
The words "Commandments", "Ten Commandments", "Law", "Testimony", "Ordinances", "Statutes", "Testimonies", etc, are capitalized when the word directly refers to the written Word of God, the Bible, or important portions thereof.
The word "Word" is capitalized when it refers to direct revelations of God to his prophets, such as Jeremiah 1:4 "Then the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying,...". Also, when "Word" refers to the preached or written Word, it is capitalized.
Other words, such as "Tree of Life", "Garden of Eden", "Holy One of Israel" are not so common, but are examples of "extraordinary" capitalization not found elsewhere. In short, only words that hold strong theological importance are capitalized, and they are always nouns, not adjectives (except for "Holy", when referring to God or the Bible).
In general, you will never find capitalizations such as "My", "His", "Me", "Yours", etc, unless it occurs at the start of a sentence. The "New KJV", along with other modern versions, is notorious for this abuse of the English language. When reading a Bible version with such odd capitalizations, I feel like I'm driving on a rocky dirt road, hitting all kinds of "bumps" that shouldn't be there.
Capitalizing adjectives that refer to God is a popular practice among Christians when quoting a Bible verse in personal correspondence. I have no objection to seeing it in an email or a letter, as long as it isn't a long quote. But I feel strongly that the Bible itself should use the highest quality of grammar possible, and any deviation from normal rules of grammar needs to be strongly justified. The only words in the Kingdom Study Bible version that I have capitalized "out of the ordinary" are nouns that directly refer to God, his Temple, or his Word, the Bible. In the KJV, most or all of the words I referenced above are not capitalized at all, due to the different rules of grammar in use in the 17th century. If the only changes in the KJV text were these words, it would be a great improvement all by itself.
Interestingly, I did a quick check of the most popular modern versions on Biblegateway.com and found that not a single one capitalizes the words that I have referenced above. I did not do an exhaustive check, but it seems clear that the Kingdom Study Bible version is unique in how it capitalizes these words. My question would be "Why wouldn't words that directly reference the Word of God, the House of God, or the Name of God be capitalized?" Could it be that the translators of these versions did not hold a high view of Scripture? The KJV can be excused for not capitalizing these words, since their rules of grammar were much simpler, but modern versions of the Bible are without excuse. I do not believe that they showed proper reverence for God or his Word with their neglect of this important area.
ALL of the directly spoken words of God, including quotations of Jesus Christ, direct quotations of Jehovah in the Hebrew text, and direct quotations of the Holy Spirit, are bold or semibold.
I do not know of any Bible version in existence that follows this pattern other than the Kingdom Study Bible. It occurred to me while updating the KJV text to modern grammatical standards of English, that it made no sense to make only the words of Jesus bold/semi-bold, as most Bible versions that have colored text do. Is Jesus more important or greater than his Father in Heaven or even the Holy Spirit? The answer is clearly NO: all three Persons are co-equal members of the Triune Godhead; yet that is exactly what showing only the words of Jesus in red implies.
I have no doubt that those Bible publishers who implemented this practice in their translations did not intend to imply this perverse idea, but this simply proves that they were sloppy and untrained in their theological thinking. In fact, sloppy theological thinking is the root of the great majority of theological error being propagated in churches today. The point here is that showing all of the words of God in bold/semibold type, no matter which Person of the Trinity is speaking, promotes theological accuracy and Biblical truth. Jesus is certainly central to the life of the Believer in every way, but we must not go so far that theological balance is lost. Those among God's servants who are privileged to handle the Word of God, whether in the pulpit, the lecturn, or on the printed page, must be extremely careful that we speak and write only balanced Biblical Truth in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20); and therefore we are representatives of the King of kings and Lord of lords. If we speak falsehood in His great Name, we are bringing reproach upon Him, and will give an account to Him at the Bema Seat of Christ; something that should put fear in our hearts (2 Corinthians 5:8-11); and an unbalanced theology is really the root of all heresy.
"Assembly" is used in place of "church" in the entire Bible for the Kingdom Study Bible.
Kingdom Study Bible
¶O Paul greeted the Assembly of God at Corinth
U Paul,
C called an Apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God,
C and Sosthenes our brother;
O to the Assembly of God which is at Corinth: to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus (called saints), with all that in every place call upon the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord (both theirs and ours):
O Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
¶O Paul thanked God for the spiritual gifts that He gave to the Assembly of God in Corinth
O I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which was given you in Jesus Christ,
O that in everything you were enriched in him: in all utterance, and in all knowledge (even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you), so that you come behind in no gift;
C waiting for the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;
C who shall also confirm you until the end, that you may be blameless in the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
U God is faithful, by whom you were called to the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
1611 King James Version
CHAPTER 1
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
5 That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;
6 Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:
7 So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
8 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
I made this change for several reasons:
"Assembly" is a much more accurate term than "church", which is like a bucket which can hold almost anything. "Assembly", on the other hand, is very specific, and can "hold" only the meaning of the original Greek term, which is "Ecclesia". When Christians use terms that are vague, like "church", it leads to sloppy and inaccurate theology. The last thing that we need today is yet more sloppy and unbiblical theology, which is the root of all heresy.
Using a specific vs a general term solves an entire host of ecclesiological errors. Of course, this is one reason why Protestant denominations and Roman Catholics love the term "church", because it gives them religious cover for their theological innovations and errors. They do not want to be bound to the Word of God; instead, they love to use it as a pretext to create false religious structures. I will not be a party to this religious charade and put something in this Bible version that makes them feel good at the expense of truth.
Some Fundamental Baptists are also guilty of adopting Protestant ecclesiological thinking which has no foundation in Scripture. You know these types of Baptists by their infatuation with the Protestant theologian John Calvin and TULIP. Calvin was a great Reformer in Reformation times, but he only came out part-way from Catholicism, when he should have come out all the way. His theology is in agreement with very similar ecclesiological structures (e.g. a National "church") to the Catholic religion. I am not interested in John Calvin or his "Institutes" for that reason. Thank God for what he got right, but we can do much better than anything John Calvin had to say on almost any subject. I only need the Word and Spirit of God to teach me the mind of God. Stop following the Reformers and start following Jesus Christ and his Word!!
Loyalty to the same basic underlying Greek and Hebrew texts as the King James Version
The reference Greek text is "The Holy Scriptures in the Original Languages", published by the Trinitarian Bible Society. This Book contains the 1894 Scrivener Greek Textus Receptus and the Hebrew Bomberg text. In these days of widespread apostasy and rebellion against God, most Bible versions now use Greek texts which are derived from the Aleph (Sinaiticus) and B (Vaticanus) Greek texts as their main supporting translation text, instead of the Textus Receptus group of texts (Beza, Scrivener, etc), as all the very old Bible versions used to do.
All Bible versions published by JHS Publishing use only the Scrivener and Masoretic texts as their underlying textual translation basis. No reference to the corrupted Aleph and B texts are made in any marginal reference, nor as a basis for translation. See this page for detailed reasons as to why Aleph and B are unreliable and should never be trusted by any Christian.
No references to corrupted texts such as the Aleph and B (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) texts are used in the Kingdom Study Bible
The reasoning for that is this: Does the average Christian who has not been trained in the Word of God have the necessary understanding to be able to discern that a statement such as "Not found in most ancient mss." is misleading? The answer is clearly "No".
All that a statement like that does is add more confusion to the mind of an average Believer, who might come to the wrong conclusion that "Hey, if it's not in the oldest texts, then maybe it isn't real Scripture!" And now, given the clear evidence shown by the Golden Ratio format of the Bible, there is no doubt that some "editor" or "editors" with an unfriendly attitude toward the Word of God were the reason why the Critical texts are missing about 5% of the Greek text by comparison with the Received Text. Therefore, any references to the "most ancient mss." should be avoided, and not included in any Bible version.
I do not accept the popular reasoning that "the oldest Greek texts must be the best and most accurate texts", for a number of reasons, which I must keep short here because of the need for brevity:
The over 5,000 manuscripts of the Byzantine text group were the ones chosen by God's people for at least 1,800 years (if not 1,900) to be the basis for Bible versions of all types; while the two (2) manuscripts of the Critical texts were ignored by God's people and left in the basement of the Vatican and in a dusty, almost-forgotten monastery in the Sinai desert. So God's people have been wrong for almost 2,000 years about which Greek and Hebrew manuscripts were the true Word of God? Give me a break!
Believers copied the Byzantine text group manuscripts over and over and over again, because they knew which texts were the true Word of God, and hence, they wore out faster, and eventually needed to be discarded. This is a major reason why the oldest manuscripts in this text group date back only to the late first Millennium A.D. But the bad copies of the Scriptures were ignored and not copied, and hence they tended to last much longer. This is why the Sinaiticus text was discovered by Tischendorf as the monks in the Catholic monastery in the Sinai were preparing to throw them away as trash, not realizing their archaeological significance.
Because of this great difference in age, many Bible scholars in the late 1800's jumped to the false conclusion that "older must be better", and these two texts (known as Aleph and B) became the primary texts used to support the translation of literally thousands of new Bible versions. The King James Version (reviled by Liberals and Roman Catholics for its strong emphasis on a grammatical-historical approach to translation) soon became the preserve only of Fundamental Christians (mainly Baptists), who clung to it in spite of the outdated grammar because it was the only Bible version they felt they could trust. Most Fundamentalists have never trusted the Critical text, and any Bible version based upon it; and they were right in doing so.
A fact which is conveniently ignored by the advocates of the Critical texts in most Christian Universities today (even many who profess to be "Fundamental") is that the monastery in the Sinai desert where the Sinaiticus manuscript was discovered was in close proximity to Egypt. Historically, Egypt has been a center of Arian theological teaching since the days of the Arian heretic Origen (cir.184-253). He taught that the Son of God was a lesser "god", which led to his being declared a "heretic" by the early churches. Today, that "antichrist" teaching (I John 2:20-23) is still being popularized by many cults, the most notorious of which is the so-called "Jehovah's Witnesses". The manuscripts of the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus contain literally thousands of omissions of and changes to words, phrases, and even entire paragraphs, when compared to the Traditional Textus Receptus manuscripts collated from selected manuscripts of the Byzantine text group. Most importantly, these changes directly attack key teachings in the Scriptures regarding the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, and the Triune Godhead of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Considering these facts, is it only a coincidence that these are the precise types of changes that Arian followers of Origen would have made to the Greek Scriptures in order to remake the Bible according to their own thinking? Many Fundamental Christians (and I among them) believe that this, in fact, is the case; which is why we do not trust any Bible version based upon the Critical texts.
Strangely (or perhaps not so strangely), if you were to attend one of the many Christian colleges today who support the use of the Critical texts, you would likely hear little or none of what I just explained to you. Instead, you would be told that the much greater ages of the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts trump any claims that the Byzantine text group might have previously held on what is "orthodox" and what is not. Some even claim that there is "no difference" between the Critical texts and the Traditional "TR" (Textus Receptus) text group. They say that there is only about 5% less Greek text in the Critical texts than the TR, and this doesn't amount to anything important. They also claim "However, most scholars generally agree that there is no evidence of systematic theological alteration in any of the text types" (!!). (Wikipedia, Alexandrian_Text-Type) While technically correct in saying that there is about 5% less text in the Critical text than the TR, they are either lying or completely ignorant in making such a statement that there is no difference.
I myself briefly fellowshipped with a Fundamental Baptist Seminary in the Twin Cities, MN in 1992, intending to earn a Master's degree there. I was shocked to learn that even doctoral degree students knew almost nothing about the information I just discussed. Instead, they had been told only positive information about the Aleph and B texts, and knew very little about the TR or any favorable information about the Byzantine text group. Instead of receiving a balanced discussion of both sides, they were receiving a pro-Critical text viewpoint with little or no discussion of any contrary information. You might call that brain-washing at worst, or a poor education at best. In any case, I could never support any college or seminary that didn't teach both sides of the issue.
These Critical text advocates also claim that the TR is an "inflated" text, meaning that the reason that it has more Greek text than the Critical texts is because the manuscript copiers introduced additional words into the Greek portion of the Bible in order to bolster the claims of Orthodox theology (meaning not "Greek Orthodox" per se, but Orthodox in the sense of traditional Trinitarian Biblical theology). This is one claim that I find especially strange, because those who hold a "high view" of Scripture (i.e. Orthodox in theology) are extremely reluctant to make any sort of change to the Bible text, especially the original languages of Greek and Hebrew, unless there is abundant evidence to support making such a change (Revelation 22:18-19). On the other hand, those who hold a heretical Arian view of Scripture, such as the followers of Origen in Egypt, had no such reluctance to change the Bible to support their false views. An obvious (to those who study the history of Christianity) example is the heretic Marcion (84-160 A.D.) who freely cut out any portion of the Greek Bible which he did not favor, and from that process produced his own "bible" which contained very little of the genuine Greek Scriptures. Marcion, however, was not the only person with the demonic urge to change the Bible to their own liking; there have been many throughout history who have done so. Therefore, the statement that "there is no evidence of systematic theological alteration in any of the text types" would be laughable if the subject wasn't so serious. In fact, such a statement is evidence of deliberate brainwashing through the college and/or seminary that the person attended, or perhaps just plain ignorance. In any case, it is a popular notion, and one which I believe should be rejected.
One of the greatest proofs of Arian willingness to tamper with the Bible is the so-called "New World Translation" produced by the Jehovah's Witnesses Arian cult. They changed John 1:1 to read "In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God; and the Word was a god" vs. "the Word was God" or literally from the Greek: "God was the Word." Clearly, Arians have no problem with changing the Bible to suit their heresy. Bible-believing Christians, on the other hand, from the Reformation until today (and that includes the great reformers Calvin, Luther, and so on), love the Scriptures and have no desire to tamper with the Word of God. There are, of course, problems with Protestants using words such as "church" and "baptism" in ways which do not honor the original meaning of the Greek text, but these are trivial issues by comparison with the Arian heretics. You can have a difference of opinion over "Church" and "baptism" without anyone going to Hell over it, but denying the Deity of Jesus Christ is a soul-damning error that will certainly end in Hell.
Some of the TR skeptics argue that an altered Bible version doesn't produce heresy, but heresy produces altered Bible versions. In other words, the heretic Marcion produced the altered "bible", not the other way around; and the Jehovah's Witness "bible", which changed John 1:1 to "the Word was a god", was a product of heretics, but does not influence others to become heretics by itself. This reasoning is patently false, because people are influenced by what they read and hear from other people, whether it is on TV or radio or the internet or some other context. This is the reason for preaching the Gospel, since "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). The reason the JW's produced "The New World Translation" which contains this corrupted text alteration of the Bible was to give theological support to those who follow the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses. The JW could take this "bible" to others and say, "See, here it is right in the Bible!" Does not this altered "bible" produce more heretics? Of course it does! The theologial contortions in support of Aleph and B simply hold no water.
Another argument in favor of the Critical texts is that if they had been truly heretical texts, then Orthodox Christians would have vehemently spoken out against them, as they did against Marcion in his day. Since they apparently didn't, then that must mean that the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are not heretical texts (so the thinking goes). My answer is, do we have every letter that has ever been written against every heretic in Christian history? I doubt it. Secondly, Origen was certainly denounced as a heretic, and the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus text are part of a group of text-type that is called the Alexandrian text-type, and Origen's theological school was located in Alexandria, where many of his followers were trained in his heresy! 1 + 1 = 2. This is not hard to think through, folks. This argument is based on the lack of evidence that anyone denounced the specific text-type as heretical, rather than simply observing the huge amount of evidence that these altered Critical texts originated in Alexandria, Egypt, a center of teaching in the ancient world for the heretic Origen and his followers. The problem is not the lack of evidence that the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus texts are the fruit of Arian theology, but rather the obfuscating argumentation produced by those who really want to believe that "older is better" in spite of all of the evidence to the contrary.
The following is something that occurred to me as I have considered this issue over the years:
When God brought Israel into the Promised Land, they remained orthodox and true to the Word of God (the Law of Moses) until the death of Joshua and all of his generation (Judges 2:6-13), then they turned away from Jehovah, and began serving other gods through idolatry. In other words, after hundreds of years of waiting, God's people finally attained to what they and their fathers had been waiting for since God told Abraham that they would inherit the land of Canaan forever. They had finally reached the top of the mountain, as it were! They were living in Zion, the Promised Land! But they did not continue in the Word of God, but fell away and served idols instead of continuing to serve Jehovah. God gave them what they had been seeking and waiting for, but then they faced a test: would they continue to serve Jehovah, now that they had everything that they could possibly want, a land that flowed with milk and honey? The answer was no, they failed the test and fell away.
During the great persecutions of Christians by the Roman empire from 30 A.D. to 313 A.D., many thousands of Believers were slain by the Roman authorities, either by the sword or other means. Persecution and suffering were the hallmark of this period, and Christianity flourished in spite of it. But suddently, in 313 A.D., Constantine proclaimed tolerance toward Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, and later brought many of the Christian churches into a governing alliance with the Roman Empire, so that those churches became known as Roman Catholic. Suddenly, Christianity was the favored religion in the Roman Empire, and instead of persecution and death, Christians were the powerful ones, in alliance with the most powerful empire in the world of that day, and everyone wanted to become a Christian, even if it only meant they had been baptized in water and didn't really believe in Jesus Christ.
This isn't in the Bible, but simply my own observation: I believe that God tested the early Christians in the same way that He had tested Israel in the first example: they suffered for many years, and finally achieved what they had always dreamed of. In many of their minds, they had finally entered the Kingdom of God on earth, and it was the "Christian" Roman Empire. But was it the will of God for Christians to join in a governing coalition with the pagan Roman Empire? The subsequent history of Roman Catholicism since that day is one of decay, idolatry, and apostasy. The Bible even brands it as "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" Revelation 17:5). The evidence that it was not the will of God is overwhelming. I believe that this was the exact same test that God gave the early Israelites in the days of the Judges, and Gentile Christians failed the test, miserably. Although I must add that not all Christians joined the Roman Empire; many remained separate, and were later persecuted by the Roman Catholic "Church" as heretics.
Was not this the exact same test that the Lord Jesus Christ went through with Satan in the wilderness at the beginning of his earthly ministry?
Satan offered to give all of the kingdoms of the world to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, as long as He served Satan. The Christians in the days of Constantine were offered virtually the same thing, and they accepted it!! The Roman Empire was the epitomy of evil: idolatry, witchcraft, homosexuality, and sins of all kind abounded. After the Christians took over as the "official religion" of the Roman Empire, at first there was some good things done: temples of idolatry were torn down or replaced with Christian churches and so on. But eventually the "official religion" began allowing the pagans to call themselves "Christians" as long as they allowed themselves to be "baptized" (have some water sprinkled on them) and join "the Church". The "Church" began celebrating the same evil pagan holidays as in the old days, just with a different name. In short, instead of converting the world to Christianity, the Christians were converted to the world, with only a pretense of Christianity remaining more than 1,600 years later.
With reference to the Critical text controversy, I believe that Believers faced a very similar test in the late 1800's as the Israelites and the early Christians faced. In the 1800's, missionary activity by Christians, especially in England and the United States, was thriving. Great Evangelists, beginning with the Wesley brothers in the Reformation, to George Whitefield, D.L. Moody, and a number of others had spread the Word of God all through the United States, especially in the large cities, and also in Great Britain. There had been three "Great Awakenings" in the United States during the previous 200 years in which probably millions of people accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and missionary activity had taken the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Burma, China, India, and Africa. It seemed to many at that time that the "world was theirs" to win to Christ. It was only a matter of time, they believed, before all the world would be singing hymns and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. This was called "Post-Millennialism", which was the idea that Christians would "bring in the Millennium" by winning the entire world to Christ, after which Jesus Christ would return. Any honest evaluation of the world today would show that Post-Millennialism was a noble, but false idea. The world is more opposed to the Gospel than ever before.
But an interesting event occurred in 1859: the discovery of the Sinaiticus manuscript by Constantin von Tischendorf. Over the next fifty or so years, the influence of this corrupt manuscript spread to most Christian Bible colleges and Universities in the US and Europe. Students began questioning whether the Bible was really the Word of God after all; Bible versions supported by the Westcott-Hort manuscript (derived from Aleph and B) began to appear, some of which changed important Bible verses supporting the Virgin Birth of Christ, the Deity of Christ, and so on. This led to the spread of Liberal teachings in the large "mainline" denominations in the U.S., such that by the early 1930's or so, the Methodist denomination had mostly abandoned the historic Christian faith, and become a hotbed of Liberal teachings: in denial about the literal six days of Creation in Genesis, the literalness of the story of the Great Flood, the literalness of the crossing of the Red Sea, and even whether Jesus had really risen from the dead at all. Liberalism, by the early 1900's, had spread to the Northern Baptist Convention, the Southern Baptist Convention, Presbyterian denominations, and so on. This general apostasy led to the departure from these denominations of a large group of Bible-believing Christians who called themselves Fundamentalists. You can read a detailed history of this apostasy and the reaction of Bible-believers to it in the excellent book, published by Bob Jones University, "In Pursuit of Purity", by David Beale. I highly recommend it to you.
The point that I want to make here is that a careful study of this time period in American history indicates a clear parallel with the tests faced by the Israelites in Judges and the early Christians of the Roman Empire. Christians in the United States and Great Britain were flourishing through the Great Awakenings. Christianity had such influence in early America that major newspapers in New York would reprint sermons preached in Bible-believing church pulpits every Sunday. Then, over a period of decades, that godly influence weakened and finally disappeared. Why? I don't think that it is a coincidence that the rise of corrupted Bible versions based on the Critical texts and the decay of Bible Christianity in the United States into Liberalism happened at the same time. In my opinion, God gave Bible Christianity in the United States and Great Britian a great test with the discovery of the Critical texts, and the introduction of new Bible versions based upon it and the Vaticanus, to see whether his people would continue to follow the Word of God, or depart from it. And clearly most of God's people failed the test: they fell away into Liberalism and modernism until the remnant of Fundamental, Bible-believing Christians separated from the apostate denominations and formed new churches and organizations based on the Word of God, and the Old-Time Religion. The influence of Evolution during this time period cannot be ignored, and certained aided and abetted the great Apostasy. Nonetheless, I believe that it was the powerful and evil influence of the Critical texts upon theological thinking, in combination with new theories of mankind's origin which led to the departure of so many professing Christians, churches, and colleges from the historic Christian faith.
In short, the Aleph and B texts were "poison fruit" which have poisoned the Christian world ever since their discovery and acceptance.
A critical examination of the Sinaiticus text: Deanburgonsociety. Many more excellent articles on the subject of the Critcal texts and the TR can be found at the Dean Burgon Society website. I recommend them to you, although I do not agree with some of their conclusions that assert that the KJV cannot be improved upon, etc. I agree with the vast majority of their research on the issues of the Critical texts and the TR.
In conclusion, the reasoning that "older is better" simply holds no water, in my opinion. If the text was essentially the same as the Byzantine text group, then there would be very little to argue about; but that is not the case. It amazes me that so many of my fellow Bible-believing brothers in Christ seem so willing to ignore this powerful evidence and, like lemmings, simply follow the crowd over the cliff of apostasy without any hesitation. I cannot and will never join them in this error.