I entered Covenant with our Heavenly Father through His Son in 1994. That was 25 years ago, long before many translations of Scripture were available. By that time, there was, of course, more than just the King James Version, but the Complete Jewish Bible was not yet published, and neither was the Cepher. The ISR was published in 1993, but I'd never heard of it. I had a KJV, Scofield, no less and bought a Strong's Concordance the next day, along with an Evangelical Study Bible (KJV) and an NIV Rainbow Study Bible. (That was when the rainbow just stood for covenant and color!) Within days, I discovered The Name of our Creator and that of His Son. Within a month, I was hearing the Voice of our Creator. It wasn't daily, but it was distinct!
The reason for my personal history on this matter is simple. As more people are coming to understand Torah obedience in following Messiah, King James and James Strong are being discounted. I'm not a KJV only believer, but I'm certainly not going to discount it. The internet has as many "teachers" as TBN has televangelists and everyone seems to have their special understanding . . . often translated by yours truly as "a tangent."
We all know there are errors in KJV. Aside from poor translations of the Father and Son's Name, since we know names do not translate, the greatest offense I have found is an intentional mistranslation in Acts. Throughout the accounts of the Gospel the word "pascha" was translated to Passover, but in Acts 12:4, that same term "pascha" was written as easter. Constantine was dead set on keeping his empire united while separating from Judaism. I cannot judge how many intentional mistranslations the Nicene Council contributed as they determined the content of the New Testament, but Strong's Concordance offers a simple way to decode the KJV translation from Hebrew and Greek to English. Many choose to interpret Paul's epistles to render the Hebrew Scriptures obsolete, except as history, but if Paul taught against the only Scripture at that time, that would make him a false teacher . . .
I've grown weary hearing how much of the Bible was mistranslated . . . Our Heavenly Father promises to be found by those who seek Him with a whole heart. Isaiah and Jeremiah both include words about seeking, as do many other books contained within Holy Scripture, but as of yet, I've found no Scripture to specify the translation we are to use. Even as an author, I can state unequivocally, there is no extraneous book needed to find Him. I pray some of the books, mine included, are helpful in areas of question or doubt, but spiritual growth only comes from time with our Heavenly Father and in His Word. Anything we read must be measured against the standard of The Word.
I realize this is not the intentions of most, but in the continual discussion of mistranslation and cultural context, Scripture seems to actually be discounted as an inaccurate history book, and that is simply not the case! Perhaps it's just my perspective and maybe I need an attitude adjustment, but far too many people are falling away from the Truth in what they believe to be revelation knowledge.
Not that I am comparing a president to our Creator, but rather using the situation to make a point. Biographies are my favorite reading material and in school, I read every book about JFK that I could get my hands on. Each book contained much of the same basic information, but emphasized various details and aspects of his life. I, also do not choose to believe the "official report" regarding his assassination. In all of this reading and years of discussing the official report, there is one overwhelming fact . . . I never met President Kennedy. I can recite all sorts of facts, but I never knew the man. This is the same thing I'm seeing in some of these discussions and teaching posts. We can discuss our knowledge of Biblical history and our perspective of various translations until Messiah returns, but that doesn't mean we have an actual relationship with our Heavenly Father or His Son.
I am not discounting education in any way, but in all the endeavor to discover truth and enlighten others, we must not miss the actual point of the purpose of the Bible, and that is that we might know our Creator through His Son and to walk with Him. Time is of the essence and a relationship in covenant obedience with our Creator is the point. Messiah said it so simply.
But seek ye first the kingdom of G-d, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33
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