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New Testament of the Bible

 

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Welcome to the Believers Home Page and the LIT!

  

My name is Hal Dekker, the translator of the LIT, and the producer of all biblical studies here at BelieversHomePage.com. 

 

My Literal Idiomatic Translation (LIT) is based upon the United Bible Societies (UBS4) Eclectic Greek Text, one of the most widely used in colleges, universities and seminaries.  Followers of our lord Jesus Christ, while doing your own personal studies, may be interested in freely downloading my LIT analytical Greek lexicon (LITAGL), which I produced over 30 years while personally verifying the meanings of about 19,381 unique Greek word inflected forms appearing in the UBS4 biblical Greek text(s).     

 

This website is what I do to hone my own beliefs to God's Word.  All of the studies posted at this website could be considered to be a historical record of my own personal endeavor to know, understand and believe God's Word, as opposed to knowing, understanding and believing mortal-made religious goopucky.  I do biblical studies.  That's how I get God's Word into my head, so I can believe God's Word (Heb. 11:6).

 

I began comparing biblical Greek texts to popular Bible translations years ago, in 1993, because I wanted to know for certain exactly what did Jesus Christ and his apostles and disciples actually preach and teach.  Seeing so many differences in wording between popular Bible translations caused me to question exactly why were they worded differently from one another.  I wondered which Bible translation was the one which actually quoted the biblical Greek texts.

 

What I discovered was much worse than I expected.  I discovered that virtually all Bible translations, at least translations into English, do not simply quote the biblical authors in the biblical Greek texts as they should, but paraphrase them.  That's WHY Bible translations often do not agree in wordage with one another.  But in fact, Bible translations are now about 50% privately interpreted opinionated paraphrases of what the biblical authors supposedly wrote.  Surprise surprise!

 

Some "experts" want me to believe that at least about 50% of the paraphrased wordage in them is because of differences in Greek texts used by various Bible translations.  That's a lie already very easily proved in the Literal Idiomatic Translation Analytical Greek Lexicon (LITAGL), in which I show readers a possible facsimile of the exact meaning of each and every word's inflected form in the biblical Greek texts, by lexeme, then by morpheme, and then by context if translating, etc..  From the LITAGL I produced the Literal Idiomatic Translation (LIT), so I could have an English rendering of exactly what I believe the writers of the biblical texts may have written.

 

Occasionally when checking other Bible translations' wordage on Bible Hub, I again think to myself, I don't care about what are translator's or anyone's paraphrased opinions about what biblical texts may say or mean.  I don't care about other's privately interpreted paraphrased opinions used to replace the wordage of the biblical writers.  People's opinions belong in other books, but not in Bible translations.  What I want to know is exactly what wordage did the biblical authors write, with no one else's opinionated words mixed into the translation.  Isn't that what everyone wants to know?

 

Then it dawned upon me after a few years of looking, that there are no Bible translations which simply quote the biblical authors, verbatim, meaning letter for letter, word for word, and line for line.  Virtually all Bible translations are not simply quotes or literal translations, but "translations" made up of endless "theologically" opinionated paraphrases, apparently primarily invented to support the 4th century invented triune godhead model of God. 

 

I translated the biblical new testament basically out of the Greek wordage presented in the UBS4 eclectic Greek texts and the Stephens 1550 text, the Textus Receptus.  However, very often the linear Greek word order presented in the LIT is somewhat different than in either of those texts, in order to accommodate English sentence structures.  To me the UBS4 appears to be based upon-the Stephens 1550 text, but with the emendations of the Elzevir text and the other six popular textual critics applied to the Stephens, as can be deduced from the textual presentations in George Ricker Berry's "Interlinear Greek-English New Testament", 1897, Hinds & Nobel. 

 

As I began using those texts together, and some others, from which research and study into the wordage of those texts over a 27 year period I produced the LIT, for me.  But off the top of my head I can't recall a single verse in a popular Bible translation which has not been paraphrased to introduce other's extra-biblical "theological" ideas, opinions, and imaginations into Bible translations.  To you, does the triune godhead model of God qualify as being essentially theological?

 

The BelieversHome Page.com entire website is devoted to my studies into what exactly did Jesus and his apostles preach and teach, going by only the exact wording Jesus' apostles wrote as the biblical texts present.  If you wish to see examples of fudged/forged verses in Bible translations, verse after verse after verse, hundreds of them, pick a study out of the menu on the left.  Don't start with Prosdechomai, that study may be too shocking to you and make you angry, how the Kingdom of the God has been paraphrased/word-smithed out of existence in any Bible translation. 

 

Just as the prophets wrote in the old testament texts about the God as being strictly monotheistic, Jesus' apostles wrote about Jesus' heavenly Father, YHWH, as being strictly monotheistic also.  Both the old testament prophets and the new testament apostles wrote alike, monothiestically, about Jesus' heavenly Father, who they were taught to believe was one singular god, the God almighty, YHWH Elohim. 

 

In the new testament biblical texts I have found no obvious triune godhead model of God references.  And those triune godhead references which seem to appear in Bible translations are the products of word-smithed paraphrases and creative "synonyming" forged into them.  Yes, the truth is, all of the supposed triune godhead references in any Bible translation are all paraphrased-in into Bible translations, or should I say Bible "translations"?

 

I'm very critical of the triune godhead model of God because I can't find it in the Hebrew and Greek biblical texts.  I'm not responsible for inventing the triune godhead model of God.  That was invented under Constantine by his "bishops".  Nor am I responsible for forging it into Bible translations over the last seventeen hundred years.  Other Bible "translators" are responsible for that.  Nor am I responsible for cramming the Trinity down anyone's throats since they were babies, over the last seventeen hundred years.  Children's' parents are responsible for that.  But, for certain, no one can go to the biblical Hebrew or Greek texts and say with a straight face that here or there God's prophets, or Jesus' apostles, wrote about a triune godhead of some kind. 

 

The triune godhead model of God "Christianity" wasn't invented until the early 4th century, about 300+ years after the deaths of Jesus and his apostles, and about 200+ years after the last new testament biblical book was written.  This is when Greek biblical texts began being forged to obscure/obliterate Jesus' own human self-autonomy in relationship to his desire to always do his heavenly Father's will.  The "translators" goal seems to have been to extra-biblically characterize Jesus as the God himself, rather than characterize Jesus as a human son of the God, as the biblical writers characterized Jesus.

 

A little forgery example:

 

"The Holy Spirit" paraphrase, please notice the capitalization of the words, doesn't appear in the biblical texts.  The individual words do appear in the biblical texts, but not capitalized or presented as a "person".  This paraphrase appearing in Mat. 1:18 and other passages was invented by capitalizing the Greek adjective hagiou, as Holy, then capitalizing the Greek noun pneumatos, as Spirit, and then forging into the text a preceding capitalized definite article, The, to manufacture/create a supposed third person of an invented triune godhead model of God, "The Holy Spirit". 

 

But the scriptural facts are:

 

1. The writers of the Greek and Hebrew biblical texts wrote about the God as being strictly monotheistic. 

 

2. The biblical writers wrote using no triune godhead-related terminology or nomenclature whatsoever. 

 

3. The biblical writers used no capitalization whatsoever in the ancient biblical Greek texts used to produce the new testament portion of Bibles.

 

Bible translators have violated these facts, and many others, to which I have not yet introduced you, for centuries, because the triune godhead model of God, which they were taught since being babies, is the Truth for them, by their own personal choosing, rather than what the prophets and apostles actually wrote in the biblical texts. 

 

What people personally choose to believe isn't my business.  But when people desire to surreptitiously force me to believe their own personal private interpretations, such as the 4th century triune godhead invention, through forging/fudging them into Bibles in which hopefuls are expecting to read only what was written by God's prophets and Jesus' apostles, is what seems particularly devilish to me.  Therefore the bottom line for me is that those "translators", who apparently don't care about Truth and honesty in translating God's Word, must be working for the devil, whether they know it or not.   

 

A Huge Forgery Example:

 

To help me introduce the subject of biblical forgery to anyone who may care, here's the beginning example of forging a Bible translation to make it say something the biblical writers didn't actually write, but to make a Bible say what the "translators" wanted people to believe about God and his Word.  The reason I call this the beginning example of biblical forgery is because it was forged into the very first Bible ever produced, a Latin Bible.  This is how the invented "Christian" Trinity got started.

 

Long before English Bible translations began being forged with peoples' opinionated paraphrases and creative "synonyms", the biblical Greek texts themselves, from which Bible translations are made into other languages, were being forged with erroneous additions, alterations and omissions, because those forgers wanted to be in control of what God has said.  Before masses of people being able to read became ubiquitous, religious leaders used mass ignorance to their advantage, to control people into believing and doing what they  wanted them to believe and do, and ignorant people desiring to be pleasing in God's sight had no choice but to believe what they were told.  By now you may realize that one of the devil's primary tools used against mortalkind is to keep them ignorant and stupid!  If you want to stay ignorant and stupid about God's Word, clap your hands.  LOL

 

Likely one of the most obvious forgeries into the biblical Greek texts was forged into 1 John 5:7-8, the Johannine Comma.  This forgery appeared first in some Latin texts, which forgery later became copied into a handful of Greek texts.  Look into it for yourself if you're not too fearful to discover what you don't know yet.  Start by looking it up online for yourself.  Do an internet search on Johannine Comma. 

 

This forgery has seriously affected people's beliefs about who is the Word who caused himself to become flesh, and what people believe about their own personal salvation.  For example, once a person believes he is saved, then doesn't he quit searching for salvation?  The devil would love everyone to believe that he or she is saved, made whole (sozo), through simply occupying a pew in a church every Sunday.  But unfortunately that is not a biblical qualification for salvation.  Apostle Paul in Rom. 10:9-10 states the basic qualification for salvation.  People can believe and receive salvation, wholeness, even if they've never attended a church meeting for a day or hour in their lives!

 

People who personally don't like God's Word recorded by the old covenant prophets or by Jesus' apostles, are the ones doing the falsifications in Bible translations, using paraphrases and creative "synonyms", even compound paraphrases like the Johannine Comma.  These alterations to God's Word may become some of those forgers' talking points at their own judgments with Jesus Christ. 

 

From reading your own Bibles, can you determine which words in your preferred Bible translation are actually represented in the biblical Greek texts, and which words are opinionated paraphrases, creative "synonyms", mortal-made religious junk?  This 1 John 5:7-8 forgery, the Johannine Comma, has become so well known in our modern age of computerized information exchange that forged parts of it are now left out of most Bible translations, to help keep up appearances and people's confidence in the Bible "translation" they're reading.  But this forgery was used in Bibles for at least about 1,300 years, to help perpetuate the erroneous triune godhead invention.  In Bible translations, the Johannine Comma still appears in the 1611 edition of  the KJV.  But even as early as 1611, the invented Johannine Comma had already been drummed into people's heads for about 1,300 years!

 

By and large "leadership" in "academic" circles are determining how current Bible content is produced.  The devil is working in some of those people, because they are the ones determining the word-smithed/paraphrasing which is used in present and future Bible publications.  I can't imagine any translator willing to tell you which passages in which Bible translations were his or her personal assigned responsibility to paraphrase, because no one wants any identified translation alterations, erroneous paraphrases and creative "synonyms", traced back to them!  Yes, that's going on too.  How come on the inside covers of any Bible translation all of the names of its translators are missing?  It's a secret!  It's got to be kept secret about who are the people responsible for injecting/forging endless paraphrases into Bible translations! 

 

Hi!  My name is Hal Dekker.  I'm not ashamed of the LIT Bible translation I've made over the last 30 years or so.  And you can have a copy of it for free, no charge.  Just go to my Downloads page and download any or all of the new testament books.

 

The LIT Bible translation exposes triune godhead "approved" alterations in virtually all other Bible translations.  And in addition to 1 John 5:7-8 there are thousands of other verses in virtually all other Bible translations which contain "approved" triune godhead-based alterations.   Forging Bible translations with triune godhead private interpretations has been the normal MO for academic "leadership" and "translators" for about seventeen hundred years now. 

 

The words in red in the Johannine Comma below have been shamelessly forged into a Latin manuscript in the late 4th century, and then forged into the Old Latin Bible sometime in the 5th century, and since then began being incorporated into countless bibles of many languages. 

 

1 John 5:7 (LIT/UBS4) Because (hoti) the things (hoi) witnessing (marturountes) are (eisin) three (treis): in (en) the (tō) heaven (ourano): the (ho) Father (patēr), the (ho) Word (logos), and (kai) the (to) Holy (hagion) Spirit (pneuma).  

 

And (kai) these (outoi) which (hoi) three (treis), are (eisin) one (en) [witness].

 

1 John 5:8  (LIT/UBS4) And (kai) there are (eisin) three (treis) which (hoi) are witnessing (marturountes) in (en) the (tē) land (gē), the (to) Spirit (pneuma), and (kai) the (to) water (hudōr), and (kai) the (to) blood (haima).  

 

And (kai) the (hoi) three (treis) are (eisin) into (eis) the (to) one (hen) [witness, RE].

 

The specific forgery of words in verse 7, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, is the wordage which actually became the bull's eye of the Triune godhead model of God, the Trinity.  This forgery may be the specific biblical forgery which began side-tracking readers/followers away from the orthodoxy taught by Jesus Christ and his apostle into the Constantinian three-headed God orthodoxy similar to many non-Christian religions having multiple gods.

 

Pushing forward this forgery into enshrinement into countless Bible "translations", Erasmus, about which history shows him to have been a dishonest opportunist, included this forgery in the first printed edition of the New Testament by him, the Novum Instrumentum omne.  In the first printed edition of the new testament ever produced in history, the devil managed to get people started believing in a triune godhead model of God forged into the biblical texts right here in 1 John 5:7-8!  Do you think Erasmus, and others, if there were accomplices, might hear about that from Jesus Christ at their judgments?  Hmm, what might possess a person to falsify/forge biblical and religious texts, and falsify countless Bible translations with forgeries?

 

From there the Johannine Comma has become passed on into countless religious documents and Bible "translations" for almost two millenniums now, in which millions of people have read the forgery and believed that apostle John wrote it, and that it was God's Word through apostle John!  I'm speaking now of only this one example of Bible translation falsification out of thousands more, in any Bible translation. 

 

Who dares to forge God's Word with lies, as if the God isn't watching?

 

Now let's turn our attention more closely to the words of 1 John 5:7-8 forgery, to try to ascertain what motive, or partial motive, or goal, the designer of this false God's Word, false Truth, may have had for sculpting their false "God's Word" wordage so carefully. 

 

By and large, the vast majority of those claiming to be Christians today, and all of those since about the 4th century under Constantine, when triune godhead-based "Christianity" was declared to be Christian orthodoxy, base their personal beliefs, their discipleship to Jesus Christ, their own salvation/wholeness and spirituality, upon this falsification/forgery in Bibles!  That's a Truth with which to be reconciled! 

 

Can the belief and insistence of the notion that the God gave Christ Jesus an erroneous Evangelism to preach and teach about himself and his heavenly Father, an erroneous Evangelism that needed to be replaced in the 4th century by Constantine's triune godhead model, be anything less than contempt for the God and his Word? 

 

Many people believe that their belief in a "Christianized" triune godhead model of God will get them further with God and his son Christ Jesus, rather than one's own personal belief in the true biblical Christology of the Word, Christ Jesus, and his Evangelism.  Please see my study, An Outline of the Biblical Christology of the Word/Jesus Christ. 

 

If you wish to see how biblical texts were forged to deny that God's new covenant Kingdom of God has already arrived, almost 2,000 years ago, please read my study, Prosdechomai, Strong's # 4327, "one causing himself to receive to himself the Kingdom of the God!".  Yes, that's another immeasurably valuable Truth in God's Word, about which certain triune godhead translators and translation committees have demonstrated more contempt for God and his Word; claiming and forging God's Word to support their assertion that the Kingdom of the God hasn't come to pass yet for disciples of Christ Jesus here upon earth.

 

This forgery in 1 John 5:7-8 makes me wonder if the person who invented the forgery sometime in the 4th century was in a coma.  Get it!  Well, what was he thinking, that somehow he thought of himself as so grandiloquent that, "I can replace what apostle John wrote with what I, or our group of omniscient scholars have determined that he should have written, because we know better than apostle John what he should have wrote.  And, that what the God, or Jesus Christ, gave apostle John revelation to write was in error!"  Are not pride and self-idolization both characteristics of the devil himself (Isa. 14:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 3:6; 1 Pet. 5:8)?

 

There are many forgeries similar to this one in virtually all Bibles.  But the vast majority of instances of mistranslation are subtle, more or less difficult for readers to detect without comparing the biblical Hebrew and Greek texts' roots and inflected forms to Bible translations.  Don't make the mistake of thinking that smaller and less obvious Biblical forgeries are harmless.  Biblical forgeries of any kind can produce powerful misdirections away from exactly what disciples of Jesus Christ are to believe about Truth and the truths of God's Word, and especially about the Evangelism of Jesus Christ, which must be believed in order to receive salvation/wholeness. 

 

Here's how 1 John 5:7-8 actually reads based upon the biblical Greek texts (UBS4):

 

1 John 5:7-8 (LIT/UBS4) Because (hoti) the things (hoi) witnessing (marturountes) are (eisin) three (treis):

 

the (to) Spirit (pneuma), and (kai) the (to) water (hudōr), and (kai) the (to) blood (haima).  

 

And (kai) the (hoi) three (treis) are (eisin) into (eis) the (to) one (hen) [witness, RE].

 

When the forger of this verse saw the word "three" in the text, did the forger jump to the conclusion that whenever the word three is used by a biblical writer that it MUST, THERE CAN BE NO QUESTION ABOUT IT, THERE CAN BE POSITIVELY NO OTHER CONCLUSION TO DRAW, than IT MUST REFER TO THE HOLY TRINITY!!!" 

 

Sin nature-based mortals' opinions about God and his Word may or may not be true, and thereby should be considered as having much less authority than the authority of the biblical writers (1 John 5:9).  But, shouldn't what the biblical writers wrote in the biblical texts be believed over the endless theories and opinions encapsulated in the "biblical" paraphrases of other mortals, who ignore along with morphemes, their lexemes as well?  I'll let you look that up.

 

This website exists to show, at least to me, and to anyone who may be interested, thousands of examples of invented theological private interpretations forged into Bible translations in place of what's been written in the biblical Greek texts.  So then does a translation such as the LIT, which restores altered biblical passages to match exactly what has been written in the biblical Greek texts, fundamentally change the meanings of those passages?  You better believe it does!  It restores them back to being only what the biblical writers actually wrote.

 

Once someone like me has gone through all of  the new testament biblical texts to identify the exact meanings of every single word, and to identify every single erroneous paraphrase or creative "synonym" used in a Bible "translation", those paraphrases can then be grouped into the biblical subject matter categories into which they have been forged, to determine which biblical subject matters the "translators" have targeted most for alterations in "translation".  The biblical subject matter most often altered with paraphrases is the subject matter contained in passages related to the identity, words and actions of the biblical character Jesus Christ.  The end goal of forging the biblical texts appears to me to be about the demortalizing and dehumanizing of Jesus Christ, to make him appear not to be a real mortal man, but to be the God only appearing as a mortal man. 

 

This subject matter grouping of falsifications looks to  me like an antichrist ploy, to disassociate Jesus Christ from his fleshly body that died.  The consensus among the biblical writers, in both the old and new testament writings, is that when Jesus' physical body died, the mortal man, Jesus Christ, died.  Else the Hebrew and Greek words for death no longer have their meanings.

 

Are not most all translation forgeries, in Bible translations, about the assassination of the identity and character of the Word?

 

It seems remarkable to me, maybe to others also, that most all of the alterations in most all popular and unpopular Bible translations seem to be clustered around passages which indicate elements of the Christology of God's firstborn son, Christ Jesus, elements of his own human personal identity and character, and alterations to obscure character revelations of the God also, Christ Jesus' heavenly Father. 

 

Fortunately the prophetic Truth written in Proverbs 8 (and other prophetic passages) is still included in Bibles, and clearly shows that the Word was a created being in the beginning of at least this present genesis/origination, and possibly present in the beginning of previous geneses as well.  The Proverbs 8 revelation to Solomon appears to me to characterize the Word as a created being of some kind, who had a long joyful childhood playing and learning at the feet of his/its God and creator, YHWH Elohim.  Please read Proverbs 8 for yourself.  You don't need anyone's permission to read it for yourself, and even come up with your own conclusions and beliefs about what it may mean.  Just read what it says, and let the God, maybe he's your heavenly Father, talk with you in your mind/heart to teach you what it means. 

 

* The God, YHWH Elohim, is still waiting in line behind all of your "church" leadership people, for you to give him a chance to teach you his Word (John 6:45). 

 

What role do our own mouths play?

 

Of all of the subject matters in God's Word which the devil may hate, guess which subject the devil has tried to destroy more than any other biblical subject?  Now just think for a minute, what is the exact discrete subject matter which mortals must absolutely believe in their hearts in order to receive salvation/wholeness from the God?  Isn't that precious Truth in God's Word succinctly stated in Rom. 10:8-10? 

 

Rom. 10:8  (LIT/UBS4) BUT (alla), what (ti) <does> [Moses, v5, RE] say (legei), “The (to) statement (rhēma) is (estin) near (eggus) you (sou), in (en) the (tō) mouth (stomati) of you (sou) and (kai) in (en) the (tē) heart (kardia) of you (sou)!?"

 

(See Deut. 30:12-14)

 

This (tout’) is (estin) the (to) statement (rhēma) of the (tēs) belief (pisteōs) which (ho) we preach (kērussomen);

 

Rom. 10:9  (LIT/UBS4) that (hoti), if perhaps (ean) you may confess alike (homologēsēs) in (en) the (tō) mouth (stomati) of you (sou), ‘Lord (kurion) Jesus (Iēsoun)’, and (kai) you may believe (pisteusēs) in (en) the (tē) heart (kardia) of you (sou) that (hoti) the (ho) God (theos) awoke (ēgeiren) him (auton) out (ek) of dead ones (nekrōn), you shall be made whole (sōthēsē)!

 

Rom. 10:10 (LIT/UBS4) Because (gar), [a] heart (kardia) is caused to believe (pisteuetai) into (eis) righteousness (dikaiosunēn).

 

But (de) [a] mouth (stomati) is caused to confess alike (homologeitai), into (eis) wholeness (sōtērian)!

 

Why (Rom. 10:8-10)?  Isn't mortalkind's salvation/wholeness the bull's eye of God's Truth about his new covenant?  Salvation can occur for anyone, but only when a person believes in his or her own heart, and confesses with his or her own mouth, the name of Jesus Christ, for the Christ to become their personal lord and savior. 

 

And so now try to imagine which parts of God's Word the devil may hate the most.  Are they not those parts of God's Word which explain and define who and what is God's instrument of our salvation, who is Christ Jesus?  Because if mortals can't determine who or what to believe about God's Word, especially about Christ Jesus, game over, no salvation can take place!  Then the devil wins.

 

Those parts, passages, especially in the new covenant writings, biblical or otherwise, about who Christ Jesus is, exactly what he has done in his earthly ministries, about Christ Jesus being sent by his heavenly Father, the one true God almighty, to suffer and die for the God's forgiveness of our human sin nature, is exactly the scriptural knowledge the devil must destroy to derail mortalkind's surge toward receiving the God's salvation/wholeness, which wholeness is a new birth from above in the God's gift of his holy Spirit (John 1:11-13; John 3), paternal sonship! 

 

And so for me it's no surprise, that most all of the forging and fudging of the biblical texts into English translations has been done to cause confusion and destruction of the discrete subject matter of what and who is the Word (1 Cor. 14:33), Christ Jesus, to fatally obscure his important humanity and his Christology, thereby stymieing fellowship with him, to halt people's ability to find their salvation/wholeness through him. 

 

Then someone invents Deponent Verb Theory, and some self-grandiloquent self-omniscient "expert" or "experts" fall for it, hook, line, sinker, rod, reel, etc....

 

If I guess, because apparently there is no written history of the origin of Deponent Verb Theory (DVT), it may have been invented in the imaginations of theoretical Linguists.  And so, apparently, that "theoretical" part, in and of itself, was a good enough "rock solid" excuse to apply DVT to ancient biblical Greek texts written about two thousand years ago, as if the invention of DVT goes back thousands of years!  That's quite a sweeping stretch for "experts" and "scholars" to make, while chastising students for making any language-based assumptions at all?  And so for all Bible translations in existence Deponent Verb Theory has been applied (translate "selected" middle/reflexive voice verbs as having active voice).  I call that post history revision, or lying! 

 

Translators, in virtually all English Bible translations, have traditionally used DVT to help obliterate the many middle/reflexive and passive voices in verbs in biblical passages about the Word, Christ Jesus, to greatly reduce his biblically-stated human relatability after he became a soul-based being of flesh and blood. 

 

So then began the unrighteous/devilish alterations of hundreds of middle and passive voiced verbs throughout the biblical Greek texts, to alter their meanings and contextual passages into triune-godhead model of God meanings.  This created a massive amount of more invented religious fiction within the covers of Bible translations, which subsequently people read, and they erroneously believe it is God's Word!  That's how the devil does it! 

 

To reiterate this for emphasis and clarity, one of the worst examples, if not the worst I've ever seen, of "translating" goopucky into English Bible translations, erroneously affecting hundreds of verbs' critical meanings, is/was the adoption of deponent verb theory to alter, in translation, what is written in the biblical Greek texts.  It appears to me to have been used deliberately by triune godhead model proponents to replace the middle/reflexive and passive voices of verbs Christ Jesus chose to use to describe his own volition in doing the work of his own personal ministry, which records are all examples for us to follow in our discipleship to Christ Jesus. 

 

Please see the Word's (Christ Jesus') biblical texts-based Christology posted at this site, The Biblical Texts-Based Christology of the Word, in which we can see how most often Jesus' apostles used middle voice verbs to describe Jesus relying upon his own volition to cause himself to do the will of his heavenly Father (John 8:28-29), the God, as examples for us to follow to do many of the same things, and greater things (John 14:12). 

 

If this is the first time in your life that you have been exposed to the fact that virtually all Bible translations have been more or less altered in translation to accommodate various mortal-made, or devil-made, theological inventions, which, over the last 1,700 years have become more fashionable to believe than the Evangelism of Jesus Christ, then you should ask yourself, why!  Seriously, why? 

 

Is a math teacher who knows about only addition and subtraction really a math teacher?  Is a spiritual "teacher/leader" who knows almost nothing about the differences between invented mortal-made religious junk and exactly what the biblical Greek and Hebrew textual writers actually wrote, really a spiritual teacher/leader, or only another charlatan passing the plate?  When the plates started getting passed to take collections is when began the rush by charlatans to pass themselves off as spiritual teachers and leaders also, so they could pass those plates too!  They've built colleges and universities around themselves, to really intensify and increase the "haul" when those plates are "passed". And now when their graduates are graduated, and those graduates pass the plates for themselves, the ones who taught them get a cut of the take also.  Please see my study, Modern "Christianity" - The Selling Of God's Word.  All mortal-made/devil-made religions run on love of money (1 Tim. 6:8-12).  The Evangelism of Jesus Christ is the only orthodoxy which runs upon love of God (1 John 4:7-10).

 

I believe false Christianity on earth today may actually be the greatest show on earth. Followers and disciples of Jesus Christ should care only for what the biblical writers actually wrote.  False followers and disciples of Christ Jesus, and especially their spiritual leaders, care mostly about all of the hoopla around true or false Christianity, about arguing over this or that opinion, and especially about "worshipping" the God in the most opulently and decadently decorated mortal-made dwellings available. 

 

Most all have no clue that their own vital belief, if any, is being overcome with confusion deliberately planted in Bible translations to wrap certain vital biblical subject matters in confusion;  to stifle/kill spiritual knowledge, understanding and precious belief in those certain subject matters, especially about Christ Jesus himself.

 

I decided for myself, long ago, why spend thousands of dollars to pay other mortals to teach me all of their own personal theological theories, and the countless theological opinions/theories/lies of others, when I can spend that same time closely studying the exact wording which God's prophets and Christ Jesus' apostles actually wrote for us to live upon (Mat. 4:4), with the God's promise that he shall teach me himself (John 6:45), through his gift of holy Spirit within me; teaching me not only through his written Word, but in addition through giving me words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and discerning of spirits also (1 Cor. 12:1-) when needed!

 

Here is the God's and Christ Jesus' and his apostles' official position about how God's Word should not be mishandled for monetary gain by others.

 

2 Cor. 2:17 (LIT/UBS4) Because (gar) we are (esmen) absolutely not (ou) as (hōs) many (polloi) [brothers, v1:8, RE], selling (kapēleuontes) the (ton) Word (logon) of the (tou) God (theou)!

 

BUT (all’), as (hōs) out (ex) of clear judgment (eilikrineias), BUT (all’), as (hōs) out (ek) of God (theou), down opposite in front (katenanti) of God (theou), in (en) Christ (Christō) we speak (laloumen)!

 

many - Apostle Paul, sometime between his first and third itineraries, discovered in his travels that there were many, not just a few here and there, not a relative handful or a minority, but many, people passing themselves off as spiritual leaders, but who were in it only for monetary gain and self-perpetuation.  You may recall the record of Simon the sorcerer trying to buy the power of holy Spirit from apostle Peter (Acts 8:8-24).  Apostle Paul, teaching Timothy discerning of spirits, said (1 Tim. 6:10-12),

 

1 Tim. 6:10 (LIT/UBS4) Because (gar) [a/the] root (rhiza) of all (pantōn) of the (tōn) malicious things (kakōn) is (estin) the (hē) love of silver (philarguria);

 

of which (hēs) some (tines), causing themselves to stretch (oregomenoi) [for it, AE], they have been caused to wander away (apeplanēthēsan) from (apo) the (tēs) belief (pisteōs).

 

And (kai) they pierced themselves round about (periepeiran heautous) for many (pollais) pains (odunais).

 

Have you noticed yet how mistranslating God's Word, and then making money off of selling the things of the God, like the selling of Bibles, and the selling of the knowledge of God's word in churches, for example, seem to go hand in hand?  That's because the instigation for both of those realities is coming from the same lying and murdering source, the devil (John 8:44). 

 

All mortal-made or devil-made organized or unorganized religions run on money.  REAL Christianity doesn't: It runs on love.  In mortal-made false religions the religious leaders want to be paid for lifting a finger to do anything for you, instead of running their own businesses on the side to financially support themselves, as the records of Jesus' twelve show us.  Instead of conducting themselves like the lowest of servants to others, as they should under God's new covenant in Jesus blood, the Law of Belief, they want to be treated like the Levitical Priesthood under the old Mosaic Law covenant, the Law of Works (Rom. 3:21-26).  They wish to live by the Law of Works, especially others working for them.  In REAL Christianity REAL Christians give to one another in need, out of love, expecting nothing in return now, likewise as Jesus Christ and his apostles treated believers and unbelievers alike, waiting only for those heavenly rewards being paid by Christ Jesus to his one body at his return. 

 

The meaning of God's Word can't be purchased, only ascertained and believed

 

So now, what's a mortal's next move?  Is it to try and buy the knowledge and spiritual understanding of God's Word from academic institutions, from the very ones who insist that you pay them thousands of dollars before they begin to expose you to any and all of the mortal-made and devil-made religious theories ever invented, so that you can argue those points with anyone, anywhere at anytime, but still be rock dumb ignorant about the real Evangelism of Jesus Christ?  When Simon of Cyrene tried to buy the knowledge and power of God's Word from apostle Peter, what was apostle Peter's response about how the God liked that?  Here, read it for yourself (Acts 8:5-24). 

 

The thought that Simon the sorcerer had in his heart, which thought was to buy/purchase/trade for the things of the God, apostle Peter characterized as being evil.  The desire to buy God's Word is evil, no matter from whom you are trying to buy them.  Simon the sorcerer hoped to buy the things of the God.  So then, trying to buy the things of the God is just as evil as trying to sell the things of the God.  Right?  So there we go, how can anyone justify himself for either trying to buy or sell the things of the God, over which Jesus Christ paid the price in full already, through his sufferings and death?  But repentance is still available for all, and the God is still waiting for people to give him a chance to teach them. 

 

God so loved that he gave.  If that same love was in the hearts of certain academic "experts" and "professionals" then they would so love you as well.  BUT, they desire to sell to you the things of the God; his love, his mercy, his grace, his spiritual knowledge and understanding, and thereby his salvation/wholeness, which things they themselves don't possess, or they wouldn't be trying to sell them.  So following in their footsteps takes you where?  People coming out of some godless institutions are some of the greatest arguers of theological theories anyone may have ever heard, but yet spiritually powerless from the lack of knowledge of God's Word (Hosea 4:6-10)! 

 

(For believers in Jesus’ name being taught of God, see Isa. 54:13; Jer. 31:31-34; Luke 12:12; John 5:19-20, 6:45, 14:26, 15:26, 16:13-14; 1 Cor. 1:4-8, 2:10, 12:8; 2 Cor. 5:19; Gal. 1:12; Eph. 4:20-21; 1 Thes. 4:9; 2 Tim. 2:7; Heb. 8:8-12, 10:16-17; James 1:5-6; 1 John 2:27, 5:20)

 

Any mortal truly working for the God and his firstborn son, Christ Jesus, will not accept payment from you to give to you the things of the God, like apostle Peter wouldn't accept payment from Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9-24).  If Christ Jesus truly did pay the full price for our redemption through his sufferings and death, then was it the full price or not?  If Jesus' sacrifice was the full price according to God's new covenant, then there is no price left to pay to the God for any of the things of the God, for either his Word or for what he has done for the salvation/wholeness of his creation.  The only ones who yet insist on being paid to give to you the free things of the God are sin nature-based mortals who have assumed leadership positions, ones who refuse to work with their own two hands (Mat. 21:27-31b) to supply for their own personal needs. 

 

The God almighty, Jehovah Elohim, has spoken through the mouths of all of his prophets, and through the mouth of his firstborn son, Christ Jesus, that it is vitally important for all of mortalkind, for the sake of its salvation/wholeness, to know the difference between God's Truth and what is invented mortal-made/devil-made religious BS; what is God's Word and what are the devil's close counterfeits of God's Word (Acts 4:24-28)?  The God honors only his Word, when it is believed in our hearts.  Our belief of the devil's, or of mortal's, endless theological theories being invented gets us absolutely nothing from the God and his son Christ Jesus, but only spiritual ruin and God's grief and sadness.

 

Apostle Paul taught/commanded all, as an imperative, to "cut sharply straight" God's Word (2 Tim. 2:15).  Read the context, that cutting sharply straight God's Word is about you determining for yourself exactly what is, and exactly what is not, God's Word.  It's important for believers to make this effort, because it is part of the knowledge of how a believing disciple of Jesus Christ becomes inherently empowered with God's holy Spirit within them, as Paul states in his intro, in verse 1 of 2 Tim. 2.

 

Cutting sharply straight God's Word is a life-long task, and hard work for any sin nature-based mortal to take on, because rebellion against Truth is built-in into mortalkind's sin nature, supposedly thanks to Adam and Eve for not being able to distinguish the difference between God's Truth and the devil's lies.

 

Cutting sharply straight God's Word to determine what is not God's Word, i.e., what is mortal-made or devil-made religious BS, so it can be cut out (2 Tim. 2:15) and removed from consideration when deciding what to believe, is hard mental work and it takes time, compared to believing anything which sounds religious. 

 

Renewing one's mind to God's Word is required discipleship work.

Jesus said, "Gaze at and pay attention to the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees", because the leaven, i.e. words, they were using to characterize, preach and teach about Jesus was false leaven, false Truth (Mat. 16:6-12).  I believe Jesus said this because he required his followers to make themselves aware of the differences between the leaven/orthodoxy Jesus preached and taught and the false leaven/orthodoxy the Pharisees and Sadducees preached and taught, who's father was the devil (John 8:44).  Maybe during the duration of our "gaze" at the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees our heavenly Father will teach us more things about the differences between God's Word and mortal-made religious stuff.

 

Read John 8 to see how spiritually bad were the religious leaders of Israel at that time.  Jesus stated, "your father is the diabolical one" meaning the devil (John 8:44-47).  Did you hear that?  Jesus told the religious leaders in Jerusalem, most all of them, that their father was the devil.  And look how many people in Israel at that time were following those religious leaders, practically all of Israel!  It looks to me like most all of those people were too lazy to care about exactly what was God's Word or religious leader BS!  Most all of them believed and did exactly as they were told, with the exception of Jesus' followers and disciples, which twelve of them were not yet apostles.

 

For believing disciples of Jesus Christ becoming very choosey over exactly what qualifies to be God's Word, apostle Paul called it renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2); you know, cut this or that religious BS out of your mind, and then add this or that Truth of God's Word into your mind.  I believe this is the first step in discipleship to Christ Jesus.  Renewing of one's mind to God's Word is absolutely a foundational scriptural principle of discipleship to Jesus Christ.  This is what Jesus helped his twelve to do, starting immediately after he selected them, and for the next three years thereafter.  Renewing of one's mind to believe only God's Word puts one on the track to becoming wise, maybe to becoming righteous, maybe to becoming saved/whole (Gk. sozo), a part of the one body of Christ and a son or daughter of God by genus.

 

But now, today in our time in history, do you think there's something new under the sun, that there are no longer people in positions of leadership in supposed Christian organizations who's father is the devil?  Isn't the handy circumstance of supposed believers being oblivious to demon spirit activity going on around them the very thing which allows demon spirits to keep on spiritually kicking believers' buttocks over and over?  Who's responsible for preserving the ignorance?  The responsibility comes down to each of us individually.  Who should be held responsible for another's lack of belief of God's Word?  And who should be held responsible for another's sin?  Hasn't Christ Jesus already caused himself to become rersponsible?

 

John 10:9 (LIT/UBS4) I (egō) am (eimi) the (hē) door (thura).

 

the door - The door into what, the sheepfold/one body of Christ?

 

Through (di’) me (emou), if perhaps (ean) anyone (tis) may enter in (eiselthē), he shall be kept whole (sōthēsetai). 

 

enter in - Enter in to what, the sheepfold/one body of Christ?

 

And (kai) he shall cause himself to enter in (eiseleusetai), and (kai) he shall cause himself to come out (exeleusetai), and (kai) he shall find (heurēsei) [a] pasture (nomēn).

 

(For the way leading into life having been smothered, and for the lawyers having stolen the key of knowledge so that others cannot enter in, and subsequently for believers having to force themselves into the Kingdom of the Heavens, see Mat. 7:13-14, 21, 11:12, 16:19, 18:3-9, 19:17-26; Mark 9:43-48, 10:23-25; Luke 11:52, 13:24, 16:16, 18:16-27; John 3:3-6, 10:1-9; Acts 14:21-22)

 

10:10 The (ho) thief (kleptēs) absolutely does not cause himself to come (ouk erchetai) if (ei) not (mē) in order that (hina) he may steal (klepsē), and (kai) he may sacrifice (thusē), and (kai) he may destroy (apolesē) [the sheep, v8, RE]! 

 

(For the devil, the *god of this cosmos, coming to steal, kill, and destroy the assembly (ekklēsia), the one body of Christ, and all mortalkind, to cause them to wander away from the one true God and his Word, see Mat. 6:13, 13:19; Mark 1:13a, 4:15, 13:5-6; Luke 13:16, 21:8, 22:3, 31; John 8:44, 10:10a, 13:27; Acts 5:3; 1 Cor. 7:5, 31b; 2 Cor. 2:11, *4:4, 11:13-15; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 4:11-14, 6:11-16; 1 Thes. 2:17-18; 2 Thes. 2:7-12; 1 Tim. 4:1-2, 5:13-15; 2 Tim. 3:13; 1 John 3:11-13, 4:1-6, 5:19; 2 John 1:7; Rev. 2:9, 12-15, 20, 12:7-17; 13:14, 18:21-23, 19:20, 20:3-10)

 

I (egō) came (ēlthon) in order that (hina) they may hold (echōsi) life (zōēn), and (kai) they may hold (echōsin) [life, RE] around abundantly (perisson)!

 

Throughout the biblical records, concerning one's own discipleship to Jesus Christ, discipleship of Jesus' twelve began when they first determined the difference between Truth and error, as they were personally taught by Jesus Christ.  This was the first step Jesus taught his disciples to take in their discipleship to him, through opening and explaining to them exactly what the ancient prophetic scrolls meant, which disagreed with most all of the pig swill coming out of the mouths of the false religious leaders, whose father was the devil (John 8:44), by the way. 

 

325 C.E., Along comes Constantine to force Christians to become part of his new tax base needed to build Constantinople out of Byzantium

 

Constantine introduced and pushed a seismic shift in the definition of God's Word, and in the definition of what is the God, and what is his son, Christ Jesus, through altering in translation the biblical texts which define them.  Constantine's "bishops", always struggling among themselves using evil methods of self-promotion, including murder, to become more closely politically aligned with Constantine, and thereby more politically powerful, thought that the adoption of a triune godhead model of religion was the best example of how to reorganize Christianity into Constantine's and their own liking.  And he liked it very much, which, along with Erasmus' is why virtually the whole world of Christianity today worships not the God alone, but a triune godhead of gods, which contradicts the God's desire to be treated monothiestically, as the one true God and only God of all of his creation, as he has commanded in his first commandment.

 

Who's the head of Jesus' one body of believers?  Is it Constantine, his "bishops", any and all other religious leaders?  Or is it no earthly religious leaders at all, but only Jesus Christ himself being the head of his one body of believers?

 

Contrary to Constantine, Christ Jesus is, was, and always shall be, the one and only head of his one body, which one body is the called out ones (ekklesia).  Christ Jesus is the head of his church, of his one body, both in the heavens and here on earth, now, right at this minute.  There is no biblical evidence for popes as being heads of Christ's church.  Alongside of Christ Jesus, the biblical texts say there are only apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.  That's it, no other levels or categories of authority under Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 12:28-29; Eph. 4:11). 

 

There is no more room at the top of Jesus' one body of believers for any more heads, only one head is needed, and only one has been assigned by the God for the job, Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 11:1-3).  Christ Jesus is the one and only head of his one body, the church; because there is no other name given under the heavens, and there is no other shed blood and subsequent death of any other, which has been accepted by the God as an atonement for our sin.  There is no other human being who could have possibly fulfilled the roll of being our savior, high priest and head here upon earth.

 

Who desires to risk their own salvation/wholeness upon other's theological imaginations, on Constantine's and his "bishop's" own private interpretations of Christianity, which was a new foreign religion to them, instead of upon exactly what Jesus Christ and his apostles spoke and wrote?  It's only Jesus' biblical interpretations, and those of his apostles, with which we should be concerned, upon which we should base our discipleship, and upon which we should base our salvation.  If you want to base it all upon what a 4th century Roman emperor god-man, Constantine, imagined, it's your life now, and eternal life, to risk. 

 

Constantine's Conversion?

 

Within the written history of Constantine the Great there is no record of him receiving a new birth above, salvation, or of him having any kind of transformation from a sinner into a disciple of Christ Jesus.  Constantine and his armies went on for years still murdering, maiming and robbing, persecuting and torturing, all those, both within and without of his own country, who opposed his desires, whims and will.  Because he was a god himself, and nobody should forget it, or else.

 

The reason why wars are fought, and people are killed, is so that people can rob others of their wealth, and they don't mind killing others first in order to get to their wealth.  That's what Constantine was doing, and that's what he was all about, to build his legacy, his tomb and headstone, Constantinople. 

 

Some people have the opinion that Constantine's murdering, maiming and robbing, persecuting and torturing of people, throughout the rest of his life, was his way of discipling himself to Christ Jesus?  Or was Constantine's murdering, maiming and robbing, persecution and torture of others to steal their wealth to build Constantinople, evidence of his own discipleship to the devil? 

 

Again, if Christ Jesus truly did give Constantine a new birth from above in God's gift of his holy Spirit, having given to Constantine the assurance of the Spirit (2 Cor. 5:5-7), was the fact that Constantine continued to walk around murdering, maiming and robbing, persecuting and torturing others, evidence of his discipleship to Christ Jesus, or discipleship to the devil (Gal. 4:29)?  Was it evidence of Constantine being pleasing to the God or displeasing in God's sight (John 8:29)?  Was Constantine sowing to the flesh of himself, or to the Spirit of the God (Gal. 6:7-10)?  Christ Jesus wore a yoke of benevolence (Mat. 11:30), having a mandate from his  heavenly Father to go about doing only good to and for all, doing to and for others as he would have others do to or for himself (Mat. 7:12; Luke 6:31). 

 

Again, does Constantine's murdering, maiming and robbing, persecuting and torturing, sound like he was taking Jesus' yoke of meekness, being wise as serpents but harmless as doves (Mat. 10:11-16), upon himself, to love others with the love of God, and do only good to and for others (Mat. 11:29)?  Christ Jesus always did those things which were pleasing to his heavenly Father (John 8:29).  But Jesus never murdered, maimed or robbed, persecuted or tortured anyone.  So how can Constantine be wearing the same yoke of harmless service for the God as Jesus Christ (Mat. 10:16)?

 

The Ancient Fertility Goddess Ishtar - Easter

 

Was the ancient fertility goddess Ishtar (Easter, English pronunciation) working for the one true God almighty, or for the devil?  Ask anyone if the subject of the Ishtar/Easter bunny and colorfully painted eggs, which it supposedly laid, (bunny's laying eggs?) can be found in the copies of the ancient biblical Hebrew or Greek texts.  Most all "Christians" I know will say "Yes".  Was the sin of worshipping other religion's fertility gods, which broke the first commandment of the Mosaic law, something for which Jesus Christ died to protect?  Or did he die in order to cause the penalties against us for our sins to be annulled?  Why continue worship practices practiced by those of triune godhead-based religions, of worshipping other gods, if not to severely grieve the holy Spirit, God himself (John 4:24; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 2:11, 6:17, *12:11-13; Eph. 4:4)? 

 

Displeasing the God gains the same outcome as not pleasing the God, which outcome is that he does nothing in return for you; he withholds his hand of protection and blessings.  According to both the old Mosaic law covenant and the new covenant put through in Jesus' shed blood, the Easter bunny and its eggs are fertility god idols of other religions, and paying attention to them in any way is considered by those covenants to be worshipping other gods, idolatry.  If you're doing this then why waste your time praying to God or his son Christ Jesus for something you need, when you've already disqualified yourself from receiving answers to prayers through your own worship of another religion's idols?  Can't you remember the first commandment from the God YHWH Elohim? 

 

Constantinian Christianity has elevated the worship of the fertility goddess Ishtar (Easter) up to the level of being a national holiday for many nations.  Apparently many preachers and teachers in Christianity, and all of those who listen to them, get more joy (how?) from doing idolatry than from being pleasing in God's sight.  Jesus said, "If you love me you'll keep my words in you" (*Mat. 19:16-21, 28:28; John 8:55, 12:47-49, *14:15, *23-24, *15:7-12)."  But followers of Constantinian Christianity have been taught to love Easter (Ishtar) by their preachers, teachers and parents posing as Christian "experts" and "scholars" of some kind.  I'll bet many of those Christian followers of Ishtar even have advanced degrees from universities, maybe even semenaries! 

 

The truth is, most Christians haven't been approached yet and made aware, they haven't been taught from the biblical texts, of how to distinguish God's Word, which Jesus preached in the 1st century, from mortal-made, devil-made, religious inventions from the 4th century, being espoused out of virtually every supposedly Christian pulpit on the planet.

 

Jesus' Biblical Text-based Christology

 

The meaning of Christology is: Christ refers to Jesus Christ, and ology refers to the study of.  Christology is a mortal-made invented term which means the Study of Jesus Christ.  The word Christology doesn't appear in the biblical texts, the Bible, because it is a mortal-made invented word made to replace the common biblical clause Evangelism of Jesus Christ which is a legitimate biblical term in God's Word.  So why is it so distasteful to some people to speak the words, Evangelism of Jesus Christ?  Yes, it is a distasteful term to those working to destroy/replace God's written Word.

 

Jesus' biblical orthodoxy and Christology are somewhat meaty subjects in God's Word, for those accustomed to hearing, only "See Spot chase the ball", and/or "Mary had a little lamb..." renditions.  But are so many biblical Truths so difficult to deal with to the extent of allowing virtually everyone to stay ignorant of them, such as ignorant of Jesus' biblical texts-based Christology/Evangelism?  For example:  If only about 10%, of all of the Truth in God's Word is being taught to you, then are you getting your money's worth?  I can tell you right now, for a certainty, all across what's considered to be Christianity, which is really Constantine's "Christianity", the True Christology of the Word, of Jesus Christ, is not being taught, and hasn't been taught for almost seventeen hundred years now. 

 

Charlatans especially don't want this subject brought up in a public classroom setting, because they don't have the knowledge and/or skill set to manage and deal with either this biblical subject of people's inquisitive responses from their lack of knowledge of it.  But shouldn't discussions about what is the true orthodoxy of the God, and the true Evangelism of Jesus Christ be very happy, joyful and rewarding subjects to learn and discuss, on account of the many obscured biblical Truths which become revealed through deep dives into God's Word? 

 

For example, in Prov. 8 is a wonderful record written by King Solomon, which appears to be a revelation he received from the Word about the Word's creation/birth and upbringing at God's feet, before, during and after the creation of the heavens and earth, written in first person!  There are so many obscured biblical Christian truths in Prov. 8 that you likely may have never heard before, that after reading and studying them for awhile you may begin to feel like God's Truths are coming to you out of a hostage like situation, because you've never heard them before, and now you wonder why.  Jesus' biblical text-based Christology has been held hostage from you, and you likely will not see or hear of it from anywhere else except from this website!  An Outline of the Biblical Texts-Based Christology of the Word/Jesus Christ

 

All of the Christologies you will find in books, online, etc., have been factiously manufactured around Constantine's triune godhead model, to force God's Word into insinuating, alluding to, and characterizing the Word, Jesus Christ, as being the God himself.  What?  Who thinks that the devil is laying around on a sunlit beach somewhere, relaxing?  The devil is busy planning now how he can subtly, and erroneously, affect the next Bible translations coming along, more cleverly, thoroughly, and completely than he has affected previous Bible translations already!  The devil hates the God and his creation, and wants to destroy them, and especially you and your belief in God's Word and in his son Christ Jesus.  And so ask yourself, why hasn't it crossed your mind yet, at all, that maybe one of the best ways the devil can destroy you is to falsify God's Word in Bible translations you're reading, to "poison the well"?  Oh, anyone is smart enough to figure that out, including you, except the devil.  Right?

 

The worst thing you could do, from the devil's point of view, that the devil and demon spirits all fear, is for you to closely examine any given wordage in the biblical Greek and Hebrew texts, to compare the meaning(s) of that wordage to how those words were translated into any English language Bible.  You will absolutely, very quickly, discover what I'm talking and writing about.  Why do so many words, phrases, and sentences in Bibles have no evidence of them in the biblical Greek texts from which they are supposedly translated?  Why is that?  And why are there so many alterations of the meanings of words, alterations of so many, many meanings of words?  Why should we suppose that is?

 

Here at Believers Home Page let's follow the trails of evidence of forgeries in Bible translations.  Why not?  It's work, but it's fun and exciting also, especially when you discover a new Truth which was the key to understanding so many other Truths you already knew, which clink, clink, clink, are now falling into place where you can finally understand their meanings! 

 

If anyone is so spiritually big and strong, but yet afraid of not being able to distinguish between biblical Truth and mortal-made/devil-made religious BS, which you think I may present at my website here, then what you're experiencing is a personal crisis of confidence in your own abilities to separate Truth from error.  If you're having that crisis of confidence in your own spiritual ability to discern Truth from error, then what makes you think that everything you already think you know and/or believe is Truth of God's Word?

 

In the biblical texts which we'll study together, in place of those forgeries in countless Bible translations, there are great biblical Truths the devil wishes to destroy, along with you (John 10:9).  Why not dare to learn new biblical Truths you haven't heard of in all of the years you've been attending Sunday school services and classes!   There are clear trails of Bible translation falsifications, which can be seen and followed through comparing Bible translations to the biblical Hebrew and Greek texts, which abundance of trails all lead us to the conclusion that Bible translations have been seriously altered, virtually all of them, and it's been going on for a very long time. 

 

Long before Bible translations have been made from Hebrew and Greek biblical texts, many copies of the existing Greek texts have been altered as well as Bible translations, as I've shown in the Johannine Comma example in 1 John 5:7-8.  Alterations to the biblical texts can be determined through comparing biblical Greek texts to one another, biblical Greek texts found all over the world.  Some of the forgings of those biblical Greek texts were supposedly done in consideration of what?  The evidence for many of those textual forgeries shows they have been done on account of the theological imaginations and subsequent arguments of others; arguments from adoptionists and antiadoptionists, docetics and antidocetics, separationists and antiseparationists, and so on, according to Bart D. Ehrman.  Let me tell you, sin nature-based mortalkind would normally rather believe anything than the Truths of God's Word, and so almost any kind of excuse to alter Bible translations is initially met with hopeful optimism by charlatans, especially if it caters to the triune godhead model of God of Constantine's "Christianity".

 

Is the present, heavily compromised, status quo in Bible translation what you expected to find?

 

Professor Bart D. Ehrman has published quite a series of books on this whole subject of alterations to ancient biblical texts, especially to the Greek texts.  An eye-opening book about the subject of altering ancient biblical Greek texts is "The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture - The Effect of Early Christological Controversies on the Text of the New Testament".  Alterations of early biblical Greek texts is beyond the scope of the present topic, which is limited to discussion of alterations to Bible translations, which translations are made from those copies of the ancient Greek texts.  Forging Bible translations should be viewed by anyone as no more than a continuance of the forging of ancient biblical Greek texts, since the forgings of both, then and now, are done generally for the same reason, to accommodate the theological imaginations of some people who are quite egomaniacal about the greatness of their own omniscient, grandiloquent existence.  In other words, they believe they are smarter than the God, his son Christ Jesus and his apostles, which all means they are working for the devil, who also had a great attitude problem.

 

Those who suggest forgeries into Bible translations must all be very, very, sensitive to their own perceived grandiloquence, since they believe the parts they've forged in a Bible are the most important parts of a Bible.  These are people who have problems with the authority of the God and his son being over them.  Why, this conclusion?  It's because they have little if no respect for what the apostles of Jesus Christ actually wrote.  They imagine themselves as knowing better what the God's orthodoxy should have stated, and so they "correct" what Jesus and his apostles said, and what Jesus' apostles wrote, in Bible translations, to make them state triune godhead model jargon in place of certain biblical Truths.  They are not going to openly tell you exactly which Truths of God's Word they dislike/detest, because that would expose them, and that disclosure could take them out of the flow of the passing of the plate with your money in it, for them.

 

The biblical orthodoxy and Christology of Yeshua, the Hebrew name of Jesus Christ, are still contained in the copies of the ancient Hebrew and Greek biblical texts.  They can be found and compared to counterparts in Christian "oral tradition", to discover fabulous differences between them.  There are visible trails of evidence of forgeries left for us to examine within Bible "translations", evidence which is not elusive but which we can see with our own eyes, which erroneously deposited evidence proves that the devil and his demon spirits are at work, through people, destroying God's Word in Bible translations.  We can actually look at the biblical Greek texts and compare them to any Bible translations and see, clearly, which Bible passages have been translated correctly, and which Bible passages have been removed from, or altered from, what the biblical Greek texts show us.  Care to take a look, or are you still frozen in fear of finding something which may call into question any of your own perfect understandings of God's Word?  Let me tell you the story of a little bird which lived in a hole in the ground, because it was so afraid of learning anything erroneous from anyone about how to fly.  And so, it never flew!

 

The very people who are forging their own private interpretations into Bible translations are stating, like the best politicians you've ever heard, that they are doing no such things.  What do you expect those "experts" and "scholars" to say, "You caught me red-handed!"? 

 

If you ask any "experts" or "scholars" who are working on forging a Bible translation, if they are forging a Bible translation, their mouths drop open all the way to the floor, and they feign about who would dare to do such a thing, as they continue to do it!  What, you don't think people are willing to learn how to become actors for money?  Are you listening to me?  Quit staying so ignorant and naive about this subject.  A fabulously abundant life awaits you, just around the corner, if you can get your discipleship to and with Jesus Christ correct (John 10:9-10).  Why work so hard for a college education to gain a secular job, spending all of that time book learning, and time studying, to get an earthly skill and a diploma to hang on the wall, deciding that your own discipleship to Jesus Christ, and sonship to the God almighty, and salvation and eternal life aren't worth enough to work that hard for them?

 

In the days of Jesus Christ and his apostles and disciples, they were all out-numbered thousands to one.  And when they sounded the alarm about the Judean religious leaders being false believers in the God (John 8:44, heck, the whole chapter!), almost all of the false religious leaders began pointing their fingers harder at Jesus and his people, claiming they were the false ones, they being without diplomas, and they being out-numbered thousands to one.  Even though Jesus and his apostles and disciples were visually greatly out-numbered, they were all that God needed to sound the alarm about the falsehood of the religious leaders, who were the super majority, that what the people were being told from them, the Judean religious leaders, was false. 

 

From out of the crowds relatively only a few dared to listen and believe what Jesus and his disciples were saying, on account of peer pressure from religious leaders, threatening them.  The signs, miracles and wonders which the God did, working in and through his son Christ Jesus, and Jesus' apostles, were the only indicators, witnesses, that what Jesus preached and taught was Truth.  After Jesus ascended, then his apostles became his witnesses. 

 

The Judean religious leaders couldn't do any signs, miracles and wonders, because God's holy Spirit was not working in and through almost all of them.  The Judean religious leaders killed God's prophets (Acts 7:52) because they spoke Truth, which Israel's false religious leaders couldn't, wouldn't, speak.  All of the work those religious leaders put in to get their diplomas didn't teach them God's Word, God's Truth! 

 

The LIT is a concordant translation.

 

The LIT is a concordant translation, and is produced using a stricter form of Formal Equivalence (FE) translation methodology, which I have developed.  This methodology, which follows the Greek texts much more closely, produces a precise literal translation of what the apostles of Jesus Christ wrote.  Through the use of FE, and the identification of the biblical writer's use of ellipses, and the preservation of the inflected voices of verbs (the abandonment of deponent verb theory), and the use of many other translation-related processes unique to the LIT, the LIT quotes exactly what the apostles wrote, without the need for the use of paraphrases and obfuscating creative "synonyms". 

 

What, a literal Bible translation?  Who would want to read such a thing?

 

Contrary to the belief of some, a translation based upon Formal Equivalence (FE) methodology, or a literal translation, doesn't automatically render idioms, colloquialisms, and other figures of speech indistinguishable from non-figurative language.  But in fact just the opposite occurs; idioms, colloquialisms and other figures of speech floating in a sea of literalism tend to stand out even more.  I argue that the needless use of paraphrases and creative "synonyms" destroys the various biblical authors' writing styles, and their deliberate use of idioms, colloquialisms and figures of speech.  Paraphrases destroy what and how biblical authors wrote, and thereby destroy a reader's choice to personally decide what a biblical writer may have meant by what and how they wrote. 

 

I absolutely don't want to read someone's theological theories, opinions or imaginations "translated" into a Bible translation.  I want to see and read, first-hand, exactly what the apostles and prophets wrote, both what and how they wrote what they wrote.  If I want to read any translator's, or translation committee's, theological theories, opinions and beliefs I'll read biblical commentaries, where they should be writing them instead of forging them into Bible translations and then allow Bible readers to assume those forgeries were written by Jesus' apostles. 

 

Contrary to the belief of some translators, Greek words have definite meanings, and those definite meanings can be strung together to form phrases, clauses and sentences which all have definite meanings, the definite meanings which Jesus Christ preached and taught, and which the apostles wrote down. The phrases, clauses and sentences the biblical writers strung together using words had definite meanings for them.  Maybe we should start paying very close attention to exactly what they wrote, and how they wrote it, so we can begin thinking and talking like they did. 

 

Translating figures of speech and colloquialisms are challenging for any translator, but are absolutely not excuses to throw out the text and replace them with paraphrases of something not in the text, something imagined.  Apparent ambiguities are always opportunities for further study, discovery and definition.  This is where searching through the old testament for associated subject matters, and reading commentaries and books about customs and cultural practices, come in.

 

I produced the LIT for me, because I still want to know exactly what the biblical writers wrote without any translator's or translation committee's theological private interpretations and bias fudged-in through the use of paraphrases and creative "synonyms".  Many people have questions about spiritually-based things, maybe some questions like I've had, and some like I still have.  For me, looking up each and every word in every verse of every book of holy scripture in the new testament helped me get off of the merry go round of experts and scholars contradicting one another.  It helped me exit the house of mirrors of dozens of Bible translations which all stealthily/secretly use paraphrases to supposedly reflect "God's" Word (?) to readers. 

 

Are The Biblical Greek Texts Literary Art Forms?

 

I believe the biblical Greek texts themselves, as well as the ancient Hebrew texts of God's Word, are literary art forms of the most important subject matter in the world, the salvation of God's creation of mortalkind.  If any biblical scholar has shown this to be true through presenting to us scriptural evidence within the texts themselves, E. W. Bullinger must certainly be recognized.  He should be recognized for two reasons: First, through his work published in his Companion Bible - among many personal studies he shows us broad structural outlines of the subject matters of each book of the old and new covenant books.  And secondly, through his exhaustive work in compiling a list of figures of speech used throughout the biblical texts, we can see that the biblical writers were deliberately writing within a great organizational framework with great grammatical, figurative and stylistic precision and sophistication. This is not out of the biblical writers themselves, but out of God's Spirit working in and through the prophets and apostles, to show and tell them what and how to write his Word.

 

To what can we attribute this?  The Judean leadership noticed that Jesus and his apostles procured no formal education (Mat. 13:54-57; John 7:15-18; Acts 4:13).  But we do know this, that God's gift of his paternal holy Spirit was working in and through them according to his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:19-21).  To whatever extent God's Spirit was working in and through the minds and mouths of his old covenant prophets, likewise under his new covenant how much more could God's Spirit be working in and through Jesus and his apostles to reveal what was only hinted at under God's old covenant?  It was Jesus Christ's and his apostles' great joy to reveal to the world God's new covenant great and precious promises (2 Pet. 1:2-4).

 

 If anyone may wish to become informed on the very real topic of truth in translation, please begin your introduction of it to yourself by reading Truth In Translation by Jason David BeDuhn, for new testament translations, and by A. Francis Werner for old testament translations.

 

Contrary to some biblical and Greek scholars, I believe the letters which the biblical authors wrote should be highly esteemed, and considered, at the least, to be Spiritually-based literary art forms. They reveal some of the inner workings of the mind of the almighty God. In the production of the LIT I deliberately chose not to try to twist the biblical Greek texts into creative English language literary art forms, because that would not be true to the biblical authors.  It's God's Word, not mine.  And it was produced through God's use of his agents, not me.  They don't need anyone to assume the roll, through one's own self-omniscience, of becoming theirs', or the God's, managing editor. 

 

Paraphrasing and creative "synonyming" is deliberately not used in the LIT in order to allow the inherent beauty, whether some can "see" it or not, of what and how the biblical authors wrote under the influence of God's Spirit working in and through them, to come through into the English translation. Anyone attempting to translate the God's Word should pay attention to the full gravity and weight of that responsibility, the weighty responsibility of handling the thoughts of the mind of the God to present them to others, unaltered by one's own sin nature-based self-omniscient ego.

 

It's an imperative (a command) from Christ Jesus himself that we work hard to preserve his heavenly Father's Word, exactly what he said and how he said it (Rev. 22:18-19), which is exactly what the God's prophets and Christ Jesus' apostles wrote, so that it can come through wholly and intact into English, right before any reader's eyes.

The following is a brief introduction to some of the most important grammatical and stylistic methods the biblical writers used in the biblical Greek texts, which are preserved and can be seen in the LIT English translation.  For  much more detailed explanations of these grammatical and stylistic tools used by the apostles of Jesus Christ, please see my pages, "About How The LIT was Produced".   

Ellipses

 

One of the most important aspects of the biblical authors' literary art forms is their use of ellipses.  An Ellipsis is the deliberate omission of a word in a phrase, clause, or sentence, to keep a reader's attention drawn-in very close to the context, to thereby stay on track with the progression of a biblical writer's thoughts and meanings.  In the biblical Greek language two thousand years ago people thought and spoke very much differently than we with our English language do today, two thousand years later on the opposite side of the planet.  For a translator to try and "purify" the biblical Greek texts for the sake of accommodating sacred cow elements of English grammar, styles, and syntax, would by necessity destroy the beauty of the grammar, styles and generative syntax used by the biblical authors, not to mention destroying their explicit and implicit nuanced meanings as well, which are all up to readers to personally detect and discover for themselves, using God's gift of his holy Spirit within them!

 

Zero Copulas

 

Another one of the most important aspects of the biblical authors' literary art forms is their deliberately restrictive use of to be verbs.  The scholarly community calls these deliberate omissions zero copulas.  Zero copulas are the authors' occasional and deliberate omissions of to be verbs for the sake of brevity.  From the more than abundant evidence in the biblical Greek texts, to be verbs are often omitted by writers and are expected to be assumed by readers.  Yes, this does place a little more burden upon us readers to remain conscious, and pay a little more attention to the texts during our drive-by/drive-through readings.

 

Inflected Forms of Words

 

Another one of the most important aspects of the biblical authors' literary art forms is their deliberate choice of inflected forms of words they chose to use, specific morphologies of words to best express to the reader the meanings they wish to impart in their phrases, clauses and sentences.  A Greek verb has eight points of inflection, type, mood, tense, voice, case, gender, person, and number, and a noun has only the last four, case, gender, person, and number.  Paying attention in translation to these points of inflection of a Greek word removes ambiguity, obfuscation and implicitness of meaning in an English translation, and produces explicitness of meaning.  Liberal paraphrasing, which is the use of a form of the Dynamic Equivalency translation methodology, ignores the biblical authors' deliberate use of inflected forms.  I consider preserving a Greek word's inflected form into English as being honest, as opposed to being dishonest.  Therefore, to me, preservation of inflected forms is one of the most important operations performed in translation while using a Formal Equivalence translation methodology.  This is how I produced the LIT. 

 

How Does It All Come Together?

 

If a translator has determined a word's lexical meaning and its inflected form, and then has arranged the words of a phrase, clause, or sentence into their grammatical order based upon English sentence structure, then the places where a biblical writer has used ellipses and zero copulas become fairly visible.  Elliptical words deliberately omitted typically follow definite articles pointing to apparently missing nouns, and transitive verbs pointing to apparently missing direct objects.  Other kinds of ellipses are fashioned by biblical writers creating the need for the necessary restatements of preceding nouns for succeeding clauses, and by the use of prepositions pointing to implicit conditions which may be understood in Greek, but which conditions should be made explicit to become visible in English.  And there are other various methods which biblical writers use to create ellipses. 

 

The LIT is the first and only bible translation, which I know of, which recognizes and accommodates the various biblical writers' abundant use of both ellipses and zero copulas.   This reality must affect a translation methodology, which methodology should justifiably account for it, other than to simply ignore biblical writers' patterns in their use of ellipses and zero copulas.  Ignoring this reality only attempts to legitimatize an excuse to use theologically biased paraphrasing to overlay and sculpt the texts into saying something, and/or meaning something, more palatable to sin nature-based mortalkind's sensitivities and desires. 

 

An FE translation methodology which employs strict safeguards against the status quo liberal translation methodologies such as "sense for sense", and dynamic equivalence, is a methodology which in and of itself is offensive to sin nature-based mortalkind.  In the history of Bible translations I've discovered, from close examination of various Bible translations, there are some translation committees being heavily influenced by certain biblical scholars, which scholars, experts and committees cannot resist the temptation to take control of what the God has said.  They replace God's words with their own paraphrases and creative "synonyming" because they don't agree with, and they don't like, some of the things written by his prophets and Christ Jesus' apostles.  This is how the devil's wolves are at work in Bible translations!

 

The translation methodology used to produce the LIT doesn't allow the wording of the biblical writers to be slopped around and twisted into meaning almost anything theologically, through the injection of suggestion, injection of insinuation and ambiguity via "theologically"-based paraphrases.    

 

Translated Literary Art Forms

 

Since the LIT actually quotes the biblical writers, the amalgamation of both Greek and English into LIT "English" is practically unavoidable.  It should be unavoidable in any translation.  LIT "English" is a combination of both biblical Greek and English grammar and syntax, but the LIT style is mostly driven by the grammatical structures laid down by the biblical writers in the Greek texts.  The English words are there only to reflect meaning, but they pay little attention to "sacred cow" grammar, styles and syntax of "proper" English, as if there ever was such a thing.  I believe the grammar, styles and syntax should be driven by the biblical Greek texts.  What the biblical writers actually wrote in the original language texts is by far much closer to the mind of God than endless paraphrases, which account for endless Bible translations.

 

In the LIT a reader can actually see and experience the ancient Greek language first-hand, its grammar, styles and syntax, see and hear the difference between how the various apostles spoke and wrote, their different speech and thought patterns, their pet words and phrases, and especially those of Jesus Christ.  The LIT is fresh and unique, and one of a kind, absolutely not homogenous, but heterogeneous, based upon the various communication styles between the apostles, and especially the communications style of Jesus Christ. 

 

For example, apostle Paul has no aversion whatsoever to using lengthy and complex sentence structures; which semi colons in some parts of his letters are almost as populous as periods in letters of other apostles.  In contrast, Jesus Christ most often spoke in short, much simpler, sentence structures, assuming that what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote in places are quotes of him.

 

Examples In The Texts

 

1 Cor. 13:1 (LIT/UBS4) If perhaps (ean) I may speak (lalō) the (tais) tongues (glōssais) of the (tōn) mortals (anthrōpōn), and (kai) of the (tōn) messengers (angelōn), but (de) I may not hold (mē echō) love (agapēn), I have become (gegona) [an] echoing (ēchōn) piece of copper (chalkos), or (ē) [a] wailing (alalazon) cymbal (kumbalon).

 

1 Cor. 13:2 (LIT/UBS4) And (kai) if perhaps (ean) I may hold (echō) prophecy (prophēteian), and (kai) I may have seen (eidō) all (panta) of the (ta) mysteries (mustēria) and (kai) all (pasan) of the (tēn) knowledge (gnōsin), and (kai) if perhaps (ean) I may hold (echō) all (pasan) of the (tēn) belief (pistin) and so (hōste) to stand together with (methistanai) mountains (orē), but (de) I may not hold (mē echō) love (agapēn), I am (eimi) absolutely not one (outhen) [thing, AE]!

 

1 Cor. 13:3 (LIT/UBS4) And if perhaps (kan) I may give [a] morsel (psōmisō) of all (panta) of the (ta) things being under control (huparchonta) of me (mou), and (kai) if perhaps (ean) I may pass aside (paradō) the (to) body (sōma) of me (mou) in order that (hina) I may cause myself to boast (kauchēsōmai), but (de) I may not hold (mē echō) love (agapēn), I am caused to profit (ōpheloumai) absolutely not one (ouden) [thing, AE]!

 

I believe some translators have failed to notice that in verses 1-3 apostle Paul was presenting himself as a person who hypothetically may not hold love in his heart, and what those consequences to him would be, to set up a dichotomy of further comparisons in verses 4-13 of another person who hypothetically may hold love in his heart, and what those benefits to that person would be. 

 

In 1 Cor. 13:4, in virtually all Bible translations, at least as far back as the 1611 KJV, the word love (agapē) is metaphorically assigned to be a personification of anthropomorphic characteristics through paraphrasing it, love is patient, love is not jealous, love does not boast, etc.. I suggest that because of Paul's apparent use of a dichotomy in this passage, the assumption of Paul metaphorically assigning anthropomorphic characteristics to the word love (agapē) is more likely to be a translation committee reading too much into the text.

 

Starting in v4 apostle Paul now explains the second half of his dichotomy, about a person who may have love in his heart.

 

1 Cor. 13:4 (LIT/UBS4) The (hē) loving one (agapē) is patient (makrothumei), he causes himself to be benevolent (chrēsteuetai).

 

The (hē) loving one (agapē) is absolutely not jealous (ou zēloi)!

 

The (hē) loving one (agapē) absolutely does not cause himself to boast (ou perpereuetai);

 

is absolutely not puffed up (ou phusioutai);

 

1 Cor. 13:5 (LIT/UBS4) absolutely does not behave indecently (ouk aschēmonei);

 

absolutely does not search (ou zētei) for the things (ta) of himself (heautēs);

 

is absolutely not incited (ou paroxunetai);

 

absolutely does not cause himself to keep count (ou logizetai) of the (to) malicious thing (kakon);

 

1 Cor. 13:6 (LIT/UBS4) absolutely does not rejoice (ou chairei) over (epi) the (tē) unrighteousness (adikia), but (de) rejoices together with (sunchairei) the (tē) Truth (alētheia);

 

1 Cor. 13:7 (LIT/UBS4) covers (stegei) [the cost, AE] of all things (panta);

 

believes (pisteuei) all things (panta);

 

hopes (elpizei) all things (panta);

 

endures (hupomenei) all things (panta)!

 

1 Cor. 13:8a (LIT/UBS4) The (hē) loving one (agapē) fails (piptei) but absolutely not at any time (oudepote)!

 

1 Cor. 13:13 (LIT/UBS4) But (de) now at this moment (nuni) the (ta) three (tria), belief (pistis), hope (elpis), love (agapē), these (tauta) remain (menei).

 

But (de) the (hē) loving one (agapē) [is] [a/the] greater one (meizōn) of those (toutōn) [not holding, v1-3, RE] [love, v3, RE].

  

This is one feature that's so unique about the LIT, it presents apparent ellipses and zero copulas transparently, without paraphrasing, ultimately rendering a translation which simply quotes the biblical writers.  What the biblical writers wrote in Greek, with God's holy Spirit working in and through them, is for the most part so clear already when the ellipses and zero copulas are identified and supplied, so no paraphrasing is needed. 

 

Virtually all Bible translations, with the exception of the LIT, are more or less paraphrases of what is actually said in the Greek texts.  This is because in the production of previous Bible translations the translation methodology most often used was some kind of a Dynamic Equivalence-based (DE) methodology, which pays no attention to the biblical authors' frequent use of ellipses and zero copulas, and at best little attention to inflected forms to render them correctly in English.  Using paraphrases takes the load of hard work out of doing translation work; but greatly sacrifices accuracy,  and allows for the injection of theological theories and opinions, scholar's imaginations.  God's Word demands respect, and specifically what and how the biblical authors wrote must be respected as well.

 

In the LIT all ellipses and zero copulas are placed within brackets like [this], so the reader can identify the biblical authors' use of those frequent and clever omissions.  If a reader believes that a supplied ellipsis or copula is erroneous, then the reader can simply dismiss it while reading.  Unlike paraphrases which very abundantly add, change, and delete words in the Greek texts from appearing in an English translation, the LIT shows all additions for ellipses and copulas in brackets, so readers can see the transparency, and decide for themselves. For ellipses, I have labeled them as either an absolute ellipsis [AE], a relative ellipsis (RE], or an ellipsis of repetition [ER].  Please see Bullinger's "Figures of Speech Used In The Bible."  Baker's Book House carries it.

 

For example:

 

Luke 1:10 And (kai) there was being (ēn) everyone (pan), the (to) plethora (plēthos) of the (tou) people (laou), outside (exō) at the (tē) hour (hōra) of the (tou) incense (thumiamatos), causing itself to be well-thankful to⁴³³⁶ (proseuchomenon) [God, AE].

 

Luke 1:11 But (de) [a] messenger (angelos) of [the] Lord (kuriou) was caused to gaze (ōphthē) at him (autō), it having stood (hestōs) out (ek) right (dexiōn) of the (tou) altar (thusiastēriou) of the (tou) incense (thumiamatos).

 

Luke 1:12 And (kai) he having seen (idōn) [[the] messenger, v11, RE], Zacharias (Zacharias) was troubled (etarachthē), and (kai) fear (phobos) fell (epepesen) upon (ep’) him (auton).

 

Luke 1:13 But (de) the (ho) messenger (angelos) enunciated (eipen) to (pros) him (auton), “Do not be made fearful (mē phobou), Zacharias (Zacharia), through the reason that (dioti) the (hē) prayer of need (deēsis) of you (sou) was heard (eisēkousthē), and (kai) the (hē) female (gunē) of you (sou), Elisabeth (Elisabet), she shall generate (gennēsei) [a] son (huion) for you (soi)! 

 

And (kai) you shall call aloud (kaleseis) the (to) name (onama) of him (autou), John (Iōannēn).

 

Luke 1:14 And (kai) joy (chara) shall cause itself to be (estai) to you (soi), and (kai) jumping for joy (agalliasis)! 

 

And (kai) many (polloi) shall cause themselves to rejoice (charēsontai) over (epi) the (tē) origin (genesei) of him (autou).

 

In v10 the verb causing itself to be well-thankful to⁴³³⁶ (proseuchomenon) seems to me to be a transitive verb, since it's prefixed with the preposition pros which is directing the action of the verb toward an apparently missing direct object, [God, AE].

 

In v11 you can see where I supplied an indefinite and a definite article, to help the sentence be comparably understandable to our English (proper or improper?).  In order to supply them context is all-important.

 

For those of you who have just joined me, I'm talking about a translation methodology to accommodate biblical authors' use of ellipses and zero copulas.  This is exciting stuff!  No?

 

In v12, I considered he having seen (idōn) as another transitive verb expecting a direct object.  Luke's, apparent omission of the verb's direct object I considered as an ellipsis, and so I supplied the missing direct object from the previous immediate context of v11.  When an apparent omission can be supplied from an immediate or local context I consider that kind of omission as a relative ellipsis (RE).

 

Definite and Indefinite Articles

 

Another feature more or less unique to the LIT is the identification of the use of definite [the] and indefinite [a, an] articles within brackets in the translation when none are in the text, but are usually required in English.   In the biblical Greek it appears to me that an indefinite article was simply assumed, all-importantly based upon the context.  The biblical Greek has no indefinite article, a, an, but in English indefinite articles supply an important function.  So when I've determined their need to render the text's specific meaning into English I show them in brackets as well, [a, an] or [a/the].  The thorough use of brackets in the LIT English translation to identify ellipses, zero copulas, and definite and indefinite articles, clearly shows and demonstrates to the reader theological transparency.  This level of theological transparency is abundantly lacking in virtually all other Bible translations. 

 

No Paraphrasing

 

You may have heard enough about paraphrasing already, but I'm not done yet.  Paraphrases ignore and obliterate a biblical writer's style, as if it has no consequence in helping to impart a writer's idea, concept and intended meaning.  They also tend to steer readers into the limited and/or desired scope of theological meaning of those omniscient translation committees, who are the ones calling for the paraphrasing. 

 

Virtually all English Bible translations are based upon a Dynamic Equivalence (DE) translation methodology, in which DE process the Greek texts are examined and then the phrases, clauses and sentences are paraphrased into saying something like what the biblical writer supposedly should have meant, according to others' imaginations and opinions. 

 

From my experience of closely examining and translating about 18,500 unique Greek inflected forms into English, I believe some paraphrasing is done in Bible translations to deliberately hide some things which the apostles wrote.  There are many biblical passages in the Greek texts which patently disagree with many aspects of some popular mortal-made theological theories, even popular "Christian" teachings.  The LIT doesn't paraphrase these passages into ambiguity or oblivion, so readers can actually see real biblical passages which surprisingly contradict some mortal-made paraphrased-in theological ideas, which some people accept and believe is true Christianity, simply because it was forged into a Bible "translation".

 

Other paraphrasing is claimed to be done in an attempt to make a Bible translation more like a fast food drive-through restaurant, to supposedly make it easier to read and understand.  This is counter intuitive to biblical content, God's Word, which is absolutely not all milk, but mostly strong meat.  Milk is quickly and easily swallowed.  Those biblical passages are already self-evident, and don't need to be "fixed".  Strong meat requires patient chewing, and a longer digestive process.  Our brains do the chewing and digesting.  God's Word intrinsically requires slow and patient reading, one word at a time, and frequent re-reading of previous passages, to make sure a reader is still on track in following and understanding a biblical writer's progressive thought process in his development of ideas, concepts, and meanings.  If someone may be interested in whether the copies of the ancient Greek texts themselves, of the new testament, have been altered in various passages (and they have!), you may be interested in reading "The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture" by Bart D. Ehrman, which is why the LIT is based primarily upon the UBS4 text(s).

 

If you've read Jason David BeDuhn's "Truth In Translation" then you have seen many examples of the kinds of underlying theological biases "translated" into most all popular Bible translations using paraphrases.  A sister book by another author, "Truth In Translation, Accuracy and Surprising Bias in the Old Testament" by A. Frances Werner, shows many more examples of theological bias "translated" into Bible translations using paraphrases.  What the LIT effectively does is eliminate mortal-made theological biases from appearing in it, while ensuring that exactly what the apostles wrote, verbatim, word for word, is set before a reader's eyes, with no additions, changes, or deletions to the text's words or meanings.  The elimination of paraphrases and creative "synonyms" guarantees the best outcome toward the goal of Truth in translation. 

 

God's Word and Words are Spirit and Life (John 6:63)

 

If a reader of God's Word does not have God's gift of his paternal holy Spirit dwelling within him, or being "upon" him or her, a reader is unable to know and understand spiritual things (1 Cor. 2:14-15).

 

The LIT preserves Jesus Christ's assertion that any given reader, especially one having God's Spirit working within his or her heart, already has an adequate ability to understand what he spoke, and what his apostles wrote, the way they wrote it, without it needing to be paraphrased to accommodate an assumed challenged or dumbed-down readership.  A reader's ability to understand spiritual things isn't simply a matter of Bible translators paraphrasing God's Word.  From close comparison of some parts of Bible translations to the biblical Greek texts, I believe the adoption of the assumption of dumbed-down readership as a need for paraphrasing serves only as a ploy.  I believe paraphrasing is done to destroy God's Word, and is an attempt to confuse those who have God's Spirit dwelling within them.

 

Jesus spoke to the people in parables for an important reason, so that the hearers would be required to go to work in their own minds, in their own brains, to try and figure out what were their meanings.  God's Word challenges those who read or hear it, which is why Jesus Christ challenged his listeners to hear and understand his parables.  A speaker's choice to deliberately use parables to preach and teach others spirit-based truths, is a deliberate method of making certain Truths more difficult for unbelievers to understand, for hiding certain Truths from them, while at the same time imparting enough Truth so God's gift of his holy Spirit working in them can give them knowledge and understanding.  Jesus' use of parables recognizes the fact that there are people on the face of this earth who are not supposed to hear and understand certain Truths of God's Word.  Maybe part of why Jesus chose to use parables when speaking to people was because sometimes when he spoke certain ones of the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes came around, and we know Jesus' opinion of most of them (John 8:44 and context)..

 

If a hearer didn't understand a meaning or meanings of a parable, they were to pray to the God to ask, seek, and knock on his "door" to receive God's gift of his holy Spirit (Mat. 7:7)  Those with God's Spirit working in their hearts would come to understand what Jesus meant.  Those who did not have God's Spirit working in their hearts, brains, either had to believe to obtain it, or smugly and proudly remain in the dark (Mat. 13:10-18). 

 

The LIT coincidentally presents a truth-in-translation challenge to previous English Bible translation methodologies.  Wouldn't you rather read for yourself what the apostles of Jesus Christ actually wrote, and then decide for yourself what they mean, allowing God's gift of his holy Spirit to work in and through you, in your mind, as Jesus Christ required from his listeners?

 

Lastly, I don't sell God's Word to people through Bibles, to make money off of the things of God, especially off of his Word.  If Jesus' shed blood and death didn't cover everything concerning forgiveness of our sin, then exactly what are those things which it doesn't cover?  The LIT, which is simply a non-paraphrased quote of what the apostles of Jesus Christ wrote, will always be free, right here at this website, for anyone who desires to see what the apostles wrote, and how they wrote God's Word.  I believe that what and how the apostles wrote God's Word, exactly what they wrote and meant, under inspiration of God's Spirit working in and through them, deserves to be witnessed by everyone for themselves, at no charge, following the examples of Jesus Christ and his apostles, and all of the ancient prophets!

 

For much more detailed explanations on how I produced the Literal Idiomatic Translation, please read my "About How I Produced the LIT" pages. 

 

In the LIT you will read and understand many passages about spiritual ideas and concepts, Truth, which you have not seen and understood before.  I hope you are as blessed and excited by God's Word as I am. 

 

Brother Hal Dekker

 

 

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