CHAPTER 2
THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE
We believe in the supreme authority of the Bible as the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Bible contains 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Our belief is that the original God inspired books of the Bible, known as the Autographs, which were written in the original biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, were free from error. It is important to know that there are clear distinctions between Autographs, Manuscripts and Translations with respect to the Bible.
AUTOGRAPHS are original texts written either by the author’s own hand or by a scribe under his personal supervision. We believe that the Holy Spirit directly inspired the Autographs and that they were free from error. The original Bible language of the Old Testament was mostly Hebrew, however, some of the text was also written in Aramaic. The original Bible language of the New Testament was ancient Greek.
None of the Autographs of the Old and the New Testaments have survived. All of them have either been lost or destroyed. What have survived are hundreds and even thousands of Manuscripts.
MANUSCRIPTS are copies or the copies of copies…of the original inspired Autographs written in the original Bible languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. There are only a few Manuscripts of the Old Testament still in existence today compared to 5600 Manuscripts of the New Testament. None of the Manuscripts agree exactly, word for word with each other, and as there are thousands of Manuscripts, there are also multiple thousands of variations. However, all of the differences are very minor in nature and do not affect any biblical doctrines. God has preserved the original inspired writings and it is amazing that all these Manuscripts overwhelmingly agree with each other.
The most important Manuscripts of the Old Testament and the New Testament still in existence today are the following:
The Dead Sea Scrolls: 200 B.C.–70 A.D. They contain the entire book of Isaiah and portions of every other Old Testament book except Esther.
Aleppo Codex: circa 950 A.D. It contains the complete Old Testament. Unfortunately, over one quarter of this Codex was destroyed in anti-Jewish riots in 1947.
Codex Leningradensis: 1008 A.D. It contains the complete Old Testament in Hebrew. The Jewish Bible, the Tanakh is based on the Codex Leningradensis.
Codex Sinaiticus: 350 A.D. It contains the entire New Testament and almost the entire Old Testament in Greek. A German scholar, Tisendorf, discovered it in 1856 at an Orthodox monastery on Mt. Sinai.
Codex Vaticanus: 350 A.D. It is an almost complete New Testament and it is catalogued as being in the Vatican Library since 1475.
Textus Receptus: 1514 A.D. This is the first printed copy of the Greek New Testament, by Erasmus.
TRANSLATIONS are when the Bible is translated into a different language from the original Bible languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. There are also many Translations of Translations. To date, the Bible has been translated into approximately 2500 languages. The most important early Translations are the following:
The Septuagint, also known as LXX: 300-200 B.C. The Septuagint is the name given to the Greek translation of the Jewish Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures. It contains the standard 39 books of the Old Testament canon, as well as certain apocryphal books. Please note that the Septuagint comes under the category of Translation and not Manuscript even though it was translated into the New Testament Bible language of ancient Greek. This is because the original Bible languages of the Old Testament are Hebrew and Aramaic, and not Greek.
The Latin Vulgate: 400 A.D. This is by far the most influential translation of the Bible ever carried out in the history of Christianity. The Latin Vulgate, translated by Jerome, reigned supreme for over a thousand years and it was the only translation made available to the Christian world because of the complete dominance of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the Middle Ages, from the 5th Century to the 16th Century. The Latin Vulgate became the Bible of the Western Church until the Protestant Reformation in the 1500’s. To this very day, it continues to be the authoritative translation of the Bible for the Roman Catholic Church.
The King James Version: 1611 A.D. In 1604, King James I of England authorised the translation of the Bible into English. The King James Version, also known as ‘The Authorised Version’, quickly became the standard version of the Bible for English-speaking Protestants.
Unlike the Autographs, it is very important to bear in mind that Translations are not error free. The Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, the King James Version or any other Translation of the Bible is subject to human translation and interpretation errors. Such errors are of huge significance when they affect core Christian doctrines.
Most Christians are unaware of the fact that the doctrine of hell is due to mistranslations and misinterpretations of important Hebrew and Greek words into Latin, in the Latin Vulgate. The Latin Vulgate had such an overpowering dominance and influence for over a thousand years that many subsequent Bible versions, especially the King James Version, have simply carried forward these translation and interpretation errors to varying degrees, in support of the Roman Catholic doctrine of hell.
All contradictions found in any version of the Bible are due to man’s translation or interpretation errors. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and our guide, and He leads us into all truth. We are fully dependent upon Him to transcend all human translation and interpretation errors.
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
1 Corinthians 2:13
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
Once you understand God’s glorious Plan of Universal Reconciliation and Salvation, you will learn how to discern and filter out all mistranslations and misinterpretations that support the concept of ‘eternal punishment in hell’ found in any version of the Bible.
There are many Translations, in many languages, with varying numbers of interpretation and translation errors. However, no Translation is without its value, and we thank God for Translations. Ultimately, there is only one Bible whose Author is the Holy Spirit. God is Sovereign in everything and He has allowed errors to exist in Translations, but no translation errors can prevent God from revealing His truth to whomsoever and whenever He chooses to reveal it.
2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Yes, all Scripture, all of the 66 books of the Bible, including 2 Peter and Jude, have been inspired by God. All of them are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.
There have been many attempts to undermine, discredit or liberalise the Bible as the Word of God, but we reject all attempts from anyone to cast doubt on the authenticity and canonicity of any of the 66 books of the Bible. The Bible is truly an amazing book, living and powerful, life and spirit, and when it is studied and understood through the help and mind of the Holy Spirit, the infallible Word of the Spirit transcends the fallible Translations of men.
The problem is never with the Word of God as inspired by the Holy Spirit. The problem is with Translations which contradict the Word of God. The doctrine of hell, as translated and interpreted in many Bible versions, massively contradicts the truth of the Bible that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world and the Saviour of all men. It is about time that Christians worldwide woke up to the fact that hell is a pagan unbiblical doctrine, and that there are serious mistranslation errors in most popular versions of the Bible.
Later on you will read, in Chapters 15-19 of this book, complete and comprehensive answers to why, when and how the doctrine of hell crept into Christianity.
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