Whose Word Will You Believe? (The Genesis Series, Part 19)

The marvels of God’s beautiful Book are beyond commentary.  It is the mind of God displayed in His Christ, and, by necessity, it is an ever-expanding revelation.  I am aware that I don’t know everything about anything.  I have learned to say, “I am knowing about it.” 

It has been my privilege to read through the Bible many times, and each time, each verse delivers an expanded explosion of Light.  However, for this to be my experience, I must approach the Holy Bible with clean hands, pure heart, and with my ear bowed down to the ground.  At this place, a 360° panoramic view of everything begins to materialize, where the supernatural becomes the norm and spills out, permeating every aspect of my life.  Hallelujah! That is Holy Ghost heavy-duty!

Once, a GodSaidManSaid visitor challenged us to prove God without the Bible, and another challenged us to prove the God of the Bible without miracles.  Both challenges were easily met, and both challengers missed the entire point.  After millions of attacks by Satan’s brightest and most articulate champions, the Scriptures remain unscathed—still divinely true and righteous altogether, still authored by God and penned by His holy men.  The amazing miracles—from creation, Eden, Adam and Eve to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the King of Glory—are marvelous certifications of the God of the beautiful Book. 

Dear visitor, have you yet to be BORN AGAIN as Jesus declares in John 3:3?

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Everything can change for you today.  In just a moment, I will invite you to follow me in a simple prompt, and if you follow from your heart, II Corinthians 5:17 will become yours:

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Today, all your sin and shame will be washed away by Christ’s cleansing blood.  You will be clean and justified.  Today, all of Satan’s bondages in your life will be broken, no matter how formidable they seem.  You will be free.  Do you yearn for the peace of God that passes all understanding?  Today is your day of redemption.  Here is the simple prompt I promised:  Click onto Further with Jesus for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Genesis 3:1-5:

1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

GOD SAID, Deuteronomy 4:2:

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

GOD SAID, John 1:1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

MAN SAID: I must admit, I’ve never really read the Bible.  And, if you asked me to find the book of Genesis, I would just refer to the index.  But, the world’s most acclaimed academics say it has no relevance in today’s enlightened society, so I’m going with them!  They went to university!  So what if they keep changing their truths? Their “truth” of yesterday was debunked by their “truth” of today, and their “truth” of today will be debunked by their “truth” of tomorrow, but that’s just how science works.  Makes sense, right? 

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 1239 that will once again certify the supernatural veracity of God’s Holy Bible.  All of these Word-centric features are archived here in text and streaming audio for your edification.  You can use these features as soul-winning gospel tracts.  Think of a friend you want to win to Christ; think of a subject that might interest them.  Plug the keywords into the search bar top right, and watch the page populate with relevant GodSaidManSaid features on the subject.  A simple press of the Tell-A-Friend button can send a feature out to your friend.  We encourage you to post comments on GodSaidManSaid posts, and to share GodSaidManSaid posts on your social media pages.  We think you’ll be surprised by the response!  And, yes, every Thursday eve, God willing, GodSaidManSaid grows by one.

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You have arrived at the GodSaidManSaid “Genesis Series;” this is Part 19.  Each of these features begins with the following information from the first feature:

According to a 2006 issue of Discover magazine concerning the deceased Carl Sagan: “Sagan approaches religion like any phenomenon.  He isn’t on a quest for life’s meaning, for a comforting philosophy, or even a guide to how we should treat the neighbors.  Sagan seeks truth of a demonstrable kind.  As a puckish example, he wonders why the book of Genesis didn’t include God-inspired truths…” [End of quote]

I recently reviewed an advertisement from a magazine called Free Inquiry that also has a problem with the God of Creation and the first book of the Bible, called Genesis.  Under the heading “Is God Big Enough for the Universe,” Free Inquiry writes:

The authors of Genesis proclaim that God made the heavens and earth in less than a week.  This feat must have amazed these Bronze Age authors, even though they thought the heavens extended only so far as the sky above them.  Of course, they did not know what stars, planets, or galaxies were.  We now know that the universe is so much bigger and so much more complex. [End of quote]

The BORN AGAIN scratch their heads in bewilderment.  Did these folks actually read the book of Genesis? I suppose they did, but God’s revelation is only revealed to the humbled hearts of the children of faith.  This GodSaidManSaid series will be called “The Genesis Series.”  It is our intention to travel through the entire book of Genesis and publish one major God-inspired truth after another.  We will be pulling from previous GodSaidManSaid features and adding the latest information as we go.

Satan’s MO (modus operandi) is established in Genesis Chapter 3, verses 1-5:

1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

From that day in the Garden until this very day, Satan’s MO (modus operandi) has not changed.  He is the enemy of the Cross of Christ, but an enemy that has been totally spoiled.  Those who walk in faith have been granted total dominance over the works of the devil in their own particular lives.  The devil’s business thrives in the camp of unbelief.  He lifts his words—words that contradict the Word of God—up for man to embrace.  Satan offers “another way,” but unfortunately for those he has deceived, this “other way” leads to the place of despair, death, and eternal damnation.

In Genesis 3:1, Satan made modifications to God’s Word.  He embedded the word “hath” and added a question mark to create doubt in Grandmother Eve’s heart.  Then, he went on to call God a liar, fully contradicting the Creator’s Words of warning to Adam and Eve.  The result of Satan’s efforts was the entrance of the law of sin and death, which is known to science as “the second law of thermodynamics.”  This law states that everything goes from order to disorder, from life unto death.  Be assured: It is totally a word by word issue. 

Once one considers the following verses, it becomes obvious what drives Satan’s quest for world dominance:

🕇 John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.    

God is the Word.

🕇 Revelation 19:13: And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Jesus, by whom God created all things, is the Word of God.

🕇 John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The Word became flesh—living, walking, talking Words of life.

🕇 Isaiah 14:12-14: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

Satan—Lucifer—wants to be like God.  God is a living Word God. 

🕇 Psalm 33:6: By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Satan is fully aware that God spoke all things into existence with His Words of perfect knowledge and intent.

To be like God, Satan must change God’s Words.  The late Dr. Henry Morris, founder of the world-acclaimed Institute for Creation Research, had this to say in the commentary of The Henry Morris Study Bible:

Satan’s sin led him to desire to be as God, and this was the desire he placed in Eve’s mind.  In fact, when one questions or changes the Word of God, he is, for all practical purposes, making himself to be “god.”  [End of quote]

The primacy of words of truth cannot be exaggerated:

Everything, including our bodies, is made out of God’s Words. Consider:

⯁ Biologists were shocked when they first discovered DNA carries the instructions for life, and it communicates those instructions using a four-letter alphabet structured into words, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and volumes.  As a result, DNA has been dubbed “the book of life,” the language of life.  It is a word issue.  Imagine, DNA is described 3,000 years before science “discovered” it!  Psalm 139:14-16:

14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

15 My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

⯁ The entire fabric of life is discovered in words. Words are the all-embracing medium.  Words contemplated, words spoken, thoughts (silent words), and words written put life into motion. For example:

🗨 When you were born, you were given a word name that was affixed to a birth certificate—a word document—certifying your entry into the world.

🗨 Soon after birth, if you are in the US, your name is registered in a word document and assigned a number by the Internal Revenue Service, and you are tracked and taxed all of your days. 

🗨 When you take a test in school, you sign your name to the page and respond to word questions with word answers, and your written name earns a written grade. 

🗨 When you purchase a vehicle (which is literally made of words), you will sign a host of word documents indicating your intent to comply with the words written.  Your word signature binds you to words. 

🗨 If you marry, you will confirm your intent with a word signature and the spoken words, “I do.”

🗨 When you pass from this earth, a final word document—a death certificate—is produced with your name affixed to it.  From this point, the body returns to the dust from whence it came—a dust that, yes, was spoken into existence by God’s Words. Again, Psalm 33:6:

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

From cradle to grave, the medium is words.  Even eternal salvation is a product of God’s Words and is sealed with ours. Romans 10:8-10:

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Everything must interface with words because everything is made out of words. The devil demonstrates his understanding of this matter in Genesis Chapter 3.  He changes the words.  He wants to be like God.  The supreme primacy of words cannot be exaggerated.

Proverbs 18:21 is a literal statement:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

There are four forces that are foundational to physics, and the most powerful of these forces is aptly named “the Strong Force.”  This mysterious and invisible force holds all things together, molecules to man.  Without this undetectable Strong Force, all things would simply go *poof!* and disappear.  This force is shrouded in mystery to carnal academia, but couldn’t be more known to the Sunday Schooled.  This force is the invisible Words of God.  We’ve understood this Strong Force from the very beginning, from Genesis Chapter One.  Hebrews 1:1-3 identifies this mysterious Strong Force:

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

The mysterious “Strong Force” that so stupefies the field of physics is the invisible Word of God.  Not only is everything a product of God’s Words, everything is also held together by the very same Words. 

The first law of thermodynamics, also known as the law of conservation, states that one cannot create or destroy energy or matter. What was originally created cannot be added to, nor taken away from.  The form may change, but the quantity remains the same.  The Bible records this law 3,000 years ago, long before science began to understand the principle.  Ecclesiastes 3:14:

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.

Now science has concluded that energy—which is made up of photons from the sun—actually creates matter. Further, it is even theorized that science will soon discover that words of intent, laden with wisdom and knowledge, create energy—light.  When they prove their theory, they will find the children of the Holy Book have been there all along.  The Bible clearly states that words of intent, laden with wisdom and knowledge, precede the entrance of light, photons, and energy. 

🕇 Genesis 1:3: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

🕇 Psalm 119:130: The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

🕇 Psalm 119:105: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Satan understands the supreme primacy of words, and he knows he must change God’s Words if he is going to be like God. The following excerpts are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Which Religion is the Truth (Part 3: True Religion is a Book, but Which?):”

If the true religion is a living Book (and it is), and if in it I find the bread of life (and I do), then the Book I feed from is a hugely important issue.  Today, there are hundreds of translations and paraphrasings of the Bible. 

When a new believer asks what Bible he or she should read, a common refrain heard is that it “makes no difference” which Bible is read because “all Bibles are the Word of God.”  Keep in mind that God is the Word (John 1:1) and that Satan wants to be like God, and he began his quest to reign on the earth with one word and a question mark.

Satan wants to be like God.  God is the Word and every sentence in God’s Book is a piece of God.  Change and alter the words, and you have changed the image of God.  If for some reason you have to cut your visit short today, here is the takeaway: Purchase an AKJV, an Authorized King James Version of the Bible. (A free online version is available here.) 

True religion is the truth and it is a living Book.  We are cautioned at the peril of our eternal souls not to add to or take away from original spoken Scripture. 

🕇 Deuteronomy 4:2:

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

🕇 Proverbs 30:6:

Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.

🕇 Revelation 22:18-19:

18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

The website WordCounter published the word count of various Bible translations:

⯌ The King James Bible: 783,137 words

⯌ New King James Bible: 770,430 words

⯌ The New International Bible (NIV): 727,969 words

⯌ English Standard Version (ESV): 757,439 words

⯌ New American Standard Bible (NASB): 782,815 words

Why does the word count vary among different version of the Bible? The King James Version was released in 1611 and is the oldest version of the Bible still being used today.  The New International Bible and the English Standard Bible are modern versions that, according to a few sources, have removed verses and words found in the King James Bible.  [End of quote]

The NIV (New International Version) was originally published in the 1970s and is currently the most popular of today’s modern versions.  It has 55,168 less words than the AKJV.  The New King James version has 12,707 less words; the English Standard Version has 25,698 less words; and the New American Standard Bible has 322 less words than the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.  That should be eye-opening. 

The modern translations have omitted entire verses of the Holy Bible, and partially truncated others. 

Research conducted by G.A. Riplinger compared the Authorized King James Version (majority-text) with the New International Version (minority-text) and discovered:

The NIV has 64,098 less words than the KJV. This omission of approximately 10% of the Bible—reduces a typical 1,700 page Bible by 170 pages. ..."

[Note: WordCounter, as stated earlier, shows the difference is 55,168 words, which may be explained by which version of the NIV was measured; there have been several renditions over the years.]

Fifteen entire verses have been omitted. [End of quotes]

Today, as in the beginning, the pollution and contradictions abound.  God condemns the priests of the Old Testament, the ministers of that day, for polluting the bread of the altar.  Malachi 1:7:

Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.

Jesus says in John 6:51: I am the living bread which came down from heaven. Of Jesus, Revelation 19:13 reports, and His name is called The Word of God.

The prophet Amos speaks of a day that would come where there would be a famine for the Word of God, and we have arrived.  Amos 8:11-12:

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

Polluted bread is being offered. There is a famine. The following excerpts are again from the GodSaidManSaid feature, “Which Religion is the Truth (Part 3):”

Is there anything more important than a believer’s copy of the Holy Bible?  It will be obvious in this feature that all Bibles are not the same.  Today’s English translations—such as the NIV, TNIV, NASB, ESV, HCSB—are not translated from the same manuscripts as the 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Bible. 

There are two Testaments in the Bible—the Old and the New.  The Old Testament was handed down by the Hebrew Levitical Order.  The Old Testament in your Bible is either the Hebrew Masoretic Text or German: Rudolf Kittel’s revised Masoretic Text.  The Authorized King James Version uses the Hebrew Masoretic Text.  All other modern versions, including the NKJV, use Rudolf Kittel’s text.  New information you’ll read in this feature will address this issue. 

Regularly, GodSaidManSaid is asked about Bible translations.  Multiple features are offered here on this critical subject; for more information, visit the “Which Bible? Updated Series” on this website. 

Concerning the New Testament debate, there are two pivotal issues:  One, the term Textus Receptus (TR), meaning received text, and two, Majority Text (MT).  They are different, but one begets the other. 

The wide geographical use of a Bible text earned it the status of Textus Receptus—the accepted text of the Christian faith.  There are over 5,200 known manuscripts—according to Kurt Aland—that contain all or part of the Greek New Testament.  Keep in mind, until Gutenberg, there was no printing press.  The Bible was penned by scribes one at a time.  It took ten months to pen one Bible.  The term Majority Text was earned when the majority of the 5,200-plus manuscripts recorded the same thing. The Authorized King James Version’s New Testament is Majority Text.  Today’s modern translations listed earlier use the Minority Text.  The Majority Text—according to Riplinger—represents 99% of all extant (existing) Greek manuscripts, while the Minority Text claims 0.008%.  Several excerpts from GodSaidManSaid features follow pertaining to the New Testament issue. 

D. Baker, in his book, A Visual History of the King James Bible, writes:

Zane Hodges, Arthur Farstad:  The Majority Text represents the best theory because it is the only way to account for the vast majority of the extant manuscripts.  Under normal transmission processes, this also is the only way to account for the dominance of the Byzantine text.  Textual critical practice also relies on majority reading support. 

Maurice Robinson, William Pierpont:  As stated by William McBrayer:

“The ‘Byzantine Textform’ best represents the text of the early church.  The emphasis in textual criticism is the history of the transmission of the text.  The result of the transmission process produced a textform that is represented in the vast number of surviving Greek manuscripts.  This view stresses that the overwhelming spread and dominance of the Byzantine text suggests it is closest to the original New Testament.” [End of quote]

Keep in mind, the Byzantine Text is what is found in the King James Version.

Dr. Henry Morris, founder of the world renowned Institute for Creation Research, writes:

Even many King James Bibles have footnotes referring to what are said to be "better manuscripts" which indicate that certain changes should be made in the King James text. But what are these manuscripts, and are they really better? It is significant that almost all of the new versions of the New Testament are based on what is known as the Westcott-Hort Greek text, whereas the King James is based largely on what is known as the Textus Receptus. As far as the Hebrew text is concerned, the King James is based on the Masoretic (meaning, handed down) text, while the modern versions rely heavily on Kittel’s revised Masoretic text.

The Masoretic text was compiled from the ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament by the Hebrew scholars dedicated to guarding and standardizing the traditional Hebrew text "handed down" from the earlier Hebrew scribes, who had in turn meticulously copied the ancient Hebrew manuscripts, scrupulously guarding against error. As far as the Hebrew text developed by Rudolf Kittel is concerned, it is worth noting that Kittel was a German rationalistic higher critic, rejecting Biblical inerrancy and firmly devoted to evolutionism.

The men most responsible for alterations in the New Testament text were B.F. Westcott and F.J.A. Hort, whose Greek New Testament was largely updated by Eberhard Nestle and Kurt Aland. All of these men were evolutionists. Furthermore, Westcott and Hort both denied Biblical inerrancy and promoted Spiritism and racism. Nestle and Aland, like Kittel, were German theological skeptics.

Westcott and Hort were also the most influential members of the English revision committee which produced the English Revised Version of the Bible. The corresponding American revision committee which developed the American Standard Version of 1901 was headed by another liberal evolutionist, Philip Schaff. Most new versions since that time have adopted the same presuppositions as those of the 19th century revisers.

Furthermore, the Westcott-Hort text was mainly based on two early Greek manuscripts, the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus texts, which were rediscovered and rescued from long (and well-deserved) obscurity in the 19th century.

Dr. Morris concluded with this thought:

So one of the serious problems with most modern English translations is that they rely heavily on Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible developed by liberals, rationalists, and evolutionists, none of whom believed in the verbal inspiration of the Bible. Is this how God would preserve His Word? Would He not more likely have used devout scholars who believed in the absolute inerrancy and authority of the Bible?" [End of quotes]  

The prophet Hosea speaks of God’s controversy in Chapter 4, verse 1:

Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.

This controversy began in Genesis Chapter Three and continues.  Satan’s MO (modus operandi) has not changed.  Whose Word will you believe?

GOD SAID, Genesis 3:1-5:

1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

GOD SAID, Deuteronomy 4:2:

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

GOD SAID, John 1:1:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

MAN SAID: I must admit, I’ve never really read the Bible.  And, if you asked me to find the book of Genesis, I would just refer to the index.  But, the world’s most acclaimed academics say it has no relevance in today’s enlightened society, so I’m going with them!  They went to university!  So what if they keep changing their truths? Their “truth” of yesterday was debunked by their “truth” of today, and their “truth” of today will be debunked by their “truth” of tomorrow, but that’s just how science works.  Makes sense, right? 

 

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

Blumner, R., Free Inquiry

GodSaidManSaid, “Which Religion is the Truth (Part 3)”

The Henry Morris Study Bible, Master Books, 2012

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