They Pierced My Hands and Feet and the Jewish Rabbi

I was speaking to a Jewish business man about the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ.  He told me he “didn’t need a middleman;” he would go straight to God.  I told the business man that he could not “go straight to God,” and referred to I Timothy 2:5:

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Later, it dawned on me that I had answered this man incorrectly.  Yes, I Timothy is correct, but this verse is referring to redemption.  The business man had, at the time, rejected God’s offer of salvation—His only begotten Son.  One can, of a certainty, get to God without Jesus Christ and then stand in the face of an angry God at a place called the White Throne Judgment.  At this place, a diligent search will be made in the Lamb’s Book of Life for your name.  Revelation 20:11-15:

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

One can get to God without Jesus Christ, but the end of that meeting is very bleak indeed.  Have you made Jesus Christ your Lord and Saviour?  Have you been born again—born a second time, this time of the Spirit of God?  Is your name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life?  What are you waiting for?  Come on in today.  Click onto “Further with Jesus” for childlike instructions and immediate entry into the Kingdom of God.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.  

GOD SAID, Psalm 12:6-7:

6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 30:6:

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

GOD SAID, 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.

MAN SAID: Any Bible will do!  All Bible translations are the Word of God.  Conversely, man has also said: No modern translation is the Word of God because the real meaning has been lost through translation and time. 

Now THE RECORD: Welcome to GodSaidManSaid feature 836 that will once again prove the full inerrancy of the Holy Bible.  All of these glorious features are archived here in text and streaming audio for the edification of the saints and as a fishing platform for the fishers of men.  Every Thursday eve, God willing, they grow by one. 

Thank you for visiting.  May the Son-shine of God fill your life with Light and Truth. 

Is your copy of the Word of God the actual, literal Word of God?  This feature addresses Bible translations.  Before we review new information, foundational excerpts follow from previous GodSaidManSaid features. 

▶ GodSaidManSaid, “Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXVII—Word Changing and 666 are Ready for Prime Time):”

The Word-walkers accept no titles.  They are not Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Methodist, or any other denomination.  Since the time God gave the Word, they have been and continue to be known as Sola Scriptura, which is a Latin term that means scriptures alone.  Moses, the man of God who penned the first five books of the Bible, admonishes in 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.

Sola Scriptura is typified in Acts 17:10-11 by the New Testament saints known as the Bareans:

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Why should these Word-walkers take such a dogmatic stand on every jot and tittle of the Words of the Holy Bible?  Consider the following verses:

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

• John 17:17:
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

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

Chaste virgins of the faith know no other Word.  One’s love for the Word of God reveals one’s love for God. 

This Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday feature will deal directly with Satan’s unrelenting drive to deceive the sons of Adam by changing God’s Words.  In Genesis 3:1, Satan adds one word and a punctuation mark to close the door on an eternal life in Paradise, where every day was a beautiful, postcard sky, and opened the door of sin, death, and destruction.  Satan’s question to our grandmother Eve was, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”  Remove Satan’s hath and the question mark, and the sentence would accurately read, “Yea, God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden.”

At the end of this feature, along with the Doomsday Series, we will list GodSaidManSaid features that deal with Which Bible translation should be in your hands. 

Nothing should be more important than the believer’s copy of the Word of God.  For the English-speaking, that copy is the Authorized King James Version. 

The Authorized King James Version of the Bible was:

• Translated by the world’s greatest scholars.

• Supported by the vast, vast majority of the original-Greek, handwritten manuscripts (thus the term “majority-text”). 

• Supported by the oldest manuscripts.

• Supported by manuscripts discovered in Greece, Constantinople, Asia Minor, Syria, Alexandria, Africa, Gaul, Southern Italy, Sicily, England, and Ireland—versus the new translations, which are derived from a reading found only in one limited area. 

• Translated from the Textus Receptus (which means “received text”), and has been the authority among the redeemed for over 2,000 years! 

But Satan is hell-bent on changing the words.

Adding or subtracting from the Bible is changing God’s Words, and when one understands that all things are created out of God’s Words, changing them is a very bad idea.   

The following paragraphs are from the GodSaidManSaid feature, King James Scholarship II:

Which Bible?  Are all Bibles the Word of God?  This question must be answered.  There is nothing more important than the accuracy of your copy of the Word of God. 

G.A. Riplinger, who has researched and written volumes on Bible translations, has recently added a rebuttal booklet to those challenging the Authorized King James Version.  One critic in particular is Robert Morey, author and media personality.  Morey says, “Only about 50 readings are problematic and all of them would fit on one page.”  It must be noted that Satan’s entire deception of Eve took place in just five verses.  Riplinger writes:

A full collation of the Greek editions underlying most modern translations reveals that they differ from the Greek Text underlying the KJV in 9,970 of the 140,521 words.  This 7% change would cover 45 pages of text—not as Morey claimed—1 page.  Of these differences, nearly 3,600 are omissions; it’s a much shorter Greek text.  This includes the omission of 20 (Nestles 23^rd) and 17 (UBS 3^rd) whole verses.  In another 3,146 places, a completely different Greek word is used (not just a difference in spelling). 

In addition to the 7% difference in underlying Greek texts, new versions use ‘Dynamic Equivalencies.’  These are word changes which occur in NO Greek or Hebrew text. The NASB uses about 4,000 and the NKJV uses about 2,000.  The NIV uses 6,653. 

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, not 1 page.[End of quote]

Note:  The number-one contender for the Authorized King James Version’s position of correctness is the NIV (New International Version).  Most who are using the NIV have a translation published before 2011 and are fully unaware that things have changed substantially.  Their NIV is no longer being published.  The new NIV, which was available online for review November 1, 2010, was scheduled for a printed release of March 2011, but with no name change.  It will still be called the NIV, yet 5% of its contents will have changed. That’s about 76 pages worth of additional changes.  Remember, Satan (Genesis 3) added one word and a question mark and ushered in the law of sin and death.  Some will recall that, in 2005, the TNIV was published, which some have called the “gender-neutral Bible,” but with no sales success.  They have taken the TNIV and merged portions of its content with the pre-2011 NIV.  The following paragraph is from http://www.biblica.com/niv/:

In addition, particular attention was paid to external feedback in the area of gender language.  (See: What was decided about inclusive language, page 4)  As the CBT stated in announcing the planned update, every single gender-related change made from the 1984 NIV to the TNIV was reconsidered.  Some were preserved, some were rescinded in favor of the 1984 rendering, and many were re-worded in a third, still different, way. [End of quote]

Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes” (Luke 40:26)—the book publishers. 

All who are redeemed, and many of those who are not, have some understanding of the coming Antichrist and the doomsday mark of the beast, which is the number of a man.  Revelation 13:16-18:

16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Several weeks ago, in the GodSaidManSaid feature Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXVII -- 666), we discussed in some detail the mark of the beast.  This week’s feature will add to that information and make it abundantly clear what Satan’s ploy to change God’s Words has to do with it. 

Several paragraphs from Paul McGuire’s book, The Day the Dollar Died, which was published in 2009, will follow.  Mr. McGuire is a syndicated talk-show host, commentator on CNN and Fox News, author of 16 books, and a professor at King’s College.  Mr. McGuire writes:

We are entering a cashless society where credit cards will soon become obsolete.  Due to Identity Theft, which is one of the fastest growing crimes, the next logical step is a microchip implant with an RFID transmitter.  A company based in Delray Beach, Florida listed on Nasdaq as VeriChip Corporation states: “VeriChip provides state-of-the-art security solutions that identify, locate, and protect people and their assets and their environments.  From the world’s first and only FDA-cleared human-implantable RFID microchip to the only active RFID tag with patented skin-sensing abilities, VeriChip’s technology ensures the safety and security organizations are looking for.” Obviously, I am not saying that VeriChip or its microchip is the “mark of the beast.”  However, at some future time, something similar to this technology could be developed that could potentially be used as a “mark of the beast” technology.

VeriChip goes back to the events of September 11, 2001 when New York firemen were writing their badge ID numbers on their chests in case they were found injured or unconscious.  Working with Applied Digital, VeriChip was created to produce and market an implantable device known as “VeriChip.”  Since that time, many people around the world have been implanted, such as medical patients, children, the elderly, CEOs, soldiers, and celebrities.  The VeriChip products utilize an implantable, passive RFID chip for automatic identification.  The chip is about the size of a grain of rice and the microchip inserts just under the skin and contains a 16-digit identifier.

BUSINESS WIRE ran an article entitled, “VeriChip Corporation Launches HEALTH LINK SYSTEM in Florida:”

Florida’s emergency health care system is receiving a shot in the arm this week with the introduction of Health Link, a revolutionary bio-medical technology created by VeriChip Corporation of Delray, Florida.  For program participants, this means they will be able to receive critical care more rapidly, accurately, and safely.  Emergency contact information is also provided, offering greater peace of mind for the Health Link member, and his or her family and caregivers.  Health Link requires implanting program participants with a tiny microchip (similar in size to a grain of rice) just under the skin in the rear upper portion of the right arm. 

Finally, McGuire writes:

Bible scholars debate about what is termed “last days’ events.”  However, I am convinced after years of studying the Bible and teaching on this subject in colleges, seminaries, and conferences, that before this event happens, all true believers in Jesus Christ will be raptured or removed from the Earth supernaturally.  I believe this happens immediately before the Antichrist is revealed.

Once the Church of Jesus Christ is removed from the Earth, the False Prophet will be free to work a powerful deception.  All the millions of people who rejected Jesus Christ as their Saviour will now choose to worship the Antichrist and receive the mark of the beast.  [End of quote]

Note:  In January 2012, the VeriTeq Acquisition Corporation acquired the VeriChip implantable microchip. 

Nearly 2,000 years ago when Revelation 13 was written, it was ludicrous to envision that some type of code would be inserted under the skin of the hand or forehead and that this code would regulate all global commerce. Electricity had yet to be discovered and developed.  The technological art of miniaturization was unknown, such as the microchip.  Needles and syringes were non-existent.  There were no cellphones, sophisticated electronic banking systems, credit cards, global internet networks, etc.  But today, what was once ludicrous to the skeptics is now doable—and even being done. 

What does Satan’s ploy of changing the Words of God have to do with the mark of the beast?  The majority-text Authorized King James Version reads in Revelation 13:16:

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Revelation 13:16 reads in the NIV:

It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads,

On this subject, G.A. Riplinger writes in the 1184-page book, In Awe of Thy Word, the following:

This may be the most damaging twist of scripture in these perilous days.  The NKJV, TNIV, NIV, NASB, ESV, HCSB, and generally all new versions allow their readers to take the mark of the beast—simply by changing the letter ‘i’ to ‘o.’  Applied Digital Solutions has a “VeriChip” ready to market.  Their spokesman appeared on the 700 Club to assure Christian viewers that their embedded (in-bedded) chip did not fit the new versions’ description about the mark of the beast, because their chip goes “in the hand,” “inserted with a large, needle device,” not stamped “on” the hand. 

The Associated Press (Washington, Feb. 26, 2002) reports:

GOOD OR EVIL?  …Applied Digital has consulted theologians and appeared on the religious television program the 700 Club to assure viewers the chip didn’t fit the biblical description of the mark because it is under the skin hidden from view.  (http://www.msnbc.com/news/716493.asp)  [End of quote]

The company who produced the “VeriChip” has changed names, but the chip is very much alive.   [End of quotes]

▶ GodSaidManSaid, “Ancient Discovery Confirms Masoretic Text—Skeptics Scramble!”

The Old Testament Hebrew Masoretic Text is making big news.  One should know that skeptics have challenged the reliability of Biblical texts, claiming that the original writings have morphed over the years and what we are reading has been altered, or that the original intent was lost in translation.  It is interesting to note that Jesus Christ, the Apostles, and disciples never questioned ancient Old Testament writings that had been handed down, the oldest of them penned 1,500 years earlier.   

Concerning the Hebrew Masoretic Text, Dr. J. Moorman writes in his book Forever Settled:

These Masoretes took extraordinary pains to transmit without error the O.T. text.  Many complicated safeguards against scribal slips were devised.  W.J. Martin states the number of letters in a book was counted and its middle letter was given.  Similarly, with the words, and again the middle word of the book was noted.  They collected any peculiarities in spelling.  They recorded the number of times a particular word or phrase occurred.  It is generally believed that vowel points and other written signs to aid in pronunciation were introduced into the text by the Masoretes.  God working in Jewish scribes to preserve the purity of the text can be summed up in the words of Rabbi Akiba, who died in approximately AD 135: “The accurate transmission is a fence for the Torah.”  He also stressed the importance of preserving even the smallest letter. Thus the promise of Christ in Matthew 5:18 is fulfilled. 

In the words of the learned Professor E.C. Bissell:

“There ought to be no doubt that, in the text which we inherit from the Masoretes, and they from the Talmudists, and the same text being transmitted to this period from the time of Ezra under the peculiarly sacred seal of the Jewish canon—we have a correct copy of the original documents, and one worthy of all confidence.”  [End of quotes]

The headline on the September 22, 2016, release of BreakingIsraelNews.com reads, “Burned Mystery Scroll Digitally Unraveled Reveals Bible Unchanged for 2,000 Years.”  Excerpts follow:

The remarkable discovery of verses from the Book of Leviticus, which matched, letter-for-letter, the Hebrew text still in use today, is the first instance of one of the Five Books of Moses ever found in a Holy Ark. 

When the researchers saw the first results, it made for a startling revelation: the scroll contained the first eight verses of Leviticus, making it the earliest Torah writings ever found in the Holy Ark of an ancient synagogue and marking a significant discovery in Biblical archaeology. 

“This is quite amazing for us.  In 2,000 years, this text has not changed,” Emmanuel Tov, a participant in the study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told the Times of Israel. 

The following was written by Samantha Gobba on World.WNG.org on September 22, 2016:

Once the Ein-Gedi scroll was available for Biblical scholars to study, it proved highly significant: The text scholars can read is identical to the Hebrew Masoretic Text used today. 

Either way, the scroll proves those 18 lines of God’s Law have not changed, one jot or tittle, in at least 1,700 years. 

Regent University’s Corné Bekker said this latest discovery is yet another score for Biblical accuracy through the centuries. 

“Every new discovery in Biblical archaeology has served to underscore the trustworthiness of the Bible,” Bekker told me.  “Science and faith are not enemies, but friends.”  [End of quotes]

Thousands of years have passed and God’s Word is still God’s Word, but critics continue to challenge.

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.

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 power and the perfect inerrancy of the Scriptures saves souls.  Many years ago, I had the privilege to win one of my best friends to Jesus Christ.  At the time, my friend was bound by addiction.  My wife and I had been working with him for several weeks, but what God used to bring my friend into the fold was the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus Christ—prophecies written hundreds and thousands of years before His birth, hundreds of prophecies perfectly accomplished in Him.  Several examples follow:

✟ Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

✟ Psalm 22:18: They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

✟ Psalm 22:14 (Concerning the crucifixion, the spear thrust into Christ’s side, and the blood and water that poured out): I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

✟ Zechariah 13:6: And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

✟ Psalm 22:16: For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

It was beautiful verses like these that brought my friend to the throne of grace. 

Years ago, I was discussing the prophecies with a Jewish Rabbi who challenged the Christian translation of the Bible.  We looked up Psalm 22:16 in his Bible—it did not say the same thing.  However, when I read the footnotes, it read: “or they pierced my hands and my feet.”   Do the Christian ranks have the correct rendering? 

Author Josh McDowell, in his book God Breathes, weighed in with the following:

Dr. Peter Flint spoke at the Discover the Evidence event where we uncovered the Biblical manuscript fragments I had acquired.  He is the director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University in British Columbia and author of the book The Dead Sea Scrolls, which I have used as a source.  Dr. Flint has firsthand knowledge of the Dead Sea Scrolls because he edited or coedited almost thirty of the scrolls for publication.  Here is what he said, in part, at the event about how the scrolls confirm the later Hebrew text:

The Biblical Dead Sea Scrolls are up to 1,250 years older than the traditional Hebrew Bible, the Masoretic text.  We had been using a one-thousand-year-old manuscript to make our Bibles.  We’ve now got scrolls going back to 250 BC. 

So now here is the million-dollar question:  When we take the Biblical scrolls and we compare them with our Hebrew Bible, what do we get?  Maybe you’ve had this experience.  Someone has visited you at your doorstep and said to you, “Your Bible is full of errors.  The church has messed with it and your Bible’s been changed.” Now we can take our current Bible and compare it with the Dead Sea Scrolls to see if it has changed.  When our Bible is compared with the Biblical scrolls, what is our conclusion?  Our conclusion is simply this: The scrolls confirm the accuracy of the Biblical text by 99%. 

Let’s give an example of a very famous passage from Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  This is the psalm that Jesus cried out on the cross.  In the Gospels, the writer relates this passage to the crucifixion.  In the King James, it renders Psalm 22:16 like this: “Dogs have surrounded me, a pack of evil ones close in on me; they have pierced my hands and my feet.” 

Now, you know this verse and you would say, “This is the prophecy of Christ’s crucifixion.”  Did you know that, in fact, if you took this verse and spoke to a rabbi or even a Bible scholar, they would say, “Not so fast!”  Because if you turn to the Hebrew Bible that was translated from the Leningrad Codex, you would be quite shocked to discover it doesn’t say that.  The Leningrad Codex says, “Dogs surround me, a pack of evil ones close in on me like a lion on my hands and feet.” 

Now some would say, “You see, the church has messed with the text.  They wanted to put Jesus in their text, so they ignored the Hebrew wording and put in ‘they’ve pierced my hands and my feet.’”  That is a great challenge, but, my friends, I’ve got good news for you.  This passage is preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and I know what I’m talking about because I am the editor of that scroll.  It contains this passage.  It is in the oldest copy of Psalm 22 in the world and it says: “Dogs have surrounded me, a band of evil ones have encircled me; they have pierced my hands and my feet.”  Isn’t that amazing? 

It is amazing.  And because the earliest manuscript is given the greater authority, the rendering used by the King James translators ends up being the correct one. It also makes sense that, if the original autographs are God-breathed words, then God would miraculously superintend the Scripture so it is passed down accurately to us.  [End of quote]

The Word of God is true and righteous altogether.  All we need to do is to learn to live in it.  The rewards are truly eternal. 

GOD SAID, Psalm 12:6-7:

6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 30:6:

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

GOD SAID, 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.

MAN SAID: Any Bible will do!  All Bible translations are the Word of God.  Conversely, man has also said: No modern translation is the Word of God because the real meaning has been lost through translation and time.

Now you have THE RECORD.

 

 

References:

Authorized King James Version

GodSaidManSaid, “Ancient Discovery Confirms Masoretic Text—Skeptic Scramble”

GodSaidManSaid, “Twenty-One Signs of Doomsday (Update XXVIII—Word Changing and 666 are Ready for Prime Time)”

McDowell, J., God Breathed, Shiloh Run Press, 2015 

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