Waymarks 54
Report of Open Air Preaching
30th May LUTON
T.C. I preached for a while outside the Arndale entrance. One yob seized the
opportunity to bellow obscenities down the street.
Then the Belfast Presbyterian seized hold of me. He had been
watching Tod Bentley and company and thought I had probably done the same. I
patiently explained that because I am a Christian I have no TV in my home. I
had to listen to a resumé of this fellow’s mighty TV deeds. He could heal
people just by blinking at them. I waited until I could play my master card,
“why did Paul leave Trophimus sick at Miletum? ” I asked. Without hesitation he
told me it was to test the other faith healers. I was already thinking it was time to go home
when the Mexican pipe band struck up just down the road. That settled it.
11th June
LUTON T.C. The cult boys
arrived as I did and one told me he had been preaching in the street and a shop
keeper had called the police. I was slightly miffed. They never call the police
to me. I am beginning to think these young lads have something though it may
not be according to knowledge. If they are telling people to get saved, may
they continue. It is NOT necessary to seek police permission to preach in the
street. This liberty is enshrined in English law and has been tested
satisfactorily several times recently in the courts.
Then the Presbyterian turned up again. I told him as bluntly
as I could that he was in danger of hell-fire. At least, he took a tract again.
By this time my spirit was severely provoked (Acts 17: 16) and I was ready to preach. I
preach better under provocation and harassment.
15th June WOLVERTON. A lady fell
over as she walked past me while I was preaching. I recall several other
occasions when this kind of thing has happened. If I were charismatically
inclined I might think they were all “slain in the spirit”. But perhaps they are nervous about walking
past a gospel preacher. I take it to be
evidence of conviction.
25th June LUTON
T.C. I stood facing BHS but as nobody was inclined to buy at that
moment an amplifier had to be mounted on the pavement and passer-by were
pleaded with to come into the store to buy what they never wanted but at half
price. I cannot compete with this noise so I moved to another site. This was
more open but a strong wind caught away
my voice so that I could not be heard more than a couple of yards away.
Thankfully this kind of thing does not happen too often.
30th July LUTON T.C. It
was very hot again today so there were plenty of people sitting on the benches
nearby. After I had preached for nearly thirty seconds a man sitting with his
back to me turned to glare at me. A few seconds later he turned to glare again.
I supposed I was meant to feel intimidated. Then he got up and suggested I went
to the other end of the street as this was his day off and didn’t want it
spoiled. The busker howling away 200 yards up the street apparently was not
spoiling his day. With another menacing glare the man went and sat back
down.....and listened to the rest of the gospel message. We pray his eternity
will not now be spoiled.
6th August LUTON
T.C. A very hot day! Lot’s
of people were sitting on the benches in front of me. A ready made audience of
unconverted folk, as I continued in the 1750th week of this “gospel campaign” (no, it is not a typological error. I’ve been
preaching on this same spot at least once a week for 35 years.) The “day off”
man isn’t here but S— is, and he popped his head up to give me a wave. We had
parted last time on a somewhat disagreeable note: S— did not believe the
Scriptures taught the eternal security of the believer. He was referred to 1
John 5: 13. He told me today he had come to terms with this Scripture and he
looked a lot happier for it. He will need to adjust his understanding of he
Lord’s words, he that endureth unto the end shall be saved however. He
must see that this does not apply to believers of this dispensation. It has to
do with tribulation days.
At this point E— arrived with his wife so S— departed. E— and M— are Indians but have
been in the UK
for at least 60 years. They are Anglicans and were so before they left India. They
hold to the usual Anglican doctrine of devils, namely, Baptismal Regeneration.
This a mark of most cults. They seemed to equate Baptismal Regeneration with
the Anglican “christening ritual” and called it “being born again”. They were astonished to learn that Peter
spoke of being born again in 1 Peter 2. and taught that the instrument used of
God in producing this experience is His own word. This is symbolised in water.
E— told his wife to write down the Scripture reference but she did not know how
to.
Then M— wanted me to know about her out-of-body experiences.
She had actually visited Bin Laden while in this condition! I asked her if she
would recognise his hide-out in the cold light of day and she assured me she
could recall the place very clearly. |My next question- did she have a pc? No
but her nephew has. Well then, get him to go to Google Earth and track across
until you find the place. Turn him in and you’ll make a fortune.
Well, what else can you say to such poor demented souls?
And then we got on with our preaching.
13th August LUTON
T. C. Two men stood listening to the gospel. One of them knew my name but I
failed to recognise him. He took a John’s Gospel from my basket and handed it
to an Asian youth who was passing by. The young man accepted it and walked on.
I preached for a while and became aware of competition
farther down the street. Others were preaching as well. They were the cult boys
with S— now in their ranks. Later they apologised for preaching on my
“territory” . They thought I wasn’t coming because I arrived a little later than
usual. I ignored them.
Another man came by whom I hadn’t seen for several years. It
was a man I first met nearly 40 years ago. I had been preaching in Hockwell
Ring near his house. When I came to leave, my vehicle wouldn’t start so he came
out of his house and towed me home. I
discovered he was a believer meeting locally with the Baptists.
AV Verses Vindicated
Exodus 25: 31 (see
also Revelation 1: 12)
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold.
An unfortunate blunder occurs in the Precious Seed publication,
Day by Day. In the reading for June 6th, commenting on this
verse,the writers J Bennet and J Scarsbrook write, “lampstand is preferable to
‘candlestick’. The latter is self consuming whereas the lights of the lampstand
were fed with oil continuously.”
Gold is self consuming? Did these writers not notice that
the manufacture of a gold candleSTICK is being described? Do these writers
consider the AV translators to be dimwits? In Exodus (AV), Oil is mentioned 23
times. Must we assume they did not comprehend what they were translating?
The oil was fed continuously! Only if a human being kept the
flow going! Could a human being not remember to keep replacing a wax candle before
it burnt out?
The word Candelstikke was in use before 1000AD. Candel
originally meant light or torch. The
meaning of “candlestick” is very simple as far as our Bible is concerned; it is
a LIGHTBEARER. Lampstand improves on this not one little whit.
“The Hebrew word denotes
properly any kind of candle or lamp or torch.” — from Easton’s 1897 Bible
Dictionary
Psalm 45: 13
The king’s daughter is all
glorious within
The royal daughter is all
glorious within the palace. NKJV
In her chamber, the
royal daughter is all glorious. HCSB
(Holman Christian Standard Bible)
All glorious is the
princess in her chamber. ESV.
NKJV and HCSB have their
additions to the text in italics, which is an admission that the added words,
“palace” and “chamber” have no Hebrew manuscript authority. Kittel gives two
mss, Cod. Alexandrinus and Cod. Vaticanus. which have variant readings, but these
two are Greek translations and he thinks v.13 is possibly corrupted. In any
case he thinks vv 12 to 16 are an interpolation. Most modern versions carry similar additions
to the text as the above three.
What the Bible mutilators
don’t want you to think is that the
king’s daughter has an inward purity. Very grievously, the commentaries
(William McDonald and others take their wisdom from the perverted versions. This is the benefit of modern
scholarship. Jim Flanigan tells us ‘this “within” is disputed. (What the
Bible Teaches; Psalms; J. Ritchie.)
Flanigan doesn’t believe
the Book on which he bases his commentary.
Isaiah 9: 6
....and his name shall be
called,.... The everlasting Father,....
“....Father of
Eternity...” JND
“....Eternal
Father....” GNB
“....Eternal
Father....” ESV
“....the Father of the
world to come....” DRB (Douay-Rheims bible)
J M Flanigan writes,
In the
translation by J N Darby this appellate [sic] of Messiah is rendered
“The Father of Eternity.” Others will suggest “The Father of the Ages” which is
substantially the same. It is a declaration of the sovereignty of Messiah over
all the cycles of time....
—
Assembly Testimony, No.337; September/October
2008.
We are aware that ‘ad may
be translated “eternity”, seeing that it is translated thus in Isa 57: 15. We
note also the word is often translated “for ever and ever”. In Isa. 9: 6 the
word is an adjective and is an attribute of the Son of God. In His Fatherhood
He is everlasting He never ceases from being the everlasting Father.
But Flanigan wishes to
prove that aion as in by whom he made the worlds (Heb. 1: 2)
means “by whom he made the ages” He
writes, “The word ‘worlds’ there is in fact [my italics] the
world ‘ages’. He claims that Thayer
shows this to be the basic meaning. He doesn’t explain that the Spirit of God
is not compelled to use “basic” meanings. He does not tell his readers that
Thayer (a Christ denying Unitarian, by the way)
defines aion as also meaning “the worlds, the universe, i.e the
aggregate of things contained in time. “
What Flanigan is leading
to is the final statement of his article,
There will then be an eternal Sabbath, which is
reckoned by many to be the eighth of the
cycles of time. All these are ordered for His glory who is the Father of the
Ages
The first seven ages being
the seven great dispensations. If there is to be “time” in heaven we shall need
clocks to measure it! And what when this eighth cycle ends?
Let J Riddle have the
final word;
“The
everlasting Father” Whilst this is often quoted as “the Father of eternity”
(following JND) the AV rendering appears to convey the meaning more accurately.
....the title states that God’s people will never lack the divine love and care
of a true father.
—What the
Bible Teaches; Isaiah p.171
Jeremiah 17:15
The
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?
The critics winced when they came across this
verse, so they (Westcott & Hort) changed it in the RV to 'the heart is desperately sick'. turning the man into
“an object of a weak compassion where the old translators made him guilty, an
object of wrath” (G. Bishop; The Doctrines of Grace).
JND changes it
to “....and incurable". which again is a false translation. It is not what
the text says. The NIV gives “beyond cure”. None
of these critics regarded their hearts as desperately wicked, which is why we
do not red anywhere in their biographies of a conversion taking place.
The Hehrew word translated
“desperately wicked” in the AV Bible is ah-nash.
It is translated as 'incurable' in
the AV Bible at Job 34:6, Jer. 15: 8, 30:12,15 and Micah 1: 9. It is 'verv
sick' in 2 Sam.l2:15.
Critics will rush to tell
us that the AV Bible therefore contradicts
itself'. We point out that the AV translators clearly had a grasp of the
various shades of ' meaning in the word
ah-nash'. Physically it relates to disease; spiritually it relates to
morality. Deceit is immoral and cannot he associated with sickness. Thus the
deceitful heart is rightly described as desperately
wicked.
The psalmist wrote, How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea sweeter
than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding: Therefore I
hate every false way. Ps. 119:103, 104..
Precepts are comprised of' words, of course. The psalmist loved the very words of God. They
were sweeter than honey, so the precepts were not irksome to him. It was a joy and
nourishment to his soul to keep them. They caused him to hate every false way.
It is not so with the revisionists. The NIV has, 'How sweet
are your promises to my taste.... I hate every wrong path.' Promises are always
for the future. Once fulfilled they is no longer a promises. So the NIV's
psalmist doesn't hate every false way - just the wrong paths. That which is
false is deceptive, counterfeit, treacherous.
The wrong path may be no more than inconvenient at the time.
Modern versionism is a false way.
John 3:I5
Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life..
These gospel words
are very precious to the believer and they are also very plain. The statement
is mutilated in the RV where "should not perish" is omitted without
any just cause and instead of the positive have, there is substituted "may
have". Thus one can believe but
eternal life yet remains uncertain. The same is found in the NIV. -
Some try and tell us that no doctrine is affected by changes
in modern versions. The doctrine of salvation is attacked here and the full
assurance of salvation is denied. This is further proof that modern versionism
is in the hands of unholy and unregenerate men.
Romans 15: 16
That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the
Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God....
“....and do the work of a priest in the service of his good
news” CEV.
“.... in the priestly service of the gospel of God.” ESV
“....I serve as a priest by spreading the Good News of God.”
GW
“....serving as a priest of God’s good news.” HCSB
Commentators and modern versions of Scripture are almost
universally agreed that Paul, according to this verse, acted as a priest. Yet
there has never been discovered one single Greek manuscript containing this
verse where mention is made of a priest. This is a case of Nicolaitan
interference (see Rev. 2: 6 and make sure you understand what Nicolaitanism is
all about).
hierourgounta (ministering)
occurs here only in the New Testament. The emphasis is on the work and not the
person. Parkhurst, in his Greek dictionary describes it as “being employed in
the sacred business of preaching or administering the gospel”. He makes no
mention of priests. Beware those who do.
The AV translators were familiar enough with the word priest
and could have used it if it had been required, as they did from Matthew to
Acts in regard to the Jewish system, and in Hebrews concerning Christ and the
contrast with the Jew’s high priest. In Revelation all believers are described
as priests.
Revelation
1: 12 (see
also Exodus 25: 31)
....I
saw seven golden candlesticks
It is
useful to note what John didn’t see. He did not see lamps. He did not see
candles. He saw candlesticks. His attention was drawn to the seven
sticks designed to support a light producing object.
It is
Christ who shows light unto the people, and to the Gentiles. (Acts 26:
23) through His golden candlesticks.
Our AV
translators knew when to use “candle” or
“candlestick”, and when to use “lamp” . They never used “lampstand”. They consistently translated luchnos as
candle or lamp as required, and luchnia as candlestick.
Therefore
note the falsity of Darby’s translation, “I saw seven golden lamps”. Another mischievous rendering is found in The
Message, “I saw a gold menorah with seven branches.”
Wick
candles were in use in the first century AD throughout the Roman
Empire. There is no reference to oil being used in Rev. 1: 12,
either in fact or by implication.
The use of
the word candlestick in the O.T. is in order also.
The Old
English word candel is from the Latin candela and means a light
or torch. It only later came to refer to a wax candle and is not limited to
this meaning. If we are to update every word in the AV Bible we end up with such
atrocities as The Message, NKJV, etc.
By the Way....
Did you ever hear of
a Muslim preacher who told his audience that the Koran was sprinkled
with error? I have never heard of such a thing. But I have been in more than
one gospel meeting where the preacher told his audience, “the Bible is wrong in
this verse”. Such a man is either a dupe of Satan or is actively engaged in the
service of Satan., determined to destroy faith.
Lost in Translation
One is encouraged by reading in the August ’08 issue of Believer’s
Magazine, “....there are two good reasons for staying with the King James
Version of 1611.” All is not yet up with
BM! However, comment is required on the article containing these words; A
Series of Letters on Bible Study (1), (1), by D Newell, Glasgow.
First, there are at least four good reasons for staying with
the AV Bible
- The AV Bible has superior original language texts.
- The AV Bible has superior translators.
- The AV Bible has superior translational technique [Newell’s first point]
- The AV Bible has superior theology. [Beware those commentaries].
— The
Four-fold Superiority of the King James Version by Dr. D A Waite.
This article by Dr Waite may be found on the internet.
What gives us concern in D Newell’s article are these words,
Although written originally in
Hebrew, Aramaic (the Old Testament) and Greek (the New Testament), the Bible
loses little in translation.
This statement is the product of rationalism. It rules God
out of the exercise. It takes the view that the Bible is just another book, in
which there is no evidence of Divine interest. If the view should be true we
dare not trust our God, and He is incompetent to speak fully to this human
race.
If it is impossible to translate effectively and fully the
Scriptures into another tongue then God scored an “own goal” at Babel. He dispersed the human race at Babel by diversifying
their languages. The majority could no longer speak or understand God’s
language, Hebrew, and God could not effectively speak theirs. God put the human
race out of touch!
But God is after all the Author of language and because He
wills that all men be saved, He oversees the faithful translations of His word.
Otherwise we have to ask, what is the “little” that is lost?
Must we all learn Hebrew and Greek before we can know the mind of God? Are the
better educated, more intelligent, believers better Christians? I have often lamented never learning these
ancient languages but God had given me His word in the AV Bible and I have it
in its fulness
Some of our erudite brethren tell us that a few words have
dropped out even from the original Scriptures.
so when the Lord told Satan in the wilderness, Man shall
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of
God (Mat. 4: 4), D Newell and others are compelled to add, “yes, but
we don’t have EVERY word.
D Newell’s second
point is that
all the great commentaries (for
example, Matthew Henry, John Gill, Matthew Poole, Albert Barnes, C H Spurgeon,
J N Darby) and Bible aids (Strong’s and Young’s concordances, Wigram’s
Englishman’s Greek and Hebrew concordances of the past are based upon the KJV.
These are no doubt useful and we all have our copies but we
read with care and discernment. The old writers were largely Reformist and this
shows in their writings. Modern
commentators (Ritchie’s What the Bible Teaches series, and William
Mcdonald) pretending to base their work on the AV, generally lace their works
with references to depraved alternative readings as though these are of value.
We read on,
A particularly valuable edition
of the KJV is Newberry’s. This provides crisp paragraph headings, an excellent system of
marginal references, alternative translations, and linguistic annotations which
open up some of the more obscure details of the Word.
Those who graduated beyond Kindergarten English will not
need Newberry’s system of linguistic dots and squiggles in order to read their
English Bible. Those who failed to graduate beyond K E will remain bemused by
it all. But it seems we must be thankful to Mr Newberry for opening up some of
the more obscure details of the Word. Newell here refers to the “Word”, and not to the AV Bible. We infer that it is the word of God itself
that is possessed of obscure details.
The Newberry Study Bible First published in Waymarks 21 Summer 2000
A sales leaflet promoting the Newberry Bible says,
'Try to imagine having a Greek and Hebrew scholar sitting next to you as you
read your Bible, ready with easy-to-understand answers to all your questions.
That's what it's like to be the owner of the very special deluxe leather
Newberry Study Bible.'
I try to imagine no such thing, not even in my most
fevered moments. I would not like to be in the same building with a Greek and
Hebrew scholar. The majority of scholars follow the apostate line in textual
criticism and Newberry was no exception.
We don't need any 'scholar' sitting next to us to
answer ALL our questions. He would be in conflict with the Holy Spirit dwelling
within Who teaches us ALL things.
Readers must distinguish between a Spirit appointed
teacher and a scholar. Teachers are a gift from God to the church (1 Cor.12:28)
who are able to give to us the sense or meaning of a passage. The indwelling
Holy Spirit confirms to the soul the truth of what is taught. That scholar who
is not God-appointed tells us what he considers should be included or excluded
on the page of Scripture. This is what Newberry did. He took the AV Bible and
in the margin added all his corrections to the text. He then covered the page
with dots and squiggles, being symbols allegedly showing what the true tense
might be.
The sales promotion of this Newberry Study bible is
careful not to mention that it is the AV Bible with Newberry adaptations that
is being sold. Not even on the full colour brochure is it mentioned that this
is an AV Bible. This fact is finally discovered at the end of four sides of
sales splurge when one comes to the detachable order form.
We read the headline of this promotion, 'At last,
enjoyable and rewarding Bible study made easy', and wonder how believers ever
coped in their study before this American-style publishing 'house' arrived. I
suppose it is made easy because one no longer has to spend long hours in
meditation on the Scriptures, in dependency on the Holy Spirit.
We are also informed that, 'Like all great scholars
he [Newberry] knew that there are precisions, perfections and beauties in the
original languages that cannot be reproduced in any translation. So His[sic]
passion in life was to provide you with the all-in- one bible that would open
up these treasures before your very eyes (without you having to be a genius).
He assumed that the English language was not a capable medium for the
transmission of the word of God to English speaking believers. The present
publishers endorse this. In fact they tell us that no languages apart from
Hebrew and Greek can sufficiently contain the word of God. The conclusion we
are forced to is that the AV Bible and every other Bible in any modern language
is defective, and needs the likes of Newberry to bring it up to what God wanted
it to be.
The first error is found in Newberry's introduction
where we read, 'The plenary inspiration of the original Scriptures is taken for
granted. (my italics). This is one of the foundation stones of apostate
scholarship, swallowed by most of our ministering brethren today, that
inspiration does not apply to any bible today. This is why these men feel free
to meddle with God's word as they will. But my Bible reads, all Scripture is
given by inspiration of God… not ‘was given’! If my Bible is not the inspired
word of God, then it is not Scripture, it is not the word of God at all.
Newberry's statement charges God with incompetence at the very least. He could
not preserve that which He originally gave by inspiration. Why, out of all the
human race, would just one generation of men be blessed with the 'plenary
inspired Scriptures? Note too that the canon of Scripture was not complete
until the 2nd century AD. All the documents used to produce the first Bible
were copies and probably not of the 'original' either. This means that there
has never existed on this earth at any time an inspired Bible according to our
scholar. The scholar's God lies inside his own head.
The next error in the Newberry Bible is found in
Genesis Ch.1 where Newberry left a gap on the page between verses one and two.
Did Moses leave a gap when he first set down Genesis? There is no manuscript
evidence pointing to that. Did Newberry think himself wiser than Moses?
Newberry was a 'gappist', pandering to the evolutionists of his day.
We are informed that 'the Newberry Study Bible is not
full of notes telling you what the Bible means'. Yet when we look down the
right hand margins on every page that is precisely what Newberry did. The
meanings he supplies are frequently in accord with the readings found in JND's
translation.
AV JND NEWBERRY Marg.
Matthew 4:2
The gospel glad
tidings
glad tidings
2 Tim.1:2
my dearly beloved son. my
beloved child child
Romans 1:17
The just shall But
the just But
the just....
live by faith shall live by faith.
This is a textual change showing that neither JND
nor TN held to the Received Text.
Hebrews 11:1
The evidence The
conviction the
conviction
Hebrews 12.2
Looking unto Jesus the looking
steadfastly on Jesus
captain or leader.
author and finisher of the leader and completer of ' our' is bracketed
our faith faith. as
well as italicized.
1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation … for the whole world for[ the sins of]
For the sins of the whole
the whole world
World Brackets indicate
that TN thought these words should be
omitted
The omission of “the sins of”' panders to the false
doctrine of a limited atonement .
These are but a few of the hundreds of changes made.
Besides marginal notes, every page has its footnotes.
These contain the Critical Various Readings of the Greek Text, where the MSS
for and against are indicated.
No doubt Newberry and other Bible critics thought
these would be helpful to the student in making up his own mind as to what is
the word of God and what is not. This 'help' has served to undermine faith in
God. The student no longer trusts his Bible.
Some examples are given below.
Mark 1:2
As it is written in the prophets.
‘In the prophets’, found in mss AEFHKMPSUVGP. – ‘In
Esaias the prophet’, found in ÀBDLD.
All the critics accept the Esaias reading, denying
Mark's authorship or making him to be ignorant, attributing Malachi's words to
Isaiah.
Luke 2:22
The days of her purification
‘Her purification’.-‘His purification’, found in D. –
‘Their purification, alephABEGHKLMRSUVXGDLXP
The inference here is that only one solitary ms,(D),
refers to Mary's purification while the majority speak of their purification
(including father and child). The charge is false, first because there are
other mss extant supporting the RT reading. Second the thought that the Holy
child required purification is blasphemous and Joseph was not His father. The
purification was in accordance with Lev. 12. JND reads 'when the days were
fulfilled for their purifying…' his determination to follow a depraved text in
his translation was more important to him than the acknowledgment of the deity
of Christ.
Romans 1:16
The gospel of Christ.
‘Of Christ’, in D3KLP.- Omitted in AlephABCD1EG.
JND reads ‘I am not ashamed of the glad tidings’,
which may mean anything. Errorists will leave Christ out of the gospel. There
are many verses where Christ is omitted.
1 Timothy 3:16
God was manifest in the flesh.
‘God’, in Aleph5C3D3KLP.- Who, in
Aleph1AC1F(Gr)G(Gr).
Aleph is our old 'friend' Codex Siniaticus. But even
this is divided in its loyalty being a most depraved MS. The superscript 5
indicates that this is the fourth correction, the superscript 1 indicating the
'original' reading. We point out that the RT reading is very well attested, as
it is below.
Revelation 22:16
Blessed are they that do his commandments
‘Do His commandments’, in B.-‘Wash their robes’, in
aleph A
One might think that there is only one ms supporting
the TR. That is false.
The Revised Version
Taken from an article written by George Bishop c. 1885
Consider the force of the objection “you have different
Bibles and neither, or none is exact.” Consider the effect on our children to
have nothing settled, to feel that Holy Scripture is a nose of wax to be
twisted hither and thither. Consider the effect of all this upon what is, alas,
too infrequent just now, the committing to heart of the very words of the Book
as the binding dictate of God.
Our Authorized Version is the one religious link which at
present binds together ninety millions of English speaking men scattered over
the earth’s surface.
Concerning the New Testament revision....I have shown:
- That it is impracticable, unelastic, uncongenial vexatious English.
- That bit is a defective, unskilled translation which mutilates the book by its unauthorized omissions.
A translator must have the Geist as the Germans say,
of a language; the soul; nd more, must be one with the spirit that
breathes the great original words. Whatever else a man is, or is not, he must
be spiritual to translate the things of the Spirit.
3. That it is based on a new, uncalled
for, and unsound Greek text —one English critic says, “the foulest and most
vicious in existence.”
4. That it is designed to weaken and
destroy the binding force of Inspiration in the very words. —
Plymouth Brethren by David Cloud. Wayoflife.org
The Plymouth Brethren is a Christian movement which originated in England in the 19th century. According to Roy Huebmer, a Brethren historian and author of Precious Truths Revived and Defended Through J.N. Darby, this movement can be traced to 1827 when John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) and three other men began to conduct Bible studies and to break bread together in Dublin. Darby was the grandson of Lord Nelson of Trafalgar fame. He gave up a law practice to work as a deacon in the Church of England and to preach and do visitation work. He left the Anglican Church in the summer of 1827. He never married, and he used his personal estate to support himself. Eventually Darby moved to Plymouth, England, and the church he established there grew to over 1,200 members by 1845. Darby was a diligent student and prolific writer. William Kelly compiled and published 34 large volumes of J.N. Darby's works (in the Collected Writings). Seven volumes of Darby's Notes and Comments were published from his notebooks posthumously. Darby also produced translations of the Bible in German, French, and English. The Darby English translation follows the Received Text for the most part, though it does contain a number of Westcott-Hort omissions and other textual departures from the TR. For example, the eunuch's testimony in Ac 8:37 is omitted, as is the trinity statement of 1 Jn. 5:7. He did not intend that his versions replace the Luther German and King James English translations; his stated goal was to provide very literal interpretations of the Hebrew and Greek to aid Christians in Bible study."As a result of a division in England in 1848, there are two basic types of Brethren assemblies, commonly known as exclusive and open. Led in the beginning by Darby, the exclusive assemblies produced most of the movement's well-known Bible teachers--Kelly, Grant, Mackintosh, [Darby himself], and others. ... Open assemblies were led by George Muller, well known for his orphanages and life of faith. ... today there are an estimated 850 open assemblies in the U.S. with only 250 exclusive" (Handbook).
"Within these churches, the common terminology is simply Brethren, or assemblies, or Brethren assemblies. The term Plymouth Brethren is not used by the Brethren themselves, but was a label outsiders gave to them in Plymouth, England. The matter of names is a sensitive issue among Brethren, reflecting a historical emphasis on the unity of all believers. The early Brethren envisioned a basis for Christian unity--not in the ecumenical merging of denominations, but rather in forsaking denominational structures and names in order to meet simply as Christians. ... names like Bible Chapel or Gospel Hall, usually prefixed with the name of a city, community, street, or some biblical term like Grace, Bethel, or Bethany, are preferred to Church when naming a building" (Ibid.).
The Brethren have been zealous for Bible doctrine and hold to the evangelical Bible faith in areas such as Inspiration, Salvation, God, the Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, Resurrection, Heaven, and Hell. Though Bible prophecy was interpreted allegorically by most Christians in the 19th century, the Brethren were instrumental in popularizing the dispensational method of interpretation, which views biblical history as dispensations or eras in which God has been worked out His purposes through men, and which interprets Bible prophecy in a consistent literal-historical manner. The Brethren believe that God's promises to the nation Israel will be fulfilled literally, that the Tribulation and Millennium will be fulfilled literally. The Brethren emphasized the imminent coming of Christ for His own in the Rapture of the saints, though they did not fall into the error of setting dates. The writings of Darby, William Kelly, C.H. Mackintosh, and other Brethren dispensationalists had a powerful influence on C.I. Scofield, and these views are reflected in the popular Scofield Reference Bible of 1909. Another well-known Brethren was Sir Robert Anderson, who was chief of Scotland Yard and who wrote books on Bible prophecy which were widely distributed.
Some of the distinctives of the Plymouth Brethren movement are as follows: (1) The remembrance meeting held each Sunday, during which the Lord's Supper is received. All men of the assembly are free to take part in the service and to testify. (2) Though the Brethren believe in preachers, they do not believe in strong pastoral leadership. The assemblies are ruled by a plurality of elders. They reject any form of clergy/laity divisions, and refuse the title "Reverend." Brethren preachers normally receive no regular salary. (3) Many of the Plymouth Brethren have been opposed to the use of musical instruments, which they traced to the influence of Cain's descendants.
Three Brethren publishers in the U.S. are Loizeaux in Neptune, New Jersey, publisher of Harry Ironside's many popular books, Present Truth Publishers of Morganville, New Jersey, and Bible Truth Publishers in Addison, Illinois. While the Plymouth Brethren have been strong in Bible teaching, pure Christian living, and evangelism in days gone by, that is changing rapidly, as it is in most Christian groups. Sadly, there is a general tendency toward spiritual lethargy and evangelistic coolness today. — Wayoflife.org.
The Five Warning Signs Of Religious Abuse by Rafael Martinez
1) Unchecked Authoritarian Leadership
The first danger sign of a possibly unsound church,
Enroth explains, can be seen through a high-handed exhibition of its
leadership's authority, which often appears unnervingly legitimate. "Spiritual
abuse can take place in the context of doctrinally sound, Bible preaching,
fundamental, conservative Christianity. All that is needed for abuse is a
pastor accountable to no one and therefore beyond confrontation. ..
Authoritarian leaders are ecclesiastical loners. That is, they do not function
well or willingly in the context of systematic checks or balances. They are
fiercely independent and refuse to be part of a structure of accountability. To
put it crudely, they operate a one-man (or one-woman) spiritual show. And God
help the person who gets in the way or makes waves."He continues: "Yes, sometimes they will point to a board of elders or its equivalent, but more likely than not, this turns out to be a faithful inner circle of clones that implicitly accepts all that the leader sets forth. .. Abusive pastors often come from troubled backgrounds and are very insecure persons despite the 'take charge' image they may project. They are power hungry people who crave visibility. Leaders who inflict spiritual violence often hide behind the smoke screen of authority to gain power." (pp. 203, 217, 219 of Churches That Abuse). It is important to understand that religiously abusive church leadership is most visible when it demands public and private attention to be given to the authority and control over the flock by the pastor. Often, in aberrant churches, this is not an easy thing to discern, and yet, it is frequently it is one of the danger signs that are too easily overlooked. Such leaders will seem too quick to chastise members, often in harsh forums of public rebuke.
—spiritwatch.org.
The other four points which can be seen on the above website are;
2.Imbalanced
Congregational Life
3. Conscious
Threats of Discipline
4. Deliberate
Disruption of Personal Relationships
5. Withdrawal and
Isolation From The “Outside”
Letters
Dear Ron,
it is true that AV only
is read in the meetings but one so often hears 'correctors' and 'the word in Greek
is ..' 'the original' etc., and if a brother reads a perversion at home
for study etc., then that texts appear in his prayer in the meeting, therefore
it is not an AV assembly, that is the trouble, but nothing like that appeared
at S—, of course so guess there are meetings around AV only. How is one
supposed to know them until one has attended their meetings for some
time? The larger an assembly gets the greater the deception is, bringing
in brethren from 'liberal' churches who read the NKJV for example causes an
infiltration of a perversion in prayers, and I guess in other ways too, but the
assembly says how blessed they are because their numbers are rising. If an
assembly is true to the word of God (A.V.) why change words such as
miracle and say it is signs. We know that miracles are
signs that Christ is God etc.,
I was reprimanded yet
again for being AV only minded. I— gave me such encouragement that he
spoke [in the assembly]regarding this subject, but there is none so blind
than those who will not see. I go to the breaking of bread, as
commanded by our Lord, and that is all, and if the Lord leads me to say
something afterwards about the Bible then I shall do, but am afraid it will be
a drop in the ocean. I continue to deliver the word of God in tract form but
cannot recommend anywhere they should go to hear more of the gospel. Paul tells
us not to cause divisions in the church, etc., so it is increasingly
hard, especially after being at S—, but if there were more brethren
added there maybe these things would creep in. I do agree with you
that I wish some of our AV brethren would say in public that their Bible was
without error etc., most only say that they prefer it.
Mrs P
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