Featured HAS GOD'S WORD BEEN PURIFIED SEVEN TIMES?

HAS GOD'S WORD BEEN PURIFIED SEVEN TIMES? (Part 1)
By John Henry
June 12, 2016

Scriptures:

Psalm 12:6-7: "The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."

Psalm 119:89: "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."

Psalm 119:140: "Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it."

Psalm 119:160: "Thy word is true from the beginning and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever."

Proverbs 30:5: "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him"

Introduction:

This is an answer to those who claim that Psalm 12:6-7 does not prophesy of a sevenfold purifying process of the English Bible that culminated in the King James Bible. It began with the work of William Tyndale, a Baptist, and is largely his work.

Matthew 28:20: "Teaching them to OBSERVE all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I AM WITH YOU alway, even UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. Amen."

Included in the great commission is the Lord's charge to "observe" all that He "commanded." I have heard it preached that "observe" here means to "do" which is NOT the primary emphasis for this word. Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines "observe" as follows: "OBSERVE, v.t. obzerv'. Latin: observo; ob and servo, to KEEP or hold. The sense is to hold in view, or to keep the eyes on. ..." The Greek word for it is "tereo" (Strong's Greek #5083) which is also translated "preserved" and "hold fast" (1 Thess. 5:23; Jude 1; Rev. 3:3), but it is often translated "keep" in connection with God's people keeping His word (John 14:15, 21, 23-24, 15:10, 20, 17:6; 1 John 2:3-5, 3:22, 24, 5:2-3; Rev. 1:3, 3:8, 10, 12:17, 14:12, 22:7, 18-19). Earlier in Matthew 28 "tereo" is translated "keepers" where it says, "And for fear of him [an angel] the keepers [i.e. guards] did shake, and became as dead men" (Matt. 28:4). Therefore, the Lord's emphasis here is for His church to guard the word of God, and Jesus promises to be with His church "unto the end of the world" in this task.

It is therefore no strange thing that the Lord would use His church in preserving and translating His word during this Church Age. The New Testament was given in Koine Greek, the first universal language, and when Latin became dominant the Waldenses translated it into that language and others, and finally Tyndale began the first work on what came to be known as the King James Bible which was completed within a generation.

1 Timothy 3:15: "... thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." (cf. John 17:17)

Jude 3: "... it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for THE FAITH which was once delivered unto the saints." (cf. Rom. 3:3; Gal. 2:16, 20; Eph. 3:12, 4:5; Phil. 1:27, 3:9; Titus 1:1; Rev. 2:13, 13:10, 14:12; et. al.)

 

HAS GOD'S WORD BEEN PURIFIED SEVEN TIMES? (Part 2)
By John Henry
June 12, 2016

1. Biblical Types In Psalm 12:6:

Psalm 12:6: "The words of the LORD are PURE WORDS: AS SILVER tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times."

Note that "thy word" in Psalm 119:89, 140 & 160 and "every word" in Proverbs 30:5 above all speak of God's word as a flawless unit, as it is in heaven; whereas Psalm 12:6 speaks of the individual "words" of it.

These purified words are like "silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." Not as mere silver, but "... as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times." It is a type, a word picture signifying something literal. What is it a picture of?

1 Corinthians 15:47: "The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven." (cf. Genesis 2:7, 3:19)

Likewise, as the time of David's death drew near he said to Solomon: "I go the way of all the earth ..." (1 Kings 2:2)

Just as 1/3 of Israel will be refined "as silver" during the Tribulation (Zech. 13:9; cf. Mal. 3:3); so God's individual Biblical words, in time, were "purified seven times" from the original languages into the English language "as silver" in Psalm 12:6.

The translators were as "a furnace of earth," and the "silver ... purified seven times" was the finished product of the seven refinements into the English language "as silver."

Jeremiah 20:9, 23:29: "Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. ... Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" (cf. Luke 24:32)

God's word has been "settled in heaven" forever, but it has not been settled in earth forever.

Psalm 119:89: "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."

Proverbs 2:1-6: "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for UNDERSTANDING; 4 If thou seekest her as SILVER, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: OUT OF HIS MOUTH COMETH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING."

2. The KJV Did Not Come In The Same Way That God Originally Gave His Word:

The Hebrew, Syriack (Aramaic) and Greek words of the 66 books of the word of God were originally spoken by men "as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" and then they were written down.

2 Peter 1:21: "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

This was not the process of God's giving of the King James Bible.

3. The Words To Be Preserve From A Particular Generation

What is the LORD going to keep here? The "purified" translated words of the previous verse! If it were speaking of God's word of Psalm 119:89 that is forever settled in heaven, then it would not have specified a beginning "generation" for the preservation of it. The English King James Bible may well be forever settled in heaven, but Psalm 12:7 specifies a particular "generation" as a beginning point for it here on earth.

So how long is a generation? Psalm 90:10 indicates that it is between 70 and 80 years (this seems to be the norm), and Genesis 6:3 gives 120 years (this is about the maximum).

Psalm 90:10: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."

And were the seven purifications of the King James Bible done in a generation?

William Tyndale was the first to translate God's word from Greek and Hebrew into English. He published the New Testament in 1526, and the 5 books of Moses and Jonah in 1530. He also translated the books from Joshua through Second Chronicles, but they were not published before his martyrdom in 1536. Counting from Tyndale's publication of the New Testament there were 85 years to the completion of the KJV; from his martyrdom to the KJV was 75 years.

On the morning of October 6, 1536 William Tyndale was murdered and burned by the Catholics for his Bible translation work. His last words were, "Lord open the king of England's eyes." Tyndale's prayer was fulfilled by two kings. King Henry the VIII, although he was likely never saved, just 2 years later authorized the Great Bible at the behest of godly Queen Ann. And 75 years later godly King James authorize the Bible that bears his name." Between these 2 were 5 other English translations. When commissioning the King James Bible, the king instructed the translators that the 6 previous translations were to be used in these words:

"The ordinary Bible, read in the church, commonly called the Bishops Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit. ... These translations to be used when they agree better with the text than the Bishops Bible, viz. Tyndale's, Coverdale's, Matthew's, Whitchurch's, Geneva. (Instructions #1 & #14; Note that the 6 prior translations were used, the KJV being the 7th.)

Proverbs 21:1: "The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will."

Ecclesiastes 8:4: "Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?"

4. The End Time Universal Language Born During The Same Generation:

The Old Testament was mostly written in Hebrew, the language of Israel, whereas the New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the universal language of the day. When this Greek died out the next universal language, Latin, took it's place (there are more Latin manuscripts than Greek), and finally English began to be the universal language.

Spain once ruled the sea and was the great defender of Catholicism. In 1588, sixteen years before King James ascended the throne of England, the Spanish Armada sailed against England with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England in order to put an end to English involvement in the support of Protestants in Spanish Netherlands, and to stop British trade and shipping in the Atlantic and the Pacific. The providential hand of God was clearly seen in the events leading to the defeat of the naval super power of that time.

In 1588 there were unusually strong North Atlantic storms, as a result many more Spanish ships and sailors were lost to cold and stormy weather than in combat. It is estimated that 5,000 men died. A total of 84 ships of the Armada's fleet of 151 were destroyed. Just 67 ships were able to get back to Spain.

The repulse of Spanish naval might gave heart to the Protestant cause across Europe, and the belief that God was behind the Protestant cause was shown by the striking of commemorative medals that bore variations on the inscription, "1588. Flavit Jehovah et Dissipati Sunt" (1588. Jehovah blew, and they were scattered) with "Jehovah" in Hebrew letters.

In England, the boost to national pride lasted for years. The defeat of the Spanish Armada cleared the way for the British Navy, and merchant shipping to make Great Britain a center of world trade and economic might. It also made the English language the new universal language.

Just 23 years later, in 1611, the pure, complete and inspired word of God in the fledgling universal language of England was completed.

The movable type printing press had almost 100 years of use by the time of Tyndale, and by 1611 each letter still had to be hand set. After the first printing began the work of correcting the multitude of printing errors.

Conclusion:

The answer to the question, "Has God's word been purified seven times?" is: Into English, Absolutely! The process of translating God's word into the English language was a sevenfold purification process to get the right words. It was in no way like God's giving of the original "pure words" as specified in 2 Peter 1:21; but was more like the study to rightly divide the word of truth required by 2 Timothy 2:15. Nonetheless, we do believe that the LORD was superintending the work of translation and the final work is inspired.

 

Hi John of Japan:

"The Reformers held that the Waldensian Church was formed about 120 A. D., from which date on, they passed down from father to son the teachings they received from the apostles. The Latin Bible, the Italic, was translated from the Greek not later than 157 AD (Scrivener's Introduction, Vol. 2, p. 43.) We are indebted to Theodore Beza, the renowned associate of John Calvin, for the statement that the Italic Church dates from 120 AD. From the illustrious group of scholars which gathered around Beza, 1590 AD, we may understand how the Received Text was the bond of union between great historic churches. As the sixteenth century is closing, in Geneva Beza, Cyril Lucar, and later to become the head of the Greek Catholic Church, and Diodati, also a foremost scholar. As Beza astonishes and confounds the world by restoring manuscripts of that Greek New Testament from which the King James is translated, Diodati takes the same and translates into Italian a new and famous edition, adopted and circulated by the Waldenses. (McClintock & Strong Encycl., Art. "Waldenses.") Leger, the Waldensian historian of his people, studied under Diodati at Geneva. He returned as pastor to the Waldenses and led them in their flight from the terrible massacre of 1655. (Gilly, Researches, pp. 79, 80.) He prized as his choicest treasure the Diodati Bible, the only worldly possession he was able to preserve. Cyril Lucar hastened to Alexandria where Codex A, the Alexandrian Manuscript, is lying, and laid down his life to introduce the Reformation and the Reformers' pure light regarding the books of the Bible." (Source: http://textus-receptus.com)

The Waldenses were later branded as Anabaptists by the Roman Catholics.

 

TCassidy said: JohnBaptistHenry said: "Has God's word been purified seven times?"

Yes, I said that, but I did not say this:

"1. Wycliffe Bible.
2. Tyndale Bible.
3. Coverdale Bible.
4. Matthews Bible.
5. Taverners Bible.
6. The Great Bible.
7. The Bishops Bible.
8. Rheims Bible.
9. The Geneva Bible.
10. King James Version.
Yep. 7 times. Uh. Wait a minute. 10 times. Not 7. 10."

As it indicates in my article, the instructions of King James stated:

"The ordinary Bible, read in the church, commonly called the Bishops Bible, to be followed, and as little altered as the original will permit. ... These translations to be used when they agree better with the text than the Bishops Bible, viz. Tyndale's, Coverdale's, Matthew's, Whitchurch's, Geneva. (Instructions #1 & #14; Note that 6 prior translations were used, the KJV being the 7th.)"

So the King's instructions said to use these prior translation:
1. Tyndale's
2. Coverdale's
3. Matthew's
4. Whitchurch's
5.Bishops Bible
6. Geneva.