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Textus Receptus. The Greek text of the New Testament as published by Desiderius Erasmus,
a 16th century Roman Catholic priest. Textus Receptus (TR) is Latin for
"received text," derived from a republication of the text in 1633. The TR performed a marvelous service for the world. It became the dominant edition of the Greek text of the New Testament for
the next 350 years. Both the King James and the New King James versions are based on
the Textus Receptus. A brief history of the TR Hastily assembled, the first edition of the Textus Receptus (TR) was published on March 1, 1516 with a great many errors. Subsequent editions appeared in 1519, 1522, 1527, and 1535. Erasmus used only six manuscripts in his preparation of the TR, most of them late. Erasmus' first and second editions did not include the "Comma Johanneum," the Trinitarian formula. At 1 John 5:7-8, his early editions read, “there are three witnesses in heaven, the Spirit and the water and the blood." An uproar ensued in Roman Catholic circles because his text did not read, “there are three witnesses in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit,” as did the Latin Vulgate. When asked why he did not include the Trinitarian formula, he replied that he could find no manuscripts that included the text. In 1520 an Oxford scribe created such a manuscript (Codex 61, now preserved in Dublin). Erasmus' third edition contained the Trinitarian formula. To date, only a handful of Greek manuscripts contain the formula, no sure manuscript dating earlier than the sixteenth century. Most textual critics today reject the Comma Johanneum as the insertion of an overzealous scribe. A challenge to the TR The Textus Receptus is a narrower stream of the Byzantine or Syrian family of manuscripts. The TR was never seriously challenged for many decades, even though it was based on only a half dozen manuscripts, none earlier than the 12th Century. But something happened that changed scholarly consensus. On May 12, 1881, Brook Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort published The New Testament in the Original Greek. They also published an explanatory volume. They argued that the Greek text behind the KJV New Testament, including the broader Byzantine (Majority) Text itself, was inferior and late. According to Daniel B. Wallace, in The Conspiracy Behind the New Bible Translations, they argued as follows: 1)
The Byzantine text (i.e., the group of Greek MSS behind the Textus
Receptus) was not quoted by any church father before AD 325, while the
Alexandrian text was amply represented before that period. (2) The Byzantine text was shown to depend on two earlier traditions, the Alexandrian and Western, in several places. The early editors of the Byzantine text combined (or conflated) the wording of the Alexandrian and Western traditions on occasion, while nowhere could it be shown that the Alexandrian combined Western and Byzantine readings or that the Western combined readings of the Alexandrian and Byzantine. (3) The Byzantine text, upon closer examination, proved to be inferior in its wording, either by not conforming to the author’s wording or moving in a predictable direction (such as by adding clarifying words). Hence, Wallace concluded, Thus, with these three arguments, WH [Westcott and Hort] demonstrated that the Byzantine text was late (the patristic argument), secondary (the conflation argument), and inferior (the internal evidence argument). Although some of the particulars of their overall view have been questioned today, most NT scholars find this general scheme to be a compelling argument against Byzantine superiority. Hence, the overthrow of the Textus Receptus. What was it that convinced the vast majority of NT scholars to give more credence to other textual families and jettison the Majority Text as the most accurate? It was not a conspiracy. It was solid evidence. Westcott and Hort's argument was convincing. In their day there was only one NT papyrus fragment that was known. By now almost a hundred have been found. These antedate the great uncial manuscripts by as much as two hundred years. And not a single one is of the Byzantine text family! Is the TR infallible? King James Only advocates (those who portray the KJV as being the only valid translation in the world today) insist that the TR is inerrant and infallible. But that is a dogmatic assertion unproven by the facts. Supporters of the TR argue for its validity in part in that the great bulk of its text falls within the mainstream of the Byzantine Text, the text of the vast majority of extant Greek manuscripts. There are, however, some serious difficulties in attempting to ally the TR with the Majority Text (MT). In the Preface of The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform, 2005, by Maurice A. Robinson and William G. Pierpont [the entire text can be viewed online in .pdf format], the initial footnote appears on p. i: Early
printed Textus Receptus (or "Received Text") editions closely resemble
the Byzantine Textform but often diverge from it in significant
readings. Such editions primarily derive from the limited selection of
a small number of late manuscripts, as utilized by Erasmus, Ximenes, or
their immediate historical successors. The overall text of these early
printed editions differs from the Byzantine Textform in over 1800
instances, generally due to the inclusion of weakly supported
non-Byzantine readings. Since the Receptus form of text does not
provide an accurate reproduction of the common Greek manuscript
tradition, the present edition strives to rectify that situation by
presenting the readings of the Byzantine Textform in a more precise
manner. Robinson and Pierpont state, "In four instances (Luke 17:36, Acts 8:37, Acts 15:34, Acts 24:7) a verse number appears alone in the main text [of their Byzantine Greek text], immediately followed by the next sequential verse number. These indicate lengthy portions of text that were included in some early Textus Receptus printed editions but which have never been part of the primary Byzantine Textform. The verse number is retained solely for reference, in order to preserve the traditional numbering of the remaining verses within the affected chapters" (Preface, p. xxi). Furthermore, Erasmus' exemplar containing the book of Revelation was missing the last six verses. To compensate, he back-translated from the Latin Vulgate into Greek, and consequently created seventeen variants which have never been found in any other edition of the Greek text of Revelation! It is far easier to make a defensible case that the Majority Text is to be preferred over the Alexandrian text than it is to attempt to defend the infallibility of the TR. In either case, the arguments made by proponents of the modern eclectic texts are, in my judgment, superior to the arguments made by defenders of the Majority Text, and certainly of the Textus Receptus. The doctrines of Inspiration and Preservation do not require the existence of flawless handwritten copies of Greek manuscripts. There are some 5800 manuscripts and no two of them agree precisely in every detail. Nor do the doctrines demand infallible translations in any language, whether it be English or otherwise. There is certainly no Scripture in either testament that identifies the Textus Receptus or the King James Version as the sole repositories of God's truth. Theistic Evolution. That view of origins which holds to the theory of evolution as the mechanism by which God created everything. Theistic Evolution is an oxymoron, for it satisfies neither Biblical Creationism nor Evolutionary theory. The order of God's creation in Genesis 1:1-2:3 is incompatible with the dictates of evolution. For example, according to the Biblical record God created earth, light, and vegetation before He created sun, moon and stars. This is unthinkable in evolutionary philosophy. Denis O. Lamoureaux is a Theistic Evolutionist. He does not take Genesis 1 literally, but places it in the genre of poetry, a view that is statistically indefensible. He prefers to be called an Evolutionary Creationist. See also Old Earth Creationism. Theology. The study of God, often known as Theology proper. Theology proper includes such subjects as the nature of God (the Trinity); the attributes or characteristics of God, including His powerful attributes and His moral attributes. God’s powerful attributes include His infinity, immutability, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, and sovereignty. His moral attributes include His holiness, love, justice, and truth. Theology proper also discusses the Kingdom of God, His rule over His creation. The Times of the Gentiles. The time of Gentile domination of Jerusalem. It is difficult to say precisely when Gentile domination began, but the Babylonians' destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple in 586 B.C. is probably a good starting point. Even though Jewish people returned from Babylonian captivity at the decree of Cyrus, King of Persia, their independence was muted. In the decades before Roman domination, Israel was a political football kicked about by the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria. In Jesus' day, Rome occupied Israel. Jesus predicted the destruction of Jerusalem in Luke 21:20-24. Jesus' prophecy came true when the Romans laid siege to Jerusalem and ultimately destroyed both the city and the sanctuary, Herod's Temple, in A.D. 70, just as the angel Gabriel had predicted to the statesman Daniel in the sixth century B.C. (Dan. 9:24-26). Jesus' prediction has been precisely fulfilled to this point. Jewish people were scattered all over the world, and Israel ceased to exist as a state until 1948. Even though Israel Defense Forces recaptured Jerusalem from Arab control in the Six Day War of 1967, much of Jerusalem and much of Israel's land remains occupied, "trampled under foot by the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). Every time Israel resumes building homes in East Jerusalem, howls of protest break out around the world, including in America. Because Arabs have built a shrine and a mosque on the Temple Mount, Israel is unable even to rebuild its own temple. "The Times of the Gentiles" will be fulfilled, or completed, when Jesus returns in power and great glory to defeat all His enemies and establish His Kingdom of Peace and Plenty, headquartered in Jerusalem. That will not happen until the close of the Great Tribulation. Jesus' initial Kingdom on earth will last one thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6). That is why we call it the Millennium. When "The Times of the Gentiles" have been completed, Israeli supremacy will ensue (Isaiah 60:1-22), and the world will be blessed as long as its nations cooperate with Israel and her Messiah (Zech. 14:16-21). Total Depravity. The first of five basic tenets of Calvinism, designated by the letter T. Total depravity does not mean that all men are as evil as they could be or that all men are equally bad. It means rather that, because of imputed sin, inherited sin, and acts of personal sin, every man is so disastrously damaged in body, soul, and spirit that he has absolutely nothing within himself that commends himself to God. Here is God’s verdict on the dearth of righteousness in unsaved humans: “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isa. 64:6). Isaiah added, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” … (Isa. 53:6). Paul quoted from the Old Testament, assessing man’s spiritual ineptitude: “There is none righteous, no not one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12). Since there is nothing man can do to commend himself to God, and since man, left to his own devices, is even incapable of seeking God, the initiative for man’s salvation rests entirely with God (John 6:44). Tribulation. The period of unprecedented trouble "which is about to come upon the entire world, to test those who dwell on the earth" (Rev. 3:10). Jesus characterized this event as "great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will" (Matt. 24:21). Transported to heaven in his vision, the Apostle John saw, in the future, an innumerable multitude from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues" (Rev. 7:9). He is told by one of heaven's elders that the white-robed members of this incalculable assembly have "come out of the great tribulation" (Rev. 7:13-14). During this time of trouble, God will unleash on earth a series of horrific plagues, described in graphic terms in Rev. 6-16. The Tribulation is the exhibition of the wrath of God and the Lamb, Jesus (Rev. 6:16-17; 11:18; 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15). The Rapture will precede the Tribulation, and the Second Coming of Christ will end it. Go here for a more extensive discussion of the Tribulation. TULIP. The
acronym listing the five pillars
of Calvinism or Presbyterianism. It should be noted here that TULIP is
not in
any sense a summation of Calvinism. These particular points are in
fact, a
response to objections raised in the Presbyterian Church of Holland in
the
seventeenth century by Jacobus Harmenszoon (whose surname in Latin is
Arminius, hence
the designation Arminian to those who espouse his views). These five
points of
Presbyterianism to which Harmensen (another variation of Harmenszoon)
objected were reaffirmed in opposition to his views by the Synod of
Dordt in 1618-1619. For a presentation of Presbyterian
theology in response to Harmensen written by R. L. Dabney, click here.
(Dabney was a Presbyterian theologian,
pastor, and chaplain and chief of staff to Stonewall Jackson. He lived from
1820-1898.) WordExplain
adheres to four-point Calvinism, not five. T – Total Depravity. All men are born
depraved, without any good within by which they may commend themselves to God.
Man is unable to save himself from the deadly consequences of his sin and
stands in need of God’s initiative in salvation (Rom. 3:10-12). Total depravity does not mean that
each man is as bad as he could be, or that all men are equally bad. It does
mean that each person is irretrievably contaminated with evil and doomed to a
Christless eternity in the Lake of Fire apart from saving faith in Jesus Christ
(John 3:36; Rev. 20:11-15). U – Unconditional
Election. Without
respect to any merit on man’s part, for he has none, God from eternity past
graciously chose certain ones to be the recipients of His eternal salvation (Acts 13:48; Eph. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13). It is because God chooses someone that that one in turn is able to choose God (John 1:11-13; 6:44; 15:16). Salvation is completely by grace through
faith, apart from any works or effort, which are rather the result of salvation
rather than its cause (Eph. 2:8-10). For a more complete Glossary definition see Election. For a more complete discussion, see God's Part in Salvation - Election, Part 1 - The Proof of Election. L – Limited Atonement. Since God
always achieves His purposes, Christ died for the sins of the elect in a way in
which He did not die for the sins of the world. This is the only point of TULIP that WordExplain rejects, for it is a doctrine derived from
Presbyterian reasoning, and not explicitly from any text of Scripture. The
Scriptures state the following: God loved the world, on whose behalf He gave
His only begotten Son (John 3:16). It is true that Jesus is the
propitiation (legal satisfaction) for the sins of believers, but His death was
valuable enough to pay for the sins of the entire world, regardless of whether
all would trust in Him or not (Matt. 1:21; John 1:29; 3:17; 4:42; 1
John 2:2; 4:14). His
death is effective, however, only for those who place their faith in Him (John 3:16-18; 3:36; 5:24). The failure of some to trust in
Jesus does not either thwart God’s purposes or logically limit the extent of
the coverage of Christ’s blood. Jesus died for the sins of all. I – Irresistible Grace. God’s grace
toward the elect is completely efficacious. None whom God has chosen will fail
to respond in faith. All whom God has chosen will respond positively to His
gracious choice (John 1:11-13; 6:44; 15:16; Rom.
8:29-30; Eph. 2:10). P – Perseverance of the Saints. All the elect will persevere in
their walk with Christ. They will not depart from the faith (John 5:24; 10:27-29; Rom. 8:1, 29-30), for they are predestined to be
conformed to the image of God’s Son (Rom. 8:29). God’s elect are eternally secure,
for their salvation, though accessed by faith (John 3:16), nonetheless depends on God’s
unconditional election, not man’s flawed performance. Jesus told a parable of
the sower and the four soils (Matt. 13:2-9; Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8). Three of the four soils illustrate
a positive response to the Word of God (Matt. 13:18-23; Mark 4:13-20; Luke
8:11-15). The
difficulty is that the second and third kinds of soil, the rocky ground and the
thorny ground do not possess saving faith. In other words they do not persevere
in their walk with God and Jesus. In Luke 8:13, Jesus even says those who are
represented by rocky soil “believe for a while.” Whatever faith they possessed,
it was not saving faith in Jesus, for those who believe in Jesus pass from
death to life (John 3:36; 5:24). Believers experience many ups and
downs in their lives. They may be carnal, or fleshly at times (1 Cor. 3:1-4); they may commit sins that earn them
physical death (not spiritual death – Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 5:1-5; 11:26-30; 1
John 5:16-17); but
they will persevere by the grace of God (John 8:31; Acts 14:22; Rom. 11:22;
Phil. 2:12-13; Col. 1:23; Heb. 6:9-12; Heb. 10:32-39). If you have difficulty locating a file, please contact the Web Master. Updated March 14, 2011 Background and Button Image Credit |
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