Tag: Bible Interpretation

Acts 12:4 (KJV) After Easter?

Acts 12:4 (KJV)
And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

This is one of those places the critics of the King James Version like to attack, claiming that the word should be Passover. My intention is not to explain the use of Easter rather than Passover. Others have done so very well.[1] I want to put together some thoughts having to do with what to do when you have no explanation of what critics call a mistake in the King James Bible.

I approach the Bible as correct even when I can’t explain it
There are any number of Bible passages that are too high for man. We can’t explain them; we can only believe them. It’s called faith. Obviously the God described in the Bible is too high for finite man to fully comprehend. Should it surprise us then that we can’t fully comprehend His Word? When I see something I don’t understand I accept that I have not grasped it yet, not that the Bible is wrong.

I accept the King James Bible as without error even when I have no answer for the critics.
This is because I approach the Bible as having to be without error in order to be the Bible. My understanding is that God has in fact preserved His Word. I do not need to prove it. I accept it as fact.

The critic, as much as he would argue this, operates from the position of proving the Bible wrong. He wants to find mistakes so he can justify changing the Bible to suit his fancy.

The critic will often use the argument of intellectual honesty. He says the evidence is too strong to claim the Bible has no mistakes and that intellectual honesty demands he admit those mistakes and seek and correction for them. I claim intellectual honesty too. I am honest enough to claim my intellect will never completely understand why God did what He did and said what He said. I accept that His thoughts are higher than my thoughts .

Specifically regarding the use of the word Easter, and other passages like it, the critic will say that even the KJV translators were fallible and admitted they may have made mistakes.

My response is that Moses was fallible, David was fallible Jeremiah was fallible but God used them to do infallible work. The translators were not inspired as Moses, David and Jeremiah were but they did not have to be. They had the Bible. All they needed to be was illuminated and guided by God. They were that perfectly. Someone may ask, “Why couldn’t the same claim of perfect illumination be made for a different, more modern version?”

The plain answer is that none of them have ever made that claim and the claim has never been made of any of them. They were all translated from the premise that the Bible could never be perfect. The King James Translators never made the claim that their work was perfect. That claim was made some time after and was embraced by scores, even the majority of believers. The translators did work from the basic premise that the Bible was the infallible word of God. They believed the Bible to be without error. This was a fundamental difference between them and modern translators.

I believe the word Easter is the correct word because it is the word the translators settled upon. There are others who have explained why they settled upon it but I do not need to be satisfied by their explanations to be satisfied that the Bible is infallible. I am satisfied because I believe God’s intent was to leave us an infallible Bible.

To my readers:
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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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Acts 12:4 (KJV) After Easter?

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[1] I refer any reader to the work of Sam Gipp if interested.

Acts 8:13 (KJV) The Pseudo-Spiritual Heart of Simon

Acts 8:13 (KJV)
Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Simon the sorcerer is an interesting study in our day of mega ministries claiming super spiritual abilities. A Faith healer who claims to be able a heal and otherwise sway crowds just by hitting them with his suit coat and mega churches that turn a song like “Silent Night” into a flapper dance song  remind me of a “Simon-like” spirit.

Simon’s true interest was influence and power over people. Simon, the Bible says, believed and was baptized but notice where his interests were; he beheld and wondered and the miracles and signs and not the Lord. This, I believe, is the common spirit of modern Christianity. It is performance based. It is focused on some sort of human accomplishment. If it is not a faith healer, it is:

  • A  preacher super star, or
  • A ministerial super center or
  • A spirito/politico  movement

in every case, the focus is missing Jesus Christ.

Simon’s true spirit eventually rose to the surface. The Apostle Peter quickly spotted the pseudo-spiritual heart of Simon and sternly rebuked him. Christians ought to be gracious, but passionate about Jesus Christ and honest faith.

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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Acts 8:13 (KJV) The Pseudo-Spiritual Heart of Simon

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1 Chronicles 15:13 (KJV) We Have to Do Things Right

1 Chronicles 15:13 (KJV)
For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order.

There are three characters at play in this passage:

David
By whose authority the ark was carried “not after due order“.

The priests
Who should have carried the ark, but did not. One can only wonder if they had warned David beforehand of his error?

God
Who made the breach upon Israel by striking Uzza down.

A breach is a hole in the defense of a military force. By working hand in hand and side by side, soldiers create a human wall that the enemy cannot penetrate. When a man goes down a hole is created, a weakness the enemy can exploit. The loss of the man opens a door for much greater loss.

The importance then is not that Uzza died, although that is important. The real importance is that, because they did not seek God after due order, a breach was created that could have devastated Israel.

When a congregation turns from the faith and begins seeking God some other way and “not after due order” the danger is not that we have lost that church. The greater danger is that it creates a breach and opens the way for the devastation of all that is the Gospel.

Someone must sound the warning to those stepping out of formation. Their fall has the potential for leading a to a greater fall than any of us can imagine.

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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1 Chronicles 15:13 (KJV) We Have to Do Things Right

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John 21:22-23 The Cause and Correction of False Doctrine

John 21:22-23 (KJV)
Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?

Jesus said what He said but He didn’t say what they thought. A teaching, not based in truth, spread across the country because someone falsely interpreted the Word of God. John corrected the false teaching simply by repeating what Jesus did, in fact, say.

Every false doctrine taught among the varied denominations springs from the very same problem, someone read into the Word of God something that is not there and others spread the wrong teaching without checking it out.

The correction, in every case of false doctrine, is the same; just repeat the Word of God. Go back to the original source.

  • Search it out.
  • Study it for yourself.

The Bible is true in every Word.  The interpretations men make of it may not be.

 

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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John 21:22-23 The Cause and Correction of False Doctrine

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John 15:1 (KJV) True Vine Implications

John 15:1 (KJV)
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

The fact that Jesus is the true vine implies that there are other vines:
There is a vine that looks like the real but is not
There are some species of plant life that appear to be one thing but they are not. So there are those who claim to be followers of Christ but are not.

There is a vine that is of the real but is wild
There are those plants that spring out of a species but have stopped producing the fruit of the desired plant. Even so there are groups who have true roots to Christ but are no longer truly Christian.

There is a vine that is different than the true but claims to be the same
Sometimes a plant may be thought to be something it isn’t. Even so some religions may be thought to be true but they are not.

There is a vine that is of the true but has forgotten the true vine
I have a raspberry plant that constantly has vines that try to become their own independent plant. Even so there are Christians who stray away from the Lord to follow after their own ideas.

 

To my readers:
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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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John 15:1 (KJV) True Vine Implications

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John 14:22 (KJV) Salvation is a Faith Issue

John 14:22 (KJV)
Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

Thaddeus also known as the writer of Jude, asks the question, “How is it that Jesus will manifest Himself to believers and not the rest of the world?” The answer follows:

Through the Word
Those who love the Lord keep His Word and find Christ in it.

Through the Comforter
The Holy Spirit living in us is real. We sense His presence, receive direction from Him and are given power through Him.

Through peace
Paul will call it “peace that passeth all understanding“[1]. We can’t explain it. A person must possess it or be left to misunderstand it.

A question we might ask today is, “Why would He manifest Himself to us and not to the world?” I believe the answer to that question is that He would have all men to be saved, not just aware of His being. Salvation is a faith issue. If He were manifest to them they would have no faith because, according to Romans 8:24, For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

[1] Philippians 4:7

 

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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John 14:22 (KJV) Salvation is a Faith Issue

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John 9:3 (KJV) Harmonizing the Whole Truth

John 9:3 (KJV)
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

Here is a glaring example of a passage that must be taken in context or else a gross error would be made. Jesus plainly says that this man and his parents had not sinned. Taken out of context of the whole Bible it would appear that this is a perfectly sinless family. Someone could insist that there is such a person, besides Jesus, who has not sinned because Jesus said so in this passage.

I can hear them now, quoting and re-quoting this passage.  Interrupting someone trying to show them other Scriptures, stopping their ears at a teacher presenting the whole word of God on the subject. You know, just like cultists do with their pet verses. They care not what the Bible teaches; only what this verse here or there says.

Any solid reading of the Bible assures us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God so that all are in need of the only Saviour of the souls of men, Jesus Christ.

The Bible is a body of truth. Every word of the Word of God is absolutely true. But it is only true in so far as it is kept in harmony with the whole body of truth. That is why the Bible urges us to “study to shew thyself approved…” A disciple is a student. To fail to be a student of the Bible is to reject being a disciple of Christ.

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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John 9:3 (KJV) Harmonizing the Whole Truth

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John 8:4 (KJV) Circular Reasoning?

John 8:4 (KJV)
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

A common criticism against Christianity is that we use circular reasoning; we prove the Bible by the Bible. This is the same criticism the Pharisees leveled against Jesus; He proved He is God by saying He is God.

The fact is that Jesus had no higher proof to appeal to. God claiming to be God makes perfect sense.

  • It is reasonable for God to appeal to Himself as God
  • It is reasonable for the Bible to appeal to itself that it is true

Furthermore every real truth appeals to itself to verify it is true:

  • If we question whether a certain measurement is an inch we verify it by measuring an inch
  • If we question whether a thing is level we verify it by comparing it to level
  • If we challenge whether a thing is plumb we verify it by comparing it to plumb

The same is the case with an historical event. We verify a witness of an event with a witness of the event.

Only truth can verify truth therefore only God can verify God and only the Word of God can verify the Word of God.

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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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John 8:4 (KJV) Circular Reasoning?

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John 3:12 (KJV) How Can He Believe?

John 3:12 (KJV)
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

It is possible to divide John 3:1-21 at the line of verse twelve. Everything Jesus taught previous to this verse would then be classified “earthly things” and everything after would be “heavenly”. Notice then what are:

Earthly things

The subject of teaching is the new birth. It is the one earthly thing that provides entrance to the heavenly. The style of teaching is through earthly parables:

  • Wind
  • Trees (the sound of the wind through it?)
  • Physical birth

A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

If a man will not accept Christ’s message of salvation it is impossible for him to understand anything else He teaches.

Heavenly things

The subject changes to the elements of the Gospel:

  • God with us
  • The death burial and resurrection
  • The heart of God for sinners
  • The ultimate condemnation of rejecters

A man must be born again. If he rejects that basic doctrine he will never understand the doctrines underlying it.

 

For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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John 3:12 (KJV) How Can He Believe?

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1 Kings 19:6 (KJV) The Natural and the Supernatural

1 Kings 19:6 (KJV)
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

Here is a remarkable melding of the natural and the supernatural. The angel built a fire, baked some bread, allocated a Cruse and filled it with water. Elijah’s physical needs were met in a physical way but by a spiritual being.

How often this melding takes place in the life of believers today is impossible to tell but that it happens is, I believe, confirmed by:

Hebrews 1:14
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

And Hebrews 13:2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

 

To my reader:
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For this and more than 3000 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

1 Kings 19:6 (KJV) The Natural and the Supernatural

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free. Email me for a free one month VIP membership.