The Textus Receptus – Not The Whole Story

First, the prerequisite verses:

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

So, why do I use the KJV for all the bible verses on the site? I also reference the KJV as suitable for the study of Revelation in my book: “Seven Eyes Open”; it is much dependent on the method of verbal equivalency employed to translate the Greek into the English in the KJV text.

However, and against many claims the “historicity” of the text is not the KJV’s main selling point, for I admit there is any length of argument on both sides as to whether the KJV is clearly true to “biblical history” or whether the other manuscripts (such as Westcott and Hort’s variants etc. – a whole new subject I will not argue on) hold up as more “accurate” with regards to their age and (as scholastically judged) similarity to the texts uncovered since the sixteenth century.

Yet these historical objections miss the entire point completely, for I only reference the KJV because it was certainly translated prayerfully, most likely being dependent on prayer at the outset of every enterprise, of the day, of the end of day and at review of each completed step. That a verbally equivalent result is extant of that process to me, is simply a huge bonus!

"Believers all, the Translators, according to Smith "craved the assistance of God's Spirit by prayer" as they proceeded in their work." (http://www.kingjamesbibletranslators.org/bios/)

Although the KJV and the received text is certainly sourced from many different manuscripts, judged by their collator (Erasmus in the case of the recieved text) to be agreeable or not to the Latin vulgate text of his (Erasmus') own translation, it does not matter to me at all that there are so many sources (disparate in their many slight and individual ways).

God, is a God that certainly re-engineered mankind back from single celled life after ante-diluvian mankind had died off because of their mismanagement of the Earth (much as we face today); there is no question that God is able to direct such evolution (only as to whether He actually did). Rather, any such statistical analysis as poured over His work as author of all life on Earth, is to also render the preservation of God’s intent by His preserved words a “simple thing” in comparison.

After all, as the original scriptures were inspired by God, and written for their own continuance as examples to us, it would make only complete sense to engineer a translation from the given text in agreement with “the common faith” and one which must also be undertaken prayerfully with great expectations of faith of the people that await the results of that work, hungry for the words of their heavenly Father.

So, whether or not the scriptures are argued as “mostly right” or authored by God at source, or whether it is pointed out that there are so and so many tens of thousands of translation errors in the KJV, is not the point. To argue the case against the efficacy of the KJV is to argue against the text that successfully stood intact and held its ground as the word of God almighty for four hundred years (and which continues to do so!) The KJV, communicated the common faith of the English-speaking world for that time, and it was not in error as the verse (Psa 12:7) above is not the true issue; after all, the issue is actually given in Psa 12:6 instead, as inspired by God and the Holy Spirit gifted to the prophets and to His elect in Jesus Christ instead.

Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. (KJV)

Clearly, if the scriptures are held absolute and hold firm against the enemy’s devices of the first four seals, then the word is preserved. Given the inspiration of God by the Holy Spirit, those words of purity or “virtue” (in seven K4 groups) will not preserve the dialectic in its heavy burden of an impossible and unworkable middle as in every disjunction. Clearly, the word of God is able to be practiced, but more efficacy is found in that the true word of God can be followed by His creatures with similar works of virtue. (I.e., with the correct paradigm). 

That “furnace of Earth” is as one made of the dialectic methods overlaid upon each righteously prepared disjunction (or scriptural judgement), and also in view by their presence is the opportunity for the corruption of the text by their use: yet I hold there is no such corruption in the word of God as it was originally given (which depends simply on faith). There is no example other than God rewriting creation with the flood as to God’s employing the dialectic in the scripture at all.

That is to say, God has not rewritten the rules of His creation to punish man or to make it impossible for Him to repent: He is a just judge, and the flood happened after man had died out by his own evil, not any as of God.

So, if the bible stands without contradiction, and without a contradiction prayerfully reached: then it is the word of God. (I stand by the Christian God as His is the only genuine didactic authority claiming the naturally derived octal form as given in His Revelation, and also with the correct interpretation of Genesis as to the “big bang” etc. All this and the atonement in Jesus Christ foremost to boot? A mighty word preserved indeed!)

So, my faith is founded on hearing the words of the KJV as they were translated virtuously, not because they are “old” but because they are tried upon the furnace of the common faith – that faith which is built on the rock of Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit: and it is also true that the people back then for whom it was intended had also heard all the “tricks” of Satan before, were less easily deceived by “new heresies” and could easily smell a rat! (As they were under greater restraint in the Holy Spirit.)

This besides, the KJV was never intended to make money, but to answer the need of the people for their faith and lasting comfort; there was simply no profit motive! (Just as God would not rewrite creation to undo redemption for His creatures before the promised judgement, man should, in like manner, never rewrite the scripture to copyright them on his own profit-motive.)

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