Glad Tidings Consider the lillies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12:27
Volume 1 7, Issue 2
March/April 2013
Glad Tidings March/April 2013
Something To Consider ............... p.3 by Vince Finnegan
Jesus’ Description to the Seven Churches ......................... p.8 by Vince Finnegan
Seek Yahweh: May Yahweh Be With You ............ p.4 by John Cortright
Congo Connection ..................... p.10 by Armel Ngo
Honor God, Give Thanks, and Prosper................................... p.7 by Mary Ann Yaconis
Is Matthew 28:19 Authentic or a Forgery? ............. p.14 by Sean Finnegan
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SOMETHING TO CONSIDER: Glorify Yahweh God bless you. The winter will soon be a distance memory as we move into the spring of the year. Warm, fresh air, longer, light-filled days, new life spring forth. Indeed, it is a great time to glorify Yahweh, the Almighty God of heaven and earth. Jesus conducted his life in such a godly way that people saw the manifestations of the invisible God in him and thusly glorified God. The response of the crowd after Jesus healed the paralytic man illustrates the point well. According to Matthew 9:8 – “When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” His words and actions drew attention to God and inspired others to glorify Yahweh. We are encouraged to conduct our business in the same manner. Matthew 5:14-16 You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. 1 Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. The aim of the entire Christian church is summed up in one simple verse - “Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:21 An obvious essential to glorifying God is to know who He is, and yet, most people do not even know His name. The research that John Cortright presents in this and subsequent issues of Glad Tidings about the name of God are ground breaking for our time. Available on our website, the three-part teaching called Light of the World - SASA (2/17/13), Light of the World - Speak Good Words (2/10/13), and Light of the World - Glorify Yahweh (3/3/13) provide valuable insight regarding glorifying Yahweh. Praise, honor, and glory be to the one true God, Yahweh our Father!
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Seek Yahweh:
By John Cortright
What About the Septuagint?
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he Septuagint was the first Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. According to most sources, it was produced by seventy-two Jewish translators in Alexandria, Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.). In the versions we have today, the name of God, YHWH, cannot be found. Rather, the name is replaced with the Greek surrogate, kurios, translated into English as “Lord.” Was this part of the original Greek translation, or is this a much later alteration?
The history of the original translation is “embellished with various fables.”1 In his introduction to the translation of the Greek Septuagint, Sir Lancelot Brenton states, “We need not wonder that but little is known with accuracy on this subject; for, with regard to the ancient versions of scriptures in general, we possess no information whatever as to the time or place of the execution, or by whom they were made.”2 Most historians rely on the letter of Aristeas as to the story behind the Septuagint. Scholars have debated the veracity of this letter, as versions of Aristeas include seemingly miraculous events. Some have suggested these embellishments were added to
give the Septuagint credibility. Although the letter of Aristeas may contain exaggerations, there is enough evidence to verify that a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible was produced in Alexandria, Egypt during the reign of Ptolemy. Both the first century Jewish philosopher, Philo (On Moses 2.25-44), and historian, Josephus (Antiquity of the Jews 12.12-118) tell a story similar to Aristeas in describing this event. A Greek version of the Hebrew Bible would have been important to Jews of the dispersion. For hundreds of years, they had been displaced throughout the known world. On Pentecost, Jews living in Jerusalem had come from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5). They heard tongues from these nations “to which (they) were born” (Acts 2:8). Due to the conquest of Alexander the Great and his campaign to Hellenize the known world, the Greek language had become the lingua franca of the Roman Empire. In his book, An
Introduction to the Greek Old Testament, Henry Barclay Swete writes, “At Alexandra and in Egypt the Alexandrian version [the Septuagint] was regarded, as Philo plainly says, with a reverence scarcely less than that which belonged to the original…The feeling was 4
shared by the rest of the Hellenistic world. In Palestine indeed the version seems to have been received with less enthusiasm, and whether it was used in the synagogues is still uncertain. But elsewhere its acceptance by Greekspeaking Jews was 3 universal….” Hebrew was used in the land of Israel as witnessed from New Testament records (Jo 19:1920; Ac 19:40; 20:1-2). It is likely that the Hebrew Bible was used by the Jews in Israel. However, for Jews of the Diaspora, Greek would have been a welcomed translation. (Aramaic Targums were probably important texts for Jews living in Syria, Babylon, and Persia.) The fact that a Greek Old Testament was used in the first century is not in question. What is uncertain is whether the Name was present in this translation. Did the Jews at Alexandria replace God’s name with a Greek surrogate kurios? From the few extant Greek manuscripts dated earlier than 100 AD, there is not one instance where the word kurios is used to replace the Name. Rather, in the majority of these early Greek fragments, the name of God is written in Paleo Hebrew Script, while the rest of the text is in Greek. (See article in (Continued on page 5)
(Continued from page 4)
July/August 2012 issue of Glad Tidings titled “The
Tetragrammaton in the First Century,” pg 4-5.) The modern translations of the Septuagint (abbreviated LXX) are not from 200 BC, 100 BC, or even 100 AD. Rather, what scholars refer to as the “Septuagint,” come from 4th century texts. A history of its transmission reveals many centuries of changes and recensions. Towards the end of the first century, Judaism and Christianity were becoming increasingly separated. Even during Paul’s lifetime, this relationship was strained. The circumcision were continually persecuting Paul’s ministry. When Paul traveled to Jerusalem on his final journey (around 58-64AD), thousands of Jews believed, but they were zealous for the law (Acts 21:20). By the end of Paul’s lifetime, all Asia Minor had turned away from him (2 Tim 1:15). After the death of the original apostles, the separation between Jews and Christians continued. The Greek Old Testament, known as the Septuagint, became the Old Testament for the Christian church. However, Jews soon despised and rejected this translation. Many Greek versions by Christians began to emerge over the next century. Noted scholar Bruce Metzger makes the following observation:
“By the end of the first century of the Christian era, more and more Jews ceased using the Septuagint because the early Christians had adopted it as their own translation. At an early stage, the belief developed that this translation had been divinely inspired, and hence the way was open for several church fathers to claim that the Septuagint presented the words of God more accurately than the Hebrew Bible. The fact that after the first century very, very few Christians had any knowledge of the Hebrew language meant that the Septuagint was not only the church’s main source of the Old Testament but was, in fact, its only source.”4 For the next century, various copies of the Septuagint made by hand “would soon come to differ among themselves.”5 These handwritten, second century copies were being made by Christians, not Jews. By the late second century, three popular versions of these Greek Old Testaments were in circulation. These three versions were produced by Aquila, Symmachus, and 5
Theodotion. In the third century, Origen produced his famous Hexapla in an attempt to purify the Septuagint. This handwritten manuscript of the Old Testament was like a modern day parallel Bible and consisted of six narrow columns – (1) Hebrew text; (2) Hebrew text transliterated in Greek; (3) Aquila’s version; (4) Symmachus’ version; (5) Septuagint version with Origen’s notations; (6) Theodotion’s version. This massive undertaking was completed sometime between 235-245AD. There are no extant copies of the Hexapla, but descriptions by various church fathers confirm its existence. “Near the beginning of the fourth century, the idea occurred to Pamphilus and his friend Eusebius to publish copies of the fifth column, for they believed that Origen had succeeded in restoring the Old Greek version to its primitive purity.”6 This became the standard text known as the Greek Septuagint. Since the fourth century, there have been no major recensions to this version.7 In most Greek manuscripts from the second century and later, the name of God is not present. Rather, a “nomina sacra” form of the Greek word kurios is used in its place. (See article in September/October 2012 issue of Glad Tidings titled “Nomina Sacra – The Replacement of God’s Name,” pg 4-5). However, Aquila’s version was different. It is (Continued on page 6)
Seek Yahweh: What About the Septuagint? Continued... (Continued from page 5)
believed that Aquila was a Gentile who converted to Christianity and later became a Jewish proselyte. His Greek version (about 126 AD) was a
direct translation from Hebrew and “is said to have been executed for the express purpose of opposing the authority of the Septuagint.”8 This was the version used in Origen’s Hexapla. Although no texts of the Hexapla
exist, a sixth century uncial version of Aquila’s work has been discovered. These Fragments, found in a Cairo synagogue in 1897, reveal Aquila did not use the surrogate kurios when translating the Hebrew name of God. Rather, Aquila used a Paleo Hebrew style script to designate the four letter name. (See accompanying chart.) This early second century translation follows the same pattern witnessed in first century Greek manuscripts. Thus, evidence supports the idea that the original Greek translation of the Septuagint may have contained the name of God rather than the surrogate kurios. This practice does not show up until Christian codices of the late second century. 1
Sir Lancelot C.L. Brenton, The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English (Samuel, Bag-
ster & Sons, London, 1851) Page i 2
Ibid., Page i
3
Henry Barclay Swete, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek (Cambridge University Press, London, 1900), Page 29 4
Bruce M. Metzger, The Bible in Translation: Ancient and English Versions (Baker Publishing Group,
This rendering of Aquila’s translation comes from Henry Barclay Swede’s 1902 book, An Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek, page 38. This shows the LXX on the left (note this is from Manuscript B which is the symbol for the 4th century Codex Vaticanus) and Aquila’s translation on the right. In Aquila’s translation, distinct uses of God’s name can be seen. These letters are none other than the Tetragrammaton – probably in Paleo Hebrew script – the same usage seen in other Greek manuscripts of the first century. 6
Grand Rapids, MI, Copyright © 2005) Page 18 5
Ibid., Page 18
6
Ibid., Page 20
7
Opt cit., Brenton, Page vi
8
Ibid., Page v
Jesus’ Description To The Seven Churches By Vince Finnegan
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he diversity of characteristics, attributes, responsibilities, and accomplishments of our Lord Jesus the Christ is truly astonishing. The Scriptures provide a vast amount of information to help us understand his greatness. The book of Revelation is no exception. While addressing each of the seven Asian churches, Jesus presents himself in unique and graphic ways that elevate our appreciation and awe of him. To the church of Ephesus, he writes, “The The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands.…”
The stars represent the messenger or elder of each church, and golden lampstands represent the churches according to Revelation 1. Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22 and 23; 4:15 and 16; Colossians 1:19; 1Corinthians 12:14-31), and his communication to the seven churches reveals in essence how he works with the church. Jesus holds the messenger in his right hand, the hand of blessing. He supports, cares for, blesses, and communicates with the church leaders. Referring to them as messengers implies that they are
qualified in that they are humble and meek to hear. He has specific information for each church that he tells the messenger, who then has the responsibility to tell the church. He ends his exhortation to each church by saying, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, and 22). Jesus speaks to the churches through the spirit as he said he would in John 13:26 and 16:12-15. Jesus leads his church by communicating by means of the spirit to the messengers. Hence, the most important priority of each pastor must be fellowship with his Lord in order to receive instruction. We gain great comfort and encouragement knowing our Lord walks among the churches as the head of the body. He knows what is going on and is willing to direct our ways. To the church in Smyrna, Jesus refers to himself as “the the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life.” Jesus informs the believers of Smyrna that some of them will die by persecution; therefore, the information about resurrection provided them encouragement in order to endure. He was the first to be dead, to 7
be raised again, and to remain alive for eternity. He is the last because no one will ever do what he now does and will do in the future. The city of Pergamum was an extremely religious center similar to current day Mecca, Vatican City, or Jerusalem. They had three temples devoted to the worship of the Roman emperors among numerous other temples. Immorality and idolatry were rampant in this city. Jesus referred to it as the place of Satan’s throne, where Satan dwells. To this church, he refers to himself as - “The The one who has the sharp twoIn two-edged sword.” sword. chapter 1, we learn the sword comes out of his mouth. Similar language is found in Ephesians 6:17: “the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God” and Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword….” With the Word of God, Jesus cuts through all the false religion and supports the truth seekers. The two-edged sword for the overcomer is a blessing, but for the unbeliever, it represents judgment and wrath. To Thyatira, Jesus is “The The Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are (Continued on page 8)
(Continued from page 7)
like burnished bronze.” He has eyes that see what is really going on, eyes of discernment, judgment, unimpaired sight. “Burnished” implies refined and still red-hot. “Feet like burnished bronze” is used metaphorically for where he goes and represents great strength, stability, and power to crush underfoot (1:15). He will certainly and swiftly pursue all that is evil and tread it down. The image provides encouragement and comfort for the believer, yet judgment, terror, and wrath for the unbeliever (Ephesians 6:15; Isaiah 53:7; and Psalm 2:7-ff). Our modern Christian worldview is that of open acceptance for all, tolerance for rebellious and sinful behavior, no judgment, equality for all, passivism (receiving or enduring without resistance; submissiveness), live and let live. Our Lord Jesus was not and is not tolerant of all; he has limited acceptance; he judges righteously; he does not believe in or promote equality and passivism. He is the enforcer against those who promote wrong doctrine - Matthew 15:1-14; 23:13-36; Galatians 1:7-10; 2 Corinthians 11:12-15; (1 Timothy 4:1-3; Jude; 1 John 4:1-6).
To Sardis – “He He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” The seven spirits (according to 4:5) are the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God, and (according to 5:6) the slain Lamb has “seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent out
To Laodicea – “The The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” God Jesus is the “Amen” because his words are true, confirmed, and established. He is the “faithful witness” because he always said and did what God wanted said and done (John 8:28; 12:49-50; 14:10, 24; 15:15; 17:8, 16). He is the “beginning of the creation of God,” not of that one recorded in Genesis but the age to come, the Kingdom, the new creation (Col. 1:15-18). The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven golden lampstands The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life The one who has the sharp twotwo-edged sword The Son of God who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like burnished bronze He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God •
into all the earth.” Jesus has authority over the seven spirits and the seven stars that according to 1:20 are the seven messengers of the church. Jesus has extensive authority over those in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:2023; 1 Peter 3:22). To Philadelphia – “He He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens.” opens The key of David (Isaiah 22:15, 20-25) is managed by the one with the responsibility to open or close the city of Jerusalem. Christ, the heir of the throne of David, has the job to open or shut the doors of the New Jerusalem and to decide who is and who is not admitted. 8
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Honor God, Give Thanks, and Prosper By Mary Ann Yaconis
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now fear the LORD our God, Who gives rain in its season, Both the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The appointed weeks of the harvest.”
Romans 1:21 and 22 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Jeremiah stated Yahweh our God is our only provider. When we lose our senses, we become unthankful and darkened in our minds and hearts. The soil of the heart needs to
f we want to have a long life of faithfulness to Yahweh, we need to cultivate a lifestyle of continuous thankfulness to Him.
Very clearly, Scripture warns that the sure road to a foolish heart is paved with forgetfulness of the blessings of Yahweh. As examples, Adam and Eve forgot about all they had as blessings which resulted in envying what the tree in the garden represented. King David, who wrote many songs of praise and thankfulness, forgot about the many provisions that Yahweh had given him. In both of these situations, their ingratitude started a series of great, sinful deeds which began consequences that were very grave. Jeremiah 5:24 They [senseless people] do not say in their heart, “Let us
be cultivated with thankfulness to Yahweh. Praise and thankfulness to Yahweh go hand in hand. Psalm 111:1 Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart, In the company of the upright and in the assembly. [See also Ps. 7:17; 18:49; 30:4; 35:18; 69:30; 92:1; 100:4; 106:1; 108:3; 138:1; 147:7.] We are to be thankful with all of our heart. Some people seem to be “naturally” thank-
ful. Others have to work at it a lot. The heart described in the parable of the sower and the seed is the good ground, the heart that is able to receive the Word, maintain it, and produce fruit day after day. Yahweh’s unconditional love blesses us with all that we can ever need. Recognizing and appreciating this concept make one humble and able to experience godly indebtedness. Because the heart is softened, blessings do not go unnoticed, and the love behind the blessings is acknowledged and felt. The results are thankfulness to Yahweh and a desire to bless others. The one bestowing the gift, the benefactor, actually thinks about the person, sees that there is a need, and if he or she has the ability to help out, it is done. It is especially appreciated by the beneficiary when the one giving the gift paid special attention to or appeared to go the “second mile” because of loving concern. Yahweh knows our every need and provides all physical and spiritual blessings. What keeps our hearts like the good soil is becoming aware of, acknowledging, and responding with a “Thank you, Yahweh.” Thankfulness is a key to maintaining a heart of love for Yahweh, ourselves, and our neighbors. (Continued on page 10)
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(Continued from page 9)
Research reports that those who are more thankful are healthier, exercise more, have lower blood pressure, sleep longer, and feel more refreshed in the morning. They are also more helpful, generous, and compassionate than those who are less thankful. Thankful people are more outgoing and less lonely and isolated. Psychologically they have higher levels of positive emotions and are more alert, joyful, and optimistic. They are also more helpful to others and have better coping skills against trauma and pain. Thankfulness strengthens social relationships because people experience affirmation and support of others. Yahweh opens up our minds by being thankful so that we recognize many different sources of blessings. It gives us a godly humble dependence on Yahweh and others. God’s Word says that we are to be thankful in all things. Some really
have to work at seeing Yahweh and others as loving and giving good gifts. Some people view life as self-focused and independent, and they refuse to look at what benefits Yahweh and others give. How do we cultivate a thankful way of thinking all the time? One proven way is to write down five things that you are grateful to Yahweh for every day for one month. Writing the thankful thoughts down is helpful because we are actually thinking, writing, and seeing what is being written. Later, when tending to forget that anything good has happened, looking back over the list squashes those thoughts in a hurry. Another skill to build gratitude is to be mindful of how others contribute to your welfare, such as friendships, family care, work, and, of course, Yahweh. Taking the time to be still and look up at the stars, the mountains, the trees, and creation also helps us to be mindful of Yahweh’s blessings.
site, ingratitude, is really very distasteful. People who show ingratitude towards others are very unpleasant to be around. Yahweh wants us to be thankful people. We are not merely to be grateful in an episode here or there, but instead we are to maintain a lifestyle of thankfulness to Him for His magnificent blessings. Pervasive thankfulness is the beat of a heart that will receive the seed of the Word and remain faithful to the Word. The first few chapters of Romans record the depravity of man without God. It is understandable not to know God and therefore not be thankful to Him. However, Romans 1:22 reminds us that those who KNEW God did not honor Him as God and did not give Him thanks. In order to live a faithful life with God and His Son Jesus Christ, it is important that moment by moment, thought by thought, we be thankful to Yahweh for His abundant blessings.
As good as gratitude is, its oppo-
Stop Ask for help Speak the word Action 10
Congo Connection “Enter the Ark” Brings Deliverance to Many By Rev. Armel Ngo
* Note: The following article was submitted by Rev. Armel Ngo of Living Hope International Ministries of the Congo. The French to English translation was fine-tuned by Ive Carlo, and it was edited for clarity by Richard and Cheryl Elton.
THE EXAMPLE OF NOAH “Enter the ark!” These were God’s words to Noah when he finished building the ark. With this command, God would preserve Noah, his family, and the animals from the impending flood. (Gen 6:5-18) At that time, Scripture tells us that man’s wickedness was great upon the Earth, and his thoughts were continually evil. This grieved God to the point that He decided to eradicate man, beast, and birds from the face of the Earth. Noah alone found favor in God’s sight because he was a righteous man, who was blameless and walked with God.
Noah had faith in God concerning things not seen, and seized with Godly fear, he built the ark to save his family. 2 Peter 2:5 describes Noah as a preacher of righteousness. He lived a righteous and pure life and warned the people of his time to repent of their wickedness. They refused to listen despite warnings from God and reaped disastrous consequences. “And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood.”
The reasons for their behavior are (1) unbelief – refusing to believe there was a coming judgment; (2) refusal to change their lifestyle; (3) fear of what others might think if they repented. The record of Noah is really exciting. During the storm, there was life, peace, and joy within the ark for those who had obeyed God’s command. Outside the ark were suffering, death, and destruction for those who had disobeyed. Noah’s example can inspire us today to seek to enter the Kingdom of God and be delivered from the wrath to come. The record of Noah is a figure of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through his sacrifice (Continued on page 12)
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Sister Lydia’s Testimony For 20 years, Sister Lydia was a victim of demonic attacks. She was married to a man who was a witch doctor. He performed occult practices on her body, which led her to a state of partial paralysis. Lydia was also a businesswoman, yet she eventually became ruined spiritually, physically, and financially. She lost everything she owned. Lydia visited several soothsayers and doctors in search of a cure, but with no success. In her deep despair, she asked to meet with Rev. Ngo for prayer sessions. After hearing the gospel of the Kingdom of God, she repented and committed her life to Christ. She was delivered of the partial paralysis and of all sorts of demonic possessions. Her husband, unable to bear the light of the Word of God, abandoned her and the children. Lydia is now a fervent believer in the church. Last year she participated in the Enter the Ark program where she spoke the Word of God for seven months, testifying to all that Yahweh has done in her life.
“Enter the Ark” Brings Deliverance to Many Continued... (Continued from page 11)
on a cross of wood, Christ saves those who have faith in him so they do not perish but have life in the age to come. Noah’s ark was physical. Today, we have a spiritual ark, the church, the body of Christ, whereby through preaching the gospel, we invite people to come aboard. As Noah was faithful in his day, so too must we be, preaching and warning all men to repent, because the world will be judged by Jesus Christ.
“In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.”
Matthew 24:38 & 39 The challenges endured by Noah are the same as we face today. Noah suffered mental pressure, ridicule, rejection, and mistreatment. He was viewed as a fool by his neighbors for building an ark on dry ground. They rejected his preaching as if it were a wild dream. Nevertheless, God encouraged him, and Noah persevered until the flood came. As we face similar pressures and difficult times, we (like Noah) must determine to stand faithful until the end.
“Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will
be destroyed.” 2 Peter 3:6 and 7
“And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people— praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 “ENTER THE ARK” TODAY (Continued on page 13)
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Sister Farnel’s Testimony Sister Farnel, 25, suffered mental disorders under demonic possession caused by her father. She rarely slept at night, talked incessantly, and was uncontrollable. She had to be watched at all times or locked up. In her madness, she would undress and escape the locked room, even when tied up. Rev. Ngo recalls once that she escaped half naked in his presence while he was visiting her parent’s home. One Sunday during fellowship, we saw the power of God in manifestation right in our midst. During the closing prayers that day, sister Farnel fell down as a result of the power of God. Demons came out of her shouting, and she was completely delivered of her madness. This happened in the presence of all the believers. Yahweh was highly praised among the saints for this deliverance. Today, Farnel is part of Enter the Ark. She has decided to follow and serve the Lord Jesus Christ until the end.
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In 2011, our ministry launched an outreach program called “Enter the Ark.” Its goal is to help people grow in their personal relationship with Yahweh and His Son, Jesus Christ, and to win others through preaching. We proclaim repentance to all people, turning back to God, and practicing a lifestyle worthy of full entrance into our Father’s Kingdom. Like Christ did, we send out “soul winners” by twos to announce the good news of the gospel. During seven months, their goal is to establish new house churches in their cities
A.
and to grow in the faith and in numbers. This year, 35 soul winners have gone into three cities – Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, and Ollombo. In August 2013, by God’s grace we plan to send a new group of ambassadors for a full year. We encourage brothers and sisters everywhere to join in this exciting program. Our motivation is from Acts 3:19-21:
“Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment
will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.” Your prayers are vital for the success of Enter the Ark. We appreciate them.
May the Lord God deliver us from every evil work, and save us into his heavenly Kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. AMEN
C.
B. A. House Church in the Moukondo district of Brazzaville B. Armel with a family of soulwinners getting ready to preach the gospel C. Prayer session with some soulwinners
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Is Matthew 28:19 Authentic or a Forgery? By Sean Finnegan Introduction
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ucked away at the end of the Gospel of Matthew is the great commission. It reads, “Therefore, go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Oftentimes modalists and unitarians question the validity of this verse because of its Trinitarian flavor. Typically, those who question its authenticity argue that we do not have manuscripts of Matthew 28:19 before a.d. 325 when the church ratified the Trinitarian creed at Nicea and that they were all corrupted at that time. Furthermore, they refer to Eusebius, the famous church historian, because he quoted an alternative version of Matthew 28:19 in his writings (i.e. “Go and make disciples of all the nations in my name”). Although it may be convenient for us not to have to deal with this verse, we have to be careful not to allow our theology to determine what Scripture says. In what follows, I want to lay out the reasons why every handwritten and printed Greek text contains the full version of Matthew 28:19 and why I think it is sound as we have it in our Bibles today.
Manuscript Evidence Even though there is absolutely no textual variation whatsoever for Matthew 28:19 in the manuscripts, some allege these manuscripts are all wrong and a corruption entered into the picture during or after the Council of Nicea in a.d. 325 when the Trinity became accepted. Two points must be kept in mind here: firstly, the Trinity was not codified until a.d. 381 (the Council of Nicea in a.d. 325 merely decided that Jesus was God while leaving the holy spirit out of the equation); secondly, there are a number of Greek papyri dating from the third century. Sadly, these earlier manuscripts, like most manuscripts, are only viewable to those with special access to the museums where they are stored. I wish Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts published these on their website, but they currently do not. However, if an early manuscript had even a slight variation, Bruce Metzger’s Greek Text or his Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament would note it. Even though, I’m not sure it is the case, let’s assume there really are no manuscripts extant from before a.d. 325 that con14
tain Matthew 28. Where would that leave us? We still have thousands of manuscripts, some of which date back to the fourth century (like Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus). These manuscripts contain the standard reading of Matthew 28:19. This is significant because these differ from one another in many places, so it is not like Constantine, or whoever, forcibly standardized all the New Testament manuscripts in a.d. 325. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that later manuscripts were copied from earlier ones. Thus, a later (even medieval) manuscript could preserve a very early reading. Again, we have no evidence of alternative versions of Matthew 28:19 in any of these manuscripts. For the shorter reading hypothesis to be correct, someone would have had to destroy all of the manuscripts containing the “original” version of Matthew 28:19 and replace them with new ones with the longer reading that we have today. This is quite a conspiracy theory that requires a level of control that did not exist at that time. Fourth century Christianity was a mess organizationally, which is why the (Continued on page 15)
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century was chock full of controversies and councils. If there were a strong pope figure in the fourth century, this theory might be possible, but he would still lack the power and thoroughness to ensure that every last scrap of the original Matthew 28:19 was destroyed. We know this because something similar was once attempted by a Roman emperor—a man named Diocletian. In the early fourth century, he fiercely persecuted Christianity and tried to collect and destroy all of the New Testament manuscripts, which is why we do not have many from before the fourth century. But even the great Diocletian with the full power of the Roman government behind him could not accomplish this task. Thus, the hypothesis that some sect within Christianity succeeded in tweaking all the manuscripts is implausible. Early Quotes by Christian Authors Even if we cannot find or access early manuscripts before the fourth century to see if they contain Matthew 28:19, we can still consult the many Christian authors who lived in the second and third centuries to see how they cited it. Below is a list of a few quotations from these authors. They express a range of thinking about this subject that may not be completely accurate, but my
interest for this article is how they clearly indicate dependence on the traditional form of Matthew 28:19. Didache (a.d. 60-150) chapter 7.1 “Now about baptism: this is how to baptize. Give public instruction on all these points, and then baptize in running water, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” First Apology by Justin Martyr (a.d. 155) chapter 61 “…Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are born again, for they then receive washing in water in the name of God the Father and Master of all, and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. For Christ also said, ‘Except you are born again, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.’…” Against Heresies by Irenaeus (a.d. 180) book 3 chapter 17.1 “…And again, giving to the disciples the power of regeneration into God, he said to them, ‘Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 15
the Holy Spirit.’…” On Baptism by Tertullian (a.d. 198) chapter 13 “For the law of baptizing has been imposed, and the formula prescribed: ‘Go,’ He says, ‘teach the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’” The Apostolic Tradition by Hippolytus (a.d. 200-235) chapter 21.12-18 “And when he who is baptized goes down into the water, he who baptizes him, putting his hand on him, shall say thus: Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty? And he who is being baptized shall say: I believe. Then holding his hand placed on his head, he shall baptize him once. And then he shall say: Do you believe in Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who was born of the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and was dead and buried, and rose again on the third day, alive from the dead, ascended into heaven, and sat at the right hand of the Father, and (Continued on page 16)
Is Matthew 28:19 Authentic or a Forgery? Continued... (Continued from page 15)
will come to judge the living and the dead? And when he says: I believe, he is baptized again. And again he shall say: Do you believe in holy spirit, and the holy church, and the resurrection of the flesh? He who is being baptized shall say accordingly: I believe, and so he is baptized a third time.” Epistle to Magnus by Cyprian (a.d. 250) chapter 7 “…But if any one objects, by way of saying that Novatian holds the same law which the universal church holds, baptizes with the same symbol with which we baptize, knows the same God and Father, the same Christ the Son, the same Holy Spirit, and that for
this reason he may claim the power of baptizing, namely, that he seems not to differ from us in the baptismal interrogatory; let any one that thinks that this may be objected, know first of all, that there is not one law of the creed…” Again, the point of citing these Christian authors is that they all demonstrate knowledge of Matthew 28:19 before a.d. 325. Furthermore, I have found no controversy over the authenticity of this text anywhere. Not only do all extant Greek manuscripts with Matthew 28:19 in them contain the traditional reading, but all of the church fathers in the second and third century that quote or allude to it use the traditional version. Suddenly, the case from Eusebius’ quotations does not seem so impressive. Even so, let’s consider Eusebius’ statements to understand better what is happening.
Eusebius of Caesarea (a.d. 263263-339) The theory goes that Eusebius quoted a shortened version of Matthew 28:19 before the council of Nicea in a.d. 325 and then quoted the longer, more Trinitarian, version thereafter. This allegedly proves that the church decided to change the Bible to give more credence to the Trinity theory. I find this hypothesis unconvincing for four reasons. First of all, Eusebius was not a Trinitarian; he was an Arian. In fact, Eusebius of Caesarea had written a letter to Alexander, the bishop who excommunicated Arius, demanding he restore Arius. Furthermore, Eusebius called a council in the early 320s at which the gathered bishops vindicated Arius and drafted another letter pressuring Alexander to reinstate him. Lastly, Eusebius found himself deposed by a council in Antioch shortly before the one at Nicea
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for supporting Arius. Now it is true that Eusebius signed the Nicene Creed in a.d. 325, but historians generally chalk that up to compromise rather than a sudden change of heart. (If he refused to sign the creed, he would have lost his job as bishop of Caesarea, lost his influence in the debate, and lost his position as one of the emperor’s advisors.) So, Eusebius is not some super Trinitarian defender like Athanasius but actually quite the opposite. He felt uncomfortable with the Nicene Creed and even wrote a kind of damage control letter home to Caesarea explaining how they were going to understand the new formula. His well-known anti-Nicene position is probably why he is today not known as “Saint Eusebius.” Another reason I find the theory that the Council of Nicea changed the Bible unconvincing is that it would have given the anti-Nicene party potent ammunition in the sixty year battle that followed. To my knowledge, the subordinationists never accused the Nicenes of changing the text of Scripture, a charge they surely would have capitalized on if they could have. Rather, the battle centered on the meaning of Scripture and arguments based on reason. Thirdly, even if the Nicene sect wanted to change Scripture, they had no mechanism to make that a reality. As I mentioned earlier,
the required organization and hierarchy simply did not yet exist to pull that off. Lastly, Eusebius quoted the shorter version of Matthew 28:19 after Nicea as well (see In Praise of Constantine 16.8, written in a.d. 336). So if the conspiracy theory— that the “evil” Eusebius twisted Scripture to inject a Trinitarian dogma—is not true, why did Eusebius so often quote this shorter version? Ancient people did not look up every verse they quoted as they were writing something. It was more common to memorize Scriptures and pull from memory. Ancient texts did not have spaces between words nor did they have chapters much less paragraphs. As a result, it would have been very time consuming to look something up, making authors more likely to quote from memory than to try to find something that they were fairly confident they knew. However, sometimes their memories conflated multiple passages together. On this issue, George Beasley-Murray writes the following: “F. C. Conybeare, in an oft cited article, examined the citations of the text in Eusebius and concluded that Eusebius did not know the longer form of the text until the Council of Nicea, when the Trinitarian doctrine became established. …The real difficulty [with his view] is to determine whether 17
we have any right to speak of a ‘Eusebian reading.’ E. Riggenbach, in a lengthy reply to Conybeare’s article, showed that Eusebius exercised considerable freedom in quoting the Matthaean text, as is evidenced in the fact that the text appears in various forms, even in one and the same work; after Nicea Eusebius cites the commission in both longer and shorter forms; while (in Riggenbach’s view) in the letter written by Eusebius in 325, during the Council of Nicea, the manner in which he cites the common form of the text suggests that he had been familiar with it for a long time” (George Raymond BeasleyMurray, Baptism in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 1973), p. 81). One can easily see how someone’s memory could blur together bits from one verse and another when recalling a verse. I’ve done this, and a good number of the textual variants in the gospels are due to scribes remembering a bit from another gospel and injecting it when it was not originally there. But, just because Eusebius habitually misquoted Matthew 28:19 does not mean he did not know the full version as well. Everett Ferguson is helpful here: “An examination of Eusebius’ references where the baptismal command was omitted shows that it was superfluous (Continued on page 18)
Is Matthew 28:19 Authentic or a Forgery? Continued... (Continued from page 17)
to the context (for in every case the emphasis was on the universality of Christ’s teaching in contrast to previous religious and civil law), and consideration of Eusebius’ method of citing Scripture (omitting phrases he counted irrelevant and blending phrases from other passages he counted pertinent) deprives the argument for a shorter text of any validity” (Everett Ferguson, Bap-
to a Christian bookstore and throwing out all the Bibles and then piecing together a “more accurate” text based on quotes from Christian authors! Contradiction with Acts?
Acts 8:16 For it [the holy spirit] had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Jesus
Acts 10:47-48 “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the holy spirit just as we did, can he?” And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Christ Then they asked him to “I cannot allow my stay on for a few days. theology to
One last supporting reason some use to cast doubt on Matthew 28:19, as we have it, relates to baptismal practices in the book of Acts. If Matthew 28:19 is accurate, then Jesus
tism in the Early Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 2009), p. 134). So, we can more easily account for the Eusebian tendency to quote the shorter version on these grounds rather than positing a conspiracy wherein the church fathers altered the text of Scripture. To entertain the idea of changing Scripture because one Christian misquoted a text centuries later would require a much more solid basis than what we have. Methodologically this wouldn’t work anyway. Should scholars start combing through early Christian authors and correcting the manuscripts based on quotations? This would be like going
the gift of the holy spirit.
change the text of Scripture.”
commanded his followers to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit.” However, throughout the book of Acts when baptisms occur, they never mention this formulaic expression. Here are some examples: Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive 18
Acts 19:5-6 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And Jesus when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the holy spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. Allegedly these texts contradict Jesus’ command in Matthew 28:19. But, is there another way to understand them apart from changing what the Bible says? Ferguson provides two other options that are well worth considering: The phrases in Acts may not, however, reflect alternative formulas in (Continued on page 19)
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the administration of baptism or alternative understandings of the meaning of the act. In some cases the description in Acts may mean a baptism administered on a confession of Jesus as Lord and Christ (cf. Acts 22:16), or it may be a general characterization of the baptism as related to Jesus and not a formula pronounced at the baptism. In the later history, the only formula regularly attested as pronounced by the administrator includes the triune name, but in Matthew it too may be descriptive rather than formulaic. If Matthew 28:19 is not a formula, then there is no necessary contradiction to the description “in the name of the Lord” in Acts and Paul (Ferguson, p. 136). So, Ferguson suggests that Acts describes what happened, “they were baptized into the name of Jesus,” whereas Matthew describes what words were said, “baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy spirit,” or that Matthew 28:19 is not formulaic at all. Another possibility is that Acts describes the confession of the convert, whereas Matthew tells us what the baptizer said. It could also be that in the context of
Judea, Christians baptized new people in the name of the Lord Jesus because Jews and Godfearers already had an adequate understanding of God and the holy spirit. However, when going out among the nations as in Matthew 28:19, one needs to also explain who God is (cf. Acts 17) and what the holy spirit is (cf. Acts 19). One final idea is that the “name” in Matthew 28:19 is not literal, but the agenda or cause of the Father, Son, and holy spirit. However we work out the seeming contradiction, our difficulty here does not warrant changing what Scripture says to read more smoothly. Scripture -> Exegesis -> Theology Scripture is primary; it is the foundation. We do not change what the text says on the basis of our exegesis or theology; rather, we accept it as a starting point. This is why textual critics develop objective rules to help them figure out which readings are more accurate. They do not want their theological biases to inform their choices. For a good window into how this process happens, see Metzger’s Commentary on the Greek New Testament or the NET Study Bible. We are fortunate today to live in a time when the New Testament text is over 99% established based on centuries of discoveries, cataloging, and comparisons.
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This brings me to the second step: exegesis. This word basically means to explain what the text means. The idea is that we read out (ex) from Scripture rather than into it. Preachers exegete verses every Sunday when they describe what they mean. Although what the text actually means and what we think it means are hopefully identical, we cannot allow ourselves to be over confident so as to think we never err in understanding what something says. Now we move to the pinnacle of our work: theology. One’s theology does not depend on the exegesis of a single text but on what many different verses say together. This is the most complex level of understanding, and it is the most prone to error for all of us. However, so long as we keep everything in order—Scripture, then exegesis, then theology— we will end up with more accurate theology. For example, if rather than reading what a verse says and interpreting it within its context (exegesis), I cherry pick it to support my theology, I will likely end up with wrong doctrine. Additionally, I cannot allow my theology to change the text of Scripture. Just because I do not believe the Trinity is true does not give me the right to rid the Bible of a verse like Matthew 28:19. To do so is to go in the wrong direction.
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