Oct 21, 2022
329 – How We Got Our Modern Bibles Part Two
God bless you abundantly in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
This week’s podcast is “How We got our Modern Bible Part Two.” Looking at what Christian historians call the Reformation, a time when the printing press was invented and the Bible was first translated into the English language from Greek, we will learn some of the steps taken to get us to our modern Bibles and in the show notes on the podcast are my notes making it easy for you to follow along.
I have a pamphlet entitled “How to Read the Bible for Understanding and Power, Part One,” Which I get into the keys and principles of how the Bible interprets itself. In understanding these, you can accurately understand the Bible when you read. The pamphlet is available through Amazon.com; here is the link so you can easily get the pamphlet.
May God Bless you Abundantly
Steve
Here are the notes that I used to do the podcast. It has all the Scriptures I read written out, making it easy for you to follow along with the podcast.
Timeline: 1328 AD to early 17th Century
John Wycliffe (1328-1384): He wanted to reform the Roman Church from within. The Church leaders at that time were diplomats, administrators, and economists, finding little time to spend on spiritual matters. He attacked the pope's authority by insisting that Christ, not the pope, was the church's head. Instead of the church, the Bible was to be the sole authority for the believer. The Roman Church should model itself after the New Testament Church. In 1382, he did the first complete translation of the English of the New Testament. He translated it from Latin and not Greek. Translating it from Greek would make it closer to the original. Mostly unread by the masses, his work did not cause a revolt. He died of a stroke in 1384.
Interestingly, he was hassled, ridiculed, laughed at, and despised by the church. But that was not enough. 98 years after his death, in 1482, they dug up his bones, burned them, and then threw the ashes into the Swift river.
In 1440 was the invention of the printing press was by Johann Gutenberg of Mainz, Germany.
Martin Luther (1483-1546) In 1513, he lectured on Psalms, and then in1515, he lectured on Romans. His motto was: ‘Scripture alone.
Romans 1:17 Romans 1:17 ”For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
“The just shall live by faith.” This verse changed his life.
On October 31, 1517, Luther tacked up his ninety-five theses for debate on the door of the castle Church in Wittenberg.
Ulrich Zwingli 1484 – 1531 - Similar to Martin Luther but in Switzerland. The Roman Empire had the free course to go into Switzerland, take him from his position, and kill him. This stopped the Reformation in Switzerland. Martin Luther had people that believed in him and protected him in Germany.
John Calvin (1509-1565) founded The Geneva Academy. He was credited with the start of the Reform Ministries.
William Tyndale (1493-1536) translated the Bible into English in1525. One of my heroes. Tyndale, a Greek scholar from Cambridge, started as an academic exercise but turned into a translation of God's Word. Over and over again, he poured over the Greek Scripture digging in and asking questions and receiving answers about God's plan for man.
This young man constantly pressures others to read the Scriptures for themselves. He said, “If God spares me, I will one day make the boy that drives the plowing in England know more of the Scriptures than the pope himself.
He asked the bishop of London if he could use a couple of rooms in the Bishop's huge Palace for office space, but the bishop claimed not to be interested in learning what a man may say. He said, “How could I choose a man who would choose God over the pope? Be serious.
But God had another wealthy man give him some room in his home so that he could begin translating from Greek into English.
But being hounded, he had to escape from England. He escaped to Worms, Luther's old German stronghold on the Rhine. There for the first time in history, a printed New Testament in English was produced. Tyndale had to turn smuggler, the English church waited to smash any attempt he had to get his printed edition into England. But he did.
Hundreds upon hundreds were being printed daily and could easily be bought by the man in the street. British troops were assigned to the ports for the specific purpose of finding these dangerous little books.
They found some, but thousands made their way to England. The bishop of London thought of another way to stop him. He hired a man named Pakington, a merchant who traded in Goods from across the England channel. Here was The Bishop's plan...
Finally got their hands on Tyndale, and when they were deciding whether to hang him or burn him to the steak, the executioner was so angry that he just grabbed him by the throat, choked him, and killed him right there on the spot.
The King James Bible was translated in 1611. Some say that more than 80% of the phrases come from William Tyndale’s work.
Versions explosion. In the 1800s, man's scholarship and research increased. Archaeologists found better manuscripts containing Scriptures.
In 1881 the English revised version of the New Testament was published.
3 days later, the revised version of the RV appeared in the United States. With all the new translations, King James was tossed away. Nope, people still wanted to use King James.
In 1901 the American Standard Edition of the revised version was made available. One example of the difference in the ASV reads “Holy Spirit” instead of the King James “Holy Ghost.”
There are many more new versions and translations now available. There has been an explosion in versions. I think that all of these versions can be helpful if you use the keys to how the Bible interprets itself. By using the keys, you can learn which versions you trust.
Chapter heading
Paragraph markings
Paragraph divisions
Reference systems
Red letters – words of Christ
Additions to the text [often italic type]
Punctuation
ALL have been ADDED.
It may be helpful, but it may not be.
If you would like to keep informed of all that we are doing here with our podcast, you can sign up to receive our newsletter on the website. Here's the link to that page.
Podcast listeners, You are invited to zoom in this Sunday morning at 10:30 AM EST. All you need to do is click on the website (https://stevejaynes.com/zoom-dial-in) and click into the meeting.
We are a listener-supported podcast. I want to thank those who generously give to keep the podcast available. The podcast is heard worldwide by those who want to know how to understand the Bible when they read it accurately.
We believe the Bible is the revealed Word and will of God. The Bible means what it says and says what it means. We let the Word of God speak for itself by using keys and principles on how the Bible interprets itself. By being 100% listener-supported, we do not sell any part of the podcast. The podcast is for only those who favor letting the Word of God speak for itself. If you would like to support the podcast, you can go to the website: stevejaynes.com. On the top of every page, there's a donate button. I would like to give some special gifts to those who make a minimal donation. The gifts are on the top of the Biblical Studies Books Page.
The Announcer: Maurice Coleman
Intro and Outro Music: Pamela LoVerme Janovyak's version of “Be Thou My Vision” from her CD Behold.
You don’t have to wait till the next show to continue learning and growing. Instead, go to stevejaynes.com, where Steve has plenty to give in resources to help you continue to learn today.
Don’t forget to rate the show and give it a good review. An excellent rating could make the show available to more people.
To stay in contact with Steve Jaynes, sign up for The Newsletter and get the latest in Biblical Teachings, Biblical Studies, and Podcast in your inbox on his websites.
To get in contact with Steve to either ask questions or share something feel free to email or text me. If you would like to have a conversation, let’s set up an appointment to have the call. Text me the best time, morning, afternoon, or evening and which day or days will work for you. I would need to know the time zone. I will get back to you with the day and time.
I would love to hear from you and talk with you.
steve@stevejaynes.com, 207-595-1577 (Please start with a text first so that we both will have the time to communicate fully.)