The Trinity

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

(1Jn 5:7. KJV)

One's view of God is just so fundamental that it will in some way influence just about everything one believes and does if they are serious about their faith.  In some ways nothing really illustrates this more than the belief most in Christendom insist is the essential doctrine of Christianity and the Gospel, the fourth century mystery doctrine of the Trinity.  We call it that because the Trinity was suggested as a solution to the yet ongoing conflict between the followers of Anathasius, who taught a dualistic God and Arius, who taught that there was only one truly God and that Jesus was a created being by three theologians in Cappadocia.  In the end the new teaching prevailed and theologians have since tried to prove that the trinity was what the Apostles taught.

The Trinity Doctrine is first and foremost a mystery doctrine which the mind of man cannot really comprehend.  So it is somewhat indefinable.  For the purposes of our discussion, though, we will use the above symbol and the spurious verse 1 John 5:7 found in the King James Version and many other translations of the Bible as out model since both are put forward as statements of what the Trinity is by Trinitarians themselves.  Since they see fit to use both, we're not setting up a strawman to knock down.  In fact, all we're gong to do is once again do what Jesus told his followers to do, that is see what the scriptures say.  We will plan to establish what the Bible teaches through what it plainly says, and it only.  Does it teach anything like what we see above?  This is what we see.

One True God

שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ יְהוָ֥ה׀ אֶחָֽד׃

(Deut 6:4, Leningrad Codex)

Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 

(Deu 6:4-5 Jay Green's Literal Version)

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 are known among Jews as the Shema, after the first word which means "hear!"  This is the first and most important commandment of the Mosaic Law according to no less a person than Jesus himself:

But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. 

(Mat 22:34-38)

Now, we want to be careful here in concluding that Jesus didn't sign onto the preceding verse because he revealed something new, One thing we are coming to appreciate through our study of Hebrew is that Jesus never took anything out of context, he always kept things in harmony with their context and sometimes used a verse to point to something else through its context beyond the obvious, one example would be his last words on the cross found at .Luke 23:46 where he quoted the first part of Psalm 31:5.  The context of the statement, namely the second part which he apparently didn't have the energy left to finish is a remarkable statement of faith in his resurrection and well worth going to an digging into the word used there so many translators seem to have a problem with, but we digress.

The point is that Jesus of Nazareth, who knew the truth of the matter, was a practicing Jew who affirmed the uncompromising statement of truth revealed in the Shema.  He had to be in every respect in order to provide the sacrifice which covers our sins.  Everything in that statement in Deuteronomy "Jehovah our God is on Jehovah" is in the singular.  So it states uncompromisingly there is only one Jehovah, not two or three.  Note as well that there is no statement there which denies there are any other Gods out there.  There are.  And Jesus apparently took a little delight out of pointing that out to the Jews himself when he said to them "Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" (John 10: 34, where he quotes Psalm 82:6)  That, by the way, was said when the Jewish leaders tried to accuse him of claiming to be God by way of refutation of their charge.  Sadly, the very verse the Psalm is cited to rebuke them for making that false charge is a Trinitarian mainstay proof text for the Trinity, John 10:30!  Always check to context!   So if the Bible does admit there are other gods, is that an admission of polytheism?

See now that I, I am He, and there is no other God with Me. I kill, and I keep alive. I wound and I heal, and there is no deliverer from My hand. For I lift up My hand to Heaven and say, I live forever! 

(Deu 32:39-40)

That is usually the text folks have in mind as the great text of Monotheism, or belief that there is one god, period.  However, the way we often see it translated, as above, doesn't really convey what the Hebrew text really says.  About the closest I can find is the ESV which reads:

See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

They use the word "beside" to render the Hebrew word immad (H5978) which in this text carries the idea of "equal to" Almighty God.  There is a reason why he is called that, there is and never will be anyone equal to him.  

The Bible writers often used the word elohim, the plural form of eloah, to refer to God.  However, Hebrew had the device called the plural of excellence where somebody is spoken of in the plural form as a kind of honor.  Our use of the plural to refer to ourselves is a form of that devise, however, formal writing requires its use instead of the first person "I."  We know Ancient Hebrew had the Plural of excellence because Joseph's brothers used it when they called him the "Lord's" (Adonai) of Egypt (Gen. 42:33).  This was one of the ways the Hebrews used to make it clear their God was above all others'.

Jesus

In the beginning was the Word.  And the word was with God.  And the Word was godlike.

(John 1:1)

According to the latest Koine Greek scholarship that is how John 1:1 should be translated, but let's not hold our breaths on that, shall we.  This, by the way, is our introduction to the fact that our Lord existed in heaven from before the beginning of the world.  All we've done is taken the assertion that the second occurrence of the word "god" in the Greek is qualitative, or pointing out a quality of the Word, that he was like God and implemented it.  These days the closest we're going to see that is to call the Word "divine" with the understanding that the readers are going to think "God."  So right from the get go we see here that Jesus was a separate begin.

In the the Revelation Jesus gives the testimony about himself that he is "the beginning of God's creation."  (Rev. 3:14).  Jesus told his disciples "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I." (John 14:28) and in the very next chapter he said "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." (Joh 15:1-2)  He told Mary "... Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." (Joh 20:17) There are many others throughout the Gospels and elsewhere which show that the Father and the Son are in an unequal relationship.

The Apostle Paul understood that Jesus was of the same form (morphe in the Greek) as God (Philippians 2:6) but that he was different since he also called him "an image of the invisible God," a verse often translated incorrectly on the grounds of theology alone (Col. 1:15).  In fact, go back to Phillipians and read the next couple of verses and we find Paul contrasts Jesus' attitude with that of Satan because he "did think of equality to God as something to be grasped."  In the fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians we find the following remarkable statement about Jesus:

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 

(1Co 15:24-28)

So everywhere we see in plain language, no need for theological philosophy just plain language, that the Father and the son are separate and the son is in a subordinate relationship to the Father.  Now compare what the Bible plainly says with the diagram and spurious verse above.  They just don't match no matter how we might try to squeeze and pull and shove to try and put them together.  That is why one of the biggest impediments to the Jews accepting Jesus as their Messiah has been the Trinity Doctrine., not only does it not fit the Tanach but it doesn't fit the Christians scriptures either.

Of course Jesus did say that "Before Abraham was I am."  Many take that as a reference to Exodus 3:14 where most English translations translate God in answer to Moses' question about who he is as saying "I am."  but there is a problem there, God used the causative form of the verb "to exist" there (Hebrew doesn't have the verb "to be" and utilizes two different verbs for the concept of existing.).  So God understands what Moses was really asking for and revealed the surety of Israel's deliverance by suing both forms of the verb "to exist" in his answer which goes through verse 17.  Not even the LXX uses "I am" to translate the second occurrence of ehyeh in the verse.  Instead they used the word on, which places God outside of time, the immortal one.  So the connection they allege isn't really there.

That is the evidence my friends and readers.  Time and again we've seen or heard admissions out of trinitarian scholars that if one looks for the Trinity in the Bible plain language they simply will not find it.  That is why we do not affirm the Trinity Doctrine.  It would also appear that in the process we aso took care of a couple of other points in our statement of belief.  Until next time!

What Do bible Students Believe?

Above is the Codex Sinaiticus in facsimile format.  The codex is the oldest complete copy of the New Testament we have and contains about 1/2 of the Old Testament.  Together with the Codex Vaticanus 1709 and Codex Alexandrinus these form the Greek text Bible Students consider more reliable and tend to consult when we go back to the Greek text.  For the Old Testament text we tend to go with the Masoretic text in Hebrew as represented by the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia,  Fortunately for most, computer programs, several of them for free, make it much easier to wade through the texts than our forebears found it.  But one thing to keep in mind as well is that Charles Taze Russell primarily used the King James Version as his go to English Bible and that Bible is still something of a standard among us today.  So, what have our studies using the method outlined earlier led us to?  what do we believe the bible teaches when we rely on the Bile alone?

I found this statement of believe on the website for The International Bible Students Association and it pretty much covers the core beliefs we have as a movement:

1. Both the Old and New Testament are Jehovah's inspired words; the primary source of all Truth.

2. Man did not evolve but was created.

3. Jehovah created his only-begotten Son, Jesus. Jesus created all other things.

4. Jesus descended from heaven to earth and was born of Mary as a perfect human man, not as God in     flesh.

5. God raised Jesus from death in a Spirit body, not in a physical body of flesh.

6. The Holy Spirit is Jehovah's active power and force, not a person.

7. The Trinity is no where found or taught in the Bible.

8. Man is mortal and does not possess an immortal soul. The soul ceases to exist after death.

9. There is no hell of fire where the wicked are punished. "Hell" is from the same Greek and Hebrew     words for "grave," describing the sleep of death, not eternal torment.

10. We are now living in the "time of the end".

11. Jesus returned and has been invisibly present on earth since the early days of the Watchtower    
     Bible and Tract Society.

12. The 144,000 of Revelation 7 are the anointed Bride of Christ in heaven.

14. Earth will never be literally destroyed or completely depopulated.

15. In the Kingdom, Christ will rule the earth in righteousness and peace.

16. By their faithfulness to God, the obedient of mankind will be granted what our original parents           lost-everlasting life in human perfection on a paradise earth.

While this is is not completely inclusive and there are some differences among the Bible Students on other beliefs, it does form a good working list to go from and we will go through it in our posts to come and explain exactly what in God's word led us to these beliefs.  We will also go over some of those other beliefs we hold and show the biblical basis for them as well.

Tchau!

How To Study The Bible

Today we are going to look at how the Bible Students studied God's word right from the beginning.  The thing is the Bible can be a confusing and intimidating book at first glance and there is a reason for that.  God didn't intend for it to be clearly understood to whatever extent he permitted during the Gospel age by any but those he called to be members of the Church.  Even while he was on the earth he generally spoke in a manner to hide what he taught from those not meant to understand (Matt. 13:10-13).  I know we sometimes get accused of being Gnostics for pointing this out, but these are the facts and the truth is found through careful study and search, not through going outside the word or embracing any sort of intuitive teachings, as the Gnostics do.

Something to have in mind as one does search the scriptures is that the Bible is not a Western document no matter how much many around the world like to think it is.  So it cannot be understood using Western philosophies, as "Christian" theology from as early as the second century has sought to do.  Instead God Chose those we call the Jewish people to write the book therein, all of them as Luke may well have been a kinsman to the Apostle Paul ( Luke is short for Lucious and it is possible the to are the same. Rom. 16:21).  So it must be properly understood from that viewpoint instead of that of the West.  Sadly, though Jewish thought can be enlightening, one must be careful with it because revered teachers among the Jews such as Philo of Alexandria, a contemporary of Jesus, and Moses Ben Maimonides imported Western Greek philosophy into Judaism essentially corrupting it which is quite astonishing considering their persecutors were highly influenced by the same philosophy.

So the best way to study is to throw off preconceived notions of theology and let the Bible speak for itself on doctrines great and small.  After the failure of Millerism in 1844 those who had followed him decided to do just that and set about the task quite diligently.  But how?

At the time printing had brought the price of original text Bibles, both the Old and New Testaments within the means of most people for the first time.  They also brought such aids to understanding the text as lexicons, or dictionaries as they can also be called as well as concordances, such as The Poor Englishman's Hebrew Concordance to the Old Testament within reach as well.  For the first time such aids made it possible for the average man to follow key Biblical words and see exactly how they were used in God's word as well as unmask many obfuscations used by translators motivated by their theologies to hide the real meanings in God's word.  Greek was also often taught in Schools back then along with Latin so that more and more people could get even more out of God's word.  This would result in one particular problem with one verse I will write about later, I'm thinking of the next topic.

So what happens when one uses such aids to answer that old question voiced by a frustrated roman governor, "What is truth?" (John 18:38)  Let's take a fundamental word, the word "soul" and follow it through the Old Testament, the source for Jesus' beliefs and early Christian beliefs as well.  That word is נֶפֶשׁ  (nephesh H5315).  Strong's Lexicon defines it thus:

From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental): - any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, X dead (-ly), desire, X [dis-] contented, X fish, ghost, + greedy, he, heart (-y), (hath, X jeopardy of) life (X in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortality, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, + slay, soul, + tablet, they, thing, (X she) will, X would have it.
Total KJV occurrences: 753

Now I don't know about you but that is a bit confusing and other contemporary lexicons aren't much in the way of help.  That is where concordances become so valuable.  I use the Bible Study program E-Sword which is an excellent free program for use in Bible Study.  One of the Dictionary modules for it is a Hebrew and Greek concordance of the KJV keyed to the Strong's numbers for Biblical words, which is a numbering system Dr. Strong assigned to each original language word to facilitate study.

Here is the entry for Nephesh, which will easily make this the largest post I've ever put in a blog:

H5315

נפשׁ

nephesh

Total KJV Occurrences: 749

soul, 416

Gen_2:7, Gen_17:13-14 (2), Gen_19:20, Gen_27:4, Gen_27:19, Gen_27:25, Gen_27:31, Gen_34:3, Gen_34:8, Gen_35:18, Gen_42:21, Gen_49:6, Exo_12:15, Exo_12:19, Exo_30:12, Exo_31:14, Lev_4:2, Lev_5:1-2 (2), Lev_5:4, Lev_5:15, Lev_5:17, Lev_6:2, Lev_7:18, Lev_7:20-21 (4), Lev_7:25, Lev_7:27 (2), Lev_17:10-12 (3), Lev_17:15, Lev_19:8, Lev_20:6 (2), Lev_22:3, Lev_22:6, Lev_22:11, Lev_23:29-30 (3), Lev_26:11, Lev_26:15, Lev_26:30, Lev_26:43, Num_9:13, Num_11:6, Num_15:27-28 (2), Num_15:30-31 (3), Num_19:13, Num_19:20, Num_19:22, Num_21:4-5 (2), Num_30:2, Num_30:4-8 (6), Num_30:10-13 (4), Num_31:28, Deu_4:9, Deu_4:29, Deu_6:5, Deu_11:12-13 (2), Deu_11:18, Deu_12:15, Deu_12:20-21 (3), Deu_13:3, Deu_13:6, Deu_14:26 (2), Deu_26:16, Deu_30:2, Deu_30:6, Deu_30:10, Jos_22:5, Jdg_5:21, Jdg_16:16 (2), 1Sa_1:10, 1Sa_1:15, 1Sa_1:26, 1Sa_2:16, 1Sa_17:55, 1Sa_18:1 (3), 1Sa_20:3-4 (3), 1Sa_20:17, 1Sa_23:20, 1Sa_24:11, 1Sa_25:26, 1Sa_25:29 (2), 1Sa_26:21, 1Sa_30:6, 2Sa_4:9, 2Sa_5:8, 2Sa_11:11, 2Sa_14:19, 1Ki_1:29, 1Ki_2:4, 1Ki_8:48, 1Ki_11:37, 1Ki_17:21-22 (2), 2Ki_2:2, 2Ki_2:4, 2Ki_2:6, 2Ki_4:27, 2Ki_4:30, 2Ki_23:3, 2Ki_23:25, 1Ch_22:19, 2Ch_6:38, 2Ch_15:12, 2Ch_34:31, Job_3:20, Job_6:7, Job_7:11, Job_7:15, Job_9:21, Job_10:1 (2), Job_12:10, Job_14:22, Job_16:4, Job_19:2, Job_21:25, Job_23:13, Job_24:12, Job_27:2, Job_27:8, Job_30:16, Job_30:25, Job_31:30, Job_33:18, Job_33:20, Job_33:22, Job_33:28, Job_33:30, Psa_6:2-4 (3), Psa_7:2, Psa_7:5, Psa_11:1, Psa_11:5, Psa_13:2, Psa_16:10, Psa_17:13, Psa_19:7, Psa_22:20, Psa_22:29, Psa_24:3-4 (2), Psa_25:1, Psa_25:13, Psa_25:20, Psa_26:9, Psa_30:3, Psa_31:7, Psa_31:9, Psa_33:19-20 (2), Psa_34:2, Psa_34:22, Psa_35:3-4 (2), Psa_35:7, Psa_35:9, Psa_35:12-13 (2), Psa_35:17, Psa_40:14, Psa_41:4, Psa_42:1-2 (2), Psa_42:4-6 (3), Psa_42:11, Psa_43:5, Psa_44:25, Psa_49:8, Psa_49:15, Psa_49:18, Psa_54:3-4 (2), Psa_55:18, Psa_56:6, Psa_56:13, Psa_57:1, Psa_57:4, Psa_57:6, Psa_59:3, Psa_62:1, Psa_62:5, Psa_63:1, Psa_63:5, Psa_66:8-9 (3), Psa_66:16, Psa_69:1, Psa_69:10, Psa_69:18, Psa_70:2, Psa_71:10, Psa_71:13, Psa_71:23, Psa_72:14, Psa_74:19, Psa_77:2, Psa_78:50, Psa_86:2 (2), Psa_86:4 (2), Psa_86:13-14 (2), Psa_88:3, Psa_88:14, Psa_89:48, Psa_94:17, Psa_94:19, Psa_94:21, Psa_103:1-2 (2), Psa_103:22, Psa_104:1, Psa_104:35, Psa_106:15, Psa_107:5, Psa_107:9 (2), Psa_107:18, Psa_107:26, Psa_109:20, Psa_109:31, Psa_116:4, Psa_116:7-8 (2), Psa_119:20, Psa_119:25, Psa_119:28, Psa_119:81, Psa_119:109, Psa_119:129, Psa_119:167, Psa_119:175, Psa_120:2, Psa_121:6-7 (2), Psa_124:4-5 (3), Psa_124:7, Psa_130:5-6 (2), Psa_138:2-3 (2), Psa_139:14, Psa_141:8, Psa_142:4, Psa_142:7, Psa_143:3, Psa_143:6, Psa_143:8, Psa_143:11-12 (2), Psa_146:1, Pro_2:10, Pro_3:22, Pro_6:30, Pro_6:32, Pro_8:36, Pro_10:3, Pro_11:17, Pro_11:25, Pro_13:2, Pro_13:4 (2), Pro_13:19, Pro_13:25, Pro_15:32, Pro_16:17, Pro_16:24, Pro_18:7, Pro_19:2, Pro_19:8, Pro_19:15-16 (2), Pro_19:18, Pro_20:2, Pro_21:10, Pro_21:23, Pro_22:5, Pro_22:23, Pro_22:25, Pro_23:14, Pro_24:12, Pro_24:14, Pro_25:13, Pro_25:25, Pro_27:7 (2), Pro_29:10, Pro_29:17, Ecc_2:24 (2), Ecc_4:8, Ecc_6:2-3 (2), Ecc_7:28, Son_1:7, Son_3:1-4 (4), Son_5:6, Son_6:12, Isa_1:14, Isa_3:9, Isa_10:18, Isa_26:8-9 (2), Isa_29:8 (2), Isa_32:6, Isa_38:15, Isa_38:17, Isa_42:1, Isa_44:20, Isa_51:23, Isa_53:10-12 (3), Isa_58:2-3 (3), Isa_58:5, Isa_58:10-11 (3), Isa_61:10, Isa_66:3, Jer_4:10, Jer_4:19, Jer_4:31, Jer_5:9, Jer_5:29, Jer_9:8-9 (2), Jer_12:7, Jer_13:17, Jer_18:19-20 (2), Jer_20:13, Jer_31:12, Jer_31:14, Jer_31:25 (2), Jer_32:41, Jer_38:16-17 (2), Jer_38:20, Jer_50:19, Jer_51:6, Jer_51:45, Lam_1:11, Lam_1:16, Lam_2:12, Lam_3:17, Lam_3:20, Lam_3:24-25 (2), Lam_3:58, Eze_3:19, Eze_3:21, Eze_4:14, Eze_18:4 (3), Eze_18:20, Eze_18:27, Eze_24:21, Eze_33:5, Eze_33:9, Jon_2:4-5 (2), Mic_6:7 (2), Mic_7:1, Hab_2:4, Hab_2:10, Zec_11:8

life, 100

Gen_9:4-5 (2), Gen_19:17, Gen_19:19, Gen_44:30 (3), Exo_4:19, Exo_21:23 (2), Exo_21:30, Lev_17:11, Lev_17:14 (3), Num_35:31, Deu_12:23 (2), Deu_19:21 (2), Deu_24:6, Jos_2:14, Jdg_9:17, Jdg_12:3, Jdg_18:25, Rth_4:15, 1Sa_19:5, 1Sa_19:11, 1Sa_20:1, 1Sa_22:23 (2), 1Sa_23:15, 1Sa_26:24 (2), 1Sa_28:9, 1Sa_28:21, 2Sa_1:9, 2Sa_4:8, 2Sa_14:7, 2Sa_16:11, 2Sa_18:13, 2Sa_19:5, 1Ki_1:12 (2), 1Ki_2:23, 1Ki_3:11, 1Ki_19:2-4 (4), 1Ki_19:10, 1Ki_19:14, 1Ki_20:31, 1Ki_20:39 (2), 1Ki_20:42 (2), 2Ki_1:13-14 (3), 2Ki_7:7, 2Ki_10:24 (2), 2Ch_1:11, Est_7:3, Est_7:7, Est_8:11, Job_2:4, Job_2:6, Job_6:11, Job_13:14, Job_31:39, Psa_31:13, Psa_38:12, Pro_1:19, Pro_6:26, Pro_7:23, Pro_12:10, Pro_13:3, Pro_13:8, Isa_43:4 (2), Jer_4:30, Jer_11:21, Jer_21:7, Jer_21:9, Jer_22:25, Jer_34:20-21 (2), Jer_38:2, Jer_38:16, Jer_39:18, Jer_44:30 (2), Jer_45:5, Jer_49:37, Lam_2:19, Eze_32:10, Jon_1:14, Jon_4:3

souls, 58

Gen_12:5, Gen_46:15, Gen_46:18, Gen_46:22, Gen_46:25-27 (5), Exo_1:5 (2), Exo_12:4, Exo_30:15-16 (2), Lev_16:29, Lev_16:31, Lev_17:11, Lev_18:29, Lev_20:25, Lev_23:27, Lev_23:32, Num_16:38, Num_29:7, Num_30:9, Num_31:50, Jos_10:28, Jos_10:30, Jos_10:32, Jos_10:35, Jos_10:37 (2), Jos_10:39, Jos_11:11, Jos_23:14, 1Sa_25:29, Psa_72:13, Psa_97:10, Pro_11:30, Pro_14:25, Jer_2:34, Jer_6:16, Jer_26:19, Jer_44:7, Eze_7:19 (2), Eze_13:18-20 (8), Eze_14:14, Eze_14:20, Eze_18:4, Eze_22:25, Eze_22:27

lives, 18

Gen_9:5, Jos_2:13, Jos_9:24, Jdg_5:18, Jdg_18:25, 2Sa_19:5 (3), 2Sa_23:17, 1Ch_11:19 (2), Est_9:16, Pro_1:18, Jer_19:7, Jer_19:9, Jer_46:26, Jer_48:6, Lam_5:9

persons, 16

Gen_14:21, Gen_36:6, Exo_16:16, Lev_27:2, Num_19:18, Num_31:35, Num_31:40 (2), Num_31:46, Deu_10:22, 1Sa_22:22, Jer_52:29-30 (3), Eze_17:17, Eze_27:13

person, 14

Num_5:6, Num_31:19, Num_35:11, Num_35:15, Num_35:30 (2), Deu_27:25, Jos_20:3, Jos_20:9, 2Sa_14:14, Pro_28:17, Jer_43:6, Eze_33:5-6 (2)

heart, 12

Exo_23:9, Lev_26:16, Deu_24:15, 1Sa_2:33, 2Sa_3:21, Pro_23:7, Pro_28:25, Lam_3:51, Eze_25:6, Eze_25:15, Eze_27:31, Hos_4:8

mind, 11

Gen_23:8 (2), Deu_18:6, Deu_28:65, 1Sa_2:35, 1Ch_28:9, Jer_15:1, Eze_23:17-18 (3), Eze_23:22, Eze_23:28

himself, 10

1Ki_19:4, Job_18:4, Job_22:2, Job_23:9, Job_32:2, Amo_2:14-15 (4), Amo_6:8

body, 9

Lev_21:11, Num_9:6-7 (3), Num_19:10-11 (2), Num_19:13, Num_19:16, Hag_2:13

creature, 9

Gen_1:21, Gen_1:24, Gen_2:19, Gen_9:10, Gen_9:12, Gen_9:15-16 (2), Lev_11:46 (2)

dead, 8

Lev_19:28, Lev_21:1, Lev_22:4, Num_5:2, Num_6:11, Num_9:6-7 (2), Num_9:10

yourselves, 8

Lev_11:43-44 (4), Deu_4:15, Jos_23:11, Jer_17:21, Jer_37:9

desire, 5

Ecc_6:9 (2), Jer_22:27, Jer_44:14, Mic_7:3, Hab_2:5

man, 4

Lev_24:16-17 (2), 2Ki_12:4, Isa_49:7

minds, 4

2Sa_17:8, 2Ki_9:15, Eze_24:25, Eze_36:5

pleasure, 4

Deu_23:24, Psa_105:22, Jer_2:24, Jer_34:16

will, 4

Deu_21:14, Psa_27:12, Psa_41:2, Eze_16:27

any, 3

Lev_2:1, Lev_4:27, Deu_24:7

beast, 3

Lev_24:18 (3)

themselves, 3

Est_9:31, Isa_46:2, Isa_47:14

appetite, 2

Pro_23:2, Ecc_6:7

ghost, 2

Job_11:20, Jer_15:9

hearts, 2

Pro_31:6, Jer_42:20

lust, 2

Exo_15:9, Psa_78:18

thing, 2

Lev_11:10, Eze_47:9

angry, 1

Jdg_18:25

breath, 1

Job_41:21

deadly, 1

Psa_17:9

discontented, 1

1Sa_22:2

fish, 1

Isa_19:10

greedy, 1

Isa_56:10-11 (2)

heart’s, 1

Psa_10:3

hearty, 1

Pro_27:9

herself, 1

Isa_5:14

men, 1

1Ch_5:21

mortally, 1

Deu_19:11

myself, 1

Psa_131:2

one, 1

Lev_4:27

own, 1

Pro_14:10

slay, 1

Jer_40:14

slayeth, 1

Deu_22:26

soul’s, 1

Job_16:4

tablets, 1

Isa_3:20

thyself, 1

Est_4:13

would, 1

Psa_35:25

Really?  What, pray tell, is going on here?  Just one look down this list tells us that something is being hidden by the translators of the King James version of the Bible since it is doubtful one word can have so many widely differing meanings!  But what is being hidden?  My computer program makes it a little easier to compare since all I have to do is place my cursor over the scriptural citation to see a pop-up of the scripture.

So when I place my cursor over the very first verse this is what I get:

(Gen 2:7)  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

So right up front we discover that man doesn't have separate soul as theology teaches, man is a living soul!  Wow!  That isn't all.  The word nephesh occurs before Gen 2:7, here are the prior occurences, Gen_1:21, Gen_1:24, Gen_2:19 and you have to go down to the word creature to find them.  So what we discover from this is that animals are living souls as well!  Given the theological dogma that man has a separate immortal soul within him this comes as a shocking revelation as we start to uncover what is hidden through obfuscation in translation.  There is much more to discover by going through these scriptures.  But I won't spoil the fun of the search for the earnest seeker after the truth hidden by such a simple matter as the way theologically driven translators choose to translate this very important word.  Basically, though, the word has two meanings, soul and life.  In the latter sense it is often part of a euphemism for looking to murder somebody.

This is the first step towards truth for those willing to take it.  It also resulted in an enlightenment of God's word among the early Adventists which I believe was foretold by Daniel when he recorded the following:

 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

(Dan 12:4)

Sadly, the biggest block of Adventist surviving to this day, the Seventh Day Adventists have turned their back on much of that light in an attempt for acceptance among the nominal churches and even now speak out against the truths uncovered at that time. 

The door isn't closed yet and this is still the basic methodology for discovering the precious truths God hid in his word, in part by allowing translators of it to obscure much of it by permitting their biases to reign.

See you again soon!

What Is A Bible Student!

Greetings!

My name isn't important and we will not use it because I don't want to distract from the message.  The bottom line is that we believe our understanding is from God's word, the bible and it stands or falls to his glory, or our shame.  Since we believe it will stand to his glory, then our name isn't important and all glory should go to him.  if not, then let us go into nameless obscurity, where we belong.  Fair enough?  Then let's go on.

So who, or what are the Bible Students?  First of all that name was applied to a movement of Christians who believed that Charles Taze Russell had been given an uncommon insight into God's and that his publication, Zion's Watch Tower, proclaimed the truth from God's word to distinguish them from others professing belief in Jesus Christ and salvation through him.  Russell was uncomfortable with that at first because he firmly believed that the only proper name for Christians is the one one first used by divine appointment of God, Christians.  We tend to agree and when asked about who we are we will first Identify ourselves with that name.  things being what they are, however, with the body of Christ divided in Christendom and some sort of label expected the name of Bible Student stuck and that is what we are still known by today, rumors of our death as a movement spread by the Jehovah's Witnesses notwithstanding.  We still publish the Studies In the Scriptures authored by the late Brother Russell because we believe they do expound sound basic truth nd where they do fall short it is simply a matter of a mistake on Brother Russell's part as to the timing of how things are playing out in this time of the last days which were foretold millenia ago.  People don't realize because of the way folks use the failure of his prediction regarding the end of the world being complete by 1914 that so many other things he predicted either came true, or are playing out right before our very eyes.  But we see that there is still much good in those volumes and keep them in publication.

So, have basically address the question of who the bible Students were and still are to an extent we no apply ourselves to the question of what a Bible Student is.  Back in 2012 a Bible Student by the name of Bob Carnegie tried to tackle that question at a convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan with the discourse Are We Really Bible Students?  For years we didn't care for this discourse because it was a lead into promoting a teaching in another discourse the same day which we consider dead wrong.  However, it was a timely discourse and one which should set my fellow brethren thinking.  And, no, I'm not him.

Basically a Bible Student is part of a movement of Christians who believe firmly in Sola Scriptura, that is, the principle that the bible is the only reliable source for truth, period.  Oh, we may see much good in guides written by mature and understanding Christian men, however, all such guides are flawed in some way and should be measured and tested against the Bible.  That is because we believe the admonition of Paul to Timothy that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2Ti 3:16-17[unless otherwise stated all verse quotations will come from the King James Bible, KJV]).  At the time he wrote that there were only the Tanakh, or Old Testament, and parts of the New Testament such as Matthew's Gospel and some of Paul's letters, though we doubt Paul saw it that way.  So the bible is inspired, that is "God breathed," as the meaning of the Greek behind the phrase really means and evokes the picture from Genesis of man's creation and receiving life (Gen. 2:7).  God preserved the bible in the form he wanted it through the centuries, however, he is making manuscripts of great age of it available in this time of the end as part of the fulfillment of his prophecy given to Daniel that "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased" (Dan 12:4) and these give more insight into his word for the wise.  So it is the source for truth, period.

Sola Sciptura also means something else, shedding preconceptions formed by theological teaching with the wrong foundation.  Now what do we mean by that?  We are also students of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, the languages of the Bible as a whole, and several of the early languages into which it was first translated and will freely refer to them in the future since we work from the text of the Bible itself.  From years of study we concluded that the bible is a Semitic, or Middle Eastern and can only be properly understood from that perspective.  Western theology is based on Pagan Greek philosophy, a good chunk of it the philosophy of Socrates and Plato.  As this philosophy came to infect the church the bible was more and more seen through a lens of Grecian thinking and pagan beliefs imposed on it rather than the other way around.  Viewing God's word with the use of Western Theology is a big mistake which will not really lead to understanding it and it's message in our opinion. So to understand the truth of God's word one must shed that lens and take a fresh look at God's word.  That is the second part of what Sola Scriptura really means.

But how does one do that and how do Bible Students do that?  Well, the easiest way, though it is still hard work, is two part.  One must go to the text, and study the bible topically.

Not everybody is inclined to learn the bible's languages, that's just a given.  But in this day of of advanced technology there are wonderful aids available, many of them free, to get around that problem and start looking at the real message of God's word, the truth, without having to do that.  Programs such as E-Sword which can give easy access to the text of the bible and valuable aids for study such as lexicons to help one out.  And that one is free!  But the point is to go to the text of the bible itself instead of relying on translations, all of which contain their biases based on whatever theology the translator follows.  This is what the early Adventists did using concordances and lexicons while shedding preconceived notions of what God's Word taught in there quest fr truth.  It is also what led to early advances in understanding of God's word at the time, though with time most started renouncing those truths in favor of gaining some sort of approval of the nominal churches.  A true Bible Student goes to the text of God's word for enlightenment.

The second part of the method is to study the bible Topically.  We are not here saying that sequential reading of God's word or study of individual books is useless, quite the contrary that gives a person a great overview of things and a basis for making sure they don't take verses out of context to formulate some sort of teaching not really biblical.  However, it did please God to hide the truth in plan sight so that one has to go hunting for it and that is done through topical study.  By that we mean one takes a subject, for instance the soul.  Then one looks up key words, in this case really just two words, nephesh and psyche, and not only looking them up in a lexicon, but using a concordance or the search function of a computer program to follow them throughout the bible and see what their usage reveals.  What really makes things easier is that at the end of the 19th century a scholar, Dr. Strong, assigned each word of the original languages in the text a number and most lexicons, concordances, and computer programs are keyed to those Strong's numbers, as they are called today.  Try that with the word "soul" and one discovers some things about the soul theologians try to hide, obscure, or explain away.  But it leads to understanding God's word and what it really says.

So that is what Bible Students are and how we arrive at our beliefs.  We look to God's word and for acceptance any other aid must be based on God's word and use the same basic methodology.  We are a firm believer here that if one cannot explain what they believe without using God's word only and must constantly cite the works of men other then lexicons, etc, and that includes the Studies In The Scriptures and Zion's Watchtower as some among us are wont to do, then one is either a babe in Christ, or a follower of some man.  As a matter of course that leaves out Jehovah's Witnesses, who claim to be us.

That, in a nutshell, is What the Bible Students are.  We are simply Christians who believe in the inspiration and primacy of the Bible over any other work.  We study it diligently for insight and take it's word over any other, one such matter being where historians agree that Israel was in exile to Babylon for fifty years, but the eyewitness account of Daniel the prophet says seventy.  Our study using the methodology outline has convinced us that in the important matters Charles Taze Russell had insight into God's word, though as individuals we reserve the right to disagree with hm or anyone else if our personal study leads us to other conclusions.  So we do recommend the Studies, as we call the volumes her wrote,  As reliable guides to those new to the christian faith and we do use them as a standard framework for studies together as congregations.  We are a movement, meaning the focus in one's liberty in Christ, therefore there is no master organization controlling belief or actions.  Each congregation is independent and its leaders, the elders and deacons, elected by the members periodically and responsible to them as a church.  We, this individual Bible Student using the third person since this is formal writing, invite you to follow along with us as we lay out what our study of God's word has led us to conclude.  The next post will be on the Gospel, or Good news, in brief.