It was noted in the BACKGROUND Page “A strict adherence to a few principles will be used here. The first is remaining true to the wording of Scripture; the second, having multiple witnesses to establish a truth; and finally, a reliance upon an understanding that the Scriptures were written in a context of life very different from today’s.”
This post is intended to address the first of those principles, remaining true to the wording of Scripture.
Deuteronomy 4:2 LITV You shall not add to the Word which I command you, nor take from it, to keep the commandments of YHWH your God which I command you.
Deuteronomy 12:32 LITV
32 All the things that I command you, take heed to do them and you shall not add to it, nor take away from it.
Proverbs 30:5-6 LITV
5 Every Word of God is refined, He is a shield to those who seek refuge in Him. 6 Do not add to His Words, that He not reprove you, and you be found a liar.
Matthew 5:17-19 LITV
17 Do not think that I came to annul the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to annul, but to fulfill. 18 Truly I say to you, Until the heaven and the earth pass away, in no way shall one iota or one point pass away from the Law until all comes to pass. 19 Therefore, whoever relaxes one of these commandments, the least, and shall teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of Heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Luke 16:17 LITV
17 But it is easier for the heaven and the earth to pass away than one point of the Law to fail. (This is calling heaven and earth as witness, commonly seen in Scripture – Dt. 4:26, 30:19, 31:28; Is. 1:2; Jr. 2:12, 6:19; Mic. 6:2)
John 10:35-36 ESV
35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?
Revelation 22:18-19 ESV
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
This concept is so very important, not only because YHWH stated it, but because of the power of the words:
Isaiah 55:8-11 ESV
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares YHWH.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
In this regard, the reader will notice that the name of God YHWH was placed in some verses above. It is not my goal to offend anyone. It is however, my purpose to be faithful to the Word of God as it is written. Thus, it may be offensive to some when the name, YHWH is written, if is against your tradition to speak the name. Again, there is specific purpose. First is to “change no words.” Second is that there are many interpretations by people that make it misleading as to whom is actually meant in some of the current translations saying “Lord.” Therefore, when it says YHWH, I have entered YHWH. Where it says another name for Lord, then “Lord” is entered. Never will it be taken lightly.
In all cases in the Scripture that we currently have from the Greek, the word κύριος kúrios is used for Lord. Most times Lord will be left there as is. However, when it is a specific reference to a known verse in the Hebrew Scriptures, where it refers to YHWH, then YHWH is substituted. There are times when the references seem to refer more to YHWH than to Yeshua, but when it is not a clear-cut reference, it is left simply as κύριος kúrios, “Lord.”
amazingfacts.org
Similarly, it may be offensive to some when I say ‘man’ or ‘he’ when what is written applies to both men and women, but the goal is to remain as true to the words as possible. There will be a detailed explanation of how linguistic gender applies, so that you may understand. The goal is, as much as possible, accuracy to the original language. The website will delve into a little Greek, a lot more Hebrew, trying to
get at what Scripture is really saying. The focus on the many times Scripture itself stresses those seven points listed on the Background page. If I believe that every letter and word, etc. is written as it was inspired, am I to make changes? But just because I take this stance should not suggest to you that this will be about a harsh and judgmental God. I pray you get to know him as this witness knows him.
This site not use the terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament,” because the use of the terms may suggest that there is something better about the “new” and worse about the “old.” All Scripture is inspired, and all is a package which I like to refer to as a “Tapestry,” interwoven with many threads, all interconnected, without which one cannot get the entire picture. The terms we will use here will be the Hebrew Scriptures and the Greek Scriptures. Let me please explain that there is extensive evidence that much of what we now have in the more recent Greek Scriptures was actually written in Hebrew. And many will be aware that there has been for thousands of years a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint). So that you understand, here, what your tradition may have taught as “Old Testament,” will be the Hebrew Scriptures. And here, what your tradition may have called “New Testament,” will be referred to as Greek Scriptures. To make connections between the two, the Septuagint and other reference tools will be used. And this will be done frequently in the exploration of the Greek Scriptures (GS), to take it back as often as possible to the connections in the Hebrew Scriptures (HS).
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