lowing question is pertinent. Q. Walla Walla, Wash.— “Is there an explanation why the original Scofield Bible has such marginal references as is found for I John 5:7? It is gen erally agreed that verse 7 has no real authority and has been inserted. If it was not in the original manuscript, why was it inserted? Some cults are quick'to state that w e have add ed to God’s Word. Are we letting ourselves in for criticism by such statements?” A. This falls into the area of what we call “textual criticism”. As to I John 5:7, the comment is not in the mar gin, but in the footnote. As conserv ative, evangelical, and fundamental believers, we state unequivocally that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. We verily affirm that the Bible is inspired in the original manu scripts as penned by their authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Obvious ly we cannot vouch letter for letter, column for column, period for period, in the various translations. When the English translation was authorized by King James, godly men sat down and reverently studied the available manuscripts. Since that time, espe cially up to 1901, when the Ameri can Standard Version was published, many new discoveries were obtained through such means as archaeology. Keep in mind that the Bible has come down to us not only in manu script form, but also translation or version form, in Latin, Greek, Ara maic, Syriac, and other languages. Evidently, down through the years, some translator added the words in I John 5:7, thinking that they might further illumine the truth. There is nothing to be lost in leaving out this phrase. If you were a Greek and He brew scholar and went through the entire Bible to note the different var iations, you would find a very mini mal amount. Adding them all up would not change one single doctrine of the Bible. Language is not like math or science. There are differ ent ways to convey the truth.
Q. British Columbia— “In your doc trinal statement, you adhere to the fact that ‘All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in the present life, shall b e raised from the dead, and throughout eternity exist in a state o f consciousness, unutterable, end less torment and anguish.’ Can you give me Scripture to back this up? Please don’t quote Rev. 19:2. There is no such positive statement about sinners. It is only a figurative harlot. I believe the Bible teaches that those who do not accept Jesus our Lord, will b e raised from the dead and thrown into the lake o f fire. This is the second death. Also, Jesus did not say, ‘F ear Him who can torture both body and soul,’ but instead, ‘Fear Him who can destroy.’ ” A. We would point you to John 5:28, 29. Here we definitely see that those who have done good, believing on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be raised unto the resurrection of life. They that have done evil, having rejected the Saviour (John 3 :18), shall be raised unto the resur rection of damnation or condemna tion. Whether the questioner wants to realize it or not, Rev. 19:2 does refer to the false religions of the world, as well as every unbeliever. This is not a mythical or hypotheti cal situation. There are still other verses in Revelation 20:13 and 21:8 which give further proof to this point in Biola’s historic doctrinal state ment. In the account of the rich man and Lazarus, which incidentally is not a parable, the word “death” does not connote that either was released from any consciousness, or from the ability of discerning the condition of their state. In addition to being Dean o f Tal bot Theological Seminary, Graduate School o f Biola College, Dr. Charles L. Feinberg was a m ember o f the revision comm ittee for the New Sco field R eference Bible. W e are privi leg ed to have such a dedicated and faithful scholar on our staff. The fol- Page 24
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs