Lesson 1:

THE HOLY SCRIPTURE:

Laying the foundation for our certainty in and respect of the Divine Text.
BY Heath A. Martin

i. In 1963 all social measurements dramatically “tanked”; some increasing by 600 to 800%.
Why did this happen in 1963? In 1962, The Bible and prayer was removed from the
public school system (These levels had been steady for decades).. . . . . . ..But why was
this also true in the Church?
ii. Satan’s basic craft is corruption (adding to/taking from) God’s WORD; which in turn,
leads to doubt about what God has said. Gen. 3.

*II Tim. 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto
all good works.
*Ps 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
*Ps 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth:
for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

I. Establishing CERTAINTY about the Text:

FROM: “Travels And Experiences In Other Lands”; E. E. Byrum, Gospel Trumpet, 1905.

EXAMINING MANUSCRIPTS OF THE BIBLE.

“As it has been stated, one of the objects of our mission was to examine ancient manuscripts of the Bible, some of
which are kept in England. The first place visited for that purpose was the famous Bodleian Library, Oxford, England.
There are probably not more than two larger libraries in the world than this one. Besides the several hundred
thousand printed books, there are 32,000 manuscripts. However, there was only one manuscript at that place in which
we were specially interested, and that was the volume which contains the New Testament Scriptures, and known as
Codex Tischendorfianus IV. This manuscript is a volume in old-fashioned design, and made up of parchment leaves of
over 1,100 years old, not printed in type, but written in large square capital letters of Greek, without any punctuation
or division between words, having only paragraphs here and there. It is the oldest New Testament that Oxford
possesses. While in conversation with a librarian we soon learned that he was a higher critic, and in making mention
concerning the ancient manuscripts and especially concerning the Gospels, he said: ‘‘You are no doubt aware that the
last twelve verses of the last chapter of St. Mark are spurious.’’

We replied, ‘‘We are not aware of this being the case, although we have frequently heard it so stated.’’

To this he said, ‘‘it is not in the old manuscripts,’’ and aimed to leave the impression on us that it was not in this
manuscript.

He further stated, ‘‘I have written a commentary on St. Matthew and also on St. Mark. The one on Matthew has been
published; the one on Mark has not.”

We soon found that he was not very much of a believer in preaching and practicing the whole Word of God in these
days. We told him that we should like to examine the ancient manuscript, and especially the last chapter of St. Mark.
To this he replied, “It would do you no good, as the passage is spurious.’’

However, we made application according to the rules of the library, and he could not refuse letting us see the
manuscript. Upon examination we found the sixteenth chapter of St. Mark in full, as we had anticipated. Other
questionable passages were also to be found in this manuscript. . . . . .

From Oxford we went to London to continue our work regarding the manuscripts at the British Museum. . . . . Having
a letter of introduction to Lord Cunaird we visited him, and he gave us a letter to the secretary of the Museum, asking
him to let us have such privileges as we desired at that place. The secretary was very kind, and gave us special favors,

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and waived the rules, giving us immediate admittance. . . . . Through these special favors by the help of the Lord we
not only had the privilege of examining the photographic copies of the old manuscripts, but were permitted to examine
the old manuscripts themselves. . . . . . ..

Here we examined three of the ancient manuscripts of the Bible. The first of these, Codex Alexandrinus, one of the
three most ancient manuscripts of the Bible in the world, was written in Greek paleography about 1,500 years ago, on
fine parchments that have so well stood the hostile attacks of unfavorable ages, and the wear and tear of centuries
past, standing as a firm and strong monumental witness to the providence of God in preserving the Sacred Oracles in
record. The original of these precious documents is kept with great care, and is not for public handling or inspection;
but a perfect facsimile, photographic copy is allowed to be used. At first they refused to allow us to examine the
original. However, through the grace of God we had the privilege of reading the very original volume, but the
superintendent of that department of the library stood by and turned the leaves for us, not permitting us to handle
them. In this volume we found the entire passage of Mark 16: 9-20.

Then we examined Codex Harleianus, a manuscript of the ninth and tenth century, and Codex Burneimus of the
eleventh century, both of which contain the disputed conclusion of Mark un-curtailed. Besides this passage we
examined some other New Testament scriptures, the genuineness of which is sometimes questioned by the scholars (so
called) ; and we are glad to say that we found them all right in these manuscripts. Now these are all of the most
ancient manuscripts of the kind in the British Museum.

A few days later we continued our work with the manuscripts at the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris. . . . .Here we
examined the important and curious manuscript known as Codex Ephraemi, which is one of the most ancient
manuscripts of the Bible. In value it is as important as Codex Alexandrinus of the British Museum, and in antiquity it
stands fourth, if not earlier; Codex Sinaiticus in St. Petersburg, the Vaticanus in Home, and Codex Alexandrinus in
London, are the first three. But this manuscript is perhaps the most difficult to read, as it is most obscure and blurred,
as if blue or black ink had been smeared over the pages of the sacred volume. This was the result of a chemical which
the parchment folios underwent in order to bring to light the almost obliterated sacred writing, which was rubbed out
to receive a later inscription. The manuscript is about 1,500 years old. We examined this codex and found the last
twelve verses of Mark’s Gospel in it all right.

Then we examined the Royal Manuscript of Paris, which is about 1,200 years old. This is the only manuscript, so far as
we know, that contains an alternative conclusion of Mark, but it gives in full the usual revision of the text page. The
eighth verse ends about the middle of the second column and the entire third column is left vacant, leaving sufficient
space for the remainder of the chapter. The Gospel of St. Luke begins over on the next page. Now, there is no other
similar instance in the whole New Testament portion of the manuscript. If a book ends in the middle of first column,
the next book always begins at the next column. We examined the whole of the New Testament, and found no other
unnecessary vacancy anywhere else. This singular fact decidedly proves that the original manuscript from which this
copy was made must have contained the verses nine to twenty in full, but for some reason or other the transcriber did
not copy them. . . . . .

. . . . . . it may also have been because that in the original manuscript this was the last leaf and it was torn off, which
caused the absence of the section in subsequent copies of which this manuscript in the Vatican is a sample. This idea
has been entertained by several of the able scholars of Biblical criticism; for they are all united in declaring that the
gospel could not have been ended with verse eight, the last word of which is a conjunction “for,” which can never close
a book without doing severe violence to the simple and elementary laws of composition and rhetoric. There are many
other internal and external reasons in favor of the genuineness of the passage. In fact, all the manuscripts that we
examined contained the passages, except this one. Another one at St. Petersburg, . . . . . does not contain it. . . . .. .. It
is to be found in all the ancient versions and in the writings of the Fathers. One of the earliest Fathers, Irenaeus, who
was the disciple of Polycarp, a disciple of John the Evangelist, quotes the passage in his treatise against the
heretics.. . . .. .

HOW WE GOT OUR BIBLE.

. . . . .‘What evidence have we of the genuineness of these Scriptures?” Some say that it was handed down from
generation to generation by hearsay until centuries after the time of the apostles; but such is not the case.

The Pentateuch, or first five books of the Bible, whose writing is ascribed to Moses, and which is sometimes called “the
book,” or “the book of Moses,” was a written book. It was sometimes called ‘‘the law,’’ or ‘‘the book of the law.” Moses
gave the law to the people, and after his death we find Joshua having the people gather together between Mount
(Gerizim and mount Ebal, near Shechem, and the law was read to them.

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Centuries after this we find about the time Nehemiah was preparing to rebuild the walls of, Jerusalem, he had the
people gather together, and told Ezra to ‘‘bring the book of the law.’’ Neh. 8:4. And the book was brought, ‘‘and Ezra
opened the book’’ and read to the people. We find, also, in the Old Testament where it is stated that the acts of the
kings are recorded in the book of the Kings and in Chronicles, etc. These records were preserved and handed down
from generation to generation, and the people of God were made acquainted with their teachings.

When Jesus Christ came and began His ministry, He frequently referred the people to what had been written. In St.
Luke 4: 16-20 is an account given of the time when Jesus began his ministry at Nazareth, which says, ‘‘He went into
the synagogue on the sabbath-day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet
Esaias [Isaiah]. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me,’’ etc. ‘‘And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down.’’ They not only had in
those days the book containing the Law, but here Jesus read from the book of Isaiah the prophet, which told
concerning himself. It was a book which could be opened (verse 11), and it says he ‘‘closed the book.’’ Verse 2O.

It is plain to see that they had the Scriptures recorded in book form, not only during the centuries before Christ, but at
the time he began his ministry, and no doubt they had copies of these Scriptures in all the synagogues. It would not,
therefore, be a strange thing if many copies of these ancient manuscripts were sealed up and kept in some secluded
place for centuries and many copies were made from others. In consideration of the fact that the Scriptures, or Old
Testament, were so made into book form and were carefully preserved before and during the time of Christ, it would
not seem strange if his own words and the words of the apostles were also carefully preserved in book manuscript,
written upon the durable parchments of that day. . . . . . .we find Paul preaching to the people, as recorded in Acts 17:
11, ‘‘and they searched the Scriptures daily.’’ . . . . . At one place was a man named Apollos, of whom it is said, that he
was ‘‘mighty in the Scriptures.’’ Acts 18: 24. . . . . ..

. . . . . . .The earliest Hebrew text known of the Old Testament is one in the British Museum, which dates back about to
the ninth century A. D.; but there are many other evidences of the writings of the Old Testament in existence which
date back much further. Aside from the Talmud and the Targums, there is the Samaritan Pentateuch. This is a very
ancient manuscript in the form of a roll, written in Samaritan or Old Hebrew characters, independently of the
Orthodox Jews, and is supposed to be almost as ancient as the Hebrew. It contains the first five books of the Bible. It
is kept by the Samaritan people at Nabulus, a city which is built on the site of the ancient city of Shechem. It is
claimed that this manuscript was written by the great grandson of Aaron. In our travels through Palestine we remained
one night in this city, where there are about one hundred and fifty of the Samaritan people still living as a colony. They
take much pride in the preservation of these manuscripts.

THE SEPTUAGINT VERSION.

We have to-day what is called the Septuagint Version, or version of the Seventy. This is a translation of the Old
Testament made in the Greek language at Alexandria by seventy-two Jewish scholars, and for this reason it is called
the Septuagint or Seventy. It is said that Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt B. C. 284-246, while preparing his large
library, desired to have reliable books on every theme from the best authority possible; therefore sent an embassy to
Eliazar the high priest at Jerusalem to obtain copies of their sacred books and of the Hebrew law, and make a
translation of the same. This high priest sent the copies requested, together with these seventy-two translators. It is
said that they were separated from each other, and that when their translations were compared they were exactly the
same. However, let that be as it may, a translation of the books of the Pentateuch was made about two hundred and
fifty years or more before Christ, and the other books completed a few years later. Thus the entire Old Testament was
translated into Greek over one hundred and fifty years before Christ. There have been a number of other versions since
that time. But, it is the New Testament that we desire more especially to dwell upon. [This was the version in common
use in the days of Christ and the Apostles and continues to be the Old Testament Canon of the Latin and Greek
Church. Jesus, The WORD, freely quoted from this version and in no way questioned or corrected it’s authority or
accuracy; but instead quoted from virtually every book in the accepted Canon, with the exception of the “Apocryphal
books” (This could be interpreted as the only “correction” that He made to their cannon by refusing to quote from
them). This effectively places God’s approval and seal upon this version. Also, because the book of Daniel was in
print, in the Septuagint before several of the events he foresaw transpired, this brings into disrepute the objections of
the critics that say that he wrote “after the fact”-so accurate were his predictions through Inspiration.]

THE NEW TESTAMENT.

. . . . .The evidences by which we may know the facts concerning the reliability and genuineness of our Bible are
through the versions, manuscripts, and quotations from the Bible by early writers. . . . . .. No one calls in question
that King James I, almost three centuries ago ordered it to be translated and printed. Neither do they believe that King
James or any one else in his day wrote this book in order to deceive the people. Consequently there must have been
some versions or manuscripts older than this one.

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We have heretofore stated that the original language of the New Testament was Greek. [A.D. 52? through A.D. 100? —
coming to us in Koine (common) Greek, the common language of the time; A.D. 100? — Formulation of Palestinian
Canon of Hebrew Bible at Synod of Jamnia. {This came about because the Septuagint was perceived as having been
“taken over” by the Christians; and the Jews wanted their “own” Scriptures. A group of Pharisees called the council at
Jamnia was empaneled to produce a new Hebrew version of the Scriptures. They rejected the Septuagint and the old
Hebrew text from which it was translated, the Verloga, and built their own version of the Tenach (OT) and destroyed any
divergent text; thus standardizing their version. Their work would be the basis for and ultimately become the Masoretic
Text }; 350 through 400 — First stabilization of New Testament Canon of 27 Books. About 400 — Jerome completes
his final translation of the Bible, the Latin Vulgate, based on the Septuagint and translated from the Hebrew, and other
ancient versions. About 600 through 900 — The Masoretic Text in Hebrew is developed by the Masoretes, a school of
Jewish textual critics. The MT, used in the Jewish Bible, has been an important reference in preparing translations
into other languages including the KJV.] About the eighth century some portions of the Scripture were made into
Anglo-Saxon, and into English about the thirteenth century. About 1380 Wyclif, with some of his followers, translated
the entire Bible into the English from the Latin Vulgate; but as this was before the days of printing, it existed only in
manuscript form until about the year 1848 or 1850, when it was published in type. [1456 — The Gutenberg Bible, a
folio edition of the Latin Vulgate, is printed from moveable type, an epochal event that inaugurated the era of printing.
1516 — Erasmus completes his translation in Greek. 1522 — Martin Luther translates the Bible into German.] In
1525 William Tyndale began the publication of his translation of the New Testament. In 1534 he published a revised
edition of the New Testament. [Tyndale’s version powerfully influenced all of the English versions that would follow. He
was murdered for producing this translation. One of the most impressive and oft overlooked facts is that many of the
translators did their work at great personal cost and self sacrifice. Often spending their entire lifetime in study and
seclusion because of their personal deep regard for the text of the WORD of God. This is an important element lacking
in much of the modern translators and their versions. Why this is important is the fact that when so much is at stake,
and comes at great personal expense, reasons suggests that the utmost of care is invested in the endeavor and nothing
is done glibly or unreliably. When something is done quickly and often for profit, as many of the versions of the last
200 years has been, it most often lacks real scholarship. Few modern Scholars have the tenacity or concern to go to
the “root” for their work; but seem to build error upon error.] In 1535 Miles Coverdale translated the Bible from the
Swiss-German Bible and the Latin Version of Pagninus. This was the first version [Dedicated to King Henry VIII] of the
entire Bible published in English. Then came what was known as Matthew’s Bible, 1537; Taverner’s, 1539; the Great
Bible [Authorized by Henry VIII], 1539; the Geneva Bible, 1560 [Produced by Coverdale, William Whittingham, John
Knox, and others in Geneva after Mary became queen. It is the first English Bible to divide the Chapters into Verses.];
the Bishop’s Bible, 1568; Rheims’ New Testament, 1582 [1582 through 1610 — Douay-Rheims (Catholic) Bible
appears, a direct translation into English from the Vulgate by the Catholic College; the New Testament issued at
Rheims, the Old Testament in 1609 and 1610 at Douay, France.]; then came the Authorized Version, 1611. King James
had fifty-four scholarly persons assigned to the work of translating and preparing this Bible. They were located at
Westminster, Oxford, and Cambridge. It was not particularly to be a new translation, but to be a better one, as many
errors had been made in the former translations. They were to follow the text of the Bishop’s Bible with as little
alteration as the truth of the original permitted. They used the text of Beza’s Latin and Greek Testaments of 1598, and
also made considerable use of the Geneva of 1560 and the Rheim’s New Testament of 1582. They did not at that time
have access to the older Greek manuscripts, [They did have over 5000 texts but relied mostly on the Textus Receptus
or the Byzantine Text and the “Eastern” Church traditions that had been codified throughout the centuries {SEE End
Notes for info on “EASTERN CHURCH”}. They worked through intense prayer and “committees” as they carefully
compared the texts and produced their translation. Their work has been heralded throughout history as the noblest
monument of the English language.] the most reliable of which have been discovered and brought into use since that
date.

After some of these older manuscripts were found it was deemed necessary to get out a revised edition in order to
correct some of the errors that were clearly pointed out through the reading of the older manuscripts, [Less than 1% of
the Bible is under competent dispute. . .no doctrine is dependent upon any disputed passage or words. More than
likely these are “copyist errors”, that do, not in any way, destroy the “in-errancy” of Scripture nor it’s “Inspired” status.
Because of the vast amount of available manuscripts and the degree of agreement with them, as well as some other
factors, what is actually proved is God’s preservation of His WORD.] and some also found to be made by those who
copied the manuscripts in later years, although there was nothing of such a serious nature as to change the doctrine
or teachings to any great extent. . . . . .. A version is that which is translated from another language. For instance,
from Greek to Latin or from Greek to English or some other language. . . . . . There are two classes of Greek writing;
the oldest being written in capital letters, which is called uncial. These are written without any extra space between the
words, making it quite difficult to read. It is not divided into sentences, and is without punctuation. However, about
the ninth or tenth century another style of writing was used, which is called the cursive style, which is a kind of
running hand.

There are about one hundred of the old uncial manuscripts and nearly three thousand of the cursive manuscripts
which are to be seen and examined. [Scholarship states, that for any work of antiquity, if there are at least ten
identical copies, the original is judged as genuine. There are over 10,000 copies of the Books, or part of the
Books of the WORD of GOD, with more continuously being discovered. This means that there is greater proof of

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the authenticity of the Bible, than any other book in the world. The next book of antiquity in line is “Homer's Iliad”
with 650 copies, the next after that, some 350 copies. The writings of Socrates and Plato has less ancient text than the
Iliad. The “Lapse” (distance between the original writing and available text) for other ancient manuscripts approaches
1000 years; whereas the lapse for the The WORD of God is less than one lifetime [because of the quotes from Polycarp
69-165 and the “Jesus Papyrus” which is a portion of Matthew Gospel, dated in 1994 by competent comparison
analysis and modern sophisticated techniques to be either the original or an immediate copy. One of the most recent
and important discoveries of copies of particular Books in the Bible are, what is termed, the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947
{SEE End Notes for Info on DEAD SEA SCROLLS}.] The most important of the old Greek manuscripts that have been
found are the Codex Sinaiticus, the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Alexandrinus, and Codex Ephraemi. These date
back from A. D. 300 to A. D. 450. Some claim the Codex Vaticanus to be the oldest, while others believe the Codex
Sinaiticus to be the oldest volume. There are strong evidences that both of these were copied from other manuscripts
between the years 300 and 400 A. D. [The Epistle of 1 John and II Peter 2:1-3 (55 A.D.) were written with Gnostic
errors in mind (the mixing of Greek philosophy and Christianity). The seat of the Gnostics was Alexandria. They were
known to “shorten” the Scriptures and “tailor” them to their belief system. Irenaeus in 156 A.D. “. .they and their
followers have betaken themselves to mutilating the Scriptures which they themselves, have shortened. . .” Because of
the age of these codices, modern scholarship has tended to assume they are the most reliable and have set aside other
sources; but it should be noted that all these codices originated from Alexandria. This has caused some scholars to
believe in the possible corruption of these codices because of the Gnostic influence at Alexandria [as Irenaeus stated].
These Codices are the basis of all modern translations; one of the main pillars of these being Wescott and Hort’s Greek
New Testament translation of 1881 (because of the belief that “older is better”); however, they are also the basis of most
of the textual disputes that have surfaced in the last 200 years. These men had open contempt for Textus Receptus
and for the Blood of Christ and had great respect for Darwinism (there are many quotes from them that show these)
They called the “Atonement”-“heresy” and denied the “Sinlessness of Christ”, embraced Romanism and “Mary
Worship”. Their Greek translation differs from the traditional Greek text in 8,413 places. The discrepancies between
the texts all strike blows at: The Deity of Christ, The Virgin Birth, The Atonement and the Sinlessness of Christ, etc.;
they also are the source of the controversy concerning the last 12 verses of Mark 16 (Irenaeus quotes from these very
passages in his commentary on Mark in 150 A.D., as I said, few modern “scholars” go to the root.). DO YOU REALLY
WANT TO TRUST A “BIBLE” BASED UPON THEIR TRANSLATION? CHECK THE FRONT OF YOUR BIBLE FOR ITS
SOURCES!! and see if it removes or calls into question the last 12 verses of St. Mark];
<END OF SESSION 1>

. . . .The Alexandrian manuscript, the youngest of these three great manuscripts, is preserved in the British
Museum. It was presented to Charles I. by the Patriarch of Constantinople, A. D. 1628. This was seventeen years too
late to be used in preparing the Authorized Version. Only ten leaves are missing from the Old Testament; but of the
New Testament twenty-five leaves have been lost from the beginning of Matthew, two from John, and three from
Corinthians. It is written two columns on a page. The Vatican manuscript is written three columns on a page, and the
Sinaitic has four columns.

The Vatican, or the Codex Vaticanus, which is generally considered the most ancient in existence, has been in the
Vatican Library for at least four or five hundred years. The early history of this manuscript is not known. It contains
over seven hundred leaves of the finest vellum, about a foot square, bound together in book form. Gen. 1 to 46 is lost,
also Psa. 105 to 127, and all after Hebrews 9:14 of the New Testament. In this manuscript, which is generally
claimed to be the oldest one, the last twelve verses of the last chapter of St. Mark are omitted. But for some
reason, enough blank space is left on the page, showing that the scribe knew of its existence; but for some
reason it was not inserted, although in other old manuscripts and still older versions in other languages these
verses appear; also in the writings of the early church Fathers. This manuscript having been kept in the Vatican
Library by the Roman Catholics, it was not until recent years that any one but the Roman Catholics had access to it,
and at the present time it is very carefully guarded, and a hard matter to obtain the privilege of examining it. A number
of years ago Dr. Tregelles, who is said to be one of the most eminent of textual critics, made an attempt to examine the
manuscript; but he said they would not let him open the volume without first searching his pockets and depriving him
of pens, ink, and paper. The two priests who were left to guard and watch him would try to detract his attention if he
seemed too intent on any passage, and if he studied any part of it too long they would snatch away the book. Since
that time, by order of Pope Pius IX., facsimile pages have been made of it, and bound volumes are to be found in many
of our chief public libraries.

. . . . .The Sinaitic manuscript, which was copied about the same time of the Vatican manuscript, was of more recent
discovery. The story of its discovery is quite an interesting one. Tischendorf, who for some years had been spending his
time principally in examining all the old manuscripts he could find, decided to make a special tour through the East
and visit the old libraries and convents in order to find more ancient manuscripts of the Bible. From the very earliest
age of the Christian era the Greek texts had been translated into different languages—into Latin, Syriac, Egyptian, etc.
Ancient manuscripts of these versions had been brought to light where for centuries they had been hidden away in old
libraries and convents. But it was the ancient Greek manuscripts that he was more anxious to obtain.

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In the year 1844 he embarked for Egypt, and was soon at the foot of Mount Sinai in the convent of St. Catherine. While
here, in the month of May, he found in the middle of a great hall a basket full of old parchments. The librarian told him
that two heaps of papers like those had already been committed to the flames. Tischendorf looked over this pile of
papers and found several sheets of a copy of the Old Testament in Greek, which seemed to him the most ancient of any
he had ever seen. The authorities of the convent allowed him to take one-third of the pile of parchments in the waste-
basket, or about forty-five sheets. He was so delighted, and gave expression to his feelings to such an extent that they
suspicioned the manuscript was of great value and refused to allow him to take any more than the forty-five sheets. He
tried in various ways to procure the others, but failed.

In February, 1854, he again visited the convent at Sinai. This visit was successful in some ways, but he was not
successful in procuring the desired manuscripts. He was not able to discover any further traces of those he had seen in
1844, although he found in a roll of papers a little fragment written on both sides which contained eleven short lines of
the first book of Moses, which convinced him that the manuscript originally contained the entire Old Testament, but
that the greater part had been long since destroyed.

On January 18, 1859, he made a short visit to the convent, hoping to make some further discoveries. After remaining a
few days looking over some other ancient manuscripts, he made arrangements with his Bedouin guides to make ready
for their return journey soon, when a peculiar circumstance took place. To give it in his own language, he says:

“On the afternoon of this day I was taking a walk with the steward of the convent in the neighborhood,
and as we returned towards sunset he begged me to take some refreshments with him in his cell.
Scarcely had he entered the room when, resuming our former subject of conversation, he said, ‘And I
too have read a Septuagint, that is, a copy of the Greek translation made by the Seventy’; and so
saying he took down from the corner of the room a bulky kind of volume wrapped up in a red cloth,
and laid it before me. I unrolled the cover, and discovered, to my great surprise, not only those very
fragments which, fifteen years before, I had taken ont of the basket, but also parts of the Old
Testament, the New Testament complete, and in addition, the Epistle of Barnabas and part of the
Pastor of Hernias. Full of joy, which I had at this time the self-command to conceal from the steward
and the rest of the community, I asked, as if in a careless way, for permission to take the manuscript
into my sleeping-chamber, to look over it more at leisure. There by myself, I could give way to the
transport of joy which I felt. I knew that I held in my hand the most precious Biblical treasure in
existence—a document whose age and importance exceeded that of all the manuscripts which I had
ever examined during twenty years’ of study on the subject. I can not now, I confess, recall all the
emotions which I felt in that exciting moment, with such a diamond in my possession. Though my
lamp was dim and the night cold, I sat down at once to transcribe the Epistle of Barnabas. For two
centuries search had been made in vain for the original Greek of the first of this epistle, which has
been only known through a very faulty Latin translation. And yet this letter, from the end of the second
down to the beginning of the fourth century, had an extensive authority, since many Christians
assigned to it and to the Pastor of Hermas a place side by side with the inspired writings of the New
Testament. This was the very reason why these two writings were thus both bound up with the Sinaitic
Bible, time transcription of which is to he referred to the first half of the fourth century, and about the
time of the first Christian emperor.

‘‘Early on the 5th of February, I called upon the steward and asked permission to take the manuscript
with me to Cairo, to have it there transcribed from cover to cover; but time prior had set out only two
days before for Cairo, on his way to Constantinople, to attend at the election of a new archbishop, and
one of the monks would not give his consent to my request. What was then to be done? My plans were
quickly decided. On the 7th, at sunrise, I took a hasty farewell of the monks, in hopes of reaching
Cairo in time to get the prior’s consent. Every mark of attention was shown me on setting out. The
Russian flag was hoisted from the convent walls, while the hillsides rang with time echoes of a parting
salute, and the most distinguished members of the order escorted me on my way as far as the plain.

‘‘The following Sunday I reached Cairo where I was received with the same marks of good-will. The
prior, who had not yet set out, at once gave his consent to my request, and also gave instructions to a
Bedouin to go and fetch the manuscript with all speed. Mounted on his camel, in nine days he went
from Cairo to Sinai and back, and on the 24th of February the priceless treasure was again in my
hands. The time was now come at once boldly and without delay to set to work to a task of transcribing
no less than one hundred and ten thousand lines, of which a great many were difficult to read either
on account of later corrections or through the ink having faded, and that in a climate where the
thermometer through March, April, and May is never below seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit in the
shade. No one can say what this cost me in fatigue and exhaustion.” On the 27th of September
Tischendorf returned to Cairo, and received from the monks under the form of a loan the Sinaitic
Bible, which he took to St. Petersburg, where it was accurately copied.

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Lesson 1:

. . . . . There is another quite important one of the uncial manuscripts, called Codex Ephraemi. This is, however, called
a palimpsest or rescript manuscripts that is, the original writings were rubbed out in order to make room for other
writings. It was first written in uncial characters, and about the twelfth century these pages were washed and
pumiced, and on it were placed the writings of an old church Father by the name of Ephraemn Syrus. This last writing
was done in the cursive or running hand style of writing. About two hundred years ago a Swiss theologian attempted to
decipher a few traces of the original manuscript. Some time after that another man undertook it with but little success.
In later years an attempt was made to bring out the characters by means of chemicals. But after all these attempts
proved to be unsuccessful, Tischendorf tried his skill at the manuscript, and by the use of chemicals was enabled to be
successful in his efforts, insomuch that he was able to completely decipher the whole of it and distinguish between the
dates of the different writers who had been engaged upon the manuscript. This manuscript is kept in the Royal Library
at Paris. <BEGIN SESSION 2: Recap #1 with II PETER 2:1-3; and beginning statement “i”: Assign homework:
#1 WHAT IS HERESY?, #2 WHAT ARE FABLES, #3 HOW ARE WE TO DISCERN THEM?>
THE BRIDGE OF TIME FROM THE APOSTLES TO A. D. 400.

We have heretofore shown that the Old Testament Scriptures were handed down from generation to
generation in book form to the days of Christ, and that Ptolemy, king of Egypt, had the Septuagint Version made about
two hundred and fifty years before Christ for the great library at Alexandria. We have also shown that from A. D. 300 to
400 up to the present time there have been manuscripts in existence of both Old and New Testaments; that these
manuscripts are still in existence, and that we have personally examined the oldest of them. But now there is the space
of about three hundred years from the time of the apostles to the time when these old manuscripts were copied, which
time must be bridged over by unquestionable evidence; otherwise we shall be at sea, as it were, regarding establishing
the truthfulness of the foundation of the Bible. Skeptics, too, will say, as one said to me a few months ago while we
were sailing on the Pacific Ocean.

He asked, ‘‘How old are the oldest manuscripts of the Bible in the Greek language?’’

I replied that they dated hack to A. D. 300 to 400 years.

‘‘Then, there are no older manuscripts in existence? the original can not be found?’’

‘‘No, sir. The original Greek manuscripts have never been discovered.’’

‘‘If that is the case, that the oldest manuscripts date back only to about A. D. 300 to 400, I suppose some impostor just
wrote it up about that time, don’t you think?’’

But we have an abundance of substantial evidence with which to bridge over these few centuries of time. There is no
questioning the fact that there was at one time a man living whose name was Jesus, and that there were twelve
apostles and others who were his followers and to whom he gave the Word. After Jesus’ death Saul of Tarsus, who was
afterwards called Paul, became a believer in the Christian religion, and went forth preaching the gospel, and also wrote
a number of epistles. History tells us of these men.

Constantine, who lived A. D. 272 to 337, became the emperor of Rome. He was the first Christian emperor, and
required the people to recognize Christianity, whereas before this time the Christians had undergone the most severe
persecutions of torture of every kind, and thousands upon thousands were put to death.

In the year 325 the Nicaean Council was held, where certain authoritative steps were taken concerning this affair.
Before Constantine’s time, during the great persecutions of the Christians, a special effort was made by the rulers of
the land and others to completely wipe out of existence not only the Christians themselves, but their doctrine by also
destroying the manuscripts. Many of these sacred volumes were delivered up and burned, but others were hidden
away and sealed up in caves and vaults and in some way preserved. Constantine, desiring to reestablish the work on
this line and preserve the Scriptures, gave orders that fifty copies of the Bible be made for use in the churches at the
various places. Eusebius Pamphili, bishop of Caesarea, who lived during the time of the Emperor Constantine and died
a few years later, wrote a history of the life of the Emperor. This great Christian historian, who was a personal friend of
Constantine, in giving his account of Constantine says:

‘‘Ever careful for the welfare of the churches of God, the Emperor addressed me personally in a
letter on the means of providing copies of the inspired oracles. His letter, which related to the providing
of copies of the Scriptures for reading in the churches, was to the following purport:

“ ‘VICTOR CONSTANTINE, MAXIMUS AUGUSTUS, TO EUSEBIUS:

‘‘‘it seems highly requisite, since that city is rapidly advancing in prosperity in all other respects, that
the number of churches should be also increased. Do you, therefore, receive with all readiness my
determination on this behalf? I have thought it expedient to instruct your Prudence to order fifty copies

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Lesson 1:

of the sacred Scriptures, the provision and use of which you know to be most needful for the
instruction of the church, to be written on prepared parchment, in a legible manner, and in a
commodious and portable form, by transcribers thoroughly practiced in their art. The procurator of the
diocese has also received instructions by letter from our Clemency to be careful to furnish all things
necessary for the preparation of such copies; and it will be for you to take special care that they be
completed with as little delay as possible. You have authority, also, in virtue of this letter, to use two of
the public carriages for their conveyance, by which arrangement the copies, when fairly written, will
most easily be forwarded for my personal inspection; and one of the deacons of your church may he
entrusted with this service, who, on his arrival here, shall experience my liberality. God preserve you,
beloved brother.’

‘‘Such were the Emperor’s commands, which were followed by the immediate execution of the work
itself, which we sent him in magnificent and elaborate volumes of a threefold and fourfold form. This
fact is attested by another letter, which the Emperor wrote in acknowledgment.”—EUSEBIUS: Life of
Constantine, Bk IV, Chap. 34-37.

Here we find that fifty copies of the Bible were prepared by the hand and at the expense of the Roman emperor for the
benefit of the congregations in the different places. And when Tischendorf found the Sinaitic manuscript, he was quite
well convinced that it was very probably one of these fifty copies ordered by Constantine, which had been presented to
that convent.

Infidels admit that the New Testament as we have it existed at the time of the Council of Nice in the year 325. Then, we
have only to bridge over a chasm of less than three hundred years in order to meet the apostles with their original
writings and work.

As Jesus Christ was the foundation and chief cornerstone of the church of God, and he gave his gospel to his apostles,
we will now begin building our bridge, using him for our foundation-stone and place of starting. He gave the word and
the Twelve and the Seventy who went forth preached it. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote the Gospels. Paul and
others wrote the Epistles. Paul in writing to Timothy told him when he came to “bring the books, but especially the
parchments.” He no doubt at that very time had been writing his Epistles to the churches, which have been handed
down to us as a portion of the New Testament. John, who was one of the apostles, and who wrote a part of the New
Testament, lived until about the year 100. Polycarp, who was a great writer, and whose writings are to be found to-day,
lived from about the year 69 to 165. He was also bishop of Smyrna, was acquainted with John, and was not only
acquainted with John, but was one of his disciples, who sat at his feet and learned from the blessed apostle.

Among other writers whose writings are still extant is Justin Martyr, Who lived from about the year 105 to 163,
who was well acquainted with Polycarp, and had heard him tell of his conversations with John and of hearing John
preach. There were other noted writers of about the same time. One, Ignatius, who died about A. D. 115; another,
Clement, who was bishop of Rome from A. D. 91 to 101. Then, there was Ireneus, bishop of Lyons, who died about A.
D. 202; Tertullian, A. D. 150 to 230; Origen, A. D. 185 to 253; Gregory, 210 to 270; Constantine, A. D. 272 to 337;
Lactantius, A. D. 301 to 325; Euebius, A. D. 264 to 349.

As we have heretofore stated, infidels admit that the New Testament existed at the time of Constantine. We have now
bridged the chasm over to the apostles by a number of noted reliable writers, whose writings are now extant and a copy
of the same before me as I write. We will now proceed to quote a few expressions from the writings of some of these
men. As the dates have already been given at the time which these men lived, it will be unnecessary to make mention
again all the dates of their life and writings. However, we would say that Iremeus died in the second year of the third
century, that is, A.D. 202. In his youth he had sat at the feet of the aged Polycarp; and Polycarp had in turn been a
disciple of the Evangelist St. John, and had conversation with other eyewitnesses of the gospel narrative. Irenmus, in
speaking of his own personal recollections, gives us Polycarp’s own account of that which he had heard from the lips of
St. John and other disciples of our Lord, and expressly adds that all these words agree with Scripture. But let us hear
his own words, as contained in a letter to Florinus:

“When I was yet a child, I saw thee at Smyrna in Asia Minor, at Polycarp’s house, where thou wert
distinguished at court, and obtained the regard of the bishop. I can more distinctly recollect things
which happened then than others more recent; for events which happen in infancy seem to grow with
the mind, and to become part of ourselves; so that I can recall the very place where Polycarp used to
sit and teach, his manner of speech, his mode of life, his appearance, the style of his address to the
people, his frequent references to St. John and to others who had seen our Lord; how he used to repeat
from memory their discourses, which he had heard from them concerning our Lord, his miracles and
mode of teaching, and how, being instructed himself by those who were eye-witnesses of THE WORD,
there was in all that he said a strict agreement with the Scriptures.’’

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Lesson 1:

This is the account which Irenaeus himself gives of his connection with Polycarp, and of the truths which he had
learned from him.

About a century or more after this, Eusebius wrote in his ‘‘Ecclesiastical History’’ (Book II, Chap. 2), and Constantine
had the means of knowing whether or not Eusebius wrote the truth: ‘‘The fame of our Lord’s remarkable resurrection
being now spread abroad, according to an ancient custom prevalent among the rulers of the nations to communicate
novel occurrences to the emperor, that nothing might escape him, Pontius Pilate transmits to Tiberius an account of
the circumstances concerning the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, the report of which had been spread
throughout all Palestine. In this account he also intimated that he ascertained other miracles respecting heaven, and
having now risen from the dead he was believed to be a God by the great mass of the people. Tiberius referred the
matter to the senate, but it is said they rejected the proposition.’’

Tertullian also wrote in his “Apology” to the rulers of the Roman empire (section 21), wherein he spoke of the darkness
of the crucifixion, and said, “You yourselves have an account of the world-potent in your archives”; and when recording
Christ’s condemnation, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, he said, ‘‘All these things did Pilate do to Christ;
and, now in fact a Christian in his own convictions, he sent word of Him to the reigning Caesar, who was at the time
Tiberius.’’ Constantine knew whether or not these were facts, and also knew whether or not Justin Martyr spoke the
truth in his “Apology” to the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (chapter 21), when he testified of Christ’s healing the
sick, casting out demons, cleansing the lepers, and raising the dead; and added, “And that he did these things you can
learn from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.” The public records of Rome had not yet been destroyed by barbarian conquerors,
and were at his command. He was nearly thirty years old in A. D. 303, when his predecessor Piocletian published his
imperial edict commanding them to tear down the churches of the Christians, and to burn their copies of the sacred
Scriptures.

Eusebius, in writing concerning some of these things, said: “We saw with our own eyes our houses of worship thrown
down from their elevation, the sacred Scriptures of inspiration committed to the flames in the midst of the markets. It
was in the nineteenth year of the reign of Piocletian [A. D. 302], in the month of Dystrus, called by the Romans March,
in which the festival of our Savior was at hand, when the imperial edicts were everywhere published to tear down the
churches to the foundation and to destroy the sacred Scriptures by fire.’’—Eusebius Ecclesiastical History, Book VIII,
Chap. 21.

There are numerous statements made by these early writers concerning the “Acts of Pontius Pilate,” and the report
that he gave to Caesar concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And Eusebius and others say that these
records or reports were kept in the Archives of Rome. Among the old, manuscripts in the Vatican Library in Rome at
the present time, is one giving the report of Pontins Pilate to Augustus Caesar, a translation of which I have before me
as I write. But even though this manuscript should be forged, there is enough evidence that such a report did exist and
was safely kept in the Archives of Rome.

We could continue by giving a great multiplicity of similar quotations from these early writers, but now we will notice
what they had to say concerning the Bible. Irenaeus said, ‘‘So well established are our Gospels, that even teachers
of error themselves bear testimony to them; even they rest their objections on the foundations of the
Gospels.’’—150 A.D. Adv. Hoer. III, 11, 7.

It was not Constantine who made the Bible, nor who decided what books were canonical, as this was decided in the
days of the apostles and continued to be known as such during the centuries to follow. Polycarp, who was martyred
A. D. 155 or 156 and lived about thirty years of his life at the same time with St. John, quotes in his epistles to
the Philippians nearly forty passages from our New Testament. Justin Martyr, who wrote about A. D. 140, or
forty years after the death of the apostle John, has many quotations and uses the very words that we now read
in the New Testament. In the writings of Irenaeus, A. D. 178; Clement, A. D. 194; Tertullian, A. D. 200; and
Origen, A. D. 230, are to he found 8,723 quotations from the New Testament, including every book which we
accept as canonical.

Dr. Keith, in the sixth chapter of his “ ‘Demonstration of the Truth of the Christian Religion,’ records the number of
quotations from the New Testament which can be seen in works which are still extant of the writers we have named.
He reports 767 passages quoted by Irenaeus, from every book in the New Testament except the third Epistle of John,
and the Epistle of Jude; 389 passages quoted by Clement, from every book except the Epistle of James and the second
and third Epistles of John, and the Epistle of Jude; 1,802, or, if repetitions are included, more than 3,000, quoted by
Tertullian from every book of the New Testament except the Epistle of James, the third of John, the second of Peter,
and the Epistle of Jude; while the works of Origen yet extant, contain 5,765 quotations from the New Testament,
including every book contained therein, and excluding all the so-called apocryphal books, about which infidels
sometimes talk so freely. Many works of Origen and other authors of those times have perished, but it is probable that
if Origen’s entire writings had been preserved, if the New Testament had been lost, it could have been reconstructed
from them alone.”

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Lesson 1:

Tregelles, when speaking of Origen, who died about A. D. 254, says: “In his writings he makes such extensive use of
the New Testament, that although a very large number of his works are lost, and many others have come down to us
only in defective Latin versions, we can in his extant Greek writings alone, . . . find cited at least two-thirds of the New
Testament; so that, had such a thing been permitted as that the Gospels, and some of the others books, should have
been lost, we might restore them in a great measure by means of the quotations in Origen.” [So, why does modern
“scholarship” overlook this? No doubt, as was shown earlier some had their own personal reasons to modify the texts,
playing into Satan’s hands, and, perhaps the majority, allowed assumptions and peer pressure to curtail a real
scholars diligence.]

These were the Gospels which Justin Martyr said were read in the public assemblies of the Christians every Lord’s day.
They were the “authentic writings” which Tertullian (A. D. 200) said were to be found in his time by any inquirer, in the
custody of the churches of Corinth, Philippi, Thessalonica, Ephesus, and Rome. They were the Scriptures which the
Emperor Piocletian (A. D. 300) ordered to be surrendered and burned, that he might destroy the foundations of
Christianity. They were the same Scriptures that Constantine (A. D. 331) made mention of in a letter which is still
extant, ordering Eusebius to provide fifty copies, to be carefully transcribed upon prepared parchments, as heretofore
mentioned. Mr. Buchanan of Edinburgh relates the following concerning Lord Hailes, a Scottish judge. He says:

“I was dining some time ago with a literary party at old Mr. Abercrombie’s, father of General
Abercrombie, who was slain in Egypt at the head of the British army, and spending the evening
together. A gentleman present put a question which puzzled the whole company. It was this:
‘Supposing all the New Testaments in the world had been destroyed at the end of the third century,
could their contents have been recovered from the writings of the first three centuries?’

“The question was novel to all, and no one even hazarded a guess in answer to the inquiry. About two
months after this meeting, I received a note from Lord Hailes, inviting me to breakfast with him next
morning. He had been one of the party. During breakfast he asked me if I recollected the curious
question about the possibility of recovering the contents of the New Testament from the writings of the
first three centuries.

“ ‘I remember it well,’ said I, ‘and have thought of it often, without being able to form any opinion or
conjecture on the subject.’

“ ‘Well,’ said Lord Hailes, ‘that question quite accorded with the turn or taste of my antiquarian mind.
On returning home, as I knew I had all the writings of those centuries, I began immediately to collect
them, that I might set to work on the arduous task as soon as possible.’ Pointing to a table covered
with papers, he said, ‘There have I been busy for these two months, searching for chapters, half-
chapters, and sentences of the New Testament, and have marked down what I have found, and where I
found it, so that any person may examine and see for himself. I have actually discovered the whole New
Testament from those writings, except seven (or eleven) verses (I forget which), which satisfied me that
I could discover them also.’ ‘Now,’ said he, ‘here was a way in which God concealed or hid the treasure
of his Word, that Julian, the apostate emperor, and other enemies of Christ who tried to extirpate the
Gospels from the world, never would have thought of; and though they had, they could never have
effected their destruction.’”

With all this evidence we feel that the chasm of time has been well bridged; that we can clasp hands, as it were, with
the apostles, and when we read our New Testament, feel assured that we are speaking the same words that they spoke;
and when we search our Old Testament, we do not question it being the same Scriptures to which Jesus referred when
he said to the Jews, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of
me.”
<END OF SESSION II>
<SEE “HOMEWORK” TO BEGIN SESSION III>
II. Biblical (by example) view/attitude towards Scripture, AND “The Fear of
The LORD”: John 5:45-47, John 12:47-50, John 14:23, 1 Tim. 6:3, II Peter 3:2, Jude 17

A. Psalms 119: The WORD is the center of the WORD.

B. King Josiah: II Kings 22:11-20
C. Ezra 9 and 10:1-3
D. Nehemiah 13:23-31 <END OF SESSION III>
E. Daniel: Chapter 9 <Defeats “fatalism” and shows the duty of prayer!>
F. Jesus (THE WORD John 1:1-2), quoted from LXX without reserve and used it’s texts as
His weapon against Satan -“It Is WRITTEN”-As the eternal WORD He could have been
creative; but instead He proves the written text IS The WORD of GOD and is sufficient;

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Lesson 1:

Luke 16:19-31(Lazarus) He guaranteed the accuracy of Scripture till all is fulfilled (Matt.
5:18) and pre-approved the N.T. writings by foretelling their existence (John 16:13) .
G. The Apostles recognized each others writings as inspired, while they still lived: II Peter
3:15-17; Paul cites Luke 10:7 next to Duet. 25 in I Tim. 5:18; When II Tim. 3:16 was
written, most of the N.T. Canon was on parchment and was recognized by the Church
as Scripture.
H. Acts 12:24: It is The WORD that grows {More are those who keep it}.
I. Acts 9:31 The “walk” and the “Comfort” are inseparable. {The Fear of The LORD}
J. The Fear of the Lord and respect to His WORD are ONE and is often spoken of with
reference to knowledge and understanding. The strong inference is that we cannot, in a
real sense, Fear God or serve God in ignorance or disregard of His WORD:
A. Ps 34:11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the
LORD Does God Legislate morality?/no forced Christianity. Ps 111:10 The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that
do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD
is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise <Disrespect> wisdom and
instruction. Pr 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find
the knowledge of God. Pr 1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not
choose the fear of the LORD: Pr 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Pr 8:13 The fear of
the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward
mouth, do I hate. Pr 15:33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom;
and before honour is humility. Biblical Humility-respect of God’s Word.
B. Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and
understanding<The Spirit of TRUTH>, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit
of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. 3 And shall make him of quick
understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of
his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; Acts 10:35, (10:2); Ro 3:18
There is no fear of God before their eyes. 2Co 7:1 Having therefore these
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh
and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Eph 5:21 Submitting
yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
K. Moses: Acts 7:30-33
WORKS of Law O/R WORKS of GRACE: The Spirit Honors the SON: The SON {WORD}is worshiped , which worships the
FATHER: The FATHER honors the SON as the only acceptable means to worship HIMSELF. True Worship goes through the WORD.
<END OF SESSION IV>
III. Historic view/attitude towards Scripture: Various statements from early
church fathers, etc.
Present 2 questions before reading quotes: 1. Was the Scriptures the final authority on/in Doctrine for early
Church Fathers? 2. If not, then what was?
A. We have learned the plan of our salvation from no one else other than from those
through whom the gospel has come down to us. For they did at one time proclaim the
gospel in public And, at a later period, by the will God, they handed the gospel down to
us in the Scriptures-to be "the ground and pillar of our faith" Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W),
1.414.
B. When, however, the Gnostics are confuted from the Scriptures, they turn round and
accuse these same Scriptures as if they were not correct, nor of authority. They say that
they are ambiguous, and that the truth cannot be extracted from them by those who are
ignorant of tradition .... But, again, when we refer them to that tradition which originates
from the apostles, .... they object to tradition. Irenaeus (c180, E/W), 1.415.

C. Since, therefore, the tradition from the apostles does thus exist in the church, and is
permanent among us, let us revert to the Scriptural proof furnished by those apostles
who did also write the gospel. Irenaeus (c.180, E/W),1.417.

D. There will be no light punishment upon him who either adds or subtracts anything from
the Scripture. Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.559.

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Lesson 1:

E. Faith will lead you. Experience will teach you. Scripture will train you. Clement of
Alexandria (c.195, E), 2.196.
F. I have demonstrated that the Scriptures which we believe are valid from their
omnipotent authority. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.409.

G. Those who are ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits will not desist from the search
after truth until they get the demonstration from the Scriptures themselves. Clement of
Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2 550.

H. The heretics go the length of impiety by disbelieving the Scriptures! Clement of

Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.552.

I. In fact, the heretics stitch together a multitude of lies and figments so that they might
appear to be acting in accordance with reason in their not accepting the Scriptures.
Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.552.

J. Having grown old in the Scriptures and maintaining apostolic and ecclesiastic orthodoxy
in doctrines, the spiritual man lives most correctly in accordance with the Gospel.
<Does not mean 4 Gospels. . .see “Q”> Clement of Alexandria (c.195, E) 2.554.

K. Now, what is there in our Scriptures that is contrary to us? What of our own have we
introduced? Is there anything that we need to take away again, or else add to it, or alter
it-in order to restore to its natural soundness anything that is contrary to it and
contained in the Scriptures? What we are ourselves, that also is what the Scriptures
are, and have been from the beginning. Tertullian (c. 197, W), 2.261.

L. If it is nowhere written, then let him fear the woe that comes on all who add to or take
away anything [from the written Word]. Tertullian (c 200, W), 3.490.

M.However, the statements of Holy Scripture will never be discordant with truth. Tertullian
(c 210, W), 3.202.

N. It will be your duty, however, to present your proofs out of the Scriptures, as plainly as
we do. Tertullian (c 213,W), 3.605.

O. The heretics have boldly falsified the sacred Scriptures, rejected the canons of the
ancient faith, and ignored Christ. Eusebius, quoting Caias (c, 215, W), 5.602.

P. We ... believe that it is possible in no other way to explain and bring within the reach of
human knowledge this higher and Diviner Logos as the Son of God, than by means of
those Scriptures, which alone were inspired by the Holy Spirit: the Gospels and Epistles,
and the Law and the Prophets, according to the declaration of Christ Himself. Origen (c
225, E), 4.252.

Q. Every Divine Scripture is gospel. Origen (c. 228, E), 9.305

R. One should take his stand against historical fictions <EVOLUTION> and oppose them
with the true and lofty evangelical message in which the agreement of the doctrines
found in both the so-called Old Testament and in the so-called New appears so clearly
and completely. Origen (c. 228, E), 9.348.

S. With respect to certain matters, the same teachings can be found among the Greeks as
in our own Scriptures. However, they do not posses the same power of attracting and
disposing the souls of men to follow them. <This defines DUNAMIS> Origen (c. 248,E),
4.574.

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Lesson 1:

T. In all sincerity and with open hearts before God, we accepted all that could be
established by the demonstrations and teachings of the Holy Scriptures. Dionysius of
Alexandria (c. 262E), 6.82.

U. There is no contradiction nor absurdity in Holy Scripture. Methodius (c. 290,E), 6.366.

V. Look carefully into the Scriptures, which are the true utterances of the Holy Spirit.
Clement of Rome (c. 96, W), 1.17.

W.Take up the epistle of the blessed apostle Paul. What did he write to you at the time
when the Gospel first began to be preached? Truly, he wrote to you under the
inspiration of the Spirit. Clement of Rome (c. 96, W), 1.18.

X. Although different matters are taught us in the various books of the Gospels, there is no
difference as regards the faith of believers. For in all of them, all things are related
under one Imperial Spirit. Muratorian Fragment (c. 200 W),5.6O3.

Y. For this reason, [the heretics] have boldly laid their hands upon the divine Scriptures,
<Could be Alexandrian texts> alleging that they have corrected them. . . And as to the
great audacity implied in this offense, it is not likely that even they themselves can be
ignorant. For either they do not believe that the divine Scriptures were dictated by the
Holy Spirit (and are thus infidels), or else they think that they themselves are wiser than
the Holy Spirit (which makes them demoniacs). Eusebius ,quoting Caius (c. 215, W),
5.602.

Z. The Word of God is full and final, infallible, reliable, and up-to-date, and our attitude
towards it must be one of unquestioned obedience. If a thing is in the Bible it is so; it is
not even to be prayed about; it is to be received and acted upon. . . . .I cannot know God
by feelings, I can only know Him by His Word. Smith Wigglesworth,1920? Pentecostal
Pioneer.
<END OF SESSION V>
IV. Rules of Biblical Interpretation:

Having established the Divine origin of Scripture, how we then approach and handle it’s
texts means much for our personal benefit or consequence. The second Most important
understanding that we can have of Scripture, is the understanding that IT can ONLY be
SPIRITUALLY Discerned or understood. It was not written for the World; but for the “Kneeling
Christian”. [1Cor. 2:10-16, Luke 8:10] Even so, there are “rules” that God gives within
Scripture as well as within rhetorical laws and devices, that help keep us on track. These
“rules” come primarily from the Holy Spirit, through years of study. I was taught to observe
that all true doctrine followed these guidelines. If one takes any “orthodox” doctrine, that is
universally accepted, it will be seen that it falls within the confines of these “rules”.

1. Evidence that comes from a source,  closest to the original source, is usually the most accurate.   As with
everything, “noise” is introduced with distance; and with theology, this is probably the most noticeable of
all.. . .because the source was Spiritual; but IT is being handled by ”carnal” men.  Scripture is a foundation that
doesn’t move with time. The Scripture itself has been shown to be preserved extremely accurate over time; but
how the “Church” has interpreted these passages became very corrupt by 350-400 a.d. [The time frame of the
oldest Codices]. The Reformation began a slow “recapture” of Early Church Theology.

2. Scripture “interprets” Scripture (or itself).  IT IS IT’S OWN COMMENTARY; Because of it’s SPIRITUAL AND
DIVINE ORIGIN.  It has been so written by the Holy Spirit that, within the texts are all the answers we need if
we approach it’s texts/teachings humbly, meekly and with MUCH PRAYER. To not approach God’s WORD in
this fashion is to “Tempt God”; and to open oneself to great delusions. Scripture informs us that only by
Revelation of God’s Spirit CAN we understand His Word. Here is the problem with the many “translations”;
they are mainly an attempt to understand and discern God’s Word without “Waiting upon God”. There is no
end to the error that will proceed from such attempts. Our Theology must NOT be based upon the commentary
of others.

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3. Scripture is to be interpreted, when at all possible, along the lines of natural and common methods of
accepted speaking.  If there is no textual reason to assume an allegory, then it is literal.  If it cannot possibly be
literal, because it defies laws of language and/or because other texts clearly give an allegorical meaning to the
same idea, an allegorical meaning can be sought (within the confines of the text of Scripture).   The Holy Spirit
wrote it, knowing our frame, our weakness, and used our common manner of communicating (Just as a smile or
tears are recognized worldwide; God designed man with some things so common and universal, that His Words
communicate to all); and it does not change no matter in what language it is found.  This also does away with
the “cultural” argument. God wasn’t speaking to cultures, He was/is speaking to “mankind”.

4. EVERY doctrine that is being directed for practice by the Holy Ghost, is CLEARLY TAUGHT by either
precept or principle, by NO LESS THAN 2 OR 3 CLEAR passages.  (This is a rule found directly in Scripture
itself.)  A “Clear” text, is not one in which we must guess or create a meaning. THE MEANINGS ARE TO BE
GIVEN BY THE TEXT/CONTEXT, ITSELF.  If the passage (CONTEXT) does not define itself, then it is NOT a
clear passage.

5. Church History CAN be used as evidence, ONLY insomuch as it agrees with the common sense, natural
interpretation of the Biblical Text.   Those doctrines that are not (1) propounded in history close to the source
(Scripture) and (2) ARE NOT FOUND IN THE SOURCE (Scripture),   MUST BE CONSIDERED
CORRUPTIONS; “NOISE”. Church history is allowed and has import only if it agrees with the Bible; It IS
NOT/CANNOT BE a commentary and explanation of the Bible.  It can only be “supportive” if it agrees with
Scripture.

6. Scripture must be approached without any carnal bias, i.e. NO AX TO GRIND, no “proving my point”, no “It’s
got to be in there . .  somewhere”; NO “GOTCHA”.  We cannot have our own mind in the matter.  

7. What are the “long-range/short range” implications/effects and consequences of a doctrine?  If the believing
and practicing of a doctrine leads to HOLY HABITS, HOLY DISPOSITIONS, AND HOLY ATTITUDES, it is most
likely “owned” by the Holy Ghost.  If, instead, it leads to a slovenly and “loose” attitude towards Scripture and
a licentiousness in practice in daily living, then, according to Scripture, this is rather a Doctrine of Devils, owned
by the Anti-Christ and his false prophet. “If the root is Holy, so is the branches (Fruit)” Rom. 11:16.

8. If there seems to be a contradiction between passages/Testaments and the doctrine that seems to be taught,
the passage that is the “least clear” is interpreted by the passage that is the “most clear” AND most closely
agrees with the WHOLE of Biblical doctrine; (MUST BE BOTH, unless the seemingly clear passage stands
alone and the more obscure ones all point in the same direction as each other and seem to teach the same thing,
though opposite from the seemingly clear, but single passage).  If this happens, it generally means that the
meaning, though seemingly farfetched, is exactly what God means.   No creating weird or strange dogmas or
doctrines based upon obscure or fringe passages. EXAMPLE: Psalms 8:5/Heb. 2:7 [though Heb. MT says
Elohime (God), the word for “Angel” is plainly used in Greek; and better agrees with the “sense” of passage.
For was Christ made lower than God? or Angels for the suffering of death? The Apostle quotes from LXX and
the Holy Spirit did not inspire a correction.]

9. Challenge, by Scripture, the biggest, best arguments of a teaching that appears questionable, FIRST.  If the
biggest and best “proofs” of a theory can’t hold its own, no need to study the lesser arguments. The lack of
powerful and plain texts are not made up for by a plethora of weak inconclusive texts.

10.One must NOT DIVIDE AND CONQUER.  One cannot set out to destroy clear, valid texts, that do not
support their hopes and pet theories, one at a time, as a means to make proof that these texts do no mean what
they say.  If a text, stands alone, in great clarity AND it is complemented by other texts, that also stand alone in
clarity, this is the best possible foundation for truth, whether it approves or disappoints our personal theories.  
Each proof text either stands alone or it doesn’t.  If it doesn’t, it cannot be used as a proof text.

11.What is done on one side, must be done on the other.    In Theology, it simply means that if there is a
“positive” side to a doctrine and we take that literal, then we must take literal the Scriptural presentation of the
“negative” side, also. EXAMPLE: The doctrine of Heaven and Hell; cannot agree to one without accepting the
other.

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12.The “1st Mention Principle”. A very commonly understood and accepted literary device employed by the
Holy Spirit. i.e.; how an item is used or defined when first introduced, is how it is to be understood or
interpreted there-after. This seems much more utilized than many think; most are found in the Pentateuch.

13.Many changes between Testaments; great care must be exercised to understand which Testament one is
dealing with and to mark the change to the other. MUCH harm has been done by careless and unscholarly
interpretation by ignoring this Biblically inherent principle. And these are NOT apparent to the carnal mind;
notice how much the Apostle makes out of a small passage out of O.T. through Inspiration; without which one
would not take such an interpretation or meaning. EXAMPLE: The Apostle builds the whole doctrine of
“Justification By Faith” upon Gen. 15:6 “He believed in the LORD and he counted it to him for righteousness”;
and by this the Apostle asserts that the Law is bypassed by this promise. . . .through INSPIRATION!

14.Success or Failure is NO test of Doctrine or of Divine approval. Jesus had the most unsuccessful ministry in
history; as did many of the prophets; while the most vile corruptions of Doctrine prosper to this day and have
for many centuries. We cannot suppose that gain is Godliness; nor that discomfort is unGodliness. This
mistake the Jews made as did Job’s friends. This also deals with the idea that, “Whatever “works” is right”.
Something may appear to “work” from a carnal perspective; when from the eyes of God it is an abomination.
Doctrines of Devils flourish today with large crowds and great prosperity; but are still “damnable Heresies”.

15.In order for acceptance as a valid doctrine of the Holy Ghost, the doctrine must pass a majority if not a
unanimity of the above tests.   In this one I allow a little wiggle room; but not much.  If it cannot pass all, there
has to be a valid, reasonable, objective, historical, Biblical reason why, before it can be accepted. Every major
doctrine passes them all with no problem; MANY church traditions and sacred practices. . . DO NOT! Will The
LORD honor these?
None of these “rules” are about what sounds good or what is exciting. It is properly “scientific
methodology that comes from the Father and the Son, through the Spirit. . .the author of Science.

NOTES ON “THE EASTERN CHURCH”:

The denomination now known as Orthodox Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy, or the Orthodox Church
began as the eastern half of Christendom, the site of the former Byzantine Empire. Eastern Orthodoxy arose as a
distinct branch of Christianity after the 11th-century "Great Schism" between Eastern and Western Christendom. The
separation was not sudden. For centuries there had been significant religious, cultural, and political differences
between the Eastern and Western churches. Culturally, the Greek East has always tended to be more philosophical,
abstract and mystical in its thinking, whereas the Latin West tends toward a more pragmatic and legal-minded
approach. (According to an old saying, "the Greeks built metaphysical systems; the Romans built roads.")

The political aspects of the split date back to the Emperor Constantine, who moved the capital of the Roman Empire
from Rome to Constantinople. Upon his death, the empire was divided between his two sons, one of whom ruled the
western half of the empire from Rome while the other ruled the eastern region from Constantinople. These various
factors finally came to a head in 1054 AD, when Pope Leo IX excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople (the
leader of the Eastern church). In response, the patriarch anathematized (condemned) the Pope, and the Christian
church has been divided into West ("Roman Catholic") and East ("Greek Orthodox") ever since.

The Eastern Churches are distinguished by their venerable antiquity, and there is clearly evident the tradition which
has come from the Apostles through the Fathers and which is part of the divinely revealed, undivided heritage of the
Universal Church. The religious authority for Orthodox Christianity is not the Pope as in Catholicism, nor the
individual Christian with his Bible as in Protestantism, but the scriptures as interpreted by the seven ecumenical
councils of the church.

As in all of Christianity, doctrine is important in Eastern Orthodoxy. Orthodox Christians attach great importance to
the Bible, the conclusions of the Seven Ecumenical Councils, and right ("orthodox") belief. However, the Eastern
Churches approach religious truth differently than the Western Churches. For Orthodox Christians, truth must be
experienced personally. There is less focus on the exact definition of religious truth and more on the practical and
personal experience of truth in the life of the individual and the church. Precise theological definition, when it occurs,
is for the purpose of excluding error.

This emphasis on personal experience of truth flows into Orthodox theology, which has a rich heritage. Especially in
the first millennium of Christian history, the Eastern Church produced significant theological and philosophical
thought.

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Lesson 1:

In the Western churches, both Catholic and Protestant, sin, grace, and salvation are seen primarily in legal terms. God
gave humans freedom, they misused it and broke God's commandments, and now deserve punishment. God's grace
results in forgiveness of the transgression and freedom from bondage and punishment.

The Eastern churches see the matter in a different way. For Orthodox theologians, humans were created in the image
of God and made to participate fully in the divine life. The full communion with God that Adam and Eve enjoyed meant
complete freedom and true humanity, for humans are most human when they are completely united with God.

The result of sin, then, was a blurring of the image of God and a barrier between God and man. The situation in which
mankind has been ever since is an unnatural, less human state, which ends in the most unnatural aspect: death.
Salvation, then, is a process not of justification or legal pardon, but of reestablishing man's communion with God. This
process of repairing the unity of human and divine is sometimes called "deification." This term does not mean that
humans become gods but that humans join fully with God's divine life.

The Eastern Orthodox view of the Trinity also differs somewhat from that of the Christian West. In its Christology,
Orthodoxy tends to emphasize the divine, preexistent nature of Christ, whereas the West focuses more on his human
nature. However, both East and West affirm Christ's full humanity and full divinity as defined by the ecumenical
councils. In fact, Christ's humanity is also central to the Orthodox faith, in the doctrine that the divine became human
so that humanity might be raised up to the divine life.

The process of being reunited to God, made possible by Christ, is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit plays a
central role in Orthodox worship . . . . . .It is in the view of the Holy Spirit that Orthodox theology differs from Western
theology, and although the difference might now seem rather technical and abstract, it was a major contributor to the
parting of East from West in the 11th century. This dispute is known as the Filioque Controversy, as it centers on the
Latin word filioque ("and from the Son"), which was added to the Nicene Creed in Spain in the 6th century. The original
creed proclaimed only that the Holy Spirit "proceeds from the Father."

The purpose of the addition was to reaffirm the divinity of the Son, but Eastern theologians objected both to the
unilateral editing of a creed produced by an ecumenical council and to the edit itself. For Eastern Christians, both the
Spirit and the Son have their origin in the Father.

Orthodox worship is highly liturgical and is central to the history and life of the church: By its theological richness,
spiritual significance, and variety, the worship of the Orthodox Church represents one of the most significant factors in
this church's continuity and identity. It helps to account for the survival of Christianity during the many centuries of
Muslim rule in the Middle East and the Balkans when the liturgy was the only source of religious knowledge or
experience.

References and Sources: "Eastern Orthodoxy."  Encyclopedia Britannica (Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service,
2004). Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Catholic Eastern Churches, 1964.

NOTES ON “DEAD SEA SCROLLS”:

In 1947 three Arab shepherds were tending their sheep and goats along the cliffs on the northwest coast
of the Dead Sea. One of them, Juma Muhammed Khalil, threw a stone into a small hole he saw in the cliff and heard a
shattering sound that raised his hopes that gold might have been stored within. Muhammad edh-Dhib, a younger
companion, later returned and entered the cave. Here he found about ten elongated jars, only two of which contained
anything. Three large rolls were removed from one jar and later taken to Bethlehem where the shepherds sought to
sell them to antique dealers. The Bedouins found several other Scrolls and fragments there some months later. Four
of the manuscripts were sold to the Syrian Orthodox Monastery in Jerusalem, and later three Scrolls were obtained by
the Hebrew University. After the discovery of these first Scrolls was publicized in late 1948, a clandestine search in
many caves was undertaken by the Ta’amirah Bedouins. The Antiquities Department of the Jordan took charge in
1949 and worked out an arrangement with the Bedouins that encouraged them to offer their discoveries to the officials
in charge. Thus began what has proved to be the greatest recent discovery of Biblical and related materials in the Holy
Land.

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THE PROPHET ISAIAH

From the first cave came the complete Isaiah “A” Scroll, which dates from about 100 B.C., the Isaiah “B” Scroll, which
preserves parts of Chapters 16 through 66, dates from about A.D. 50; an almost complete commentary on Habakkuk 1
and 2, copied about 40 B.C. through A.D. 25; a fragmentary Aramaic interpretation of Genesis, from about A.D. 1
through A.D. 25; and, an important document containing the rules and teachings of the religious community (probably
the Essenes) that occupied the settlement of Qumran, about seven and a half miles south of Jericho. The Essenes
were a sect of the Jews who believed they had been chosen by God to prepare the way for the new age to come (Isa.
40:3) by living a holy life in the wilderness away from the “sons of darkness” dwelling in the cities of Judah.

THE ESSENES

They sought to observe the Old Testament Law perfectly, according to the Apocalyptic interpretations by their “teacher
of righteousness.” They came to Qumran in the late Second Century B.C. and took over the ruins of an ancient
fortified settlement built during the Ninth and Eighth Centuries B.C. by the Hebrews and destroyed in the Sixth
Century B.C. Here the Essenes lived, farmed, wrote down their beliefs and rules, composed interpretations, and made
copies of the Old Testament. In periods of religious and civil tension among the Jews, their adherents apparently grew
in number. The group at Qumran was evidently the largest, but the Essenes’ followers seem to have been scattered
widely. They’d rendered a great service in their devotion to the copying of the Scriptures. During the First Century
A.D. they were victims of the political disorder between the Romans and Jews and were forced to abandon their
settlement in A.D. 68 when the Roman army attacked the revolting Jews in Jerusalem. Before leaving, the Essenes hid
their sacred documents in tightly sealed jars in the nearby cliffs. Qumran was occupied by the tenth legion of the
Roman army for a few years and again during the Bar Kokhba rebellion of A.D. 132 through A.D. 135. Evidently some
of the caves had been entered, jars broken, the contents scattered, and some manuscripts removed during the
centuries since. From 1951 through 1958 the site was excavated, and its complex of buildings proved to be an Essene
settlement.

MANUSCRIPTS

From 1952 through 1956 ten other caves with related materials were discovered. In addition, five caves in Wadi
Murrabbaat produced materials from the revolt of A.D. 132. The latter was twelve miles south of Qumran. More than
250 caves in the area have been carefully examined by archaeologists. In the nearby caves IV and XI, more than
40,000 fragments of manuscripts have been found. Almost 400 manuscripts of varying sizes from Qumran cave IV
alone have been identified since 1956. Of a total of almost 600 manuscripts from the eleven Qumran caves about 125
are Biblical. Every Book of the Old Testament is represented except Esther, but only Isaiah “A” is complete.

In cave XI a manuscript, copied about A.D. 50, containing 37 Psalms was found and has since been translated and
published. Included in this collection is the 151st Psalm, previously known only from the Greek. A Scroll of Ezekiel
from cave XI was so disintegrated that it is a complete loss. In the same cave a copy of the Targum of Job was found
(paraphrased in Aramaic), two-fifths of which is readable. It was translated in 1962; scholars set its date as A.D. 50.
Also during 1962, in a monastery in Spain, a copy of the Palestinian Targum was recovered and it is believed to date
from as early as A.D. 50. These discoveries have reopened the study of the history of the Targums, indicating an
earlier origin than was previously thought. Thus, the study of the Essene writings found in the various caves not only
greatly expands our knowledge of sectarian Judaism in the New Testament period, but also verifies the historical
accounts left by Philo and Josephus concerning the Essenes, their practices, history, and doctrines. (A “Targum” was
an Aramaic paraphrase of the Old Testament, which in later Judaism was often used to accompany the reading of the
Hebrew original in the Synagogues.)

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