Wordsworth on Authorship of Hebrews

With the status and trends of modern scholarship, many times you have to go back to older writers to find defenses of the Pauline authorship of Hebrews. The following quotes are from 19th-century author Christopher Wordsworth, “On the Authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews,” in “Introduction to the Epistle to the Hebrews,” The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in the Original Greek: with Introductions and Notes, St. Paul’s Epistles (Fourth Edition), London: Rivingtons, 1866, pp. 361-374.

“The Epistle was addressed to the Hebrews of the East, especially of Jerusalem and Palestine.”

“Although the author of the Epistle writes anonymously, yet those persons, to whom the Epistle was primarily and specially addressed, were acquainted with the name and person of the Author.”

“These [13:18-19, 23, rlv] and other similar expressions bespeak an individual well known personally to the friend whom he addresses.” He asserts that the Christians of this region addressed, who knew the author, themselves ascribed the writing to Paul.

There were more doubts in the West than in the East about the authorship. According to Wordsworth, “The doubts of the West were dispersed in the fourth century, and did not appear again till they were revived by one or two persons in the sixteenth.”

“The author, whoever he is, in writing anonymously, deviates not only from the usage of St. Paul, but from that of the other writers of the Epistles in the New Testament.”

“The Epistle was designed primarily for the Jewish Christians of Palestine, who were tempted to relapse into Judaism, and for other Jewish Christians, and also for the benefit of Jewish readers throughout the world, and lastly for universal use.”

“It was designed for enemies as well as for friends, for Judaizing Christians, and for unchristianized Jews.”

“Of all the Apostles or Apostolic men of the primitive age, no person would be better qualified, and no one would be more desirous, to write such an Epistle to such parties as these, than St. Paul.”

“But if he had prefixed his name to the Epistle, he would have run the risk of marring his own labor of love.” Why? His name was offensive to Judaizing Christians and unchristianized Jews.

“…the non-appearance of the Author’s name in the Epistle to the Hebrews does not diminish, but rather increases, the probability that the Author was St. Paul.” Why? He deems there are good reasons for Paul to suppress his name, which would not exist for other proposed writers such as Apollos, Barnabas, or Clement.

“Let it be remembered that there was a special token by which his Epistles were to be discerned by his friends.”

“Each of the Thirteen Epistles, to which St. Paul’s name is prefixed, contains near its close his Apostolic Benediction, ‘Grace be with you.’ And, in one of the first Epistles he had written, he had announced that this would be the token in every Epistle, and that so he would write [2 Thess. 3:17-18, rlv]. And no other writer of Scripture uses this token during St. Paul’s lifetime. It was reserved to him as his special badge and cognizance.”

I am not claiming to agree with everything Wordsworth wrote about Pauline authorship of Hebrews, but it is a good resource available online. You can read it on Google Books at the link above.

Was Agabus a True Prophet?

A “Wrong-Headed” View of New Testament Prophecy

• Cessationism holds that the gift of prophecy has ceased in the churches today.
• Continuationism holds that the gift of prophecy is operable in the churches today.

Some “continuationist” views of the spiritual gifts and prophecy affect the interpretation of the prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21:11. One who holds such a view is Wayne Grudem, well-known for his Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020) In Grudem’s view, there are two types of New Testament prophecy. Apostolic prophecy was infallible and authoritative, equivalent to Old Testament prophecy, and ceased after the days of the apostles. A secondary type of prophecy for congregational guidance was fallible, non-authoritative, and continues throughout the church age. Notice Grudem’s second view of prophecy applied to the prophecy of Agabus in Acts 21.

“However, using OT standards, Agabus would have been condemned as a false prophet, because in Acts 21:27-35 neither of his predictions are fulfilled.” Grudem claims Agabus got it wrong both in saying he would be bound by the Jews, and that the Jews would deliver him to the Romans. He writes, “Paul was not bound (δέω) by the Jews but by the Romans (δέω, 21:33 and 22:29), and far from delivering Paul over (παραδίδωμι, v. 11; essential to the word is the notion of active or intentional giving on the part of the subject of the verb) to the Romans, they tried to kill him (vs. 31), and he had to be delivered from the Jews by the soldiers (vss. 32-33) …” He later ameliorates this with “it is not that Agabus has spoken in a totally false or misleading way; it is just that he has the details wrong.” This fits Grudem’s view of secondary New Testament prophecy, which has “divine authority in general content” even while getting details wrong.[i]

Luke has previously affirmed Agabus as a true prophet (Acts 11:27-28). Luke further faithfully records this prophecy (Acts 21) as the words of the Holy Ghost, and gives no hint that anything is amiss. It is reasonable to assume that, since Agabus spoke by the Holy Ghost and said the Jews would bind Paul, that they did bind him when they drew him out of the temple (vs. 27-30). The Jews “laid hands on him…took Paul, and drew him out of the temple.” That their intent was to kill Paul does not preclude that they instead gave him up to the Romans when the circumstances changed. Paul himself later uses (Acts 28:17) the very expression that Agabus used, Acts 21:11. Paul said he was delivered, παραδίδωμι, “into the hands of the Romans.” Making Agabus wrong also makes Paul wrong! That the Roman captain commanded that Paul be bound with two chains does not preclude that Paul could have already been bound by the Jews with some kind of restraint. “Agabus got it wrong” seems to be a modern idea brought to the text by those who hold a continuationist position (such as Grudem and D. A. Carson).[ii] This supports the view of modern prophets in the churches who get the “general content” right but the “exact details.” However, this also plays well into the hands of the skeptics and unbelievers. And it is just wrong-headed.

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[i] Wayne Grudem, The Gift of Prophecy in 1 Corinthians, University Press of America, 1982, pp. 79-80.
[ii] For example, John Gill writes: “thus saith the Holy Ghost; who was in Agabus, and spoke by him, and foretold some things to come to pass; and which did come to pass.”

Here a little, there a little

When smart guys get it wrong:

“The verb Agabus used (paradidōmi, ‘to deliver, hand over’) requires the sense of voluntary, consciously, deliberately giving over or handing over something or someone else. That is the sense it has in all 119 other instances of the word in the New Testament. But that sense is not true with respect to the treatment of Paul by the Jews: they did not voluntarily hand Paul over to the Romans!” Wayne Arden Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994, p. 1052

In context, Grudem is saying that Agabus got the prophecy wrong; the Jews did not hand Paul over. Wayne Grudem is doubtless a top-notch scholar in an academic sense. He holds a BA from Harvard University, an MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Theology & Biblical Studies at Phoenix Seminary. He was a member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard Version of the Bible. The above error seems way beneath his pay-grade and way above mine. Yet he seems to have made a simple mistake in his thinking.

While researching and being diligently studious regarding the meaning of Acts 21:4, I ran across Grudem’s continuationist viewpoint on spiritual gifts, particularly that a New Testament prophet might have divine authority in general content while getting details wrong. He presents Agabus (Acts 21:11) as a prime example of this. He believes Agabus’s prophecy was wrong in the detail of παραδωσουσιν (paradidōmi) εις χειρας εθνων (being delivered into the hands of the Gentiles). However, it appears that when he brought forward the 119 uses in the New Testament as proof of the meaning of the Greek word, he missed the fact that there is one verse that is too much for him to prove his case! Acts 28:17. When Paul told the Jews in Rome what happened in Jerusalem, he said that he was to be παρεδοθην (paradidōmi) εις τας χειρας των ρωμαιων (delivered into the hands of the Romans) – the same word that Grudem says means voluntary, consciously, deliberately handing over. Now take what Grudem says the word means and apply it to what Paul said in Acts 28:17. Paul himself said that he was voluntarily deliberately handed over to the Romans! You can’t have it both ways. If Agabus was wrong about what happened in his telling of the future, Paul was wrong about what happened in his recounting of the past!

Numerology?

For better or worse, there are many discussions regarding numbers in the Bible and about the Bible, from the obvious numbers that any reader can read on its surface to the supposed hidden numbers that someone with secret knowledge must reveal to you. A lot of terms, for better or worse, which may not be understood, are thrown around the issue of numbers and the Bible. The issue itself is confusing, as well as the jargon.

Geometric Jargon.

First I will attempt to give definitions of some of these words used often, as well as a few others less commonly used. There may be some differing opinions on how they are used, and how they should be used.

• Alpha-Gematria = possibly a term coined by Leo Tavares for his method of explaining the scriptures by coded significance of the words, using the alphanumeric properties of the Hebrew and Greek languages.
• Arithmancy = a form of divination involving numbers.
• Bible numerics = the theory that there are in the Bible mysterious and marvelous numerical patterns which establish the correctness of the text and proves the divine authority of Holy Scripture, especially related to the work of Ivan Panin on the Greek New Testament.[i] 
• Gematria = a cabalistic method of explaining the scriptures by means of the cryptographic or coded significance of the words.
• Kabbalah = specifically, a form of Jewish mysticism marked by belief in creation through emanation and the use of a cipher method of interpreting scripture; or, more generically, an esoteric doctrine or mysterious art; a traditional, esoteric, occult, or secret matter.
• Number-ology = a coined word, apparently by G. John Rov (Gary Rovarino), to try to distinguish his view of biblical words and numbers from numerology or gematria.[ii] 
• Number symbolism (or, Bible numbers) = the use of symbolic numbers in the Bible and the study of the meaning of those symbols. This is a different and open (not hidden) unlike the various attempts to find secret codes[iii]. 
• Numerics = the field of numerical study, though applied in various ways when applied to the study of numbers related to the Bible (see “Bible numerics”).
• Numerology = the study of the meanings of numbers and their supposed influence on human life; or, in reference to the Bible, the study of hidden numbers and their supposed influence on the interpretation of scripture. This term is very often connected to the occult.[iv] 

Significant People.

David Bay (“Ivan Panin: Russia’s Gift to Christianity”).

“Don’t just read your Bible – Count It!”

“You and I have to go to numerics in Greek when we wish to prove the correctness of a passage…The amazing design of numeric features or facts discovered in the structure of the Greek text used by Wescott and Hort definitely settles the question concerning the correct reading of the last verse in the Bible. The numerical facts prove that they are right in ending the New Testament with the word ‘saints.’ (Mathematics Prove Holy Scriptures, Karl Sabiers, latest reprint 1969, pp.91-94)

“We are so amazed by the effectiveness of Bible Numerics in proving, or disproving, all textual question that we can only marvel that every Christian college and university does not include a full line of study on this subject. Certainly, no one has stepped forward to challenge Panin’s conclusions, either Christian or secular.”

Chuck Missler (“Preface,” Cosmic Codes: Hidden Messages from the Edge of Eternity).

“There are actually many types of hidden codes in the Bible, and the recently controversial equidistant letter sequences are but one of them. There are those who are irrepressibly enthusiastic about the equidistant letter sequences in the Bible. There are others who dismiss these incidences as simply statistical oddities that will occur in any extensive corpus of text. And there are some who even regard the pursuit of these codes as having a sinister portent.

“However, very few of the popular treatments of this intriguing subject evidence any background in cryptology, with is precisely the science at issue. Having spent a 30-year career in both military and civilian pursuits in advanced communication and information science technologies — including deeply classified ventures in the intelligence field — and, also, having more than three decades in serious Biblical studies, I felt that a broader approach to the subject of hidden messages was appropriate.

“Are there really hidden messages in the Bible? If so, why?

“We will, of course, also explore the controversial equidistant letter sequences, their potential significance, and their latent dangers. And yet the most astonishing codes are of the kind for which you do not need a computer.

“We will explore some remarkable discoveries about the alphabets used in the Biblical texts and the microcodes which reveal some surprising aspects hidden behind the text itself.”

The late Ivan Panin (See “Bible numerics”).

Brandon Peterson (Sealed By the King, page 207).

“So what about these men, Moses and Elijah, do we discover in the numerics of the KJB?

“To begin, as you might expect, they are sevened. It is concealed to those who quickly search their names without careful attention…”

Gail Riplinger (New Age Bible Versions, page 150).

“Acrostic algebra reveals the ashy residue on which the NIV and NASV rest. When you shake down the ‘Lite’ versions like the New American Standard Version (NASV) and the New International Version (NIV), you find some heresies which are common to both (like their common letters ‘N’ and ‘V’, as shown in Step 2.)” …

“When the portions of the true text of the Authorized Version (AV) are removed from these other versions, the sheep’s clothing comes off the hand of the wolf’s skin spells—SIN. (Steps 4 & 5)”[v]

Step 1: (NASV - NIV) - AV = X

Step 2: (NASV - NIV) - AV = X

Step 3: (ASI + NV) - AV = X

Step 4: ASI + NV - AV = X

Step 5: SIN = X

[Note: I have used strike-through, not knowing how to create a slash-through as in New Age Versions.]

Gary Rovarino (Concealed from Christians for the Glory of God, page 3).

“The secrets that God keeps are matters of divine revelation and require a prophet to reveal them. To understand the issue of God’s authoritative Bible we do not need historians, manuscript experts, textual critics, or linguistic scholars but we do need the voice of a prophet. The word of God is this prophetic voice, and God will use it alone to reveal glorious secrets to you or to conceal costly secrets from you.”

Leo Tavares (Geometric Exegesis).

“I showed how the Standard Greek value of ‘TEMPLE’ (from Matthew 12:5) yields the G-base of the Genesis 1:1 Triangle and forms a Star that accommodates Snowflake 373. This now leads to another hidden identity I uncovered in this very same Greek word, which is this: The Ordinal Greek value of ‘TEMPLE’ (Matthew 12:5) = 64. Why is this significant? Because the 64th Triangle is the precise Triangle that accommodates the Star of 925!”

These (above) are just a few promoters of “biblical” numerology, and there exists lots of other “Bible-code” talk in addition to the numerology. The following are samples of titles out on the World Wide Web which sound esoteric and Gnostic.[vi]

• God Code: Unlocking Divine Messages Hidden in the Bible, by Timothy P. Smith (2018)
• Discovering Hidden Meanings in Biblical Texts: Unearthing Deeper Significance in the Scriptures for Your Spiritual Journey, by Kaleb F Weaver (2024)
• Bible Unlocked: Hidden Meanings Revealed, by Kristina Kaine (2019)
• Beyond the Words: Unraveling the Hidden Meanings of the Bible, by Ryan Santosh Joseph (2023)

There is a wide range of beliefs among the proponents of “biblical numerology.” We supporters of the King James Bible have been “blessed” with an inordinate amount of them – but among these numerology folks are also users and promoters of modern Bibles. Bay and Missler follow the late Ivan Panin, who used numeric methods to try to establish the “correct” Greek text of the New Testament. The range of folks leads from the more circumspect (like Brandon Peterson, who seems primarily interested in supporting the King James Bible) to Gary Rovarino (who seems to now be identifying himself as a modern-day prophet). Nevertheless, there will be no good to come from bogus biblical beliefs. They will not lead to a deeper spiritual journey, but rather into a fog of confusion and unbelief. “Bible codes are contradictory to the doctrine of sufficiency of Scripture” (Creation.com).

Serious Problems.

• Builds on sinking human sand rather than solid biblical rock.
• Coaxes the curious toward confusion, and even heresy.
• Connects to a condition of apophenia, the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. The human mind can invent perceived connections – including numerical connections – in practically everything, even where there are none.[vii]  
• Exalts hidden-knowledge “experts” over simple Bible teachers, and advances subjugation to “Messianic” masters, shrewd swindlers, and Gnostic gurus (many cultic in their leadership) without whom you cannot know the “secret meaning” of the Bible.
• Feeds pridefulness and egotism with its magnetism to “secret knowledge.”
• Opens the floodgates of susceptibility to odd and errant Bible interpretations.
• Overthrows the “faith” of some, when they realize they have had the wool pulled over their eyes.
• Promotes the contrived and/or deceptive use and explanation of numerical patterns.

Conclusion.

Beware of false prophets. Watch for weird witnesses. Do not be deceived. Partake of the good food our Lord has put on the shelf for all to receive. 

“The attempt to find mysterious numerical patterns and values in sentences, words, and phrases which have a plain and obvious meaning, whether the meaning is sublime or trite or trivial, whether it is found in the Bible, or in a masterpiece of secular literature, or in the commonplaces of ordinary life, is to say the least a tremendous waste of time and effort; and, what is far more important, resting as it does on principles that are demonstrably false, it may lead to serious and disastrous consequences. A man who rests his faith in the inerrancy of the Bible on Bible Numerics is trusting in a broken reed, which if he leans on it will go into his hand and pierce it.”[viii] 

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[i] Also, Karl George Sabiers used “Bible Numerics” as the title of his book that supposedly “proves” the inspiration of the Bible by finding numeric codes in the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible. He also wrote Astounding New Discoveries: Thousands of Amazing Facts Discovered Beneath the Very Surface of the Bible Text. Sabiers studied the work of Panin. He was also connected with Aimee Semple McPherson.
[ii] On page 141 of his book, Gary Rovarino says “number-ology” means “words about numbers” and that this is “God’s word” and “righteous.” On page 142, he calls the superstitious use of numbers “numerology,” and says it is evil. Concealed from Christians for the Glory of God: the 1611 KJV, the King James Bible Authorized Version, G. John Rov, Lulu Publishing, 2019, pp. 141-142.
[iii] Some books of this sort include: Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance, by Ethelbert William Bullinger; That Ye May Marvel, Or, The Significance of Bible Numbers, by George Elliott Jones. While it is possible that some studies of number symbolism can get carried away with speculation, such studies are nevertheless subject to universal inspection by Bible believers (that is, such studies do not hinge on secret knowledge).
[iv] Some distinguish “biblical numerology” or “Christian numerology” as the study of numbers in the Bible to find meaning outside of the numerical value of the actual number being used. It is best for real Bible students to steer clear of the word numerology.
[v] I am a critic of both the NASB and the NIV as defective Bibles, but this so-called “acrostic algebra” of Gail Riplinger is pure unadulterated nonsense! Notice also that the correct and common initials of the New American Standard Bible are NASB, which Riplinger uses most of the time in her book. However, she pulls a rabbit out of the hat – identifies it as the NASV – when she gets ready to perform her amazing acrostic algebra reduction trick. It is unbelievable that she or anyone else would take this seriously!
[vi] Possessing secret knowledge that most people do not have.
[vii] This can become a conspiratorial condition.
[viii] Bible Numerics: an Examination of the Theory that there is in the Bible a Mysterious and Marvelous Numerical Pattern which Establishes the Correctness of the Text and Proves the Divine Authority of Holy Scripture, Oswald Thompson Allis, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1944.

Yesterday, and to day, and for ever

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

A wonderful and often quoted Scripture. Often quoted, but seldom quoted in context.

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:7-8

The character and work of the gospel ministry never changes because God’s word never changes and Jesus never changes. Everyone says they believe God’s word doesn’t change and Jesus doesn’t change, then they proceed to change the work of the ministry into whatever they want or think will “work”.

Mark Osgatharp, Pastor, Lakeview Missionary Baptist Church, Wynne Arkansas

The importance of inward religion

The following hymn by English Baptist minister John Fawcett was published in 1782 in Hymns Adapted to the Circumstances of Public Worship and Private Devotion (Leeds: G. Wright and Son, pages 128-130). Fawcett is likely best-known as the writer of “Blest be the tie that binds.” In one song book we used in the church where I grew up (Favorite Songs and Hymns, No. 218), this hymn was paired with the tune Mear, (which is a quite common pairing). From that experience, I like to sing it with that tune, but it also goes well with other common meter tunes. In this book, under the tune name appeared this note, “The importance of Religion.—Phil. 3:8.” There Mear was credited as a “Welsh Air.” It is similar to Middlesex in A Sett of Tunes in 3 Parts…By Various Hands, placed within Simon Browne’s hymn book, Hymns and Spiritual Songs in Three Books (London: Eman. Matthews). The Sacred Harp setting of the tune can be found on 49b. This tune is sometimes credited to Aaron Williams (1731- 1776), an English singing teacher, music engraver, and church clerk. Perhaps he arranged it in its more modern or common setting.

The original hymn has 8 stanzas of common meter, but many hymnals reduce the number to 6 or less.

HYMN LXVIII. C. M.

The Nature and Necessity of inward Religion.

Jam. i. 29. (sic, typographical error, should be 27)

1. Religion is the chief concern,
Of mortals here below:
May I its great importance learn,
Its sov’reign virtue know!

2. More need this, than glitt’ring wealth,

Or ought the world bestows,

Not reputation, food, or health,

Can give us such repose.

3. Religion should our thoughts engage,

Amidst our youthful bloom;

’Twill fit us fro declining age,

Or for the awful tomb.

4. Be this my steady care, and strife,

To witness all its power,

’Twill be my best support in life,

And chear my dying hour.

5. O may my heart, by grace renewed,
Be my Redeemer’s throne;
And be my stubborn will subdued,
His government to own!

6. Let deep repentance, faith, and love
Be join’d with godly fear;
And all my conversation prove,
My heart to be sincere.

7. Preserve me from the snares of sin,

Thro’ my remaining days;

And in me let each virtue shine,

To my Redeemer’s praise.

8. Let lively hope my soul inspire;
Let warm affections rise;
And may I wait with strong desire
To mount above the skies.

The more you miss church, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

“The more you miss church, the less you miss church.” -- Unknown

“The mistaken kindness of parents has ever proved the greatest curse to children.” -- David Thomas (1813-1894), independent minister in London

“The only thing that costs more than education is ignorance.” -- A common proverb promoting education; sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but without evidence

“Never does the devil act so mightily upon the human heart as when his errors are urged on us by the arguments of those who love us most.” -- David Thomas (1813-1894)

“The counsels of the purest human love are not always wise.” -- David Thomas (1813-1894)

“Some of the worst advice ever given is ‘to follow your gut.’  Your gut was made for digestion, not discernment!” - Junior Hill

“The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” -- attributed to Martin Luther

“Calling Christianity a crutch for the weak gives people way too much credit. Christianity is actually a resurrection for the dead.” -- Danny Slavich

“The Gospel in a sentence: God made it perfectly; we broke it willfully; Jesus redeems it totally.” -- Sam Luce.

“Being a Christian does not change what you deal with; it changes how you deal with it.” -- Unknown

“True doctrine is always foundational to true faithful devotion. Our agenda, what we do, is always informed by our credenda, what we believe.” -- Tom Ascol

“The man who has no creed has no belief.” -- Andrew Fuller

“The less talent they have, the more pride, vanity, and arrogance they have. All these fools, however, find other fools to applaud them.” -- attributed to Erasmus in The Praise of Folly (1509) [Note: this appears to be a loose arrangement of some things said there rather than a close translation that could be considered a quote (in my opinion).]

“We may not know what is going on in heaven or what God’s purposes are, but we must trust Him. “ -- John MacArthur

Donner, Psalm 12:6-7

“True thus is the word of the true, infallible One who cannot lie. The faith of the poet rests upon it, fully assured that none of the words of God shall fall to the earth unfulfilled. And the ages have established the truth of David’s praise upon the word of the Lord. The unbeliever has cast God’s Word into the ungodly crucible of his critique, and still does every day. It has been subjected to the most severe experiments that science could devise, and it still boldly continues. And with what outcome? That our precious Bible, after each trial, became more and more manifest, to be the pure, infallible Word of our God. Faith, then, fears not those experiments of infidel criticism; one does not make silver, purified seven times, into tin or lead. They will not be able to take God’s Word from us, they will have to let the Word stand.” J. H. Donner (Netherland Reformed), De Psalmen Voor de Gemeente Uitgelegd (The Psalms Explained For The Church), Volume 1, 1893, p. 77 (English translation from the original Dutch) 

“Waarachtig is alzoo he Woord van den Waarachtige, onbredriegelijk van Hem die niet liegen kan; het geloof des dichters verlaat zich er op, ten volle verzekerd, dat geen der woorden God onvervuld op aarde vallen zal.”

“En de eeuwen hebben de waarheid van Davids lof op het Woord des Heeren bevestigd. Het ongeloof heef Gods Woord in den ongoddelijken smeltkroes van zijn critiek geworpen, en doet dit nog elken dage. Men heeft het aan de zwaarste proeven, die de wetenschap kon uitdenken, onderworpen, en gaat er nog stout en driest mede voort. En met welke uitkomst? Dat onze dierbare Bijbel, na elke proef bij toeneming openbaar werd, het reine, zuivere, onfeilbare Woord onzes Gods te zijn. Het geloof vreest dan ook die proefnemingen der ongeloovige critiek niet, men maakt geen zevenmaal gelouterd zilver tot tin of lood; zij zullen ons Gods Woord niet kunnen ontnemen, het Woord zullen zij moeten laten staan.”

“True thus is the word of the True, infallible of Him who cannot lie; the faith of the poet rests upon it, fully assured that none of the words of God shall fall to the earth unfulfilled. And the ages have established the truth of David’s praise upon the Word of the Lord. Unbelief has cast God’s Word into the ungodly crucible of its critique, and still does every day. It has been subjected to the most severe experiments that science could devise, and it is still bold and bold. And with what outcome? That our precious Bible, after each trial, became more and more manifest, to be the pure, pure, infallible Word of our God. Faith, then, fears not those experiments of unbelieving criticism; they do not make silver, purified seven times, into tin or lead; they will not be able to take God’s Word from us, they will have to let the Word stand.”

“David geloof is wonderbaar gesterkt geworden, hij erkent en verwacht, dat de Heer de ellendigen en nooddruftigen bewaren en behoeden zal van het valsch en trotsch geslacht der leugenaars en lage vleiers.”

“David’s faith has been wonderfully strengthened, he acknowledges and expects that the Lord will keep and keep the poor and needy from the false and proud generation of liars and low flatterers.”

“De Heere alleen kan er hen voor behoeden en bewaren; want niet dan kwaad, niet dan verderf is te watchten, wanneer zij de overhand krijgen en de macht in kerk of staat in hunne handen komt.”

“The Lord alone can keep them from it and keep them; for nothing but evil, nothing but destruction is to be watched when they gain the upper hand and power in church or state comes into their hands.”

“De goddeloozen draven rondom, zij verheffen zich, wanneer de snoodsten der menschenkinderen verhoogd worden, wanneer dit boos geslacht van vleiers en leugenaars de eereplaatsen van macht en heerschappij innemen.”

“The wicked trot about, they lift themselves up, when the vilest of the children of men are exalted, when this evil race of flatterers and liars take the honors of power and dominion.”

Philip and his daughters

Acts 21:8-10 in Cæsarea

Verse 8: The next stop was in Cæsarea, about 30 miles further south. Here they are hosted in the house of Philip the evangelist. “which was one of the seven” Not Philip the apostle. See Acts 6:5, where Philip was one of seven men “of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom” that the church appointed over the business of ministering to the widows in the church at Jerusalem. This same Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached there (Acts 8:5-25). Following the message from an angel, Philip went down toward Gaza, witnessed to and baptized the eunuch of Ethiopia (Acts 8:26-38). After this Philip was at Azotus and passed through preaching in other cities of the coastal plain until he came to the city of Cæsarea (Acts 8:39-40). He seems to have then settled down here as his place of operation, where he is living with his family when Paul and company arrive. Philip was a disciple on the move at the time of “the persecution that arose about Stephen.” Compare Acts 8:3-5: “As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.”

Verses 9-10: Philip’s family included four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy (“did prophesy”). Cf. Acts 2:17 and I Corinthians 11:5. Whether they prophesied anything concerning Paul’s trip to Jerusalem, we are not told, and another prophet brings a specific message to the apostle.[1]

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[1] It was the opinion of many of our older brethren that this conduct was a matter of propriety in not usurping the authority over a man. This may well explain why Agabus specifically is sent with the message concerning Paul’s fate at Jerusalem. “Philip had four daughters who were prophetesses. Paul was abiding at Philip’s house at Caesarea ‘many days.’ While there God sent to him a prophet named Agabus…Now why did God send a man all the way from [Judaea] to tell Paul that, when he was staying in the home of man who had four daughters who were prophetesses?” (H. Boyce Taylor, “Women Speaking in Mixed Assemblies,” in Feminism: Woman and Her Work, John William Porter, editor, p. 142) This view has not been altogether abandoned. For example, “...since it is expressly forbidden for women to teach, speak, or have authority over the men in the assembly (1 Cor. 14:34,35; 1 Tim. 2:11,12), it can only be concluded that the prophetic ministry of these four virgin daughters was carried on in the home or in other non-church gatherings.” (William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, 1995, p. 1650).

What? NKJV notes and the Critical Text.

When folks say that there exist some critical text readings in the New King James translation, the claim is often dismissed as the rabid ravings of kooky KJV-“Onlyists”. But wait? What if a work published by the publisher of the NKJV (Thomas Nelson) and under the hand of the executive editor of the NKJV (Arthur Farstad) agrees? Are they unhinged as well?

Here are three verses (below), investigated in The NKJV Greek-English Interlinear New Testament (Arthur L. Farstad, Zane C. Hodges, Michael Moss, Robert Picirilli, Wilbur Pickering. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1994). I discussed two of the same in “Are there Critical Text preferences in the NKJV?” (which see). I believe someone with the time to do the research will turn up more of the same kind of things. If you do not have the NKJV Interlinear, you can borrow it HERE.

2 Corinthians 4:14. KJV “by” versus NKJV “with”. On page 634 it says “with” is the NU reading (NU= Nestle-Aland, United Bible Society). NKJV follows the NU reading.

Jude 1:3. KJV “the” versus NKJV “our”. On page 835 it says “our” is the NU reading. NKJV follows the NU reading.

Revelation 6:11. KJV “robes” versus NKJV “robe”. On page 854 it says the plural is the TR reading. NKJV follows the singular of the NU rather than the plural of the TR.

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Note: The main reason for this post is to demonstrate that even friends and promoters of the New King James translation are able to acknowledge some influence arising from the Critical Text.

Even Mark Ward has admitted, “There are six places in the NT—Luke 1:35; Col 3:17; Jude 3; and now 2 Cor 13:14; 4:14; 2 John 1:7—that Kent [Brandenburg] has brought to my attention, places in which I cannot square the rendering in front of me with the generally literal approach of the NKJV translators and with Scrivener’s text at the same time.”

We know...

We know God, we know the Spirit of God, we know the spirit of truth. 1 John 4:1-6. (Click the link to read the text at King James Bible Online™)

Beloved little children need to hear and heed the message of the beloved apostle. Error is widely dispersed in the world; we need to try all things that are being promoted in the name of God and truth.

Do not believe every spirit, 1 John 4:1.

Rather than believe any and everything we hear pawned off in the name of God and the Bible, we must try the spirits. Do not just foolishly trust; instead, faithfully try. To try the spirits means to test, examine, put on trial – to prove and know what is right and what is wrong.

The spirits may be earthly or ethereal, “though we, or an angel from heaven” (Galatians 1:8), but it matters not. All must be put to the test of truth, to accordingly find the principle that inspires or animates what is preached. “Whether they are of God” indicates that not all are from God (John 8:47). In John’s day and now, many false prophets are in the world. The Old Testament provided the people of Israel ways to test false prophets (Deuteronomy 13:1-3; 18:19-22) In that same spirit, John will provide us a way.

The fact that “many false prophets are gone out into the world” suggests those departing from the Christian faith to go back to the world (cf. 2 Timothy 4:10). “They went out from us, but they were not of us” (2:19) All false prophets are false, even those who may have previously presented themselves among the saints of God as true.

How shall we try the spirits? By the word of God (Acts 17:11). By measuring and aligning what is said by and with the truth. It is not just applying some feeling, but addressing the facts. As Isaiah said: (Isaiah 8:20) To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

How to know the Spirit of God, 1 John 4:2-3.

John not only commands his readers to try the spirits, but gives a way to try them. When John speaks of knowing the Spirit of God, he particularly addresses the way whereby we know that what is said and taught actually proceeds from the Spirit of God. We know that the Spirit of God testifies of Christ (John 15:26).

Hereby, by the test of the prophet’s confession, one can know whether what is said proceeds from the Spirit of God. “Every spirit that confesseth…every spirit that confesseth not…” One begins by measuring how they “measure” Christ (Matthew 22:41-46). “These spirits set up for prophets, doctors, or dictators in religion, and so they were to be tried by their doctrine” (Matthew Henry). The test is confessional; that is, it concerns what a person confesses, or believes. The test is theological or Christological; that is, it concerns what a person confesses or believes about Jesus Christ. The test is applied both positively and negatively. A false confession arises from that spirit of antichrist, the contrary and supplanting spirit which is in the world and which manifests itself in these false teachers.

What does such a Christological confession imply, and of what does it consist? First, it recognizes and confesses Jesus, the historical child, born of the virgin Mary in Bethlehem. Second, it recognizes and confesses that this historical Jesus, and he alone, is the Christ, the Messiah of God. Third, it recognizes and confesses that he is “come in the flesh,” that is, he existed as God before and apart from the flesh, was made flesh and dwelt among us – “and the Word was God” (John 1:1, 14). Or, as John Gill wrote, “The proper deity and sonship of Christ, his true and real humanity, and his Messiahship.”

The ones written to are of God, 1 John 4:4.

John calls upon the ones to whom he is writing to remember they are “of God” – you have God living within you (Colossians 1:27). Because of this you are overcomers (5:4-5; Romans 8:37), you have overcome “them,” the false prophets and that spirit of antichrist. “All that is in the world” is temporal, “is not of the Father” but is animated by the wicked one (2:14-17). God is greater than our heart, the witness of God is greater than the witness of men (3:20; 5:9) – and God in you is greater than he that is in the world (cf. John 6:45).

Such transcendent knowledge as supplied by the apostle comforts, establishes, and encourages (Psalm 124:1-8; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17). The Lord hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).

“They” are of the world, 1 John 4:5.

They – false prophets, every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh – are of the world and speak of and to the world. Man by nature knows the things of the world (1 Corinthians 2:11). The world hears and recognizes their own. The world loves its own (John 15:19). Let a prophet speak falsely, and in doing so he speaks recognizably, smoothly, and soothingly to those who are of the world, who are animated by its spirit.

If someone is in a crowd of people speaking foreign languages, they know not what is being said. If suddenly someone speaks a word in their own tongue, they “recognize their own” (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:19). Those who have the Spirit of God recognize the voice of God (John 10:5, 17). Those who have not the Spirit of God recognize the spirit of the world and the spirit of error. It calls to them, as deep calleth unto deep.

The ones writing are of God, 1 John 4:6.

By “we” in context John seems to mean the apostolic witnesses (1 John 1:1-4). They were chosen, called, and sent by God (Luke 6:13; John 20:21). “We are of God.” Certainly, he considers those to whom he is writing to be “of God” (v. 4). However, he is giving a principle of “deep calling unto deep,” so to speak. “Ye of are God” and “We are of God.” Because of this, you recognize the words of truth being spoken. Those who know God listen to the apostolic witness (1 Corinthians 14:37). Those in their natural and unregenerate state do not know God, do not listen to the apostolic witness, and will be carried about with every wind of doctrine (1 Corinthians 2:14).

The spirit of truth consists of a true Christology proceeding from the Spirit of God (John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 1 John 5:1). The spirit of error is that which is a false Christology proceeding from the spirit of antichrist, yea even Satan (2 John, v. 7). That which is book-ended between the “hereby” of 3:24 and the “hereby” of 4:6 gives the confessional Christological test to confirm the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. It begins with having the spiritual ability to hear the voice of the Jesus the Shepherd and concludes with the conjoining truth about Jesus the Christ. The Spirit and the word always agree.

We know (concluding thoughts), 1 John 3:24, 4:6.

“And hereby we know… Hereby know we…”

Do you listen to truth or to error? How do you know the difference? If someone is speaking and sharing for and from the Lord, then their words will align with the word of God and agree with the Spirit in us. Search the scriptures, whether the things are so or no (John 5:39; Acts 17:11). Let God be true, but every man a liar.

What do you confess? Do you know the Spirit of God? Do you know God? Do you hear the apostolic witness, spoken by the Spirit through the word? Does the witness of the Spirit witness to your spirit? (Psalm 42:7; Romans 8:16).

What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? (Matthew 22:42). Can you answer with Peter, “Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God?” Has flesh and blood given you a lie, or has the Father revealed to you the truth? (Matthew 16:15-17.) Do you confess that Jesus Christ come in the flesh is of God, or do you stand with the spirit of antichrist now in the world?

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Acts 16:31.

The Precious Scriptures

Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

“The consequent preciousness of the Sacred Scriptures – Precious as purified silver. Precious in life, in death. We value what is tried. In sickness, a tried medicine; in trouble, a tried friend; in bad weather, a tried ship, a tried captain, a tried anchor. Thank God! We have a tried religion. The Bible never failed our glorious religious ancestry, and it will never fail us.”

W. L. Watkinson, commenting on Psalm 12:6. (The Preacher’s Commentary on the Book of Psalms, Vol. I, London: Richard D. Dickinson, 1881, p. 49)

Let this mind be in you

Philippians 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

1. O that in me the mind of Christ
A fixed abiding-place may find,
That I may know the will of God,
And live in him for lost mankind.

2. The suffering servant he became,
Yea more; in loneliness and loss
He bare for me in grief and shame,
A crown of thorns, a heavy cross.

3. O that in me this mind might be,
The will of God be all my joy,
Prepared with him to go or stay,
My chief delight his sweet employ.

4. More than all else I would become
The servant of my servant-Lord;
My highest glory his reproach,
To do his will my best reward.

Refrain:
Doing the will of God,
Doing the will of God,
The best thing I know in this world below
Is doing the will of God.

Edward Henry “Ted” Joy wrote the words and music to “O that in me the mind of Christ.” The hymn stanzas are Long Meter, with a refrain meter of 6.6.10.7. The hymn is founded in Paul’s statement to the church at Philippi, “Let this mind be in you.”

Joy was born November 16, 1871 in Canterbury, Kent, England. He died February 16, 1949, at his home in Carshalton, Surrey, England. He is buried at the Camberwell New Cemetery in Camberwell, Southwark, London, England. Edward Joy joined the Salvation Army movement in Canterbury at the age of 12, He played in the band, and became an officer in 1894 at age 23. He served widely in the Salvation Army, including England, Canada, South Africa, and India. He rose to the rank of colonel in the Salvation Army, retiring in 1938. After his retirement he wrote for and about the Salvation Army.

Preach the Gospel, and other preaching quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources. (I try to confirm the sources that I give, but may miss on occasion; please verify if possible.)

“Preach not so that you will be remembered, but so that Jesus will never be forgotten.” -- Unknown

“A minister, without boldness, is like a smooth file, a knife without an edge, a sentinel that is afraid to let off his gun.” -- William Gurnall

“The task of the preacher is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” -- Vance Havner

“As you go forth to preach, come to each service as though it were the first, as though it could be the best, as though it might be the last.” -- Vance Havner

“To love to preach is one thing, to love those to whom we preach quite another.” -- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

 “A sermon is not made with an eye upon the sermon, but with both eyes upon the people and all the heart upon God.” -- John Owen

 “A man preacheth that sermon only well unto others, which preacheth itself in his own soul.” -- John Owen

“Never was man blamed in heaven for preaching Christ too much.” -- Charles H. Spurgeon

“A preacher should have the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros. His problem is how to toughen his hide without hardening his heart.” -- Curtis C. Thomas

“The minister speaks in the name of God, and as to the things of God, has no wish to know anything, except what he has learned from God himself.” -- Alexander Vinet

“To give knowledge, to produce faith, is the two-fold task of the preacher in every sermon.” -- Alexander Vinet

“We can preach the Gospel of Christ no further than we have experienced the power of it in our own hearts.” -- George Whitefield

“Only once did God choose a completely sinless preacher.” –--Alexander Whyte

“Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten.” -- Nikolaus von Zinzendorf

“It is well that God can speak through an ass, else He would have little use for many preachers.”

God is love

1 John 4:7-10

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

On the road again

Acts 21:1-7 from Miletus to Ptolemais

Verses 1-3: The course to Tyre. From Miletus the ship launched out on a straight course to Coos (an island in the Aegean Sea); and next they came to Rhodes (another island, and a city by the same name),[1] and then to Patara (a port in southwestern Asia). At Patara, they found and boarded a ship sailing to Phenicia. Previously they had been on ships that made short coastal trips. They now board a ship carrying cargo across the Mediterranean from Patara to Phenicia, a distance of about 350 to 400 miles. “when we had discovered Cyprus we left it on the left hand” indicates that the ship passed by west to east, with the island of Cyprus on their left; they sailed under/south of it, came close enough to see it, but did not stop. The ship landed at Tyre, stopping there for the purpose of unloading her cargo (“unlade her burden” γομον).

Verse 4-6: In Tyre they made connection with other disciples and stayed seven days with them. “finding disciples” suggests that they expected them to be there and looked them out. They may have been part of those “scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen” (Acts 11:19; 15:3). If so, Saul (now Paul) was a major leader driving that persecution! That a somewhat large band of travelers spent an entire week in Tyre suggests a congregation of believers large enough to provide food and lodging for such a group of travelers. They possessed love for the brethren (v. 5; John 13:35) and spiritual gifts (v. 4; Romans 12:6). These disciples had a message warning Paul that he should not go up to Jerusalem. “said to Paul through the Spirit” That is, by means of the Spirit, they knew what awaited Paul and did not want him to go. Nevertheless, after seven days, Paul and company set out on their way toward Jerusalem. There is no contradiction that the message they received through the Spirit caused them to believe Paul should not go while Paul was determined to go. Their continuing love and fellowship towards Paul demonstrate that they did not believe he was willfully disobeying the Spirit of God. These Tyrian disciples, with their wives and children, accompanied them out of the city. All the disciples prayed together before parting. They met on the sea shore, for the next leg of the trip would again be by ship. All said their goodbyes. The disciples of Tyre returned home, and the party of traveling disciples boarded ship. Cf. Acts 20:36-38.

Paul told the elders of the church at Ephesus “that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me” (20:23). In chapter 21 the record gives two specific instances of this, (1) in Tyre, and (2) in Cæsarea.

The stay of seven days may have been governed in part by the schedule of the cargo ship. However, if Paul had felt rushed to be in Jerusalem by Pentecost, the party probably could have found another ship. The seven-day stay in Tyre is analogous to the stay in Troas, and may have been governed more by the disciples’ gathering together than the ship’s itinerary. Paul did this also at Puteoli, Acts 28:13-14: “…Puteoli: where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days…”

Verse 7: From Tyre the party traveled to Ptolemais, about 20 miles south of Tyre, and spent one day with the brethren there before heading to the next location.

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[1] In secular history Rhodes is known for the Colossus, called one of the “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.” The Colossus was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios, over 100 feet tall, erected in the city of Rhodes circa 280 BC. It was collapsed by an earthquake circa 226 BC. It did not still stand there when Paul, Luke, and company came to Rhodes, though its ruins may have been visible. Hippocrates, the Greek physician often called “the Father of Medicine” and who is credited with coining the Hippocratic Oath, was born on the island of Coos circa 460 BC.

Bless the Lord, O my soul

Psalm 103, A Psalm of David.

103:1-5.

1. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3. who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4. who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5. who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Bless – exalt, glorify, praise, lift up his name.

Bless the Lord, bless his name, it is holy and revered.

Bless him from the soul, with all that is in you

Bless him for his benefits, do not forget any of them.

He forgives our iniquities.

• Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
• We went astray; he found us. We sinned; he saved us. Jesus the Lamb slain to take away the sins of the world, substituted himself in our place, so that we may gladly say “Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

He heals our diseases.

• Exodus 15:26 …for I am the Lord that healeth thee.
• The Lord is our healer, which includes healing in the temporal physical realm. When rejoicing in “the Lord our Healer,” we often set our sights far too low – only hoping God will heal us of one disease now so we can wait for the next one to come along. One day he will remove us from all sickness, sorrow, and sighing (Revelation 21:4).

He redeems our lives from destruction.

• Psalm 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
• Not only does he buy us out of slavery, he sets us free. Not only does he deliver us from the pit, he sets our feet on a solid rock. He establishes us with life, and that more abundantly (John 10:10).

He crowns us with his mercy and kindness.

• Psalm 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
• His lovingkindness and tender mercies are many, rich, and free. He does not just free us, but he crowns us (like kings) with riches right on top! According to these, he blots out our transgressions and crowns our days by turning from them and to that which is good, seating us with him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-6).

He satisfies our mouths with good things.

• James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
• He satisfies our mouths; he feeds us our daily bread. We open our mouths; he fills them. He will feed with the finest, even “honey out of the rock” (Psalm 81:10, 16). We can trust him, for he does not change.

…the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting…

… his kingdom ruleth over all…

Bless the Lord … O my soul.

Mark Ward, Waster of Words

Proverbs 18:9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.

On the last day of the year 2024, Mark Ward worked tirelessly to build up his “false friend” count to 150. Perhaps he was also tired, rushed, and not as attentive as he should have been. Here is an example of how the Berean must be on the lookout concerning Ward’s teaching and technique. One of countdown words was the word “waster” used in Proverbs 18:9, meaning one who lays waste, or destroys, a destroyer. Not content to merely ravage “King James Onlyists,” he also threw the old commentators Matthew Henry and John Gill under the bus as well. Pulled forward, then backed over them for good measure. After building a large front porch about wasting food and such like, Mark says:

“But false friend 108 in Proverbs 18:9 tripped up people of the stature of Matthew Henry, John Gill, and a random KJV-Only pastor I found on SermonAudio. I just have to share this. Gill, John Gill the great commentator, he thought that the ‘great waster’ was ‘a prodigal man, who spends his substance in riotous living.’ Henry thought ‘great wasters’ were ‘wasters of their estates, who live above what they have, spend and give more than they can afford, and so, in effect, throw away what they have, and suffer it to run to waste.’ I believe that this interpretation really is just impossible.”

I’ll not try to account for the modern pastor in Ohio. He is alive and can fend for himself. However, I will stand up for the dead guys. What Mark failed to consider is that M. Henry and J. Gill knew as much as he knows (and possibly more) and yet applied the idea of “laying waste” to one who destroys what he has through riotous living. (Note that both Henry & Gill reference the prodigal.) There is overlapping sense of waste and destroy that Mark seems to miss. He shouldn’t have. If he had looked carefully at John Gill’s comments on Proverbs 18:9, he should have read that Gill very specifically mentions the destroyer, as well as mentioning something very close to the reference Mark gives from Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians, of Paul as “a persecutor and waster of the church.”

v. 9. He also that is slothful in his work, &c.] Remiss in it; hangs down his hands, and does not care to make use of them, but neglects his business: Is brother to him that is a great waster: a prodigal man, who spends his substance in riotous living: the sluggard and the prodigal are brethren in iniquity; for, though they take different courses, they are both sinful, and issue in the same manner; both bring to poverty and want. Or, brother to a master that wastes p; a slothful servant and a wasteful master are near akin, and come into the same class and circumstances. Jarchi interprets it, “he that separateth from the law, though a disciple of a wise man, is a brother to Satan;” whose name is Apollyon, the waster and destroyer. A man that is slothful in spiritual things, though a professor of religion, and has a place in the house of God, is brother to him that is a waster and persecutor of it; see Matt. xii.30.

p לבעל משחית domino devaststionis, Gejerus; domino dissipanti, Mercerus.

Clearly John Gill was not “tripped up by a false friend.” He simply chose to interpret the manner of laying waste in a different way than Mark Ward. Regardless of what Mark believes about the word “waster” as a “false friend,” he did not apply honesty, clarity, and charity to what John Gill wrote. Bereans, always search to see whether Mark says is so. Many of his listeners gobble up what he says because he is the first one to come along and say it is so. (Cf. Proverbs 18:17.)

By the way, always search to see whether what any of us say is so!

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[i] Robert L. Alden, user of modern versions, professor of Old Testament, with a PhD from Hebrew Union College, says, “Shoddy workmanship in constructing something is tantamount to destroying it, says verse 9.” Proverbs: a Commentary on an Ancient Book of Timeless Advice. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1983, page 139. If Alden missed the interpretation, it had nothing to do with Ward’s concept of “false friends.” Adam Clarke says, “A slothful man neglects his work, and the materials go to ruin: the waster, he destroys the materials. They are both destroyers.” The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary claims “waster” literally means “master of wasting, a prodigal.” The Septuagint interprets the “great waster” as one who ruins or plunders himself (λυμαινομένου ἑαυτόν). The Vulgate interprets similarly (sua opera dissipantis.). Though Mark knows words (just listen, he will tell you so), he often seems out of his league when it comes to careful hermeneutics. Maybe he is just trying too hard to find more false friends.

[ii] Some other resources from the 17th century.

Vers. 9. He also that is slothful in his work ] ...

Is brother to him that is a great waster] Est frater domini disperditionis, will as certainly come to poverty, as the greatest wast-good. A man dyes no lesse surely (though not so suddenly) of consumption, then of an apoplexy.

[Note: The beloved OED defines wast-good (waste-good) as “A spendthrift.”]

Page 215 of Solomonis Παναρετος, or A Commentary Upon the Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs, John Trapp. London: Printed for John Bellamie, 1650

𝖂𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 ] Any person, or thing that doth destroy, Isa. 54.19. A Prodigall, Spendthrift, Prov. 18.19.

𝖂𝖆𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 ] One that spends all, Prov. 18.9.

Page 710 of A Complete Christian Dictionary, Thomas Wilson, et al. London: E. Cotes, 1661

And a little on the Hebrew, in case someone thinks it will not bear the same connotation.

Hiphil.—

(2) [Prov. 28:24, and Prov. 18:9] a man of destruction, i.e. in chap. 28, act., a destroyer, a waster; but in chap. 18, pass., one who brings destruction on himself, one who wastes his own goods, a prodigal.

Page 816 of Gesenius’s Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures, Wilhelm Gesenius (translated to English and edited by Samuel Predeaux Tregelles). London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1846

A Plaine and Familiar Exposition of the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Chapters of the Proverbs of Salomon, by John Dod and Robert Cleaver.

London: Roger Jackson, 1611, pp. 9-10