Study Activity
Must-do Activity: Grab an NIV, NLT, or ESV Bible translation and read Matthew 18:10-14 “The Parable of the Lost Sheep.” If you didn’t have access to one of these Bibles, no worries. Click on one of these links: www.biblegateway.com or www.biblestudytools.com and read it. These websites allow you to explore the passage in multiple Bible versions. We will have a discussion about this later, so please read through this passage using a couple of different versions.
22-23 – Professing to be wise, they became foolish and CHANGED the glory of the incorruptible Elohim into the likeness of an image of a corruptible man,….
25: Who changed the truth of Elohim into a lie …
In this and all Food for Thoughts I recommend you read the Scripture(s) provided and the entire chapter they are from to obtain more insight.
Who’s changing the TRUTH Now?
Beware of the Tares
Now let’s look at Matthew 13:24-30 “The parable of the Wheat and the Tares.” Here, Yahusha explains how the enemy Hêlēl (Satan) plants and grows tares (wicked people) among the wheat (Holy people or Qodashim) that 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 plants. The wheat and the tares look almost identical but are entirely different. The tares are weeds that can uproot the wheat if grown too close together.
Yahusha was explaining that there were and will be imitators, impostors, and frauds living side by side with 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄’s children. These individuals are called tares and will mimic, deceive, and mislead others by any means necessary, wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). In like manner Paul, in his letters to the Colossians, warns of these wolves or tares misleading people through philosophy, doctrines, theologies, and empty deceit (Colossians 2:8). Therefore, it’s vital to put on the full armor of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 and remain vigilant against such individuals and influences, while also ensuring that we embody the ways, precepts, and commands of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄.
The parable of the wheat and tares goes much deeper, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 willing there will be a food for thought about it someday. If you truly get an understanding of this parable, you will realize that the rapture theology is a demon doctrine.
Study Activity Continued
Let’s go back to the Matthew 18:10-14 activity from earlier. Did you read it? If not, please take a moment to do so. If you did, did you notice anything about the scriptures? No, nothing stands out; look closer. THERE IS NO VERSE 11. The NIV, NLT, ESV, and many other versions have removed this scripture and others as well as reworded others, completely changing their meanings. Who changed the truth into a lie? It was scholars, religious leaders, and religious organizations, AKA TARES.
Note: Other missing scriptures from various Bibles:
John 5:4, Matthew 23:14, Matthew 17:21, Mark 7:16, Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46, Mark 11:26, Mark 15:28, Luke 17:36, John 5:4, Acts 8:37, Acts 15:34, Acts 24:7, Acts 28:29, Romans 16:24
Truth vs Illusion
Illusion
Scholars and world religious leaders argue that their translations are more accurate despite the fact that they have omitted verses, phrases, and words. They contend that their changes were necessary to accurately match what they perceived and accepted as the original text. To add insult to injure, the vast majority of these Bible translations and many more have also taken the name of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 in vain and replaced it with lord and god (Jeremiah 23:27), as well as changing the name of the Son Yahusha to Iēsous/Iesus/Jesus.
The Greeks changed the name Yahusha to Iēsous to better align with the names of their own gods, such as Zeus, Uranus, Erebus, Venus, Morpheus, and Prometheus. This change was more about cultural assimilation and less about accurately translating the name, which is not, in my opinion, translatable. These actions are undoubtedly a gross demonic overstep, as their sources and influence are of a flawed Greek type. However, I reiterate again that they assert they use the most reliable Greek manuscripts.
Truth
It is not through ignorance that most Bible translations have numerous flaws but more of an intentional ignorance by way of agendas and demonic influence. The enemy, Satan, is a liar and a deceiver, and the Earth is full of his children/tares doing his work (John 8:44, Revelation 12:9). Last week, I placed too much in the Food for Thought, which made for a long read. So, we will break these reasons down over the next few Food for Thoughts. First, let’s uncover the truth about the New and Old Testament and their Hebrew and Aramaic origins to debunk the notion that the Old Testament is Hebrew and the New Testament Greek.
How do we know the original New and Old Testament were written in Hebrew and Aramaic?
“The New Testament is filled with Aramaic words such as “Talithaqumi” in Mark 5:41, and “Corban” in Mark 7:11, or “Ephatha” in Mark 7:34 as well as many other places. What is most interesting is that in the Greek manuscripts where these Aramaic words are, it states directly after the Aramaic phrase the words “which is being translated as.” What is quite striking is you never see these words in the original Peshitta Aramaic New Testament manuscripts. So which came first, the Greek or the Aramaic? The answer is self evident by the manuscript that is clearly identifying itself as the translation.
Don Esposito – Senior Elder, Congregation of YHWH Jerusalem
Also, there are several instances in the translated Greek manuscript where the translator transliterated an Aramaic phrase into the Greek copy, with a transliterated word that does not exist in the Greek language. One such example is in Mark 3:17 where Yahshua has nicknamed two of His apostles as “B’nai Ragshee”, which in English means “Sons of thunder”, but this phrase is transliterated into the Greek as “Boanerges”, which is not a word or phrase in Greek. The fact that an Aramaic phrase is transliterated into Greek with no identical translation clearly proves that the original was the Aramaic. So very distinctly, when you do a scientific primacy test, as scholars have done, in every case the Aramaic Peshitta manuscript comes out as the original over the Greek and other Aramaic manuscripts.”
The languages spoken by Yahusha (Jesus) and His disciples were primarily Aramaic, which Yahshar’el (Israelites) learned while in Babylonian captivity, and some Hebrew, not Greek. Although the Protestant Reformation (we will learn about that later) allowed biblical scholars/tares to translate the Bible into English and other languages for the masses to read and understand, many Bible translations are flawed or even corrupted. The American Bible Society acknowledges over 900 English Bible translations, and I submit that our enemy, Hêlēl (Satan), has his hand in most of them. Thankfully, we are in an era where religious organizations and governments can no longer suppress historical information. It is readily available, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 has supplied a remnant of translators after his own heart to supply His word (Daniel 12:4).
Bible Translations Flaws Due to Cultural Bias, Changes, and Differences
Definition of Cultural Bias:
- perspectives, attitudes, and behaviours based on the standards of one’s own culture
- assumes that one’s own culture is superior to others
- interpret something based on your own culture’s standards
Throughout generations and the cultural changes that occur, words often change their meanings, as seen in the English language examples below.
English words Awful and Nice; what exactly do they mean? Well, it depends on the generation or era:
Awful:
- 14th century: “Frightful, terrifying, commanding great respect, worthy of reverence”
- Before 1000: “Causing dread” and “commanding reverential respect”
- 16th and 17th centuries: “Full of awe“
- Renaissance: “Solemnly impressive”
- Today: “Extremely unpleasant, shocking, or bad”
Nice:
- 14th century: Borrowed from French, “nice” meant “silly” or “foolish“
- Early 1300s: Derived from the Latin word nescius, meaning “ignorant” or “unaware”, “nice” was used to describe someone as “stupid”, “ignorant”, or “foolish” for almost a century
- 16th century: “Nice” developed a new meaning of “very particular” or “finicky”
- 19th century: “Nice” came to mean “pleasant or agreeable” and then “respectable”
- Today: “Nice” is a term of approval, often used to describe someone or something as kind, pleasing, polite, or friendly
Now, consider the challenges of translating from one language to another and then to another over the ages, with words changing meaning and with indifference to a specific culture. These translations went from Hebrew/Aramaic to Greek, then Latin, and on to English, and ultimately into other languages. Additionally, we must consider that some translators and religious organizations had their own agendas or were working under the influence of an organization’s agenda, as we learn in the weeks to come. Lastly, we must not forget that the culture of Yahshar’el was hated and despised at the time most of the Greek and Latin translations were done. Would it be a stretch to think that the Greeks and later Romans ignored some of the meanings of Hebrew writing and input their own or displayed cultural bias (1 Maccabees 3:48)?
Conclusion
Continued Next week
By: David Edwards – HalleluYAH – Praise YAH – Praise 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄
