Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page

Grammatical Problems
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Genesis 1:16-18  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Many find verses 16-18 particularly difficult. They appear to say that God created the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day of creation. The New King James compounds the problem by incorrectly beginning verse 16 with "Then God made," implying continuity of action. The King James, American Standard, the Revised Standard, and Young's Literal translations all start this verse with "And." Further, the Hebrew asah, translated "made" in verse 16, is in the verb form that denotes completed action. This means that the sun, moon, and stars could have been created that day or any previous time. These heavenly bodies had been created long before the creation week began. Therefore, verses 16 through 18 are parenthetical statements that indicate that the sun, moon, and stars had been made sometime in the past. Earl L. Henn (1934-1997) Genesis 1: Fact or Fiction?

Luke 17:21  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This sadly mistranslated verse has led many sincere people astray. Without even knowing the Greek language, we can see that Jesus could not mean that the Kingdom was some ethereal quality in the hearts of the Pharisees! To the contrary, He castigated them often for their unbelief! Entos, translated "within," should be translated "in the midst of" or "among." Jesus, the coming King of the Kingdom of God, was in their midst or among them! The thrust of His teaching in this section is that unbelievers will not recognize the working of God's Kingdom among them, just as the Pharisees had not recognized their Savior among them. Richard T. Ritenbaugh The True Gospel

Luke 23:42-43  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Jesus said He would be in the grave three days and three nights after His crucifixion. Then could the thief have been with Christ in Paradise that very day? Notice Luke 23:43 carefully. Jesus said that the crucified malefactor would be with Him in Paradise. If we can prove where Jesus went when He died, then we can prove if the malefactor really went to Paradise that day. In I Corinthians 15:3-4. Paul reiterates: "For I delivered to you"—speaking to Christians—"first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." Notice that Jesus was buried—it does not say the body was buried, and that the soul went to Paradise. It reads that He—Jesus, Himself, entirely—was buried. He was dead for three days. He died for our sins. Then He came to life. He arose! John gives us further proof of where Jesus was. "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There"—in the tomb, the grave—"laid they Jesus" (John 19:41-42). It was Jesus who was laid in the tomb, not merely the body of Jesus. Jesus was dead! To make this even plainer, look at Acts 2:31. Speaking of Christ, Peter quotes the prophet David as follows: "He [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption." This verse, translated in the King James Version, proves that Jesus was not in Paradise, but in hell. The word "hell" ought to be rendered "grave." The original inspired Greek word used by Peter was hades, meaning the "grave." It does not mean a fiery, burning hell. The Bible uses another word for that. Hell or the grave is not Paradise. Since Jesus did not enter Paradise that day—the day of the crucifixion—then neither did the malefactor enter it. Christ has "preeminence" in all things, we read in Colossians 1:18. Therefore the malefactor who repented could not have preceded Christ to Paradise. Whenever the repentant malefactor enters Paradise, Christ will be there too! He said so: "With me shalt thou be in paradise." Since we know where Jesus was when He died, we now need to locate Paradise. Notice II Corinthians 12:1-5. Paul speaks of one whom He knew who had marvelous visions and revelations from the Lord. In a vision he was "caught up to the third heaven"—God's throne! "He was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." Then Paradise is located in the presence of God's throne. Let's continue with the Bible description of Paradise. Turn to Revelation 2:7. "To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God" (American Standard Version). Observe that the tree of life is in the Paradise of God. Next, turn to Revelation 22:1-2. These two verses are referring to "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:2, ASV). In this city, which is also a type of the church, we find "a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life. . . ." (ASV). The New Jerusalem contains the tree of life. In the New Jerusalem is the Paradise of God. Jesus said the repentant malefactor would be with Him in this Paradise. The New Jerusalem is not yet finished. Jesus is still preparing a place for us in it (John 14:2). Not until after the Millennium will it be fully ready (Revelation 20:1-5). Not until then will it descend to earth—not until then will the repentant malefactor enter Paradise! Then what did Jesus mean by saying, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise"? You probably have assumed that Jesus promised the thief that he would be with Him in paradise that very day. Nothing could be further from the truth! Remember the thief had asked earlier, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42). The plain fact is that Jesus has not yet come into His Kingdom (Luke 11:2; 19:11; I Corinthians 11:26; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; I Corinthians 15:23, 49-52). Additionally, proper punctuation helps explain Luke 23:43. Most translations are improperly punctuated in order to make it appear that Jesus would be in Paradise that day. But the Bible proves Jesus was not in Paradise that day. A comma placed before the word "today" is incorrect. The comma should follow it—"Verily I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with me in paradise." Open your Bible to this controversial verse. Notice the punctuation. Remember that punctuation was not used in the inspired Greek which Luke wrote. It was added into the Greek and English centuries later. The punctuation in this verse was added by men. Here is exactly, word for word, the order in the inspired original Greek, which you can verify at any public library: "Verily I say to thee today, 'With me shalt thou be in the Paradise.'" By using the word "today," Jesus was stressing the time of His promise—not the time He would be in Paradise. The repentant malefactor crucified with Jesus is still dead and buried. Jesus alone is the firstborn from the dead (Romans 8:29; Acts 26:23; I Corinthians 15:23). But the time is coming when this man shall be resurrected also and eventually shall enter the Paradise of God promised to come to this earth. Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986) What Is the Reward of the Saved?

John 14:17  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) In Greek, as in English, the word "spirit" is neuter. It naturally requires a neuter pronoun, which is rightly translated into English as "it," and is usually so translated. However, in some cases the translators have used a masculine pronoun where the original Greek uses "it." John 14:17 is such a case. The pronouns "he" and "him" should have been rendered "it." No doubt the translators erred because they themselves assumed the Holy Spirit to be a person. In John 14:26; 16:7-8, 13-14 the Holy Spirit is personified as the "Comforter" (Greek parakletos, which is grammatically masculine), hence the pronoun "he" (ekeinos) was used in the original Greek to agree with "Comforter," but should also be translated "it" in an English version. The plain fact of the whole matter, which few have ever realized, is that the commonly accepted "trinity" doctrine attempts to limit for all time the size of the Family of God. It denies the very purpose for which Elohim created mankind! What It Means to Be Born Again

John 14:26  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The Holy Spirit is here clearly referred to in the masculine gender, using the masculine pronoun "he." This makes the Holy Spirit appear like a living personality. The translators were forced to do this to be grammatically correct, since "Comforter" or "Helper" (parakletos) is a masculine noun. However, we teach that the Holy Spirit is an inanimate, impersonal power—a force—that is directed and used by a personal God. In other words, "he" is shown doing activities that should really be ascribed to people or persons. Even though English does not have masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns in the way that languages like Greek do, we still refer to a ship as "she," and ascribe actions and personalities to "her," even though a ship does not technically have a gender. What using the masculine pronoun does is cause the Holy Spirit to appear as if it is doing things as people or as God would do. The argument put forth by Trinitarians is that the Holy Spirit could hardly do these things unless it were a personality with the powers to do them. Such an argument seems pretty strong until one begins to look at other parts of the Bible concerned with similar concepts. For instance, If the foot shall say, "Because I am not of the hand, I am not of the body;" is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, "Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body;" is it therefore not of the body? (I Corinthians 12:15-16) When was the last time your foot talked? When did your ear last speak? Never! Paul personified the foot and the ear. He used his license as a writer to give personal traits to the foot and ear, so they could "speak." Why? He used it as a teaching vehicle to give us insight and understanding, in this case, of how all the parts of the body work together. They cooperate with one another so that the whole body can accomplish its work. But, in reality, the foot does not talk, and neither does the ear. Would anyone in his right mind say that the heavens actually rejoice (Psalm 96:11-12) or "give ear" (Deuteronomy 32:1)? Or that the mountains and forests sing (Isaiah 44:23)? Or that the trees clap hands (Isaiah 55:12)—hands they do not even have? Psalm 98:8 says, "Let the rivers clap their hands"! Writers often do this to give us a grasp of what they are trying to get across. Therefore, it is risky business to claim that the Holy Spirit is a person on the basis of verses that say that the Spirit speaks, or because it is referred to in the masculine gender. Things that are clearly inanimate or impersonal are described in much the same way throughout the entirety of the Bible. John W. Ritenbaugh The Holy Spirit

Ephesians 2:8  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Adam Clarke comments that the word "it" in "it is the gift of God" can be more accurately translated "this." But  "it" and "faith" are of different genders. In the Greek language, as in many others, the gender of the pronoun has to match the gender of its antecedent. The antecedent, then, cannot possibly be "faith" because "it" is neuter and "faith" is feminine. "It" must refer to another neuter word, the word "saved." Faith indeed is a gift of God, but it cannot be proved so by this verse. Faith is produced by the grace of God given to us. God's grace empowers us to believe. The power to believe and the act of believing are two very different things. Without the power to believe, no one has ever believed with the kind of belief that is necessary for salvation, but once a person has that power, once he is enabled, once the grace, the gift, has been given to him, then the act of faith is the person's own. John W. Ritenbaugh Faith (Part 5)

Revelation 20:1-10  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) All during the Millennium, Satan will be restrained, prevented from deceiving the nations ( verses 1-3). After the 1,000 years are over, Satan will be loosed out of his prison (verse 7). He will go out to deceive all the humans who are not then born into God's Kingdom (verses 8-9). This will prove, for anyone who might doubt, that Satan will not repent, even after he sees the wonderful results of 1,000 years of righteous rule. The humans who are so easily deceived into fighting Christ will also be proving that they were not paying attention to what they were being taught at the close of the 1,000 years. Satan and the demons will then be cast into the Lake of Fire. Some Bibles use italics to show that the word are in verse 10 was added by the translators. It is not found in the Greek manuscripts. The phrase should read, "where the beast and the false prophet were cast." The unwritten verb in the Greek should be understood to be in the same tense as the verb in the first half of the sentence. The Amplified Bible has it correct. The beast and false prophet will be cast into a Lake of Fire at the beginning of the Millennium (Revelation 19:20). These two mortal men will be killed and consumed by that fire, and by the time Satan is cast into that fire, the beast and false prophet will have been dead more than 1,000 years. In the Lake of Fire, Satan will be able to do nothing. God will have rendered him completely powerless—unable to deceive the rest of the dead, who will then be resurrected to have their opportunity to understand God's Master Plan. The Last Great Day: God's Master Plan Completed!

Revelation 20:10  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) This verse seems to describe the Lake of Fire as a place where God torments people forever. This raises a few questions: 1) If the Beast and False Prophet are mortal men, why are they still alive after the Millennium when Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire? 2) If they are mortals, how can they "be tormented day and night forever and ever" in an inferno that would soon consume them? 3) What kind of God would devise such a "cruel and unusual" punishment? Before we answer these questions, we must briefly consider whether man has an immortal soul. Our understanding of the Scriptures compels us to maintain that he does not for several reasons: u Job recognized that man has a spirit (Job 32:8), which Paul shows in I Corinthians 2:11 endows humanity with intellect. This spirit in man comes from God (Zechariah 12:1) and returns to Him when we die (Ecclesiastes 12:7; Acts 7:59). It records our experiences, character, and personality, which God stores until the resurrection of the dead. However, the Bible never describes this spirit as immortal or eternal; in fact, I Corinthians 2:6-16 explains that man needs yet another Spirit, God's, to be complete and discern godly things. u The Bible flatly asserts that all people die: "It is appointed for men to die once" (Hebrews 9:27). Ezekiel says clearly that souls die: "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; see Romans 6:23). Jesus warns in Matthew 10:28 that God can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. u In death, life and consciousness are gone. "The dead know nothing," says Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:5, and he later adds, "There is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going" (verse 10). In Psalm 146:4, the psalmist writes about a man's death, "His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish" (see Genesis 3:19). u Scripture also confutes the idea that people go to heaven or hell after death. Peter says to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. . . . For David did not ascend into the heavens" (Acts 2:29, 34). Our Savior confirms this in John 3:13: "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." The biblical usage of Sheol and Hades simply means "the grave." u Men cannot have immortality unless God gives it to them. Paul writes, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). In I Corinthians 15:53 he tells the saints, "This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." At the first resurrection God will give "eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality" (Romans 2:7). If we already had immortality, why should we put it on or seek it? u Only God has immortality. He is, Paul writes to Timothy, ". . . the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality" (I Timothy 6:15-16). John says of the Word, "In Him was life" (John 1:4), meaning as Creator of all things (verse 3), He had life inherent. Jesus affirms this in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Men must go through Him to receive eternal life. With such overwhelming proof, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul proves false. Man is not immortal, nor does he possess any "spark of God" unless God has given it to him through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11). A Christian's hope of life after death rests in the resurrection of the dead (I Corinthians 15:12-23). Conversely, the wicked only await eternal death as recompense for their evil lives, not eternal life in torment. To understand Revelation 20:10 correctly, we must put it into its proper chronological context. Once we know when it occurs, much of the confusion about this verse clears up. Though only twelve verses separate Revelation 19:20 from 20:10, one thousand years pass between their respective events. The Beast and the False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire when Christ returns (Revelation 19:11-21). Soon thereafter, an angel imprisons Satan in the bottomless pit for the thousand years of the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3). When the thousand years pass, Satan is released, and he gathers Gog and Magog to fight against the saints (verses 7-9). After God defeats this futile attempt, He casts Satan, a spirit being, into the Lake of Fire to be tormented forever and ever (verse 10). Obviously, the flames of the Lake of Fire totally consume mortal men like the Beast and False Prophet. In no way could they survive a thousand years of burning! The laws of nature simply will not allow it. The translators of the King James and New King James versions render the final clause of the first sentence as "where the beast and the false prophet are." The present-tense verb "are" is not in the Greek; it is an understood verb. In English grammar, such silent verbs take the same tense as the verb in the main clause of the sentence. The translators ignored this rule, however. The primary verb of the sentence, "was cast" (an aorist verb usually translated as simple past tense), demands that the silent verb should be "were cast" (past tense) to agree with the plural subject, "the beast and the false prophet." Deceived by the false doctrine of the immortal soul, the translators had to deny nature and break the rules to make this verse fit their understanding! On the other hand, we can confidently assert that our teaching agrees with Scripture, nature, and grammar! Richard T. Ritenbaugh Eternal Torment?

 

XML RSS  feeds available		The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 35,000 subscribers are already receiving each day. Email Address:
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time.

Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page