1 Thessalonians 5:21 says to prove (examine, test) all things and to hold fast that which is good. It is in the spirit of that admonition that I believe we, as Christian believers, should prove, examine, and test all things which our spiritual leaders and sources tell us. I believe God is calling this generation, the generation that is in the midst of the computer/information revolution, to do just that, to prove and to test all things. For far too long, centuries upon centuries, believers have had to rely on what their spiritual leaders have told them, having virtually no information or sources to check to see if what they, indeed, were told was true. Thus, you could say that early Christians were almost led along like "dumb sheep." No longer. In this generation we have use of the internet, one of the most powerful tools EVER, in my opinion, of information. Get on Google, type in any word, and up pops a ton of information on that particular subject, as you well know. And we now have at our disposal programs such as e-Sword, which the software writer has graciously allowed anyone to download for free. On this software, which I've found very helpful, you can compare a myriad of different bible translations. And there are many, many more valuable resources on the internet.
And so, in the spirit of testing, proving, and examining, let's look at a popular end-of-the-age scripture in Matthew 24:5. The KJV says, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Clearly, the implication of this sentence, by the use of the comma before "I am Christ," is that many people who claim to be Jesus Christ will come and deceive many.
Now, let's look at that sentence more closely without the use of the comma before "I am Christ." Here it is: For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Wow! Changes the whole meaning of the sentence, doesn't it? Clearly, the implication of this sentence, without the use of the comma before "I am Christ," is that many people who claim that Jesus is the Christ will come and deceive many.
Hmmm... me thinks we have a Bible translation error on our hands. But wait, you say! The Bible is the inerrant word of God! The Bible is never wrong. WRONG!!! Only the Bible in its original language is the inspired word of God. And now, with the incredibly marvelous information age that we're in, we can check, cross-check, recheck, Google, research, test, prove, and examine just what was meant in the original language of the Bible.
But back to that verse, Matthew 24:5, just what was Jesus actually saying? Was he saying that many would come in his name and deceive many, or was he saying that many would come claiming they were Jesus and deceive many?
Let's take a look at that word "many." A quick dictionary.reference.com search produces this: "Constituting or forming a large number; numerous." Okay. So we can all agree that "many" means a whole heck of a lot. That's not too difficult a concept to grasp.
Now, let's get on that wonderful search engine, Google, and type in "People who claim to be Christ." First thing in the list is Wikipedia. When we click on that link, we find a list of people who, throughout the centuries, have claimed to be Christ. Granted, they have a disclaimer at the top that says this list is incomplete and you can help by expanding it if you know of anyone else, but nonetheless, this gives us a pretty good picture of how many such people there have been. A quick count produces 14. Assuming that there's probably more -- and who really knows what that number is -- Wikipedia counts 14 people from the 1700s to the 1900s who have claimed to be Christ. Let's see now... hmmm... doesn't sound like "many" to me. How many people have lived since the time of Jesus? Billions? Trillions? I really have no earthly idea, but it's -- say it with me again -- a WHOLE heck of a lot.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Jesus couldn't possibly have been saying that 14 people constitutes "many." Were the King James Version translators wrong when they interpreted this scripture of what Jesus was saying? I think so, especially when viewed alongside this scripture in Matthew 7:22-23: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." So here we have Bible-believing Christians prophesying in the Lord's name, casting out demons in the Lord's name and doing wonderful works in the Lord's name; yet, Jesus says he will say to them that he never knew them. Could these individuals be the very same ones whom Jesus was talking about in Matthew 24:5?
To recap, we now have a wrong interpretation of scripture applied in the KJV, and it doesn't get better from there. Other versions even add quotes around the "I am the Christ" sentence, even further implying that it's many who will come claiming themselves to be Christ instead of the other way around.
There's something wrong with our Christianity today, just as there has been for centuries upon centuries. And it's not just limited to the Catholic church, as many would have you believe. It's also the Protestants. Who prophesies? Who casts out demons? Who does wonderful "works" for Christ? Is it the Muslims? No. Is it the atheists? No. Is it the people who believe in a higher power but want nothing to do with Christianity or religion at all? No. God is talking about Christians, or at least those who profess to be Christians.
This scriptural inerrancy is only the entrance to the rabbit hole. Are you going to be the one who turns a blind eye, who doesn't investigate on your own these things, who wants to glaze past them as if they don't exist? Or do you want to be the one who wakes up, searches out these matters for yourself, truly believes there is something wrong with Christianity today and wants to know the truth, the whole truth, no matter how painful or disruptive to your life it may be? Only you can decide.
I believe Jesus Christ came in the flesh. I believe he was God made flesh. I believe he physically died and rose again after three days and ascended to the Almighty God in heaven. What I don't believe is that a human being, translating and interpreting Hebrew and Greek text, will never make a mistake. And God cautions us in Proverbs 30:5-6, "Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar."
