Mindless Translating Leaves Us With a
Totally Twisted Understanding!
MINDLESS TRANSLATING
LEAVES US WITH A TOTALLY
TWISTED UNDERSTANDING!
Analysing Revelation 13.
JAN LILLEBY
What do I mean by ‘mindless’ ?
I am pointing to the repetitive error committed by the diverse Committees which translated/translates the Bible.
This article is concentrating on Revelation 13 and the matter of a coming Anti-Christ, which, thanks to the mindless translations - is portrayed as a world-leader. And thus he will also be praised and worshipped by the whole world. Not the least this ‘understanding’ fits right in with the end time teaching found with Hal Lindsey and others like him. Added the horrors of a coming ‘One World Government’ – the scenery played out will then fit perfect with these Armageddon-Fans, as Anti-Christ is that coming world leader, enforcing the entire world to take the mark of the beast, on their hand or on their forehead. Lindsey is without doubt the foremost propagator of such mindless ideas and beliefs. He got himself instantly famous when he wrote the book “Late Great Planet Earth” decades ago.
Not long ago, I emailed him (his office) and told him straight forward that only Israel will experience that prophesied ‘Great Tribulation’ and that Anti-Christ is NOT a world leader, but he takes rule in Israel and will occupy the third temple (soon to be built). I also said that most (perhaps all) Bibles are very badly translated in these matters. And that because of such bad translations he had been misled into totally wrong understanding of most end time matters and eschatology in general.
He did not answer me personally, but his secretary did (by email) – in a polite and short manner I was just told that “Mister Lindsey is always following Greek text when teaching from the Bible” – in other words: He says what the Bible says.
Problem is you cannot use the Greek texts flat out without first taking in the context at hand. In Greek, context is everything. One Greek word can mean three, four, five different things – all depending on the context. And this is the main error with translators, they do not check out thoroughly what exactly is the context. So they often pick a meaning which is totally misleading. Rev. 13 is a school-example proving that.
This comes clear when we read Rev. 13:8,
NKJV Bible:
“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”
NIV Bible:
“All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast – all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.”
AMP Bible:
“And all the inhabitants of the earth will fall down in adoration and pay him homage, everyone whose name has not been recorded in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain (in sacrifice) from the foundation of the world.”
Rev. 13:8 in which we find the word “Earth” – is noted in Strong’s Bible dictionary with number 1093. It is a Noun – Genitive Feminine Singular.
What is clear in Strong is that the Greek word for earth (ges) is contracted from a primary word; SOIL; by extension a REGION, or the solid part or the whole of the terrene globe. So earth is in this case taken from the understanding of solid part or terrene globe. They skipped SOIL, they skipped REGION (which is a certain place within a nation). In short, they did not pay attention to the context. For the context is clearly that of Israel and the on-going tribulation there – Rev. 6 and on testifies of that.
Paul testifies in II Thes. 2:4 that Anti-Christ shall take the seat in the temple of God, and demand of Israel that they shall fall down before him in adoration and worship. To use the terrene globe as right contexts is way out of line. The context is clearly inside the land of Israel, on Israel’s SOIL and Israel’s REGIONAL whereabouts in the Middle-East. This is non-negotiable facts!
Using these contextual sceneries will have the right explanation of Rev. 13:8 – it tells of what will happen as people in Israel believes that Anti-Christ is the genuine Messiah, and thus they worship him, and they take upon their hands or foreheads that mark of the beast. (Rev. 13:16-18).
Jesus pointed out that the Jews (Israel) in the future would receive another man coming to them in his own name…just as we read John 5:43, and He explicitly also added, …AND GIVE HIM YOUR APPROVAL. Jesus never told anyone that a false ‘messiah’ would come to the entire globe and be received by the whole world!
It is NOT around the entire globe, it is ONLY inside Israel.
It is that simple, and yet, it is that difficult – especially for believers who have been misled for decades by speculative ‘Armageddon Preaching”.
Hal Lindsey (born November 23, 1929), the critics say, has over the years since his first book, come out with a new book every third year, trying to explain why certain prophesies told in the foregoing book never came to fulfillment. He does not really want to change or try to get the right understanding of the Bible. He just wants to ‘keep up his appearances’, and carry on this charade of a Bible-fiasco…speaking prophecy which never was real prophecy, it was only his own fantasy or ‘interpretation’ of parts of the Bible.
The same principle of translation as shown above, by Rev. 13:8, goes for not only the Revelation Book; it goes for the entire New Testament. Only, it gets so visible when using certain extreme sceneries as found in Revelation.
Check out Rev. 13 verses where “Earth” is mentioned – you will be amazed to learn that when every time that word is mentioned, the meaning of the verse is changed dramatically. Earth MUST be changed to read “Israel” or “Land” – and not in the meaning of the whole globe. It takes place on Israeli SOIL or REGION.
Verse 3: “..and the whole EARTH went after the beast in amazement and admiration.”
They were amazed that the beast, Anti-Christ was healed of the deadly wound. It is described as if it is a miracle, - and not a natural healing of a wound by the human body’s normal functions….or else the whole “Earth” would not have been so utterly impressed – amazed.
Verse 7: …over every tribe and people, and tongue and nation.
This verse confuses people. But it come on just as Acts 2:5 where we read of Pentecost and that people from all over the civilized world (Jews) were present in Jerusalem – from all the Jewish tribes, Jewish people, Jews speaking the languages learnt in the nations they lived, and they came from all those nations they lived in.
Verse 8 (already mentioned above) …and all the inhabitants of the EARTH will fall down in adoration…
Verse 11 …Then I saw another beast rising up out of the land…
Here it slips a bit with the translating Committee: They use the word LAND – and even as they very well know that the context (in their minds) was EARTH. They do not explain to us why that other beast (false prophet) was rising up out of the land. Why not use EARTH, since that is what they use with Anti-Christ, the first beast? You see this? Bad and sloppy work. You have to ask them: What LAND? Is it America? Is it Norway? Great Britain? France? Greece? Israel? What?? But the LAND here is what I already have told you, it is Israel. The false prophet comes forth in Israel to support the Anti-Christ.
Verse 12 …. (He – the false prophet) ..causes the EARTH and those who dwell upon it to exalt and deify the first beast…
Verse 13 …making fire fall from the sky to the EARTH in men’s sight…
Verse 14 …he deceives those who inhabit the EARTH..
If you erase the word EARTH and write Israel instead, you will get the right translation and you will be able to interpret the Bible correctly so far!
The Great Tribulation will come upon Israel only. Jer. 30:7 testifies to that,
“Alas! For that day will be great, so that none will be like it; it will be the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he will be saved out of it.” (Jacob was re-named Israel).
Anti-Christ will use Jerusalem and the third temple as his abode and headquarter during his stay in Israel. There is no word of a presumed “One World Government” and Anti-Christ to rule the whole wide world.
I have also mentioned much of this same exhortation in a previous article, which you can read here on my site – “Erroneous Translation of the Bible Causes Misunderstanding Regarding Anti-Christ and World Power”- so this present article here can be considered as a little reminder, that it is very important to get the right translation of several passages in the Bible, or else you will go astray and end up in mental/spiritual dead-end-streets and fail to get things right!
A fair tip for the interested Bible student: Visit www.biblehub.com where you can sift through innumerable Bible passages to check out Greek words to compare with what you read in your personal Bible! They are using Strong’s dictionary and several others so you can check various references.
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REGARDING MY RECENT ARTICLE
ON ANTI-CHRIST AND THE
BRITISH ROYALTY:
A few days ago I found it right to withdraw that article from my site. The reason is that I have found several options – but of such a character that I do not want to go on with this topic.
It seems to me that God allows for a ‘Cover’ over certain parts of His Word. Anti-Christ and similar topics seem to be a riddle which no regular believer can solve! Thanks for your patience!
