Ray,
Why don't we just let the Bible(God's Word) say what it says and mean what it means?
Brian
Dear Norton: Sounds simple enough, however, there is a lot more to it than what you state.
First, what do you mean by "THE Bible (God's Word)?" There are hundreds and hundreds
of "different" Bibles. Yes, "different." So how can one "let the Bible say what it says and mean
what it means?" There are any number of "bibles" which do not contain the English word "hell"
even one time. So what are we to make of that? I John 5:7 appears in most modern English
Bibles, yet there is not one example of this verse in any manuscript dated before the 15th
Century. The words "evermore," "everlasting," and eternal are found in most modern English
bibles, yet "eternal" has no equivalent whatsoever in the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. So
there we have a few bits of "bible" that are NOT "God's Word" at all. So in reality, many bibles
don't "say what the original manuscripts say." I agree that we should let God's Word "mean what
it means," but then again, WHO decides what it "means" in the first place? And so, there is a
need for teachers, and it behooves all students to study and compare carefully what all these
"different" teachers teach. Etc., etc. Too big a subject for an email, and so that is why we
started "bible-truths.com."
God be with you,
Ray