Revelation 1:3 and Me

Somehow, the other week, Revelation 1:3 got on my radar. 

I had never focused on the part about reading the prophecy aloud seemed new to me. Some long time ago, I first heard that it's good to read the Bible aloud and that it helps retention and understanding.

Anyway, I decided to read Revelation. Out loud. It has been beneficial. For one thing, while reading aloud, I am more focused on checking commentaries as I go through the verses. Thankfully, I have several Bible translations and a variety of commentaries because of the amazing eSword. 

BTW eSword is right up there in my favorite resources along with Got Questions, Blue Letter Bible, and BibleRef. And ALL of them are FREE...

It has been a blessing to read Revelation out loud. I am now intending to do the same whenever I read or study any part of the Bible. 

Here's a weird thing I have noticed. There is such a cloud of noise and other distractions around us that it's hard to think clearly. I feel sometimes as if I am wading through a tunnel of "news and information", social media posts, chattering neighbors, and so much other stimuli that I don't get a chance to think clearly and deeply about anything real. Deep breath!

There is so much unorganized noise around us that it's hard (at least for me) to have an organized train of thought.

Reading the Bible aloud made me realize this. When I read the words aloud, I am focused on those words. I am focused on what they mean and how they apply to life.  Most of the other "noise" in my life - social media, entertainment media, etc. - is all like a diet of drugs and dessert, filling my up without fulfilling me.

I won't go on a rant about how I - like a lot of people - spend too much time dealing with my phone and consuming the "junk food" of media. I will say reading Revelation aloud truly has been a blessing to me. I'm going to try to focus on having a healthier diet of what I let into my mind and heart.

Peace

--Free

Do Bible Translations Matter?

I've heard the arguments before about whether or not Bible translations other than the KJV were accurate. Usually these arguments were nasty, heated exchanges that you would expect to hear in a meeting between the Klan and the NAACP... Just really mean and, well, let's just say that people can get upset over the discussion.

A long time ago, I got it into my head that all my nieces and nephews needed their own Bible. This is back when I was working and making pretty good money. I started going to the Christian bookstore every other payday or so and picking out Bibles I thought were appropriate for each one of my nieces and nephews. I remember buying the Adventure Bible, study Bibles, Teen Bibles, etc. I don't think that I bought any of the Bibles in the King James Version. My intent was that I wanted the kids to be interested in what they were reading and that it be easy to read. Eventually, I bought a Bible for each of them. I believe they all still have their copies today.

For myself - and this is when I was studying the Bible on a more regular occasion than now, even at one point setting myself the goal of reading through the entire Book - I bought various versions: the KJV, NIV, Amplied, NASB Study, John Hagee Prophecy, and Living. One of the reasons I'd given myself for using different versions was that they were easier to read & understand. (That comes up for argument later in a video I'm embedding.) I recently was going through some of my boxes of packed belongings and realized how many versions I had collected. The one I had kept out and available while I was busy moving from place to place (pillar to post?) was the NASB Study Bible. To be honest, I didn't often read it. Every now and then, when something came up in conversation, I would refer to the Bible.

Anyway, I was looking for more teachings on the faith and subjects of the faith when I ran across a video on YouTube that was about the controversy of modern translations of the Bible versus the KJV. I was surprised first that the speaker was not angry or ill-tempered. Next, I was fascinated by the information. Of course, as I listened, I pulled out my NASB and a KJV and began to take notes.

Wow.

In a nutshell, what mainly caused me to consider the argument for the KJV was comparing the Lord's Prayer from my NASB Study version to the KJV. Here is the first video of a series presented on YouTube:



There is another video - short and with a general chart - that more simply explains the sources of the various versions. The man presenting the information, Kent Hovind, can be a little more grating than Gail Riplinger from the first video I embedded, but the information is clear.



At any rate, I have not thrown out the other versions I have because I think it will be helpful to show others the differences, but I am now using the KJV for my study and use. (By the way, I don't know how exactly to explain this, but do you ever feel like, when you have learned something, that it's as if the knowledge was right there in front of you all the time & you were just missing it??? That's the way I have been feeling lately.)

What do you guys think? Do you prefer other versions to the KJV and why? Do you get what Riplinger and Hovind are saying about the other versions?

Peace
--Free

Revelation 22:18-19
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.