Acts Study #30: Is Acts 8:37 the Word of God or not?
Hechos Estudio #30: ¿Es Hechos 8:37 la Palabra de Dios o no?
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All Bible quotations and the arrangement are found exclusively in the Kingdom Study Bible version, published by Jehovah Has Spoken Publishing Ministries. It is published for free in PDF format on this website.
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“This is the work of Jehovah! It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23
Acts, Chapter 1.4: The salvation of Saul of Tarsus: a devout, but false Jew under the Old Covenant (8:5 - 9:31)
§Unique Introduction: Philip and the apostles Peter and John destroyed the evil influence of Simon Magus among the Samaritans with the Gospel (8:5 - 25)
¶Opposite Philip won many Samaritans to the Lord Jesus, and away from the evil influence of the Simon the Magician (8:5 - 13)
¶Opposite Peter uncompromisingly rebuked the wicked attempt of Simon to bribe the apostles for the power to give the Holy Spirit (8:14 - 25)
§Complement Body: Saul of Tarsus was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer for his Name’s sake (8:26 - 9:22)
¶Opposite Philip preached the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, a gentile who had been saved under the Old Covenant (8:26 - 35)
¶Opposite After baptizing the completed Christian Jew, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip (8:36 - 40)
¶Complement Saul of Tarsus met the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and was blinded by the experience (9:1 - 9)
¶Complement The Lord Jesus Christ sent Ananias to baptize Saul and restore his sight (9:10 - 19a)
¶Unique Saul immediately preached Christ in the synagogues of Damascus, and proved that Jesus is the Christ (9:19b - 22)
§Complement Conclusion: Saul suffered persecution by his former allies at Damascus and Jerusalem (9:23 - 31)
¶Complement After Saul escaped persecution at Damascus, he met with the apostles in Jerusalem (9:23 - 28)
¶Complement After Saul escaped persecution at Jerusalem, the churches of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were strengthened and multiplied (9:29 - 31)
Comments: We continue our study of Acts Chapter 1.4 with the first two paragraphs of the Body Section, which is all about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch.
§Complement Body: Saul of Tarsus was chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to suffer for his Name’s sake (8:26 - 9:22)
¶Opposite Philip preached the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, a gentile who had been saved under the Old Covenant (8:26 - 35)
Unique And the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise; and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, which is desert.” And he arose, and went.
Complement And, behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning; and sitting in his chariot, he read Isaiah the Prophet.
Complement Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near, and join yourself to this chariot.” And Philip ran there to him; and he heard him read the Prophet Isaiah; and he said, “Do you understand what you read?” And he said, “How can I, unless some man should guide me?” And he asked Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
Opposite The place of the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb silent before his shearer, so he opened not his mouth. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away. And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”
Opposite And the eunuch answered Philip, and he said, “I ask you, of whom does the Prophet speak this? Of himself, or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
¶Opposite After baptizing the completed Christian Jew, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip (8:36 - 40)
Opposite And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water; and the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me to be baptized?”
Opposite And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Complement And he commanded the chariot to stand still; and they both went down into the water: both Philip, and the eunuch; and he immersed him in the water.
Complement And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing.
Unique But Philip was found at Azotus; and passing through, he preached in all the cities, until he came to Caesarea.
(Except for the KJV 1611 and KSB snips, all Bible snips were taken from Biblegateway.com at this address:
Acts8:36-40 ASV;ESV;GNT;NIV - Bible Gateway)
For this study, I want to focus on an important issue related to the Critical texts of Aleph and B; or more widely known as the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus greek manuscripts of the Bible. These corrupt manuscripts have been widely adopted by liberal and soft conservative churches and seminaries in the United States and elsewhere, which has resulted in the traditional Received Text (e.g. 1894 Scrivener greek text of the Bible, which is the source text for the King James version of the Bible) being rejected by most churches that claim to be Christian. These churches prefer liberal modern versions such as the New King James, New International Version, Good News Version, English Standard Version and others.
So now let's examine Acts 8:36-40 according to several well-known English translations of the Bible, and see whether they are faithful to the Word of God, or not.
The King James Version (which follows the Received Text)
The King James version shows the Received Text translation faithfully and without any suggestion that it is not the Word of God. The Kingdom Study Bible Version (KSB), published by this ministry, is the same text except for the lack of Old English and the Golden Ratio design for the arrangement.
In addition, the arrangement of the KSB proves that the text of 8:37 is the Word of God, because it fits perfectly into the Golden Ratio design (in this paragraph) of two opposites, two complements, and one unique!
Also notice that the originator of the old "chapter and verse" system of dividing the Bible text, Robert Stephanus, was correct in how he separated this text! The Golden Ratio design confirms this.
In most cases, Stephanus made many mistakes in where he decided to divide the Bible text. But in this case, he happened to be right. Good for him. Unfortunately, Mr Stephanus was not aware of the Golden Ratio design, so the KJV and other Bible versions do not show this. If they had known about it, the modern versions would not be using the Critical text to translate their Bible versions! Amen.
Also notice that the KSB translation makes it clear that the eunuch was IMMERSED in the water with italicized words to emphasize the original Greek meaning of "baptidzo", which literally means, "to dip, to dunk/submerge, or to plunge into". The KJV simply says, "He baptized him", which is ambiguous; even though the following text "and when they were come up out of the water" strongly implies baptism by immersion. The KSB removes the ambiguity, which is a serious improvement! Believers in Jesus Christ need a translation which is clear and unambiguous, and doesn't allow for false interpretations! The 1611 KJV is weak in this area with many ambiguous or even inaccurate translations that allow for false interpretations.
So while the 1611 KJV is an excellent translation overall, the KSB has improved greatly on the 1611 KJV in both the arrangement and the translation.
The KSB, or Kingdom Study Bible version (which also follows the Received Text)
Please notice that the New KJV is the best of the modern versions, because it does include v37; but then it gives the liberals a bone with a backhanded slap in the face of God by implying that it may not be the Word of God in their footnote.
The American Standard Version of 1901 is even worse than the NKJV! The footnote gives a backhanded slap to the face of God with the implication that this text may not be the Word of God. Shameful!
The ESV is the same as the other modern versions that rely on the Critical texts of Aleph and B, with a backhanded slap to the face of God in the footnote.
Here again is the snip from the KSB (the Kingdom Study Bible) with the Golden Ratio design:
The point I am making is that the Golden Ratio design of the Bible PROVES that the Critical texts of Aleph and B are corrupt and unreliable!
Why do modernist, Protestant, wishy-washy Fundamental Baptists, "New Evangelical", and "Charismatic"-type churches use modern versions with this corrupt translation?
KJV-only critics of the modern versions will often point out that if you remove the text of Acts 8:37 from the Bible, then you also remove the necessity to believe in Jesus Christ as a requirement for water baptism. This is an observation that is absolutely correct!
It is a fact that modernist and Protestant churches practice baptism of newly-born infants who cannot believe in anything; so these types of churches reject the clear teaching of the Bible that believers in Jesus Christ are the only proper candidates for water baptism, which was taught by both Christ and his apostles:
Matthew 28:19-20: “Therefore go, and train disciples out of all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you."
Mark 16:16a: Jesus said, "he that believes and is baptized shall be saved"
Acts 8:36-37: "And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water; and the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me to be baptized?” And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Romans 6:3-5: "Do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized with reference to Jesus Christ were baptized as a sign of his death? Therefore, we were buried with him by baptism with reference to death, so that, in the same manner as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father: even so, we also should walk in newness of Life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also walk in the likeness of his resurrection."
As for the wishy-washy "Fundamental Baptists", "New Evangelical", and charismatic churches, they prefer the Critical texts, because even though they might believe that baptism in deep water for believers only is the correct mode of baptism, they refuse to take a stand on the truth! They will often allow any mode of baptism, even for infants for those who request it, because they don't want to offend anyone! SAD. So, the Bible versions that use the critical texts as their source texts for their translation are just fine with them! The modern versions remove any mention of faith in Christ as a requirement for baptism, and so they are relieved (they think) of any need to require faith in Christ before baptizing a candidate or a baby.
But they are in for an unpleasant surprise when they stand before God for Judgment! The Word of God (the words of the Bible) will be what our lives are measured against, not what we want to believe! Amen.
Revelation 20:11-15: "And I saw a Great White Throne, and him that sat on it; from whose face the earth and the Heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the Books were opened; and another Book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the Books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and Hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. And Death and Hell were cast into the Lake of Fire: this is the second death; and whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire."
John 12:47-50: “And if any man hears my words, and believes not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and does not receive my words, has one that judges him: the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the Last Day. For I have not spoken out of myself; but the Father who sent me, he gave me a command: what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his command is Life Everlasting; therefore whatsoever I speak, even as the Father said to me, so I speak.”
Conclusion
Do not use Bible versions that rely on the Critical Texts! This would include almost every modern translation of the Bible, in almost every language. The sole exception is the Kingdom Study Bible version (published by this ministry and free for download in PDF format), and a handful of other Bible versions (e.g. King James II, 21st century KJV).
The KSB (Kingdom Study Bible) is designed for personal Bible study on your computer at home. Until I am able to finalize the arrangement, it would not be beneficial to print the KSB on paper. And I don't know when the arrangement will be finalized. The accuracy is getting better and better; but there is more work yet to do.
Therefore, I recommend that you use only the KJV 1611 as the version that you use in church worship and soul winning activities. The KJV II and 21st Century are viable alternatives for this purpose.
The true Gospel is found in the letter of Romans:
“But what does it say? “The Word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart”; that is to say, the Word of faith (which we preach), that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes into righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made into salvation: for the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for [it is written], “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:8-13
The Gospel of Christ is to “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead”; and, following that belief in your heart, to “call upon the Name of the Lord”, and you shall be saved.
In 1982, I came to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and that God had raised Him from the dead. I didn’t know much about the Bible other than those two things. I had come to this faith in Jesus Christ as a result of several months of witnessing from a Born-again, Bible-believing Christian who cared about my soul and wanted me to be saved, like he had been saved. He gave me gospel tracts and books about the Bible and Bible prophecy.
One day, he confronted me with my need for Christ, and asked me if I would like to be saved; I said yes. We found a private place to pray, and he explained the basics of the Gospel to me again:
1) I was a sinner, because I had broken God’s Law (the Ten Commandments).
2) Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago for my sins, and rose again from the dead on the third day.
3) If I believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, I could be saved and know for sure that I would go to Heaven when I died.
4) Salvation was a free gift from God through Christ. All I had to do was to repent of my sins and ask for it through Christ.
I bowed my head that day, and asked God to forgive me and for Jesus to come into my heart to save me; and He did! My life has never been the same since then.
This is the Bible Way to be saved; and there is no other way! It is the same Gospel that was preached by the apostles and has saved countless millions of people who believed this Gospel and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
How about you? Would you like to know that when you die that you will go to Heaven instead of Hell? If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that God has raised Him from the dead, you can be saved too.
Bow your head and pray this prayer in your own words:
“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”
If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.