Which Bible, Which Version?
The key players in our exposé and exposition regarding Bible versions are Westcott and Hort. We left off in the last section providing some of the necessary background information as we begin to explore the “past times” of these two primary actors (yea, activists) in the history of English Bible versions.
Let us now examine the words witchcraft and witch(es). In Exodus 22, verse 18, it says, “Thou shalt not suffer [permit] a witch to live.”
Let’s look at the context before and after that verse.
Exodus 22: 17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins.
18 Thou shalt not suffer [allow, permit] a witch to live.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.
Obviously, those three verses are speaking of three wholly separate statutes. Neither verse 17, nor 19 have anything directly to do with witchcraft.
Our readers are surely aware that there have been severe abuses of verse 18 throughout history. Innocent people have had strange things happen to them. The next thing they know, they are drowning in the river or being burned at the stake because somebody has declared them to be a witch.
The Bible does provide more than that single verse, however. The most often cited passage in the Scriptures dealing with wicked occult practices is Deuteronomy 18. Turn there in your Bibles and keep that passage open for a while.
Deuteronomy 18:9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD [Yahweh] thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD [Yahweh]: and because of these abominations the LORD [Yahweh] thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
The words that are printed there in your Bible or on your screen are probably quite clear to read. We can read the words. No problem there. But the meaning of the words is not always so clear.
This is where the problem arises, and why some well-meaning Christians would end up condemning Christ, their Savior, (or their neighbor) as some sort of wizard, or occultist, simply because they do not understand what is and what is not forbidden in the Bible.
Obviously, if Christ did those things, like levitate on water, heal at a distance, read minds, calm the seas, etc., then those things are not evil, are they? Because Christ never sinned.
For example, look there in verse 10 and 11. I would guess that most of you folks here in this audience already know the true meaning of the phrase to have your son or daughter “pass through the fire.”
But I dare say that most Christians would have no idea that it referred to child sacrifice by burning their children alive as a sacrifice to Baal or Moloch.
You may remember that I explained that very practice in my message called Abortion at Jericho, and I gave its modern application.
And still, some Christian parents misunderstand, and they might, for example, get upset about this if they were out in the woods camping with their teenage boys, and one brother dared the other brother to jump over the campfire. The well-meaning parents might “freak out” and exclaim, “Oh, no! Our boys are getting into the occult. They are passing through the fire!”
We see that as a ridiculous example, but that is what it says in the Bible: “passing through the fire.” Or if the dad said to the son, “bet you can’t jump over the campfire.” But the mother pleads, “oh, no, don’t make him do that, honey; you are making our child pass through the fire. That is part of the occult, which the Bible forbids us to take part in!”
Or take the phrase there in verse 10, an observer of times. Better not be an observer of times because that is occult, right? But again, we must be careful and discerning of what is actually meant by that phrase.
Years ago, when our children were growing up, Roxanne had in our kitchen one of these calendars with one 8 ½ x 11 sheet per month, with about a one square inch space for each day.
She would have the current month hanging there on the refrigerator with some of those little magnets holding it in place. And in each little daily space she would list there the upcoming activities for the month. Was my wife an observer of times?
Of course not! That’s a silly example, but again, if we take the phrase literally, we can understand how some well-meaning Christians can misunderstand. It obviously does not have anything to do with keeping track of family events on a calendar, does it? I mean, the way my wife was using it, that is a ridiculous. That is not participating in the evil occult by any stretch of the imagination!
So, the point is again, before we go labeling something as occult, or someone as New Age in a derogatory fashion, let us be sure we understand what God meant in His Word when He uses certain words.
After all, for many years, I have lightheartedly labeled myself as a “New Ager.” And I explained that it is a truthful statement when I further showed how we are now coming to the close of the church age of Pentecost (which began in 33 A.D), and we are in fact in transition into the biblical new age of Tabernacles.
By the way, let me just say something about those who are not Christians yet, but are clearly what most people would today call New Agers. Let’s talk about those New Agers for a moment.
There was a time in my life before I was a Christian, when I was a grown man, and I was looking for answers. I was in my early 20s. I believed in reincarnation for a few years. I was a Rosicrucian. I did not get very far along in their “psychic” training, but I was a member of the order of the Rosy Cross for a while.
I had read scores of books on UFOs and psychic phenomena. I think I had about 40 books on Edgar Cayce alone. Is anyone in this audience familiar with Edgar Cayce? I had many books on Atlantis, Lemuria, and all kinds of earth mysteries and related topics.
My contention is this. Today, I know some people who are what Christians would call New Agers, and maybe they are, but I perceive that many of them are simply looking for answers to life, just as I was. Not that I have all of the answers now, I hasten to add.😊I certainly do not.
But I do believe that I understand where some of these New Agers are, spiritually speaking. Many, probably most of these New Agers are looking for answers amid the confusion of life.
And if God chooses to draw them to Himself through a knowledge of Jesus Christ, then I am willing to be there as a witness to them and/or an instrument to assist them, if God so chooses.
But God forbid that I be to them as a lapel-grabber, and beat-them-over-the-head-with-the-Bible type of witness, but instead to be the type of witness that they can see that there is something different about my life. And in my attitude towards them.
I do not shun them. I welcome an opportunity to treat them with respect and not to be condescending. Not to beat them over the head with a Scripture verse every time I open my mouth, but to have a willingness to share an answer from God’s Word if and when they ask for help.
Let us not rashly condemn so-called New Agers simply because they have not found answers and peace in Christ and His Word yet, but let us be willing to be ambassadors for Christ to them.
Now at this point, many readers must be thinking, what does all this have to do with Westcott and Hort, James? You have scarcely even touched on that yet. Well, that is true. I have given you all this background because there is no reasonable question about what some of these terms mean here in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verses 10 and 11.
Some of those words are difficult to understand. And they all need study. However, let us discuss the word necromancy. Very few of you said you knew what that meant. And those of you that held your hand up, I am not going to call on you and ask you to define it.
It is a big fancy word, but it is not that hard to understand. Strong’s Lexicon tells us that it is a combination of two different Hebrew words which has the meaning, “to seek or to ask of the dead”.
I think that Webster’s Dictionary (the 1828 and the 1913 unabridged edition) is biblically accurate when it defines necromancy as, “conjuration of the spirits of the dead for purposes of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events.”
Now here’s the kicker. Today, necromancy, that old King James Version word, has a new name. It is called channeling.
Frankly, it matters little if the entity being channeled—or that purports to be the source of the information—it matters little if that entity tells you that he/it is the spirit of Julius Caesar or he is the spirit of John F. Kennedy, or she is the spirit of Isis or Cleopatra, or he is some cosmic space alien, a space “brother” from Orion or from the Pleiades, channeling or the use of so-called spirit guides is absolutely forbidden.
We have in the Bible, we won’t turn there, but if you recall, the example of King Saul consulting the witch of Endor. (1 Samuel 28:3ff) Why did Saul want to contact the supposed spirit of the dead prophet Samuel?
Answer: because Saul was in disobedience to God and he was unable to get direction from God. Therefore, he sought guidance from a witch, a medium, a woman who had a “familiar spirit.”
Mediums, channeling, necromancy, that is all related there in that story. It is necromancy. And why is it forbidden? Well, I think it is because it is the satanic counterfeit of the real thing.
As Christians, we are to have a spirit guide, are we not? God’s Holy Spirit is our Spirit Guide.
Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
So, we are to have a spirit guide, the Holy Spirit. Anything else is necromancy and is surely a satanic-demonic deception. And it does not turn out well for those who seek knowledge in that way. Look at Saul’s terrible end. He did come to his End Door at Endor.
Now that we understand what necromancy is, let us turn our attention to Bishop Westcott and Dr. Hort. In the process, I will show you that there might not even be a New Age movement today had it not been for some groundwork laid by our two antiheroes, Westcott and Hort.
(To be continued.)
~END~
