10 Nov 2015
Matthew 24:35
Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
There are two things I want to mention about this verse. First, we see the Lord telling us that this planet is going to be destroyed. (2 Peter 3:12 says it will be done by fire.) This world, and all its wickedness, is not going to last forever. The day is coming when God will judge men for what they have done, and will put an end to sin and death and evil once and for all. The Lord will then create a new Heaven and Earth, where righteousness will live forever and where the devil and his minions will never again have the chance to tempt mankind. This isn’t going to happen soon, but it will happen, and all those who are in Christ will live to see it.
Second, note that Jesus says that His Words will not pass away. This is something that all too many scholars no longer believe. Nearly all modern Bible translations are based upon the idea of textual criticism, which teaches that the text of the Bible has been lost, and so modern man has to guess what it might have once said and piece it together as best we can. So people come up with their own ideas about what the Bible has to say. Then people go further, and actively edit the Bible – creating gender-neutral versions; removing its teachings on fasting and homosexuality; etc. The Bible has become whatever people want it to be.
This is why I prefer the King James Version – it has not undergone this corruption process. That is not to say that I think the KJV is 100% perfect; I believe it has its flaws, and could use some updating (esp. in regards to its archaic language; who today knows what ‘kine’ are?) But I will take the KJV any day over a version that is based on textual criticism.