The search for the truth of God’s kingdom is not easy. As Jesus illustrated, it is a hidden treasure. With any hidden treasure, it can take much effort to sort through what are false leads and what are true leads.
See also An exhaustive investigation on Isaiah 7:14 (Virgin vs. Maiden) with comments from “Church fathers”
It is no different with what many call the “New Testament.” Many believe that they are free from error. That is what makes the search for God’s truth difficult. As time goes on, spurious words and passages have been added to bolster support for certain teachings of men. Eventually, these added words become viewed by most as from God, whereas in reality, they are from men.
An example of this in the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) is the removal of the divine name of the Almighty, Yahweh. This is also known as the tetragrammaton, four Hebrew letters. This name occurs almost 7,000 times, yet was removed because of teaching of men. Hebrew religious leaders misapplied scripture, to their own desire, and replaced the divine name with a title, “LORD,” which is not a personal name as “Yahweh” is.
Just as meddling has happened with the Hebrew scriptures, it has with the New Testament. This is no reason to give fear to the thought that the truth can not be found. It still can. Even Issac Newton, one of the most brilliant men of a couple hundred years ago, knew of God’s divine name and neither did he give sway to doctrines of the church such as the trinity. But it took effort. He wrote more on scripture than he did on mathematics or physics.
When we find something that contradicts our current beliefs, what should we do? Pray for guidance and courage to keep searching and understanding.
Just because we come across evidence that strongly challenges current understanding does not mean we disregard it. If we are seeking truth, we do not stop but continue until we can come to a better understanding.
Here are some examples of spurious (added) texts. Texts added to support doctrines of men. These have been added. They are not in the oldest mauscripts:
7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
From these examples, it can be argued that, generally speaking, the oldest manuscripts have authority over the newer. It was from examining the older manuscripts that the true and false texts became apparent. When one studies about the original gospel of Matthew written by Matthew, in Hebrew, many things get clarified.
Many misinterpretations and additions in the gospel of Matthew have been protected from scrutiny for many years. Just as the Pharisees protected their teachings from scrutiny, in the first century, religious institutions of our day have done the same.
I highly recommend the reading of a few books which help in clearing up misinterpretations in Matthew by taking into consideration information that we have on the original gospel of Matthew which predates any Greek translation:
- The Original Gospel of Matthew Volumes 1-4, (2014) by Standford Rives Esq
- Jesus did not say to obey the Pharisees who sit in Moses’ seat (Matthew 23:1-3). In the original Matthew, Jesus states to obey “him” Moses, in whose seat they sat.
- Jesus did not say that some standing there would see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom before they died. Rather, in the original Matthew Jesus stated that some would see the kingdom of the Son of Man come before they died. More is explained in the book.
- The prophesy of the 30 pieces of silver is correctly said to come from Zechariah, in the original Matthew, not from Jeremiah, as most believe today.
- The original Matthew clarifies Jesus’ lineage through the fleshly line of David, with no virgin birth. This solidifies his claim to the kingdom of David. (My comments on this is that there is no reason that Jesus could not have two fathers including a spiritual pre-existence. Also, if Jacob’s part in this was not needed, why include the male lineage and stop at Jacob?! It’s rather absurd!)
- The Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus (2006) by Nehemia Gordon
- This book provides excellent insight to the Pharisee life and excellent understanding of the true meaning of Matthew 23:1-3 (Moses’ seat) and other passages in Matthew. Basically it shows us that the true meaning from the original Hebrew is that Jesus was saying to listen to Moses but not those who claim to have his authority. More about this is below.
How do we know that the original book of Matthew was written in the Hebrew language and by Matthew?
- The early “church fathers” mentioned it and quoted from the Hebrew Matthew 49 times, as mentioned in The Original Gospel of Matthew Volume 1, (2014) by Standford Rives Esq. page 1. They viewed it as the original work of Matthew in the Hebrew language, especially the church father Jerome.
- See the comments of the early church commentators (“fathers”) in the following timeline which can be downloaded in other formats below:
Was Mary a virgin?
Select a download concerning the original Hebrew meaning of Isaiah 7:14 (Referenced from the Greek Matthew 1:23) compared to as when time went by:
PDF: Timeline-Isaiah-7-14-virgin-or-young-maiden-1
Excel: Timeline-Isaiah-7-14-virgin-or-young-maiden-1
PNG: Picture file download of Isaiah 7:14 timeline
MS-Word: 18 page document with timeline and exhaustive comments including comments from church “fathers.”
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- Referencing the church fathers comments about the original Hebrew Matthew, it stated that Joseph begat Jesus. There was no virgin account (immaculate conception). Some would argue that it was prophesied from Isaiah 7:14 that Mary was to be a virgin. However, the oldest manuscripts of Isaiah (Dead Sea Scrolls) do not say “virgin” but “young woman.” It was only after hundreds of years after the dead sea scrolls writing that a Greek translation used the word “virgin.” Some feel that due to the structure of the Hebrew language, a translator of the Septuagint could have made a simple mistake and translated it as “virgin.” This is starting to become more generally accepted. Questions are existing about the chronology and virgin account’s canonicity also.
- This brings to question why, in modern bibles, in the book of Matthew, there’s a family male lineage listing that shows that Joseph (husband of Mary) is a direct descendant of David but it stops there?! It doesn’t show Christ as a direct descendent, on the male side! But as noted earlier, it has been recorded that “early church fathers” mentioned that the original gospel of Matthew did show that Joseph begat Jesus. Luke 3:23 does.
- Another question that comes from this is if God’s people in ancient times believed that Isaiah 7:14 was an identifier for the Messiah, why were they not looking for that? Why were they, including Christ’s disciples, not teaching that? Because it was not true! You would think that, if it were true, people would be excited that a virgin would conceive, fulfilling the thought that this was the correct rendering of Isaiah 7:14. But nowhere is that shown because the immaculate conception thought was made up after Christ’s death and the death of the apostles. Christ nor any of his direct disciples and apostles (including Paul) taught it, because no one thought it!
- Who says it’s impossible for Yahweh (the father) to have sent his son (Yeshua) to become Joseph and Mary’s biological offspring, thus cementing Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) right to rule David’s throne? Compare the chapter on Who is the Son of the Almighty?
What was the “Moses’ seat” and did Jesus tell his followers to follow the Pharisees?
- Matthew 23:1-3 (WEB) states, “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, 2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. 3 All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do.” This passage seems contradictive and needs clarification. The book, The Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus by Nehemia Gordon on page 48 shows that this passage should read, from Hebrew, “2. The Pharisees and sages sit upon the seat of Moses. 3. Therefore, all that he [Moses] says to you, diligently do, but according to their [The Pharisees and sages] reforms (takanot) and their precedents (ma’asim) do not do, because they talk but they do not do.” Brackets have been inserted.
Matthew 28:19– This did not originally contain the trinitarian formula to baptize in the name of . Before 340AD, seventeen direct quotes from Matthew 28:19 by the “church fathers” omit the trinitarian baptismal formula, stating to baptize in Jesus’ name only. See The Original Gospel of Matthew Volume 2, (2014) by Standford Rives Esq. page 137-140.
Matthew 5:4 Commonly states that, “Happy (Blessed) are those who morn since they will be comforted.” However, the original Matthew states that, “Happy (Blessed) are those who wait since they will be comforted.”
OGM vol. 2 by Standford Rives. Esq p. 39 shows Hebrew versions (Munster) of Matthew that contains the name of YHWH (Yahweh the Almighty) at Matt. 1:20, 22, 24; 2:19; 3:3; 4:4, 7, 10; 5:33; 21:9, 42; 22:44; 23:39; 27:10; and 28:2. Matthew 13:55 also states Joseph being a black-smith rather than a carpenter. It also brings out, what was essentially the Gospel of Luke (Marcion 144 AD) apparently did not have the first three chapters that we have today. (p.21 ref.30)