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Chosen no: R-501 a, from: 1883 Year. |
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The disputed clause
Rev. 20:5, first clause, which
reads, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished," is the subject of dispute. We
showed conclusively that the above text has no support from any
authority older than "the middle of the fifth century." It is not found in any of the older MSS.--it is not in the
Syriac--and the confessedly oldest, most complete and
best of all Greek MSS. of the New Testament-- the Sinaitic--does
not contain those words. It is wanting, too, in several of the more
recent MSS., among which is the Vatican, No. 1160, a MS. of special
clearness and harmony with the most ancient ones.
An exchange calls attention to the fact that Prof. Tischendorf,
the finder of the Sinaitic MS., while admitting that the clause is
not found in it, says that he thinks its omission accidental, "a
mere error" of the scribe in copying. Our exchange
thinks this all-sufficient--we should accept of that clause
because Prof. T. thinks--guesses--that its omission was a mistake.
But we must inform our friends that we cannot accept of Prof. T.'s
guess on such a matter; he may guess for himself, but, in our
opinion, the finder of a MS. written nearly sixteen hundred years ago
has no better opportunity of judging what it should contain
than anybody else. The favor which Prof. T. has conferred on Bible
students consists in the finding and publishing of this wonderfully
correct MS., and not in guessing something into it. The
wonderful and uniform correctness of this MS. of itself casts
great discredit on Prof. T.'s guess, which would imply great
negligence in the copying.
Let us have the very oldest manuscripts of the Bible, and if they
throw out and omit manifest errors, let us not hold on
to those errors and guess that they should be in, and that
their omission was a mere error. To do so would be to make the
finding of such ancient MSS. useless; each party in whose favor an
error had been made in copying, either by accident or intention,
would be at liberty to claim that the omission of such clauses
was "a mere error." It is God's Word that we
want, and we thank Him for the valuable Sinaitic MS. furnished
through Prof. T. But we will not permit the esteemed Professor to
doctor it for us. We cannot admit his authority to "add
to the words of the prophecy of this book."
We regret to have it to note that the justly celebrated Variorum Bible and Testaments (with which we have supplied many of our
readers), when attempting to give the readings of the Sinaitic
MS., has in the case of this clause taken the word of a fallible
man as being infallible--It fails to show that the Sinaitic MS. does
not contain the clause in question.
In view, however, of the full meaning of the
word anastasis (resurrection) set forth in our issue of June,
1882, this clause, EVEN IF GENUINE, would be in harmony
with our general teaching-- that all men will come forth from the
tomb and have a trial (judgment) during the thousand years
(millennium) mentioned in verses 3,4,6,7of this same
chapter (Rev. 20). We there showed that to come out of
the tomb, as in Lazarus' case, is not resurrection (anastasis)--not a raising up to perfect life. The condition
of life enjoyed by Adam before sin, none of his posterity have
ever possessed. We have all been in death--"in the valley
of the shadow of death"--and to enjoy an anastasis, or
lifting up to life, as Adam had it, includes not only the
coming forth from the tomb, but all that process of restitution which will be in operation during that reign of Christ. And since
perfection --the full attainment, of the full measure of
life--will not be reached by the world until the end of the
millennium, it would be in harmony to say: The rest of the dead lived
not again [did not fully return to perfect life] until the
thousand years were finished.
But we stand by the record, and claim that this clause fits the
truth rather by accident than inspiration, as shown by the foregoing
evidence. This interpolation, doubtless, occurred by some scribe of
the fifth century making a marginal note on his MSS. of his thought
on the subject.
W.T. R-501 a- page 2 -
1883 r.