6000 Years of the Bible

Incomparably the best-seller of all time, the Bible is the Book of Books to millions of men and women of different faiths and denominations. But how many of them have more than the most rudimentary knowledge of the Bible's history - of how it was written, how it spread across the world, and the amazing influence of its narrative? It is an exciting story, stretching across sixty centuries and many lands: Egypt of the Pharaohs, Canaan, the "land flowing with milk and honey", Luther's Germany, a deserted limestone cave by the Dead Sea . . .

Mr. Wegener tells the story with verve and skill and a feeling for history, marshalling an impressive list of characters. Mr. Wegener's text is accompanied by more than two hundred beautifully printed illustrations of the earliest Bibles, illuminated manuscripts, biblical sites and precious bindings which go to make up one of the most beautiful books about the most important book in the history of mankind.

In the De Reformatie of June 25, 1960, Rudolf van Reest wrote an extensive review of the Dutch translation of a German book, called 6000 Jaar en een Boek (6000 Years and a Book), which he "gladly recommended" to his readers. When, 5o years later, I read his review I searched for the book and was very pleased to find a used English edition. Yet, when I received it, I was not so certain that it was accurate enough to republish. In the last 50 years many readers of the Bible have become confused about the reliability of the translation (or paraphrase) of the Bible they use. They were weaned away from the reliability of the Authorized (King James) Version of the Bible, not because that translation was claimed inaccurate but because "we need a Bible in today’s language." Yet they were surprised to find all kinds of missing passages, totally different meanings, and confusing ideas in several newer translations. And this has become a great concern for many people who love the Bible. The worst thing about all of this was that most people trusted the "scholars," often unaware that there are perhaps as many scholars that disagreed as that agreed with these changes, though the majority of the latter would never get tired of affirming that they had no problem with the "King James Version."

However, my opinion on this 6000 Years of the Bible changed after I viewed the DVDs A Lamp in the Dark — The Untold History of the Bible, and its sequel Tares Among the Wheat, two great DVDs by John Doerr and Christian Pinto. Especially the latter DVD should be watched by everyone who loves the Bible. These DVDs confirmed my assumption that there are conspiracies going on about Bible translations. Yet, are these conspiracies coming from proponents of reliable manuscripts or by those who falsely claim to use more reliable manuscripts? Mr. Pinto does not speculate too much yet leaves one with an impression that a certain person was a criminal, while another was a defeated hero. To me both names were new. But as a good Berean I checked 6000 years of the Bible and discovered a firm view of the defeated hero as a criminal. Though it did not convince me, it shed a lot of light on the matter and begs for further study. If Mr. Pinto is wrong let a true scholar prove him wrong. In the meantime let no one ever deprive us of the true Word of God. — Roelof A. Janssen

Bible and Reformed Confessions