"The WORD!"

"The Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." (John 7:16 KJV) 

  "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it." (John 1:1-5 NLT)

 To be very frank, I evaluate any translation that I might choose to read by this Scripture, the first five verses from the Book of John. The main context of John's opening remarks, is, John 1:1. If the Bible I might be reading does not say that, then it does not get validated as the true interpretation, in my book! Period, end of story! 

 You might think that is being overly picky, as if that is something we should not be that judging the whole book upon; but it is the main point of everything that the Bible is about: God's great love and sacrifice for us, His children! 

 Yes, I have heard many times, by all sorts of people, 'Don't throw the baby out with the bath water,' or 'You shouldn't judge the whole book based upon one simple Scripture.' Absolutely true, to some extent. I start by that one verse, and then, if it passes the test, I move onto the Scriptures that deal with the Virgin Birth: if the word does not say Virgin, then that too is a reason to close the book and set it down! 

 Go ahead and say it: "Rich, you are being very judgmental!' Yes, I am, because this means a lot to me. For far too many years, I was fed a lie, that Jesus was not who the Bible clearly says that He is, was, and always will be: Almighty God...

"Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don't invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work." (2 John 9-11 NLT)