2. “Inspiration” –
Alright, now, the second part of this first Island, in out Communications Process is: Inspiration. This is the “recording of that which has been revealed without any error.” We are not going to go over a whole discourse here on the doctrine of inspiration, but a good analysis. To begin, we will take a look at a couple of passages on this subject:

a. 2Tim.3:15-17: “…and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation, through faith, which is in Yashua Messiah. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (Gk. “theopneustos”; Strong’s #2315 – God breathed), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Yahweh may be complete” (i.e., exactly right: fitted like a limb or a joint), thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
In this key passage by Paul, on this subject, he chose to formulate a term “God-breathed” (“theo-pneustos,” Gk., from 2316 and a derivative of 4154; translated as “inspiration”). This formulation is not found any place else. Not in the NT, or any other extant known writings of religion, or extra-biblical even. Paul is telling us something about Yahweh’s WORD; that it is unlike ANY other composition in the history of writing: — IT IS GOD-BREATHED!

(Now if we put the above together with the following, there’s an incredible coalescence).

b. 2Pet.1:19-21: “And so we have the prophetic Word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the DAY dawns, and the MORNING STAR rises in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but having been bourne along by the Holy Spirit, (these) Holy men of God (Yahweh) spoke as they were moved.”
Within the last part of the last sentence, there are a Greek words that our English translations tend to simplify, and this is quite sad because of the incredible treasure that IS here. Well, my friend, NOT ME! I will not quietly sit back and simply allow you to read this as if it is something to be glossed over. Because it ISN’T! This IS Yahweh’s truth here, and He REALLY wants us to GRASP that truth, or else He would not have bothered having it composed in such an articulated fashion! Sooooo, get ready! You are gonna love the next learning aspect concerning His Word.
These Greek terms are: 1) #4352 “pheromenoi” or “pheroenegko”; signifying that they were being “borne along” or “compelled by the Holy Spirit’s power, not according to their own will; and 2) #40 “hagios”; when in conjunction with “pneumatos,” it expresses something involving divinity and more higher than sacred, something more than pure, and free from difilement; it is much more comprehensive here and characteristically — a God-likeness; and 3) #4151 “pneumatos”; beyond-human; of the metaphysical — the Holy Spirit! Throughout Scripture the Holy Spirit is depicted as something with incredible powers, and effectuating the Will of Yahweh in such a fashion as to “quicken the hearts, minds, and spirits of mankind” so that they have a desire to love and serve Yahweh and Yashua Messiah.
In closing, leg me briefly convey that this also speaks to the INFALLIBILITY of Scripture. When these people wrote what was “Theopneustos” (God-breathed), they were being under-girded by the Holy Spirit.

B. Transmission — This is the copying, as accurately as possible, of the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and their copies. This was an arduous task of copying, over and over, again and again, the same exact wording. And they didn’t have the technical copying equipment like we have. Nor the grammatical divisioning, like Chapters, Paragraphs, Verses, Sentencing. Or, in the case of Hebrew, not even the vowels and punctuations we have today. They’d take a text at a time, a piece of vellum or papyrus, and they’d copy the very first letter using a crude makeshift pen/wedging of a reed or stick, and they’d copy the first letter, and the second and so forth, until it was done. They’d then compare it, side-by-side, to the one they just used, and if it was letter-perfect, they’d go on. If not, they’d start all over again, from the very first letter.
Scripture required the Kings of Israel to compose their own copies of the Law given by Moses, and they were to read from it daily, making themselves thoroughly familiarized with it, so much so that they knew it by rote. This tenet is found at Deut. 17:18-19: “And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law, in a book out of that which is before the priests, the Levites; and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life.” Another Scriptural support for this Island is: 1Cor.2:1-16.
Can we count on the Biblical copies we have today? There will always be debates about this. However, for purposes of faith in the message of salvation, I seriously doubt anyone is being led astray.
Here’s something to consider. In dealing with biblical criticism, we have more than 13,000 papyri, parchments, vellum, manuscripts, etc., in whole or in part, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, dating back for more than 3,000 years. One such example is the Bodmer papyri, which is one of the more recent finds, containing the gospels of Luke and John, 1 and 2 Peter, the epistle of Jude, and The Apocalypse (Revelations), as well as other writings. It is dated between 125-200 AD. Some believe John wrote his gospel approx. 85-95 AD. That’d possibly make it within 30-40 yrs. of the original mss. That is an example of the kind of “Transmission” evidence we have today. If you’d like to know more about the Bodmer papyri, see Wycliffe’s Bible Dict., page 253.

Mark Blain
DOC #1154225