Whereas this has very much to do with eschatology, it more has to do with the resulting phenomena of the prophecy directly related to the understanding of eschatology. And I said God was allowing, not doing didn't I??? Please read the post to CadyandZoe I just made...
A last day revival thing? Maybe... A rising tide of antichrist thing? Most assuredly. I know that despite the connotations, my faith has been bolstered. Believe it or not...
Thank you. I only understand your sentiments generally when I read *all* of the comments, so yes, I read your reply to Cady. I think both Cady and you have excellent points, though you both seem to think your views are at variance. I do think interpretation is part of translation work, because there is *no* word for word translation possible from one language to another. There must be some interpretation involved--some context involved.
On the other hand, I would strongly agree with you that translation precedes interpretation--otherwise, we can translate based on what we want to believe, right?
Anyway, I did sense there was a hidden agenda, although you may not have been intentionally hiding anything. But subconsciously, you seemed to resist explaining to me where you were coming from, though to others you were much more explicit.
You say you don't want a Bible versions debate, and I believe this. I think, however, that the whole argument you're making, and the assumptions you're making, are screaming for a Bible versions debate, because your very points are based on the assumption that something fishy is going on in the translation and in the record of those translations.
Your argument is weak simply because there are other and better explanations, I feel, for changes in the use of words. For example, words change because society is always changing, and it is certainly not always an "Antichrist" thing.
Sometimes the changes are indeed due to evils in our society, and due to the way evil people tend to interpret things. But the word changes you describe are so small they appear irrelevant to me. Even with a suspicious slant on words, a careful reader will recognize that it is *context* that rules, and not insignificant, small word changes.
You said you have "many examples"--I have yet to see *one* significant change! If so, then no case has been made yet for your claim, that word changes are taking place, watering down Scriptural truth, if indeed that's what you're trying to say.
Now, we both agree that Antichrist is coming, and that Western society is decaying. Evidence is all around us, and some of that evidence would be in Bible versions, I should think?
But I find this "tampering" with Bible translations only in cult versions of the Bible, such as in the Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation Bible version. It corrupts passages such as in John 1.
I don't know how much Mormons may change the Bible in the versions they use. But I do know they think the "stick of Joseph" in Eze 37 refers to the "stick of Joseph Smith!" ;)
Thanks for being candid about how you're framing this. I don't agree, but I respect you and like your spirit.