How Many Days Of Creation Were There?

How Many Days Of Creation Were There?

by Wayne Blank

See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan
While Genesis 1:1 is usually regarded as the beginning of the Holy Scriptures, the apostle John, as taught to him by Jesus Christ (e.g. see 'Before Abraham Was, I AM'), provided information for before "in the beginning." It explains exactly Who "let us" was in Genesis.

"1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. 1:3 All things were made by him [see Christ The Creator]; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not ... 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-5,14 KJV)
The actual Hebrew word for the book of Genesis, pronounced bere-shith, means "in the beginning" - as found in the first words of the book.

"1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1 KJV)
Was Genesis 1:1 the beginning of the first day? Or do Earth days apply only to Earth? Many have debated that point, just as they have debated when Satan's rebellion occurred. The "weaken the nations," as quoted below, was written in the time of Isaiah when Satan had already been on a destructive rampage on earth for many centuries. All that the Holy Bible reveals for certain is that Lucifer (which means Light Bringer) rebelled and became known as Satan (which means accuser) after the Earth had been created, and before, or while, there were only two humans, while they were yet in Eden.

"14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isaiah 14:12-14 KJV)
As explained in the verses of John quoted above, the Word of God, Who was born as Jesus Christ, existed at that early time. Jesus Christ witnessed Satan's fall.

"10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." (Luke 10:18 KJV)
"On the seventh day God ended His work"

The first day on the newly-created earth began with darkness i.e. "the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." That initial sequence is perhaps the primary reason that Biblical days begin with sunset - the first part of the day is night, followed by the light part of the day, as declared by "Let there be light."

Earth
"1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (Genesis 1:2-5 KJV)
Then, on the second day, the separation of the waters. All of the water was in the form of a vapor, a worldwide super-fog, extending high into the atmosphere. God's "hovering over the waters" in verse 2 describes His being above that gaseous-water atmosphere, not a liquid ocean - oceans and seas did not exist yet. God then caused most of the water to condense onto the cooling earth which simultaneously formed a whole-planet ocean and cleared the sky, or "heaven" (see Are We In Heaven Now?).

"1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day." (Genesis 1:6-8 KJV)
On the third day, dry ground appeared as the further cooling of the surface set in motion a process of natural contraction, uplifting and motion of the crust (the process continues today, called "plate tectonics"). The earth changed from a smooth one-level, very-warm "cue ball" to a planet with an irregular surface with ocean basins and continental landmasses. With dry ground available, the first plants were made to grow in great abundance.

"1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day." (Genesis 1:9-13 KJV)

On the fourth day, with the atmosphere now clear, the sun, moon and stars became clearly visible. They were to "serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years." The sun marked the day (sunset to sunset), the moon the month (new moon to new moon) and the stars the seasons.

"1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day." (Genesis 1:14-19 KJV)
On the fifth day, great numbers of birds and sea creatures. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth."

"1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day." (Genesis 1:20-23 KJV)
On the sixth day, animals, then humans - the last life form created.

"1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." (Genesis 1:24-31 KJV)

And so, at the end of the sixth day, "the heavens and the earth were finished."

"2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." (Genesis 2:1 KJV)
But was that the end of Creation? What still didn't exist at the end of the sixth day? Answer: the week and the Sabbath. The Hebrew word for week, pronounced sheb-oo-aw, means sevening, or to seven. The Creator completed His Creation "week" with the Seventh Day - that He made, created, "blessed" and "sanctified." Notice that "on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made" - His "work" that day was to create the Sabbath by resting.

"2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." (Genesis 2:2-3 KJV)
Fact Finder: As we've plainly read from the Word of God, it was Jesus Christ through Whom all things were created - including His Sabbath, which has been Christian literally from day seven. How has a deceived world turned its back on Christ's true Sabbath Day and instead made a "sun day" - a Satanic mockery of "let there be light" on the first day of the week?
See Why Observe The True Sabbath? and Do You Observe Christ's Sabbath Or Babylon's Sun Day?

Holy Week

Holy Week

The first day of April on the Roman calendar is known in some parts of the world as “April Fool’s Day,” or “All Fool’s Day.” It’s a day in which tricks are inflicted upon people to make a “fool” of them – although from the Bible perspective, the “fool” is actually perpetrator, not the victim:


“10:23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.” (Proverbs 10:23 KJV)


The origin of April Fool’s Day is obscure. Historians debate how and when it began, but it was obviously another consequence of the calendar change in which the start of the Roman calendar year was changed from around the spring equinox (as God‘s calendar always has, because it is based on Creation; see How Many Days Of Creation Were There?) to winter, thereby further withdrawing their calendar from God’s natural reality. Rome, in effect, replaced astronomy with pagan astrology.

The Empire and Church of Rome (see A History Of Jerusalem: Constantine and Muhammad) have turned numerous other calendar realities into illusions – from God’s true Christian calendar (see The First Act Of Faith and The First Christian Church) to Pope Gregory’s Calendar (see The Antichrist Calendar), from the true Christian Passover (see The Sacrifice Of Nisan 14 and The Cross Of Christ, Or The Cross Of Men?) to the Babylonian Ishtar/Easter, from the true Christian Sabbath (see Why Observe The True Sabbath?) to the Babylonian “Sunday” (see Constantine’s Crusades In History And Prophecy), the true early-autumn birthdate of the Messiah (see Does Rome Have Christ’s Birth Certificate?) to the time of the ancient Babylonian/Roman sun festival on December 25. Increasingly as well, Roman calendars blasphemously show “Sun day” as the seventh day (as in the illustration).




Calendar The English word “fool” originated from a Latin word, follus (folly and follies originated


from the same Latin word), which meant cheeks puffed out, or bellows, referring either to a mocking facial expression, or “foolish” words that are being loudly spoken i.e. bellowed. Later, the definition of “fool” included not only sound and appearance, but behavior in general i.e. “one who is destitute of reason; a person who acts absurdly, irrationally or unwisely.”

“Fool” is used to translate a number of different Hebrew and Greek words of the Holy Scriptures (see also Translation Of Translations), including:

the Hebrew word, pronounced saw-kawl, which means to play silly
the Hebrew word, pronounced naw-bawl, which means stupid, or wicked
the Hebrew word, pronounced kes-eel, which means loose-jowled, or silly
the Hebrew word, pronounced ev-eel, which means perverse
the Greek word, pronounced mo-rose, which means heedless
the Greek word, pronounced par-af-ron-eh-o, which means defective thinking
the Greek word, pronounced af-ros, which means foaming
the Greek word, pronounced as-oon-ay-tos, which means without understanding
“Every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man”

There are many who claim to be “Christian.” They may have built great “churches” and done many things in “Christ’s Name,” but unless it was all done according to what Christ actually taught, it’s a foolish waste, for “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (see also What’s Your Angle?).

The Holy Scriptures

“7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 7:23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them [e.g. see Why Observe The True Sabbath?], I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 7:27And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority [again, see Appearances Of The LORD God], and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:21-29 KJV)

The use of “fool” in Matthew 5:22 has been a matter of controversy for centuries. Does it mean that Christ’s people are not to call a foola “fool,” as Christ’s people, and Christ Himself, are recorded as themselves having done? No. The statement is more complex than just a matter of calling someone a fool.

The keys to understanding are (a) in the word “brother” – don’t call a fellow true Christian a “fool,” which is a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in them (b) “without a cause” and (c) in uncontrolled anger, which is a spirit of murder, as Cain did to his brother Abel.

“5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire [see The Lake Of Fire Into An Ocean Of Fire – When?].5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” (Matthew 5:21-24 KJV)

The religious “authorities” were called fools because they made their activities at the Temple into a religious end in and of itself (see Is Your Religion Your Religion?), while ignoring the very purpose of the Temple – genuineworship and obedience to God.

The Pharisee and the Publican

“23:16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! 23:17 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? 23:18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. 23:19 Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 23:20 Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. 23:21 And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. 23:22 And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.” (Matthew 23:16-22 KJV)

The purpose of our physical lives is not to live as though our physical lives were an end in themselves (which they will be if we wasted our lives that way) – that’s what the religious “authorities” were doing in “their” Temple, as explained above. The parable of the “ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom” is about living our lives with the purposeof being ready for Christ’s return (see the Fact Finder question below).

“25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 25:2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.25:3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 25:5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.25:6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

25:7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps [see also Lampstands Or Candlesticks?]. 25:8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

25:9But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

25:10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

25:11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

25:12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 25:1-13 KJV)

The lesson of the parable of “the rich fool” is the same as for the virgins who went through life with empty lamps.

The Night

“12:15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.12:16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 12:17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

12:18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 12:19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

12:20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21 KJV)

The Messiah plainly stated that foolishness itself is as evil as “adulteries, fornications, murders,” not merely a cause of other wickedness.

“7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23 KJV)

After His resurrection, the Christ gently chided His people as “fools” (the original term was used in the context of a parent speaking to a child) for having been slow to learn their lessons (see also Their Eyes Opened After Christ’s Tomb Did).

“24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 24:26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27 KJV)

Jesus Raises Jairus’ Daughter From The Dead

Jesus takes the child’s hand in his own and said, “Little girl, rise up!”

WHEN JESUS AND his disciples returned from the country of the Gadarenes they saw a crowd standing on the shore eager to welcome them back to Capernaum.  And again Jesus taught them and healed the sick folk they brought to him.    Presently a man came running to Jesus, looking very much distressed.  He fell down at Jesus’ feet and cried, “My little daughter is lying at home ready to die; but if you will come with me and touch her, I know she shall be made well.”  This man was a ruler of the synagog in Capernaum, and his name was Jairus.

No doubt Jesus knew this man, for often he had taught in the synagog.  Now he started at once to go with Jairus to heal his daughter.  The disciples, too, went with him.  And the crowd followed, eager to see another miracle.  As they went, the people pressed close to Jesus; for every one was eager to walk as near to him as possible.

In this throng was one poor woman who had been ill for twelve years.  She had spent all her money in taking treatments from doctors, yet they did not cure her.  Now she had no more money and still she was greatly afflicted.  But she had heard of Jesus’ power to heal, and this glad news brought courage to her sad heart.  She decided to go to him and be made well.

How hard it was to reach him!  But this woman pressed her way through the crowd till she came very near.  She thought in her heart, “I will not ask him to make me well; I will only touch the hem of his garment and I know I shall be healed.”

So she edged her way closer, until she could reach out her hand and touch Jesus’ clothes.  Immediately she felt the healing power go through her body, and she stepped backward into the crowd.

But Jesus knew what the woman had done.  He knew about her earnest desire to be made well, and he knew about her thoughts.  So he turned around and asked, “Who touched me?”

The disciples were amazed at this question.  “Why do you ask who touched you, when the people are pressing against you from every side?”  they inquired.

But Jesus answered, “Some one has touched me, for I felt healing virtue go from my body.

Then the woman knew that her act was known by Jesus, and she came trembling and fell down before him, telling her sad story.  Jesus spoke comforting words to her, and said, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Jairus stood by waiting impatiently for Jesus to start again.  He was fearful that his little daughter might die before they could reach her bedside.  And surely enough, a servant from his house came to meet them with the sad news that the little girl was dead.

“Do not trouble the Master any longer, for it is too late,” he said.

Jesus heard the message, and he saw the deep grief of Jairus.  He said to the father, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she shall yet be made well.”  So they journeyed on.

At the ruler’s home many friends and neighbors had gathered to weep and to comfort the sorrowing mother.  Jesus told them to cease their weeping, for the child was not dead, but sleeping.  They did not understand that Jesus meant to say, “Death is only a sleep from which we shall all waken again.”  And they scoffed at his words; for they knew the little girl had no life remaining in her body.

Then Jesus sent every one out of the room except the father and mother of the little girl and three of his disciples.  Simon Peter, and James, and John were the three whom he permitted to remain with him.

When the others had gone out, he took the child’s hand in his own and said, “Little girl, rise up!”

At his command she opened her eyes and rose up to walk about the room.  Jesus told her parents to give her some food to eat, and he asked them to tell no one what he had done;  for already the people were thronging him, and news of this miracle would draw greater crowds than ever.

When they left the home of Jairus, two blind men followed Jesus, crying out, “O son of David, have mercy on us!”

They followed him into the house where he was staying, and when they came to him there he asked, “Do you believe that I am able to open your blind eyes?”

They answered quickly, “Yes, Lord.”

So he touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done to you just as you believe.”  And their eyes were opened so that they could see.  Jesus asked these men to tell no one what he had done; but they went everywhere telling how Jesus had opened their blinded eyes.

Afterwards was brought to Jesus a dumb man who had an evil spirit dwelling in him.  And Jesus cast out the spirit, and caused the man to be able to speak.  Many onlookers were amazed at these mighty miracles of Jesus, and they said, “It was never so seen in Israel.”

But the fault-finding Pharisees said, “He does not cast out evil spirits by the power of God, but by the power of Satan.”  They were jealous of the fame that had come to Jesus, and they spoke evil of him.

So great were the crowds who pressed to hear Jesus that he saw he could not teach them all.  Then he sent his twelve disciples to preach in other cities, and he gave them power to heal the sick and to cast out evil spirits, and even to raise the dead.

The work was too great for him to do alone, and he had chosen these men to help him.  So they went to other towns and villages, preaching the gospel and healing the sick, just as Jesus had commanded them to do.

A Pharisee, A Sinful Woman, and the Savior Luke 7:36-50

The Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus allowed a sinful woman to weep at his feet and to anoint them with sweet perfume.
IN ONE OFthe cities of Galilee where Jesus was teaching the people a Pharisee named Simon came to hear him.  Like many of the other Pharisees, Simon tried to find fault with Jesus.  Because he could neither see nor hear anything to criticize in Jesus, he decided to ask this teacher to take dinner at his house.  There he would watch him closely, and possibly find something that would be wrong.     So Simon the Pharisee asked Jesus to come to his house one day, and Jesus went with him.  Other people went, too, some who were invited and some who were not.  And they all came into the dining-hall where the food was placed on the table.  Around this table the guests were given room, while the uninvited persons stood back, looking on.

Jesus and the other quests did not sit on chairs about the table, but they lay on couches with their heads near the table and their feet away from it.  While they were eating, another uninvited person came into the dining-hall.  This person was a woman.

Looking about, she espied Jesus, and at once she hurried to kneel at his feet.  Then she wept tears of sorrow for her many sins, and the tears fell upon Jesus’ feet.  She dried his feet with her hair, and kissed them.  Afterwards she broke a beautiful box of costly perfume and anointed his feet by pouring the perfume upon them.

Simon, the Pharisee, knew this woman; for she was a great sinner.  He had heard many things about her that were not good.  He was surprised when he saw that Jesus allowed her to weep at his feet and to anoint them with sweet perfume.  He said in his heart, “If Jesus were a prophet he would not allow this woman to come near him.  He would know that she is a wretched sinner, unfit to be in his presence.”

Jesus knew all about this sinful woman, and he also knew about Simon’s thoughts.  He looked at the proud Pharisee and said, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

Simon answered very politely, “Master, what is it?”  Then Jesus told him this story:

“There was a certain rich man who had loaned money to the poor men.  The first man he loaned a great sum of money, and the second man he loaned only a small amount.  When the time came to repay the loan, neither of the two men could pay back the money they had borrowed.  In their distress they came to the rich man, and he freely forgave them both.  Which of these two men love the rich man the more?”

“I suppose,” answered Simon, “that the man whom he forgave the bigger debt loved him the more.”

“You have answered rightly,” said Jesus.  Then he turned to the sinful woman still weeping at his feet, and said, “Simon, when I came into your home you did not treat me like an honored guest.  You did not give me water to wash the dust from my feet; but this woman has washed my feet with her tears and had dried them with the hair of her head.  You did not give me a kiss of welcome; but this woman has kissed my feet.  You did not anoint my head with oil, as you anoint the heads of your friends who come as guests into your home; but this woman has poured costly ointment upon my feet.  Wherefore I tell you that her sins, which were many, are forgiven; for she has loved much.  But those love little who have little forgiven them.”

Jesus then told the woman that her sins were forgiven; that her faith had brought forgiveness, and she should go home in peace.

This woman was sorry because she had done wrong, and Jesus forgave the wrong which she had done.  But Simon, the proud Pharisee, believed that he was too good to need forgiveness for sin and Jesus did not forgive him.  Only those who are sorry for their sins can know the forgiveness of Jesus, the Savior.

Paul, The Faithful Missionary and His Last Farewell

Paul, The Faithful Missionary and His Last Farewell Acts 20:5 to Acts 21:17




After a young man named Eutychus falls from a window and dies while Paul is preaching, Paul raises him back to life.
FROM MACEDONIA, PAULsailed across the sea to Troas, the city where he had seen a vision of a man of Macedonia calling for help.  In this city he stayed for some days, then he made ready to start again toward Jerusalem.    On the night before leaving Troas, Paul preached a farewell sermon to the believers who lived in that city.  They met together in a large room on the third floor, and here they broke bread in  memory of the special supper that Jesus ate with his disciples before he was crucified.  Then Paul talked to them until midnight; for he knew he should never see them again and he had many things to say before he should go away forever.

While Paul was talking, a young man named Eutychus sat in an open window listening.  After some time he grew sleepy and began to nod.  Then he fell into a deep sleep and sank down on the window-sill.  Losing his balance soon afterwards, he dropped from the window to the ground below.

Friends rushed down the stairs and found that the fall had killed him.  Then Paul went down to them and saw them weeping.  He fell on the lifeless body, embraced it, and said to those who stood near, “Do not be troubled, for his life is yet in him.”

After this had happened Paul returned to the company of believers upstairs and took food with them.  He then continued his talk until break of day, when he bade them farewell and departed.  They brought again into the assembly the young man who had fallen from the window.   And the believers rejoiced to see him alive.

Paul’s next farewell-meeting was with the men who had come from Ephesus to the seacoast to meet him.  These men were the one who had taken the leadership in the church at Ephesus when Paul left them.  They were men whom he loved, and whom he counted faithful.  They were called the “elders” of the church.

Paul talked earnestly to these Ephesian brethren, reminding them of his work among them, and of his desire to teach them the whole word of God.  He told them that now he was journeying toward Jerusalem and that they should never see his face again.

He said he did not know what would befall him in that city, only the Holy Spirit was warning him of danger ahead.  But he said, “None of these things make me afraid; for I do not count my life dear to myself.  I am determined to finish with joy the work I have received of the Lord Jesus, to tell the gospel story to all men.”

Paul reminded them also of his work among them, how he had coveted no man’s riches but had worked with his own hands to earn money for his food and clothes while he preached the gospel in their city.  And he urged them to remember the words Jesus had spoken, that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

When Paul had finished speaking he knelt down with the  men and prayed earnestly to God, then he bade them good-by.  These men wept aloud, and embraced their beloved teacher who would never more return to them.  Then they went with him to the ship, on which he and his companions sailed away toward the homeland of the Jews.

At the seacoast town of Tyre the ship stopped several days, and here Paul and his companions met some more Christians and worshiped with them.  When the time came for the ship to leave port, the Christians went with Paul to the seaside, and they  knelt down on the shore to pray.  Even the children of these Christian fathers and mothers went with Paul and his friends to the ship.  The Holy Spirit had caused these Christians to understand that troubles would befall Paul in Jerusalem, and they urged him not to continue his journey; but he believed it would please God for him to go on.

While Paul and his fellow travelers were visiting the church in Caesarea, an old man named Agabus came from Jerusalem.  This old man was a prophet, for God caused him to know things that were to happen after a while.  When he saw Paul he took off Paul’s girdle and tied it about his own hands and feet.  Then he said, So shall the wicked Jews at Jerusalem do to the man who owns this girdle, binding him and giving him over to the Gentiles.

Paul’s friends were greatly troubled when they heard this.  They gathered round him, weeping, and pleaded with him to stay away from Jerusalem.  But he answered, “Why do you weep and break my heart?  I am ready, not only to be bound at Jerusalem, but also to die there for the name of the Lord Jesus.”  When they saw they could not prevent him from going, they said, “The will of God be done.”

Not many days afterwards Paul and his companions went over the mountains to the great city of the Jews.  Other Christians from Caesarea joined their company, and when they came to Jerusalem the elders in the church there welcomed them with joy.

Paul is Seized by the Mob, then Arrested

Paul is Seized by the Mob, then Arrested Acts 21:18 to Acts 23:10

Standing on the stairs above the crowd, Paul speaks to the people in Hebrew.
YEARS HAD PASSEDsince the wicked Herod had tried to kill Peter, and during those years the church in Jerusalem had grown into a multitude.  Some of the enemies who had killed Jesus were yet alive, and they hated the Christians.  But they had ceased persecuting them as bitterly as in the first days of the early church.    Paul had met with multitudes of believers in the churches of other lands.  But these in Jerusalem were all Jews, and many of them looked with displeasure upon the people of other nations.

They had not yet learned how God’s love reaches out to all men.  And because they had heard much about Paul’s missionary labors among the Gentiles they felt unwilling to approved of his work.

The leaders in the church at Jerusalem understood how God had chosen Paul to be a missionary to the Gentiles.  They rejoiced to know that even the Gentiles might be saved by faith in Jesus.  But they understood also the feelings of many who worshiped in their services, so they warned Paul about these Jewish believers.

They said, “These men have heard that you do not keep the law of Moses, but that you teach the Gentiles to forsake the law.”  And they urged Paul to show these believers that he did not despise Moses’ teachings, as they supposed.

To please these men Paul visited the temple and performed the ceremony of cleansing, according to Moses’ law.  Almost a week passed by, then one day while he was in the temple some Jews from Asia Minor came to worship there.

Seeing Paul, they recognized him at once, for he had taught in their synagog concerning Christ.  And they had not accepted his teaching.  They hated him because he taught that Gentiles as well as Jews might become the people of God.  They became excited when they saw him worshiping in the Jewish temple, and they cried out against him.

Soon the old enemies of Jesus heard about the excitement, and they rushed in to seize Paul.  A crowd quickly gathered, and they pulled Paul out of the temple and shut the doors.  Not waiting to drag him outside the city, they began beating him at once, and would have killed him had not the Roman captain arrived with soldiers to investigate the trouble.

Supposing Paul must be a desperate fellow, the captain commanded that he should be bound with two heavy chains.  Then he asked what Paul had done.  But some cried one thing and some another,  and he could not hear in the noise of the angry mob what offenses Paul was guilty of committing.  So he led Paul away to the castle where prisoners were kept.

The mob followed, crying, “Away with him!”  And the soldiers, fearing the people would tear Paul in pieces, picked him up and carried him on their shoulders to the castle stairs.  As they went Paul asked to speak to the captain.  At this, the Roman captain was surprised, for he did not  know Paul could speak his language.  He gave Paul permission to speak to the mob when they reached the stairs.

Then, standing on the stairs above the heads of the excited followers, Paul beckoned to them with his hand, and they grew quiet.  He began at once to talk to them in the Hebrew language, which the Romans could not understand.  This language the Jews love, and they listened attentively to him while he told them about his early life and training.

He reminded them of his student-life in their city, where he became a Pharisee.  He reminded them also of his former hatred toward the believers in Jesus, and of his bitter persecutions against them.  Many who stood in the crowd below had not forgotten the Saul who tried to break up the early church in Jerusalem.

Paul then told about his journey to Damascus, where he intended to persecute the Christians.  He told about the vision that came to him on the way, and about the voice that spoke to him from heaven.  He even told how he had been baptized in the name of Jesus, and how when he had come to Jerusalem to worship God showed him in a vision in the temple that he must go to Gentile countries and there preach the gospel.

But when Paul began speaking about preaching to the Gentiles, then no longer would the people listen to his speech.  Their hatred of Gentiles stirred their hearts to cry out once more against Paul, and now they even cast off their cloaks and threw dust into the air, shouting aloud, “Away with such a fellow from the earth!  He is not fit to live!”

The Roman captain and his soldiers did not understand what Paul had spoken to the angry people, and they supposed he must be a dangerous fellow.  They therefore brought him into the castle and determined to learn the nature of his crime.

Bringing out cruel instruments of torture, they began to bind Paul.  But Paul knew the law of the Romans, that it did not permit a Roman citizen to be punished in this manner, so he spoke to a soldier who stood near by and told him he was a Roman.

This soldier hurried away to tell the chief captain, who came quickly and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”

Paul answered, “I am.”

This frightened the men who were preparing to torture Paul.  Even the chief captain was frightened, for he had given the command that Paul should be bound and punished.

Still the Romans were puzzled about their prisoner.  They could not understand what terrible thing he had done.  On the next day they called the chief rulers of the Jews to assemble together, and brought Paul before them.  While Paul spoke the chief captain saw that even these Jewish rulers were not agreed what to do with him.  Some wished to set him free, while others insisted on putting him to death.

Then the captain sent his soldiers to take Paul away from their midst, fearing they might kill him.

Tomorrow: Paul in Chains, Brought Before Felix, and Left in Jail

Paul in Chains, Brought Before Felix, and Left in Jail Acts 23:11 to Acts 24:27





Paul is arrested, and brought before Felix the governor, to plead his case.
PAUL NOW UNDERSTOODwhy he had been so often warned of danger in Jerusalem.  He knew his life was not safe among his own people, the Jews.  No doubt he felt sad, because he loved the Jews and longed to have them catch a glimpse of the great love of God, which reaches down to all men.    On Paul’s second night in the castle, while he was sleeping the Lord appeared to him and said, “Be of good courage, Paul; for just as you have spoken boldly for me in Jerusalem, you shall speak boldly for me in Rome.”  This encouraged paul greatly, for he had long desired to visit Rome, the capital city of the Roman Empire, and preach the gospel there also.

The enemies of Paul were not content to have him imprisoned; they desire to kill him.  Forty of them met together and purposed to eat nothing until they had killed him.  Then they hurried to tell the chief priests and other Jewish rulers about their purpose.  “You can help us,” they said, “by asking the chief captain to send Paul down tomorrow so that the rulers may hear his case again.  And while the soldiers are bringing him from the castle, we will rush upon them, seize Paul, and kill him.”

Paul’s nephew heard about this wicked plan and he hurried at once to the castle to tell his uncle what the Jews were planning to do.  Paul quickly called a centurion, a captain of one hundred men, and asked him to take his nephew to the chief captain.  “The lad has something important to tell him,” said Paul, so the centurion brought the young man to see the chief captain at once.

The chief captain felt interested in Paul because he knew this prisoner was a Roman Jew.  He knew also that the Jews in Jerusalem despised Paul for no just reason; and when he heard the young man tell about the plot of the Jews against Paul’s life, he said, “Do not let any one know you have told this to me.”  With these words he sent the young man away.

Calling two centurions to him at once, the chief captain told them to prepare to take Paul that night to Caesarea.  And to make sure of Paul’s safety, he commanded them to take hundred soldiers with them, and seventy men on horseback, and two hundred spearmen.  Paul, too, should be given a horse to ride on.

Then the captain wrote a letter to the Roman governor Felix, who lived in Caesarea, explaining why he was sending this prisoner from Jerusalem to him.

At nine o’clock that night the sound of horses’ hoofs clattered on the pavement before the castle door.  Then Paul was brought out and placed on one of the horses, and the small army began to move rapidly down the dark street.  None of the Jews knew about the errand of this company of soldiers, and they did not guess until too late what might be happening to the man whom they wished to kill.

On the next afternoon Paul was brought safely to the Roman governor, Felix, and the chief captain’s letter was also delivered.  This is what Lysias, the chief captain, had written concerning Paul:  “This man, who is a Roman, was taken by the Jews and would have been killed by them had I not come with my army and rescued him.  When I sought to know the reason why they accused him I brought him before the council of the Jews; but I found that they had no charge worthy of death or even of imprisonment to bring against him.  Then it was told me how they were plotting to take his life, therefore I have sent him to you.  And hoofs have given commandment to his accusers that they come before you to his trial.”

Felix, the Governor, asked Paul to what Roman province, or country, he belonged, and he learned that Paul’s home was in Tarsus of Cilicia.  Then he placed him in the palace which used to belong to Herod, to wait there until his trial.

The enemies of Paul were greatly displeased when they saw how Lysias, the chief captain, had spoiled their plan.  They arranged at once to go down to Caesarea to speak to Felix, accusing Paul before him.  So the high priest, Ananias, and the Jewish elders and a lawyer named Tertullus hurried to Caesarea on this mission.

Felix brought Paul before this council.  Tertullus rose to speak.  He said  many things about Paul that were not true.  He called Paul a pestilent fellow, a trouble-maker among the Jews in every country where he went.  Tertullus also accused Paul of being the leader of a new religion, which he called the sect of the Nazarenes (by this he referred to the church of God).

When this lawyer had finished making his complaints against Paul, the Governor motioned for Paul to rise and defend himself.  Then Paul said, “These men can not prove anything this lawyer has spoken against me.  Only twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship God; and they did not find me stirring up the people, but they seized me when I was alone in the temple.

Those men who accused me then should have come now with their charges, if they have anything against me, for after the manner which they condemn so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things that are written in the law of Moses and in the books of the prophets.  And I have always tried to keep my heart free from wrong toward my God and toward all men.”

Felix then spoke.  He said he would wait until Lysias, the chief captain, should also come from Jerusalem, and with those words he dismissed the council.  He then gave Paul to a centurion, saying, “Let this man have his liberty, and do not forbid any of his friends from coming to visit him in the palace.”

Several days later Felix called for Paul again. This time Felix’ wife, Drusilla, who was a Jewess, was with him, and wished to hear this prisoner tell about the gospel of Christ.  Paul talked earnestly to these two, and while he talked Felix trembled because of his great sins.  He knew he was guilty before God, and he became afraid.  But he did not wish to humble his proud heart, so he sent Paul away, saying, “Some other day I will call again for you.”

Two years passed by, and during this time Paul was kept in Caesarea as a prisoner.  He was given many privileges, and often Felix called for him, hoping that Paul’s friends might notice the interest he took in Paul and offer him money to set Paul free. He knew Paul did not deserve to be kept a prisoner, still he refused to let him go.

After the two years had passed Felix was taken away and a new governor was sent to Caesarea.  And wishing to please the Jews before leaving their country, Felix left Paul in prison.

Tomorrow: King Agrippa Listens to Paul’s Story

King Agrippa Listens to Paul’s Story

King Agrippa Listens to Paul’s Story
Posted on March 31, 2012 by brakeman1
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King Agrippa Listens to Paul’s Story Acts 25 to Acts 26




Paul is brought before King Agrippa, where he tells the King his story.
AFTER FELIX WENTto Rome a new governor was sent to take his place.  This new governor was called Festus.    Now, Festus was also a Roman as was Felix.  He was unacquainted with the Jews and knew little about their customs, religion, and such things.  He went to visit Jerusalem three days after he arrived in Caesarea; for there he could learn more about the people he had come to govern, as Jerusalem was the Jews’ chief city.

Several days later, after Festus had returned to Caesarea, he called for Paul, who had been in prison all this time, more than two years.  And men who had come from Jerusalem stood up to speak false things  against paul.  But none of those things could they prove.

The Jews still wished to have Paul taken to Jerusalem, hiding their reason.  As Festus wished to please the Jewish people he said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be judged there before me, concerning these things of which the Jews accuse you?”

Paul replied, “Against the Jews I have done nothing to offend their law.  If I have done anything worthy of death, I refuse not to die.  I appeal to Caesar.”

Festus knew that every Roman citizen had a right to ask this privilege, of appearing before the great ruler of all the Roman Empire, Caesar, so he answered, “You have asked to be sent to Caesar, at Rome, and your request shall be granted.”

About this time some distinguished visitors came to Caesarea to see the new Governor.  They were Agrippa, the governor of the country east of the Jordan River, and Bernice, his sister.  This Agrippa was sometimes called a king.  During their visit Festus told them about Paul.
He told how the Jews had accused this prisoner of some offense concerning their religious law, which he could not understand.  He said also that in his trial before the Jews, paul had spoken earnestly about one named Jesus, who he said had risen from the grave.

On the next day Agrippa and Bernice entered the judgment-hall with Festus.  Then Festus gave command and Paul was brought.

Festus rose to introduce this prisoner to the King.  He said, “Before you stands this man whom the multitude of Jews in Jerusalem have declared is not fit to live any longer.  But when I found that he had done nothing deserving of death, and when he had expressed his wish to be taken before Caesar, in Rome, I determined to send him there to be judged.  Now, however, I have no charge to make against him, therefore I have brought him before you people and especially before you, King Agrippa, that you may hear him and know for what purpose he is being held in bonds.”

Agrippa now spoke, and said to Paul, “You are permitted to tell your own story before us.”

Paul rose up, stretched out his hand on which hung the heavy chain, and said: “I am glad, O King, that I may speak for myself today before you, and tell why I am accused by the Jews.  I know that you understand the customs and questions which are among the Jews, and you will understand my words.

“From my youth the Jews know my life, for I was brought up in their city.  And if they would, they could testify that I lived among the strictest of the Pharisees, keeping the law of Moses as carefully as any of them tried to do.  And now I am accused by them because I believe the promise which God made to our fathers, concerning Jesus Christ, whom God raised from the dead.

“The time was when I, too, thought I ought to persecute those who believe in Jesus of Nazareth.  And this I did, shutting in prison many of the saints who lived in Jerusalem.  I even received authority from the high priest to persecute the saints who lived in distant cities.  I was on my way to Damascus to persecute the Christians there when I saw a vision from God.  It was at midday, O King, when suddenly I saw on the road a light from heaven, more dazzling than the noonday sun, and the brightness of it frightened me and my companions.  We fell to the ground, then a voice spoke to me in the Hebrew language, saying, ‘Saul! Saul! why are you persecuting me?’  I cried, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ and the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’  That voice commanded me to stand on my feet while I received Jesus’ orders.  And that voice told me I should tell of Jesus, not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles as well.

“Because I have obeyed the command I received in that heavenly vision, O King, I am now being persecuted by the Jews who will not believe in Jesus.  Again and again they have sought to kill me, but God has thus far delivered me from their plots, and he has given me strength to tell to all who come to me that Jesus is indeed the Christ of whom Moses and the prophets wrote.”

Festus beheld the earnestness of this chained speaker and he decided that Paul must be crazy.  Not wishing to listen longer to his speech he could not understand, he cried out, “Paul, you are not in your right mind.  Too much learning has made you crazy!”

But Paul answered calmly, “I am not crazy, most noble Festus, but am speaking words of truth and soberness.  King Agrippa knows these things of which I speak, therefore I talk freely to him.”  Then, turning to Agrippa, Paul said, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?  I know that you believe.”

Agrippa answered, “Almost you persuade me to be a Christian.”

Paul replied, “I would to God that not only you but all who hear me today were such as I am except for this chain.”

But the King was not ready to humble his proud heart and become a Christian.  He rose up at once and went aside with Bernice and Festus and others to discuss Paul’s case.

He said to Festus, “This man has done nothing worthy of death or even of imprisonment.  If he had not asked to be sent to Caesar he might be set free at once.”  But now it was to late to change the arrangement, and Festus could not set Paul at liberty.

The Bibles of Colonial America

America’s Earliest Bibles
In the early 1600’s, the Geneva Bible became the first Bible to be taken across the Atlantic to America. It was, however, never printed in America. The first Bible printed in America was John Eliot’s Algonquin Indian language Bible, which came off the press in 1663, and again in 1685. The Eliot Bible was in fact, the first Bible printed in the Western Hemisphere. American presses saw no other Bibles printed until well into the next century, when German emigrant Christopher Saur began production of the first European language Bibles printed in America: the German language Saur Bibles. The first edition of Saur’s German Bible came off an American press in 1743. In 1763, Saur produced the first Bible printed on paper manufactured in America, and in 1776, Saur produced the first Bible printed from type manufactured in America… all of which were in the German language.

It was quite late in Colonial American history when the first English language Bible was printed in America, 1782 to be exact. Prior to this, English language Bibles were often available in the colonies, but they had to be imported from England. Not only was it financially more feasible to import English language Bibles rather than produce them, but there was also the legal issue of the fact that the “King James Version” of the Bible was still arguably the “copyright” of the English Crown, since “public domain” laws were not yet commonplace. Still, demand for Bibles was exceeding supply, particularly since England was keeping an import-export embargo against the rebellious colonists due to the Revolutionary War. American pride and independence was also on the line.

The Mysterious Three Bibles of Boston
Isaiah Thomas claims in his 1810 book “The History of Printing in America”, that Gamaliel Rogers and Daniel Fowle (associates of the man under whom Thomas had done his printing apprenticeship) actually printed about 2,000 copies of an English language New Testament in Boston, Massachusetts as early as around 1750. He says that the title page falsely claims it was printed in London, rather than Boston, to avoid being fined by the English Crown. Scholars today, however, believe that Thomas was mistaken in his claim, because not a single copy of this alleged printing has ever been discovered.

Next, Thomas also tells of a New Testament, and subsequently a whole Bible, supposedly printed by the press of Kneeland and Green in Boston, in a press run that “did not exceed seven or eight hundred copies”, around the year 1752, with a second edition in 1761. Once again, however, there is no evidence that these alleged printings ever actually happened. One copy was recorded as being auctioned in 1902, but after being examined in 1919 by Dr. Charles Nichols of the American Antiquarian Society, it was determined to be a fraud… actually printed in London, and with its date altered.

Finally, on December 7, 1770, an advertisement ran in the “Massachusetts Gazette” by John Fleeming of Boston. It offered “The First Bible ever printed in America in two folio volumes, with annotations by the Rev. Samuel Clark.” Printing was to commence as soon as the first 300 copies could be pre-sold to provide funding. For reasons that are still a mystery, he was not able to obtain the required advance orders, and the work was never begun.

Robert Aitken
Robert Aitken had immigrated from Dalkeith in Scotland in 1769 to settle in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, he opened a bookshop and also began publication of “The Pennsylvania Magazine” to which Thomas Paine often contributed. By 1776, Robert Aitken was the official printer of the Journals of Congress for the United States Congress. Aitken was a bold patriot, and it disturbed him greatly to see his country without copies of the scripture. In 1771, he produced the first English language New Testament printed in America. It was eagerly received, and went through a second edition printing in 1778, a third in 1779, a fourth in 1780, and a fifth in 1781.

On January 21, 1781, Robert Aitken petitioned the Unites States Congress to authorize, and if possible even fund, the printing of a complete Bible in the English language of the King James Version. On September 10, 1782, Aitken received authorization from the United States Congress to commence his American printing of the Bible in English. This is the only instance in history of the U.S. Congress authorizing the printing of a Bible. In subsequent years, that session was often mockingly referred to as “The Bible Congress.” Thus, in 1782, Robert Aitken produced the first English language Bible printed in America. In 1783, George Washington wrote a letter commending Robert Aitken for his Bible. The Robert Aitken Bible is known as the “Bible of the American Revolution” and it remains the most rare and valuable of early American English Bibles.

Matthew Carey & William Young
Matthew Carey was a journalist in Ireland who attacked the English government for persecution of Irish Catholics. After being apprehended and serving a one month jail sentence, he fled England and arrived in America in 1784. Five years later, he announced plans to publish a Roman Catholic Douay-Rheims Version English Bible, if he could secure 400 pre-paid subscribers. He secured 471, and on December 1, 1790 delivered it to his subscribers. As there was very little demand for Roman Catholic scriptures in colonial America, it is unlikely that more than about 500 copies of the Matthew Carey Bible were ever printed, making it quite rare today. It is the first non-King James version English Bible printed in America.

Also in 1790, Philadelphia printer William Young produced a press-run of likely not more than a few hundred copies of a very small coat-pocket sized King James Version Bible. This was the first American Bible to be printed together with a Psalter. It was marketed as a “school edition” for students. William Young’s Bible is also unspeakably rare today.

Isaac Collins
Isaac Collins was a Quaker and a native of Delaware. He later moved to Trenton, New Jersey, where he was a printer for the State of New Jersey. In 1779, Isaac Collins printed an English language (KJV) New Testament in Trenton. In 1789, Collins announced his proposal to publish the entire Bible (KJV) if he could obtain a 25% deposit from at least 3,000 subscribers. By 1791, he had produced 5,000 copies of the first Bible printed in New Jersey. Due to its fairly large size and clear type, unlike all the small coat-pocket American Bibles and New Testaments that had come before it, the 1791 Isaac Collins Bible became known as the first “Family Bible” printed in America.

Collins boldly omitted the dedication to King James, stating in the preface that, “the Dedication of the English translation of the Bible to King James the First of England seems to be wholly unnecessary for the purposes of edification, and perhaps on some accounts improper to be continued in an American edition.” The Isaac Collins Bible was also famous for its amazing level of textual accuracy. Collins claimed to have had his children proof-read the entire text through eleven times. After printing, the only errors found in the entire Bible were a broken letter and a punctuation mark! The 1791 Isaac Collins Bible served as the standard of excellence and the prototype for many American Bibles for the next 110 years. Though 5,000 copies were originally printed, fewer than 100 are known to exist today.

Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah Thomas was one of the most successful printers in Colonial America. He published a newspaper called “The Massachusetts Spy” in which he supported the cause of the colonists. During the Revolutionary War, Thomas moved his presses to Worcester, Massachusetts. There, in 1791, Isaiah Thomas published the first illustrated Bibles printed in America. (Many historians believe that his production was completed just days after Isaac Collins completed his Bibles that same year). Thomas produced his 1791 Bibles (KJV) in two forms: a large folio of two volumes, and a smaller but still quite large, royal quarto of one volume.

One very curious thing about the Bibles of Isaiah Thomas, is that although they are technically the first illustrated Bibles printed in America, with 50 large copperplate engravings, it is very rare to find a copy that has any engravings (illustrations) at all! This is most likely because the “optional” engravings doubled the cost of the Bible, and most people could only afford the version without illustrations. In addition to offering the Bible without the engravings, Thomas further attempted to assist his customers by offering to accept up to half the price in the form of “wheat, rye, corn, butter, or pork.” While any printing of the 1791 Isaiah Thomas Bible is quite rare and valuable; those with engravings are extraordinarily rare and expensive today.
Jacob Berriman & John Thompson
In 1796, Jacob Berriman of Philadelphia published what may be called the first “single volume illustrated tall folio” (KJV) Bible printed in America. Long prized by collectors of Colonial American Bibles, this printing features excellent examples of the work done by several American engravers of the 1700’s. It is a work of exceptional beauty.

In November of 1798, John Thompson, also of Philadelphia, produced the first Bible ever to be “hot-pressed” in America (KJV). This printing technique helped to sear the ink clearly into the paper with heat. It was a huge pulpit folio, printed in two volumes… the largest Bible printed in America up until that time. The Thompson Hot-Press Bible remains an extremely rare collectors’ item.

Charles Thomson & Jane Aitken
Charles Thomson was the Secretary to the United States Congress from 1774 to 1789, when he resigned to pursue his scholarly interests. Thomson was fascinated with the early Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and the Greek translation of the Old Testament called the “Septuagint”. He produced the first translation of the Septuagint into English, and the first new modern-English translation of the New Testament in the western hemisphere. Charles Thomson spent twenty years perfecting his translation, and then he sought a publisher

The publisher he found was the daughter of the famous Robert Aitken, who had produced the first English Bible printed in America in 1782. Her name was Jane Aitken. On September 12, 1808, in Philadelphia, Jane Aitken published Charles Thomson’s translation of the Bible into modern English in four volumes, making her the first woman to ever print a Bible, and the first publisher of a modern-English Bible since the King James version of two centuries earlier.

Other American Bible Firsts
As America entered the 1800’s, there were many more Biblical printing milestones, including:

1800 – First Greek New Testament printed in America
1814 – First Hebrew Bible printed in America
1815 – First French Bible printed in America
1824 – First Spanish Bible printed in America
1833 – Noah Webster’s Modern English Bible
1842 – First Bible printed for the blind in America
1843-46 – Most Lavishly Illustrated American Bible

Bibles in the American Colonies

Beginning in 1589, the publication of English-language Bibles was restricted to printers who were given a royal license. London printer Christopher Barker was the first to receive an exclusive patent for publishing Bibles, issued by Elizabeth I. His son, Robert Barker, inherited this monopoly and was the printer of the first edition of the King James Version in 1611. Royal charters for Bible printing were also granted in the 1620�s to the royal printer in Edinburgh and to the university printers of Oxford and Cambridge. Though abolished during the Commonwealth period, the royal privilege for printing the King James Bible was reinstated by Charles II in 1660 when the monarchy was restored.

The English colonists on the American continent had to import Bibles published by these royally-licensed printers, since the royal privilege was never granted to a colonial printer. However, portions of biblical text were printed in the colonies. In fact, the first book printed in English North America contained a translation of the Psalms. Known as the Bay Psalm Book, this book was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1640, about 20 years after arrival of Puritan colonists. It contained verse translations of the Psalms for singing in worship services, although it did not include the music like a hymnbook of today.

John Eliot, a Puritan clergyman who acted as one of first editors of the Bay Psalm Book, was also responsible for the first full Bible printed in America. This version is known as the Eliot Indian Bible, a translation of the Bible into the Natick dialect of Algonquin. Eliot, who evangelized the Algonquin natives in Massachusetts, was the first person to translate the Bible from English into a foreign language. His Algonquin Bible was printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1663.

After the colonies declared their independence from Britain, American printers felt they were no longer bound by restrictions of royal privilege on publishing the Bible in English. Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken was the first to publish an edition of the English Bible, a New Testament, late in 1777, with subsequent reprintings through 1781. Aitken issued a complete King James Bible in 1782, known today as �the Bible of the American Revolution.�


Selected resources at L. Tom Perry Special Collections
A Testament of Faith: A Leaf from a Copy of the First American Bible. (Boston: Charles E. Godspeed, 1979)

Eliot thumbnail

A specimen leaf from a disbound copy of the Eliot Indian Bible of 1663, with commentary by John Eliot Alden.

Call number: Rare Book Collection Z 232 .St56 1979 no. 3


An original leaf from the Bible of the revolution, and an essay concerning it . (San Francisco: E. & R. Grabhorn for J. Howell, 1930)

Aitken thumbnail

A specimen leaf from a disbound copy of Robert Aitken�s 1782 Bible, with commentary by Robert R. Dearden, Jr. and Douglas S. Watson.

Call number: History of Printing Collection � Grabhorn Press Collection 1930 no. 1


The Psalms of David, in metre. (Philadelphia, 1790)
Psalms thumbnail

The earliest example of biblical text printed in North America housed in L. Tom Perry Special Collections is a Psalm book of the Church of Scotland, printed in Philadelphia in 1790, less than 10 years after the colonies won their independence from Britain.

Call number: Rare Book Collection BS 1440 .H46 1790


Selected online resources
Images of the Bay Psalm Book at the Library of Congress

New Testament +++++

These leaves were printed on 100% rag cotton linen sheet, not wood-pulp paper like books today, so they remain in excellent condition... even after nearly 500 years. Each leaf measures approximately 13 inches tall by 9 inches wide, and is a unique piece of ancient artwork, carefully produced one-at-a-time, using a movable-type press. Each leaf comes with a beautiful Certificate of Authenticity.
If you are not absolutely awe-struck by the availability of these super-rare leaves - then you probably do not fully understand what they are. This is the OLDEST printing of God's Word in English on paper that money can buy! Honestly; I am amazed that we can offer them for less than $10,000 per leaf, though our prices start at less than 5% of that figure. Imagine... having a leaf from this impressive and precious treasure of our Christian heritage on display in your home.


Martin Luther

Martin Luther had a small head-start on Tyndale, as Luther declared his intolerance for the Roman Church’s corruption on Halloween in 1517, by nailing his 95 Theses of Contention to the Wittenberg Church door. Luther, who would be exiled in the months following the Diet of Worms Council in 1521 that was designed to martyr him, would translate the New Testament into German for the first time from the 1516 Greek-Latin New Testament of Erasmus, and publish it in September of 1522. Luther also published a German Pentateuch in 1523, and another edition of the German New Testament in 1529. In the 1530’s he would go on to publish the entire Bible in German.

William Tyndale wanted to use the same 1516 Erasmus text as a source to translate and print the New Testament in English for the first time in history. Tyndale showed up on Luther's doorstep in Germany in 1525, and by year's end had translated the New Testament into English. Tyndale had been forced to flee England, because of the wide-spread rumor that his English New Testament project was underway, causing inquisitors and bounty hunters to be constantly on Tyndale's trail to arrest him and prevent his project. God foiled their plans, and in 1525-1526 the Tyndale New Testament became the first printed edition of the scripture in the English language. Subsequent printings of the Tyndale New Testament in the 1530's were often elaborately illustrated.

They were burned as soon as the Bishop could confiscate them, but copies trickled through and actually ended up in the bedroom of King Henry VIII. The more the King and Bishop resisted its distribution, the more fascinated the public at large became. The church declared it contained thousands of errors as they torched hundreds of New Testaments confiscated by the clergy, while in fact, they burned them because they could find no errors at all. One risked death by burning if caught in mere possession of Tyndale's forbidden books.

Having God's Word available to the public in the language of the common man, English, would have meant disaster to the church. No longer would they control access to the scriptures. If people were able to read the Bible in their own tongue, the church's income and power would crumble. They could not possibly continue to get away with selling indulgences (the forgiveness of sins) or selling the release of loved ones from a church-manufactured "Purgatory". People would begin to challenge the church's authority if the church were exposed as frauds and thieves. The contradictions between what God's Word said, and what the priests taught, would open the public's eyes and the truth would set them free from the grip of fear that the institutional church held. Salvation through faith, not works or donations, would be understood. The need for priests would vanish through the priesthood of all believers. The veneration of church-canonized Saints and Mary would be called into question. The availability of the scriptures in English was the biggest threat imaginable to the wicked church. Neither side would give up without a fight.

Today, there are only two known copies left of Tyndale’s 1525-26 First Edition. Any copies printed prior to 1570 are extremely valuable. Tyndale's flight was an inspiration to freedom-loving Englishmen who drew courage from the 11 years that he was hunted. Books and Bibles flowed into England in bales of cotton and sacks of flour. Ironically, Tyndale’s biggest customer was the King’s men, who would buy up every copy available to burn them… and Tyndale used their money to print even more! In the end, Tyndale was caught: betrayed by an Englishman that he had befriended. Tyndale was incarcerated for 500 days before he was strangled and burned at the stake in 1536. Tyndale’s last words were, "Oh Lord, open the King of England’s eyes". This prayer would be answered just three years later in 1539, when King Henry VIII finally allowed, and even funded, the printing of an English Bible known as the “Great Bible”. But before that could happen…

1536 Tyndale New Testament
Facsimile Reproduction.

William Tyndale produced the very first English language New Testament to ever come off a printing press. He was burned at the stake in 1536 for the “crime” of printing these magnificently Illustrated English New Testaments. This 1536 edition was the last and most elaborate one done prior to his death. The woodcut illustrations are simply breathtaking. The calligraphy-like Gothic Blackletter Typeface is also a work of art.
Tyndale’s work paved the way for all subsequent printings of the Bible in English, and 90% of his translation was retained all the way to the 1611 King James Bible. William Tyndale is considered to be the most influential Bible translator in history as well as the "architect of the English Language." He was said to have been so fluent in eight languages that you would have thought any one of them to be his native tongue!

New Testament ++++

The Geneva Bible was the first Bible to add numbered verses to the chapters, so that referencing specific passages would be easier. Every chapter was also accompanied by extensive marginal notes and references so thorough and complete that the Geneva Bible is also considered the first English "Study Bible". William Shakespeare quotes hundreds of times in his plays from the Geneva translation of the Bible. The Geneva Bible became the Bible of choice for over 100 years of English speaking Christians. Between 1560 and 1644 at least 144 editions of this Bible were published. Examination of the 1611 King James Bible shows clearly that its translators were influenced much more by the Geneva Bible, than by any other source. The Geneva Bible itself retains over 90% of William Tyndale's original English translation. The Geneva in fact, remained more popular than the King James Version until decades after its original release in 1611! The Geneva holds the honor of being the first Bible taken to America, and the Bible of the Puritans and Pilgrims. It is truly the “Bible of the Protestant Reformation.” Strangely, the famous Geneva Bible has been out-of-print since 1644, so the only way to obtain one is to either purchase an original printing of the Geneva Bible, or a less costly facsimile reproduction of the original 1560 Geneva Bible.
With the end of Queen Mary's bloody reign, the reformers could safely return to England. The Anglican Church, now under Queen Elizabeth I, reluctantly tolerated the printing and distribution of Geneva version Bibles in England. The marginal notes, which were vehemently against the institutional Church of the day, did not rest well with the rulers of the day. Another version, one with a less inflammatory tone was desired, and the copies of the Great Bible were getting to be decades old. In 1568, a revision of the Great Bible known as the Bishop's Bible was introduced. Despite 19 editions being printed between 1568 and 1606, this Bible, referred to as the “rough draft of the King James Version”, never gained much of a foothold of popularity among the people. The Geneva may have simply been too much to compete with.
By the 1580's, the Roman Catholic Church saw that it had lost the battle to suppress the will of God: that His Holy Word be available in the English language. In 1582, the Church of Rome surrendered their fight for "Latin only" and decided that if the Bible was to be available in English, they would at least have an official Roman Catholic English translation. And so, using the corrupt and inaccurate Latin Vulgate as the only source text, they went on to publish an English Bible with all the distortions and corruptions that Erasmus had revealed and warned of 75 years earlier. Because it was translated at the Roman Catholic College in the city of Rheims, it was known as the Rheims New Testament (also spelled Rhemes). The Douay Old Testament was translated by the Church of Rome in 1609 at the College in the city of Douay (also spelled Doway & Douai). The combined product is commonly referred to as the "Doway/Rheims" Version. In 1589, Dr. William Fulke of Cambridge published the "Fulke's Refutation", in which he printed in parallel columns the Bishops Version along side the Rheims Version, attempting to show the error and distortion of the Roman Church's corrupt compromise of an English version of the Bible.






Myles Coverdale and John “Thomas Matthew” Rogers had remained loyal disciples the last six years of Tyndale's life, and they carried the English Bible project forward and even accelerated it. Coverdale finished translating the Old Testament, and in 1535 he printed the first complete Bible in the English language, making use of Luther's German text and the Latin as additional sources. Thus, the first complete English Bible was printed on October 4, 1535, and is known as the Coverdale Bible.


Myles Coverdale produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible in English. He was born probably in the district known as Cover-dale, in that part of the North Riding of Yorkshire called Richmondshire, England, 1488. He died in London and was buried in St. Bartholomew's Church Feb. 19, 1568.

EARLY YEARS OF MYLES COVERDALE
Myles Coverdale became priest at Norwich in 1514, and entered the convent of Austin friars at Cambridge, where Robert Barnes was prior in 1523 and probably influenced him in favor of Protestantism. When Barnes was tried for heresy in 1526 Coverdale assisted in his defense, and shortly afterward left the convent and gave himself entirely to preaching. He studied at Cambridge, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in canon law 1531.

THE COVERDALE BIBLE
In 1535, Myles Coverdale secured his place in history forever, by becoming the first person to print an entire Bible in the English language. In 1537 some of his translations were included in the Matthew-Tyndale Bible, the first true, direct English translation of the complete Bible. In 1538 he was in Paris, superintending the printing of King Henry VIII’s "Great Bible," of 1539, and the same year, published, both in London and Paris, an English New Testament. He also edited "Cranmer's Bible ", the 1540 edition of the Great Bible.
He returned to England in 1539, but on the execution of Thomas Cromwell (who had been his friend and protector since 1527) in 1540 was compelled, again to go into exile, lived for a time at Tubingen. Between 1543 and 1547, Myles Coverdale was Lutheran pastor and schoolmaster at Bergzabern in the Palatinate, and very poor.

COVERDALE’S LONG & PRODUCTIVE CAREER IN BIBLE PRINTING
In Mar., 1548, he went back to England, was well received at court and made King's Chaplain. In 1551 he became bishop of Exeter, but was deprived of that position in 1553 after the succession of Queen “Bloody” Mary. He went to Denmark (where his brother-in-law was chaplain to the king), then to Wesel, and finally back to Bergzabern. In 1559 he was again in England, but was not reinstated as Bishop, perhaps because of Puritanical scruples about vestments. Myles Coverdale contributed to the production of the Protestant refugee’s Geneva Bible, first produced in 1577 (New Testament) and 1560 (whole Bible). From 1564 to 1566 he was rector of St. Magnus's, near London Bridge.

New Testament +++

The Geneva Bible was the first Bible to add numbered verses to the chapters, so that referencing specific passages would be easier. Every chapter was also accompanied by extensive marginal notes and references so thorough and complete that the Geneva Bible is also considered the first English "Study Bible". William Shakespeare quotes hundreds of times in his plays from the Geneva translation of the Bible. The Geneva Bible became the Bible of choice for over 100 years of English speaking Christians. Between 1560 and 1644 at least 144 editions of this Bible were published. Examination of the 1611 King James Bible shows clearly that its translators were influenced much more by the Geneva Bible, than by any other source. The Geneva Bible itself retains over 90% of William Tyndale's original English translation. The Geneva in fact, remained more popular than the King James Version until decades after its original release in 1611! The Geneva holds the honor of being the first Bible taken to America, and the Bible of the Puritans and Pilgrims. It is truly the “Bible of the Protestant Reformation.” Strangely, the famous Geneva Bible has been out-of-print since 1644, so the only way to obtain one is to either purchase an original printing of the Geneva Bible, or a less costly facsimile reproduction of the original 1560 Geneva Bible.
With the end of Queen Mary's bloody reign, the reformers could safely return to England. The Anglican Church, now under Queen Elizabeth I, reluctantly tolerated the printing and distribution of Geneva version Bibles in England. The marginal notes, which were vehemently against the institutional Church of the day, did not rest well with the rulers of the day. Another version, one with a less inflammatory tone was desired, and the copies of the Great Bible were getting to be decades old. In 1568, a revision of the Great Bible known as the Bishop's Bible was introduced. Despite 19 editions being printed between 1568 and 1606, this Bible, referred to as the “rough draft of the King James Version”, never gained much of a foothold of popularity among the people. The Geneva may have simply been too much to compete with.
By the 1580's, the Roman Catholic Church saw that it had lost the battle to suppress the will of God: that His Holy Word be available in the English language. In 1582, the Church of Rome surrendered their fight for "Latin only" and decided that if the Bible was to be available in English, they would at least have an official Roman Catholic English translation. And so, using the corrupt and inaccurate Latin Vulgate as the only source text, they went on to publish an English Bible with all the distortions and corruptions that Erasmus had revealed and warned of 75 years earlier. Because it was translated at the Roman Catholic College in the city of Rheims, it was known as the Rheims New Testament (also spelled Rhemes). The Douay Old Testament was translated by the Church of Rome in 1609 at the College in the city of Douay (also spelled Doway & Douai). The combined product is commonly referred to as the "Doway/Rheims" Version. In 1589, Dr. William Fulke of Cambridge published the "Fulke's Refutation", in which he printed in parallel columns the Bishops Version along side the Rheims Version, attempting to show the error and distortion of the Roman Church's corrupt compromise of an English version of the Bible.






Myles Coverdale and John “Thomas Matthew” Rogers had remained loyal disciples the last six years of Tyndale's life, and they carried the English Bible project forward and even accelerated it. Coverdale finished translating the Old Testament, and in 1535 he printed the first complete Bible in the English language, making use of Luther's German text and the Latin as additional sources. Thus, the first complete English Bible was printed on October 4, 1535, and is known as the Coverdale Bible.


Myles Coverdale produced the first complete printed translation of the Bible in English. He was born probably in the district known as Cover-dale, in that part of the North Riding of Yorkshire called Richmondshire, England, 1488. He died in London and was buried in St. Bartholomew's Church Feb. 19, 1568.

EARLY YEARS OF MYLES COVERDALE
Myles Coverdale became priest at Norwich in 1514, and entered the convent of Austin friars at Cambridge, where Robert Barnes was prior in 1523 and probably influenced him in favor of Protestantism. When Barnes was tried for heresy in 1526 Coverdale assisted in his defense, and shortly afterward left the convent and gave himself entirely to preaching. He studied at Cambridge, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in canon law 1531.

THE COVERDALE BIBLE
In 1535, Myles Coverdale secured his place in history forever, by becoming the first person to print an entire Bible in the English language. In 1537 some of his translations were included in the Matthew-Tyndale Bible, the first true, direct English translation of the complete Bible. In 1538 he was in Paris, superintending the printing of King Henry VIII’s "Great Bible," of 1539, and the same year, published, both in London and Paris, an English New Testament. He also edited "Cranmer's Bible ", the 1540 edition of the Great Bible.
He returned to England in 1539, but on the execution of Thomas Cromwell (who had been his friend and protector since 1527) in 1540 was compelled, again to go into exile, lived for a time at Tubingen. Between 1543 and 1547, Myles Coverdale was Lutheran pastor and schoolmaster at Bergzabern in the Palatinate, and very poor.

COVERDALE’S LONG & PRODUCTIVE CAREER IN BIBLE PRINTING
In Mar., 1548, he went back to England, was well received at court and made King's Chaplain. In 1551 he became bishop of Exeter, but was deprived of that position in 1553 after the succession of Queen “Bloody” Mary. He went to Denmark (where his brother-in-law was chaplain to the king), then to Wesel, and finally back to Bergzabern. In 1559 he was again in England, but was not reinstated as Bishop, perhaps because of Puritanical scruples about vestments. Myles Coverdale contributed to the production of the Protestant refugee’s Geneva Bible, first produced in 1577 (New Testament) and 1560 (whole Bible). From 1564 to 1566 he was rector of St. Magnus's, near London Bridge.