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Greek Scholar Daniel Wallace said, “When the King James was done, it was especially based on about a half of a dozen manuscripts. The earliest of which was a thousand years after the New Testament was written. Today we have approximately 1000 times as many manuscripts that we know exist. And our earliest ones go all the way back to the 2nd century. …Within decades of when the New Testament was written.” Why is it significant that we have manuscripts that go back to within decades after the New Testament was written?
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21 Replies
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It is important to have manuscripts that can be dated to very close to the time of Christ because it gives validity to the accuracy of our current translations. These older documents match almost word-for-word with the ones still in use today. This proves that the current day Bible is actually accurate and true. It can be trusted because it has not been changed over time. In addition, many more manuscripts that have been discovered recently also sync up with what we use today. The Bible is truly a remarkable book!
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These manuscripts are the confidence needed to secure authenticity of original biblical scripture. It is the job of the church to protect the scripture. All of these new discoveries provide the assurance we need to maintain the faith.
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Being able to date manuscripts back that far dates the authenticity of the Gospel and shows the consistency of the truth that has been passed down throughout the centuries.
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It is significant that we have manuscripts of the New Testament that date to within decades after the New Testament was written because the closer the date of the manuscipt is to the original writing, the less likely it is that there are errors or differences between it and the original. Additionally, comparison of the earliest known texts to those that come later, such as the King James Version of the Bible, allows us to determine how much, if anything, was changed or lost in translation.
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It is signigicant that we have manuscripts that go back to within decades after the New Testament was written to show accuracy. The longer the time between dates is the more facts can become distorted.