A Bible Question For Christians
 

Does your Bible have the scripture of 1 John 5:7? 1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

In my NIV Bible: So we have these three witnesses-the spirit, the water and the blood--and all three agree.

Sophie - You pose an interesting question. The ESV reads similar to the NIV that Brencpa states above. In looking at The Message - another version that I will occasionally use in my bible study - it reads " A triple testimony: the Spirit, the Baptism, the Crucifixion. And the three in perfect agreement." What do you make of that? I see from other posts that you prefer the KJV. I generally use the ESV or NIV version, but like to go online to bible gateway and look up other versions from time to time for additional insight.

I use the ESV (Study Version) even though my Anglo Catholic parish uses only the King James Version. The ESV is easier for me since I never had exposure to the KJV in my Roman Catholic days. No disparagement intended at all.

The verse reads as Abby10 posts. The footnotes in mine explain its intent is to conform to the OT mandate of two or three witnesses to support a charge (meaning St Paul's statement that Jesus is the Son of God.) The NT also continued this principle (Matt 18:16, 2 Cor. 13:!.

The Spirit abides in all believers and teaches them the truth about God's word; the 'water' was the Baptism of Jesus in which God declared Him to be His Son; the 'blood' is Christ's atonement, i.e., the only way man could be cleansed from sin, by the hand of God only. These three then bear witness to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God, and the Word referred to in beginning of St John's gospel (1:1-5)



Nice thread, Sophie. :)

I Use To Think The Newer Bibles Were Just Easier To Understand
 

Upon reading one of the newer Bible versions is when I stumbled upon the mark of the beast and how it will go ON the right hand or ON the forehead. I guess I was brought up on the King James Version because I was shocked it had said something completely different. How sad will it be when the day comes for the mark of the beast to be implanted and the churches all say you can take it as it is meaning a tattoo.

I just found this sight about the differences and there are 300 differences!<Bible Verses Removed from New Versions>

Thanks, onslowe, for putting that all together as you did in your last paragraph. I agree, nice thread!

This is a useful site for deeper studying: BLB - 1Jo 5: John's First Epistle - 1 John 5 (Blue Letter Bible: KJV - King James Version)

I love the text commentaries found under tools. There are a variety of options for further references to the scripture you are reading. Like this one by Charles Spurgeon regarding the scripture questioned by the original poster:

Text Commentaries: C. H. Spurgeon (Blue Letter Bible: Sermons)

Speaking of Bible preferences, my favorite is the NIV, Life Application Bible due to the study notes at the bottom of each page. Plus each book has an over-view of the times, the author and what's being said. I was raised with the KJV but quite frankly it's hard to read and understand.