Did you know that both the Bible and Quran were translated into other languages?
Muslims today, claim the Quran wasn't ever edited; that it is the pure Word of God. They claim that the Quran has been perfectly preserved in its original form, since it was first ordered and collected into a single volume by Mohammad. However, extant copies of ancient quotations and texts relying upon ancient copies of the Quran, have shown that dramatic variations in text existed.
As far as Muslim's claims that the Quran is the pure Word of God and never edited, we now see the Quran has been translated into more than 100 European, Asian, and African languages. In 1936, translations of the Quran into 102 languages were available. Currently, there are about 62 English translations of the Quran.
In contrast, the Bible has been translated into other languages, purely so that others in the world can read it, but as far as destroying the true meaning and value of its context and message of how to get to heaven, nothing has changed. We don't have to know or understand the whole Bible in order to have salvation. That would be impossible.
The message of Salvation has always stayed intact and if we miss that, we have missed everything. The doctrine of preservation in regard to scripture, means that the Lord has kept His Word intact as to its original meaning. Preservation simply means that we can trust the scriptures, because God has sovereignly overseen the process of transmission over the centuries.
The term "transmission" describes the ancient process of copying Hebrew and Greek manuscripts to preserve them for future generations and to distribute them for greater use. The texts had to be copied by hand. In this way they were "transmitted".
At the same time, we must also be aware that we do not possess the original writings/autographs. What we do have, are thousands of manuscripts from which the original writings can be ascertained. By thorough examination and comparison of those manuscripts, it is determined what the original writings stated. This does not mean that there are absolutely no differences between the manuscripts. But the "differences" are extremely small and insignificant. They do not in any way, affect the basic teachings or meaning of God's Word.
The differences are things like minor spelling variations. The small editing is so minor, they change nothing. They did not rewrite the whole Bible or even part of it. The editing was words used in the Old English, like "thee and thou", but the message of the Gospel concerning salvation and how to get to heaven, was never changed. Scholars agree on this. We should keep in mind that this would not, and does not, affect the accuracy of scripture, nor does it mean that God has not preserved His Word. God has supernaturally kept and preserved His Word through the Ages.
The early scribes, whose jobs were to make exact copies of scripture, were very meticulous. One example of their scrupulous precision is the practice of counting all the letters in a given book and noting the middle letter of the book. They would then do the same for the copy, to make sure it matched. They employed such time-consuming and painstaking methods, to ensure accuracy.
Further, we can take note of the following verses that demonstrate God's plan to preserve His Word in Matthew 5:18: Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not the smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law, until everything is accomplished." In this verse, Jesus declared that not even the smallest stroke of a letter in the Hebrew alphabet would pass away until all is accomplished. He couldn't make that promise, unless He was sure that His Father would preserve His Word. Jesus also said, "Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away." Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33.
God's Word shall remain until all has been accomplished which God has planned. Jesus' message to us, was that not one of us can be saved, apart from the gospel message, which is recorded in God's Word. John 3:16-17
Acts 4:12 - "Nor is there salvation in any other, but Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved."
Matthew 1:21 "She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is ONE God, and there is ONE Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
As far as Muslim's claims that the Quran is the pure Word of God and never edited, we now see the Quran has been translated into more than 100 European, Asian, and African languages. In 1936, translations of the Quran into 102 languages were available. Currently, there are about 62 English translations of the Quran.
In contrast, the Bible has been translated into other languages, purely so that others in the world can read it, but as far as destroying the true meaning and value of its context and message of how to get to heaven, nothing has changed. We don't have to know or understand the whole Bible in order to have salvation. That would be impossible.
The message of Salvation has always stayed intact and if we miss that, we have missed everything. The doctrine of preservation in regard to scripture, means that the Lord has kept His Word intact as to its original meaning. Preservation simply means that we can trust the scriptures, because God has sovereignly overseen the process of transmission over the centuries.
The term "transmission" describes the ancient process of copying Hebrew and Greek manuscripts to preserve them for future generations and to distribute them for greater use. The texts had to be copied by hand. In this way they were "transmitted".
At the same time, we must also be aware that we do not possess the original writings/autographs. What we do have, are thousands of manuscripts from which the original writings can be ascertained. By thorough examination and comparison of those manuscripts, it is determined what the original writings stated. This does not mean that there are absolutely no differences between the manuscripts. But the "differences" are extremely small and insignificant. They do not in any way, affect the basic teachings or meaning of God's Word.
The differences are things like minor spelling variations. The small editing is so minor, they change nothing. They did not rewrite the whole Bible or even part of it. The editing was words used in the Old English, like "thee and thou", but the message of the Gospel concerning salvation and how to get to heaven, was never changed. Scholars agree on this. We should keep in mind that this would not, and does not, affect the accuracy of scripture, nor does it mean that God has not preserved His Word. God has supernaturally kept and preserved His Word through the Ages.
The early scribes, whose jobs were to make exact copies of scripture, were very meticulous. One example of their scrupulous precision is the practice of counting all the letters in a given book and noting the middle letter of the book. They would then do the same for the copy, to make sure it matched. They employed such time-consuming and painstaking methods, to ensure accuracy.
Further, we can take note of the following verses that demonstrate God's plan to preserve His Word in Matthew 5:18: Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, until Heaven and Earth disappear, not the smallest letter, nor the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law, until everything is accomplished." In this verse, Jesus declared that not even the smallest stroke of a letter in the Hebrew alphabet would pass away until all is accomplished. He couldn't make that promise, unless He was sure that His Father would preserve His Word. Jesus also said, "Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away." Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33.
God's Word shall remain until all has been accomplished which God has planned. Jesus' message to us, was that not one of us can be saved, apart from the gospel message, which is recorded in God's Word. John 3:16-17
Acts 4:12 - "Nor is there salvation in any other, but Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved."
Matthew 1:21 "She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins."
1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is ONE God, and there is ONE Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
