ARE THE BIBLE TRANSLATORS INTENDING TO MAKE IT MORE UNDERSTANDABLE OR TO HIDE THE TRUTH SOME MORE?

Text in question:
[niv]"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. Mat 5:17 [kjv]Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. [niv]I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law Mat 5:18 until everything is accomplished. [kjv]For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. [niv]Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Mat 5:19 [kjv]Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Because we did not have access to the original tongue (Greek) by which the New Testament was written, we accept what is given to us by the translators, hook, line and sinker. It is also difficult to think that such reputable translators as them who produced the New International Version (NIV) could have other purpose than to make the Word of God clearer in its original meaning. Can we ever suspect that they did not intent to make the Word of God clearer but actually to hide the truth some more? That is, to make it more blurred or farther from its real original meaning? Take for example our text above, Matthew 5:17. The NIV says Jesus said He came to fulfil the commandments.
Mat 5:17 [niv]"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have

not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

This means to say that Jesus came to obey the commandments HIMSELF. I did not bother about that because I was thinking that it is true when it is regarding the prophecies pertaining to Him. But, when it is concerning the laws and commandments, did Jesus came to obey them? What really is the meaning of the original Greek work translated fulfil ? For so many years, until now that I reach my 44th year on earth, I did not bother to investigate further about the meaning of the Greek word Not until today, when I read the Visayan translation of the verse by the Seventh Day Adventist, to read as follows: Ako mianhi dili sa pagbungkag kanila, kondili sa pagpatuman kanila (Mateo 5:17, Goodspeed) I was surprised to find the word they are using: pagpatuman. It does not mean to fulfil them (NIV) but to implement, or have them fulfilled, or have them followed ! It suddenly makes sense. Since the Lord is the leader, the Master, it makes sense to say that He came to implement God s laws and commandments, and not just to keep them Himself.

The King James Version is not saying what NIV says. It says:
[kjv]Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Mat 5:17

The KJV did not say to fulfil them. It merely says to fulfil. We are thus being led to another meaning of the original Greek word pleroo (pronounced as playroo ). The Worldwide Church of God, under the leadership of the late Herbert W. Armstrong, maintained that the word fulfil means to fill the full. Can the full be still filled? Is it not that because it is full, we cannot fill it further? It is ironic, but what Mr. Armstrong actually meant was the verse he quoted to support his preferred definition. It is the verse in Isaiah, to wit:

[niv]It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. Isa 42:21 [kjv]The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

Magify means expand, make it deeper, higher, bigger, wider, greater, more powerful, clearer, etc. To use the word magnify to define pleroo will lead us to think that Jesus did not come to fulfil the laws and commandments Himself but to magnify or fill the full that is, to make them more clearer, more explained and expounded. Is that true? Is that correct? Was that what Jesus did? Did He magnify the Law and commandments? The answer: Yes. Proof: The Sermon of the Mount is indeed a strange magnification of the Ten Commandments. Its direction of magnification is going inward or deeper, at the motive level, not in the action. For example, the commandment on adultery. While in the Old Testament s Ten Commandments, the commandment speaks of the act of adultery, the Sermon of the Mount speaks of the attitude or inner mind and heart condition.
[niv]"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'
Mat 5:27 [kjv]Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not

commit adultery: [niv]But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Mat 5:28 [kjv]But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

A lustful look (and of course, it does not happen without the cooperation of the mind and heart!).The mind and heart must be first boiling in lust, before that happens or comes out in the eyes! So, the Sermon of the Mount concerns with the mind-heart aspect the thinking and feeling which we call attitude . Therefore, the Sermon of the Mount magnifies the Ten Commandments by deepening it. Jesus fills the full by making it deeper. What about the other definition of pleroo which is preferred by the Seventh Day Adventist: to implement or to have the fulfilled [by the people]. Is that a correct definition?

In Strong s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, it does not exist in the definitions for the word pleroo. But the New Testament supports that definition as well that is, that Jesus also came to implement or have the law and commandments fulfilled by His disciples first, and then, in the long range, by all people. He was saying that when He said:
[niv]"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Mat 7:21 [kjv]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.

By will, He means the Laws and Commandments of God. Here, Jesus was telling people that acts or obedience is compulsory. So, it is correct to say that Jesus came to implement or make the law and commandments get fulfilled. He also meant that for the far era when everything is accomplished or fulfilled .
[niv]I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law Mat 5:18 until everything is accomplished. [kjv]For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

He was not only referring to the prophecy portion; He was also referring to the commandment portion. The prophecies would come to fulfilment but the people were and are also to come to fulfil the commandments. Both prophecy and commandments are destined to fulfilment. CONCLUSION: So, where does that bring us? First, does pleroo mean to fulfil them as what the NIV says? Answer: Yes, as one of pleroo s minor definition. Secondly, does pleroo mean to magnify to further fill the full ?

Answer: Yes, as the first and main definition of pleroo . Thirdly, does pleroo mean to implement or have it fulfilled ? Answer: By all indications, though not explicitly, yes, that is also what pleroo means.

From the Strong s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, we get these following definitions of the Greek word pleroo : 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) To make replete (or complete); be complete Literally, to cram ( a net); To level up or fill a hollow; Figuratively, to furnish; To satisfy; To execute, to finish; end; To fill (up) [because it is lacking]; to perfect

What is the preferred or intended meaning of the usage of the word pleroo in the verse?
The Old King James Version does not say to fulfil them . It says to fulfil which leaves it open to mean either to fulfil them or to make them full. The Greek New Testament that I have also supports King James version. It does not support NIV s to fulfil them. The third evidence is in the meaning of pleroo in Stong s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Six out of the seven meanings all favour magnification. That Jesus came to obey was understood, and it was not absolutely necessary to make mention of it. But to mention that He came to make the laws and commandments complete or expounded for greater understanding and further, that they are to be fulfilled or obeyed by the people that s what is meant by pleroo Matthew 5:17.

Does it worth to make a fuse between to fulfil them and to have them fulfilled ? Absolutely. For after 2,000 years of never minding the slide-difference of these two, mankind especially the Roman Catholic world, came to think that: Jesus came to fulfil the Law and Commandments but did not came to have them fulfilled by His disciples, much less by the people in general. NIV was promoting the least meaning of the verse: that Jesus fulfilled them. NIV neglected or was it intentional to tell people that Jesus came to (1) magnify or make the Law and Commandment replete or complete; and to (2) let people come to fulfil or obey them!

So, what have been the result? 1) People think that Jesus did it all and therefore, they believe that they do not have any obligation anymore, no more Law or Commandment to obey; 2) This led to the people s disobedience spree! 3) The people are led away from what s happening, namely: the coming of huge volumes of magnification (expoundation, expansion, explanation) of the Law and Commandments of God. While the Old Testament is only 819 pages and the New Testament merely 300 pages, these magnifications those taught by the Lord during His earthly ministry reaches 7,500 pages! You can read these in www.franky1.com. Taking it by page, it does not require a calculator to estimate that for every page of the Bible, either Old or New Testament, there is, so to speak, a magnification or additional explanation 7 pages! One page is explained in 7 pages! 4) The people are wrongly led to think that they are not to obey the Law and Commandments. This is very sad. The New International Version (NIV) Bible is leading the people one step backward. It tells that people, Jesus fulfilled it for us; therefore, there is no need to fulfil them ourselves. Further, the NIV is saying to people that the Bible is complete that Jesus did not come to make the Law and Commandments more replete or more complete. So, after the coming of NIV, we did not see any spiritual improvement among the people but a people who suppose that Jesus did it all and that we are no longer to do anything at all, that is, concerning the Law and Commandments, and therefore, we are free to do the opposites! So, instead of doing the Law, Commandments and Will of God, people are doing their own laws, their own commandments and their own will! Time has come for people to begin to know that the Bible, or the New Testament in particular, has become so dull as a two-edged sword that the whole Christendom or the whole Christian world using it has speeded up closer to perdition not salvation! Come to think about it all aspects of your own life and all aspects of our society business, government, education, whatever see if it is not true that we have speeded up closer to our ruin! May the good Lord make you see. Godbless.

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