Restoring the Original Bible

Slow read, but enjoying it.

Dr. Ernest Martin has done a great service in researching and publishing, "Restoring the Original Bible". It is a very insightful text that will enlighten the reader to the world of Paul, Peter and John in the first century A.D. It is a fascinating and easy to read book and in every chapter there are new and thought provoking facts to interest any reader curious about what the bible, both in the Torah and New Testaments, actually says. I had never realized that the bible was ordered and assembled in a specific way. Nor did I understand what was meant by the Canon of the Bible though many often mentioned it. Once you understand who had authority to write and organize the Bible and what concepts are involved in, "Canon", the idea is grasped as both simple and straight forward. Dr. Martin also explains the reason behind the book divisons of Old and New Testaments and shows how the Bible is centered on the life of the Messiah. As you read you learn that the currently available Bibles have been deliberatley and maliciously altered from the form the original bible had and that the books have been shuffled around so that it has lost the fluid flow and story line and architecture that it actually has when read in the proper sequential order. Once you understand the original purpose and design of the Bible it becomes an easier to understand set of books that tells a story. After reading this book the reader will be much more knowledgeable about the origins of modern beliefs and their foundation or lack there of from the Bible. I highly recommend this fascinating, easy to read and enjoyable book to all regardless of your personal beliefs. One does not have to be a Christian or Jew or a beliver to enjoy this book and learn historical truths from it. JD

Dr. Ernest Martin was one of the finest biblical scholars of modern times. He had an encyclopedic grasp for historical details and a scriptural recall second to none, all for the good of teasing out commonly overlooked or little known gems waiting to be dug out, cut, and polished for all the world to witness and wonder at as he brings the bible alive (even more so) revealing its organic growth over the centuries and long lost symmetrical and logical structure as intended by the Holy Spirit for man's instruction. Dr. Martin makes extensive use of biblical and extra-biblical sources, secular history, and archeology to clinch the various theses being advanced to paint the overall picture in his book. While at first the thought of having the NT books in their inspired order would make little to no difference in the spiritual lessons it teaches, Dr. Martin shows that in fact vital truths and new dynamics in understanding how the Holy Spirit operates are rewarded to the diligent bible student. For instance, the apostles were mistaken in their assumptions that the end time prophecies applied to their own generation; even though they were being led in the spirit toward delivering holy scripture, they were not entirely overshadowed by that infallible Holy Spirit and as men could still err and misinterpret the very oracles they were delivering (we see the same idea in the Tanakh where Daniel did not understand his own end time prophecies). Strangely, it was for our benefit these early missteps were left in the NT as later generations would have a 'drill' of sorts before them by the very apostles themselves of what they (we?) might expect during the run up to an end time scenario and how best to conduct ourselves. Consequently, it also obliterates the pretrib theory in a single blow (cf. 1 Peter, itself written under this apprehension). Of course, just before he was taken up, Christ himself told the apostles what they would be commissioned to do and not do, and we see his Holy Spirit stayed true to the commission while the apostles didn't always (cf. Acts 1:6-8). Also the progress of the epistles from the warnings of Christ's imminence and subsequent realization helps date the epistles when compared with the surrounding events taking place in Israel and more specifically the mind-blowing signs happening in the Temple before its destruction -- the tearing of the veil during the earthquake coinciding with Christ's crucifixion being only the beginning of signs of God's abandonment of the Temple which would end in 70 CE. It was actually this realization that after the Sabbatical year in 62/63 CE elapsed without the scriptural signs given to signal the start of Daniel's 70th week that the apostles understood that Christ would not return during their lifetime and saw the need to canonize the NT for future generations of Christians. Peter and John were given the legitimate rights to canonize the NT, which was done in two parts, finalized by John at the end of

This is the second book from Ernest L. Martin that I have read. Like the first book(The Secrets of Golgotha),this one didn't disappoint. Mr.Martin covered a lot of topics that I found to be very interesting. He discusses how Jerome altered the order of the New Testament and why he did it.Particularly why he put the Pauline epistles in front of the General epistles. Mr.Martin wrote about rank concerning Paul,Peter,James(the Just)and John. He provides some fascinating information on the canonisation of the Old Testament.The number of OT books was 22.A book for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet before some of the books were broken down into smaller books. Some more highlights of the book are: Matthew, the author of the Gospel-his name and what he was. Date of the writing of the book of Revelation from historical events. John's relationship to Jesus and what his heritage may have been. An interesting view on what "bind" and "loose" may mean in MT 16:19. The diverse authorship of the Psalms,particularly from Hezekiah. The "cloak" that Paul requested of Timothy in II Timothy 4:9-13. The principle of progressive revelation-teaching that begins with elementary matters and proceeds to the more sophisticated. These are just some of the many interesting topics in the book. The Index at the back is useful. It's a "must read" for anyone wanting to study the canonisation and order of the Bible. I recommend this book and "The Secrets of Golgotha" also written by Ernest L. Martin.

The order of the books in our Bible was altered by Church authorities for anti-Semitic reasons. The Jewish Tanakh preserves the original order of Old Testament books -- little known to Christians! No published New Testament orders its books as the apostles arranged them! This book reveals the original manuscript order of the books of Scripture and fruitfully considers why the original canonizers so arranged them. Understanding the divinely inspired order of the books makes the Bible easier to understand!

I had always thought that, which books included in New Testament, was decided by a late church council, after pagan and anti-Semitic influences had entered. This book provides evidence from the New Testament that the apostles themselves put the New Testament together. It also shows that the original order of the New Testament was changed slightly in the mid second century, in an attempt to discredit the Jewish roots of the New Testament. This original order clued me in to an accelerated Biblical Discipling course that Paul uses to make Gentile believers fruitful, rather than the typical spectator on a pew that we see so much of in churches today. Our congregation now uses this course, going through the Pauline letters in their original order. The book also provides the background on the Tenach (Old Testament).