Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 9
June 13, 1957
NUMBER 7, PAGE 5a

Roman Catholic Efforts To Change The Context Of Scripture

Luther W. Martin, St. James, Missouri

In the New Testament, there are several words that are used interchangeably in reference to the office of bishops or elders in each of the New Testament congregations. We list them as follows:

(1) ELDERS. (Acts 20:17.) Translated from the Greek word presbuteros.

(2) OVERSEERS. (Acts 20:28.) Taken from the Greek word episkopos.

(3) BISHOPS. (Phil. 1:1.) Taken from the Greek word episkopos.

(4) PASTORS. (Eph. 4:11.) From the Greek word poimen.

Each of the above terms apply to the same office in the churches of Christ. May we call your attention to the fact that the word PRIEST is NOT among these synonyms. However, the fact that the word priest does not apply in Holy Scripture to the office of the bishops, our Catholic friends are not in the least ashamed to INSERT it into contexts where it does not belong.

Some Examples Of Catholic `Mis-Insertion'.

Acts 14:22 (Acts 14:23 in King James Version): "And when they had ordained to them priests in every church. . . ." (Rheims Version.) The Greek word for 'priest' is hiereus, or hieros. The question to be answered next, then, is; "What word is actually used in the Greek in Acts 14:22 (23)?" We shall consider the Greek texts of several different scholars.

Stephens Greek Text: Presbuteros is the word used... not hiereus.

Elzevir's Greek Text: Presbuteros is the word used.

Griesbach's: Presbuterous is the word used.

The Resultant Greek Testament which includes any variations of rendering from the works of Lachmann, Tregelles, Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, and Alford.... indicates that no variation exists as to the use of the word presbuteros in the passage under consideration. Therefore, we can only conclude that the Catholic Hierarchy INSERTED the word 'priest' even though the word 'hiereus' wasn't even there!

Acts 15:2 — ". . . they determined that Paul and Barnabas . . .should go up to the apostles and priests to Jerusalem about this question." Here again, the word `priests' is mis-used in the Rheims Version. The word actually used in the Greek language is presbuteros, and is properly translated 'elders' or anglicized to form 'presbyters'. In any case, the Rheims 'scholars' dropped their scholarship for their 'priesthood'.

I Timothy 5:17 & 19 — "Let the priests that rule well, be esteemed worthy of double honour. . . " and "Against a priest receive not an accusation, but under two or three witneses." In both the foregoing cases, the word 'priest', singular or plural, is a MIS-TRANSLATION. The Greek text uses the word presbuteros in one of its forms, which would be correctly translated elder or elders.

James 5:14 — "Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church. . . . " (Rheims Version.) The word presbuteros is the Greek term used. Thus, elders would be the correct rendering. Not priests!

They Can Translate It Correctly.... If They Will!

Perhaps you wonder by this time if the Rheims Version EVER translates the word 'priest' correctly? We can answer with a "Yes." In Revelation (Apocalypse) 1:6 — "And hath made us a kingdom, and priests to God. . . "The word used here in the Greek is hiereis. It teaches that every child of God, thus every Christian, having been purified by the blood of Christ, through faithful obedience to the gospel, sustains an intimate relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. In fact, it puts the fable of the Catholic priesthood to shame, wherein the follower is deluded into supposing that only through the PRIEST can his or her sins be forgiven, while in reality, every Christian has the right and privilege of approaching God in prayer and repentance, through the one mediator, Jesus Christ the righteous.