Scripture Twisting

2 Peter 3:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶  as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Scripture twisting is nothing new.  It was present in the first century, and I imagine, in Old Testament times.  Sometimes it’s harmless enough.  For instance quoting something as Scripture when it isn’t at all: “God helps those who help themselves.”  Jesus didn’t say that, Ben Franklin did.

An extreme example of Scripture twisting was committed by the Marharesh Mahesh Yogi when he said, “‘Jesus said ‘Be still and know that I am God.’  So, be still and know that you are god.”‘  Too many things wrong with that one to list them all, but Jesus didn’t say this at all.  It’s a quote from Psalm 46:10 where God says we are to be still and know that He is God.  See how the Yogi has twisted this to suit his own purpose?

The Mormons claim the stick of Joseph mentioned in Ezekiel 37 is a prophecy predicting Joseph Smith and the establishment of the Latter Day Saints.  There is no foundation for this belief.  The passage speaks of the reunification of the tribes of Israel.  But Joseph Smith, the founder of the LDS, used this Scripture in an attempt to lend God’s authority to his group.

Jehovah’s Witnesses take Psalm 83:18 as their action verse:  (KJV) That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

The word “Jehovah” is not a Hebrew word.  There is no “J” sound in either Hebrew or Greek.  “Jehovah” is a mistranslation of “YHWH”, the tetragrammaton which represents God’s name (see earlier blog posts for a detailed description of this) .  So, we don’t actually know God’s name.  Yet the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society wants to identify their people with that name to lend biblical authority to their organization.  They believe they must be God’s organization since they carry God’s name.

Additions to change the meaning of a passage of Scripture is another way to twist it.  The New World Translation (NWT) of Jehovah’s Witnesses translates  Colossians chapter 1:16-17, this way:  Speaking of Jesus:  “because by means of him all other things were created in the heavens and on the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All other things have been created through him and for him.  Also, he is before all other things, and by means of him all other things were made to exist, “

See the word “other” included in the passage four times?  You won’t find that word in any other translations.  It isn’t in the Greek either.  It only appears in the New World Translation.  So, why do they put it there?  Because it makes Jesus one of the things created rather than the Creator Himself which supports their  theology.  Remove “other” and Jesus is clearly God the Creator.

Not everyone who claims to be one of God’s people or a member of God’s organization is.  As Peter says, they twist the Scriptures to their own destruction.  The Bible says to watch out for these people and for yourself:  1 Timothy 4:16 (ESV)   Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.  Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. 

So, we need to be careful and check everything we hear against Scripture as did the Bereans (Acts 17:11)

I don’t often recommend books, but I do recommend “Scripture Twisting” by James W. Sire on this subject.  It’s available on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback forms.