Perpetuity of the Received Text

June 4, 2009

by Garry Castner

God promises to preserve His word for every generation. Psalms 12:6-7  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.  Peter adds in the New Testament, in 1 Peter 1:23-25  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

For a true Bible believer, the following model is the only option: 1) The Old Testament was preserved by the priests, scribes, and the nation of Israel at large; 2) The New Testament was preserved by the true churches of the Lord Jesus Christ through the centuries; 3) The Received Text was used by Baptists before the Reformation and is the pure Text of God through His churches ; 4) The editors who produced the Received Text in Greek were providentially guided by God; 5) God authorized and confirmed the printed Received Text.

The Perpetuity of the Received Text. Dr. D. A. Waite in his book, Defending the King James Bible , pp. 44-48, presents the following information concerning the perpetuity of the Received Text through the centuries to the present day:

For Bible Believers, the following model is the only option:

1. The apostles and the early churches had the Received Text. Both the churches of Palestine and Syria (Antioch).

2. The Old Syriac Peshitta (150 AD) was based on the Received Text.

3. Papyrus #66 – used the Received Text.

4. The Italic church used the Received Text (157 AD).

5. The Gallic church (France) used the Received Text (177 AD).

6. The Celtic church (Great Britain ) used the Received Text.

7. The churches of Scotland and Ireland used the Received Text.

8. The pre-Waldensian churches used the Received Text.

9. The Waldensian Church (120 AD and onward) used the Received Text.

10. The Gothic Church (4th century) used the Received Text.

11. Codex W of Matthew (4th and 5th centuries) used the Received Text.

12. Codex A of the Gospels (5th century) used the Received Text.

13. Most extant manuscripts used the Received Text. About 5,210 mss. out of 5,255. That is 99% of extant manuscripts.

14. The Greek Orthodox Church used the Received Text (about 1,000 years).

15. The Greek Orthodox Church still uses the Received Text.

16. The Reformation churches used the Received Text.

17. Erasmus’ Greek New Testament used the Received Text (c. 1516).

18. Cardinal Ximenes ' Complutensian Polyglot used the Received Text (1522).

19. Luther's Bible used the Received Text (1522).

20. Tyndale 's Bible used the Received Text (1525).

21. The Olivetan Bible of France used the Received Text (1535).

22. Coverdale 's Bible used the Received Text (1537).

23. Matthew 's Bible used the Received Text (1539).

24. Taverners ' Bible used the Received Text (1539).

25. The Large Bible used the Received Text (1539-41).

26. Stephanus ' Greek New Testament used the Received Text (1546-51).

27. The Geneva Bible used the Received Text (1557-60).

28. The Bishop Bible used the Received Text (1568).

29. The Reina Bible used the Received Text (1569).

30. The Beza New Testament used the Received Text (1598).

31. The Czeka Bible used the Received Text (1602).

32. The Diodati (Italian) Bible used the Received Text (1602).

33. The King James Bible used the Received Text (1611).

34. The Elzevir Brothers New Testament used the Received Text (1624).

We see that the Received Text is the Word of God preserved from the times of the apostles. Thank God for His Faithfulness!