Who Owns The Bible--THE OWNERS MANUAL?

WHO OWNS THE THE BIBLE?

"No one really knows how many copies of the Bible have been printed, sold, or distributed. The Bible Society’s attempt to calculate the number printed between 1816 and 1975 produced the figure of 2,458,000,000. A more recent survey, for the years up to 1992, put it closer to 6,000,000,000 in more than 2,000 languages and dialects. Whatever the precise figure, the Bible is by far the "bestselling" book of all time."

Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. (Proverbs 23:23 MKJV)

Was the Bible meant to be sold?  Was it God's intention that it become the bestseller of all time?

Now there was no blacksmith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, “We have done this lest the Hebrews make swords or spears: so the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his pitchfork, and his plow, and his sickle, and his pickaxe”.   So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan.  (1Samuel 13:19-20, 22)

Do you see it? Israel had to go down to their enemies to get their tools sharpened and were not allowed to have blacksmiths that could make their weapons of war. What if the secular publishers of the Christian Bible decided to withhold printing any more, say because the government levied as hefty tax on the cost of high quality ‘bible’ paper to help save the environment? The new ads may say—“Give A Tree for Jesus!" Or "Trade Your Carbon Credit to Win 27 more People to Christ?”

WHO OWNS THE COPYRIGHT TO THE BIBLE?

In most of the world the Authorized Version has passed out of copyright and is freely reproduced. In the United Kingdom, the British Crown restricts production of the Authorized Version per transitional exemptions from the Copyright Act 1775 (which implemented this clause) in the Copyright, Designs and patents Act 1988 (Schedule 1, section 13(1)), which expire in 2039. Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, HarperCollins and the Queen's Printers have the right to produce their own version of the Authorized Version.

As far as I know, outside of the British claim, there were no copyright laws when the various books of the Bible were written, but each publisher who pays for a new translation or adds any notes, maps, etc. to the version he publishes can copyright the new content of his version, so most Bibles you pick up will have legitimate copyrights. I am not sure what the copyright laws were in Britain in 1611 when the first version of the King James was published, or if a 400 year old copyright could be enforced, but the text of the KJV can be freely copied most places without legal problems. In the USA, a standard copyright was 75 years (when I was taught in school) but could be renewed (extended) by the original producer of the material or a person or company that procured that right from the producer.

By the way, a copyright is a legal restriction on duplicating someone else's work to protect the right of the original producer of a work to get fair pay for his work. Producing a new translation of a document like the Bible takes thousands of man-hours which costs a lot of money, so the publishers have a legitimate right to restrict the free copying and distribution of that work because their one goal is to make money selling Bibles. While some would work on such a project without pay, in our economy it is not very practical to expect enough scholars, editors, etc. to participate, probably investing hundreds or thousands of personal hours, without some compensation.

This is a major reason that the translation, printing, publishing and distribution of the most important thing in the Universe—God’s Word—must be the responsibility of the evangelical church for free distribution in every person’s native tongue.

Look what we have given away--

• The Cost Control and Distribution of the Bible around the World.
• The Church's responsibility to translate and circulate the Word of God for all language groups. 

And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be published in all the Earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end of this Age. (Matthew 24:14 DLT)

Do we have a problem here?

The Bible belongs to God and how do you copyright Him?

It was given to the Church for the revealing of His Mystery of Christ IN YOU.

This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. (Colossians 1:26-27 MSG)

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THERE IN THE GARDEN THEY LOST GOD’S OWN LIFE

Some call it "being born-again backwards".  One thing is for sure, Adam and Eve died spiritually long before their physical death hundreds of years later.  When was the last time you heard a sermon that you understood about our position in Adam versus our position in Christ?

And He made every nation of men of one blood [Adam], to live on all the face of the earth, ordaining fore-appointed seasons and boundaries of their dwelling, to seek the Lord, if perhaps they might feel after Him and might find Him, though indeed He not being far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist, as also some of the poets among you have said, For we are also His offspring. Then being offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the Godhead is like gold or silver or stone, engraved by art and the imagination of man. (Acts 17:26-29 LITV)

(Excerpted From Our eBook My Life In Adam)

When was the last time you contemplated that you were placed in as a son or daughter IN ADAM?  Though it may sound like gobbily-gook to you it is of supreme importance that you consider the issue. That' the one memo that the satan doesn't want you to receive.

The thief (the satan, the accuser, the liar, the murderer, the destroyer, the enemy of you mind, will and emotions) does not come except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly. (John 10:10 LITV)

That is the satan's first and primary objective in his jihad against the people of God; to steal, is to invade, seize, and carry away another's property if possible.  He is filth, apathological liar and near his end. He is a coniver who deceives Christians into not "feeling" saved and thereby doubting the unchanging Hand of God in the Glove of your life.

To be won, every war must have a well-thought-through strategy that is held close to the vest.  To fail to do so places you at great peril and greatly limits your Biblical wordview of the Creation, the subsequent fall of man and the steps that God has already taken for your reconcilation to Him.

Are you knowledgable enough to teach this process of being reconciled to God with another person? Or are you just another Dead Sea Christian? You take it all in but you never give any of it out. Click on the following diagram and study it.

Click on the image to enlarge it

What a marvelous transaction takes place when one receives the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, Lord and Life. That one is no longer IN ADAM. The great exchange has taken place when we are taken our of old Grandpa Adam and translated into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.  Out of Adam into Christ.  There is no provision for being taken out of Christ and placed back into Adam.

For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins. who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation. For all things were created in Him, the things in the Heavens, and the things on the Earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him.

And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the Head of the body, the church, who is the Beginning, the First-born from the dead, that He may be pre-eminent in all things. For it pleased the Father that in Him all fullness should dwell. (Colossians 1:13-19 MKJV)

For in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (in His physical body). And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:9-10 MKJV)

By faith Enoch was translated so as not to see death, and he was not found, because God had translated him; for before his translation he had this testimony, that he walked God.

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:5-6 MKJV)

What does it mean to have Christ in us and what would that look like in everyday life? Since Believers are no longer IN ADAM, it is important to understand how all that took place and what it means to us now.  The satan doesn't want you to get that memo.

STOP GOING TO CHURCH …Start BEING the Church!

Never, never was being chased out of Paradise an essential part of God’s original intention for them. How do the perfectly created ‘Ken and Barbie’ creatures deal with memories of breath-taking sexual intimacy and unrepeatable pleasure that they sacrificed for the unintended consequence of unbearable pain in child birth and that 'sweat-of-the-brow' stuff?

How does the manager of God’s Glorious Garden with an exceptional ability to name each and every creature, find meaning in life from here on? Now the God-ordained female orgasm is among the most fickle of human behaviors.

You don't know if she's had one and she wonders why it is taking so long. Even this most intimate act of marriage now produces covert rejection and false guilt when it was originally designed by God to bring great pleasure and the power of oneness. You will never achieve it so give it up, man. Life is not at the end of your p*nis.  It iis IN CHRIST!!

These are only a few of the tragedies of that Hellish day in the Garden of our God. Take the inner guilt and turmoil…when would it ever end? Would the promise of a Savior happen during their lifetimes? Would He come and restore them to their original condition or would they have to continually bear their own sin with pangs of conscience that never seemed to subside?

When would they be rescued from this wasteland of this howling madness? Darkness was now their constant companion. What had happened? Where had their sin led them? What does it all mean? When would the nightmare end?

Consider, if you will-

There in the Garden they lost God’s own life,

Their spirits were deadened both Adam and wife.

God sent them awandering as He told of His Plan,

That one day through Jesus, He’d regenerate man.

Cross of God’s Love

Cross of God’s Power

Wholly to Thee would I cling from this hour

Dead unto sin yet alive unto God

The Gift of Gad’s Grace is all mine at the Cross.

What you have to understand and remember is this.  You cannot have part of you still in Adam and part of you in Christ.  It's either one or the other, but never both.  Are you IN CHRIST or still lost IN ADAM?  Choose today who you will serve.

RULING AND REIGNING WITH CHRIST

…they shall be ministers of God and of Christ (the Messiah), and they shall rule along with Him one thousand years. (Revelation 20:6b AMP)

(Excerpted From Our eBook
HEAVEN: At Home With The Elohim)

ONE THOUSAND YEARS!!!  365,000 DAYS!!!

If we live to be 70 years old according to Psalm 90:10, we will have lived 25550 days.  Not very many days in light of Eternity.

Imagine being 'in charge' along with the Lord Jesus Christ for 365 THOUSAND DAYS! Elsewhere in this book we have talked about Psalm 90 and the importance of numbering our days or taking into account the brevity of those days. 70, maybe 80, years are so insignificant, so fleeting, so trivial in comparison to our ruling and reigning with the Warrior King Jesus for 1000 YEARS.  And that doesn't even qualify as the tip of the iceberg in comparison to Eternity.

In his book, ‘Don't Waste Your Sorrows’, Paul Billheimer gives new insight into God's Eternal purpose for each of His saints in the midst of life's greatest adversities. The reality of God's redemptive plan even in the midst of life's greatest adversities is a key to walking in His Victory.  In another book, ‘Destined for the Throne’, Billheimer’s title says it all. It talks of God’s plan to train Believers for their Heavenly Destiny. 

God's purpose is the preparation of an Eternal companion who will rule and reign side-by-side with His Son.  So, fiery-trial-tried and tested Believer, you are DESTINED for the Throne, so don’t waste your sorrows on the temporary trying of your faith.’  It is an essential part of the preparation of a Bride for the Groom-God’s Son.

That He might present, His Bride, the Church to Himself in Glorious Splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things [that she might be holy and faultless]. (Ephesians 5:27 AMP)

The Bride of Christ is to be the finished product of the Ages to come.  This view of the Purpose of the Creation is further strengthened by what may be called "the end result argument."  If one wants to know the meaning and purpose of history, he must look at the end, the final outcome, and the net result.  Since prophecy is history written in advance, we have history's final chapter in the Book of Revelation.  

Behold, the Dwelling Place of God is in man. He will dwell in them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. (The Book of the Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ 21:3)

*Elohim is the Hebrew plural form of God used over 2500 times in the Old Testament and, of course, refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

INTENTIONAL EVANGELISM: THE URGENT NEED

Awake [from your drunken stupor and return] to sober sense and your right minds, and sin no more. For some of you have not the knowledge of God [you are utterly and willfully and disgracefully ignorant, and continue to be so, lacking the sense of God's presence and all true knowledge of Him]. I say this to your shame. (1 Corinthians 15:34 AMP)

Excerpted From Our eBook WON by ONE)

Here's The Price That God Had To Pay Because The Need Was So Great:

"92% of All CHRISTIANS WILL DIE NEVER HAVING SHARED THEIR FAITH"  (Barna Research)

The human population of Earth reached 1 billion in the 1800’s, 2 billion in the1900’s, 3 billion in 1959, 4 billion in 1976 and 5 billion in late 1987. On October 12th 1999, the human population of Earth reached 6 billion. In my lifetime the population has doubled from 3 billion in 1959 to the 6,834,213,000 today. This doubling of population which occured over the last 40 years will never come close to happening again.That means it took 6000 years to reach the first 1 billion inhabitants and less than 200 years to grow to nearly 7 billion people for whom Christ died. There are now 700% more people alive today that lived the first 6000 years on Planet Earth. How will we reach them with the Gospel?  Who will tell them? 

But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14 AMP)

What will your first words in Heaven be?  When you get to Heaven and you're standing in front of God, what will you say? "Hey, Dude of Dudes"? Or maybe, "Guilty as charged." Certainly not, "How did I get here?" Or "Holy, Holy, Holy"?


If the statistics above are true, maybe our first words to a Holy God after "Holy! Holy! Holy!" will be: "LORD, I could have got more! "

IMAGINE GOD LIVING IN YOU THROUGH YOU AS YOU

What are your thoughts when you read or hear—

“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but CHRIST LIVING IN ME THROUGH ME AS ME.  The *ZoāLife which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me”?  (Galatians 2:20 DLT)

Do You Think of a Hand in a Glove?

Sporting supply manufacturers and athletic supply stores always experience an uptick in sales of the latest boxing champions glove used in his most recent victory. As if the results were because of the brand of glove and not the hand in the glove. That’s where the Power is—in the hand in the glove.

That goes for every profession that uses gloves—dishwashers, doctors, surgeons, dentists, TSA agents and many others. There are many reasons we wear gloves. These include to keep your hands warm/dry and to prevent contact with other people and things (which may reduce the risk of catching germs and infections).

You might also wear gloves as a fashion statement or as a requirement for participating in an activity; such as baseball gloves for catching the ball or wearing gloves to keep your hands warn during the NFL playoffs in November and December. Or you might wear Kevlar gloves if you are a welder. For the rough and the tough jobs, Kevlar gloves will get the work done. These will not only keep your hands safe from cuts, but also from getting bruised from rocks and pricked from thorns. When you need to work with tough weeds, stone and even glass, these are the gloves to wear.

A hand in a glove is not as a head is to a hat. Since we are a species with and opposable thumb our hands respond to our thinking and desires. Yet, in the mean time, your hands automatically remain restfully available, but when needed they become instantly available without a moment’s hesitation. A head in a hat is not the same picture as a hand in a glove. Though a head in a hat may be covering and protecting a powerful brain in the skull, its thinking and commands cannot be accomplished without the exercise of the hand. Without a hand in the glove it doesn't do anything. It can't do anything.

Right after He entered Jerusalem to die Jesus said, "apart from me you can do nothing." Apart from Jesus we are like the glove–limp and useless. Only when Christ’s Life indwells us we are like the glove with His Hand in it. Jesus wants to us like a hand in the glove. Then He can use us to do all sorts of things through us. Are you a glove by itself or are you empowered as a glove with God’s hand in it?

Pentecost is the day when the outpouring of God's Spirit took place. His indwelling separates the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ from all the other  religions of the World. Pentecost is the day when the Christian Church began and the Lord gave His people His Power—the ultimate Hand in the glove. We are not Hand-in-Glove with God; He is THE Hand-in-the-Glove for us.

Now if we said to a glove, "Glove, just pick up that piece of paper." The glove can't do it on its own. It can't grab anything. But if I put my hand in the glove, you see that now the glove has dexterity and power. It has become a gifted, smart glove that can do many things.

It is the Power of the Elohim--the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit--that than becomes our new Source of Living. The Elohim name of God is first used in Genesis 1:1 and is used over 2500 times in the Old Testament. The Elohim is the Hand in the glove.

Certain relationships are spoken of as “hand-in-glove”. If people are hand in glove, they have an extremely close relationship. But unlike Christ being IN US to empower us, although friends empower us on a limited scale, they can often serve as God’s hand in our glove.

God always takes the initiative, but waits for us to respond to His ever-so-gentle promptings. We all know that His Hand IN the glove (us) that makes all the difference in the display of Power.

But we have this incredible Treasure in earthen vessels we call our body, so that the excellence and superiority, pre-eminence, supremacy and the incomparability of the Power displayed may be of God, and not from us; (2 Corinthians 4:7 DLT)

ALL HAVE SINNED AND MISSED THE INTENDED PURPOSE OF THE CREATION is how God puts it. We were designed to be His gloves. Being human, I know, we can only receive infinite Truth in finite doses. The only thing we can ever offer God is our capacity to be filled by the Elohim. The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to share where they come from--which is Christ In You. 

Can you grasp that God projected Himself out of Himself that He might be Himself in another dimension and He did this in accordance to the promises in His Word. Christ in us AS us is His motive. The Law has to do with doing; Grace has to do with being and our well-being. If God brings you to a thing of Romans 8:28, He will bring you through the thing of Romans 8:29.

Most of us pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that we hurry past it into unintended consequences. These negatively ripple their effects into our families and all we have and will come into contact with. As we walk in the Spirit, everyday will be Sunday to us and all who observe us. Then came Sunday and the stone was rolled away. What a remarkable, breathtaking, overwhelming thought. Amazing and humbling to say the least.

If we are really created in the image and likeness of the Elohim, then clearly it follows that there is nothing in Creation as near and dear to the heart of God as we are then what would it be? That’s why trying to imitate Christ is the ultimate form of merely pretending. To recognize Christ lives in the Believer is the ultimate truth for us to live out. It is imperative that we have appropriate responses to the spiritual events around us. We are not the sum of our parts and our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum total of the Father's Life IN US and it is our real capacity to accomplish His will in and through us.

Trying to grasp these Hand IN THE GLOVE truths of Christ in you with our finite minds is like trying to get a drink of water from a fire hose or attempting to suck up the oceans with an eyedropper. It can’t be done. Instead, we are to reckon upon it by faith. Logizamai is the Greek word for reckon. It means to take an inventory and to use the results to conclude that it is more than true. That is a spiritual faith operation for the Believer “in Christ Jesus”.

REMEMBER, CHRISTIANITY AS WE KNOW IT IS NOT JESUS' FAULT!

*Zoā is the Greek word for God’s pre-existent, uncreated Life—His Eternal Life that indwells every Believer.