History of Bible Translations. Part 1. Why it is Important to Own a Bible.

It happened in 1536AD, as William Tyndale was burning at the stake, that he spoke words in prayer that still echoes through the ages, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” Events leading to Tyndale’s martyrdom began centuries before, when God in heaven began stirring men to translate the sacred texts of the Holy Bible into common languages. At that time, the texts of the Holy Bible was written in the Latin language only, translated from the original Greek and Hebrew languages by St. Jerome of Stridon between 383-404 AD. It was the responsibility of trained Roman Catholic Church Clergy and Scholars to read and interpret texts of the only Latin Bible to the common people.

Then came Reformers like John Wycliffe who began opposing the Church Clergy’s monopoly of the Sacred Scripture, and becoming critical of the papacy broke away from Church and its traditions: And the Church of England Augustine of Canterbury started in the 3^rd century, renounced the authority of the papacy under the direction of King Henry VIII in 1534 AD. Committed to the belief that God’s Word should be available to everyone, the Reformers argued that this would allow the people better attain God’s purpose for creating mankind and priority to see Christ the Lord in everyone. Therefore, Aldhelm the bishop of Shelbourne translated portions of Psalms in 639AD, Bede the Saxon monk translated the gospel of John in 672AD, Egbert the bishop of York translated sections of the gospels in 750AD, King Alfred the Great translated selections from Exodus and Acts in 849AD, and Aldred the scribe produced the Lindisfarne gospel in 968AD. The first complete Bible by Miles Coverdale was released in 1522AD, followed by the Great Bible in 1539AD, the popular Geneva bible in 1560AD, and the Bishop’s bible by bishop Cranmer that better reflected the Anglican doctrine in 1568AD.

But the Church Clergy, since distracted from God’s purpose and priority by the pursuit of wealth and advantage, saw the reformers and their translations as a threat to their theological, political, and institutional authority. Citing doctrinal errors and disregard for Church traditions, argued that only trained scholars like themselves could interpret sacred texts: And that allowing the common people to read Scripture for themselves, was heretic. Leaving the reformers to wonder and pray, ‘Why put your Church traditions and pursuits above God’s desire and priority? Lord, open their eyes.’

This is our wonder and prayer today, as we present the first-of-its-kind Scripture, ‘The One Gospel (TOG) Bible,’ and ‘The Book of Revelation Explained (BRE).’ Not only will TOG strengthen your existing knowledge of who Christ the Lord is, BRE reveals all mysteries that have happened, are happening, and will happen around you and in the world until the end of time. Clearly, God’s priority for everyone is exceedingly more important than everything else in life, including religious and non-religious doctrines and traditions. Open everyone’s eyes Lord, to take Your desire and priority seriously. These unique Scriptures will help you and family members easily attain the purpose for which God sent you into this world at birth. It is important you buy copies for yourself and for family members, especially the children. Or give a donation to help someone in the world receive a free copy of Scripture. To learn more, visit, www.householdonthehill.org.