An open letter to the Living Church of God, publisher of Tomorrow's World magazine.

One e-mail, three letters, and more than two years without correction or reply, it is time to bring this matter to an issue in the public square.  May the following provide factual and substantial support for why the Christian is to obey the imperative to "[p]rove all things" (1Thessalonians 5.21).  This is to say, whatever is submitted to you to be believed as true do not accept without first trying to learn the genuineness of it by examination and testing (cf. Acts 17.111).  Put all things to the test.  Hold firmly to that which passes the touchstone of Scripture.  Reject the rest.  No word of any ministry---or this web site---is above scrutiny.

Dear Living Church of God, Page 9 ("Questions & Answers") of the January-February 2004 Volume 6, Issue 1 of Tomorrow's World reads: "Q[estion:]  Does Revelation 20:10 teach that the Beast and the false prophet will spend eternity being tormented in burning hellfire? "A[nswer:]  This is a common misunderstanding, caused by translators' (and many readers') careless assumptions.  First, take a look at the verse in question.  'And the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.  And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever' (Revelation 20:10). "Notice that the word 'are' is in italics.  This means that translators added the word, and that it is not part of the original Greek manuscripts.  A more accurate English rendering would be 'were cast'---since at the time of this verse, the Beast and false prophet have already been cast into the lake of fire (cf. Revelation 19:20).  The pronoun 'they' in the next sentence is also a translator's interpretation, added to the New King James Version but rightly absent from the King James Version. "Thus, an accurate translation of the verse would be:  'The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the Beast and false prophet were cast, and he shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever.' "Now, the sense and meaning of this verse becomes clear.  Satan, the Devil, will be thrown into the lake of fire.  He will be the one who is tormented day and night. . . ."2 Your translation "he shall be tormented" requires basanisthesetai, the future passive indicative 3rd person singular of basanizo (see Revelation 14.10).  Each of ten different Greek texts I work with reads Revelation 20.10 with basanisthesontai ("they shall be tormented"), the future passive indicative 3rd person plural of basanizo; not the 3rd person singular basanisthesetai.  I wish to know upon what Greek text Tomorrow's World based its translation. If your translation of Revelation 20.10 in the said edition of Tomorrow's World is erroneous---the manuscript evidence reveals that it is---I respectfully ask that you fulfill your moral obligation and issue a public correction for the sake of any soul your article may have misled. Thomas John Dexter

Notes: 1  Cf. also Susanna 1.48. 2  View the full article in the Jan-Feb PDF available here.

·  Home

The author implores checking his charge against the Living Church of God and Tomorrow's World against Scripture using the tools of biblical interpretation.  Please be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Copyright © 2004-06 by Thomas John Dexter.  All rights reserved.  The matter of this work may be reproduced for distribution, but it is not to be sold.