The Word

Hanging on a wall of my office, I have an Ephesians "title page" from a pre-1650 King James Bible. A title page is a single two-sided page or sheet taken from an ancient Bible which could not be sold as a complete Bible, because it was already missing many pages. Sellers of antique Bibles don't tear Bibles apart just to sell individual pages (at least the one I dealt with doesn't).

I chose Ephesians because it is one of my favorite books in the New Testament, mainly because of its numerous references to God's choosing us for salvation. I find comfort in that particular doctrine of grace in that, before the foundation of the world, God chose to set me (and many others) apart for salvation-- not because of anything we had done or would do. Simply because of His grace. But that's not the point of this post. Back to the title page.

The paper has yellowed over time. The font is similar to "Old English" but is not so ornate as to render it undreadable. One of the interesting things about the page is the way certain words are spelled. For instance, the word "be" is spelled "bee" (like the insect); also, anywhere the letter "s" appears in the middle of a word, it appears as a lower case "f"; words ending in "s", the letter rmains unchanged...so the word "Ephesians" acutally reads "Ephefians." It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of the "f" vs. "s" spelling/style, the text flows pretty well. Which brings me to the most amazing part of the page.

As I mentioned, the page is from a pre-1650 Bible, making it over 300 years old! That's older than the Declaration of Independance! And yet, if you compare the text to a modern printing...there is virtually NO CHANGE in the wording. God's Word is unchanging. People have tried to destroy it (without success), many dismiss it, others ignore it, some of us neglect it...but the Word of God stands. The same words that were "dictated" to the Apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit almost 2000 years ago, then printed onto a page some 1600+ years later have stood the test of time and the assaults of men and demons. This Word has not and will not fail to accomplish ALL that God has determined it will do.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

NOTE: I realize the page pictured above is from the Book of Galatians. I couldn't get a picture of the actual page I own. Also, if you are interested in purchasing an antique Bible or title page, visit greatsite.com