The Thematic Bible 

1. The Thematic Bible http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/01055.htm (Click to advance through the show) A Revolution in the Bible Reading experience

2. What’s it all about? (Click to advance to the next slide) • The Original writings of the Bible (OT and NT) used no chapters and verses whatsoever. • Each Book was a series of sentences with little or no punctuation or spacing to indicate divisions. For example, the Dead Sea scrolls used only spacing to indicate divisions. • Chapters and verses were added to the Bible text in later centuries to aid in the memorization of specific passages of Scripture. • The Old Chapter-and-Verse Method • The Chapters of the Bible as we know it today originated with S. Langton in the 13th Century. The Verses originated with R. Stephanus in the 16th Century. He divided the Bible text while riding on horseback from Paris to Lyon, France. • Starting with the Geneva Bible, all Bible translations from that time forward adopted this method of dividing the Word of God until this day. All translations other than the Thematic Bible™ use this method. • The intention of this effort was a good one: to aid the memorization of specific passages of the Bible, as noted above. The unintended result, however, was to add a “filter” to the Bible text which destroyed the ability of most people to truly see the units of thought placed there by God through the Scripture writer.

3. What’s wrong with the old Chapter-and-Verse system? (Click to advance to the next slide) • The chapters and verses are illogical, almost random divisions of the text which, in almost all cases, do not follow the units of thought within each Book of the Bible; making it very difficult for the average Christian reader to understand the “forest”, because so much attention is paid to “little trees”. • “The first step in interpretation is to ignore the modern chapter and verses” (A.T. Robertson, An Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, pg. 101). • “The verse divisions of Stephanus which he, according to an incidental remark by his son, made during a trip from Paris to Lyons, frequently do not do service to the sense of the text. There is no consistent method at work in this system. The verses sometimes coincide with a single sentence, and sometimes they include several sentences; sometimes a single sentence is divided into two verses, with the result that the reader is led to consider the second verse while forgetting the point of view of the first verse. Especially objectionable is the way in which words introducing a direct quotation sometimes belong to the preceding verse and sometimes to the verse in which the quotation is found” H. von Soden, Die Schriften des Neuen Testamentes (Goettingen: Vandenhoeck, 1912), I, 484.

4. If the Chapter and Verse system is so bad, why is it still being used today? (Click to advance to the next slide) • “That’s the way it’s always been.” (Is that really a good reason for not fixing the problem?) • “It’s too expensive to fix.” (How does that measure up to the teaching of the Bible that we ought to give God our very best, rather than an offering covered with blemishes and imperfections? Is this really the best translation that we can produce for the benefit of God’s people?) • “Look at all these Bible help books that would have to be updated.” (That sounds like pure laziness) • “Ask your pastor what the Bible means.” (What happened to the priesthood of the Believer? Don’t Baptists believe in that anymore?) • “We’re not smart enough to do better than the KJV translators.” (The Chapter-and-Verse issue is completely separate from the Text issue; unless you insist on Holy Spirit Inspiration applying to something that the Apostles and Prophets had nothing to do with: that places you in the Ruckman camp for sure.) • In essence, Christian leaders have said to those confused by the old system: “We know the chapter and verses are poorly done, but we have all these massive tomes of Bible helps for those who have the motivation to try and “decode” the “filter” over the Bible text: so tough nuts if you don’t like it. And if you really want to be a scholar, go to Bible College.” (Maybe most people don’t have the time or calling to go to Bible College! With that attitude, no wonder most Christians don’t bother to read the Bible much.) • It just goes to show how bad ideas, once they get adopted by the masses, become such an immovable object that it takes an irresistible “force [as it were]” (such as God) to get it to change.

5. Introducing (Click to advance to the next slide) The most exciting translation of the Bible ever printed The Thematic Bible

6. The Thematic Bible uses a completely new approach to dividing the Holy Scriptures. • The Old Chapter-and-Verse system is completely gone. • Each unit of thought in the Bible text is now clearly demarcated as a Section, Chapter or paragraph. • This new system reveals facts not previously known about the Bible • There are exactly 400 chapters in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation • Every Section (if applicable) has FIVE Chapters, and every Chapter has NINE Paragraphs. I call this “The Rule of Nine and Five”. • Genesis-Deuteronomy each has TWO Sections with FIVE Chapters in each Section, and NINE paragraphs in each Chapter. The same is true for Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Matthew-Acts. Joshua, Judges, Job, Proverbs, Daniel, Zechariah, Hebrews, Romans, I & II Corinthians and Revelation all have FIVE chapters. All other Bible Books except Psalms (150 chapters) have only ONE chapter of NINE paragraphs each. • Psalms and Proverbs operate under special rules because of their unique content compared with the rest of the Bible. Each of the Psalms divides into Three paragraphs/verses; and Proverbs contains a combination of Nine, 400, and 100.

7. How is this possible? (Click to advance to the next slide) • By allowing everything which belongs together to simply stay together in a paragraph rather than artificially chopping the text into bits, the Bible text naturally (or rather supernaturally) forms itself into an orderly arrangement governed by “The Rule of Nine and Five”. • The “Rule of Nine and Five” REQUIRES the use of the Traditional texts (OT Massoretic and NT Received). • The so-called “critical” texts (Wescott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, etc) have certain strategic portions of the Bible DELETED from their source Greek texts (the Alexandrian Sinaiticus and Vaticanus). For example, the stories of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery and the resurrection of Christ at the end of the Gospel of Mark are deleted from the critical texts. It turns out that these two stories in particular constitute complete paragraphs, without which the “Rule of Nine and Five” would be IMPOSSIBLE. • The Traditional Texts (Textus Receptus/Received Text and the Massoretic Text), on the other hand, have faithfully preserved the words of God given to the Prophets and the Apostles through the witnesses of the thousands of manuscripts available (“There is safety in a multitude of counselors”). • “The Rule of Nine and Five” clearly marks every page and word of the Bible (in the original languages) as Divine in origin. The Thematic Bible™ is the only translation in the world that clearly shows “The Rule of Nine and Five” on its pages. These are the “Fingerprints” of God on his most Holy Book, the Bible. • Since the “critical” texts lack the “fingerprints” of God, it proves that they have been tampered with by satanic agents intent on the Bible’s destruction, and therefore lack the Divine blessing on their usage. • Only the Textus Receptus and Massoretic Text underlying the King James Version and the Thematic Bible clearly demonstrate the “fingerprints” of God, and therefore the Divine blessing rests upon any translation which relies solely upon them, and clearly and accurately translates them. Unfortunately, the KJV cannot show the “Rule of Nine and Five”, since they used the old Chapter and Verse system of Stephanus.

8. Where did the “Rule of Nine and Five” come from? (Click to advance to the next slide) • The “Rule of Nine and Five” was discovered by allowing the Bible text to come together according to its’ own internal rules. • “Whatever belongs together, stays together” is the rule. For example, the “Sermon on the Mount” in the Gospel of Matthew has nine paragraphs, which also form a complete Chapter in the larger picture: • The Blessings (or Beatitudes) • You are the salt/light of the world • Do not think I have come to destroy the Law… (Jesus confirms the Divine origin of the Law of Moses) • You have heard that it has been said… (Jesus contrasts the oral traditions of the Jews with the true Word of God) • Instructions about prayer, fasting, and forgiveness (when you do charitable deeds, when you pray, when you fast…) • Instructions about money and earthly possessions • Do not judge… • Asking and receiving • The difference between confession and possession • In Section One (The Kingdom of God is offered to Israel by Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews), the “Sermon on the Mount” forms one of five Chapters of the Gospel of Matthew as follows: • Jesus Christ is presented to Israel as the promised Son of David • Jesus Christ is presented to Israel as the promised Prophet like Moses preaching the Sermon on the Mount • Jesus Christ is presented to Israel as the Great Physician-Priest who heals their sicknesses and forgives their sins • Jesus Christ is presented to Israel as the Final Judge and Lord over all things • Jesus Christ is presented to Israel as the One who feeds his people with bread and flesh in the wilderness • In Section Two (The offer of the Kingdom of God is taken away from Israel, and Christ begins building his church of both Jews and Gentiles), Matthew enters a completely new phase of the earthly Life of Christ • Jesus begins preparing his first church when he will not be there in person to pastor them • Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem as their promised King riding upon a donkey, but is rejected • Jesus teaches his disciples concerning the events of the time between his First and Second Coming • Jesus Christ is both betrayed and denied by those within the group of twelve apostles • Jesus Christ fulfills all the Scriptures of the Prophets regarding his crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection • Amazingly, we find that all four Gospels and Acts are divided in the same way: Two Sections of Five Chapters each, with Nine Paragraphs in each Chapter. The parallel Books of the OT are the Five Books of Moses, which are also divided in exactly the same way: Two-Five-Nine.

9. (Click to advance to the next slide) • We understand from the teaching of the Bible itself that God is the Author of the Scriptures; and therefore his Revelation to mankind (the Bible) reflects his character: one of ORDERLINESS and DESIGN, just as we find throughout the material Universe. Design in the material Universe implies a Designer; design in the Bible text powerfully suggests a Divine Author for the Bible, from the first word of Genesis to the last word of Revelation. • The old chapter and verse system is almost random in nature. This implies that the Scriptures themselves are only the works of mere men. Even though the words of Scripture teach otherwise, it sets up an unnecessary conflict in the mind of most readers between the claims of Scripture and the form of what they read every time they open their Bible translation. This is completely unnecessary and a tragic loss for God’s people. • The “Rule of Nine and Five” confirms what God’s people have always known: that the Bible originated in the mind of God and was infallibly and inerrantly communicated to mankind through the mediation of holy men of God as they wrote down the words that God either spoke directly to them or guided them to write down. This inspiration applies to every “jot and tittle” of the Original Writings of the Prophets and Apostles, and even to the tenses of the verbs. • The Thematic Bible provides powerful new evidence that God’s people can present to the world of unbelieving sinners that all the claims of the Bible are literally true, and therefore eternally binding upon their souls. Rejection of Jesus Christ and the Bible is not the right option. • Now, not only can people read the words of Scripture that claim that they must repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ or be damned in Hell forever, but now they can VISIBLY SEE that the words of the Bible are given by the hand of Almighty God. • I predict that this visible witness to God’s authentication upon His precious Word will be a powerful force to bring millions of souls to Jesus Christ for salvation in these Last Days before his Second Coming. I believe that God raised up TLHS Publishing in these Last Days for this purpose: for His honor and His glory. I thank God for his mercy and calling. • There is actually NOTHING NEW in the Thematic Bible: the Rule of Nine and Five has always been there, but hidden from the eyes of man. All TLHS Publishing has done is “polish” and “scrub” the Word of God clean of the old Chapter and Verse system, and allow the Word of God to be grouped together in the way that it always should have been.

10. What are some of the implications of the Rule of Nine and Five? • This is an EXPLOSIVE discovery which will revolutionize Bible reading forever: those who have been advocating the “critical” texts who are honest will be forced to acknowledge that they have been wrong about the Traditional texts; and God willing, the critical texts will go into the dustbin of bad ideas rejected forever. However, liberals will likely never acknowledge their error, because then they will have to humble themselves and repent of their false teachings; and for some, that will be impossible: no matter what kind of evidence is presented. • The Theory of Evolution is now proven to be a complete fraud, because the Book of Genesis is clearly demonstrated by the Rule of Nine and Five to be an integral part of the seamless, perfect Word of God, rather than a Book of myths and legends as many liberals have derided it. • The Books that have been under the greatest assault by Liberals (Genesis, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah) are all now clearly seen to be divided the same: 2 Sections, 5 Chapters, 9 Paragraphs each. They are proven by the Rule of Nine and Five to be internally cohesive and unified in their message and authorship. The Liberals have tried to say that each of these Books has multiple authors, and therefore were not credible or true. Instead, it is they who have been proven to be neither credible nor true. • The “Rule of Nine and Five” PROVES that Jehovah is the only true God, and that all other “gods” and their religions are false and satanic in origin, because no other “religious” book (such as the Koran, the books of Mormonism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.) can claim such Divine Authentication as the Bible. • The “Rule of Nine and Five” VINDICATES those who have faithfully clung to the Traditional texts over the last 100 years in spite of the overwhelming popular support for the critical texts in almost all major Christian schools and universities.

11. What are the advantages of the Thematic Bible over the old way? (Click to advance to the next slide) • The Bible makes much better sense, even to the uninitiated. • It is much easier to read through an entire Book without getting lost in the details. • The Theme of each Section, Chapter or Paragraph is much easier to discern; and hence, the name of the translation: the Thematic Bible. • There are far fewer pages in the Thematic Bible than your typical translation, since there are far fewer artificial divisions in the text. This makes a much more compact Bible compared with all other translations; making it much less expensive to print the Bible; and therefore this will aid the free distribution of the Bible by Missionaries. • All of these things will result in more Biblically literate and knowledgeable Christians everywhere the Thematic Bible is used regularly, because the Bible is far more interesting and understandable when you can see the larger picture of each Book. And, with the built-in help that the Section and Chapter headings provide, churches who use the Thematic Bible will become much more grounded in sound Biblical doctrine than those who do not.

12. Facts about theThematic Bible™ (Click to advance to the next slide) • The Thematic Bible relies solely upon the Traditional Biblical texts to support its’ translation: the Massoretic Hebrew Text for the Old Testament, and the Textus Receptus (or Received) Greek text for the New Testament. These are the same original language texts used by the King James or “Authorized” Version. • TLHS Publishing uses only “The Holy Scriptures in the Original Languages” (a combination Greek/Hebrew volume) published by the Trinitarian Bible Society to support any changes to the English translation founded upon the text of the King James Version of the Bible. The NT text corresponds with “The New Testament in the Original Greek according to the text followed in the Authorized Version,” edited by F.H.A. Scrivener, 1894 & 1902. • The Thematic Bible has no missing portions of Scripture, unlike most other modern-language translations today which rely upon the corrupt critical texts. • The Thematic Bible is a word-for-word translation which shuns the usage of “Dynamic Equivalency” (e.g. substituting “pig” for “sheep” as some modern-language “bibles” do), worldly slang and cursing, and changing the text to conform to a liberal, One-World, homosexual and/ or feminist political agenda (some recent translations have attempted to portray God as female in nature and minimize or eliminate references to the Blood of Jesus Christ which is central to the Gospel; others attempt to play down condemnations of homosexuality as wicked and sinful). • The Thematic Biblemajors on grammatical correctness, but not woodenness: the text is very clear and understandable by those who know the LORD. Sinners, of course, can never truly understand the Bible until they receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and rely upon the Divine Author of the Scriptures (the Holy Spirit) to help them truly understand the Word of God. • Italics are used to indicate all words which were added by the translator for emphasis or clearer meaning in contrast to most other modern translations which tend to mask possibly dangerous theological changes to the text. • The overall effort is an attempt to produce the most trustworthy English translation possible, in tandem with the brand-new Section, Chapter, and Paragraph divisions which bring understanding of the Bible to new heights: not just for Bible scholars, but anyone who loves the LORD.