Bible teacher, pastor and ministry leader Mark Biltz says Christians may be missing important meanings in Scripture because centuries of translation have separated modern readers from the Bible’s original Hebrew and Jewish context.
In a recent Charisma Media interview, Biltz argued that the problem goes beyond words simply being difficult to translate. In some cases, he believes translators allowed theological and cultural biases to influence how certain words appeared in English Bibles.
“English translators intentionally mistranslated words based on a bias,” Biltz said. “They change the definitions.”
One of his most provocative examples comes from Revelation’s famous phrase “synagogue of Satan.”
Biltz pointed to the Greek word synagoge, meaning an assembly or gathering. In James, he said, translators rendered synagoge as “assembly” when describing believers gathering together. Yet Revelation retains “synagogue” when referring to the “synagogue of Satan.”
“How come you don’t put ‘assembly of Satan’ there?” Biltz asked. “You put ‘assembly’ in James. Why don’t you put — oh, now we want to keep the synagogue with Satan.”
Biltz has made the same argument in his teaching on Revelation, contending that “assembly of Satan” better reflects the underlying term.
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Reading Paul Through Jewish Eyes
Biltz also challenged common interpretations of Paul’s writings.
In Galatians 4, Paul rebukes the Galatians for observing “days, months, times, and years.” Biltz argues Paul was not attacking God’s biblical calendar. He was confronting believers who had previously participated in paganism and were returning to pagan practices.
“He’s not referring to the biblical calendar,” Biltz said. “He’s referring to their pagan calendar.”
Biltz contrasted that language with Colossians, where Paul speaks about Sabbaths and new moons. Understanding the audience and its history, he argued, changes how the passages fit together.
That same principle applies to the Torah.
Biltz said Christians frequently read references to the “end” or “fulfillment” of the Torah as meaning God’s instructions were abolished. He argues “end” should instead convey the goal or destination.
“Torah doesn’t even mean law,” Biltz said. “Torah better is translated as instruction.”
He stressed that this does not mean salvation comes through keeping the Torah.
“We’re saved by grace through faith only,” he said. Rather, Jesus demonstrated what obedience to God looks like.
“He demonstrated it, so we would know how to properly demonstrate it,” Biltz said.
Revelation’s Old Testament Foundation
Perhaps nowhere is recovering that Jewish context more important than Revelation.
Biltz says Revelation contains more than 600 references to Old Testament passages. John and the apostles were Jewish men immersed in the Tanakh, meaning the imagery of Revelation cannot be separated from that foundation.
“You can only put out what’s been put in,” Biltz said. “Everything that John referenced was from the Old Testament.”
That is the larger lesson: We cannot fully understand the final pages of the Bible without understanding the Scriptures that came before them.
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Prepared by Charisma Media Staff.
