After hearing a recent message given at Melodyland, I was quite troubled concerning the remarks about Witness Lee and the study of God’s Word in the local churches. The speaker’s remarks reveal that he knows little of the real situation, and I question whether he has ever attended a meeting.
“How many have your Bibles here?” the speaker asked in that meeting at Melodyland. After the Bibles and hands were raised, he commented, “Not enough!” But I have observed that in all the local church meetings, everyone brings his Bible. In my experience as a pastor I found this situation at Melodyland to be typical, revealing not only neglect to bring the Bible to the meeting, but more than that, neglect to open the Bible daily and spend time in individual Bible study. The speaker, while addressing that same audience, and knowing very little of the lives of those in the local churches, made this accusation: “The local church does not have individualized Bible study. All study is exactly in harmony with Witness Lee.” On the contrary, however, my experience and observation these past six years in the church in Los Angeles has been the opposite. My own individual study of the Word of God has increased and surpassed that which I did as a seminary student and as a pastor. Also, I have observed that this is the experience of those who are in the local churches in Orange County and throughout the world. I have to say also that I praise the Lord for Bible study in harmony with Witness Lee. Having had the opportunity to sit under the ministry of some of the best Bible teachers, no one that I know of ministers the riches of the Word like this man. And yet, it is ironic that rather than receive these abundant riches, there are those who would rather occupy themselves with the same art as the Pharisees and scribes of the Lord’s day who sought only to find fault, “...that they might find an accusation against him” (Luke 6:7).
The speaker went on to deride the Recovery Version of the Bible. He says, “One of the other traits that mark this as cultic is that they have in their so-called Bible studies Recovery Versions of the Bible.” Does the translating of the Bible make the translator cultic? What a slander this is! He goes on, “The Recovery Version consists of the text of Scripture, sometimes altered or added to by Lee.” I have had six years of Greek and three years of Hebrew, and I find that the Recovery Version is an accurate and true translation of the original language of the Bible, not the Scripture text “sometimes altered or added to.” In comparison, Letters to Street Christians, a paraphrase of the Epistles, whose author, Jack Sparks, the writer of The Mindbenders is endorsed by the speaker, is written in language that not only is of the street, but at times goes into the gutter. I would be ashamed to give a copy to my sister, mother, wife, or daughter.
Having spent fourteen years under some of the best Bible expositors, I was surprised when I came to the church in Los Angeles to find that the Lord had gone on and had opened the Word of God through the ministry of Witness Lee in a way that was far beyond what I had seen or heard. For this rich ministry of the Word I am grateful because this ministry has changed my life and living.
In the meeting at Melodyland opposing Witness Lee and the local churches, the speaker made a very serious charge. He said, “One of the other traits that mark this [the local churches] as cultic is that they have in their so-called Bible studies Recovery Versions of the Bible. The Recovery Version consists of the text of Scripture, sometimes altered or added to by Lee.”
He is charging Witness Lee with altering and adding to the text of the Scripture. We want to answer this charge strongly and clearly. I personally, together with Witness Lee and two other brothers, am responsible for the text of the Recovery Versions. I can state with absolute certainty that the words of the text have never been altered or added to. Every week we meet together and cover a large table, four feet wide and eight feet long, with all kinds of versions of the Bible, together with the inter-linear Greek-English text and numerous word studies and lexicons. Our goal is to ascertain from the original language, by comparison with many versions, and with the help of word studies and lexicons, the most precise wording in modern English to utter the sacred text. We do this work very strictly, carefully, and prayerfully, word by word, phrase by phrase, verse by verse.
Every time before we translate, we pray, “Lord, renew our minds and cover us with Your precious blood. Keep us fully in the Spirit, and may Your Word come forth just as You would want it.” We seek to be those who are poor and contrite in spirit, who tremble at His word (Isa. 66:2, Heb.), and not be “as many, which corrupt the word of God” (2 Cor. 2:17). Thus, we are absolutely not altering the text or adding anything to it. We consider our version to be the most accurate.
We ask the speaker at Melodyland to point out which word, which verse, in which chapter, we have altered or added. Let him show us, if he can, one instance in the Recovery Version that is not true to the original language of the Bible. He has made a serious, and we believe, a reckless and unsupported charge.
Because of the nature of this charge, having to do with the Word of God and our fundamental faith, we declare that this is something for which the speaker is legally responsible. We all know that if anyone alters or adds to the Word of God, it is a most despicable and abominable thing, deserving of the curse of God (Rev. 22:18-19). So to charge us with such a sinful act is not a light matter. We must make this matter very clear. We ask the speaker to respond. If he really considers that some part of our text is at fault, he should point out specifically the problem. If he is unable to do this, he certainly should apologize and make public rectification, for he has made such a gross charge in public.
Moreover, the speaker says that the fact that we have made another version of the Bible is “one of the...traits that mark [the local churches] as cultic.” But, we ask, “Is it cultic to have another version?” Because some heretical cult like the Jehovah’s Witnesses have their own translation, does it make us cultic because we have been burdened to produce another version? This is not sound reasoning. Because the unbelievers build houses and we also build houses, does that make us unbelievers? “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
Furthermore, the speaker at Melodyland, in a mocking tone, said that he “was not under the impression that the text [of the Bible] had been lost, but according to Witness Lee it has now been recovered.” At no time have we ever said that the text of the Bible has been either lost or recovered. This is the speaker’s unfounded sarcasm. We praise God that the text of the Bible has been preserved through all the centuries. We have chosen to call our version of the Bible the Recovery Version because God today is in the process of recovering the testimony of His church among His people, and we are in His recovery. May the Lord vindicate His testimony.
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