I have been doing video interviews of people who represent an area of the Seven Mountains of Influence in past issues. I was not able to schedule a zoom recorded interview this month. So, I’m going to do something a bit different. While on a trip to Kalispell this year, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting which featured Brian and Candace Simmons, lead translators of the Passion Bible. I had heard a lot of favorable comments about the Passion translation, and I was eager to hear their hearts.

It was an enjoyable evening of worship music which preceded Brian’s presentation. He and his wife have taken on a monumental task in translating the entirety of the Bible, which they hope to complete by 2028.

I did a little research before attending the evening presentation, as I had just completed my book, Ekklesia Declared!, so, I was anxious to see how The Passion Translation (TPT) handled Matthew 16:18.

“I give you Peter, a stone.  And this truth of who I am will be the bedrock foundation on which I will build my church—my legislative assembly …”

Considering my research, and having published a book on Matthew 16:18, I was a bit chagrined to find that Brian had elected to use the term “church” for what I believe is Ekklesia, not an “essential equivalent,” as is the philosophy of the TPT.

“That’s the governing philosophy behind The Passion Translation^®: to transfer the essential meaning of God’s original message found in the biblical languages to modern English. We believe that the essential meaning of a passage should take priority over the literal form of the original words, while still ensuring the essence of those words is conveyed, so that every English speaker can clearly and naturally encounter the heart of God through His message of truth and love.” (Copied from The Passion Translation website: About the Lead Translator – The Passion Translation )

Brian made an interesting statement which caught my attention during his presentation. “Jesus never spoke a word of Greek.” I was anxious to meet him and inquire if his statement was accurate as I believed if Jesus never spoke any Greek, He uttered one Greek word with intentionality, Ekklesia.

It was a long line of admirers who assembled around Brian, but I was determined to ask my one burning question, “You mentioned that Jesus never spoke any Greek in your presentation. How do you account for Matthew 16:18?”  He got a smile on his face and gave me a single line response, “That opens a whole can of worms.” With that statement, I knew he was on the spot and this was not the time or place for him to explain his position. I handed him my card, thanked him for his time and anticipated I would never hear from him. In his defense, he reached out to me inviting me to join a Facebook group he led. I declined his invitation as I felt a Facebook group was not the forum for him to respond to me.

My concern is that I believe a translator, a pastor, a theologian, a Berean (in spirit), all have a responsibility to be accurate with the Word.

In the Old Testament, man decided that God needed a house. God who had always been mobile and uncontainable, now was to be housed in a Temple.

It is interesting that God showed Himself in a mighty display which is defined as the Shekinah Glory found in 2 Chronicles 7. As the weeklong celebration winds down, we are told that Adonai appeared to Solomon in a dream. He promises Solomon, “if you walk before Me as your father David walked, doing all that I have commanded you, keeping My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne. But if you turn away and forsake My decrees and My mitzvot that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot them from My land which I gave them, and this House which I have consecrated for My Name I will cast out of My sight.”

We know what happened. Let’s fast forward, to Matthew 16:18. Yeshua made this declaration before His death, burial, and resurrection. A new advent was about to begin. He had just declared that He was going to tear the Temple in Jerusalem down and rebuild it in three days! He tells them before His ascension that He was sending another Comforter…. wait for Him. He declares His new Spirit-filled followers would be His Ekklesia, His ruling, governing community. He didn’t say church. The word church didn’t come into existence till the late 1500’s. In the early 1600’s a king formalized the English word to church and declared himself head of the church of England, named the Bible he had commissioned after himself and wrote a book about the Sovereignty of the crown. Any red flags?

Should we accept “essential equivalency” for every word of Scripture? Or, for declarations of Adonai (God), Yeshua (Jesus) and the Ruach (Holy Spirit), maintain literal integrity?

Most of our translations are taken from using KJV as a foundation. If there have been mistakes or liberties taken in translation, I wonder how Revelation 22:18-19 applies? Have these men placed themselves in danger of the consequences outlined in these two verses? Did the nearly 50 theologians from England’s best seminaries acquiesce to the king and disobey the King of Kings?

Just a side observation. It has been just over 400 years since the making of the King James Bible. Is God shaking the institutional church? I believe the answer is yes!

Translational integrity is important. I have linked an addendum titled, “Why I Like the Tree of Life Version of the Bible.”

If you want to gain a better background about the history behind the King James Bible and the controversy surrounding Matthew 16:18, please consider purchasing a copy of Ekklesia Declared! (available via Amazon).

I welcome your response to my thoughts on translation and our responsibility to the Word. Do you feel that we need to stay accurate to the original language, or is “essential equivalency” enough? You can contact us here.