[b:f97ab0206a]1 John 5:7-8[/b:f97ab0206a] (King James) [i:f97ab0206a]For there are three that bear record [u:f97ab0206a]in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth[/u:f97ab0206a], the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.[/i:f97ab0206a]
[b:f97ab0206a]1 John 5:7-8 [/b:f97ab0206a](New American Standard) [i:f97ab0206a]For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.[/i:f97ab0206a]
The modern Bible versions omit 1 John 5:7b-8a on the basis that it is not found in the majority of Greek manuscripts, especially those of early date. However, there is more evidence to be considered than the Greek manuscripts themselves, such as the writings of early theologians and early translations. The following outline (from [
www.jesus-is-lord.com] ), illustrates how the King James reading of 1 John 5:7 is well supported throughout Church history:
● A.D. 200: Tertullian quotes the verse (Gill, An exposition of the New Testament, Vol. 2, pp. 907-08 ).
● A.D. 250: Cyprian…writes, “And again concerning the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit it is written: ‘and the Three are One’” (Vienna, Vol. III, p. 215).
● A.D. 350: Priscillian cites the verse (Vienna, vol. XVIII, p. 6).
● A.D. 350: Idacius Clarus cites the verse (MPL, Vol. 62, col. 359)
● A.D. 350: Athanasius cites the verse (Gill)
● A.D. 415: Council of Carthage appeals to the verse as a basic text proving a fundamental doctrine when contending with the Arians (Ruckman, History of the New Testament Church, Vol. I, p. 146)
● A.D. 450-530: Several Orthodox African writers quote the verse when defending the doctrine of the Trinity against the gainsaying of the Vandals. These writers are:
○ Vigilius Tapensis (MPL, Vol. 62, col. 243)
○ Victor Vitensis (Vienna, Vol. VII, p. 60)
○ Filgentius (MPL, Vol. 65, col. 500)
● A.D. 500: Cassiodorus cites the verse (MPL, Vol. 70, col. 1373)
● A.D. 550: Old Latin manuscript R has the verse.
● A.D. 550: The “Speculum” contains the verse.
● A.D. 750: Wianburgensis cites the verse.
● A.D. 800: Jerome’s Vulgate includes the verse.
● A.D. 1150: Miniscule manuscript 88 [has the verse] in the margin.
● A.D. 1200-1400: Waldensian Bibles have the verse.
● A.D. 1500: Manuscript 61 has the verse.
● Various witnesses cited in Nestle’s 26th edition for a replacement of the text as it stands with the Comma: v. l: 2318 vg [cl]; 629, 61, 88, 429 v. l; 636 v. l, 918; L; R; and other important Latin Manuscripts.
From the extant citations of 1 John 5:7, we see it being used as early as A.D. 200 by Tertullian. Also, the Waldensian Bibles contain 1 John 5:7 as it reads in the King James Bible. The Waldensians, the ancient Christians of the Piedmont region, were also known as the “Vaudois.” In his book [i:f97ab0206a]Answers to Your Bible Questions[/i:f97ab0206a], David Daniels relates the importance of the testimony of the Waldensians’ Bibles: [i:f97ab0206a]“Now the 'Waldensian' or 'Vaudois' Bibles stretch [b:f97ab0206a]from about 157 A.D. to the 1400’s A.D.[/b:f97ab0206a] The fact is, according to John Calvin’s successor Theodore Beza, the Vaudois [b:f97ab0206a]received the Scriptures from missionaries of Antioch of Syria in the 120’s A.D. and finished translating it into their Latin language by 157 A.D.[/b:f97ab0206a] This Bible was passed down from generation to generation, until the Reformation of the 1500’s, when Protestants translated the Vaudois Bible into French, Italian, etc. This Bible carries heavy weight when finding out what God really said. John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards believed, as most of the Reformers, that the Vaudois were the descendants of the true Christians, and that they [b:f97ab0206a]preserved the Christian faith[/b:f97ab0206a] for the Bible believing Christians today”[/i:f97ab0206a] (emphasis mine).
History tells us that the Roman Catholic religion was relentless in its efforts to destroy the Vaudois and their Bible. It took them until the 1650’s to finish their merciless attacks. But the Waldensians were successful in preserving God’s Word to the days of the Reformation. They received their Latin Bible from faithful Christian missionaries from Antioch of Syria. Irenaeus himself used the Old Latin and may have even been one of the missionaries to Piedmont. The Old Latin (not to be confused with Jerome’s Vulgate) contains the full text of 1 John 5:7-8 as it reads in the King James and its Greek text, the [i:f97ab0206a]Textus Receptus[/i:f97ab0206a].
1 John 5:7 is supported by the Old Latin manuscripts which read, [i:f97ab0206a]“Quoniam tres sunt, gui testimonium dant in coelo: Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus sanctus: et hi tres unim sunt. Et tres sunt, qui testimonium dant in terra: Spiritus, et aqua, et sanguis; et hi tres unim sunt.”[/i:f97ab0206a] This Latin wording (which matches the KJB) is important because of the same wording used by Cyprian, who writes, [i:f97ab0206a]“Dicit Dominus: ‘Ego et Pater unum sumus,’ et iterium de Patre et Filio et Spiriu sancto scriptum est: ‘Et tres unim sunt.’”[/i:f97ab0206a] (The Lord says, “I and the Father are One,” and again, of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost it is written: “And the three are One.”) This reading is not only found in the Old Latin manuscripts, but was also cited by Cyprian around A.D. 250.