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Was Korah's revolt a foreshadow of the Protestant revolt by the reformers of the 16th century?

Protestant Reformers of the 16th Century

by Frederick Pogorzelski.

The important thing to remember about heresies is that they seldom completely die out. For example,the zeal of the Protestant reformers of the 16th century, especially in England, led them to try to eradicate the Catholic doctrine of the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass, by destroying the altars on which it was offered. This is similar to what the Donatists and Arians had done in the fourth century.

Early Protestant reformers of the 16th century like Martin Luther, Martin Bucer, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin promoted individual judgment and interpretation of the Bible. They rejected outside authority (John 17: 20-23) (Luke 10: 16) that is, the Holy Spirit sent upon the Church by Christ, to teach and guide the Church as a universal body in matters of faith and morals. In effect, we had Korah’s revolt on a grand scale (Num. 16:2-33) (Jude 1:4-8). This revolt or protest of Protestantism, similar to a modern day Korah's revolt continues today. What is the reason for the continued protest? Will Christ be pleased with it?

Early Protestant reformers of the 16th century also eliminated, from their canon of Sacred Scripture, the deuterocanonical books of the Traditional Bible [ Latin Vulgate, (LV) 406 A. D. ] of the Catholic Church. The Traditional Bible had been in use for over 1000 years, and supported Catholic doctrine like prayer for the dead and Purgatory found in ( 2 Maccabees 12:45,46 NRSV ) " . . . Hence, he had this expiatory sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin . . . " In part, the thesis of the Protestant reformers of the 16th century was in some words to this effect: " . . . the Jews in Alexandria, Egypt had a different source of inspiration from those shared by the Jews in Jerusalem . . . " Again, this was in part, based on the belief that the original language of composition of the deuterocanonical books, was Greek and not Hebrew. The thesis of the Protestant reformers of the 16th century is not supported by recent archeological findings. Relatively recent archeological findings and analysis of the Dead Sea scrolls (Qumran) of 1947 revealed that several deuterocanonical books were originally composed in Hebrew. I wonder now, if the Protestant reformers of the 16th century, would have eliminated the deuterocanonical books, from their canon of Sacred Scripture, had they known at that time what we know today about the findings and analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, and the Hebrew versions of the deuterocanonical books? I wonder now, if Protestant Churches of today, would acknowledge the archeological evidence found at Qumran, and also the archeological evidence of inscriptions on tombstones indicating prayers for the dead? There is an eternity more to gain by drawing closer to Christ, and the Church that He founded. Why not start by Making the Sign of The Cross? Why not also start by accepting and using the longer Traditional Bible; the canon of Sacred Scripture used for over 1000 years prior to the reformation? ( Philippians ) 2:1, 2 " . . . If, therefore, there is any comfort in Christ, any encouragement from charity, any fellowship in the Spirit, any feeling of mercy, 2. fill up my joy by thinking alike, having the same charity, with one soul and one mind . . . "

The Sign of The Cross.
In the name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

In their own presumptuous way, and promoting individual authority, the Protestant reformers of the 16th century adopted a shorter 66 book canon of the Holy Bible. The Protestant reformers of the 16th century did this based on the archeological evidence available to them at that time, and to suit the new doctrines they invented - "sola scriptura" and "sola fide". This citation is from the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Page 1041, #38. " . . . It was once thought that the extra (deuterocanonical) books in the Alexandrian canon had been composed in Greek and not Hebrew or Aramaic the sacred languages known in Palestine. Actually, a good number of the deuterocanonical books were originally composed in Hebrew (Sir, Jdt, 1 Macc) or Aramaic (Tob). The Qumran discoveries prove that some of these books were in circulation in Palestine and accepted by Jewish groups there . . . "

A call to Protestant and Catholic Unity.

The short 66 Book Hebrew Canon of the Bible.
Circling the Wagons.

The Bias of the Age.
The Zeitgeist.

Another early church problem that continues today is the bias of the age or the Zeitgeist. [ Zeitgeist = a German word meaning the dominant moral and intellectual character of a particular period. The bias of the age. ] For example not forgiving old injuries or wrongdoers that deeply affected the culture at that time. Many of the Christian evangelists and apologists used the Alexandrian canon ( Septuagint LXX ) composed in Greek. Hellenists Jews from outside Palestine had their own synagogue where the Bible was read in Greek. The Hebrews were native Palestinian Jews with their own synagogue. Their language was Aramaic and their Bible was read in Hebrew. There were complaints and disputations amongst these two Jewish groups ( Hellenists and Hebrews ), who used different languages, as is noted in ( Acts 6:1-2 ).

The Jews, considering their history, and the earlier desecration of the Jewish temple by the Greeks, [Remember: Antiochus Epiphanes who ruled over Syria and Judah from 175-164 B.C. Antiochus invaded Jerusalem, and desecrated the Temple and the altar of sacrifice. Antiochus Epiphanes sought to force Greek culture, language, and manners on the Jews. Epiphanes took Jerusalem ( 167 B.C. ) and enforced its Hellenization; Jewish rites were forbidden on pain of death.] along with theological controversies and disputes, would sometimes lead themselves (the Jews) into making detrimental comments about the Greek canon of Sacred Scripture. Later, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., by Roman General Titus, the Jews favored using only those books written in Hebrew for their sacred books. The Jews having been severely injured earlier by the Greeks, and now the Romans, were effectively circling the wagons. [ If I can be forgiven for using a colloquial expression from the American Old West! ] Remember, the Apostles called by Christ used and often quoted from the Greek, Alexanderian Canon of Sacred Scripture, the Septuagint, ( LXX ). The Septuagint, begun about 280 years before Christ, was the Bible used by the Jews of the Dispersion in Asia and Egypt, and by Christ and the Apostles. Even today, the Ethiopian Jews accept the longer Greek canon as Sacred Scripture. The Septuagint contained the Catholic number of ( 46 ) Old Testament books. It is from these 46 books that the New Testament speakers and writers quote when refering to the Old Testament. Even the Protestant International Bible Commentary acknowledges this. Jesus Christ came to testify to the Truth. Christ would therefore have had a moral obligation to speak out, on such an important matter as the canon of scripture, if the Apostles, He was sending out, were in error or wrongly equipped. Its too easy to overlook the following elementary point: The Jews never acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. Considering the bias of the age ( the zeitgeist ), how can the Jews be trusted to be a deciding factor in the Christian canon of the Bible?

Protestant Reformers of Today

I recommend to Protestants of today to Forgive very Old Injuries - real or imagined.
Rise above the Bias of the Age.
Rise above the Zeitgeist.

Protestant Ministers and their followers should consider the above, along with the archeological findings of the Hebrew versions of the deuterocanonical books at Qumran ( Dead Sea Scrolls ), and start using the same Traditional Bible as the Catholics. And start making the Sign of the Cross - just as Catholics do today - and the early Christians did.

Saint Augustine of Hippo, 354 A.D. - 430 A.D. " . . . There are many kinds of alms the giving of which helps us to obtain pardon for our sins; but none is greater than by which we forgive from our heart a sin that someone has committed against us . . . "