Matthew 28:2
 
Matthew 28:2
(KJV) And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
(1611 KJV) And behold, there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord descended from heauen, and came and rolled backe the stone from the doore, and sate vpon it.
(1587 Geneva Bible) And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the Angel of the Lorde descended from heauen, and came and rolled backe the stone from the doore, and sate vpon it.
(1526 Tyndale) And beholde ther was a greate erth quake. For the angell of ye lorde descended from heven: and came and rowlled backe the stone from the dore and sate apon it.
 
Counterfeit Versions
(CSB) There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.
(NIV) There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.
(NASV) And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
(THE MESSAGE) Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it.
(NLT) Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it.
(ESV) And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
(CEV) Suddenly a strong earthquake struck, and the Lord's angel came down from heaven. He rolled away the stone and sat on it.
(1901 ASV) And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
(HCSB) Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached [the tomb]. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.
(RSV) And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
(DOUAY-RHEIMS-Roman Catholic) And behold there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it
(NAB-Roman Catholic) And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it.
(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) And, notice! a great earthquake had taken place; for Jehovah’s angel had descended from heaven and approached and rolled away the stone, and was sitting on it.
 
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
kai idou seismoV egeneto megaV aggeloV gar kuriou katabaV ex ouranou proselqwn apekulisen ton liqon apo thV quraV kai ekaqhto epanw autou
 
Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
kai idou seismoV egeneto megaV aggeloV gar kuriou katabaV ex ouranou kai proselqwn apekulisen ton liqon kai ekaqhto epanw autou
 
Corrupted Manuscripts
This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
B 03 - Vaticanus - Fourth century
D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century
700 - (Minuscule) Eleventh century
892 - (Minuscule) - Ninth century
 
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
W 032 - Fourth/fifth century
Theta 038 - Ninth century
 
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Omit “from the door”
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Von Soden, Freiherr - 1902
 
Affected Teaching
Here we have the narrative of the women going to the tomb to finalize the proper burial custom for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, when they arrived at the tomb they were about to experience a life changing event. The Lord Jesus Christ had already arisen but the tomb was still sealed which meant that the Lord Jesus had previously come through the walls of the tomb and departed out of it. When the women arrived at the tomb there was a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord had descended from Heaven and rolled the stone away from the door of the tomb. The tomb was not opened so the Lord Jesus could come out, the tomb was opened so the people could go in to see for themselves that the Lord Jesus Christ had arisen from the dead and the angel was there to confirm that fact to the women. Just as the tomb could not hold the Lord Jesus Christ, so it will be that those who died in Christ throughout history will not be hindered from their resurrection by any situation, whether it is disintegration of their body or being buried in a grave. Death has no power and resurrection has no hindrance for those given eternal life by the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Now back to the verse above. God included the phrase “from the door” in the text of the Greek. It is obvious from the context that it is referring to the stone which sealed the tomb. It is important to realize that context never supersedes text. If God has written it in the text of the Greek, it is not to be omitted and left up to context to figure out what is in view. That would be tantamount to “assumptive hermeneutics.” We are never to leave to assumption what God has given in clarity of text. However, the modern versions cause their adherents to consistently use “assumptive hermeneutics” and this method has resulted in the massive amounts of false teachings which began to prevail in the churches ever since Satan began publishing the counterfeit versions of the Bible.
 
(Luke 24:49-50 KJV) And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. {50} And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.  Two weeks ago I had offered Luke 24:49 as another mutilated verse whereby the modern versions left out the words “of Jerusalem.” When we look at verse 50, we see that the Lord led them as far as Bethany where He ascended into Heaven. Now Bethany was about 2-3 miles to the east of Jerusalem. So if we leave out the term “of Jerusalem” and invoke assumptive hermeneutics, then we could come to the conclusion that the Lord wanted them to remain in Bethany since that is where they were at the time.
 
Luke 24:49-50 ESV
{49} And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." {50} Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.
 
Luke 24:49-50 NIV
{49} I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." {50} When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
 
I would caution anyone who uses a modern version that when you must assume something when the King James gives a specific word about something that you abandon that modern version. If anyone thinks specifics are unimportant, they need to read again the guidelines which God gave for the building of the Tabernacle, Temple, and Ark of the Covenant, never mind the specific ways in which the priests were to prepare and offer sacrifices. Just as Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10) offered strange fire before the Lord, so likewise, the modern versions are also offering strange fire before the Lord.
 
(Judg 21:25 KJV) In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
 
Let me paraphrase the above verse concerning the modern versions. “Everyone read what was right in their own minds.“ Stay with the King James Bible and God will not leave you wondering as these modern versions do.

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