CC BY
6УДК 226.3
Kavinsky V.V.
Independent Researcher, Voronezh Кавинский В.В. независимый исследователь Воронеж E-mail: kavbj7@gmail.com
Logic in the NJKV Scripture. The Gospel According to Mark 16:16 Логика в Писании NJKV. Евангелие от Марка 16:16
Abstract: The article proves that men's salvation is possible only through their faith and baptism. The study is based on one verse of the New Testament Scripture of the New Version of the King James Bible (NKJV)—the Gospel According to Mark 16:16. This verse is translated from the ancient Greek manuscript of the New Testament (edited by R. Stephanus, 1550). The main result is that the necessary and sufficient conditions for the salvation of each person are proved.
Аннотация: В статье доказывается, что спасение человека возможно только через его веру и крещение. За основание исследования взят один стих Священного Писания Нового Завета новой версии Библии короля Иакова (NKJV) — Евангелие от Марка 16:16. Этот стих переведён из древнегреческого манускрипта Нового Завета (подред. Р. Стефануса, 1550 г.). Главный результат — доказаны необходимые и достаточные условия для спасения каждого человека.
Keywords: Holy Scriptures (NKJV); Greek manuscript of the New Testament (edited by R. Stephanus, 1550); necessary and sufficient conditions; propositional logic; proof by contradiction.
Ключевые слова: Священное Писание (NKJV); древнегреческий манускрипт Нового Завета (под ред. Р. Стефануса, 1550); необходимые и достаточные условия; логика высказываний; доказательство от противного.
Introduction
This work proves the statement of the Gospel of Mark that a person's salvation is only possible through his faith and baptism (according to that faith). The study is based upon a verse of the New Testament Scripture from the New Version of the King James Bible (Nelson's NKJV Study Bible, Second Edition; briefly-NKJV) — the Gospel According to Mark 16:16 [4]. This verse is translated from the ancient Greek manuscript of the New Testament (Textus Receptus, edited by R. Stephanus, 1550) — the Gospel According to Saint Mark 16:16 [5].
The methods of mathematical logic — propositional logic — are used extensively in the work.
In the first part of the work, this proof is based on convincing Bible verses, —proof by the Scriptures'" ("showing from the Scriptures'". Acts 18:28) (NKJV) [4].
In the second part of the work, the method of propositional logic is applied— —proof by contradiction." The necessary and sufficient conditions for the salvation of each person are also given and proved.
The main result of the work: For the salvation of a person, it is necessary and sufficient that he believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized according to this faith.
From work [7], some references are taken, as well as a method for creating detailed and visual tables of the studied verses of Holy Scripture. This article differs from the work [7] and [8] in that it examines in detail the New Testament Scripture of the New Version of the King James Bible (NKJV)—Mark 16:16. This verse is translated from the ancient Greek manuscript of the New Testament (Textus Receptus, edited by R. Stephanus, 1550)—Kara MapKov 16:16. Also, the article and bibliography have been edited for the English-speaking audience only. Standard evidence methods are used—similar to those used in [8].
Important Note
The main conclusion of our work extends to translations of the Holy Scriptures into all languages of the peoples of the world, not just English, as these translations are based on the original manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures. One of the important manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures was an ancient Greek manuscript, the 28th edition
of the Greek New Testament, edited by Nestle-Aland (Stuttgart, 2012), whose verse (Mk. 16:16) was thoroughly researched and proven in [8].
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK
One statement of the Evangelist Mark is being investigated (The Gospel According to Mark 16:16, briefly—Mk. 16:16) (NKJV) [4].
1 Salvation Through Faith (Proof by the Scriptures)
Evangelist Mark writes that a person receives salvation only through faith in Jesus Christ and water baptism as proof of this faith.
Let us examine this verse from the original manuscript of the Greek New Testament (Textus Receptus edited by Robertus Stephanus, 1550) [5].
[Robert Estienne, typographer and scholar, also known as Robert Stephani, or Stephanus in Latin, was born in Paris, France 1503-1559].
1) Consider the verse (Mk. 16:16) in the work of R. Stephanus [5]:
— Greek original text of the entire verse (Mk, 16:16):
«о nizzevzag ка\ важтювещ omOrfoexai, о Ss anmzrfzag KazaKpiOrfaezai» (Ката MapKov 16:16) [5, 105].
— English translation (NKJV):
«He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned» (Mk. 16:16) (NKJV) [4].
We see that the text of the original manuscript of the Greek New Testament (Textus Receptus edited by Robertus Stephanus 1550) (Капа MapKov 16:16) [5] and the English translation of the same verse in the New Testament Scripture of the New Version of the King James Bible (NKJV)—Mk. 16:16 (NKJV) [4] are semantically identical.
Therefore, the further course of our proof will correspond to the verses of the Holy Scriptures of the New Version of the King James Bible—Mark 16:16. (NKJV).
2) For ease of study, let's consider this verse (Mk. 16:16) in parts—(Mk. 16:16a)1 and (Mk. 16:16b)2 (NKJV) [4].
1 a is the first part of the verse.
2 b is the second part of the verse.
Then the studied verses (Mk. 16:16a) and (Mk. 16:16b) in the Holy Scriptures of the New Version of the King James Bible (NKJV) will be as follows [4]:
a) «He who believes and is baptized will be saved» (Mk. 16:16a).
b) «but he who does not believe will be condemned» (Mk. 16:16b).
3) Let's summarize the obtained data about the verses (Mk. 16:16a) and (Mk. 16:16b) in the form of the following Tables 1 and 2 (similar to [7]):
Table 1 — The NKJV Study Bible: Second Edition, Mk. 16:16a
Greek 0 nioTSÛoaç Kai PanxiaQsiç aroQ^GSxai
Symbols T-NSM V-AAP-NSM CONJ V-AAP-NSM V-FPI-3S
Strong's Greek Lexicon Numbers G3588 G4100 G2532 G907 G4982
English the definite article He who believes and is baptized will be saved
Table 2 — The NKJV Study Bible: Second Edition, Mk. 16:16b
Greek 0 ôè dntGT^aa^ KaxaKpiQ^asTai
Symbols T-NSM CONJ V-AAP-NSM V-FPI-3S
Strong's Greek Lexicon Numbers G3588 G1161 G569 G2632
English the definite article but he who does not believe will be condemned
Consider the first part a) of verse (Mk. 16:16a): — «He who believes and is baptized» (Mk. 16:16a1) (NKJV) [4]. The second part b) of the verse (Mk. 16:16b) is not yet considered. For unbelievers, God is the Judge (Maybe they will believe and be saved).
We will carry out the proof by the biblical method — —proof by the Scriptures'"—Holy Scriptures of the New Version of the King James Bible.
4) All the words included in the statement of the Evangelist Mark (Mk. 16:16), as well as the entire Bible as a whole (NKJV), are true. Let's prove it.
First, the Evangelist Mark wrote his Gospel under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is the truth:
— «because the Spirit is truth» (1 Jn. 5:6). (NKJV) [4].
Secondly, the Lord God is the truth:
— «But the LORD is the true God» (Jer. 10:10) (NKJV) [4].
Thirdly, Jesus spoke not from Himself, but from the Father:
— «The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works» (Jn. 14:10) (NKJV) [4].
Thus the word of God is truth (NKJV):
— «Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth» (Jn. 17:17).
So, all the words of Holy Scripture are indeed true!
5) Jesus Christ fully trusted His Father (God):
— «Trust, rely (eng. Trust; lat. Fiducia). Trust in something or someone, often used as the main description of faith (lat. Fides; Ps. 31:14; 115:9)» [3, 289].
— «Believing - "niarcvaaq " (Root form: "rcioTstiw"). V-AAP-NSM: Verb, aorist, active, participle /gerund, nominative, singular number, male genus»;
— «Strong Number: 4100: Believe, entrust, trust» [6, 58].
It is also known that Jesus received water baptism (from John the Baptist — that is, fulfilled all righteousness):
— «It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan» (Mk. 1:9) (NKJV) [4].
So, all the conditions of the first part of this statement (Mk. 16:16a1) are completely true—"proven by the Scriptures."
6) The conclusion, i.e. the second part of the verse (Mk. 16:16a) reads:
— «will be saved» (Mk. 16:16a2) (NKJV) [4].
Let us prove that this assertion is also true.
Indeed, Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as a sin offering:
— «how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?» (Heb. 9:14) (NKJV) [4].
Christ took upon Himself the sins of many people out of love for man:
— «so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation» (Heb. 9:28) (NKJV) [4].
Therefore, God resurrected Him and exalted Him above all:
— «Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father» (Phlp. 2:911) (NKJV) [4].
It is also known that Jesus Christ was resurrected for our justification:
— «who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification» (Rom. 4:25) (NKJV) [4].
7) It is also known from the Bible that Jesus Christ constantly intercedes for our salvation before God the Father:
— «Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us» (Rom. 8:34) (NKJV) [4].
Therefore, just like Jesus Christ, we must believe and be baptized:
— «He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked» (1 Jn. 2:6) (NKJV) [4].
By accepting Jesus Christ by faith, we have become His children:
— «But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name» (Jn. 1:12) (NKJV) [4].
Baptism allowed us to make a "water covenant" with the Lord (1 Pet. 3:21) and to put on Jesus Christ by faith:
— «For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ» (Gal. 3:27) (NKJV) [4].
The Lord fulfills His promise to save believers:
— «and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus» (Eph. 2:6) (NKJV) [4].
Hence, the second part of the statement (Mk. 16:16a2) is proved.
So our assertion (Mk. 16:16a) in the texts (NKJV) [4]:
— «He who believes and is baptized will be saved» (Mk. 16:16a), completely "proven by the Scriptures." #
2 Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Salvation
From formal logic, the concepts of a necessary and sufficient condition for something are known:
«The notions of necessary condition and sufficient condition are themselves interdefinable:
(D1) A is a sufficient condition of B =df the absence of A is a necessary condition of the absence of B.
(D2) B is a necessary condition of A =df the absence of B is a sufficient condition of the absence of A» [1].
It follows from these definitions that if A is a necessary condition for B, then B is a sufficient condition for A, and vice versa.
Any expression of the form A => B will be called a conditional expression. We call A the antecedent of the conditional and B the consequent.
Then our definition of necessary and sufficient conditions for conditional sentences of the form A => B will have the following form:
If A is a sufficient condition of B (or formally A => B), it will typically be the case that B is a necessary condition for A, and the falsity of B a sufficient condition for the falsity of A (-B => -A), because (A => B <=> -B => -A).
The concepts of direct and inverse theorems are connected with the concepts of necessary and sufficient conditions (in mathematics and logic).
Formulating a theorem of the form —If A, then B" (or formally A => B), they establish the sufficiency of condition A for B. Establishing the fact that the converse theorem "If B, then A" also takes place means indicating that A is also a necessary condition for B (since "If B, then A" (B => A) is equivalent to "If not-A, then not-B"). Or (B => A <=> -A => -B.) [2, 16].
Let's apply these concepts to our verse (Mk. 16:16) and prove them.
1) We will assume that capital letters of the Latin alphabet A, B, C, ... denote some statements [2, 4].
Formulas that are always true, regardless of the truth or falsity of their prime components, we will be called valid or identically true, or tautologies, and denote them with the sign = [2, 12; 2, 14].
Let us introduce the following notation for statements for (Mk. 16:16):
— Let A denote the statement: «He who believes and is baptized.», B — the statement: «will be saved» (thesis for Мк. 16:16a). Then the expression:
If «He who believes and is baptized», then «will be saved» — written in the form: "If A, then B" or in "formal form":
A => B (1)
where A and B are any two arbitrary statements, A is the premise of the implication (antecedent), B is the consequence of the implication (consequent).
— Similarly, A (-A) - denotes the negation (inversion) of A, or in our notation: «but he who does not believe»; respectively, 5 (or -B): «will be condemned»; (i.e. not saved — negation of the thesis for Mk. 16:16b). Then the expression:
If «but he who does not believe», then «will be condemned» — written in the form: "If A, then B" or in "formal form":
A => B (or -A => -B) (2)
2) Let us prove the sufficiency condition = (A => B), where =A, =B.
Statements A and B about salvation are tautologies (=) because they are talking
about eternal salvation, i.e. eternal life in Jesus Christ. This was proven earlier
(section 1.4) by the Holy Scriptures. Therefore, the formula (1) A => B is a tautology.
8
But according to (D1) this is a sufficient condition for the salvation of man. Thus, the condition for the sufficiency of the verse (Mk. 16:16a): «He who believes and is baptized will be saved» is proved. #
3) Let us prove the necessity condition: l (B => A), where l=A, l=B.
To do this, we apply the method of propositional logic—proof —from the contrary" (i.e., the opposite).
— Assume "the opposite" that "not-A" (-A, or A) is true.
There is a tautology (l ) in propositional logic, the law of contraposition:
l ((B => A) <=> (A => B)). (3)
So, assuming the truth of -A, we came to the conclusion -B, because according to the law of contraposition (3): l (-A => -B). But this contradicts the initial condition (3) and (1). From the established falsity of -B according to the law of the excluded middle (B V -B) [2, 16], the truth of B necessarily follows, i.e. the truth of the very proposition that must be proved (the law of double negation [2, 16] is applied here: - - B <=> B).
The necessity condition is proved. #
Formula (1) A => B: «He who believes and is baptized will be saved» (Mk. 16:16a) (NKJV) — satisfies the sufficiency condition.
Formula (2) (B => A) <=> (-A => -B: «but he who does not believe will be condemned» (Mk. 16:16b) (NKJV) satisfies the condition of necessity.
Thus, the necessary and sufficient conditions for salvation are proved.
The main result of the work:
For the salvation of a person, it is necessary and sufficient that he believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized according to this faith.
3 Conclusion
Summing up this study, the following important conclusions can be drawn.
1) It may seem that the Holy Scripture (Bible) is reduced to formal logic and cause-and-effect relationships. But it's not.
We accept and cognize Holy Scripture only by faith!
But some of his statements can be proved by logic (that is, by the ability to reason correctly, to draw correct conclusions, etc.). (Prov. 8:12; 1 Cor. 10:15) (NKJV).
2) The proven statement (Mk. 16:16) can be viewed not as knowledge (subject), but as a predicate — a guide to action (repentance). For this, God gave His Son Jesus Christ to death:
— «For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life» (Jn. 3:16) (NKJV) [4].
Therefore, the scientific community, like all people, really needs to obey God and repent, accept Jesus Christ into their hearts by faith and, having been baptized, have eternal life in His Name.
So, the following statements have been proven:
1. The statement of the Evangelist Mark (Mk. 16:16a) was proved by the Holy Scriptures (the so-called "proof of the Scriptures") [4].
2. The necessary and sufficient conditions [1] for the salvation of each person are given and proved. For example (Mk. 16:16) (NKJV) [4].
This study convincingly proves that a person who believes and is baptized (by faith) in Jesus Christ is indeed saved!
References
1. Brennan, Andrew. (2017), "Necessary and Sufficient Conditions." In : The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta. [Electronic resource] — URL: https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/necessary-sufficient/ Date of access 09.11.2022.
2. Kleene, S.C. (2002), Mathematical logic, Dover Publications, Inc., Mineola, NY, 411 p.
3. McKim, D.K. (1996), Westminster dictionary of theological terms. Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 316 p.
4. Nelson's NKJV Study Bible, Second Edition. (2007). Earl D. Radmacher, general editor; (eBook), Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 2341 p.
5. Stephanus, R. (2007), Holy Bible. Greek New Testament. Robert Estienne (a.k.a. Stephanus), 3rd ed. Editio Regia, Paris, 1550. Reprint. Christian Classics Ethereal Library (eBook), Grand Rapids, MI, 542 p. [Greek].
6. Strong, J. (1890), A Concise dictionary of the words in the Greek Testament; with their renderings in the authorized English Version. Abingdon Press, Nashville, New York, 77 p.
7. Volodchenkov, M.I. (2020), "Logika v Biblii. Mark 16:16." In: Problemy nauki ["Logic in the Bible. Mark 16:16. Problems of Science]. M., No 3 (51), pp. 18-23 [in Russian]. (DOI: 10.24411/2413-2101-2020-10301).
8. Volodchenkov, M.I., Kavinsky V.V. (2022), "Logic in the Bible. The Gospel of Mark 16:16." In: «Procvetanie nauki» [«Prosperity of Science»]. «Umy sovremennosti» [«Minds of the Modern»]. M., No 9 (15), pp. 30-39. (DOI: 10.24412/2713-0738-2022-915-38-52).
