Things You Catch Third Time Around

Since I was in Georgia last weekend, we started showing the Tampa debate with Greg Stafford in the Bible Study class I teach at PRBC. We continued that this morning, since we hadn’t quite finished my opening statement last week. I had presented the first portion of the debate in my Systematic Theology class at GGBTS a few weeks ago as well, so I have now heard Mr. Stafford’s opening statement three times. But it was not until this morning that I caught something (that I wish I had caught then). Mr. Stafford places a lot of emphasis (I think quite wrongly) on John 10:30-35 as if the Lord Jesus is identifying Himself as a similar kind of lesser “god” just as the “gods” of Psalm 82. But as I was listening to him make his presentation this morning, I caught that he was quoting from the NWT. And as he read it again, something struck my attention. I pulled up the passage on my Tungsten T3 (which, of course, aside from having the LDS Scriptures installed, likewise has the NWT), and discovered the following translation of John 10:35: “If he called ‘gods’ those against whom the word of God came, and yet the Scripture cannot be nullified….” See what I see? The NWT translates “pros” as “against.” About the only reason I can see for this rather unusual translation is that the “translators” are providing their interpretation: the word of God came “against” these “gods,” i.e., the “gods” of Psalm 82 are, in fact, false judges. The NWT seemingly sees Psalm 82 as being “against” those who are called gods, and this could only refer to a concept of judgment (and in that case, they are right in their understanding of Psalm 82). But this is not the use being made by Mr. Stafford. I found it ironic that a plain reading of his own translation militates against his own interpretation (but supports mine).