The purpose of this chapter is to collect a number of passages from The Clear Word and its editions that do not fit neatly into one of the subjects studied in the other chapters. It is a group of miscellaneous texts arranged in Biblical order, not according to subject matter. The passages studied here may need commentary or may stand on their own when compared with the ESV. As usual, I will have a few words to say following most of the passage comparisons.
Please note that this is not a comprehensive look at passages from TCW that have been changed from their Scriptural meanings. It is a collection of passages throughout Scripture to give the reader an idea of the extent to which Jack Blanco has gone in his rewrite of the Bible. Again, we emphasize that these edits represent the Ellen White-established great controversy worldview that drives Seventh-day Adventist interpretation of Scripture and of reality.
Is the Issue Obedience or Choosing Between Good and Evil?
Genesis 2:17
The Clear Word
…but there is one tree whose fruit you mustn’t eat; this will test your love for me. You must choose between good and evil. If you decide to eat from this tree, you will have chosen evil and will have to die.
English Standard Version
…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
In this verse Blanco has added that God has told Adam that he must choose between good and evil, that the tree will test Adam’s love for God. In the Bible we see that God simply commanded Adam not to eat of the tree. Adam didn’t know evil; there was no choice between good and evil that he could have made. The prohibition against eating required one thing of Adam: that he would trust God’s word and act on it. He wasn’t asked to make a value judgment, nor was he being manipulated to affirm his love for His Creator. He was simply asked not to eat of the tree.
Blanco’s version also removed God’s declaration that if Adam ate, he would die in that same day. The Clear Word leaves room for the Adventist teaching that Adam and Eve didn’t die that day, but they began to die. That they would die spiritually that very day is removed from the text, and human depravity is eliminated from the human story.
Adam and Eve Clothed with Light
Genesis 2:25
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
Adam and Eve didn’t have to wear clothes then because God covered them with His own light.
The Clear Word
Adam and the woman, whom he called Eve, wore no clothes in those days, yet they were unashamed because they were innocent and covered with the light of God’s presence.
English Standard Version
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
In Adventist teaching, Adam and Eve were not truly naked. They were covered with robes of light, as found in the writings of Ellen White:
This sinless pair wore no artificial garments. They were clothed with a covering of light and glory, such as the angels wear. While they lived in obedience to God, this circle of light enshrouded them.1
[When Adam and Eve fell] … the light of the garments of heavenly innocence departed from them; and in parting with the garments of innocence, they drew about them the dark robes of ignorance of God. The clear and perfect light that had hitherto surrounded them had lightened everything they approached; …2
A clear translation such as the ESV simply states that they were naked and not ashamed. Ellen White’s preoccupation with controlling one’s “animal passions” by not eating meat and her prolific counsels against “self abuse” and her warnings against marital excesses are reflected even in her understanding of the Bible’s clear statement that Adam and Eve were naked but not ashamed. She had to find a way to “clothe” them so their bodies were not visible to each other.
Implicit in Blanco’s interpretation and in Ellen White’s statements is the assumption that the body is a sinful temptation. Corresponding to this assumption is the Adventist lack of understanding that sin—their spiritual death—is what elicited Adam and Eve’s shame at their nakedness. Ellen White’s refusal to allow them to be naked reveals her own shame and unresolved guilt.
A Flying Serpent
Genesis 3:1
The Clear Word Bible, 1st – 4th editions
Of all the animals, the flying serpent was the most beautiful and intelligent that God had made. One day Satan used the serpent to speak to Eve. When she came close to the forbidden tree the serpent said, “Didn’t God restrict your freedom by not letting you eat from any tree you wanted?”
English Standard Version
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ’You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
Ellen White provides the information on the serpent with wings:
The serpent was a beautiful creature, with wings; and while flying through the air, his appearance was bright, resembling burnished gold. He did not go upon the ground, but went from place to place through the air, and ate fruit like man.3
Not only is there a flying serpent in Ellen White’s version of reality, but the conversation revolves around whether God had restricted Adam and Eve’s freedom. In Adventism, free will is one of the most cherished beliefs. Free will is cherished so much that God’s sovereignty is limited.4
Although Blanco has eliminated the wings of the serpent in his more recent editions of The Clear Word, he has reintroduced the Adventists to a flying serpent in his new condensation of the five books of Moses, Chosen. There, in the creation story, we find the serpent winged again. Note this has a 2013 copyright date.
… Satan spoke to her through a beautifully colored winged snake resting in the tree.5
Here Blanco has found a way to keep the idea from Ellen G. White in front of Adventist readers without the packaging of a “Bible”. He has put this unique cultic detail into his “devotional” volume, but even in TCW Blanco has represented the serpent as desirable and brilliant instead of “crafty” and devious.
Enoch Walking in a Field
Genesis 5:24
The Clear Word
His life on earth was much shorter than those before him. He knew God so intimately that one day when he was walking in the field, he disappeared, and no one could find him because God had taken Enoch bodily to heaven. This brought hope of eternal life to all who loved God.
English Standard Version
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Blanco draws from the book of Hebrews for part of his details. From Hebrews he reads back into this verse to indicate that Enoch did not see death. According to Hebrews, Enoch was taken because of his faith. Where Enoch was walking or what he was doing, however, is pure speculation—nor does Genesis attach “hope of eternal life to all who loved God” to the story of Enoch. What we can glean from this biblical passage is that God knows His own, and we see an example of His rapturing a faithful man to Himself.
120 Years to Live or to Change?
Genesis 6:3
The Clear Word
God saw this and said, “More and more of my people are turning against me. The human body has become their god. My Holy Spirit will not work with them endlessly. I will give them one hundred and twenty years to change their ways.”
English Standard Version
Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
According to the ESV, man’s days are limited to 120 years. That’s understood as a full lifespan. TCW changes the meaning by having God state that he will give the people 120 years in which to change and turn from their evil ways. Even more, Blanco’s rendering confirms the Ellen White-driven Adventist view that the body was humanity’s downfall, that they had to repent of there fascination with the body. This idea is not in Genesis 6. What may be there is the suggestion that evil had attempted to meddle with humanity and to corrupt it.
Righteous Ones Laid to Rest?
Geness 7:1
The Clear Word
When the ark was finished, the Lord said to Noah, “Probation for the people is now closed; one hundred and twenty years have past. So bring your family and move into the ark. You are the only righteous ones I have not laid to rest.”
English Standard Version
Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation.
Apparently, according to The Clear Word, there were other righteous people in the time of Noah, but God had laid them to rest (caused them to die) so they would not have to go through the devastation of the great flood. Were there too many righteous people to take on the ark? A load of questions arise because of this speculation by Blanco.
His paraphrase contradicts itself in 1 Peter. 1 Peter 3:20b from TCW reads:
God patiently waited for one hundred and twenty years, the whole time that Noah was building the ark. But only eight people decided to come into the ark and be saved.
It’s odd that Blanco would have God lay believers to rest rather than allowing them to make a decision to go aboard the ark.
Building “Permanent” Homes”?
Genesis 11:3–5
The Clear Word
After some time they said to each other, “Come, let’s build permanent places to live. We’ll use baked bricks and tar instead of sandstone and mortar.” When this was successful, they said, “Now that we’ve built this beautiful city, let’s erect a huge escape tower to protect ourselves against any future flood. People from other cities will come to see it, and we will become famous.” Then the Lord came down to take a look at the city and the escape tower they were building,
English Standard Version
And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
The Clear Word indicates that the people were using bricks to make permanent homes, and after that was successful, they decided to make an “escape” tower. A good translation, such as the ESV, indicates that they made the bricks for a city and a tower. Whether this was an “escape” tower or not is simply speculative. We only know that the top of the tower was to be “in the heavens.”
The Bible does not say they were attempting to escape another flood; it does say they were trying to “make a name” for themselves.
Keeping the Festivals
Deuteronomy 16:16–17
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
So three times a year you and all in your family who can should keep these pilgrim festivals. And don’t come before the Lord empty-handed. Bring a gift according to how He has blessed you.
English Standard Version
Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.
The ESV is clear, it is the males who are to make the pilgrimage and appear at these festivals, not the whole family. Yet TEECW and TCWfK indicate that “all in your family who can” should attend these festivals. This would make the pilgrimages more problematic; traveling with family is much different than traveling alone and requires more care and cost to prepare for the journey. It’s simply an odd statement by Blanco, a change to the Scriptures which has no foundation in the Biblical text.
Samuel or an Evil Spirit?
1 Samuel 28:15
The Clear Word
Then the evil spirit impersonating Samuel spoke to Saul, “Why do you bring me back to this land of trouble?” The spirit looked just like Samuel and sounded so much like him that Saul believed it really was the prophet. He answered, “I need your help. The Philistines are getting ready to attack and the Lord hasn’t told me what to do. He doesn’t answer my prayers anymore, and He hasn’t sent a prophet to give me direction. So I’ve come here to ask you what to do.”
English Standard Version
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.”
In Adventism one cannot speak from the dead because one is “asleep” in the grave. There is no spirit (breath) within the individual, so there can be no communication between the living and the dead. This view apparently led Jack Blanco to write the passage as he has. A standard Bible translation tells us that it was actually Samuel who was speaking to Saul. As Christians, we know we are not to attempt anything like this and should never go to mediums. Mediums usually deal with “familiar spirits”, evil spirits who pretend to be a departed loved one, or someone from whom a person is seeking guidance.
Simply because the Bible prohibits such contact with evil spirits, does not mean that God can’t cause the real person’s spirit to “come up” when summoned. In this case, apparently God allowed Samuel to appear to Saul. The witch who summoned Samuel was surprised by who she saw. She expected to see her familiar spirit, but Samuel appeared and that shocked her, and revealed to her that the person seeking Samuel was Saul. (See v. 12.) Furthermore, the person who appeared told the truth, unlike an evil spirit would have done.
Aramaic or a Translation?
Ezra 4:7
The Clear Word
When Artaxerxes I was king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and their associates wrote a letter to him in Aramaic about Jerusalem. They wrote their letter in Aramaic, the official correspondence of the Persian Empire, lodging a complaint against the Hebrews for rebuilding the city wall.
English Standard Version
In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.
Aramaic may have been the official language of the Persian Empire, yet the ESV tells us that it still needed to be translated. Blanco simply alters the details of this text, thus changing the overall context.
Statue of Gold
Daniel 3:1
The Clear Word
During the next twenty years, Nebuchadnezzar gradually changed. He had a statue built to look like the one he had seen in his dream. But he covered the whole statue with pure gold to show that the prophecy was wrong and that his kingdom would last. It was about a hundred feet high and ten feet wide. He had it set up in the plain of Dura near Babylon.
English Standard Version
King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
Did Nebuchadnezzar cover the entire statue in gold, thus contradicting Daniel’s interpretation of the dream? The ESV tells us that the image was an image “of gold” whereas TCW only has the statue “covered” with “pure gold.” Furthermore, Blanco assigns motives to Nebuchadnezzar that the Bible does not say. While on the one hand it’s clear that Nebuchadnezzar was honoring himself as a god, it’s not clear that he was contradicting the prophecy or denying what was coming. We also do not know that the statue he built looked like the one he saw in his dream.
While we often assume he got the idea from his dream, the details are not stated. We are supposed to know that this king was filled with pride and set himself up as a god. He was on a self-glorying track that would soon be judged by the true God.
Temptation in the Wilderness
In this passage we simply have an example of how much twisting of the text is done by Blanco. The temptation in the wilderness is a familiar story to most Christians, yet reading the TCW version of the story, there are a number of unbiblical items included as Blanco has “expanded” this passage of Scripture.
In TCW Satan disguises himself as though Jesus could not identify who he was. In the ESV we simply have the tempter coming to him and tempting.
Matthew 4:1–11
The Clear Word
Immediately after His baptism, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the Judean wilderness to pray and to prepare for His ministry. But the devil would not leave Him alone. While in the wilderness, Jesus fasted for forty days, and He became extremely hungry. Then the devil confronted Him by disguising himself as an angel from heaven. He told Jesus that His fast was over and that His Father had given Him permission to use divine power to turn some of the desert stones into bread. “If you are the Son of God, that should be no problem,” Satan said. But as famished as Jesus was, He recognized who was tempting Him. So He answered, “The Scripture teaches that man is not to put survival before obedience to God’s word.”
But the devil didn’t give up. Next, he picked Jesus up and carried Him to Jerusalem to the highest point on the Temple wall, overlooking the valley below. Then he dared Jesus to jump to prove His faith in God. He even flattered Him for relying so firmly on God’s word and quoted the Scripture which says, “God will instruct His angels to watch over you and take care of you. When you fall, they will catch you.”
But Jesus knew that the devil had twisted the Scripture. So He answered him by quoting another Scripture. “You shall not test God’s love by demanding that He demonstrate His care for you.” Still the devil did not give up. Next he carried Christ to the top of a mountain giving Him a panoramic view of the many luxuries available in the world and all the comforts that go with power and wealth. Then he turned to Jesus and said, “I’ll give you all this, plus all the people in the world, if you will simply acknowledge that I gave it to you.”
Instantly Jesus responded to this offer of a life of ease by saying, “Get away from me, Satan, Because the Scripture says, “Man shall acknowledge God as owner of this planet and worship and serve Him only.” Then the devil left Jesus in the desert. By this time His strength was totally gone, and He lay there dying. But God sent an angel from heaven to revive Him and assure Him of His Father’s approval and love.
English Standard Version
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”
But he answered, “It is written, “’Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
Forgiveness or Not?
John 20:23
The Clear Word
If you tell people that God has forgiven their sins, make sure they have turned away from them. If they have not turned away from them, they have not been forgiven.
English Standard Version
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.
The fact that forgiveness is being asked for is at least an indication that the guilty person is seeking to change with a desire to give up a sin. Blanco has changed this into an investigative type of judgment of a person rather than an offering of forgiveness. Jesus is speaking here about the authority that he is giving to his apostles, not about whether someone has turned from sin or not.
Fulfillment or Partial Fulfillment?
Acts 2:16
The Clear Word
No, this is a partial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy. God said to him,
English Standard Version
But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
The ESV tells us that what was witnessed that day was a fulfillment of the prophecy from Joel about sons and daughters prophesying. In Adventism it can only be a partial fulfillment because believers are awaiting the “latter rain,” an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the remnant church of God (Seventh-day Adventist Church.) Only then will it be a complete fulfillment.6 In Adventism, the Day of Pentecost is referred to as the early, or former rain.
Walk the Road He Did?
Ephesians 2:10
The Clear Word
We are God’s people, created in Jesus Christ to do good works and to walk the road He did when He was here.
English Standard Version
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We can’t walk the road Jesus walked. We can be Christ-like and loving, but we are to walk our own road and do the works that we have been called to do. This verse states that God has made us new creations and has also prepared in advance the work He wants us to do. We are not called to walk Jesus’s road. If we did, we would have to be single men who are ultimately crucified.
All Creation or Just the Great Centers of the Roman Empire?
Colossians 1:23
The Easy English Clear Word and The Clear Word for Kids
The good news about Jesus has been told throughout the Roman world. And I, Paul, am helping to preach it.
The Clear Word
You must continue to place your faith in Him and determine not to be moved away from the hope held out to you in the gospel. This good news has been preached in all the great centers of the Roman Empire, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ whom I serve.
English Standard Version
…if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
The ESV clearly states, “all creation under heaven.” We can’t add to the meaning of the words.
The Lord or an Archangel?
1 Thessalonians 4:16
The Clear Word
When Christ descends from heaven as the Archangel, He will give a shout like a trumpet, which is God’s call to the dead, and those who died in Christ will rise first.
English Standard Version
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Adventism teaches that Jesus is the Archangel Michael. In TCW Blanco has indicated that Jesus will descend “as the Archangel” which is demoting Christ from his position within the Godhead. This rendering clearly demonstrates that Adventists do not understand Jesus to be almighty God, the Yahweh of Scripture. Their Jesus is an archangel, not One of the same substance as the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Law and Gospel in Harmony?
1 Timothy 1:11
The Clear Word
Sound doctrine harmonizes the law and the gospel, which our glorious and blessed God entrusted me to teach.
English Standard Version
…in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
Sound doctrine does not try to harmonize two covenants when one is replacing the other. As we’ve seen in chapter 3 on the Law, the Law is a ministry of death, preparing people for the receiving of the good news of the Gospel. The Law is to be used properly, and making it harmonize with the Gospel is one way in which the Law is misused.
Paganism or Authority?
1 Timothy 2:12
The Clear Word
I do not allow a woman to lord over a man the false claim that a woman was created first as the pagans teach.
English Standard Version
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.
The passage from the ESV clearly indicates that it is dealing with the issue of authority, whereas TCW changes the subject and attempts to contextualize the passage for today’s culture, indicating that some women were following pagan teachings. Adventism will not admit that the Bible teaches that a woman should not exercise authority over a man.
Total Destruction or No Rest?
Revelation 14:11
The Clear Word
The fire of God’s judgment will not rest until those who worship the sea beast and the animal and have the mark of its name are totally destroyed.
English Standard Version
And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.
Because of Adventism’s doctrine of total annihilation of the wicked, this passage cannot be allowed to say that the wicked will have torment without rest “day or night.” Blanco has seen to this verse’s “orthodoxy” with the stroke of a pen.
A Pit or the Earth?
Revelation 20:2–3
The Clear Word
The angel took hold of the dragon, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, and bound him to this planet for a thousand years. It was like throwing him into a dark pit and sealing it so he could not escape. The angel confined him to earth, and he had no one to deceive until the thousand years were over. That’s when the wicked will be raised to life, which is known as the second resurrection. Satan will again be active, but only for a little while.
English Standard Version
And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
Adventism teaches that the earth will be desolate during the millennium, that Satan will be bound to the earth, and that his confinement on an empty earth is “like” throwing him into a dark pit. The ESV is clear that Satan is “bound” and thrown into a “pit” for one thousand years.
Conclusion
As can be seen, Blanco has twisted numerous passages of Scripture throughout the Bible specifically so that The Clear Word will be in harmony with Seventh-day Adventist thought. From a serpent with wings to providing forgiveness, Blanco has ensured the Adventist orthodoxy of his paraphrase.
Endnotes
- White, Ellen G., The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 1870, p. 25.
- White, Ellen G., Daughters of God, 1998, p. 25.
- White, Ellen G., Daughters of God, 1998, p. 25.
- See Douglass, Herbert, God at Risk: The Cost of Freedom in the Great Controversy Between God and Satan, 2004. Published by Amazing Facts, Inc.
- Blanco, Jack J., Chosen, 2013 pp. 15-16.
- See Brown, Cynthia J., Ten Days of Preparing for the Latter Rain, 2010. “A Harvest Seekers’ Ministries Publication.” A large manual including numerous Ellen White quotes about how one is to prepare for the “latter rain” outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
- I Followed the Voice of Another Shepherd - November 9, 2023
- 12. In Conclusion - October 26, 2023
- 11. More Bible Texts Compared - October 19, 2023