Recently I posted an email titled, ‘RAY COMFORT ANSWERS… IS KING CHARLES THE ANTICHRIST?!?’
In it, I explained how Ray had chosen the famous Australian impersonator and comedian, Ben Price, to be his Director of King Charles’ Coronation Gospel Tract Outreach in London on May 6, 2023. I also questioned the validity of using someone like Ben Price in Christian ministry like this, referencing Ephesians 5:4 warning against “jesting”.
As I received some flak over this allegation, I thought I would investigate the matter and expand on it some more. Briefly, this is what I was shocked to find:
1) Almost all modern Bible version editors have changed the text and in most cases removed the word ‘jesting’ from the KJV verse.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/ephesians/5-4-compare.html
2) Hundreds of leading Greek scholars and modern Bible commentators and editors have deviously tried to change or remove this word from the KJV text to hide its real meaning, especially important in the light of Christian apostasy in these ‘last days.’
3) In the KJV, the word ‘jesting’ in Ephesians 5:4 is translated from a unique Greek word in the Textus Receptus that occurs only once in the entire New Testament ‘eutrapelia’ (Strong’s Greek 2160 – Strong’s definition is incorrect). The KJV Greek scholars translated this word ‘jesting’ and it occurs only once in the entire KJV Bible.
4) So what does ‘jesting’ really mean? The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the word to mean, “A joking or mocking remark.”
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jest
The MacMillan Dictionary defines ‘jesting’ – “to speak in a way that is not serious.”
https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/jest_2
5) So why did the KJV translators use this specific word in the KJV published in 1611? What did this word ‘jesting’ mean to them at the time they translated their Bible? Well, English court jesters were traditionally part of the household of royalty in England throughout medieval and Renaissance times and the translators were well informed about them. A court jester was sometimes called a fool or joker and many called them ‘licensed fools.’ They were employed to entertain guests or perform at historical-themed events. Many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences. Jesters were occasionally used for psychological warfare by the monarch. After King James I came to the throne, he employed Archibald Armstrong known as ‘Archie’ as his favorite court jester and he granted him a pension of two shillings a day in 1611, the same year the KJV Bible was first published. So there can be no doubt that the KJV translators chose this word carefully in translating eutrapelia to ‘jesting’ and were well aware of its precise meaning The Miriam Webster Dictionary definition is therefore correct.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester
A church service in the house of God is a serious event and is not light entertainment. Preaching the gospel to others is a serious matter, not to be undertaken lightly as it involves other people’s salvation. Can you imagine a doctor informing a patient that they have terminal cancer while joking about it? Or a police officer jokingly advising a family their son has just been killed in a car accident? Yet we have high profile evangelists like Ray Comfort, Ben Price and many others doing this in the Christian Church. It is absolute wickedness.
Here are a few examples of many illustrating what Ephesians 5:4 KJV is warning about:
BEN PRICE, CHURCH EVENTS ONLINE PROMO
TIM HAWKINS – FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT
TIM HAWKINS: OLD ROCK STAR SONGS
TIM HAWKINS ON HAND RAISING
CHRISTIAN COMEDIAN: ANJELAH JOHNSON
CHONDA PIERCE: CHRISTIAN CLEAN STAND UP COMEDIAN
KEN DAVIS: MARRIAGE – DUNKIN DONUT