Accuracy in speech is important, but accuracy in writing is imperative. A thing does not have to be actually inaccurate, however, to give the appearance of inaccuracy. For example: One of our Bible correspondence lessons had this statement: "So you see we must keep the seventh-day Sabbath if we expect to be saved at last." A friend from another Christian group came to us and said:
"Do you believe that only those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath will be saved?"
"No!" we replied.
"Then why do you publish a statement like this?" he questioned, handing us the lesson. And that is a good question. Why do we publish things like this?
We proceeded to explain. Our friend listened carefully and kindly. He quickly saw that in a certain context such a statement could be defended. But it is unfortunate that it gives a wrong impression. He was happy to find out what we do really believe.
"I think you owe it to yourselves as a denomination to make this completely clear to the public and to your Christian friends. Would it not be wise to extract all such ambiguous statements from your literature and then carefully present your truths in such a way that people cannot misunderstand? If necessary, spell it out in letters three feet high!" He further said: "I am greatly relieved to discover that Adventists are not legalists. I see now that you do not keep the Sabbath in order to be saved, but rather because you are saved. You have shown clearly that your obedience is an expression of your love to God."
The ambiguity of that published statement had caused real confusion in this man's mind, as it probably has in hundreds if not thousands of other minds. Should we not determine to remove the ambiguity from all such statements? The Lord told Habakkuk to make the message plain. And He expects the same of us today.
Take another example. A few years ago the book Unfolding the Revelation came from the press. It is now in its third and revised edition. At the close of the chapter dealing with the mysterious number 666 reference is made to a number of different languages in which this symbolic number appears. Then on page 134 there is an effective summary in these words:
To the Jew, 6 was the number of unrest or the number of man, who was created on the sixth day; 7 was the number of perfection; and 8 the number of victory. If a number was tripled, it indicated the eternity of the thing symbolized; for example, 666 meant eternal unrest; 777, eternal perfection; 888, eternal victory. It is interesting that the Greek word for "the natural mind" (he phren) counts up to 666; the word for "cross" (stauros) makes 777, and the name of "Jesus" (Iesous) makes 888! Thus, he phren, "the natural mind"-8, 500, 100, 8, 50-.—equals 666, the number of perpetual unrest . . . stauros, the "cross"-6, 1, 400, 100, 70, 200—equals 777, the number of eternal perfection. . . . lesous, the divinely given name of Jesus-10, 8, 200, 70, 400, 200—equals 888. And this is the number of endless victory!
A casual reading of this would cause no question until one begins to study closer the word stauros. In this word the letter S is used twice. If the numerical significance of S is 200 in the Greek, then instead of 777 it would appear to add up to 977. This certainly looks like an inaccuracy. But actually it is not, for while there is no single letter in the Greek that equals 6 there is an old letter in the Greek alphabet that was a diphthong. It is the contraction of two letters, "S" and "T." It is called digamma and was used instead of "F." The numerical value of this diphthong digamma is 6. If we use digamma it makes the count accurate. A full treatment of the numerical value of digamma can be found in Handbook to the Grammar in Greek in the New Testament, by Samuel Green, London Religious Tract Society, 1912, page 44. We emphasize this for one purpose only—to show the importance of clarity. The author of Unfolding the Revelation failed to make this clear. Inasmuch as this editor happens to be the author of the book referred to, no liability is incurred. It is regrettable that it went into print minus a full explanation of this point. Even when apparent inaccuracy occurs it is important, but much worse when there is an actual inaccuracy.
The ancient prophet was told to "make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it" (Hab. 2:2). God's message must be written so plainly that in these days of rush and haste men can read, then having read, become swift carriers of the news. In making the message clear we must take care lest an understatement or an overstatement or an ambiguous statement lead to confusion.
In his excellent little booklet I'd Rather Be Right, H. M. Tippett says: "If the same care were taken to clothe our thoughts in appropriate language that most of us take in dressing our bodies and making ourselves presentable, both oral and written communication would prove one of the chief delights of social intercourse. The cultivated spoken and written word is as much an indication of a tidy mind and orderly thinking as fresh apparel is of personal neatness."—Pages 3, 4.
"Make it plain," says Jehovah, so plain that folks cannot misunderstand.
R. A. A.
