Some critics say the ending of Mark 16, including Jesus' reference to speaking in tongues and casting out demons, is not authentic and should not be included in Scripture.

Dr. David K. Bernard responds to this argument in this episode of Apostolic Life in the 21st Century, a podcast dedicated to helping modern day believers

live out the teachings of the First Century. This podcast is part of the teaching ministry

of Dr. David K. Bernard. Dr. Bernard is dedicated his life to studying the Bible and helping

believers apply its message to their daily lives.

Thank you for joining us for this episode.

Anyone who's read Mark 16 in the New International Version has seen the following note after

verse 8 that says, the earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have

verses 9 through 20. If you look at John chapter 7, again,

in the new international version, there's a note that says the earliest manuscripts and many other

ancient witnesses do not have John 7, 53 through 811. What's going on here? Can you explain

why this note was included? And I guess the bigger question is, is Mark 16, 9 through 20

and John 753 through 811? Is there reliable, should they be included in our Bible?

That's an important question. And what we're talking about is what's known as textual criticism.

So let me answer by explaining what textual criticism is. And then we'll go back to these two

passages of scripture. And for a detailed discussion, I have a book called God's

infallible word, which is available at Pentecostal publishing.com. And it covers things such as the inspiration of scripture, the canon, what books belong in the Bible,

the text, which is what we're talking about now, how was the text transmitted over the centuries copied by hand?

And are there errors?

How do we know what is the original text?

And then translation. How do we know what's a good translation and so forth? And of course, I take the position the Bible is God's word. It's completely true in everything that it teaches us. But the question of textual criticism is this. For the Old Testament, we have, you know, books that were written thousands of

years ago, even for the New Testament. The books are written approximately 2,000 years ago.

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