“Joyfully shall you draw water
from the springs of salvation”
Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 12:3

“Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth”, by Frank Houtz

Once the stigma was removed from the translation process, many people have followed the example of Wycliffe and Tyndale and have joined in on the translation project. A missionary association named after Wycliffe has dedicated its efforts to translating the Scriptures into the native languages of every people group in the world. Now the Bible is the number one selling book in the world and has been for years. It has been translated into most common languages and many secluded tribal languages. There are probably over 100 translations of the Bible into English and other common languages such as German, French, Spanish, etc. The interest in a new translation is usually spurred by a person or denomination who did not like the doctrine supported by a particular translation, or even a particular theory in the translation process. This leads to the Majority Text people versus Textus Receptus people: the literal "word for word" translation versus the "thought for thought" concept. The New Testament originally written in Greek versus written in a Semitic tongue.

Like Tyndale and Wycliffe, Dry Bones Restoration Company wishes to bring the Scriptures to people, not just the seminary student. Often a congregant doesn't believe that he can understand the Bible for himself. He feels as though he must have the preacher explain things, because he is incapable of searching out truth for himself since the original languages are not a part of his knowledge. While not knowing Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic does put one at a disadvantage, with the tools available today one can do real Bible study and research on their own if they know how to use those tools.

If you are a truth seeker and wish to discover God for yourself, the Biblical Research Techniques course is for you. The intention is to bring congregations to higher levels of maturity where each individual will be able to teach and defend the truths of Scripture. We do not promote arrogance and rebellion toward present congregational leaders; rather, frank open discussions concerning Scripture, where each individual is capable of bringing his own understanding and insights to the table. Open dialogue with humility will bring greater understanding to all individuals and should eliminate petty arguments caused by insecurity in one's understanding of doctrines.

Frank Houtz presents the Biblical Research Techniques seminars to congregations wishing to learn how to study. Seminars may be given in an intensive week-end study, Friday night, all day Saturday and finishing on Sunday, or a week-long every evening course. The subjects covered in the course include:

• Little known uses of the Strong's Concordance and Dictionaries.
   
• Connecting Greek words to their Hebrew equivalents, allowing a better tying together of concepts from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
   
• Understanding the extent of context and how to add context to your textual thinking.
   
• Removing modern definitions of words and replacing them with the definitions of the ancient times.
   
• A study in the thought process and development.
   
• The four levels of understanding Scripture.
   
• The seven rules of Hillel, a list of rules that Paul and Rabbis of that time understood as ways to develop a scriptural argument and explain meanings of passages. This becomes a foundation to the New Testament which, when excluded as a part of context, changes the meanings of what is said. These seven rules are basic to understanding New Testament theology.

Frank's wife, Mary Lynn, accompanies Frank for this seminar and sings songs from her CD Songs For Israel, as well as other compositions. They also display for sale materials needed to do Bible research. Many of these books and materials can be found in the Marketplace.