PUBLISHER'S NOTES


THE Publisher has not hesitated to make such emendations as he believes the Author will approve on his reappearance in the land of the living.

These emendations and changes are, however, very slight, and are here mentioned only for the information of the community that so justly values Elpis Israel and its Author; and also "to cut off occasion" from some who would not be slow to accuse the publisher of "tampering" with the work of the deceased.

The changes made, in the main range themselves round two or three heads as follows: -- Improved translations; improved expositions due to increased knowledge; expunged errors; notes on the Author's wonderful political prevision.

With regard to TRANSLATIONS, it must be admitted that Dr. Thomas sometimes altered "the Authorized Version", as it is called, without improving matters, illustrating somewhat the remark of Mr. Fowler the phrenologist; who said that he would sometimes "use rather extravagant language" in his expositions. The present edition of Elpis Israel restores the A.V. rendering of 2 Tim. 3:16 (page 5 and elsewhere), "All Scripture is given by inspiration." The R.V. rendering will not be defended by those who know the truth of the matter. On page 9, "word" has been substituted for "will and testament", as defining the Lord's purpose, the reason for which appears in another note. On page 65, the A.V. translation of Rom. 18:1-5 has been restored. On page 69, the Hebrew idiom should not be lifted into the English. The footnote illustrates the matter. Some mistaken expositions have arisen out of this hence it is here mentioned. On pages 132-3 "justification" has been restored, and "pardon" deleted; also "in" has been restored, and "by" deleted in the expressions "in the name of Jesus", etc. On page 181, the usage of Elohim in the singular is referred to in the footnote, and the suggestion that it should be rendered "gods" throughout Genesis is deleted. Other changes in translation are very few and are too unimportant to mention. The publisher is indebted to an esteemed fellow-labourer for valued help in the revisions here noted.

With regard to IMPROVED EXPOSITIONS due to increased knowledge the following notes may suffice. In the section on "The Sabbath", the author speaks of "the first day of the week" as "the Lord's day". But it is never so styled in the scriptures, and the author in Eureka, Vol, I, p. 159 (a later writing), himself more forcibly draws the true distinction between "Sunday" and "the Lord's day". The latter phrase has therefore been deleted from this edition of Elpis Israel.

On page 50, the reference to the nature of the resurrection-body on its emergence from the grave is corrected, in harmony with the author's preface to the fourth edition, and Anastasis, a later work on Resurrection and Judgment.

On page 167, the publisher has ventured to suggest in a footnote that the scriptures do here and there suggest reasons for the expression of God's will in His appointed "principles of religion". He believes that his impressions on this matter are derived from Dr. Thomas' other expositions.

On page 234, the author speaks of the Lord's "covenant with Abraham" and a footnote gives the publisher's reasons for retaining this scriptural term and rejecting "will" and "testament" in the argument following. For the expression "substitutional testator" (page 239), the publisher has substituted the term "Mediator", which is the true equivalent of the inspired original. Those who choose to compare closely the old and new editions of Elpis Israel in these pages. will see that the author's argument gains in lucidity and force by the change.

On pages 357, 358, paragraphs indicated which were either lacking in clearness, or rendered erroneous by lapse of time, have been re-written on the basis of later expositions by the author.

There are very few EXPUNGED ERRORS. Among these is the erroneous paraphrase of Christ's reply to the thief on the cross (omitted in this edition from the exposition on page 60), and mentioned here only because it has, unfortunately, gained considerable currency.

On page 294, the erroneous supposition that Ex. 17 and Num. 20 refer to one and the same incident (the smiting of the rock by Moses), is corrected by a slight change in the wording. The first incident was before the giving of the law, in Horeb, and the smiting was in obedience to a command of God. The second incident was nearly forty years later, at Kadesh, about 150 miles north of Horeb, and smiting was not commanded -- only speaking to the rock.

From pages 361, 414 and 416, some erroneous anticipations that the efflux of time has manifested concerning the end of the age, have been omitted as a matter of course.

A more agreeable class of notes is that referring to the author's wonderful POLITICAL PREVISION on the basis of the prophecies. A mere reference to some of the footnotes in this edition will suffice for illustration. See pages 115, 333, 374, 376, 382, 383, etc. Also the paragraph at the end of the preceding "Biographical Notes."

C. C. Walker, Birmingham, July 1924.


The present edition (reset) is a reprint of that of 1924, with minor verbal revisions.


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