"Why would God inspire a written revelation if He was not going to preserve it?"
2 Corinthians was written to "the Church of God which is at Corinth, with all the Saints in Achaia," while 1 Corinthians was addressed to "all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord..." and Galatians was sent to "the Churches of Galatia."
Are we to believe that all those early believers shared a single copy of each Book of Scripture, passing them from Church to Church? It is absurd to even suggest. Paul and Peter's journey's also - spanned some 10,000 miles - from Jerusalem to Rome, and throughout the shores of the Aegean Sea. How many copies of James' epistle would it take to reach those "in the dispersion?"
It is clear from Scripture alone that the early church had multiple copies of the New Testament. From the epistles, and other early evidence, it is likewise clear that the idea of a New Testament 'Canon' already existed in 115 A.D. From the abundance of copies in circulation, even before this time, it is evident that these faithful believers had in their possession a 'Majority Text.'
In God's Word Preserved Cody Parrott gathers witnesses from across the ages to demonstrate conclusively that this very same 'majority text' was cherished century after century, until 1611, when English translators used various editions to give the King James Version to the world.
In this collection of voices, the declaration of John W. Burgon, rings true:
"As surely as it is dark now, and as certainly as the sun will rise to-morrow morning, so surely will the traditional text be vindicated and the views I have striven to express be accepted. I may not live to see it. Most likely I shall not. But it will come."
