The earlier scriptures, as they now stand, record their own transmission. The RSV's revisers wrote that the King James Version "has grave defects… so many and so serious as to call for revision"; Luke opens by saying that "many" had already written and that "it seemed good to me also" to write in order; Jeremiah says "the pen of the scribes is in vain"; the Trinity verse (1 John 5:7), the longer ending of Mark (16:9–20), the ascension clause of Luke 24:51 and the adulteress passage (John 7:53–8:11) are absent from the oldest manuscripts; the Protestant Bible has 66 books and the Catholic 73; parallel chronicles disagree on numbers. The Hindu texts likewise carry known late strata (the avatar doctrine absent from Sruti; the Pratisarga Parva's post-event "prophecies"; the Purusha hymn's varna verse), while the Rigveda itself says truth is one and the wise call it by many names. The Quran's answer is not to gloat but to explain: "woe to those who distort the scripture with their own hands, then say, 'This is what GOD has revealed'" (2:79); "we have revealed the reminder, and, absolutely, we will preserve it" (15:9); "Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than GOD, they would have found in it numerous contradictions" (4:82); "produce one sura like these" (2:23); and, above all, "Over it is nineteen" (74:30) — a proof the AEV says was assigned "to convince the Christians and Jews (that this is a divine scripture)" (74:31).
The witnesses 21 passages
The RSV's own prefaceClear match
Preface, Revised Standard Version (1952/1971), p. iii para 6; p. iv; p. vii
"YET THE KING JAMES VERSION HAS GRAVE DEFECTS." / "THAT THESE DEFECTS ARE SO MANY AND SO SERIOUS AS TO CALL FOR REVISION…" / "Sometimes it is evident that the text has suffered in transmission, but none of the versions provides a satisfactory restoration. Here we can only follow the best judgment of competent scholars as to the most probable reconstruction of the original text." / Collins RSV notes: "THE PRODUCT OF THIRTY-TWO SCHOLARS, ASSISTED BY AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPRESENTING FIFTY CO-OPERATING DENOMINATIONS."
The Final Testament
[2:79] Therefore, woe to those who distort the scripture with their own hands, then say, "This is what GOD has revealed," seeking a cheap material gain… [5:15] O people of the scripture, our messenger has come to you to proclaim for you many things you have concealed in the scripture…
JeremiahClear match
Jeremiah 8:8 (KJV)
"How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain."
The Final Testament
[2:79]; [4:46] …some distort the words beyond the truth… [3:78] Among them are those who twist their tongues to imitate the scripture, that you may think it is from the scripture, when it is not from the scripture…
Luke's prefaceClear match
Luke 1:1–4 (KJV)
"Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us… It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus…"
The Final Testament
[6:91] …You put it down on paper to proclaim it, while concealing a lot of it…
The Trinity verseClear match
1 John 5:7 (KJV); Scofield fn
"It is generally agreed that this verse has no manuscript authority and has been inserted." Removed by the RSV.
The Final Testament
[4:171]; [5:73]
The longer ending of Mark; the ascension clauseClear match
Mark 16:9–20; Luke 24:51 (KJV); RSV Preface pp. vi–vii
"TWO PASSAGES, THE LONGER ENDING OF MARK (16:9-20)… AND LUKE 24:51 ARE RESTORED TO THE TEXT." (expunged 1952, restored 1971 after "two denominational committees")
The Final Testament
[4:158] Instead, GOD raised him to Him… [3:55]
The adulteressClear match
John 7:53–8:11; RSV 1952 ("John chapter 8 begins with verse 12"), re-inserted 1971
The canonClear match
66 Protestant books vs 73 Roman Catholic (Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Wisdom, Sirach, 1–2 Maccabees + additions); Revelation 22:18–19 "If any man shall add unto these things…"
The Final Testament
[15:9]
Isaiah 7:14Clear match
Isaiah 7:14 AV "a virgin shall conceive" vs RSV "a young woman" (almah, not bethulah)
The Final Testament
[3:47]; [19:20]
John 3:16 "only begotten"Reasonable reading
AV "his only begotten son" vs RSV "his only Son" (μονογενής)
The Final Testament
[112:3]; [19:88–92]
Luke 3:23 "(as was supposed)"Reasonable reading
AV brackets
Luke 23:34a "Father, forgive them"Clear match
NKJV note: "not in the original text"; absent from P75, B, D*, W, Θ
Anonymous Gospels; Markan priority; "Q"Clear match
Matthew 9:9 (third person); John 19:35, 21:24–25; J. B. Phillips, Gospels in Modern English, intro to Matthew
"EARLY TRADITION ASCRIBED THIS GOSPEL TO THE APOSTLE MATTHEW, BUT SCHOLARS NOWADAYS ALMOST ALL REJECT THIS VIEW… THE AUTHOR… HAS PLAINLY DRAWN ON THE MYSTERIOUS 'Q'… HE HAS USED MARK'S GOSPEL FREELY."
The Final Testament
[4:157] …All factions who are disputing in this matter are full of doubt concerning this issue. They possess no knowledge; they only conjecture…
2 Kings 19 = Isaiah 37Clear match
2 Kings 19:1–37 ∥ Isaiah 37:1–38 (AV)
word-for-word parallel
Moses' obituaryClear match
Deuteronomy 34:5–10 (KJV)
"So Moses… died… And he buried him… And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses"
The Final Testament
[5:44] (AEV fn 5:44: "The Torah is a collection of all the scriptures revealed through all the prophets of Israel prior to Jesus Christ… Nowhere in the Quran do we find that the Torah was given to Moses.")
Contradiction pairs (precise citations)Clear match
2 Sam 24:1 ∥ 1 Chr 21:1 (the LORD / Satan incited David); 2 Sam 24:13 ∥ 1 Chr 21:11–12 (seven / three years' famine); 2 Chr 36:9 ∥ 2 Kings 24:8 (Jehoiachin 8 / 18); 2 Sam 10:18 ∥ 1 Chr 19:18 (700 chariots / 7,000 chariot-men; horsemen / footmen); 1 Kings 7:26 ∥ 2 Chr 4:5 (2,000 / 3,000 baths); 1 Kings 4:26 ∥ 2 Chr 9:25 (40,000 / 4,000 stalls); 1 Sam 28:6 ∥ 1 Chr 10:13–14 (Saul enquired / enquired not); 2 Sam 17:25 ∥ 1 Chr 2:17 (Ithra an Israelite / Jether the Ishmaelite); Gen 25:1 ∥ 1 Chr 1:32 (Keturah wife / concubine); Matt 1:1–16 ∥ Luke 3:23–38 (via Solomon / via Nathan; 26 / 41 generations); 2 Kings 8:26 ∥ 2 Chr 22:2 (Ahaziah 22 / 42 — from Zakir's debate list); 2 Sam 24:9 ∥ 1 Chr 21:5 (census totals); Ezra 2 ∥ Nehemiah 7 (18 mismatches); 1 Kings 15:33 ∥ 2 Chr 16:1 (Baasha)
The Final Testament
[4:82] Why do they not study the Quran carefully? If it were from other than GOD, they would have found in it numerous contradictions.
Confessions of fallibilityClear match
Ellen G. White, Bible Commentary vol. 1 p. 14; JW New World Translation Foreword p. 5; Awake! 8 Sept 1957 "50,000 errors in the Bible?"
"COPYISTS HAVE NOT BEEN INFALLIBLE, AND GOD MOST EVIDENTLY HAS NOT SEEN FIT TO PRESERVE THEM ALTOGETHER FROM ERROR IN TRANSCRIBING." / "NO TWO COPIES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE… THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF THE CHRISTIAN GREEK SCRIPTURES HAS BEEN TAMPERED WITH"
Hindu texts' known interpolationsReasonable reading
Avatar doctrine absent from Sruti (2.14); Bhavishya Purana Pratisarga Parva (4.26); Purusha varna verse (7.5); "more than 30 translations only of Bhagwat Geeta" (IRF)
The Final Testament
[2:79]
The Quran's internal-consistency testClear match
The Final Testament
[4:82] (above); [39:23] …a book that is consistent… [39:28] An Arabic Quran, without any ambiguity…
The literary challengeClear match
The Final Testament
[2:23] If you have any doubt regarding what we revealed to our servant, then produce one sura like these… [2:24] If you cannot do this - and you can never do this… [17:88]; [10:37] This Quran could not possibly be authored by other than GOD. It confirms all previous messages… [10:38]; [11:13] (ten suras)
The author disclaims authorshipReasonable reading
The Final Testament
[69:44] Had he uttered any other teachings. [69:45] We would have punished him. [69:46] We would have stopped the revelations to him. [6:93] Who is more evil than one who fabricates lies and attributes them to GOD…? [25:4–6]; [29:48]
The mathematical proof — figures the AEV itself statesClear match
AEV text and footnotes (this file) and Appendix 1 "The Simple Facts" (project PDF)
fn 1:1: "This important statement consists of 19 Arabic letters, and every word in it occurs in the whole Quran in multiples of 19." fn 2:1: the initials A.L.M. in Sura 2 occur "4502, 3202, and 2195… The sum of these numbers is 9899, or 19x521." fn 27:30: "This restores the total occurrence of `Basmalah' to 114, 19x6." fn 37:147 / 7:142: the 30 numbers mentioned in the Quran "add up to 162146, 19x8534." fn 96:1–19: "From 96 to 114 is 19 suras. The first revelation (96:1-5) is 19 Arabic words, 76 letters (19x4). The sura consists of 19 verses and 304 Arabic letters." fn 9:1 & 9:127: "the number of occurrences of the word 'God' at the end of Sura 9 is 1273 (19x67). If the two false verses 128 & 129 are included, this phenomenon - and many more - will vanish." Closing note: "the total occurrence of the crucial word 'God' (Allah) throughout the Quran is 2698, 19x142… if one adds the verse numbers wherever the word 'God' occurs, the total comes to 118123, also a multiple of 19 (118123 = 19x6217)." Appendix 1, Simple Facts: "1. The first verse (1:1), known as 'Basmalah,' consists of 19 letters. 2. The Quran consists of 114 suras, which is 19 x 6. 3. The total number of verses in the Quran is 6346, or 19 x 334. [6234 numbered verses & 112 un-numbered verses (Basmalahs) 6234+112 = 6346] Note that 6+3+4+6= 19. 4. The Basmalah occurs 114 times, despite its conspicuous absence from Sura 9 (it occurs twice in Sura 27)…" and: "The first word 'Ism' (Name) occurs 19 times. The second word 'Allah' (God) occurs 2698 times (19x142). The third word 'Al-Rahman' (Most Gracious) 57 times, 19x3. The fourth word 'Al-Raheem' (Most Merciful) 114 times, 19x6."
The Final Testament
[74:30] Over it is nineteen. [74:31] …(2) to convince the Christians and Jews (that this is a divine scripture), (3) to strengthen the faith of the faithful, (4) to remove all traces of doubt… [46:10] (AEV fn: "This witness is Rabbi Judah the Pious (11th Century A.D.), who discovered the same 19-based mathematical code in intact fragments of the scripture") [11:17] (AEV fn: "Moses' book was also mathematically composed, with '19' as the common denominator")
Sharing this thread
Never open with the Bible's defects. Open with the Bible's honesty: the RSV preface, Luke's own preface, the Collins author table — the listener's own scholars saying what the Quran says in 2:79, and saying it without any Muslim prompting. Then the four doubtful passages as facts the listener can check in any modern Bible's footnotes; then one or two numerical pairs, lightly. Then turn: the Quran invites exactly this scrutiny of itself (4:82, 2:23) and claims a mechanism of preservation (15:9). Then — and this is the only place where the project demonstrates rather than argues — the Simple Facts of Appendix 1, read from the AEV in Khalifa's own words and figures, no more and no fewer (R7), with 74:30–31 read first so the listener hears that the Quran announced the proof before anyone counted. Tell the listener that a Sunni author (Harun Yahya) reproduces the same counts and that a Sunni polemic disputes the letter count; show how the count is made; leave the listener to count. Methodology R16's order of proofs applies: signs in creation (strand 10) → the precedent of history → the code.