A Study Into '"Matthew 28:18-20"

We will find in George Howard’s Shem Tob passage of Matthew 28:19) that he only has
two Hebrew words: íúà åëì, which he translates as simply “Go.” Probably it should be
“Go to them.” Verse 20 carries on with “and (teach) them to carry out all the things
which I have commanded you forever.” While the Authorized (King James) Version has:
Mt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of
the world. Amen. Randall Hughes states in “Analysis of Matthew 28:19 in A study of the
Text of the New Testament” that there are no Greek or any other language manuscripts
before the fourth century or for 300 years after Matthew wrote his gospel that includes
any of Matthew’s Gospel past 26:52. Why is that? Could all the ones that had that portion
have omitted the Trinitarian formula and so they were destroyed. Could they have all
been very similar to the Shem Tob copy? Conybeare noticed that Eusebius of Caesarea in
seventeen (17) places “in his works prior to Nicea, . . . quotes Matthew 28:19 as "Go and
make disciples of all nations."
There is also the book, Miscellaneous Coptic Texts in the Dialect of Upper Egypt edited,
with English Translations by E. A. Wallis Budge, M. A., Litt.D., which is Volume V of a
set of books called Coptic Texts (reprint of a 1915 edition). In the Discourse on Mary
Theotokos by Cyril, Archbishop of Jerusalem (lived from about A. D. 315 to 386) he
convinced a poor holy and conscientious monk by the name of Annarikhus that he was
wrong on a point of doctrine and to submit all his books to be burnt. Before doing so
though, he said, “The Christ said, Go ye forth into all the world, and teach ye all the
nations in My Name, in every place.” (p. 637). After the books were apparently burned,
Cyril baptized the monk “in the name of Saint Mary.” (p. lxxix). One more point that
someone pointed out (perhaps G. Howard) is that the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew was
obviously written to convince the Hebrew people to trust in what John the Baptist said
and to follow whatever Jesus said and did. There is apparently no mention though of the
need to join up with the gentiles or other nations throughout the whole gospel, so a
sudden mentioning of baptizing all the gentiles in one name, which is the same for the
Father, the son, and the holy Spirit appears to be very out of place and not consistent at
all with the rest of the gospel. It therefore must have been added on by people like
Athanasius (A. D. 296-372), the chief defender for the Trinitarian doctrine. This
Athanasius thought he was doing the Church a favour by promoting the teaching of the
Trinity but he was really promoting a devilish erroneous teaching as found among the
Babylonians, who used the equilateral triangle to symbolize their supposed God of three
persons. This symbol is still being used by the Roman Catholic Church today. “In the
monastery of the so-called Trinitarians of Madrid, the Papacy has an image of the Triune
God, with three heads on one body. The Babylonians had something of the same.”
Similar things can be found in India, Japan, Tibet, and China, but some include a mother
and a child as part of the trinity as some Roman Catholics seem to do with Mary and
Jesus as a baby.
Obviously, most theologians have not checked out the Bible thoroughly enough to
discover many inconsistencies in their theories and philosophies about a Father God, a
Son God, and a Holy Spirit God, all being one yet remain separate but somehow equal in
all things. As you read this study you will have determine for yourself, after diligent
prayer and under the guidance of the His Holy Spirit, as to the usage and truth of the
matter of Matthew 28:18-20 in the book of Acts. If there is no private interpretation and
only one way to baptize, there should be absolute proof in all the scripture as to a trinity
formula used by all. And if not (and there's is no proof at all as every recorded biblical
baptism was done, performed or completed into the name of Jesus), then it would
behoove us all to be baptized by His method of Jesus.
"Shem-Tob, the man who possessed an ancient Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, was a
Hebrew and his precious Book dates back to early time. Shem-Tob was not an adherent
of Primitive Judaic-Christianity of Acts two, but was of Judaism. He was not overly
friendly to Judaic or Jewish-Christianity, i.e., of Acts two. Fortunately, he did not
translate this Hebrew Book of Matthew from Latin, the Latin Vulgate, Byzantine Greek,
or any other Greek edition of the Gospel of Matthew. His source was from a true copy of
Matthew. It was independent of Roman Catholic source. He received it solely from
previous Jewish scribes. From that premise we may freely receive it as pure text and
authentic." (Dr. Marvin Arnold, The BIBLE, TRINITY, AND MATTHEW 28:19, p.70)
"Shem-Tob’s Hebrew Book of Matthew is the most accurate text of the First Gospel now
existing. It underwent a different process of transmission than the Greek, since it was
preserved by the Jews, and thus independent from the Catholic Community." (George
Howard, Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, Mercer Univ. Press, Georgia, 1995, p.190)
Further, Dr. Arnold writes, The Hebrew Gospel of Matthew does not have the Catholic
fabricated titles and phrases: "of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The
Hebrew Book of Matthew is free from Roman Catholic bias, slants, and Trinitarian
interpolations. (George Howard, op.cit. p. 234).
"In summary, Eusebius, a noted historian, inherited from Pamphilus a famous library
begun by Origen that could have easily contained the original Hebrew text of Matthew,
or if not, a copy of the original Matthew text. Jerome (A.D. 331-A.D. 420) supports this
in the following statement recorded in the citation below:"

Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers - "Matthew, who is also Levi … composed a Gospel

… in the Hebrew language and characters… Furthermore, the Hebrew itself is preserved
to this day in the library at Caesarea which the martyr Pamphilus so diligently collected."
(This library in Caesarea was said to have been destroyed by fire.)
The Proof of the Gospel, by Eusebius as edited by W.J. Ferrar - Note 3 of Book 3, ch.5,
p. 137: That Matthew "wrote in Hebrew the Gospel that bears his name" is stated by
Eusebius in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, iii. 24. In The Proof of the Gospel,
Book 3, ch.7, p. 157, he cited that only one phrase, "in my name" was after, "Go forth,
and make disciples of all the nations."
Knupfer, Editor of the Christadelphian Monatshefte - Eusebius among his many other
writings compiled a collection of the corrupted texts of the Holy Scriptures, and "the
most serious of all the falsifications denounced by him, is without doubt the traditional
reading of Matthew 28:19."
Conybeare -- I have, after a moderate search in these works of Eusebius, found eighteen
citations of Matthew 28:19, and always in the following form: "Go ye and make disciples
of all the nations in my name, teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I
commanded you."
Therefore, we have confirmation that Shem-Tob, F.C. Conybeare, and Eusebius of
Caesarea, all verified that Matthew 28:19 did not end as we see it in our KJV. More than
likely, it ended with Jesus’ wording more like this: "Go, make disciples of all the nations
in My Name, teaching them to keep all things which I have commanded you." This all
could be a part of the Everlasting Gospel revealed in the last days. (Revelation 14:6 "And
I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach
unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people").