[Study
Bibles] [Christian Study]
Brief Description: This Bible was
annotated by Finis Jennings Dake and originally published in 1963. It is set in a four
column format, with the middle two columns being the KJV text, with what I suppose is
meant to be an outline contained between the verses. The outer two columns are for
the notes. Now, this Bible is annotated. It has more notes than the rest of
the study Bibles put together. Nearly every book of the Bible has a few pages after
the conclusion of the text that consist solely of notes. A pamphlet that comes with
the Bible describes how Dake claims he was given this knowledge supernaturally. So,
you can see where this is going.
Advantages: The text is self
pronouncing, with many of the Greek and Hebrew words given and defined. Dake is
staunchly dispensational (though hardly a mainstream dispensationalist), pretribulational
and premillennial. It also has verse markings for prophecy, promises, commands and
messages, though they are used so much as to lose their effectiveness. Everything is
counted, and many, many verses are in the outline as "seven things" or
"seven ways," etc. Can't think of much else good to say about it.
Disadvantages: The notes in this
Bible are full of heresy, illogic and, at worse, bigotry and racism. To being with,
Dake has a 14 dispensation scheme with lengthy descriptions of a pre-Adamite world ruled
by Lucifer. Creation is known as "re-creation" and is explained by a
rather lengthy gap theory (see notes on Genesis chapter 1, and the chart at the rear of
the Dake), including "Lucifer's flood." While this study Bible is Arminian
to the extreme, and is constantly harping on believers losing their salvation,
probably the most extreme heresy concerns the nature and person of God Himself. On
page 280 of the New Testament, he has a lengthy discussion of the Trinity. In this
discussion, Dake teaches that there are three distinct persons with bodies in the Trinity,
and that each one of these also has His own soul and spirit. There are many other
heresies and ridiculous positions held by Dake, and the more ridiculous the position, the
more stringently he attempts to "prove" it. Finally, Dake is a racist, as
he lists on page 159 of the New Testament "30 reasons for the separation of the
races." This is a grave error, as he misuses the Holy Scripture in a way I
don't believe I have ever seen before. We learn that "God wills the races to be
as He made them," and "God made everything to reproduce 'after his own
kind,'" applying this to different races. What the Bible actually teaches is
that the "one blood" of Acts 17:26 proves that there is only one race, the human
race, and skin color is only ethnicity. I won't comment any further on this, but
urge anyone who likes this study Bible to look at these notes on page 159 and then defend
this work. Click here to see for
yourself. Here is the note in the
newer editions of Dake's that has expunged the former.
Recommendation: For the sake
of the cause of Christ, I wish this work were removed from the shelves and allowed to
"die the death." It is a horrible work full of the strangest
interpretations and twisting of the Word of God. He claims to have received these
notes by direct revelation. I wonder who was speaking to him?
