Benjamin Wilson (Biblical scholar)
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Wilson was an autodidact Biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 scholar and writer of the Emphatic Diaglott
Emphatic Diaglott
The Emphatic Diaglott is a diaglot, or two-language polyglot translation, of the New Testament by Benjamin Wilson, first published in 1864. It is an interlinear translation with the original Greek text and a word-for-word English translation in the left column, and a full English translation in the...

 translation of the Bible (which he translated between 1856 and 1864). He was also a co-founder of the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith
Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith
Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith may refer to the following two modern Christian groups that had the same origin and common history from 1850s to 1921:* Church of God General Conference or "CoGGC"...

.

Life

Wilson was born in Halifax
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Halifax is a minster town, within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It has an urban area population of 82,056 in the 2001 Census. It is well-known as a centre of England's woollen manufacture from the 15th century onward, originally dealing through the Halifax Piece...

, probably in 1817, England, but spent the majority of his life in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (to which he moved, initially to Geneva, Illinois
Geneva, Illinois
Geneva is the county seat of Kane County, Illinois. It is located on the western fringe of the Chicago suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 26,652. Geneva is part of a tri-city area, along with St. Charles and Batavia...

, with his family, in 1844), where he died on May 8, 1900, in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

.

Although originally Baptists, Wilson's family joined the growing Campbellite
Campbellite
Campbellite refers to any of the religious groups historically descended from the Restoration Movement, a religious reform movement in the early 19th century in the United States...

 movement in 1840, but began to distance themselves from the Campbellites whilst in Geneva. In 1846 Wilson wrote his first letter to another ex-Campbellite John Thomas
John Thomas (Christadelphian)
Dr. John Thomas was the founder of the Christadelphian movement, a Restorationist religion with doctrines similar in part to some 16th century Antitrinitarian Rationalist Socinians and the 16th century Swiss-German pacifist Anabaptists.-Early life:John Thomas M.D., born in Hoxton Square, Hackney,...

, as recorded in the latter's magazine The Herald of the Future Age, agreeing with the Thomas' views on the immortal soul - the initial cause of his break with Campbell. There is considerable correspondence in Thomas’ magazines from various members of the Wilson family over the next several years.

Benjamin Wilson was rebaptised in 1851, marking off a new start from the Campbellites, just as John Thomas had been in 1847. In August 1856, Benjamin Wilson and John Thomas finally met, as recorded in The Herald of the Kingdom for that year. Wilson recognized Thomas from his picture in Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel - An Exposition of the Kingdom of God is a theological book written by John Thomas, founder of the Christadelphians, in 1848-1849 and published in 1849.The book was based on a series of lectures given by Thomas in 1848 and is written in three parts, The...

.

Wilson published a monthly religious magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

, the Gospel Banner, which ran from 1855 to 1869, when it was merged with his nephew Thomas Wilson's magazine, Herald of the Coming Kingdom. He also published a hymnbook, the "Sacred Melodist", in 1860.

Good relations between Wilson and Thomas lasted until 1863 or 1864 when the two brethren fell out over how to reconcile 1 Corinthians 15:52 "raised incorruptible" with Romans 14:10 & 2 Corinthians 5:10. Wilson, stressing 1Co.15:52, took the view that the righteous dead would not be judged before the bema
Bema
The Bema means a raised platform...

, Thomas, stressing Ro.14:10 and 2Co.5:10, took the view that there was a physical change involved between being raised mortal and then, following judgement, transformed and clothed with immortality. Thomas' 1st Edition of Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel
Elpis Israel - An Exposition of the Kingdom of God is a theological book written by John Thomas, founder of the Christadelphians, in 1848-1849 and published in 1849.The book was based on a series of lectures given by Thomas in 1848 and is written in three parts, The...

 1848 had been, at best, ambiguous on the subject, so several passages in the 4th Edition of 1866 were changed to reflect the 'increased clarity' in his position. John Thomas never directly acknowledged that he, and not Wilson, was the one who had changed his view, nevertheless Robert Roberts
Robert Roberts (Christadelphian)
Robert Roberts is the man generally considered to have continued the work of organising and establishing the Christadelphian movement founded by Dr. John Thomas...

 did so in 1896, as did Charles Curwen Walker
Charles Curwen Walker
Charles Curwen Walker was a Christadelphian writer and editor of The Christadelphian Magazine from 1898 to 1937.-Life:C. C. Walker was born near Diss, Depwade Rural District, Norfolk on February 18, 1856, son of a landowner. His middle name "Curwen" indicates his descent from the aristocratic...

 in 1906.

As a result of what later came to be known as the "immortal emergence" controversy, fellowship between the two men, and their groups, was severed. Then in 1865 when both groups registered with the Union Government as conscientious objectors using different denominational names the breach was made permanent. In 1865 the group of Christians Benjamin Wilson was then associated with had become known by the name Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith
Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith
Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith may refer to the following two modern Christian groups that had the same origin and common history from 1850s to 1921:* Church of God General Conference or "CoGGC"...

. Although some local groups were not able to register by this name and registered as Church of the Blessed Hope
Church of the Blessed Hope
The Church of the Blessed Hope is a small first-day Adventist Christian body.-Background:...

. Some other groups in Illinois who had previously associated with Wilson took the side of John Thomas, and registered with the Union Government as Christadelphians
Christadelphians
Christadelphians is a Christian group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century...

.

Legacy

Wilson's main legacy consists in two areas:

The original 1865 Fowler and Wells edition of the Emphatic Diaglott
Emphatic Diaglott
The Emphatic Diaglott is a diaglot, or two-language polyglot translation, of the New Testament by Benjamin Wilson, first published in 1864. It is an interlinear translation with the original Greek text and a word-for-word English translation in the left column, and a full English translation in the...

 was one of the earliest interlinear
Interlinear
In linguistics and pedagogy, an interlinear gloss is a series of brief descriptions or definitions placed between a line of original text and its translation in another language, so that each line of the original text acquires multiple lines of transcription known as an interlinear text or...

 Greek-English New Testaments published in America and thus had considerable influence. After Wilson's death the copyright was purchased by the Millennial Dawn Bible Students (later the Watchtower Society) which from 1902 distributed Wilson's work widely around the world. For this reason Wilson's name is often incorrectly associated with Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...

, though Wilson never had any association with the founder of that group Charles Taze Russell
Charles Taze Russell
Charles Taze Russell , or Pastor Russell, was a prominent early 20th century Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement, from which Jehovah's Witnesses and numerous independent Bible Student groups emerged...

. Further Wilson's own views on the allegorical nature of the devil, non-preexistence of Christ, literal return of Christ, - increasing in conflict with the Watchtower Society after 1914 - are occasionally reflected in the side column of the Diaglott giving Wilson's own English translation.

The church Wilson was a leading figure in founding still exists today. In 1921 the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith split into two, primarily over the issue of whether the devil was to be understood as literal or figurative, both taking the name Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith, resulting in some confusion today:
  • The smaller group, which retained the view of Wilson on the devil as allegory, is now sometimes also known as the Church of the Blessed Hope
    Church of the Blessed Hope
    The Church of the Blessed Hope is a small first-day Adventist Christian body.-Background:...

    . This group is in unity talks with Christadelphians
    Christadelphians
    Christadelphians is a Christian group that developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century...

    .
  • The larger group, which today predominantly believe in a supernatural devil, are also known as the Church of God General Conference
    Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)
    The Church of God General Conference is an Adventist Christian body which is also known as the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith and the Church of God General Conference ...

    . Their publications commonly cite Joseph Marsh (1802-1863)
    Joseph Marsh (Adventist)
    Joseph Marsh was an American Millerite preacher, and editor of The Advent Harbinger and Bible Advocate.-Life:Joseph Marsh was born in St. Albans, Franklin, Vermont, on December 6, 1802. When he was 16 the family moved to Genesee County, New York, where his parents were disfellowshipped by the...

     rather than Wilson as their spiritual forebear, though Marsh's role in the formation of the group is not clearly documented.

See also

  • Emphatic Diaglott
    Emphatic Diaglott
    The Emphatic Diaglott is a diaglot, or two-language polyglot translation, of the New Testament by Benjamin Wilson, first published in 1864. It is an interlinear translation with the original Greek text and a word-for-word English translation in the left column, and a full English translation in the...

  • Church of the Blessed Hope
    Church of the Blessed Hope
    The Church of the Blessed Hope is a small first-day Adventist Christian body.-Background:...

  • Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)
    Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith)
    The Church of God General Conference is an Adventist Christian body which is also known as the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith and the Church of God General Conference ...

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