From: The desk of Jean Paul Joseph,

To: My fellow believers in King Jesus and His Kingdom come.

I am writing to you today, after a dramatic and personal encounter in which יהוה (Yahweh) ישוע (Yeshua) visited me during the early hours over coffee. Dramatic, I know and one of the most tangible things that happened—aside from falling flat on my face in worship—was an insatiable appetite for His Word, the Bible.

To be honest, it was a completely unnatural appetite. I wasn’t just reading one Bible, but seven, for hours on end! I just couldn’t get enough of His Word and the almost ‘too good to be true’ good news, which I thought I already knew. But man was I wrong! I had been a Christian since age seven, but looking back, I realize that for the most part, it was just religious ‘do’s’ and ‘don’t do’s,’ with no personal, “I know you” type of relationship.

But that all changed after encountering Him. Now I could read the King James Bible and be touched, then immediately pick up another translation and be touched all over again in a completely different way. This process would repeat with each subsequent Bible. His beautiful loving touch grew stronger and stronger as He spoke directly and personally to my heart about our glorious hope and future together.

And this kept happening daily so that it became abundantly clear to me that the whole “Which Bible is best?” debate is, for the most part, silly! From my personal experience, the more you read from the work of thousands of faithful scribes who created our Bibles, the more He, reveals Himself to you. He does this through the Sacred Holy Spirit (רוּחַ Ruach HaKodesh), who searches the deep and hidden things of the Father to then reveal layer upon layer of truth to bless your unique heart. He does this in a special way for each of His children using a language and words you can easily understand.

Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying you have to read every Bible, but at least start reading a second version, especially if all you’ve read so far is the King James. It will change your life for the good!

To this day, my insatiable appetite for His Word continues. It’s not uncommon for me to be thinking about, reading, or translating the Bible for up to 18 hours a day! To say this is a supernatural gift of favor and hunger seems perfectly appropriate to me, because before my encounter, I had hardly touched my “dust-ridden” Bible for 18 years!

The 18-year famine for the Word of God in my life has now become regular 18-hour daily feasts, and boy, was I hungry and thirsty, and still am! Biblical rainbows like this suddenly started appearing all over my Bibles! #BibleRainbows

In His compassion, God seemed to declare, “Enough is enough.”

It was then that I felt His touch, and the beautiful, awe-inspiring fear of God (F.O.G) entered me! I fell face down in worship and thanks, and through my grateful sobbing, it became crystal clear that I was back on His side again, the best place in the world. Being in His presence now, I realized that all I knew of Him before that day were mere rumors and riddles of His power and Shekinah glory, which always fills His Temple (you and I). His glory is so overwhelming that one cannot stand in His all encompassing presence with a mere mortal body—it’s why He promises us new glorified bodies!

Reflecting on my life before this encounter, I believe I was like one of the five foolish virgins Jesus spoke of. It’s my heartfelt prayer that your lamp, dear reader, is full of Holy Spirit oil and burning brightly for Him when He returns to gather His Bride—the Unified Church Assembly—for the marriage supper of the Lamb (Jesus).

After meeting my Maker and experiencing His loving and merciful heart, I am now filled with a desire for everyone to taste and see this freedom in Jesus, The Anointed One (a.k.a Christ).

Whenever there is a visitation from the King, there comes a divine commission. The first and most important is the Great Commission, but there is also a personal calling—a unique purpose that God has created for you and you alone. For me, it became clear that my commission was tied to my academic mind, which has always loved the pursuit of knowledge.

As a child, I devoured encyclopedias, and all the kids wanted my help with their homework, but now my focus was to be on His Word—the Bible. What followed was, and continues to be, a supernatural ability to dive deeply into Scripture, using the best in class Biblical software called Logos to cross-check over 10 Bible translations and dictionaries. But Logos is not just for academics, I recommend it for all who want to see what the original languages reveal to us about God. You will be stunned at times.

Now when you study the Word in such depth for an extended period, you naturally begin to notice the strengths and “areas of improvement” in each English Bible translation that has been derived from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek manuscripts.

After identifying these “areas of improvement,” Yeshua directed me to write a Bible commentary and answer Biblical Questions.

I thought, “Okay, great—this is what I was born for!” But as I began the task, I realized I needed a literal, ancient context Bible—what many call a “Word-for-Word Bible,” which by the way is a misnomer as no language perfectly translates word for word. Especially ancient languages! So during one of my early morning coffee devotions, He surprised me with the unthinkable:

He said, “You do it! You create this version of My Word.”

My immediate reaction was one of disbelief: “The whole Bible…?”

I can’t remember if He answered that directly, but the message to me was clear.

After my initial astonishment and a lot of internal debate, I am excited to share that He has guided me in creating two accurate and unique Bibles. One will be a literal translation called the F.O.G Bible, and the other will be a paraphrase known as the F.O.G Message, which blends ancient and modern-day language. Both versions will faithfully preserve the Jewish context and retain the original names and titles of the Elohim, Yahweh. The One True God who reigns over all others who call themselves gods, including many men.

This is undoubtedly a God-sized task, and I greatly appreciate your prayers, support, and, of course coffee! Many Christians who receive a calling like this often joke, “If you think you can do it, God didn’t tell you to do it!” I find comfort in that thought as I continually seek His strength and wisdom each day.

With all this in mind, the work on the Fear of God (F.O.G) Bible officially began in September 2023—marking the one-year anniversary of my encounter with Him over coffee. The first book drafted was Ruth, and the entire New Testament was drafted on February 10, 2024 (10-02-2024 for my American friends). Just four days later, on Valentine’s Day, I launched this brand-new social learning website—fittingly, because God is Love. ❤️

I am now working on the new F.O.G Greek Lexicon, so as to refine my draft translation of the Greek New Testament, which should be ready for review and public comment by November 2024. I invite you to join this journey with me, to explore His Word more deeply, and to experience the richness of its original ancient context.

So let’s talk about what the F.O.G is based on and the translation process.