Wilkinson is remembered mainly for a book he wrote in 1930 entitled
Our Authorized Bible Vindicated, in which he claimed that some new versions of the Bible were based on manuscripts with corruptions introduced into the Septuagint by Origen, and manuscripts with deletions and changes from corrupted Alexandrian text. Some years later
Independent Baptist preacher
David Otis Fuller wrote a book concerning the Textual debate entitled,
Which Bible?, popularizing Wilkinson's assertions and King James Only Movement beliefs. Wilkinson criticized the
English Revised Version, which New Testament was completed in 1881, because he claimed it was translated from inaccurate Greek texts. For example, in a change in the
Greek text removed the word
Gentiles. This was in a verse that requests Paul to preach on the
Sabbath. The longer Majority Greek text that was rejected in the ERV is helpful for the Adventist apologetic for Sabbath keeping. Wilkinson also criticized ERV translations. In the AV has "But after this, the judgement", the ERV "after this cometh judgement". Wilkinson supported the article inclusion with references to Middleton, Edmund Beckett and Canon Farrar. The AV text is considered more compatible with the Adventist belief in '
soul sleep' while Wilkinson, from Farrar, asserted that the ERV text would support the 'intermediate state' belief. Wilkinson criticized
Westcott and
Hort, Those who preferred not to use the Textus Receptus, such as Westcott and Hort, used what Wilkinson claimed were corrupted manuscripts. Similarly, an earlier writer on the textual issues,
John Burgon, called it a "fabricated text", and "among the most corrupt documents extant" and likened the primary manuscripts used, the
Codex Vaticanus and the
Codex Sinaiticus, to the "two false witnesses" of Matthew 26:60. The Codex Vaticanus that has come down to us had portions which have been collated and changed or edited by several scribes over the centuries, with many exclusions and errors that were intended to be corrections made in the process, while the
Codex Sinaiticus has known textual variants in its text and exclusions. In his book
Truth Triumphant, Wilkinson painted a true church after Jesus' ascension in the face of apostasy and persecution, fled into the wilderness, preserved the Word of God and teaching of Jesus. The true church manifested during the
Reformation, bringing in long lost teachings of the Bible that was forbidden during the
Dark Ages, and that she will triumph over the beast and its image in the last days. Wilkinson was a participant in the
1919 Bible Conference a highly significant event for the Adventist Church. The meetings included discussions on the nature of inspiration, both of the Bible and Seventh-day Adventist prophetess
Ellen G. White. Wilkinson was a representative of the conservative faction, arguing that White's writings were inerrant. Other leaders such as
A. G. Daniells, the president of the General Conference, disagreed and ascribed
inerrancy solely to the Bible. Adventists who today use the King James Version do not necessarily support the King James Only movement. Many Adventists use other English language versions of the Bible, and the denomination does not recommend any particular one. Wilkinson Hall, the main administrative building on
Washington Adventist University's campus, is named in Benjamin Wilkinson's honor. ==See also==