About a year ago, I was
alerted to the many omissions and changes to be found in our most widely
accepted modern manuscripts of the Bible today.
I was introduced to a well-researched and powerful little book called, The Piper, by Dennis Bank (I have
included a link to it further down in this blog). I discovered that the Bibles I had trusted,
namely the NIV and NASB, could no longer be trusted. I pulled out my King James Version and began
comparing the versions for myself, and I was truly astonished at the many
changes and omissions that had been made. These were not just "thee's and
thou's," these were key doctrinal changes like salvation, hell, the Deity
of Christ, and many, many more (Dennis lists 24 of them alone in his
book). So I shelved the modern versions,
and I began reading my King James Version only. After awhile I stopped checking the other
versions for comparison. Instead, I went to the original Greek, and I can tell
you, it made a huge difference in my understanding of Scripture! I was so revved up by this revelation of what
I now believe to be "corrupted" versions of the Bible that I began to
tell others. Some quickly responded the
same as I did, and quietly put aside their modern versions, and began reading
the KJV. Others struggled with the whole idea.
A very common reaction is to brush it off as being fanatical, but truthfully, many people have
a hesitancy of reading some of the older language, the thees and
thous, cometh, goeth, etc. But for those
of us who had switched, we didn't care about that, and eventually, with
patience and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance, the language was in NO WAY a stumblingblock. In fact, most if not all the people that
began reading the KJV noticed a great difference in their renewed understanding
of Scripture, and in their overall spiritual walk with the Lord! Why? Likely because nothing that is essential
to doctrine has been omitted!
Not wanting to ruffle any
more feathers, I let the matter drop until recently. Someone had challenged me that I was being
too legal about it, and so I started to really research it to see if there was
something I was missing. Was I being too
emphatic about trusting more in the King James translation of the Bible than
the modern versions? What I found in my
many hours of research overwhelmingly agreed with the historical information I
had read in The Piper, and that Westcott and Hort, the two translators that
changed so much of the KJV, were called into question again and again!
Checking out our Bible
against another version is not something we normally think about. We just
assume that the translators of the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures knew/know what
they are doing when they translate God's most Holy Word. Most of us will not think to check our
preferred translation against another, so we assume we are getting the truth,
the whole truth of what God intended to say to us. However, if we start to compare our current
version, and there are many modern translations today, to the Authorized King
James Version, we will start to notice some remarkable, and indeed, alarming
differences. Much more than just
removing the "thee's" and "thou's" which by the way, were
deliberately inserted to make sense of possessive, singular, and plural
pronouns, entire key doctrinal verses and phrases have been eliminated
altogether! So, we need to take a careful
look at our modern translation Bibles, and then we have to question why they
removed so much?
This is extremely
important because of what the Word says when it comes to tampering with His
Word:
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth
the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things,
God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:Rev 22:19
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and
from the things which are written in this book.
This is what Jesus spoke
to Satan. Take note of the phrase
"every word:"
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written,
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God.
If over 54,000 words and
phrases (including whole verses) have been omitted, we must question if we are
receiving "every word" that proceeds from the mouth of God! This is NOT something to take lightly!
Why do I say to check the
modern versions against the King James Version, and not some other
version? I say this because the modern
versions are based on a "minority text," but the King James Version
is based on a "majority text." Let me explain. There are over 5,000 documents of agreed-upon
Biblical antiquity, and the KJV implements them all. The minority text only uses about 45 of them
(1%). Two Catholic Bishops in the late
1800's, Wescott and Hort translated the Bible to many of the modern Bibles that
we have today, notably the NIV as probably known as the most popular. 1 There is much more about their life and
history found online, and I will give a list of sites at the end of this blog
that are well worth checking out.
The importance of the
accuracy of translations cannot, obviously, be over-stated, but neither can the
method, or the character and integrity of the translators themselves! The Authorized King James Version is undoubtedly
a version of the Bible that CAN be trusted because of the careful way in which
it underwent translation, and also because it held more to the original Greek
transcripts that had been preserved from Antioch dating back to Biblical
times. The new translation of Westcott
and Hort held to the Alexandrian documents associated with a Gnostic school in
Egypt, and derived their material from the Vatican Scrolls, which were laced
with Gnostic teachings.2
Here is the challenge that
will stir us to re-consider what we are reading, and that if it is the best
version for us to get accuracy and full coverage of what God intended us to
know. As they say, "the proof is in
the pudding." I was not wholly convinced
that there was anything amiss with my NIV or other modern versions of the Bible
until I saw with my own eyes what had actually been omitted and/or
changed! Here are some verses to compare
that have to do with major doctrines in the Bible:
The Doctrine of Good Works
to Salvation vs. the Finished Work of the Cross of Jesus Christ for Salvation:
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them
that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God. KJV
1Co 1:18 For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God. NIV
Notice in the KJV the word
"that perish" and the phrase "are saved." These are in the present verb tense. It is a done deal. The NIV, on the other hand, are in the present
progressive tense, "are perishing" and "are being
saved." Surely, they don't mean
that salvation is not a once for all, because that is what Scripture teaches
elsewhere.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.Heb 10:11 And
every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins:Heb 10:12 But this man, after he
had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
KJV
Jesus' sacrifice was
"once for all." Based on this
Scripture, priests cannot ever take away sins, only Jesus can and did!
To believe the NIV
version, you have to believe in good works to save you, and that you will not
perish, but that you are perishing. Who
is "perishing," but a soul that was not saved when they died? Doesn't this resemble something called
"purgatory" that the Catholic religion teaches? In John 3:18 it says:
An unbeliever today is
"condemned already." He is not
"perishing." He is already spiritually dead! That is the reality. He is dead until He comes to Christ!
Notice also in verse 11
that the Bible clearly teaches that priests make sacrifices that can NEVER TAKE
AWAY SINS.
So did Westcott and Hort
slip in their own corrupted theology, and in such a way that we wouldn't even
notice a word changed or missing here or there?
Friends, we need to be reminded that this is what Satan does. He changes and twists the truth ever so slightly!
If you read the NIV and
checked out John 3:18 against the KJV, it sounded similar to the KJV, didn't it? But did you read further up in verse 16, the
famous verse to introduce salvation, John 3:16?
Here they are omitting words that deify Jesus Christ for who He is:
Now look at the same verse
in the KJV:
Joh 3:16 For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. KJV
Notice the contrast in the
KJV, where they use "Joseph and his mother." God is His true Father. Joseph had nothing to do with it!
I want to share one more
noticeable difference, and it is an important one among many others. It has to
do with repentance:
Mat 9:13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." NIV
Compare this with the KJV:
Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I
will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.
Oops! The NIV omitted the
heart of the verse, the main verb: they
ended with "but sinners." But sinners to what? The KJV accurately
says,"to repentance." We have to wonder, why was this omitted?
From what I have shown you
is only a small sampling of what has been tampered with stemming from the
original manuscripts of the Bible which have been carefully preserved. Here are a list of more verses you can check
for yourself against the KJV of the Bible:
I John 4:3 - NIV omitted
the key phrase, "Christ is come in the flesh"
John 6:47 - NIV omitted
the key words, "on me."
Acts 8:37 - NIV omitted
entirely.
I John 5:13 - NIV omitted
entirely.
Mark 11:26 - NIV omitted
entirely.
Luke 4:8 - NIV omitted
"Get thee behind me Satan"
I Timothy 6:5 - NIV
omitted, "from such withdraw thyself."
These changes may not seem
like much, but honestly, can we really trust that if enough words are omitted
and/or changed so drastically that at some point in time, we won't find
ourselves far off course doctrinally and even spiritually?
One final MUST READ is the
book I mentioned earlier called, The
Piper, by Dennis Bank. This book is
very well documented and will explain much more and in summarized detail. I highly recommend reading it. For me, it has been eye-opening and
life-changing.
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Piper-Betrayal-Biblical-Consequence-ebook/dp/product-description/B00GD0VBK4
1 Taken from The Piper, Dennis Bank (see above URL)
2 Taken from The Piper, Dennis Bank (see above URL)
When it comes to matters
as significant of which Bible version to read and trust, we should never leave
one single stone unturned, as we must hold as closely to the truth of God's
Word that we have been entrusted with. I
challenge you today, as I have been challenged, to do some research, and
especially check the modern versions against the trusted King James Version,
which holds to the majority text. It may
be difficult at first if you are not used to some language differences, but you
will be able to get past this, as many others have already testified. Better to
struggle through a few outdated words that do not CHANGE or ALTER the Word of
God, than to miss out on whole passages, verses, and doctrines altogether.
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