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I n part one we took a look at some
of the differences between the new Bible versions and compared
them to the trustworthy and time-honored King James Version (KJV).
In the New Testament alone we found that there were 17 complete
verse omissions and thousands of other differences.
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"It follows that within a relatively
few years after the writings of the New Testament books there
came rapidly into existence a "majority text" whose
form was essentially that of the Autographs themselves. This
text form would, in the natural course of things, continue to
multiply itself and in each succeeding generation of copying
would continue to be exhibited in the mass of extant manuscripts."
(1)
The Church of Antioch, is the church of the Apostle
Paul and is from where this same stream of Manuscripts that the
Bible was used and then hand copied over and over until finally
we had the King James. I truly believe that we can have the confidence
that we are reading the words that Jesus, Paul and others spoke,
the preserved word of God (Psalms 12:6-7).
Irenaues, one of the early Church Fathers who lived 130-200AD
said:
"The doctrines of the apostles had been handed down by the succession of bishops being guarded and preserved, without any forging of the Scriptures, allowing neither additions nor curtailment."
Rev. D.A. Waite's has a list in his excellent
book "Defending the King James Bible" that shows the
thirty-seven historical evidences that support the Textus Receptus.
He makes a list that starts when it was first written during the
Apostolic age (33-100AD) up until up to the 1611 KJV. (2)
After studying this subject for close to thirty
years Waite comments:
"in fact, it is my own personal conviction and belief, after studying this subject since 1971, that the WORDS of the Received Greek and Masoretic Hebrew texts that underlie the KING JAMES BIBLE are the very WORDS which God has PRESERVED down through the centuries, being the exact WORDS of the ORIGINALS themselves." (3)
The Greek manuscripts
called the "Received Text" or "Textus Receptus"
that underlies the King James Version began with the Apostolic
Church and was preserved and protected many times by martyrs of
the Christian faith down through the ages. Wilkinson shares from
the revealing book "Which Bible?":
"Unquestionably,
the leaders of the Reformation - German, French, and English
- were convinced that the Received Text was the genuine New Testament,
not only by its own irresistible history and internal evidence,
but also because it matched with the Received Text which in Waldensian
form came down from the days of the apostles." (4)
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"We cannot but admire
the great faithfulness of our translators in so scrupulously
adhering to the exact words of the Holy Spirit, and when they
were necessarily compelled to supply the ellipses in the original,
to point out that they had done so by marking the word in italic
characters. By so doing, they engaged themselves, as by bond,
to give the Word of God in its strict original purity; and yet,
as thorough scholars in the original tongues, and complete masters
of their own, they were enabled to give us a version admirable
not only for its strict fidelty, but also for its eloquence,
grandeur, and beauty. Would it be desirable to have a new translation
of the Scriptures? "(5)
The King James has been
around and tested for close to 400 years and translated into hundred
of languages, many faithful Christians have died so we could have
it. It has been the cause of many awesome revivals. It was used
by the reformation and the worldwide missionary movement of the
English speaking people, the Bible that Sunday, Torrey, Moody,
Finney, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Wesley, Chapman, and early Billy
Graham used.
Frank Gaebelein shares how dedicated these men really were:
"This is the book
in the making of which the blood of brave men was shed. They
counted the labor of translating worth exile and even death in
flames. Burned in public, yet snatched away and cherished in
secret." (6)
The Bible teaches "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matt 7:20). Creation scientist Henry Morris shares his comments regarding the King James Version:
"God has uniquely
blessed it (the KJV) in the history of England and America,
in the great revivals, in the worldwide missionary movement,
and in the personal lives of believers more than He has through
all the rest of the versions put together." (7)
Italics is
from author
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"The King James Version;
as it is translated, has no resemblance whatever to the originals."
(8)
This is also believed by
other false religions that do not have the truth of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. Jesus clearly taught us that there is no truth
in Satan (John 8:44), and we can also safely say that there is
lies of deception in every religion or cult that is produced by
the Devil. Just by the fact that Satan and his people hate the
King James Version gives us more reason to believe that it is
the truth!
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"He (Origen) is considered by many to be the most profound mind in the history of the church. But in fact it may be said that he had a greater corrupting influence on the early church and on the Bible itself than any man." (9)
Wilkinson also writes:
"When we come to Origen, we speak the name of him who did the most of all to create and give direction to the forces of apostasy down through the centuries. It was he who mightily influenced Jerome, the editor of the Latin Bible known as the Vulgate. Eusebius worshipped at the altar of Origen's teachings. He claims to have collected eight hundred of Origen's letters, to have used Origen's six-column Bible, the Hexapla, in his Biblical labors. Assisted by Pamphilus, he restored and preserved Origen's library. Origen's corrupted manuscripts of the Scriptures were well arranged and balanced with subtlety. The last one hundred years have seen much of the so-called scholarship of European and English Christianity dominated by the subtle and powerful influence of Origen." (10)
Even before Origen,
history tells us there were other heretics who were busy altering
Scripture to fit their own doctrine. Well-known Bible scholar
Scrivener shares:
"It is no less true to fact than paradoxical in sound, that the worst corruptions to which the New Testament has ever been subjected, originated within a hundred years after it was composed; that Irenaeus (A.D. 150), and the African Fathers, and the whole Western, with a portion of the Syrian Church, used far inferior manuscripts to those employed by Stunica, or Erasmus, or Stephens thirteen centuries later, when moulding the Textus Receptus." (11)
Gaius is another early
Church Father who wrote between 175-200 AD. He names four heretics
who prepared corrupted copies of scriptures and who had disciples
who multiplied copies of them. It is important to understand that
the most corruptions took place in areas away from the original
autographs of Antioch. This may be one of the times in history
that human reasoning supposedly decided to take
over the words of God!
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"Copies of the already
existing Old Latin Vulgate (Underlying manuscripts for KJV),
which agreed more closely with the true text, were discarded
and often destroyed. Jerome's Latin Vulgate triumphed at the
expense of pure copies of the Word. ... Although Alexandrian
scholarship subtracted from the word, Roman tradition added to
the Word. However opposite these approaches may seem, the two
movements joined in the development of the Roman Catholic bibles.
Rome took Alexandria's diluted bible and added to it according
to its traditions. This resulted in the corrupt bibles we still
have with us today". (12)
Is
it a coincidence that soon after this time the Dark Ages were
ushered in? The Catholic Church has used these same underlying
manuscripts until modern times.
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"Its numerical superiority
in extant manuscripts shows that the Received Text (KJV) was
the decisive winner, and it held its ground for the next fifteen
centuries. But now in our century the battle has been renewed
and an even more intense conflict ensues with the proliferation
of modern versions based on the text of Origen." (13)
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"My faith is still wavering. I cannot determine how much we must believe; how much, in fact, is necessarily required of a member of the Church." (14)
In 1890 Mar. 4th Westcott wrote:
"No one now, I suppose, holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal history - I could never understand how any one reading them with open eyes could think they did." (15)
This statement sounds like something Origen once wrote:
"The Scriptures are of little use to those who understand them as they are written." (16)
Satan knows that if he
can destroy faith in these first three chapters of Genesis, he
is on his way to destroying faith in the rest of the Bible.
1860 Apr. 3rd Hort wrote:
"But the book which has most engaged me is Darwin. Whatever may be thought of it, it is a book that one is proud to be contemporary with. I must work out and examine the argument in more detail, but at present my feeling is strong that the theory is unanswerable."(17)
Evolution was designed
to take away the creation account of Genesis chapters one and
two. Here we read that Hort was proud
of the evolution theory. The theory of evolution has no place
in the word of God.
In 1865 Oct. 17th Hort wrote:
"I have been persuaded for many years that Mary-worship and 'Jesus'-worship have very much in common in their causes and their results." (18)
Jesus is to be worshipped
as the creator. Mary is only Jesus' creation and is absolutely
not to be worshipped. This is condemned all through
scripture to worship any other thing. God alone is worthy of all
praise.
These statements listed above are only a few of the many
false belief's about the Bible that Westcott and Hort
wrote in the their letters. Theses men behind the New Bible Versions
espoused "doctrines of demons" and were opposed to the
true word of God! I would beware before I put my trust in men
of such unbelief to judge the word of God!
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The preface to the New
International Version (NIV) says:
"Where existing manuscripts
differ, the translators made their choice of readings according
to accepted principles of New Testament textual criticism".
(20)
This is how we got hundreds
and hundreds of different Bible versions. Man correcting God's
words and even each other to produce what they think is a better
and more accurate version of the Bible!
Let us all take the advise of Jesus Himself when he said some
things are impossible for men, but with God who is the creator
of all things in heaven and on earth we can be assured that He
can certainly watch over His word! "And Jesus looking
upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God:
for with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27).
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"The whole dynamic process is a process of change, a process of evolution, a process that was designed by Satan in the Garden of Eden." (21)
The verse that is found exactly in the middle of the Bible is one that has been supernaturally designed by God to be there. It says; "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man" (Psalms 118:8). Let's just believe God when He said He has preserved His word forever and put our trust in Him rather than what man may believe.
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The Balance |
Scripture often teaches
us that more than one witness is reliable; "the mouth
of two or three witnesses every word may be established"
(Matt. 18:17). Proverbs 11:1 says; "a false balance is abomination
to the Lord; but a just weight is his delight".
There are no remaining original Greek texts, but there are over
5,000 copies of the originals that exist today. Out of these 5,000
texts, the majority of them (over 95%) say basically the same
thing! These texts are known as the "Majority Text".
The "Textus Receptus" (which is very similar to the
Majority Text) is what was used to translate the King James Bible.
This bears witness that the King James is based on a just weight
and balance (Proverbs 16:11) and this alone should prove the accuracy
of it.
Thomas Holland shares this valuable information:
"The agreement within this vast host of manuscripts is astounding. It becomes even more astounding as one recognizes that the Traditional Text (Majority Text) has been with us throughout the history of the New Testament Church, and that this text is represented in various locations throughout the world. Yet this text has few variances within the bulk of its witnesses. This is, of course, in direct opposition to the Alexandrian Text which is the minority text."(22) (Italics mine)
The remaining less than
5% of the over 5,000 manuscripts is what was used to translate
modern Bible Versions. Not only does this small handful of texts
contradict the `Majority Text" (95% of the over 5,000 manuscripts)
but they don't even entirely agree with each other! The text behind
the modern versions is a false balance!
Holland continues:
"The Alexandrian Text, with only a few Greek manuscripts disagree as much (or more) among themselves as they do with the majority (text). ... In the Biblical definition of things, this is itself evidence that the Alexandrian Text is not the instrument God used in preserving His word. Namely, because there is a higher degree of variance within its own family based upon a much smaller portion of manuscripts. Since God is not the Author of confusion (1 Cor. 14:33), we can conclude that God is not responsible for this line." (23)
There is also the evidence
of early versions that date back to 200AD and quotes from the
Early Church Fathers that also support the King James Bible. This
early evidence from these sources, show us that words or verses
were not added to the King James like some modern
scholars would have us believe. Satan only comes to steal, kill
and destroy, (John 10:10) and would obviously not add words that
exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. He would much rather deceive and
subtly take away like we have seen in the modern versions.
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"I
was trained to prefer the Westcott and Hort Greek text (now called
the Nestle/Aland text) at Dallas Theological Seminary.
The Received Text had been, almost without question, the
text in use up until 1881, when this change took place. For almost
1,800 years the church accepted the Received Text. Suddenly
many people threw it out. Something that lasted for 1,800 years
is now, all of a sudden, no good." (24)
I did not write these articles
to condemn everything that these modern versions say. Probably
ninety-five percent or more of everything translated by these
modern Bibles is based on the word of God. But by mixing a little
bit of false ideas with the truth becomes the greatest deception
of all. The dangers of Christian counterfeit cults are the same
way, most of their doctrines may be truth, but the little bit
of falsehood is where the deception is.
The Bible clearly teaches us over and over to obey all
of God's commandments. But how are we to obey all
of God's commandments, if we do not have all of
God's word? Christians who use modern Bible versions may be walking
on dangerous ground because their Bibles are missing many important
verses and phrases.
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"Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of
God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord
endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is
preached unto you" (1 Peter 1:23-25).
Notes and Bibliography:
(1).
Wilbur Pickering, The Identity of the New Testament, Nashville: T. Nelson, 1977
(2). Rev. D.A. Waite, Defending The
King James Bible, The Bible For Today Press, Collingswood,
N. J. 1998, p. 44-48
(3). Ibid, p. 48
(4). David Otis Fuller, D.D. "Which
Bible?" Fifth Edition, Grand Rapids International Publications,
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501, 1975, p. 210
(5). David Otis Fuller, D.D., "True
or False" Grand Rapids
: Grand Rapids International Publications, 1973.
(6). Frank Ely Gaebelein, The Story
of the King James Bible, Wheaton, Ill. Van Kampen Pr. [c.
1934,1950) p. 47.
(7). Henry M. Morris, "A Creationist's Defense Of The King James
Bible", Institute for
Creation Research
(8). H.P. Blavatsky, "The Secret
Doctrine" New York: The Theosophical Publishing Company,
1893 (As cited by G. A. Riplinger, New Age Bible Versions, A.V.
Publications Corporation, Ararat, VA. USA, 1998, p. 29
(9). Jack Moorman, Forever Settled,
p. 68
(10) Benjamin G. Wilkinson, Part two
of "Which Bible?", Our Authorized Bible Vindicated,
Fifth Edition, Grand Rapids International Publications, Grand
Rapids, Michigan 49501, 1975, p. 192.
(11). F. H.A. Scrivener, Introduction
to New Testament Criticism, 3rd Edition, p. 311. (As quoted
in Fuller's "Which Bible", p. 193.
(12). David Reagan "A Tale of Three
Cities" (Quoted from an article off the internet).
(13). Jack Moorman, Forever Settled,
p. 70
(14). B.F. Westcott, Life
and letters of Brooke Foss Westcott, : London : Macmillan
and co. ; New York : Macmillan company, 1903.
(15). Ibid
(16) "Origen," McClintock
and Strong, Encyclopedia.
(17). Fenton John Anthony Hort, The
Life of Hort
(18) Ibid.
(19). James R. White, "The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust
The Modern Translations?",
Bethany House,Minneapolis, Minn. : 1995
(20). New International Version, Zondervan
Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985, preface xii.
(21). Rev. D.A. Waite p. 102
(22). Thomas Holland, Manuscript
Evidence
(23). Ibid
(24). Rev. D.A. Waite p. 44
(c) Copyright 2000 Fill The Void Ministries. This article may be copied for personal use or reproduced to give to others. Article must be kept in original format and may not be sold for profit.
Read Part One - Understanding The Difference In Bible Versions |
(c) Copyright 2000 Fill The
Void Ministries. This article may be copied for personal use or
reproduced to give to others. Article must be kept in original
format and may not be sold for profit.
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