3″ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish….“ Luke 13:3, 5
19″ Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19
30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent….” Acts 17:30
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.” Matthew 9:13
In my experience, it has been very rare to attend a church that consistently teaches the narrow road to Jesus Christ…the road that travels through his blood, shed freely for our sins on a cold hard cross. I recently attended a church where the pastor teaches frequently and powerfully against the false, broad-road, happy-go-lucky Jesus, which is so prevalent today. This man, without equivocation, states that the road to heaven is narrow and that few find it. He boldly teaches that the only Jesus who saves us from the consequences of our sin is the one described for us solely in the Bible, and that Jesus is full of love, grace, and mercy…but also unmitigated vengeance in His time. Hell and the Wrath of God Despite the fact that this pastor uses my former longtime-love, the NIV 84, I was able to sit through a few of his sermons, since the substance of the messages were not affected by the textual differences between translations. However, in a recent sermon, this changed, and the truth of God was greatly, and horrifically obscured due to a serious doctrinal change from the Textus Receptus to the newer, critical Greek text, reflected in the differences between the KJV and the NIV/NASB/ESV, et al. The Bible Version Controversy Explained
The sermon in question was on Matthew 9:9-13, and the parallel passage in Luke 5:27-32. The substance of these passages centers around the fact that Jesus surrounded himself with publicans and sinners, and frequently ate and drank with them. In Luke 5:29, the text states that Matthew, who had just been called by Jesus, held a feast in his honor at his own house. However, the pastor, while using Luke to expound on the nature of the dinner (a feast vs. a quiet gathering) focused on the passage in Matthew and noted that, when questioned by the legalistic religious leaders as to why he would spend time with such undesirables, Jesus answered:
13 “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13 NIV
I believe that this verse is critical for understanding the heart of Jesus Christ towards mankind. It even explains why he left the glory of heaven …”to call sinners….” Yet the critical Greek Text, which is followed closely by the NIV and all of the other new Bible versions, deletes out THE key phrase at the end of verse 13. Jesus did not just “call sinners” to come and party with him, as so many megachurch preachers want us to believe – and justifiably so using the NIV/NASB. Jesus Christ did come to earth did to call sinners, and he called them to repentance.
In the KJV, and in it’s underlying Greek Text, the Textus Receptus, the Greek word “metanoia” is present at the end of of verse 13, and that word completes this important passage perfectly. Below is Matthew 13:9 in the King James Bible:
“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.”(emphasis added). Matthew 9:13 KJV
Jesus did not call the unrighteous to further unrighteousness or to simply to “hangout” with him, as the passage without the repentance language could easily imply to: a new believer, a pastor interested in attracting people with a worldly “gospel,’ or to an antinomian (hypergrace proponent). Instead, the God of heaven and earth called the sinners, tax collectors and publicans he loved so dearly, not to fulfill their fleshly lusts, but to turn to him from the wickedness of their sins, via repentance. The celebration with Jesus and his disciples was not a time of gluttony and drunkenness. It was a time of true joy – the kind of joy that comes when we know that we are safely hidden in the shadow of God…resting in the freedom and peace that accompanies a broken and contrite heart towards God as a result of an awareness of and hatred for our sin. Sin, Repentance and the Cross
The deletion of repentance in Matthew 9:13 (and in Mark 2:17) brought to my mind another well-known passage, this one addressing those who though they were saved but, shockingly (to them), were not. “Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” Luke 13:26-27 KJV
I have always wondered who those people were (in the passage above) and why they were so deeply deceived about something as important as their eternal destiny. I think I now understand. They were those who chose to spend time with Jesus, eating, drinking, and perhaps even sitting under his teaching on occasion…yet they refused to turn their hearts away from sin to him via repentance. In other words, they viewed Jesus just as the NIV and most other new Bible versions do…as a cool God/man who really just wants us to follow his ways and hang out with him…no judgement, no pricking of our consciences, no repentance…just chill with Jesus and his posse, and maybe debate some theology over a craft beer or two. After all, isn’t that how Jesus rolled?? Sadly, that Jesus is a fake one, manufactured by our own lustful desire to cling to our sin…and even our Bibles and many of our “churches” affirm that Jesus.
Another oft-quoted verse that, in the NIV appears to justify unmitigated sin, is the famed Romans 8:1:
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” NIV
A few years ago I had an unmarried Christian brother quote this verse to me after nights of skinny dipping and heavy drinking. His point to me, when I was attempting to encourage him gently to flee from sin to the Jesus of the Bible was that, “I’m saved, so don’t even talk to me about repenting and turning my heart away from my sin. There is no condemnation no matter what I do.”
Well, the King James Bible tells a different story. It states:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1 KJV
The point is not that one has to be perfect to walk uncondemned before Jesus Christ. Instead, the extra clause emphasizes the fact that, if we are truly in Christ Jesus, while we will stumble and fall as we make our way through this wicked world, we, as lovers of Jesus Christ and his precious blood, hate our sin and seek, with all of our hearts to walk not according to our fleshly lusts but according to the spirit. Paul said it best to Titus when he described what should happen when we truly understand the grace of God:
11 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ….15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:11-13,15
I could go on and on quoting important doctrinal changes to new version Bibles via the underlying critical Greek text, but for the purposes of this article I am simply illustrating how the new versions can absolutely corrupt ones understanding of God’s grace…even when a solid pastor is preaching. If we truly believe with our hearts (per Romans 10:9-10), that Jesus Christ paid for our sins with his blood, free of charge, than we will seek to turn to him from our sin, and honor him…not as works unto salvation, but as love. Jesus himself states:
21 “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.” John 14:21-24
We must all, as disciples of Jesus Christ, desire only the pure milk of the word, and thus, cast off all of our adulterated Bible versions, no matter how easy they are to read and no matter who accuses us of being legalistic. The evidence in favor of the KJV and it’s Greek foundation are overwhelming. See, The Bible Version Controversy Explained . We are told by Jude to contend vigorously for the faith, but how can we do that if we are quoting watered down Bible versions that delete out the clarion call to repentance, a call given by Jesus himself twice in a row in Luke 13 (see the top of the page)? Even Muslims I meet on the streets when I am evangelizing point to the fact that Christians have over a hundred different Bible versions, all of which say different things, while they only have one Quran. Therefore, they cannot even consider trusting the Bible or Christianity. What a brilliant scheme by Satan to easily convince 2 billion Muslims that Christianity has to be false since their holy book contradicts itself in hundreds of places! While I gladly inform them that only one English Bible is actually true, and I note that I would be glad to explain to them the history of the Textus Receptus and KJV, they simply laugh and say that the KJV is only one of hundreds of Bibles, and why should they believe me. Such is the brilliance of satan’s handiwork….
EPILOGUE
I loved the NIV and NKJV for 25 years, and I believed what was taught in seminaries and bible colleges about the superiority of the Greek foundation for the new versions (the critical Greek text, whose primary components are Codex Siniaticus and Codex Vaticanus). However, after my wife (like me, an NIV’er at the time), raised serious questions as to why the KJV was so different doctrinally than modern Bibles (after reading straight through six different versions), I decided to dig beyond what I had, like a sheep, been fed. So…I studied the issue for myself and found well over a hundred serious doctrinal changes, many of which lined up with catholic church doctrine (Acts 8:37, 1 Cor. 1:18, 2 Tim. 2:15, James 5:16 are a few off of the top of my head). My previous in-depth article (linked in the previous paragraph) lays out my findings in much greater detail.
I care about one thing and one thing only – that people escape satan’s wicked lies and pass from death to life via repentance through the blood of Jesus Christ. I have no other agenda than that, and this goal can only be accomplished if we are ALL teaching, exhorting and rebuking with an accurate Bible, a Bible that demands more than that sinners simply follow Jesus. Instead we must use a Bible that repeats over and over and over again the call by both Jesus and his apostles that all men everywhere must repent for the remission of sins.
15 “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:15
HIGH TREASON AGAINST THE LIVING GOD: Cowardice and Joining Together With Unbelievers
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34
20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of devils.22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 1 Corinthians 10:20-22
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…. 2 Corinthians 5:11
As our time on this planet melts away, I feel a great urgency to encourage all believers, myself first, to test each and every action we undertake in the name of Jesus Christ, against the eternal word of God, lest we be deceived by the sweet-tasting lies of this world and face a God who is disappointed with us when we stand before him. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11, when speaking about the judgment seat of Christ (which all believers will face), “Knowing, therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” It is my passion, stemming from my own past failures and brokenness, to persuade everyone I know who calls upon the name of the Lord, to test everything…prove everything, while there is yet time so that we will not experience terror on that day, and as John says, that we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his appearing (1 John 2:28).Preach the Word Boldly and Do Not Be Ashamed
False teaching, the patterns and traditions of this wicked world and the love of money and recognition, abound in the modern church. May everyone who reads this article, test their hearts and their actions against the Holy Scriptures, and flee from that which is not clearly supported by the word of truth. False Prophets and Teachers: Wolves Among Us
One of the areas that is most disturbing to me in terms of patent apostasy, is the move towards ecumenism. This grieves me deeply because the scriptures are so very clear on that topic, yet so many good men are involved in prayer groups and gatherings where Muslims, Buddhists, and Jewish friends are treated as brothers before God…allegedly all under the same heavenly Father. There is no brandishing of the sharp double-edged sword of the gospel of truth, which leads to repentance, and there is no discussion of the reality of the fires of hell for those who do not turn from sin to the Jesus Christ of the Bible. Therefore…in fact…there is no concern for the eternal destiny of these “friends.” The false, short-term relationships created by such events will perish in the flames, along with those men’s souls, when this world ceases by the breath of God. Hell and the Wrath of God Almighty
As the scriptures state, without equivocation, Jesus came not to bring peace but a sword…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word, and that blade is swinging, dividing parents from children, brothers from sisters and friends from friends.(Matthew 10:34-39; Ephesians 6:17). How much more does Jesus Christ want us to divide from those who do not even believe that he, as God and man, bore our sins in his body on the cross? He wants (and even demands) that the truth of God separate us out from the world – not to create meaningless disunity, but rather to create true unity among those who truly know and love the God of the Bible, all under the headship of the one who made us and loves us with an everlasting love.
Perhaps the most comprehensive and direct passage on the issue of separating from unbelievers is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, quoted below:
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
2 John 1:9-11, also states, in no uncertain terms, that if we invite one who does not hold to the doctrine of Christ, into our house, or wish them well, without confronting them with the gospel of Jesus, then we are actually partakers in their evil and godless deeds:
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
If these passages and the one quoted at the top of the page from 1 Corinthians 10 are true, how can we possibly sit down at a table with unbelievers (and even more with those who openly worship a pagan and thus, demonic “god”) and fail to confront them with the death, burial and resurrection of our great Lord Jesus Christ for the sins of the world? We cannot, therefore, do not, lest you taste the anger of God when you stand before him.
Jesus and Paul made it clear – we, as believers and children of the living God, are not to join together with unbelievers unless we are preaching the gospel message of Jesus Christ to them. The context of the relevant passages is not limited to marriage, business or prayer meetings. Our God is a jealous God, and he demands that we pursue holiness, purity and righteousness by refusing to water down exactly who he is and what he did for our sin on the cross…ever. Jesus also made it abundantly clear that when we do follow him with all of our hearts, the world will indeed hate us just as they hated him (John 15:18-27). Let us embrace the fact that we are, as Peter said, strangers and pilgrims on this earth, living not for a city built by men, but for an eternal city – one built for us by the very hands of God. Heaven: Your Best Life…Later
EPILOGUE
If we are not experiencing pushback and rejection from the world, and even from the “believers” we know who are caught up in the most glaring heresies of today (false signs and wonders, hypergrace, the contemplative,ecumenism, prosperity/word of faith, latter rain, etc.) then perhaps we should examine our hearts to determine if we, like Paul, are truly considering everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ our Lord, and his death and resurrection for our sins (Philippians 3:7-15). We all must, without fear or shame, boldly proclaim the only message that can save souls from a rapidly approaching eternity in hell…the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. As Peter says so eloquently regarding the inevitable reproaches we will receive for the sake of Christ, “Happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you…” (1 Peter 4:13-14). For in a short time, we will receive an eternal reward, far more glorious and wonderful than anything our temporal minds could ever comprehend. May we all seek that everlasting kingdom with all of our hearts.
For the preaching of the cross is to them the perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1:18
For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. 2:2
Proverbs 9:8
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.
Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
2 Corinthians 10: 12,18
12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise…18 For (it is) not he that commendeth himself (who) is approved, but (he) whom the Lord commendeth.
Romans 10:13-14
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
John 12:42-43 (This refers to confessing Jesus as he truly is in the scriptures, not a generic Jesus, who, as a prophet, is respected by all religions. He is God and savior…nothing else)
42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:43 For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Jude 1:3
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
“ The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psalm 12:6-7
“And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” Luke 4:4 (check your new version Bible to see what is curiously deleted from this verse)
“Yea, hath God said…?” Satan to Eve, and the textual critics to the world. The most destructive lie ever told…lives on. Genesis 3:1b
I used to dismiss the King James Version of the Bible entirely. I thought of it as a ridiculous and outdated translation – an anachronism at best. I viewed it as a shabby antique – one that belonged under a half-inch of dust in my grandmother’s attic….but then I studied the history of current English Bible translations in great detail, and realized that ALL of the new versions use corrupt and purposely adulterated Greek manuscripts, which water down the eternal word of the living God…every last one of them. That Greek your pastor often refers to in church? It flows from corrupt Greek manuscripts first edited by the gnostic, self-castrating “scholar” Origen (and a student of his work, Eusebius), who believed in purgatory, universalism, that all human souls have existed from eternity past, that satan (and demons) would eventually be redeemed, and that Jesus did not actually return to earth in the flesh after his resurrection.
The manuscripts Origen(a well known gnostic) compiled and edited in Alexandria, Egypt in the 200’s, form the two primary Greek New Testament manuscripts (Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Siniaticus) used by Westcott & Hort, Nestles & Aland and the United Bible Society to make ALL of the modern English Bible versions. These manuscripts were more or less hidden from view from the late 300’s until the 1400’s (1800’s in the case of Siniaticus, when it was found in a trash bin at the St. Catherine’s monastery in Egypt where it was allegedly about to be burned)…hardly making them the word of the Lord preserved from generation to generation per Psalm 12 (see above). The fact that these two foundational manuscripts conflict with each other in over 3,000 places in the gospels alone, and are missing multiple books of the Bible while containing extra, gnostic books, does not help their credibility. For all you M.Divs and Thds out there, I bet you weren’t taught any of that in seminary.
(*Codex Siniaticus, aka Aleph, has 23,000 edit marks[per the British Library, where it resides], has at least 11 different scribes over many centuries making those 23,000 correction marks. It is missing the last 9 verses of Mark, the story of the woman at the well, a significant portion of the Lord’s Prayer, and key verses on believer’s baptism and the trinity. Many other important portions of scripture are either edited or deleted, including two of the strongest verses establishing the deity of Christ. While the book of Hosea is missing, it does contain the Apocrypha, the gnostic Epistle of Barnabas and the bizarre Shepherd of Hermas – yet it is still considered THE ancient biblical manuscript, by the scholarly world, and it lit the fuse of the Bible destroying pseudo-science known as textual criticism.)
(**Codex Vaticanus (aka B), was likely written after the council of Florence in the mid 1440’s because both it’s style and substanceseem to be influenced by the Latin biblical text that was introduced at that council. Both Erasmus and Hort held that position on its genesis, as does the curator of ancientmanuscripts at the British Library, Dr. Scot Mckendrick. He states, withabsolute certainty, that the ornamentation and high quality vellum B was written on, indicate a date no later than the earlyto mid 1400’s. It wasn’t even cataloged in the Vatican Library til 1481, more then 1000 years after it was allegedly written and placed there. That…makes no sense. Furthermore, there is no record of anyone even suggesting an early date for B until the 1800’s when the German higher critics were desperate to dethrone the Textus Receptus. B is tragically flawed and should hardlybe considered reliableas a foundational Bible manuscript given that it is missing: the first 46 chapters of Genesis, 32 Psalms, multiple verses in the gospels, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus, a huge portion of Hebrews, and all of Revelation. It does, however, contain the non-Hebrew, catholic apocrypha, The Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepard of Hermes. B also disagrees with its supposed twin, Aleph, over 3000 times in the gospels alone. It is missing 1491 words, phrases or clauses in the gospels[per Dean John Burgon] and there are spelling and grammatical errors on almost every page. The Old Testament portion of B was written in Greek instead of Hebrew, the actual language the Jewish Masorites used when writing and preserving their ancient scriptures.)
In the 1800’s, Westcott & Hort, two Anglican clergy men and open occultists, whose own letters expose their veneration of Darwin and the Catholic Church, their love of seances and their total disregard for Eden, heaven, the flood and the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross, made their own Greek New Testament manuscript (the so-called “critical Greek” text). This new Greek manuscript cleverly deleted out, added in or simply rephrased whatever scriptures they thought they could get away with without causing a furor …verses and passages that lined up with their “enlightened” thinking and, not surprisingly to anyone who has studied the Bible version issue, their changes almost always lined up with catholic doctrine(Acts 8:37, 1 Cor. 1:18, 2 Tim 2:15,James 5:16, etc.)
Westcott & Hort did expect some push back on their changes even back then…but they heard hardly a peep (Dean John Burgon’s vigorous dissent was an exception). Leading men loved these brilliant, iconoclastic lies shrouded in the dense and deceiving fog of “scholarship.” Did we really not have a true Greek New Testament until the late 1800’s?? That is exactly what the textual critics/new version advocates are saying.
It is important to note that all of this information regarding Westcott & Hort’s core beliefs is gleaned exclusively from their personal correspondence, published by their children after their deaths. That is the only way we know these key facts about their non-literal view of the Bible, their reverence for Darwin, Rome and the occult, and their motives for changing the scriptures…and we are all reading and teaching from their Bibles.
The first English translation to flow from Westcott & Hort’s so-called “critical”Greek text was the 1881 Revised Version. Subsequently, their Greek manuscript (with additional changes made by the Nestles and Åland committee and the UBS, also using Siniaticus and Vaticanus) was used as the foundation for EVERY single new version. It is deeply corrupt, and if one examines charts with the actual departures from the Textus Receptus Greek(TR), which was used by the Tyndale, the Great, the Mathew’s, the Bishop’s, the Geneva and the King James Bibles (I have added links to charts at the end of my article), I can assure you that he or she will see through this brilliant plan to weaken God’s unchanging word, and turn eternal concepts into temporal ones (the famed Jeremiah 29:11 is but one example of a spiritual promise turned into a temporal one in the NIV). I, personally, was both shocked and disgusted by the numerous substantive changes to my Bible, yet… I do concede that the modern versions are a bit easier to read and understand due to more familiar language. The new version translators (and satan) knew all too well that this generation would take ease of reading and the lofty and pretentious claims of scholarship over the sharp two-edged sword of truth. I did for over 25 years.
The KJB detractors, and there are many, attempt to denigrate the 54 scholars (or 47, since 7 died during the translation process) who jointly worked on the KJB, with their subjective and pseudo-intellectual textual criticism. The translators were all considered brilliant scholars, and were chosen by the King due to sterling, easily verifiable academic backgrounds (I have seen many of their CV’s)…men such as Lancelot Andrews, George Abbot, John Aglionby, and the head of the OT committee, Dr.John Bois, who was reading and writing in Hebrew at age 6. These men worked in 6 separate groups (two at Oxford, two at Cambridge and two at Westminister), each of which translated the entire New Testament independently, after which time the groups came together, using fourteen translation principles, to determine the final reading. Furthermore, each portion of New Testament scripture had been independently translated between 14 and 17 times by the committee, ensuring accuracy and thoroughness.
All of the criticism of the KJB on intellectual grounds is pseudo-academic nonsense. The KJB is hated because it stands as the preserved word of God, starting in Antioch and then spreading all over the world, only to be gathered together by the brilliant Pope-defying, Catholic scholar Erasmus(the Reformation had not happened yet) in the 1500’s. Luther, Tyndale, Coverdale, the Geneva Bible translators, the Great Bible translators, the ancient Wessex Gospels translators, and many more Bibles all over the world, used the same Greek manuscript family as Erasmus (known as the Textus Receptus, Byzantine Text, Majority Text or Traditional Text), and since satan couldn’t burn all of the copies…he decided to change the Bible from the inside, using proud men, far too “enlightened” to believe many of the “superstitions” of God’s word. Noted theosophist(a blending of all the world’s major religions with philosophy) Helena Blavatsky (a favorite of 19th century intellectuals, and publisher of the periodical “Lucifer”), along with her disciple Alice Bailey (revered by occultists, theosophists and new agers), have openly discussed satan’s ultimate plan to infiltrate the church from the inside…and the Bible was a perfect place to start(See Paul’s warnings, Acts 20:29-31;2 Corinthians 2:17).
I understand that the language of the KJB is old fashioned at times, and most seminarians and Bible college graduates will have a dismissive attitude towards it. Why? Because the vast majority of seminaries and Bible schools are part of the ecumenical, watered-down gospel machine. Yes…Satan, the father of pride, works everywhere – but especially in academia. Men love to know better than other men because they went to this school or that school and studied under this professor or that one. Satan was and is counting on the pride of men to weaken God’s word by imparting to them limited, but “scholarly” knowledge, in order to proliferate his altered Greek manuscripts and thus, his modern Bible versions. The apostle Paul specifically noted that he was well aware of satan’s clever schemes to deceive men (2 Corinthians 2:11),and he warned the church specifically about those who were already corrupting the word of God in his day(2 Corinthians 2:17).
As for the new versions having older manuscripts…that is technically true in a general sense, because the Alexandrian manuscripts were written on higher quality papyri/vellum at their well-funded gnostic schools, and because they weren’t frequently handled for over a thousand years…since almost no one took them seriously outside of Vatican City until the 1800’s. The early Antiochan manuscripts (Textus Receptus/TR) were true to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the apostles, yet were on lower quality papyri, because the early church wasn’t wealthy – and because they were sent all over the world by foot and by ship, which exposed them to the elements. They were also worn down due to constant usage and thus, were recopied time and time again…unlike the gnostic manuscripts, which were hardly used at all.
Despite those facts, the earliest surviving Bible today is actually a Textus Receptus Latin Bible called the Vetus Latina, circa 147 – 1000AD, which obviously necessitates an even earlier TR Greek manuscript from which it was translated. There are several thousand (perhaps over 10,000 per one researcher) still in existence today, along with similarly dated Coptic, Bohairic, Armenian, Slavic and Gothic TR Bibles. A well known Syrian translation called the Peshitta, and the famed TR “Itala” Bible also date to the late 150’s AD.
I recently discovered that manuscript fragments from the Gospel of Mark, Acts, Romans, 1 Timothy, James and 2 Peter were found in cave 7, Qumran, Dead Sea. These caves were sealed by the Essenes no later than 68 AD, as the Roman legions approached, confirming an astoundingly early date to significant portions of the Syrian Greek text (TR) used by the KJB. See, New Testament Manuscripts, Cave 7, Qumran, dated to 68AD This evidence, and the aforementioned early Latin and Syriac Bibles, prove that even the “oldest biblical text/manuscript” argument, often used to support the corrupt Alexandrian Greek texts, fails, miserably.
Kurt Aland, co-author of several late editions of the Nestles & Aland Greek New Testament text, and a vigorous KJB detractor, admits that early copies of Textus Receptus(TR) manuscripts are almost non-existant (again,the very early Syrian Peshitta, Old Latin, and Itala Bible versions did survive) because they were intentionally destroyed by Rome during the brutal Diocletian persecution(303-311 AD), along with unfavorable weather conditions in Asia Minor and Greece. However, once the Roman persecution of the church ended circa 311 AD, there was, naturally, an explosion of new Textus Receptus manuscript copies inside the Roman Empire, prepared by actual Bible believing christians, and proliferated through the centuries by brave communities such as the Itala Church in Italy, the Donatists in North Africa, The Paulicians/Albigenses/Bogomiles/Cathars, etc. throughout Europe the Balkans and even into Asia. Groups such as the Waldenses in the Italian and French Alps, the Gallic church in France, Ulfilas in Northern Europe (who translated the Bible into Gothic), the Vaudois in Switzerland, the Anabaptists, and the Huguenots also worked vigorously to translate and maintain the true biblical text, unmarred by Rome.
The Itala church and Waldenses/Vallenses/Vaudois were two of the communities of faith that worked feverishly in the early 300’s to reproduce TR Bibles in order to make up for all of the copies which had been burned by Diocletian. This easily explains the concern textual critics have with the sudden appearance of a large number of Textus Receptus manuscripts in the 4th Century, and beyond. The Waldenses were known to memorize entire books of the Bible and even as much of the New Testament as they had, and head out into the world as far as they could go, translating the Bible for the people groups they met along the way. Some made it as Far East as the Parthian empire, known today as Iran.
It’s funny – I often hear the question:”Where was the KJB before 1611??” Well, that question should be reversed. Where, exactly, was the critical Greek text before 1881? The answer: in caves in the Egyptian desert, and of course, in the Vatican. Meanwhile, as I have noted above, the source text for the KJB had spread all over the world – from Antioch to Ethiopia to the British Isles to Armenia and to The mountains of western Europe, beginning in the 1st century.
Even KJB rejecting scholars agree that well over 98% of all ancient Greek manuscript evidence agrees with the KJB, while less than 2% agree with the new versions (the last official count I have seen was 5,702 to 44, which is more like 99% to 1%). Any claim that the new versions are superior is patently false from both a spiritual and scholarly standpoint. Yes, they are easy to read, but they have many deep heresies intended to draw mankind away from many of the simple yet profound truths of God. As Jesus said to his Father in John 17, “Thy word is truth” – but not if his eternal word has been edited by wicked and deceitful heretics, who, like Satan in the garden, boldly and proudly cast doubt on God’s voice to mankind by proclaiming to the world – “yea hath God said?” The question is: Are you believing that very same lie today?
EPILOGUE
This is by far the most divisive topic I have ever written about because we all love our modern Bibles, and cannot possibly believe that so many people have it wrong. My beloved seminary professor is wrong?? My distinguished and learned pastor?? My youth group leader?? Yes…even him – or her. Everyone talks about this issue as if they understand it, but usually they just understand one side…the anti-KJB side, the side I was once steadfastly on. It took a trusted friend about 8 months to finally shake me out of my NIV 84 stupor with hard, raw evidence. Then I decided to take the time to study the history of the Greek and Latin manuscripts (that form the foundation of our Bibles) for myself. Once I had a grasp of manuscript history, and reviewed many of the specific changes(deletions and additions) in the actual biblical text…I was done with all of my new versions forever (A few of the hundreds of passages with substantive changes: The removal of the compassion of Jesus four times in Matthew(NIV 84),Genesis 30:27, Jeremiah 29:11(NIV 84), Matthew 9:13, Mark 9:44,46,48 and 10:24, Luke 4:4, Luke 9:55-56, John 7:8-10{is Jesus a liar??},Acts 8:37, 1 Corinthians 1:18, Galatians 5:12(did Paul really want his enemies to castrate themselves??), Colossians 1:14, Romans 8:1b, 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Timothy 6:5,20(warning about prosperity preachers and false science), James 5:16, 1 John 5:7, and Revelation 1: 6, 8, 11). Sadly, I discovered that my dear NIV – even the one written back in 1984 – was the worst of the lot (the Message doesn’t count because it cannot seriously be called a Bible due to multiple ridiculous and even occultic additions). It was hard to read the KJB at first…but I prayed for help from the Holy Spirit…and now I can’t live without it.
I am not one of those people who believe that one can only be saved via the KJB Bible, or that the KJB is perfectly written(I believe it is perfect in substance but not necessarily in form). I simply believe that the KJB, whose Greek foundation lines up with approximately 98% of all ancient manuscripts, according to the most recent studies, is the preserved word of God for this English speaking generation per Psalm 12:6-7. That passage, which I have quoted at the top of this article, was (not surprisingly) edited heavily in the new versions (Septuagint Greek), so that it’s meaning is entirely different. Did God truly say in Psalm 12 that his word would be preserved forever?? Not according to your new version(check that verse in your Bible).
After much study (hoping desperately that I would come to a conclusion that allowed me to keep my NIV, my NKJV or even my brand new MEV), I determined, along with countless other men and women far smarter than I am, that the only legitimate Greek manuscript used as a foundation for a Bible is the Textus Receptus – and despite the claims of the NKJV and MEV editors, the only true Textus Receptus Bible in English is the KJB.
Unlike the new versions’ Egyptian/gnostic roots, the Textus Receptus flows from the spirit-fed spring of the early believers in Antioch…all the way to London in the 1600’s. Do the new versions have many things right? Of course. What satan does best is weave darkness and light together, so that the two cannot be distinguished. He has done a brilliant job with the new Bible versions…yet with an open heart and mind, along with a willingness to exchange comfort and familiarity for truth, his scheme can be defeated. I challenge everyone who reads this, to study the actual textual changes for themselves, in context, ignoring ad hominem attacks on those who have exposed this scheme…for there are many, and they are often nasty. John 15:18-19 warned us that if we were of Jesus Christ, the world would hate us…and nowhere is that more evident than in the battle for God’s eternal voice to mankind. The very truth of His preserved word to this and every succeeding generation is at stake. Yea hath God said? Yes. He did actually, and you can read his words to the world, preserved for eternity, in your King James Bible.
Revelation 22:18-19
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:
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.
***The new Reina Valera Gómez (RVG) is a true Spanish Textus Receptus Bible(unlike the other Reina Valeria’s, which mix TR and Alexandrian texts).
***Please remember that if you look up the changed/corrupted verses in the Greek online, chances are very high that the only Greek you can find is the Westcott & Hort/Nestles & Aland/UBS Greek, which is where the corrupted verses originated and metastisized. Unless you check the verses in a verifiable Textus Receptus (TR) Greek (and several people who have dedicated their lives to study this issue say that there are few true TR’s online) you are using the corrupt Westcott & Hort/Nestles & Aland Greek. Even some of the supposed online TR manuscripts have been intentionally altered, as has the new supposed TR Bible, The Modern English Version (and the New King James for that matter). Now why would anyone try trick good Christian men and women into reading a Bible that we thought was based on the TR but really isn’t? As Paul said in a verse I cited above, we are not unaware of satan’s devices.
****Why is your ESV different then your NASB, which is different than your NIV? The answer…is ca$h. In order to receive a copyright on a new version, the law requires that it be 20% different than all other versions. So, the editors of the new versions simply grab a thesaurus and go to work, changing whatever words they can (is the Holy Spirit really a “helper??” My hamburger needs helper but I need a Comforter!) and rephrasing other passages. Do we really need all of these new versions? Of course not – but the editors and publishers want your money and are more than happy to nip, tuck and carve up God’s eternal word to get it…and the plan seems to be working well.
If one studies the history of the KJV’s translation process, it is clear that prayer played a very large role. Furthermore, the translators never profited from its sale.
***Mark of the Beast Issue***
The ESV, NIV, NASB, etc. all say that the mark of the beast will be “on” your hand, like a scannable tattoo (See, Revelation 13:16). The KJV, however, says that the mark is “in” your right hand or forehead. “In” and “on” are not the same things, and thus, someone is lying to us. I believe that the ESV etc. will be used to try and prove to people that the implantable chip we will all be required to have, is not the mark…when actually it is. The smoke of the torment of those who are tricked into taking the mark…will ascend forever. Throw away your new versions and tell everyone you know to do the same. I wrote a brief article on this issue: The Mark of the Beast: A Warning, and on how the new versions delete key words regarding repentance and sin:Repentance, Salvation and the new Bible versions: Yes, it really does matter
The Trinitarian Bible Society, Dr. Edward Hills, Dr. David Otis Fuller, Dr. Jack Moorman, Dr. Mickey Carter, Dr. Hayes Minnick, Dr. William Grady, Dr. D. A. Waite, David Cloud, Dr. Douglas D. Stauffer, Dr. Al Lacy, and Dean John William Burgon(1813-1888).
The Underground Christian Network has excellent podcasts on this issue, which can be found via a search inside your Iphone or smart phone’s podcast app., and I recommend Dr. David Otis Fuller’s book Which Bible?; Chick Publications, Look What’s Missing; Dr. Stauffer’s book One Book Stands Alone; Dr. Sam Gipp’s The Answer Book; Dr. Edward Hills’ The King James Version Defended; and Dr. William Grady’s Final Authority.
David Cloud’s www.wayoflife.org website also has helpful resources on this issue (including a well-researched downloadable book), as does D.A. Waite’s excellent scholarly book Burgon’sWarnings on Revisions of Textus Receptus and the King James Bible. The Burgon Society’s website is: www.deanburgonsociety.org. Dean Burgon’s, The Revision Revised, is a brilliant critical, and often incisive analysis of Westcott & Hort’s Greek manuscript by one of their contemporaries.
Dr. Douglas D. Stauffer has several first-rate presentations on youtube on the NKJV and how it masquerades as a TR Bible – and on the NIV. Below is his EXCELLENT presentation on some of the NIV’s most glaring errors, especially those edited or omitted to conform to catholic doctrine: https://youtu.be/OQFtvmVHBb4
…And another video from Dr. Stauffer showing NIV changes which affect New Testament doctrine of salvation: https://youtu.be/T0o2yKJgvnA
22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”1 John 2:22
22″ …Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.”
Romans 14:22
15 “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15
4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4
I have been troubled over the last few years as I have pondered the fact that many Christians are now praying with Jews and Muslims, tacitly implying that we are praying, to the same Father god. The more I read the New Testament and see how Paul and the Apostles preached Jesus Christ fearlessly, never watering down or compromising the truth to please man, the more this practice has grieved me. Would Elijah have prayed with the prophets of Baal or Paul with Pagan priests? No chance. As I have been scouring the New Testament for verses on love, holiness and obedience, I have stumbled across a few verses which address this issue directly. While on the surface it appears that we share the same Father God as the jews, John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and the one to whom he entrusted his mother at death, disagrees…and in the strongest of terms. By rejecting the son, Jews are fully and completely rejecting the Father as well.
1 John 2:23, says that we, as believers have an anointing from the Holy One and know the truth – and that no lie comes from the truth. He then goes on to state,22 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.”(see also, John 3:17-19, 35-36; 1 John 4:2-3; and 1 John 5, listed below).
Clearly, John is saying that non-messianic Jews, who strongly reject the message that Jesus is the Christ, are the antichrist (not the actual guy, but they have his spirit). Even on the surface our views of God the Father are vastly different. Our Father sent his precious son to preach love, holiness and obedience and then to die humbly and painfully on a cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jews believe that their God will send a powerful political leader to rescue them from persecution and to then rule world by force. They see the coming of the messiah as a temporal, political matter – not a matter of heart, thereby missing the entire message of both testaments. As Paul says, their minds were blinded…veiled to the truth, and that veil remains even today. (2 Corinthians 3:12-16).
So we, as believers, have to determine whether Peter and Paul, whom we are called to imitate, would pray with Jews on equal ground, pretending they are praying to the same God. My review of scripture tells me there is no chance. Instead, they would preach Jesus Christ to them with great strength and courage – unashamed and untempered by the fear of rejection or looking foolish. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel for he knew its saving power and he did not want men to go to hell. That was his only concern – eternity in the unquenchable fire of hell. He wasn’t worried at all about being accepted by men. He simply wanted to please the God who saved him and who loved him. He spent his post-conversion life spreading the good news of Jesus across the near-east, whether it meant imprisonment, floggings, starving, stoning or death. For he was looking to another kingdom – one which can never, ever be shaken.
At Mars Hill in Athens (Acts 17:16-34), Paul approached those who believed in other Gods – many of whom were highly respected philosophers – and boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ, with no concern about how he came across. He debated Jews across the Middle East – trying with great passion to show them that Jesus was the one spoken about by David and the prophets as the promised messiah. Peter did the same thing, and when the Jewish leaders arrested him for disobeying them he told them that he had to obey God rather than man, even though he knew his disobedience would lead to a brutal beating and eventually death as a martyr. He chose to please the one and only God rather than make friends with a world that will soon pass away.
Yet it seems that we all get caught in Satan’s trap of trying to gain the approval of those who are perishing, with no concern for their eternal destiny, while also tacitly denying or minimizing the truth of the One and Only God and his wonderful son Jesus Christ. In behaving this way, our hope seems to be that Jesus will be seen in our lives over time. But that is not the model Peter and Paul gave us, as they preached boldly and powerfully in the face of overwhelming opposition every where they went.
When I think about Christians praying with Muslims, it grieves my spirit even more. Not only do Muslims deny that Jesus is the Christ, thus making them antichrists per 1 John 2, but their holy book was inspired by Satan himself, which is obvious by it’s deeply heretical content, as well as it’s explicit denial that Jesus is God. How can we, as sons and daughters of the Living God, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ, pray with them as if we are all talking to the same Father? 1 John 2 makes it clear that we cannot do so and honor God, and 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, emphasizes the same point as well. In that passage Paul says:“…for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” (See also, 1 Corinthians 10:21-22).
All of us should examine our actions, not by what the men before us have done, but by the unchanging scriptures which speak eternal words of truth from the One and Only God who doesn’t change like shifting shadows (James 1:17). These scriptures tell us that friendship with the world makes us enemies of God, and that if the world hated Jesus it will hate and reject us as well.(John 15:18-25; James 4:4-5, and 1 John 2:15-17). It says that all of us will suffer persecutions and trials for our faith. Paul embraced those trials and never ever watered down or minimized the gospel for the sake of relationships. He never put peace, friendships, comfort and worldly acceptance over the eternal truths of the gospel…and it cost him dearly. But he was willing to pay any price because he considered his present sufferings not worth comparing to the glory that he would receive in heaven when he comes face to face with the one and only God. May we also fight that good fight. May we finish the race – and most importantly may we all keep the faith.
****A few additional, excellent verses which specifically address this topic****
John 3:17-19 17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
John 3:35-36 35 “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
John 5:21-23 21 “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:23 That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”
John 8:24 24 “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”
John 10:9 “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
John 12:48 48 “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Acts 4:10-12 10 “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 4:16 “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
1 John 3:23 23 “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
1 John 4: 2-3 2 “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
1 John 4:15 15 “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.”
1 John 5:1;5-7; 9-12 “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him…5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?6 This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one…9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
2 John 1:7-11 7 “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.10If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
Thy Word Alone is Truth: Examining All Things in the Refining Furnace of Scripture 