The Pure Word

The Pure Word
By Don Shoots
Lynn Haven,
Florida
With little observance and Christian can see that every conflict of the past is seemingly wrapped up and revealed in this current age. There is no doubt that every element of confusion is pressing the mind of many believers. The enemy uses confusion at every possible turn to stop the spiritual progress of the Body of Christ. Satan’s first and successful stab was found in the Garden of
Eden when he questioned God’s word, “Yea, hath God said” (Genesis 3:1).
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This message, regarding the validity of the Word of God, is one that I convey with much love, compassion, and concern. Having been a pastor in the same church for over 18 years, I have struggled to eliminate every element that brought confusion. Knowing that when it came it would always stop the progress of what God was trying to build. So many Bible translations are not only available, but also promoted by well meaning people. Watching innocent children in Bible classes wrestle with “Which version do I memorize?” is disheartening to this pastor. Of course the enemy of our soul loves it! I will therefore delicately share this message with great caution to those who need to hear it the most.
All my life I was taught that the Bible was given to us by men who were inspired of the Holy Ghost and that I was to respect and reverence God’s Holy Word. Looking back I have noticed that the King James Bible has been the basic tool that brought about the great Holy Ghost renewals such as Azusa Street. In fact, for well over three hundred years, the King James Version was the Bible most prominently used in the pulpits across this country. However, in the last few years we have seen a floodgate opened by men who felt they had reached a pinnacle of knowledge allowing them to retranslate, reinterpret or in fact, rewrite the Bible. In my few short years, I have seen it fall from the Holy Bible to nothing more than The Book. The sadness of this invasion of new versions cannot be fully explained in this article. I will therefore share some of the many factual points of concern which most of us have not familiarized ourselves with, regarding the mass translations of Bible version.
The supposed reasoning for introducing us to a new version, such as the New International Version, was that these versions are easier to read than the KJV. If you are eager to see the lost come to know Jesus Christ, this is certainly a reasoning that would get any godly persons attention. But, is that in reality a true statement? Was this the promotional tool that distracted us from the King James Version we had learned to trust and respect for well over 300 years?
The fact is that other versions are not easier to read! When you subject the King James Version to the Flesch-Kincaid Level Formula you discover that the KJV is fifth grade level, NKJV and NASV are sixth grade level, New for Modern Man is seventh grade level and the NIV is on an eighth grade level.Why is this so difficult for us to accept that Satan has, is, and would tamper with the very words of God? As mentioned earlier, that was his first attack. Again in Matthew 4:6, Satan again attempts to twist the Word of God.
We have laws that govern nations, states, cities. Without these laws chaos and confusion would reign. Therefore the law of God is a must for the true church to live. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by brad alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4). Change the law and you will change the nation, state, or city. Satan knows if he can subtly change the law of the Church then he can easily change the Church.
Discussions of various translations cannot exist without looking at the Greek manuscripts and other manuscripts from which the particular version was translated. Words such as “cursive,” “A.D. 400 Codex A & W,” “Erasmus Vulgate,” and “Vaticanus” stop the average precious saint in the pursuit of truth. In keeping this article as simple as possible, we will not attempt to define them here. In tracing the manuscripts which produced the NKJV, NIV, NAS, RS, and AS, you will ultimately end up in
Rome with the manuscripts of A.D. 330, the Vaticanus Sinaiticus. The earliest New Testament Greek manuscripts supporting and confirming the KJV are from the Magdalene Papyrus, which dates back to A.D. 60, which is obviously an earlier date.
The general spiritual condition of the people translating these manuscripts must be considered also. The Greek text underlying the NIV, NASB, CEV and most new versions was originally created in 1881 by Anglican priest and spiritualist B.F. Westcott. His Greek text ignored over 5,300 Greek manuscripts which match the KJV and which has been followed by every non-heretical foreign language translation since the first century. Instead, he followed only forty-four corrupt manuscripts that were used briefly at the Platonic Alexandrian school and later by the Catholic church for the Latin Bible.
Bishop Brooke Foss Westcott was a major participant in the corrupted versions such as NIV and other mentioned versions/translations. Westcott objected to the “pre-existence” of Christ. Also, he wrongly thought Christ’s perfection was not reached until after His death so he therefore denied Christ’s sinlessness. He also had a clever denial of the bodily resurrection of Christ. There is so much more that could be said about Mr. Westcott who helped corrupt the manuscripts that produced Bibles such as the NIV and others.
The New International Version translation stylist, Dr. Virginia Mollenkott, readily admits her homosexuality. This could be why the words “fornicator and fornication,” which appear 40 times in the King James Version, is omitted in the NIV, as well as the words “sodomite and sodomites.” Some of you may remember her comments in Pat Robertson’s February 1994 issue of Christian American. She said, “I can no linger worship in the theological context that depicts God as an abusive parent.”
I pray the Spirit of Truth will prompt and stir us now! I have documentation that more versions of the Bible are on the way. Greed has twisted the powerful words of the Bible. One of the primary reasons is that it may be copyrighted. Thus, money will fuel the flame. We have bought one more tool of confusion at a price yet to be calculated. This article was not written to generate more confusion, but to give you factual reasons why this issue must be examined closely.
It is easy to succumb to the comments of those who say there is no real difference and that the differences are not worthy the controversy. A primary thought which must be kept paramount is the fact that the Word of God is a spiritual tool. Satan has faced and been defeated by “the sharp two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12) many times. In understanding this primary thought, what scriptures do you suppose Satan would like omitted in the NIV and other versions? Matthew 17:21 (KJV) says, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” This verse is totally omitted from the NIV.
Satan has always wanted to be worshiped as God. Many verses in the new versions are either omitted or they lower the lordship of our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The New International Version omits the powerful word “God” over 300 times, replacing it with the word “sovereign.” The changes from Lord to Sir, or from Master to Teacher are staggering. There are complete omissions of text such as Revelation 1:11and Acts 4:24. Some salvation truths are omitted or tampered with in the new versions (Romans 11:6l Acts 8:37; Colossians 1:14; 1 John 5:13 for example). With little study one feels that the differences are staggering. The New King James Version omits the word “Lord” sixty-six times, “heaven” two times, and the word “Jehovah” entirely.
Edward Gibbons in his classic work “The Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire,” conveys five causes for the fall. The decay of religion into many confusing forms was one of the causes, for it left the people without a uniform faith.
Psalm 11:3, “If the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
By Don Shoots.