Gospel Bible Doctrines Affected in Modern Versions
BIBLE DOCTRINES AFFECTED BY MODERN VERSIONS (1/2)
By Paul L. Freeman
http://av1611.com/kjbp/articles/freeman-doctrines1.html
INTRODUCTION
The battle for the Word of God is going on today as it always has. The work of the Evil One himself has ever been to cause men to doubt the Word (Gen. 3:1), to corrupt the Word (2 Cor. 2:17), and to misquote the Word (Luke 4:10,11). There are many Modern Versions on the scene today all claiming to be more accurate or more readable renderings of the Word of God. Most of these versions follow the MINORITY Greek Text even though that text exhibits a corruption throughout. The King James Version was translated from the MAJORITY Greek Text which agrees with about 95% of all available manuscripts. The MAJORITY Greek Text can be traced back to the Peshitta (Syriac Version) about 150 A.D.
Many Christian Colleges and Universities have switched over to the MINORITY Greek Text (known as Westcott and Hort or Nestle and Aland) for the classroom while still using the King James Version in public preaching. Since there are over 5,000 differences between the MAJORITY and MINORITY texts a problem immediately faces the student. The King James Version he brings to the classroom is subjected to constant editing by the teacher who is using a Greek Text different from the one the King James Version was translated from. The student is well aware that God did not inspire two different Bibles. He must make a choice and for the sake of harmony or teacher satisfaction he will usually accept his King James Version minus the MINORITY Text corrections as the Word of God. Should there be an area where agreement cannot be reached he is told to decide on the proper rendering by exercising his spiritual discernment. The schools that are following this double standard will admit that when the King James Version is no longer needed for Public Relations they will make the complete change to the New American Standard or the New International Version. These two are seen to follow the MINORITY Greek Text.
Those who want to replace our King James Version with new Modern Versions are constantly stating that no Bible Doctrines are affected by the changes. One school recently published an article by one of its’ teachers in which he said that, “BOTH TEXTS ARE THE WORD OF GOD.” It is difficult to understand how two texts differing in over 5,000 places can both be the Word of God. It only serves to show the absolute desperation on the part of the MINORITY Text champions to defend their indefensible position. The purpose of this volume is to show the changes made by the MINORITY text and how they affect the Bible Doctrines which Christians have always believed. Though I do not consider any change in the Word of God to be unimportant, I have singled out the most glaring examples. A careful reading will show that the Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian faith have been affected many times.
Are we to believe the scholars when they tell us that no important doctrines are affected by the new Modern Versions? It is obvious that they are not correct. What they really mean to say is that when all the changes have been made the Bible Doctrines are still there somewhere else in the Bible. If there are ten verses showing the Virgin Birth of Christ, and they have removed two, there are still eight remaining to prove the doctrine. That may satisfy them, but the Fundamental believer sees that as a piece by piece destruction of the Word of God.
We would accuse them of taking away from the Word of God. They would accuse us of using a Bible which has many additions inserted by overzealous Christian copyists. The issue now becomes quite clear. We must either believe that overzealous heretics have corrupted the original Word of God or believe that overzealous believers have added to the original Word of God. I can understand why heretics would want to corrupt the original Word of God, but I cannot believe that Christians would add one word to the Word of God which they have been entrusted to copy and pass along. The Spirit of God within Christians would put a holy awe and reverence around the sacred word and guided by that same Spirit they would copy what God had given them. My conclusion is that the new Modern Versions are based on Greek manuscripts that have been corrupted by heretics who changed the Word of God to agree with their rejection of the Deity of Christ and their Humanism regarding salvation. The Greek Text underlying the King James Version is not filled with additions made by overzealous Christians. It is the Word of God preserved by the Spirit of God and it exalts the Lord Jesus Christ, giving him his proper place and the glory due unto his name.
THE CHANGES IN THEIR PROPER NEW TESTAMENT ORDER ARE NOW LISTED:
MATTHEW
1:25 “her firstborn” is omitted. That Jesus was her firstborn indicates that Mary and Joseph had sexual relations after the birth of Jesus and that others were born of her. The omission here seeks to add credence to the false doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church concerning the perpetual virginity of Mary. The Bible is clear that Jesus had brothers and sisters.
5:22 “without a cause” is removed. In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord warned of judgment for those who were angry with a brother without a cause. Should this change be accepted everyone who is angry with his brother may be judged. The effect is to bring Jesus into judgment for failing to observe his own words (see Mark 3:5). Such is contrary to the doctrine of the sinlessness of Christ.
6:4, 6, 18 “openly” is out. It is a Bible Doctrine that Christian work done unnoticed for the glory of the Lord will one day be rewarded openly (Col. 3:4).
6:13 “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen” is deleted. This ascription of praise to “Our Father” is found in 491 out of 500 existing manuscripts. This statement was made a century ago by Dean John Burgon.
8:29 “Jesus” is left out. The demons bore witness to the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. It was an identification of Jesus (in humanity) as the Son of God (in Deity). It affects the doctrine of the Person of Christ.
9:8 “marvelled” is changed to “were afraid.” There is no reason to believe that the people were afraid because Jesus healed the sick of the palsy. There is every reason for them to marvel at the miracle.
9:13 “to repentance” is left out. The Bible doctrine of repentance is one that men would like to do away with. God requires that in order to be saved one must truly repent (Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9). The word means “a change of mind” and there must be that concerning God, sin and salvation. Men think that sin does not really separate them from God–they must change their mind about that. Men think that salvation is by works–they must change their mind about that. There is nothing more evident today than the absence of repentance among those who are professing to be converted.
15:8 “draweth nigh unto me with their mouth” is left out. According to Isaiah 29:13 it belongs in because Isaiah prophesied of these hypocrites exactly that way.
16:2,3 “When it is evening … the signs of the times” is all omitted. The Pharisees and Sadducees came looking for a sign and the signs were all around them. Jesus called them hypocrites because they could not tell the signs of the times.
17:21 Whole verse is left out. Power with God is to be had by prayer and fasting. That is a fundamental truth of the Word of God.
18:2 “Jesus” is left out. This is done many times by the corrupt Greek Text of Westcott and Hort. I have not chosen to remark about each instance because it would add many pages to this work. The MAJORITY Text continuously places the word “Jesus” in the narrative with the definite article preceding it. Thus it places him in the center of things and in command. It is doctrinally unsound for such prominence to be discarded for the word “he.”
18:11 The whole verse is omitted. This verse tells us that man is lost, that he needs to be saved, and that the Son of man is the one who can do that. The doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ is affected by this change.
18:15 “against thee” is omitted. This omission sets us up as watchdogs over others and if one sins we are to go and tell him. Such is not the teaching of Scripture. Were we to declare every sin we would be constantly busy (bodies) judging the actions and motives of everyone. This change is a very bad error.
18:35 “their trespasses” is omitted. Same thought as mentioned in 18:15.
19:9 “and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery” is removed. This is a very important doctrinal change which concerns divorce and remarriage. A man who divorces his wife and remarries commits adultery, and also the man who marries the divorced wife commits adultery.
19:16,17 “Good” before Master is omitted. In addition to that, the phrase “Why callest thou me good?” is changed to “Why askest thou me concerning the good?” Good Master is correct and Jesus responded to show the young man that only one was good and that one was God. The conclusion should have been obvious. Since Jesus was good he was necessarily God. The omission and change destroys the intended testimony to the Deity of Christ.
20:16 “for many be called, but few chosen” is left out. The Lord would have us know that many are called to inherit eternal life, but few are chosen by virtue of believing in Christ. It is a Bible doctrine that God wants all men to be saved but few will come to Christ for salvation.
21:12 “of God” is out. Jesus, who was God in the flesh, came to his own temple and said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer.” It was the temple of God and the God of the temple was there.
22:30 “of God” is removed. There are good angels and fallen angels. The believers, in the resurrection, will be like the good angels “of God” who alone are in heaven.
23:8 “Master” is changed to “teacher.” There are many teachers but only one master. The change here takes away the pre- eminence that God intends for his Son.
25:13 “wherein the Son of man cometh” is omitted. The warning to watch is tied to the imminent return of the Lord. The omission here does away with the doctrine of the Lord’s second advent.
26:28 “new” is dropped before testament. The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus said, “this cup is the NEW testament in my blood.” The change here is intended to corrupt the Word of God and to confuse Christians.
27:35 “that it might be fulfilled … did they cast lots” is all omitted. It is very important in Matthew’s gospel, where Jesus is portrayed as the King of Israel, to show that he is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. Here the parting of his garments and casting lots is the fulfillment of Psalm 22:18 which portrays the crucifixion of Christ. To omit this is to show the intended corruption of the Word of God by the textual critics.
28:6 “the Lord” is omitted. The very reverent angels said, “see the place where the Lord lay.” They would not say, “see the place where he lay.” The constant attempt to humanize Jesus and take away from his Deity does not endear the Westcott and Hort Greek Text to believers.
MARK
1:1 “the Son of God” is left out. These words present Jesus Christ as Deity. Such an omission is a direct attack on the person of Christ and is without doubt a doctrinal error.
1:31 “immediately” is dropped. The descriptive word tells us when the fever left her and therefore provides us with a miracle. The word left out denies the miracle and thus the one who performed it.
2:17 “to repentance” is left out. See comments on Matt. 9:13.
3:15 “to heal sicknesses” is omitted. Jesus gave them authority to heal diseases as well as to cast out demons. Sickness is the result of sin (Adam’s) and the only one who has authority to eliminate it is the one who would die for sin. On the basis of his approaching death for sin on Calvary he could say, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee” and “Rise up and walk.”
4:24 “and unto you that hear shall more be given” is left out. It is a Bible teaching that those who seek truth from the Lord shall be given more truth (see John 7:17).
5:36 “as soon” is dropped. The word in the Greek is “immediately.” The word immediately is constantly dropped by the Revisers of 1881. It is a key word in Mark which is the Gospel of the Servant of the Lord who came “not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” When Jairus was told that his daughter was dead and that he should not trouble Jesus further, the Lord “immediately” encouraged him to believe.
6:11 “Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city” is removed from the text. This passage emphasizes the great degree of responsibility that was upon those cities who heard the Lord’s apostles as they preached repentance and worked miracles before them. Sodom and Gomorrah did not have such light, yet they are still suffering the eternal wrath of God (see Jude 7 where “suffering” is in the present tense). How much more the judgment of America today where people sit in an abundance of complete revelation from God and choose to remain in darkness.
7:8 “as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do” is omitted. The Lord not only condemns the Pharisees for traditions of men, but he names them. There are traditions of men today which are sending people to Hell and preachers need to name them. It is doctrinally unsound to let men go on in traditions and not expose them.
9:23 “if thou canst believe” is dropped. The father had said to Jesus, “if thou canst do anything.” To this lack of faith Jesus answered, “if thou canst believe.” It was at once a rebuke and an encouragement to have faith in him. The father’s answer in the next verse is beautiful but the Revisers ruined that also. They omitted “with tears, Lord” from the most precious answer as recorded by the Spirit of God.
9:45 “into the fire that never shall be quenched” is dropped. The character and duration of Hell is described here and the doctrine of eternal retribution is affected by this change.
9:47 “fire” is omitted. The words are inspired and in complete agreement with Rev. 20:15. The consignment of the lost to the lake of fire is a Bible doctrine.
10:21 “take up the cross” is left out. The word to the young man was to divest himself of the riches in which he trusted, consider himself dead to the world, and follow Christ into eternal life. There are many who will let go of riches and seek to emulate some of Christ’s teachings, but the way of the cross they refuse. The cross for Christ and for believers is Fundamental in Christian doctrine.
10:24 “for them that trust in riches” is left out. This is a very glaring doctrinal error. It is not hard to enter into the kingdom of God (salvation is a free gift through faith in Jesus Christ) but it is hard for those who trust in riches to trust Christ alone for salvation. Their God is their wealth and it is no more compatible with Christ than Dagon was with the Ark of God (see 1 Sam. 5:1-5).
11:26 The whole verse is removed. It is a Bible doctrine that if we regard iniquity in our heart the Lord will not hear us. Answered prayer and clean vessels go together. When I confess my sins and ask God for favor he requires that my confession of sin include forgiveness of those who have sinned against me. If I refuse to forgive others it becomes sin to me (see Eph. 4:32).
13:14 “spoken of by Daniel the prophet” is dropped. Without the reference to Daniel the appeal to understand is without force. Though some might connect it in their thoughts because they are familiar with Scripture, it does not follow that he is referring to Daniel. The reference to Daniel by the Lord also authenticates his writing as inspired Scriptures.
14:22 “eat” is dropped. Our Lord did not give them a relic from the Last Supper to take home and cherish. He gave them broken bread to eat which (when observed) would always remind them of his body which was broken for them.
15:28 The whole verse is left out. Jesus was crucified between two thieves in fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12. It is doctrinal error to eliminate clear statements concerning the fulfilling of prophecy (see Luke 24:27).
16:9-20 Twelve verses are omitted. These verses are found in every known manuscript but two (the oldest of those two leaves a blank space where it belongs). They are found in all the Versions, quoted by the church fathers, and seen in the lectionaries of the church. There are many doctrines affected by the omission of these twelve verses. The resurrection of Christ is deleted. The great commission, baptism, eternal damnation and His ascension into Heaven are all taken out of the Word of God. Certainly the gospel does not end with “they were afraid.” Some say the ending has been lost (see Dr. Ryrie’s Study Bible) but that destroys the Bible Doctrine that God preserves His Word (see 1 Peter 1:23-25). The evidence is clear that these verses are original and to cut them out is to affect many doctrines of the Christian faith.
LUKE
1:28 “blessed art thou among women” is omitted. There were many virgins in Israel at the time, but God chose Mary. The Son that she bore would be her Saviour from sin. The Roman Catholic doctrine of the immaculate conception of Mary (concerning her birth) is nothing but pagan fiction. Mary was blessed AMONG women, but not ABOVE women. The worship of Mary is contrary to Scripture. This omission is designed to lift her above others and eventually deify her.
2:14 “peace, good will toward men” is changed to “peace among men of good will.” The first talks of the birth of Christ as bringing God’s peace and good will (reconciliation) to men. Faith in the death of Christ for our sins brings justification and peace with God. The change offers God’s peace to men who are good. That is doctrinally unsound since there is none good.
2:33 “Joseph and his mother” is changed to “his father and mother.” The Spirit of God is very careful to show that our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and that he did not have a human father who begat him. The change casts doubt upon the doctrine of the virgin birth of Christ as the “seed of the woman.” Later, when Mary refers to Joseph as “thy father,” Jesus answers with, “wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business,” meaning that God was his father (see 2:48,49).
2:40 “in spirit” is left out. That the child grew and waxed strong in spirit (meaning that he was spiritually strong) is evident from verse 47. It is unlikely that the Spirit of God wanted us to see how strong Jesus was with reference to his physique.
2:43 “and Joseph and his mother knew not of it” is changed to “and his parents were unaware of it.” The first retains the teachings of the virgin birth, the second discards it. The virgin birth is a Fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith and the MAJORITY Text upholds it. Let us not hear of supposed overzealous copyists but rather let us beware of overzealous heretics who would deny the fundamentals of the faith.
4:4 “but by every Word of God” is dropped. Many are willing to agree that bread alone cannot satisfy man, but few are willing to live by every word of God. This quotation is from Deut. 8:3 where the omitted words are found. The same one who said, “Yea, hath God said?” is the author of this omission. The Revisers could not leave this passage in because they have changed “every word of God” in over 5,000 places in the New Testament. Satan does not mind if we read the Bible as long as we have a Swiss cheese Bible (full of holes). Holes in the Word cause doubts in the Word, doubts cause faith to be lost, and without faith it is impossible to please him.
4:8 “Get thee behind me, Satan” is omitted. The devil had tempted Jesus to bypass the cross and receive the kingdom over the world. Jesus, whose face was set as a flint to go to the cross, refused to worship him.
6:10 “whole as the other” is left out. These words tell us that not only was his hand restored to use but it was whole as the other. The completeness of the miracle is attested to by these words.
9:54 “even as Elias did” is omitted. Apart from this word they had no precedent for doing such a thing.
9:55, 56 “and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” is omitted. In reply to the disciples who thought that they could call down fire from heaven, Jesus told them that he came to save men. This passage is consistent with John 3:17, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
11:2-4 “Our … which art in heaven” is deleted along with “Thy will be done as in heaven, so in earth” and “but deliver us from evil.” Only corrupt manuscripts can produce so many departures from the disciples prayer which is found without deletions in Matt. 6:9-13.
14:5 The word “ass” is changed to “son.” The use of “son” is too much for the comparison the Lord is making. Only a slavish loyalty to a corrupt Greek text can produce such a foolish change.
22:31 “And the Lord said” is dropped. The Lord Jesus was God and as such he was omnipresent and omniscient. He was present when Satan came before God and asked permission to try Peter’s faith. He had prayed to the Father, as Peter’s intercessor, that his faith would not fail. It was the Lord who knew all of this and warned Peter specifically.
22:64 “they struck him on the face” is dropped. It is error to minimize the sufferings of Christ. His facial appearance was marred more than any man (see Isaiah 52:14 and 53:5).
23:23 “and of the chief priests” is omitted. The Lord was careful to let us know that the religious priests were involved in the rejection of Christ. Those who call themselves priests today do likewise.
23:42 “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” is changed to “Then he said, Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The confession that Jesus is Lord is doctrinally correct because it is required for salvation (see Rom. 10:9- 13).
23:45 “the sun was darkened” is changed to “the sun was eclipsed.” The Greek word in the corrupt Greek Text is EKLIPONTOS from which we derive the word ECLIPSE. An eclipse is caused by the natural occurrence of the moon passing between the sun and the earth and usually lasts for about 3-5 minutes. The sun being darkened for three hours was a miracle of God and will be repeated again prior to the Lord’s return to earth (see Matt. 24:29) Many modern versions try to hide the Greek word they are using to translate from the corrupt Greek text by using words like: obscured (NASV), faded (AMPLIFIED), stopped shining (NIV), failed (NEW WORLD), but some honestly translate the word “eclipse” (20th CENTURY, MOFFAT, NEB, PHILLIPS). Humanism would try to find some way to explain away the miracles of God’s Word lest they be forced to accept it as the revelation from God concerning salvation.
24:36 “and saith unto them. Peace be unto you” is omitted. Jesus had said to them, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). He was now risen from the dead and in their midst to guarantee that peace to them. One of the greatest benefits of our salvation is to have peace with God (Rom. 5:1) and the peace of God ruling in our hearts (Phil. 4:7).
24:40 The whole verse is omitted. The bodily resurrection of Christ is proven here as he showed them his hands and his feet. The omission affects Bible doctrine very much.
24:51 “and carried up into heaven” is left out. The bodily ascension of Christ into heaven is a Bible doctrine that is denied here. It leaves the Lord parted from them but does not tell us where he went. The Revisers removed the doctrine and left the Word in a poor state of disarray. Acts 1:1, 2 tells us that the “former treatise” (Luke) ended with Jesus being “taken up.” That ought to be sufficient to show the Revisers are wrong.
24:52 “And … worshipped him” is omitted by the NASV. The MAJORITY Text says, “And they having worshipped him returned to Jerusalem with great joy.” The picture we have is of our Lord receiving their worship because he is God (see 4:8 where worship is to be to God only) and then before their very eyes ascending into heaven. It is a Bible doctrine that we are to worship Jesus and the omission by the NASV is a clear denial of that doctrine.
JOHN
1:18 “the only begotten Son” is changed to “The only begotten God.” Such a phrase is foreign to Scripture. It accommodates the Arian teaching that Christ was a lesser deity created by God. It agrees with the teaching of Origen that Christ was not equal with God in essence and nature. Sound Fundamental doctrine concerning Christ is that he is one person of the Triune God and that he proceeds from the Father by an eternal generation and reveals God to men as the Son of God.
1:27 “He it is … who is preferred before me” is removed. This change removes the pre-eminence and pre-existence of Christ. John wanted us to see that though Christ came after him, he in reality preceded and ranked above him.
3:13 “which is in heaven” is omitted. This change affects the doctrine of the omnipresence of Christ. As man he was here on earth, as God he was able to be everywhere present. The omission is a corruption introduced by those who do not believe in the perfect and absolute Deity of Christ.
3:15 “should not perish” is removed. This deletion removes the opposite of everlasting life, which is to perish. The doctrine of eternal damnation is weakened by the change.
3:16 “his only begotten Son” is changed to “the only begotten Son.” The word HIS marks Jesus Christ out as God’s own peculiar son in a relationship that no one else has. It marks him as of the same essence and nature. The Deity of Christ is involved and is thereby weakened (3:17 also changed).
4:42 “the Christ” is left out. The purpose of John’s gospel as given in 20:31 was to lead people to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. That belief was to bring life to them. To omit it here is to deny the purpose of the inspired writer.
5:3b, 4 The statement regarding the moving of the water by an angel and subsequent miraculous healing is removed. Should this deletion be permitted there would be no sense to verse 7 since that verse presupposes 5:3b, 4. This is an effort to remove the miraculous from the Bible and thus accommodate humanism.
5:16 “and sought to slay him” is omitted. The Scripture teaches us that on many occasions they tried to kill Jesus but by supernatural power were kept from doing so (see John 18:6). He was omnipotent and there was no way they could take him until his hour was come.
6:47 “on me” is left out. The object of faith has been removed here. Everlasting life does not come to those who believe, but to those who believe on Christ. This is doctrinal error of the gravest sort and has been carried over into the NASV and NIV.
7:8 The little word “yet” is dropped and the result is that the Lord appears to lie to his brothers, since he did go up to the feast. There is a world of difference between “I go not up YET” and “I go not up.” The sinlessness of Christ is an indispensable doctrine of the Christian faith and lying is sin.
7:53-8:11 The whole story of the woman taken in adultery is omitted. This is one of the most blessed portions of the Word of God. It is intended by God through the inspired writer to amplify what came before in 3:17. The law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ (1:17).
8:38 The words “my Father” and “your father” are intended to show the difference between his father and their father, who was Satan. By removing the word “my” and “your” there is a deliberate attempt to remove the offence and cater to the false dream of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.
8:39 “If ye were Abraham’s children” is changed to “if ye are Abraham’s children.” The Lord intended them to see that they were not Abraham’s children at all. The change gives us to see that they were Abraham’s children and therefore they ought to act like it. This is pure humanism and contrary to sound doctrine.
9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me” is changed to “We must work the works of him that sent us.” The uniqueness of Christ as the Sent One of the Father is destroyed and he is placed equally with the disciples as sent from God to do the work of God. This is an attack on the Person and Work of Christ and it exalts humanism. Jesus was sent by the Father and the disciples were sent by Jesus, “as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
9:35 “the Son of God” is changed to “the Son of man.” The thing to be believed in John’s gospel is that Jesus is the Son of God (20:31). The change by the minority texts is not warranted.
10:38 “that ye may know, and believe” is changed to “that ye may know, and understand.” The union of Christ and the Father within the Godhead is that which we are to believe and rely upon for the certainty of our salvation. To understand the union is beyond human comprehension and if it could be understood, that would still not be the equivalent of salvation.
11:41 “where the dead was laid” is removed. God intends that we should know that this was the very same place where Lazarus was laid. This is an attempt to cloud the evident miracle which followed. (see also 12:2 where “which had been dead” is also removed).