Teacher: Bruce W. Roeser
Location: Berean Bible Church
How it got its start
Have you ever wondered how all this confusion over Bible Versions got it’s start? You may be surprised
to know that this all started long before we had the Bible as we know it.
Genesis 1:1-4
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void;
and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [4] And God saw the light, that it was good:
and God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:25
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that
creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:31
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning
were the sixth day.
After the creation, everything was in order. God had placed Adam and Eve into the garden and had given
them specific instructions as to what they were allowed and not allowed to do. His instructions
were relatively simple. What did he tell them?
Genesis 2:15-17
And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. [16]
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17]
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
After God gave Adam these instructions, he determined that it wasn't good that the man should be alone,
so he created the animals - then out of Adam he created Eve to be his wife.
Genesis 2:21-23
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs,
and closed up the flesh instead thereof; [22] And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made
he a woman, and brought her unto the man. [23] And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh
of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
The stage was now set … Adam, who had been given complete instructions, his wife to whom he may
or may not have transmitted these instructions clearly.
A serpent in the ointment!
The crux of the problem today, all this confusion over God's Word, started right there in the Garden
of Eden! Let’s pick up on the action where the very first new Bible Version debate began. It might surprise
you just exactly how early this debate began! (Italics mine)
Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said
unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? [2] And the woman said
unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [3] But of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch
it, lest ye die. [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
[5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be
as gods, knowing good and evil. [6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Aha! See it? What just happened here? God's word was corrupted, in literal translation, in practically
the first time it was used! Eve made a critical blunder here - she misquoted the Word of God. However,
lest we blame Eve for her poor judgment, is it possible that good ol'Adam might have slipped in translating
it to Eve?
Regardless of where the actual mis-translation may have taken place, the Word of God became (in modern
terms) watered down. Look at how Satan (the Serpent) used this to his advantage. He did not even
so much as question the Word of God - instead he trapped Eve in a misquotation. God didn't say not to
touch the fruit, he said only not to eat it! It was easy, therefore, for him to confuse
Eve by saying Ye shall not surely die.
In looking at this example, it is clear that God's word became corrupted by mis-use or mis-translation.
God himself has promised to provide his Word for us:
Psalm 12:6-7 (KJV)
The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
[7] Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Side Note: The NIV even corrupts this verse!
Psalm 12:6-7 (NIV)
And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.
[7] O Lord, you will keep us safe and protect us from such people forever.
Deut. 4:1-2
Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for
to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth
you. [2] Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it,
that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Mark 13:31
Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
Rev. 22:18-19
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.
Again, the modern versions corrupt what is really being said in the Word!
Rev. 22:18-19 (NIV)
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them,
God will add to him the plagues described in this book. [19] And if anyone takes words away from this
book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city,
which are described in this book.
This doesn't sound like God inspired only the "concepts" in Scripture. He clearly directed
every word and will not tolerate man's meddling with it. He calls them "His Words."
If your Bible is a King James Bible, it preserves God's words because it was translated using
"formal equivalence." All other Bibles were translated using "dynamic equivalence,"
in which the translator is free to change words as long as he conveys the "idea."
Side-Effects
What are the side-effects of the corruption of God's Word? Primarily confusion which takes
on different forms.
Denominationalism
Bible “contradictions”
Lack of belief in God's Word because most people don't believe we have God's word today.
Intellectualism - because of Satan’s tampering with the scriptures, the intellectual community feels
free to “debate” and “define” what they think God may have said through the scriptures.
The Great Bible Debate - Part II
As I mentioned in my previous lesson, the corruption of God's Word began a long time ago - back in
the days of Adam and Eve. While knowing this situation alerts us to the problem, it is nonetheless important
that we understand which bible really is the Word of God and how it came to be in our hands.
The process of producing the work of the KJV that we can now hold in one hand and reference as the
Word of God came about through a long process. How this came about has been the subject of much study
over the years. Before we begin to approach the subject, though, we need to remember that God has promised
that he would preserve his Word for his saints:
Psalm 12:6-7
The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
[7] Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
Isaiah 14:24-27
The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as
I have purposed, so shall it stand: [25] That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains
tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their
shoulders. [26] This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that
is stretched out upon all the nations. [27] For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul
it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
When dealing with the issue of Which Bible, one has to understand that God has promised (as
I stated above) that he would preserve His words. This begs the question: How? How do we tell which of
the multitudes of bibles out there (assuming English translations for now) are the ones (or one) we should
use?
The answer: Manuscript Evidence
Manuscript Evidence - Witnesses for the KJV
"OK", you say, "so just exactly what does that mean?"
To answer, let's first take a scriptural principle and apply it here. The principle behind "Manuscript
Evidence" is the concept of Witnesses. Let's look at a few scriptures regarding the
establishment of truth by the use of witnesses.
Numbers 35:30
Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness
shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
Deut. 17:6
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death;
but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
Deut. 19:15
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth:
at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Matthew 18:16
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established.
Acts 1:8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 10:39
And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom
they slew and hanged on a tree:
2 Cor. 13:1
This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word
be established.
These are only a few of the many verses in the scriptures that deal with witnesses. Obviously, God
considers establishment of truth by witnesses to be extremely important. In other words, truth is established
by two or more people (or as we shall see) documents saying the same thing. If two witnesses can't agree
on a matter, then nothing is established, right?
Amos 3:3
Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
Mark 14:56
For many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
Matthew 18:19
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
1 John 5:8
And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these
three agree in one.
From the above, we can gather that God considers witnesses and the agreement of the witnesses
to be not only critical, but pivotal in establishing truth. Knowing this, would it not make sense
that He would use a similar method to keep it clear which bibles were His and which ones were not?
As it turns out, this is indeed the case.
How the Bible was assembled
This is a fairly lengthy topic which will be deferred to a later study. In the meantime, skip to the
next section which deals with the present state of the scriptures.
During the early years of the church, God spoke to certain of his saints directly and they wrote down
exactly what he said. Once each work was complete, the disciples began to make exact copies
of the scriptures to be distributed to the saints. This process originally began in Antioch.
The Results - How it NOW stands
After approximately 2000 years, the situation with the scriptures appears very confused. We literally
have Bible Versions coming out of our ears; a plethora of new ones appear on a yearly basis. However,
to the serious student of scripture a very clear trend emerges which underscores all else; again, manuscript
evidence tells the complete story and points the way to where God's English Bible really is. Here's the
picture as it is today.
Miscellaneous Notes
*Lucifer (Isa 14:12) does not appear in the modern versions. Variants of "Morning Star"
are substituted making it easy to confuse this fallen angel with Jesus!
Isaiah 14:12
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou
cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isaiah 14:12(NIV)
How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
Isaiah 14:12(GW)
How you have fallen from heaven, you morning star, son of the dawn!
How you have been cut down to the ground, you conqueror of nations!
*Why are bibles based on X and B so corrupt? They were produced using Dynamic Equivalence (Which
means the author paraphrases [changes] the wording to suit his preference) whereas the KJV and all 5000
of the other manuscripts were translated using Formal Equivalence (Where the best word-for-word
translation is used without applying any opinion). ALL modern versions are produced
using Dynamic Equivalence.
*Interesting point: All the modern versions are Copyrighted. The KJV is the ONLY English bible that
can be duplicated without paying a royalty to someone. What is the purpose of this ... to glorify God?
Placing a copyright on anything is claiming ownership of the work. Notice that no one can claim ownership
of the KJV because it is GOD's WORD.
Sources
Final Authority by Dr. William P. Grady
New Age Bible Versions by Gail Riplinger
Sabotage? By Jack T. Chick
The Great Bible Debate (Part III)
In the first two lessons we have laid the groundwork exposing the modern bible versions for what they
are; a subtle attempt by the enemy to confound and confuse the body of Christ. One of the most insidious
side-shows that the modern versions has staged is what we call the Prosperity Gospel. Loosely
defined, the Prosperity Gospel is a set of beliefs based on modern bible versions that attempts
to convince the believer that riches and prosperity are something that is to be a present possession
to every believer who “claims” it.
Certainly, God has no problem with the accumulation of wealth or material things so long as the wealth
doesn't become an object of worship (that is an idol) in itself. It can be seen that God does delight
in prospering his people. However, many “Christians” have been led into the false belief that wealth
is considered to be a necessary component of a successful “Christian” life and have placed “success”
into an inordinately high position on their list of priorities. (Just like the rest of the world).
Let's have a look at some of the more common versions (taken from the NIV) that encourage this idea
and compare them to the Word of God. Remember, the enemy has one main goal - to shift your focus from
Christ to something that looks good! To do this he uses subtle changes and deceives many.
Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3 (KJV)
Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Job 6:13 (NIV)
Do I have any power to help myself,
now that success has been driven from me?
Job 6:13 (KJV)
Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?
Eccles. 10:10 (NIV)
If the ax is dull
and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed
but skill will bring success.
Eccles. 10:10 (KJV)
If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom is
profitable to direct.
Summary
The only way a believer can truly know how to conduct his life is to study the Word of God so he can
understand how to apply it. Sadly, the modern versions subvert even this idea. Rather than studying the
Word of God, the believer is directed to do something else - I.E. he is told to work his way to God!
Further, notice that the modern versions say nothing about dividing it – only “correctly handling” it.
With the bible being written dispensationally it would be to the enemy's advantage to confuse
the saints in this area – big time.
Fallacy:Do your best (on your own!) to make yourself “one approved” – and correctly
handle the truth (I.E. believe the entire bible is written to you)
2 Tim. 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed
and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Truth:Study to show YOURSELF that you are approved of by God … not the other way around!
Rightly Divide it so you are not confused about which message is to you.
2 Tim. 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth.
