To Begin: Do not compare The King James Only Position to any form of legalism. The Inspired Preserved Word of God and man made rules are two different worlds of issues. Separate the Scriptures from legalism in your mind before reading further.
Take some time to answer the following questions in your own words…
If you were Satan what would you do to break down the Christian Faith (with the understanding that everything we preach is based on the Scriptures)? How long would it take? Could it be accomplished? If not, what could be accomplished? Confusion? Doubt?
The Inspired Preserved Word of God
Most Christians believe and teach the doctrine of inspiration. It is widely believed that the words of God are inspired and have been written down perfectly as He willed. The only problem is we don’t have the original manuscripts today! Does this mean we don’t have the perfect words of God today? The answer is YES if God is a liar! However, the answer is NO because God promised He would preserve His perfect words for all generations.
“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.” Ps. 12:6-7
The Word of God not only teaches the doctrine of inspiration, but the doctrine of preservation. This doctrine is not widely held among Christianity, and is the reason most modern “Christian” churches reject the authority of Scripture! If all we have today are translations penned by man and full of errors (dismissing the preserving work of God) one must rightly conclude that the Bible is not authoritative or reliable.
The reason there are so many versions (look up the word “version”) is because they are all different. It is also an oxymoron to claim ”the NKJV is the same as the old KJB” (this will be discussed later in more detail). The New King James version is a completely different version of the Scriptures. A simple principle that must be understood in the doctrine of preservation is, “If something is different, it is not the same… If something is the same it cannot be different.” Apply this common sense principle to the multiple versions in any particular language and it is obvious there are major problems, especially in the English world of Bibles.
Several questions to consider:
1. Just before the 1611 KJB was translated and published did God know what would become of the English language? Did God know that the World would soon be dominated by English speaking people? Was God behind not only the 1611 KJB, but also the position of the English language in the World? Did He know who the super power would become?
2. Did God know that He would use English speaking people to evangelize the world for the last 400 years?
3. Did God publish the first widely spread English translation of the Scriptures or was that the work of Satan?
4. Why are there so many errors in the new English versions?
5. Are you willing to admit that you haven’t open heartedly searched out this issue and you have taken a position and stand based on association rather than prayerful research?
Several statements and basic common sense principles to consider:
1. The KJB of 1611 is the first completed English translation that had more than a few language scholars involved in the process. It was the first widely published copy of the Word of God in the “vulgar” language and is still in existence today for a reason!
2. If bible versions have major differences they cannot all be good versions.
3. Every new version (including NKJV, NIV, NASB, ESV, NLT, MESSAGE, etc.) of the Bible since 1611 is very different from the KJB. As a matter of fact many of them have ceased to exist.
4. If a Bible version is not the same it is different. How is it possible to arrive at two different conclusions using two different “bibles” and they both be considered the same Bible? Some say, “The KJB has been used by God up until the 1900’s, but NOW God promotes a particular new version”. This breaks all rules of arriving at a clear biblical interpretation of the Scriptures.
5. There cannot be two God Preserved English translations that are different. I do not take issue with whether or not more than one version contains truth. The issue is which one IS the preserved, best, accurate, trustworthy, inerrant, infallible Word of God.
6. If God can inspire His Word through men, He can providentially preserve His Word through men.
7. Satan is a master counterfeiter and has always perverted the Words of God.
8. The claim that we cannot read the 1611 KJB is as ignorant as saying we do not have the perfect preserved Word of God. It is also ignorant to claim all we have today is a revised version with word changes. Satan is a liar and deceiver!
11. To claim that modern day language scholars are more equipped and able to translate than the 49 scholars who translated the King James Bible defies all common sense. If anyone was more capable of translating the Bible from the original copies of preserved manuscripts into English it was the 1611 scholars. Please don’t compare your seminary training, and modern books of a dead language to the scholarly work of these men!
12. In addition to the scholarly work of the 1611 translators is the preserving hand of God. In other words they did not translate the Scriptures without divine help. When you fight against the KJB you are fighting against the God who gave us the KJB!
13. If a version is “easier to read”, but it doesn’t say the same thing, it doesn’t matter how easy it is to read.
14. To say that new versions are based on more ancient and reliable manuscripts is a pure bold face lie!!! Tell me what makes these few unique manuscripts more reliable?! Who wrote them? Why were they discovered recently and very different than the KJB, and the preserved manuscripts dating back to the early church and the canonization of scripture?
15. Many are casting doubt upon the Word of God-helping promote the idea that we cannot trust the Scriptures. They say all we have today are versions full of errors. I personally challenge everyone to be very careful about calling something an error in the KJB-an error is a very strong word! Just because something does not register in your brain or bubble of understanding does not mean it is an error.
A. The “More Reliable Manuscripts” Have Major Problems:
KEEP IN MIND THE PURPOSE OF ALL NEW VERSIONS IS TO MAKE THINGS CLEARER AND EASIER TO UNDERSTAND, NOT CONFUSING (so they say)!
Prophets (?):
Mark 1:2,3 (compare these below scriptures from the ESV, NIV, NASB, NLT, MESSAGE, etc… to the KJB) 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way, 3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Preparethe way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”
KJB Mark 1:2-3
2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The “more reliable manuscripts“ have a major problem since Isaiah did not write what is in verse 2. It was Malachi (3:1) AND Isaiah (40:3) thus the proper rendering of this passage is “written in the prophets”. This is the beginning of scriptural evidence as to why the KJB is the best translation (and less confusing) of the Scriptures in English. I say “best” because many of you don’t believe God can preserve His Word through men. I do personally believe the KJB is the preserved Word of God in English!
B. The ”more reliable manuscripts” love to remove key Scriptures. Look at a few of the removed scriptures below and decide whose idea it was to remove them? Some, but not all, were replaced in the NASB 95 with brackets and a side note, AGAIN casting doubt on the Word of God. The Atheist loves this stuff, “the Bible is manmade and full of errors”!
KJB Matthew 18:11- “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
KJB Matthew 23:14- “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”
KJB Acts 8:37- “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
KJB I John 5:7- “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
NOTE: These are just a few of the many scriptures that have been removed from the NIV, ESV, NASB, NLT, MESSAGE, etc. I think about all the messages that have been preached from these scriptures over the years (as led by the Holy Spirit of God ) and now they tell us these Scriptures aren’t supposed to be there?! “All scripture is given by inspiration of God”. 2 Timothy 3:16
NOTE: Concerning missing verses like in Acts 8:37, and I John 5:7 John Mac Author writes in his New King James Study Bible, “this verse is not found in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts“. He clearly cast doubt on the Word of God, but his more reliable manuscripts fall apart just in this one verse, Mark 1:2. You don’t have to be a scholar to see a major problem here!
C. There are thousands of confusing and troubling verses in all of the new versions, which remove whole phrases, and injure major word changes.
The below underlined words or phrases are a few of thousands that have been removed or completely changed in the majority of modern versions…
KJB Matthew 9:13 - “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.”
NOTE: They remove the whole purpose or call of Matthew 9:13.
KJB Daniel 9:26 - “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
NOTE: Most modern versions say something like, “and will have nothing” in place of “but not for himself”. And will have nothing? Jesus absolutely did everything necessary to pay our sin debt! Jesus wasn’t a crazy man that died for nothing. He died for you and for me. He was cut off, but not for himself!
KJB Matthew 25;13 - “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
NOTE: This is a common practice of Satan. He cast doubt and causes confusion about who it is that will return. Why does the Bible put so much emphasis on the Son of Man, Jesus? Because He is God even though the whole world rejects this concept. Check out what they do in the next two verses…
KJB Revelation 22:16 - “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
NOTE: Not so much a change in this verse, but this verse clearly teaches the bright and morning star (Jesus) is the one to come!
KJB 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!”
NOTE: The majority of modern versions replace “O Lucifer” in this verse with ”star of the morning” or “morning star”. No wonder the world and so many “Christians” will worship the Antichrist-he is the “morning star” who is to come according to these jacked up versions of the Bible!
KJB Revelation 22:7 – “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”
NOTE: In the majority of modern versions “quickly” is replaced with “soon” or something similar. Jesus didn’t say he was coming back soon. It has been 2000 years! He said when he comes he is coming quickly! Satan has been lying for years saying Jesus has already come! He is coming “quickly” as a thief in the night when he comes!
Galatians 5:4 - “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”
NOTE: The majority of modern versions including the NKJV play into the LIE that one can lose his/her salvation. They replace “of no effect unto you” with something like, “alienated from Christ, estranged, severed, etc. That verse does not say any of the above! The idea of being alienated from Christ clearly means LOST according to the scriptures. Read Ephesians 2:12 form the KJB, “that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” In Galatians 3:26 Paul says, “ye are the sons of God”. You cannot be the sons of God (saved) and severed from Christ at the same time! The majority of Christianity teaches “ye have fallen from grace” means a loss of salvation-the new versions only help with this LIE!
D. Where do you draw the line? Is it the New King James? Are we playing horse shoes? How serious is this issue?
One might observe that the missing verses in other new versions are not missing in the NKJV. This might comfort you, but don’t miss all the other changes (in the NKJV) and Satan’s strategy to step back and create something a little closer (to the KJB) than His other perverted and confusing works. Why would he do such a thing? Could it have been all the hard preaching on the KJB being the preserved word of God? Did he give the Baptist a new Bible that seemed to be the same as the KJB? The New King James version has nothing in common with the KJB. It is a completely different version with major word changes, IT DOES NOT JUST TAKE OUT THE THEE’S AND THOU’S!
Note just a few (of the thousands) of the underlined changes below…
KJB John 1:3 - ” All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
NOTE: There is a difference in “by him” (KJB) and “through him” (NKJV)! Again, Satan hates the idea that Jesus is God and more powerful than He is! Jesus is not only the Son of God, He is the Creator!
KJB Matthew 20:20 - “Then came to him the mother of Zebedees children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.”
NOTE: The NKJV changes “worshipping him” to “kneeling down and asking something from Him”. Kneeling down is not worshipping him. In the below scripture the same word is used concerning the worship of the image of the Antichrist. They didn’t have a problem translating “worshiping” for Satan, but they did have a problem using “worshipping” for Jesus. Worship involves more than just kneeling down!
KJB Revelation 16:2 - “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image.”
NOTE: You might say, “Yes, but in other passages they use the word worship in relation to Jesus”. Why not here? What made them change the word worship to kneeling down here? Is the NKJV a better translation? Is it easier to understand? Was God involved in it’s development? Let move on…
KJB Matthew 7:14 - “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
NOTE: The NKJV replaces the word “narrow” as a opposed to broad with the word, “difficult”. This is heresy! Salvation is not difficult! Salvation is narrow, specific, and ONE WAY, but it is not difficult! This is a terrible translation.
What should you expect if God wasn’t behind the translation process of the NKJV? Just like all other new versions it contains truth, but it is not the preserved Word of God! Satan’s words to Eve also contained truth!
KJB I Cor. 1:18 - “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
NOTE: The NKJV changes “the preaching of the cross” to “the message of the cross” and ”that perish” to “that are perishing” and “are saved” to “are being saved”. First, the word preaching is not message. Second, the preaching of the cross is the power of God to us who are saved, not us who “are being saved”. Paul had been saved for quite some time when he wrote this letter and was not “being saved” (key word us). Salvation is not a process like most “Christian” groups teach today. In the present I am saved, not being saved! Again, this passage causes much confusion instead of clarity and being easier to understand.
KJB I Cor. 1:21 – “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
NOTE: The NKJV changes “the foolishness of preaching” to “the foolishness of the message preached”. In the context, the message is not the idea, it is the method in which God chose being discussed. “The foolishness of the message preached”, what? If you think I’m picking your still not getting the point! This is not the same as the KJB, and it is not easier to understand nor clear on major doctrinal issues! The NKJV creates more confusion just like the other new versions.
KJB Acts 17:29 - “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.”
NOTE: The word “Godhead” is replaced with “divine nature” in the NKJV. The word “Godhead” is obviously referring to “in him we live” in verse 28. The Godhead refers specifically and personally to the trinity, the Three in One! “divine nature” takes away from the personality and specific reference to God as a person and trinity. The next verse does the very same thing.
KJB John 4:24 – “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
NOTE: The NKJV takes out the “a” in this verse. Since we know Satan is the founder of the New Age movement, it shouldn’t surprise us that he would make this change. There are many spirits by the way! God is A Spirit, He is not just “Spirit” (with a capitol S), like in divine nature (don’t compare this usage of the phrase Peter’s writings). Contrary to popular belief, God is not in the trees, in the sky, and he’s not every where as “Spirit” floating around. God is a specific real personal God!!! These two verses cause confusion concerning the person of God!
KJB Romans 6:22 - “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.”
KJB I Cor. 7:22 – “For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.”
NOTE: The NKJV almost always changes the word “servant” to “slave”. The above two verses certainly don’t make sense when the word “slave” replaces servant. Salvation is not difficult and we do not become slaves of Christ upon being set free from sin! We do not serve Christ out of slavery, but of love as servants! The gospel does not promote the idea of slavery but freedom! I love the next verse!
KJB John 8:36 - “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
KJB I John 3:16 - “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
NOTE: “God” removed! The NKJV removes the word God at least 50 times. It also removes the word Lord at least 60 times!
Hell-Hades? - To make the NKJV “easier to understand” they changed the word “hell” understood in the English language by everyone to “Hades” on many occasions. They use it to refer to the grave and the torments of “hell”. The use of this word completely contradicts clear teachings on the grave and Hell. In addition to this major problem, is changing “hell” or the word “grave” to “Hades” easier to understand? Where in the world is Hades? Is it some island in Hawaii? If you die without Jesus you are going to Hades. NO, IF YOU DIE WITHOUT JESUS YOU ARE GOING TO HELL!!!
Concerning the NKJV I like what Dr. Al Lacey (who once made me mad over this very issue) said, “The New King James Version is no more the New King James Bible than I am the New King Tut”.
A question to conclude this post:
What is the modern method or strategy (of those who accept the idea that all we have available are translations full of man’s errors) to better understand a passage of scripture? The answer is to read from several new versions to get the “fullest” meaning. What will this strategy help you to conclude about the Bible and/or certain verses? Does this make it easier and clearer or more confusing?
I pray that through this God gets the honor and the glory and that those who are called of Him to proclaim His truth would be clear and take a stand on the authority of the preserved Word of God! We have more than a translation full of man’s mistakes!