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DECEPTIVE BIBLE VERSIONS

(Christ or "another Christ"? -

An article about deceptive Bible versions Stephen E. Smith, Asst. Editor Howard, CO submitted for publication by Robert J. Hawkins, Jr.The Church of God)

"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 16:13-17).

Most ministers today would be flattered if men compared them to John the Baptist, Elijah or Jeremiah. But Jesus was no common minister. He was (and is) the Son of God. No one has yet measured how much higher the heavens are above the earth, for the universe seems infinite in distance, but it is safe to say that Jesus is as far above Elijah, John the Baptist or any other man as the heavens are above the earth. John realized this and when men began to think he might be the promised Messiah he clearly told them that he was not worthy to be compared with Christ, declaring, ". . . one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose. . . " (Luke 3:16).

People were willing to recognize Jesus as a great teacher, but not as God. He could be a mighty minister, but not the divine Son of God. He might even be a prophet returned from the dead, but they would not accept Him for who He really was, God in the flesh! When Jesus asked His disciples "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter was quick to respond. Jesus proclaimed that it was not through flesh and blood, but by divine revelation that Peter knew Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.

It is imperative that men today know who Jesus really is. He is more than a resurrected prophet. He is the resurrection and the life. He is not just one who was raised from the grave, but is conqueror of death, hell and the grave. Jesus is not merely a good teacher with lofty ideas and good words, He is the Word of God.
Only the divine Son of God could look into the distant past of over 1,900 years and proclaim ". . . Before Abraham was, I am" (John. 8:58). Only God could declare "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending . . . which is and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:8). Only Eternal God could say some ninety years after his death and burial "I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore" (Rev. 1:18).

Today we find the same kind of skepticism concerning the identity of Jesus Christ as was found when He was here in the flesh. People are willing to recognize that Jesus was good, but not God. He is being reduced from His rightful position in the Godhead, to mere teacher or a good man, leaving Him equal to but not greater than Mohammed, Confucius, Socrates, Gandhi, or Buddha. The religious movement today is discarding Jesus' claims of divinity. No longer do they believe that His name is the name above every name, or that at His name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord.

Worshipping the Anti-Christ
It is important for us to know what men are saying about our Lord today, because by listening to their statements and comparing them to Scripture, we can avoid the possibility of being deceived. The Bible tells us that in these last days the world is going to be beguiled into worshipping one they believe to be the Christ, when in reality they will be worshipping the anti-Christ.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" (II Thess. 2:3,4)
". . . and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? . . .And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:3,4,8)

Satan, who is fully capable of presenting himself as an angel of light, is presently preparing the world, including multitudes in Christendom, to believe that he himself is the "divine one" and worthy of worship. According to Scripture, he will succeed at convincing the world that he is Christ, and they will worship him as God. He will even sit in the temple of God, showing himself to be God. How will he be able to deceive so many? Consider the question Jesus asked, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man am?" If Satan can succeed in reducing Jesus from membership in the Godhead to merely a sage or prophet or great teacher, then he can replace Him with "another Christ." Let's see how he has the world presently answering the question of Jesus' identity.
A Jewish Socrates

The US News and World Report, April 8, 1996 cover story was "In Search of Jesus. Who was He?" The article quoted Robert Funk, head of the now famous "Jesus Seminar", which believes that Jesus was "more akin to a Jewish Socrates . . . than the divine Son of God." Funk states that the goal of his seminar is to "set Jesus free from the Scriptural prisons . . .in which we have entombed him." Funk and his scholars (?) conclude that no more than 20% of the Bible sayings of Jesus and even fewer of His recorded actions are true. They reject that Jesus gave us the Lord's prayer, or spoke the words on the cross, on any claim He made to divinity or the virgin birth, most of His miracles, and His bodily resurrection.

Time Magazine's, April 8, 1996 cover story was called "The Search for Jesus." Time quotes the scholars as saying that only 18% of the words ascribed to Jesus in the New Testament were spoken by Him. According to this report, the book of John is to be completely eliminated (If you want to destroy the divinity of Jesus Christ, you must eliminate the book of John which clearly establishes that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" [John. 1:14]). Only one sentence in Mark is to be permitted. According to them - Jesus was, of course not born of a virgin, nor resurrected from the dead, never worked a miracle, and is not the divine Son of God.
The above mentioned magazines are two of the most widely read news magazines in the United States, and their publicizing of these criticisms have without a doubt made the Scriptures suspect in the minds of millions of people. After all, it is the "Bible Scholars" themselves who have declared the Scriptures to be untrue.

Dear saints, it is important for us to remember that the Word of God is not revealed to the world's scholars. The human mind, apart from divine revelation, cannot receive the things of God. Jesus Himself expressed thankfulness to His Father in heaven ". . . because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Mt. 11:25). Paul also declared that if the princes (scholars) of this world had known the wisdom of God, instead of trusting their own wisdom, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory (1 Cor. 2:8). Here in these last days, the wisdom of the world is again attempting to crucify Christ afresh and turn hearts from the only One who can save their souls from sin and eternal death in the lake of fire.
Wrestling With Scriptures

There is a much more subtle, and therefore dangerous, attempt being made to turn hearts from the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a "conspiracy" of the prophets to change the truth of God into a lie (Rom. 1:25), or as Peter put it, they are "wresting" the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Pet. 3:16). Today's Bible publishers have joined forces with the demonic world to press the attempt at reducing Jesus Christ to a mere man, and replacing Him with a new Jesus, one more acceptable to the world and its more "tolerant" religious views. Subtle changes are being made in every new version of the Bible, which confuse or totally reject Jesus Christ as the true Christ and Savior.

A statement made by the Chief Editor of the New International Version of the Bible lets us know that the changes made in his Bible are intentional, with premeditated intent to change Bible doctrine. Concerning this version of the Bible he says, "It shows the great error that is so prevalent today . . . namely the error that regeneration depends upon faith . . .that in order to be born again man must first accept Jesus as Savior."1 What blasphemy against God's sacred Word, that it should be rewritten with the very intent of convincing souls that they can be saved without the born-again experience received through faith in Jesus Christ!
Another popular "New Age" Bible is the New American Standard Bible. Dr. Frank Logsdon, the co-founder of this version, did not know until after it was completed that he had participated in producing a Bible which could damn eternal souls. Upon discovering what they had really produced he said, "I must under God renounce every attachment to the New American Standard Version. I'm afraid I'm in trouble with the Lord
  . . I wrote the format . . .I wrote the preface . . I'm in trouble. . it's wrong, terribly wrong; it's frighteningly wrong; and what am
I going to do about it. . . I can no longer ignore the criticisms I am hearing and I can't refute them . . . the deletions are absolutely frightening. . . there are so many. . . Are we so naive that we do not suspect Satanic deception in all of this?"2 He went on to say, "You can say the Authorized Version (KJV) is absolutely correct. How correct? 100% correct! . . . I believe the Spirit of God led the translators of the Authorized Version. If you must stand against everyone else, stand . . ."3

"Occult" Authors
What is causing all this commotion? What is it about the new Bibles which is so "frightening"? How do they differ from the King James Authorized Version? Should the KJV be considered 100% correct, and the new versions regarded as departures from the faith "once" delivered to the saints? Yes, indeed! A careful study of the Bibles produced in the last 100 years will reveal that they are all guilty of sabotaging the truth and laying the groundwork for the anti-Christ to be received and worshipped in place of Jesus Christ!

In the 1870's B. F. Westcott and F.J. Hort worked together to produce the New Testament in the Original Greek. Since the production of this work, all Bible publishers have used Westcott and Hort's work as the basis for translating the Bible into the new versions. There are thousands of differences between the new versions and the Authorized King James, and the changes are not minor! Before looking at a few of them, it would be worthwhile to know something about the men who translated the manuscripts.

Westcott and Hort were both involved in the occult. They were spiritualists (necromancers), who held seances to contact the dead4 . They were leading members of a ghost club5 , and produced the British Ghostly Guild, a paper which studied and published information concerning sightings of ghosts and other supernatural appearances. Are these the kind of men God would use to translate His Holy Word? Of course not, and we may be sure that their occult involvement greatly influenced their "translation" of scripture.

The scholars who produced the King James Bible used over 5,000 manuscripts in their research. These manuscripts have been translated not only for English speaking people through the KJV, but in 300 languages since 1611. These scholars rejected a handful of manuscripts which clearly had been corrupted, and were full of contradictions with the other manuscripts. Can you guess which manuscripts Westcott and Hort used in their translation? They rejected the thousands of accepted ancient writings, and used the corrupted texts for their translations.
Where did these texts come from? They were written by the "Son's of Philo," a group of Satan worshipers in Egypt. Philo's school produced manuscripts of the Old and New Testament--altered to conform to their teachings. It was these corrupted texts which Westcott and Hort used to alter the traditional Old and New Testaments!6 Worshipers of Lucifer praised Westcott and Hort's translation of the Bible, knowing that the new version was playing right into their hands. Now let's look at some of the changes which will lead souls to worship Lucifer, while thinking they are worshipping the true God.
Isaiah 14:12-17 gives us our greatest information on Lucifer, Satan. "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! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit" (Is. 14:12-15)
We learn from this passage that the angel Lucifer became filled with pride and desired to be exalted and worshipped as God. The passage ends with him being cast down into hell. The new translations have changed the identity of Lucifer in this passage. The NIV and the NASB both leave out the name "Lucifer." The NIV calls this person the "morning star" and the NASB calls him the "star of the morning." First, we see the true identity of this fallen creature removed by the "disappearance" of his name, Lucifer. Then we see a shocking change from being "son of the morning" to become the "morning star."
In the New Testament we are told that Jesus Christ is the morning star (2 Peter 1:19; Rev. 22:16;2:28). Therefore, the new Bibles have succeeded in a complete identity change. Now Lucifer is released from the shame of his sin and fall, and Jesus Christ becomes the fallen star! The NASB goes so far as to include 2 Peter 1:19 as a reference to Isaiah's description of the devil, in order to be sure readers make the connection that Jesus Christ is the one who has fallen from heaven!

Even the references in our King James Version often contain commentary which will confuse the identity of Satan with that of Jesus Christ. My KJV is produced by Broadman & Holman Publishers of Nashville, TN. It contains a reference to the word "Lucifer" and redefines the name to mean "O day star." Dear saints, it is important that we stay with the Word of God, not to commentary about the Word! It is also important to remember that most Bible dictionaries and reference books are also tainted by their departure from the accepted manuscripts and use of the corrupted ones.

The Holy One or the "One"
One of the most important changes in the new Bible versions concerns the use of the name "One" in reference to God. In our KJV, God is clearly revealed as the "Holy One." But new Bibles have added a title into the script which is not found in the original manuscripts, but necessary to their goals. It is seen in the constant use of the name "One." In our KJV, Jesus is quoted as saying ". . . he that despiseth me, despises him that sent me" (Luke 10:16). The NASB says "rejects the One." Again, Jesus said that we are to ". . . Fear him . . . that hath power to cast into hell. . . " (Luke 12:5). The NASB says to fear "the One." Why the change? Why should God now be referred to under the title of "One"? Because the reference is no longer being made to the Holy One of Israel, but to the god of this world, Satan!
The Encyclopedia of Mysticism and Mystery Religions explains the use of the name "One": 'The One' or the 'Only One' is Lucifer, the angel of this planet's evolution.
''The Coming One' or 'The Mighty One' is Lord Miatreya's new Age Christ (Anti-Christ).7
In her book, The Secret Doctrine, Lucifer worshipper Madame Blavatsky lists the names of the devil: The Dragon of Wisdom is the One; The One and the Dragon; Great One . . .Lucifer; Lucifer is One; Sanat (Satan scrambled) . . . for he is One; the Fiery Serpent . . . is but One.8
In Scripture God identifies Himself and clearly distinguishes Himself from Satan. The true God is called the Holy One, a name which can never be properly applied to Satan.
". . . and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!" (Is. 5:19) ". . . Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts" (Is. 6:3). Jesus, God's only begotten Son, is also spoken of as the Holy One: ". . . neither wilt thou suffer thy Holy One to see corruption" (Acts 2:27). "But ye denied the Holy One and the Just . . ." (Acts 3:14).
The Bible calls Satan "the wicked one" (Mat. 13:19,38; I John 2:13,14; 3:12; 5:18). Throughout the world, pagan religions identify their god as "the One." He is called: Great One; Allah is One; the blessed One; Supreme One; The One Source; The Awakened One. In identifying the (new) god to be worshipped, the New American Standard Bible has made the following changes:
"the only begotten Son of God" is now "the one of the Father" or "the One and Only" (John 1:14,18).
"This is my beloved Son . . " is now "my Chosen One" (Luke 9:35)
"this is indeed the Christ" is changed to "this One indeed is the Savior" (John 4:42)
"there is one God" is changed to "he is One" (Mark 12:32)
"There is none good but one, that is God" is now "There is only One who is good" (Mat. 19:17)
"the chosen of God" now becomes "the chosen One" (Luke 23:35)

There are many more such changes and they are not coincidental. The devils themselves know who the true God is and identify Him by His holiness. When Jesus confronted a demon-possessed man, the devils cried out, ". . . Let us alone, what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know who thou art, the Holy One of God" (Luke 4:34).

New Age religion exalts the spirit of "Oneness." Thus they fight against cutting down forests, and preach a tree- hugging doctrine, for we are "one" with nature. We must not allow an owl or woodpecker to become extinct, because we are "one" with the world. A bumper sticker will show a picture of the earth and proclaim "listen to your mother." Our world is no longer worshipping the Creator, but the creation, and this move to become one with the universe is a diabolical, satanic plot to turn hearts from the true God, and cause them to worship the "one" who is about to appear on the scene and proclaim himself to be God.

Watch out for the "One." One of his trademarks is his rejection of true holiness. True holiness, marked by holy doctrine, lifestyle, dress, etc. points to the true God, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore holiness will be persecuted more and more. Holiness people are already under verbal attack and called judgmental, intolerant, legalists. Soon the attack will become more violent as the beast and his worshipers will make war with God's people and become drunk with the blood of the saints (Rev. 17:6).
Lucifer is the master of deception. His "angel of light" disguise and outwardly lamb-like spirit will deceive multitudes. Looking into their new Age Bibles, people will proclaim Lucifer to be the very "One" pointed out in Scripture. And indeed he will be the one spoken of in their versions. But the true saints will discern the spirits and continue faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, and walk in holiness.

GOD DOES NOT CHANGE

God does not change, but you would not know it by reading today's popular Bible versions. There are multitudes of additional changes which are designed to change Bible doctrine in the new versions. The name Jehovah is changed to "Lord" in order to remove the identity of the unique God of Israel. The triune God disappears as the word Godhead is changed to "deity" or "divine being." The Bible's strongest statement concerning the trinity is found in 1 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." This verse is completely eliminated from the new versions!

Catholics, Hindus, Moslems and other religions are known for their practice of self-mutilation. New Bibles court the favor of these religions by changing Paul's statement ". . . I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection. . . " (2 Cor. 9:27). The NIV says "I beat my body". The Living Bible says "I punish my body and treat it roughly." The NASB says "I buffet my body." Paul's statement had nothing to do with mistreating his body, but was simply stating that he did not allow the "lust of the flesh" to control him. He was a man who walked in the spirit in order that he not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. But New Age Bibles are designed to create an atmosphere for the unifying of all religions and the practice of self-abasement fits in well. When Paul says "I would that they were even cut off which trouble you" (Gal. 5:2), he is simply stating that he wishes that the false teachers were excommunicated from the Church, so they could no longer sow their corrupt seed. The NIV restates this to say, "I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate (castrate) themselves" and the NASB says "Would that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves." What dangerous perversion of Scripture!

The words adultery, fornication, and whoremonger are replaced by new versions with "immorality" or "immoral person." While "moral" and "immoral" are popular words today, they have no real definition. They are relative words which fail to express exactly what the acts of wrong are. Each person is free to choose for himself, as Eve did, what is good and what is evil. In addition, instead of condemnation of homosexuality, the new versions are written to condemn only those relationships in which persons are exploited or abused. Thus, homosexuality is acceptable so long as it is a willing act between two consenting persons.
We are admonished in Scripture "not to please ourselves" but the NASB tells it differently "not just to please ourselves" (Rom. 15:1). Again,1 Peter 3:3 commands us, "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning. . ." but the new version says "let not your adornment be merely external" (NASB).

The NIV and NASB call us to "come, follow me" instead of "come, take up the cross and follow me" (Mark 10:21). Are you getting the clear message that the new versions are simply perversions intended to produce a new religion - absent of holiness and allegiance to the true God of the Bible, exalting fleshly lusts and self-exaltation?

WHICH CHRIST WILL YOU WORSHIP?

The disciples of John came to Jesus and asked the question "art you he that should come or look we for another?" Today's religious world is indeed looking for another. As the new Bibles confuse the issue of the true Christ, they essentially provide a "fill in the blank" deity. Your Christ may be Krishna, Buddha, Yogamanda, Mohammed, or any number of religious leaders. Hindu's say that Jesus is the son of Krishna. Islam says Jesus is a prophet, a messenger of God. Jehovah Witness' claim Jesus is the archangel Michael. Mormons say Jesus is the brother of Lucifer. There are clearly many false Christ's gone out into the world!
When Jesus spoke with the woman of Samaria he said, "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him" (John 4:22-23). We live in a world which no longer knows the God they worship. Today's message is "let your conscience be your guide," "let every man do that which is right in his own eyes." This is damnable heresy. Church of God, we know Who we worship. We must never yield to the influences which call for "tolerance" of doctrines and views which are contrary to the sacred Scriptures. These views are presented with "...good words and fair speeches [to] deceive the hearts of the simple" (Rom. 16:18).
We need not worry about which Bible to believe. God has promised that He would never allow His Word to be lost, but that He would preserve it in its purity forever!

"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).
"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119:89).

Jesus said "For I have given them the words which thou gavest me. . . " (John 17:8), and we can rest assured that He will not allow those words to be compromised, changed, or corrupted. He will preserve them until He calls His Church home! He has done so in the KJV and in other languages, where the proper manuscripts were used.

Who do you say that Jesus Christ is? If you do not clearly know the Holy One of Israel you are a candidate for deception. Do you know Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, and head over all things to His body, the Church? Can you proclaim Him as the "exclusive" Christ, the One and Only Savior of souls? When a person can no longer discern the divine Son of God from the impostors, he will then lose sight of the one true Church, and no longer cleave to the one holy doctrine. He will compromise more and more until he can't tell the divine from divination, the Morning Star from the son of the morning, Christ from the Anti-Christ, the true bride from the religious harlot.
These things are not revealed by flesh and blood. If your vision is blurred and you are unsure of those things which you once clearly understood, it is time for a return trip to the altar. It is time to close your ears to the doctrines of men and doctrines of devils which are now tickling the ears of those given to fables, and seek the Lord with all your heart. Your Father in heaven is ready to open your eyes to truth and give you perfect spiritual vision. Then you can once again declare that you know who Jesus Christ is, who His Church is, what His doctrine is, and you will overcome the great delusion being spread over the unsuspecting world.

In the end, each one of us will worship Jesus Christ or "another" Christ (the Anti-Christ). Only by carefully and prayerfully holding to those things taught us by the Holy Ghost will we avoid deception and be found worthy to stand before the son of God.

"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" (Luke. 21:36) &

1Kenneth Barker, The NIV: The Making of a Contemporary Translation (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Corp., 1986), p. 143
2G.A. Riplinger, New Age Bible Versions (Munroe Falls, Ohio: A.V. Publications), preface
3Ibid., preface
4New Age Bible Versions, pg. 25,26
5James Webb, The Occult Underground (La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Press, 1974) p. 155
6New Age Bible Versions, pg. 27
7Ibid, pg. 78
8H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine (London: The Theosophical Pub. House, 1893) Vol. 1 pp. 102,125,104,105,144,145,592
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