“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:” – Amos 8:11
THE FAMINE OF GOD’S WORD is exceeding fierce in our modern age where textual criticism and other pseudo-scholarship reigns, where the ever-changing, contradictory thoughts of sinful, mortal men are deemed more reliable than the words of the immutable, eternal God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The apostle Paul warned that the time would come when men would not endure sound doctrine, but turn away their ears from the truth and be turned unto fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This can be applied not only to the reign of apostasy and false doctrine, but also the preponderance of modern “Bible” versions which delete, distort, and outright destroy the words of God. Though I have written on this subject at length in these pages, I intend what follows to fashion as a primer delineating seven of the most egregious transgressions of these odious corruptions of the holy scriptures.
#1: MODERN PERVERSIONS CORRUPT THE GOSPEL
Is salvation an instantaneous, irreversible miracle of regeneration wrought by the Spirit of God in response to a man’s faith in Christ, or a lifelong process dependent upon continual forsaking of sin and perpetual surrender to obeying God’s commandments? The answer depends upon which Bible you consult. If you search the scriptures as Christ commanded, you will find the truth among the pages of the King James Bible, which testifies that whosoever believes upon Christ will be saved, and that whoever attempts to combine grace and good works will be condemned to everlasting fire. Yet if you page through the modern versions, you will find a variety of heretical and contradictory answers. Behold the following comparisons:
Romans 10:9 (King James Bible): “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Romans 10:9 (New International Version): “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Consider the vast difference between these two renderings. The King James Bible correctly declares that one must confess, or agree, with Christ in order to be saved. This simply means you must acknowledge you are a sinner incapable of saving yourself from eternal damnation in the lake of fire, and believe that Jesus Christ, who is your only hope for heaven, died on Calvary’s cross for your sins, was buried, and was bodily resurrected three days later unto your justification. But the NIV insists that you must go around saying, “Jesus is Lord” as part of being saved, which is nothing more than the false gospel of Lordship Salvation. Why do unsaved religious people cling so steadfastly to the lordship of Christ? Jesus being the lord of lords has absolutely nothing to do with the gospel and getting saved. He did not die on the cross as a lord, but as the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
Now, observe these differences:
Matthew 7:13-14 (King James Bible): (13) “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 (English Standard Version): (13) “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. (14) For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Is salvation easy or hard? The King James Bible rightly speaks of “the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3) requiring only that men believe the gospel to go to heaven. But the false plan of salvation proffered by the modern perversions – surrendering one’s life to follow Christ as “Lord”, turning from sinful behavior, preserving in religious deeds, faithfully obeying God’s commandments – is hard indeed. Nay, it is impossible, for “that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident” (Galatians 3:11). Yet, if perverting the way of salvation were not odious enough, the ESV even declares that the way to damnation is easy, doubtless in an attempt to portray “easy believeism” as a way to damnation. Bless God, salvation is both easy and free, for it was paid for by the precious blood of Christ, and requires only that a man decide to place his faith solely in Christ crucified, buried, risen.
I could provide (and have previously provided) many such examples, but trust these two present a general guide to those not well versed in this issue just how drastically the modern perversions deviate from the King James Bible. Which “Bible” you believe will determine where you spend eternity, because no man ever went to heaven who thought he needed to reform himself as part of being saved, and no man ever went to hell who simply believed the gospel and received Christ as his Savior.
#2: MODERN PERVERSIONS DIMINISH CHRIST’S DEITY
Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. Consult a modern “Bible” version, though, and you are likely to find a different doctrine entirely. I present you Luke 2:33:
Luke 2:33 (King James Bible): “And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.”
Luke 2:33 (American Standard Version): “And his father and his mother were marveling at the things which were spoken concerning him;”
Since Jesus is God, and likewise the Son of God, how could a mortal man like Jospeh be his father? Such ridiculous passages as this, and the modern perversions disgraceful corruption of 2 Timothy 3:16, undermine Christ’s deity to the point he is no longer the sinless Son of God, but a mere historical figure, no more God than George Washington, or Ceasar, or Attila the Hun.
#3: MODERN PERVERSIONS DISTORT THE MEANING OF REPENTANCE
What is repentance? Is it a change of mind from unbelief to belief? Or is it a vow to turn from sinful ways and henceforth lead a changed life of piety and religious devotion? Behold Mark 1:15:
Mark 1:15 (King James Bible): “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Mark 1:15 (Tree of Life Version): “Now is the fullness of time,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near! Turn away from your sins, and believe in the Good News!”
Having to turn from one’s sins – a decidedly impossible task – doesn’t sound like “good news” to me. Then again, the modern perversions have never been known for their consistency.
#4: MODERN PERVERSIONS ELIMINATE THE KJB’S POWER
I challenge you to read any passage of scripture in the King James Bible, and then read that same rendering in any modern version (assuming that passage hasn’t been deleted from the text, as is the case with Acts 8:37, Mark 16:9-20, and many others). Behold the majesty might and redoubtable authority by which the King James Bible proclaims its marvelous truths! And now, compare the feeble, powerless, pathetic, imbecilic turn of phrase present in the modern translations. The former is formidable and authoritative; the latter, weak and shamefully pitiful. If you find even one instance where this is not the case, feel free to send me the example (hint: there is no such creature).
#5: MODERN PERVERSIONS REMOVE COMMANDS TO EXPOSE ERROR
Believers are exhorted to “earnestly contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3) by exposing error and rebuking false doctrines, though even an angle from heaven preached them (Galatians 1:8-9). Unsurprisingly, the modern perversions take issue with this solemn command. Consider Titus 3:10:
Titus 3:10 (King James Bible): “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;”
Titus 3:10 (New King James Version): “Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition,”
Being a heretic, and being divisive, are hardly the same thing. For a more in-depth explanation of these differences, and an analysis of the many issues with the deceptively named “New King James” version, read this article on the subject:
#6: MODERN PERVERSIONS CALL JESUS BY THE SAME TITLE AS LUCIFER
Revelation 22:16 identifies Jesus as “the bright and morning star.” Compare Isaiah 14:12:
Isaiah 14:12 (King James Bible): “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 (New International Version): “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!”
According to the NIV and its fellow modern perversion brethren, Jesus and Lucifer are the same thing! No wonder why the Mormon cult adores the modern “Bible” versions so dearly!
#7: MODERN PERVERSIONS ARE HARDER TO READ AND UNDERSTAND
The most prevailing myth deployed to support usage of the modern perversions, even when concessions are made for their doctrinal deficiencies and intellectual inferiority, is that they are “easier to read” than the King James Bible. After all, the language in the modern translations reflects the 21st century English vernacular in all its mediocrity, and is therefore free of both the obsolete vocabulary and noble wordsmithing present in the KJB.
Yet, as with all other reasons for why it is “better” to use the modern perversions, this, too, is a lie. The King James Bible consistently reads at a lower grade level than the modern translations because it employs a simple syntax than the unnecessary multi-syllable words and preposterously complex sentence structures which personify the modern versions. For a more in-depth study of this subject, I direct your attention to my article on the matter:
CONCLUSION
These are but seven examples of how the modern “Bible” versions contribute to the great famine of God’s word sweeping the land. By corrupting the gospel, and distorting the definition of repentance, and diminishing the deity of Christ, and removing the commands to separate from and expose error, the modern perversions effectively eliminate the only means by which man can be saved, and the very things which make Christianity singular and unique. Moreover, the authoritative, uncompromising boldness by which the King James Bible speaks is sapped of all strength and power in the modern perversions, whose weak words are both pathetic and poorly rendered. Yet these heretical and pitiful words are not only absent the doctrine of Christ; they are confusing, unnecessarily complex, and thoroughly more difficult to understand than the simple loftiness of the King James Bible.
I ask you, dear reader, if you have hitherto been deceived by the sundry falsehoods with which the modern perversions abound, why would you continue to allow these accursed, false “Bibles” to corrupt you? If you persist in using a modern translation instead of the King James Bible, I liken you to one who would rather imbibe the foul wastewater of a sewage canal instead of the pure river that issues from a meadow of tranquil headwaters. What folly is this! Pray do not be so foolish as to continue in corrupting yourself with that sordid stream, when refreshing waters are before you. Burn your modern “Bible” version and replace its preposterous lies with the venerable King James Bible, the very word of God itself, whose prose is simultaneously simple and sublime. And, having done so, you may readily heed our Lord’s command to “search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).