To my children,
Last month, I cautioned you about reading corrupt copies of the Scriptures. This month, I will address, in greater detail, how to recognize counterfeit bibles. However, I would like to do a quick review of the last lesson.
Inspiration is the infusion of ideas into the mind. This is what took place when the Old and New Testament’s were being written. The Holy Spirit conveyed God’s message into the minds of men when they penned the Holy Scriptures. Inspiration only applies to the original manuscripts.
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works..”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV
Preservation is the act of preserving or keeping safe. The protection of God’s words are vitally important when copying or translating the texts. The Masoretic Hebrew text (Old Testament) and the Textus Receptus (New Testament) have been preserved by God.
“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.”
Psalms 12:6-7 KJV
Inspiration brings God’s words into written form while preservation protects His written words during the copying and translation.
The Counterfeiting of Scripture
1. The Father of Bible Translations.
The counterfeiting of the written texts surfaced after Christ’a death and resurrection. As the New Testament writers penned the words of the Lord, counterfeiters rose up immediately. This explains why there’s such a controversy over the Textus Receptus. But counterfeiting was nothing new. The mastermind behind the counterfeiting of Scripture lied about what God said when he tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1-5). He later misquoted Scripture when he tempted Jesus.
“The devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, ‘If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.'”
Matthew 4:5-6 KJV
The devil claimed to be quoting Psalms 91:11-12, “For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
By simply comparing the two passages, it’s easy to recognize that the devil made four contextual changes. He replaced the word “over” with “concerning.” Then he omitted the phrase, “to keep thee in all thy ways.” After slipping in the conjunction, “and,” he reorganized the phrases “they shall bear thee up” and “in their hands.” And finally, he added, “at any time.”
These four contextual changes – omission, reorganization, replacement, and addition – can be found throughout counterfeit translations (see point 4).
2. The Secret of the Bible’s Copyright.
A simple tattle tale sign to know if the words of God have been altered or tampered with is to look for the Bible’s copyright. Keep in mind that copyright laws haven’t always existed. So prior to 1710, printed books were not copyrighted. However, national copyright laws have since been standardized. The purpose of a copyright is to protect the work of an author, publisher, or printer. No person can copyright somebody else’s written work.
The translation of an uncopyrighted manuscript from one language to another remains uncopyrighted because the authorship hasn’t changed. To copyright different versions of the Bible, the translators are required to rewrite the text to such an extent that changes the authorship. It has to be their words, NOT God’s and not a translation of somebody else’s.
The King James Bible, however, is unique because, in the United States, it’s not copyrighted. It’s in the public domain. Any person can hand copy or print the entire Scriptures, if they choose, without plagiarizing or copyright infringement. Isn’t this how God preserved His words before the invention of the printing press or copyright laws?
3. Only One English Translation is Authentic and Authoritative.
A good preacher or Sunday School teacher should only use one translation because they don’t all say the same thing. For instance, let’s suppose you’re studying the doctrine of the tabernacle in the wilderness. You turn to Exodus 36:19 in five different translations.
“And he made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins above that.”
Exodus 36:19 KJV (1611)
“Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.”
Exodus 36:19 NIV (© 2011)
“And he made for the tent a covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins.”
Exodus 36:19 ESV (© 2001)
“He made a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of porpoise skins above.”
Exodus 36:19 NASB (© 1995)
“Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.”
Exodus 36:19 NIV (© 1984)
What did God say covered the tabernacle? Was it badgers’ skins, durable leather, goatskins, porpoise skins, or hides of sea cow? It can’t be all of the above. If a preacher or teacher uses more than one translation, their doctrine is false. They do not know the truth, nor can they teach it by using Bibles that say different things.
The King James Bible is set apart from all other translations in this respect. Many churches, primarily Baptist, preach and teach from the King James only. You can even search for King James only churches. But you’ll never find New International Version churches, English Standard Version churches, or New Living Translation churches. This is because all translations are given equal respect and authority. (Even though the example above proves that there can only be one authority.)
4. Strategic Attacks on Doctrine Reveal Bible Counterfeits.
By analyzing and comparing corrupted Bible verses with the King James Scriptures, it’s discovered that there’s a strategic attack against major doctrinal areas. The effects of Bible counterfeits serve to accomplish three things:
- An attempt to “show” that the Bible is false and contradictory.
- To deceive people and lead them astray by hiding the truth.
- To divide God’s people, so their Christian testimony becomes less effective.
When these three things are present, people are less likely to get saved. Without salvation in Christ Jesus, they’ll die and go to a devil’s hell. It doesn’t take a theologian to realize that Bible counterfeits, such as those mentioned in my last point, is the work of Satan. Here’s a small sample of their attacks against doctrine that’s foundational to the Christian life.
A. The Doctrine of Salvation:
“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.”
Acts 8:37 KJV
This verse is omitted from the NIV, ESV, NASB, CEV, NLT, CSB, ASV. Satan doesn’t want people to get saved, so he had this verse removed.
B. The Doctrine of the Trinity:
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
1 John 5:7 KJV
This verse is reworded and parts omitted to remove the Trinity:
- “For there are three that testify: [END OF VERSE]” NIV, ESV, NASB, CSB.
- “In fact, there are three who tell about it. [END OF VERSE]” CEV.
- “So we have these three witnesses [END OF VERSE]” NLT.
- “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is the truth. [END OF VERSE]” ASV.
Without the Trinity, there’s no eternal life since salvation comes through the work of Jesus Christ (the Word). A person doesn’t get saved by believing in God. Even the devils believe and tremble (James 2:19).
C. The Doctrine of the Deity of Christ:
“Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”
Philippians 2:6 KJV
This verse is reorganized and words are added to minimize or deny Christ’s deity and reject the gift of salvation.
- “…did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;” NIV
- “…did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,” ESV
- “…did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,” NASB
- “…did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.” CSB
- “…But he did not try to remain equal with God.” CEV
- “…he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.” NLT
- “…counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,” ASV
Jesus’ deity made salvation possible, because only a sinless person could die to save sinful man from their sins. But don’t take advantage of the death of Christ by receiving God’s gift of salvation (NIV). Don’t accept Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross to personally escape hell (CSB). Don’t cling to the cross of Christ (NLT). No one can grasp (or understand) that Jesus is God (ESV, NASB, ASV). Jesus use to be God, however, He doesn’t want to be God anymore (CEV). Only Satan can be the author of all these translations.
What do all these translations and their attacks on certain doctrines have in common? They are deceiving people and sending them to hell. This is strategic and executed by design. I haven’t yet begun to scratch the surface of these Satanic texts. Whole books have been written to cover this subject.
The King James Bible is truly a remarkable translation. In the next lesson, I will speak about the language of the King James Bible and refute the false arguments which attack the King James.
In Christ’s love,
Dad
📚 Lesson 6: The Counterfeiting of Scripture
Striking Down the Home 