A Voice In The Wilderness Vital Topics Booklet Index
Two of the greatest deceptions ever to confront the
human race came to the fore in the 19th century: deceptions
so subtle and dangerous that between them they have destroyed
the faith of multiplied billions of souls in and out of the Christian
Church. The first was the unproved theory of evolution:
fascinating, plausible and seized upon by the godless mind which
chafes at the commandments of the Almighty God. The second was
the Revised Version of the Bible posing as the "Word
of God"; a version as corrupt as it was potent, for it
spawned a host of unholy offspring.
The first deception has, over the years, turned hundreds
of millions away from the Christian church; for it taught that
the very first chapter of the Bible was not really the truth,
but legend. This pernicious theory is still taught, as fact, in
thousands of colleges and schools the world over. Our article
on Evolution exposes the theory for what
it really is - a fallacy!
The second deception, the Revised Bible is
equally dangerous, for it casts doubt on the real Word
of God and starves believers of the Bread of Life. Sad
to say it is also taught in thousands of churches, Bible schools
and religious colleges the world over. This article deals with
the second deception - Counterfeit Bibles! Read it with
special care, several times over, because if you have avoided
the first deception, you are most certainly the target of the
second.
Concerning Providential Preservation the Westminster Confession of Faith (17th century) says this on page 23:
| Quote: | "The Old Testament in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek, being immediately inspired by God and by His singular care and providence kept pure in all ages, are therefore authentical, so as in all controversies of religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them." |
In the past most Christians accepted these facts,
but of late there are a growing number who have strong reservations
about divine preservation. They will allow
that the original autographs, which of course are no longer
available, were inspired. But they have strong reservations
about divine preservation. They believe that much of Scripture
is in need of update, because some of the oldest manuscripts were
not available to the 17th century translators of the
King James Version (KJV). That is why, they maintain, the
Revised Version of 1881 and its many descendants became
necessary; and how that each new English translation (well over
100 at the present count) is an improvement on the one that went
before. In other words, the Bible is also evolving and
each new version brings us one step nearer the original.
This is an extremely disturbing development; for when we examine modern translations, which like the Revised Version are all based on corrupt manuscripts, we find they do not simply use modern language, which, arguably, may have been in order; but they say things entirely different from the early English and foreign language versions of the Scriptures, which in past centuries God used to further His work. In this article you are about to learn many startling facts about the modern English translations of the Bible, that they all:
These discoveries are disturbing to say the least and should cause true believers around the world to ask: Is all this true? Are these allegations justified? And if so, what spirit is behind the deception and confusion caused by the modern translations? Visit any Bible study group where believers are using a variety of modern "Bibles" and comments such as these are common:
The question is: Which English Bible is the real
Word of God? Anyone can see that they cannot all be the Word
of God if they are saying different things. After all, God
doesn't contradict Himself and is certainly not the author of
confusion. (1Corinthians 14:33) Scores of conflicting
translations, all claiming to be His Word, cannot possibly be the
work of the Holy Spirit of Jehovah. Besides, would the Almighty
flood the English-speaking world with well over 100 conflicting
translations of the whole Bible and over 300 translations of the
New Testament? Of course not: the very idea is ludicrous if not
blasphemous. Something is terribly wrong somewhere and it's time
to find out.
Since my conversion in 1960, when I was 18 years old, I have used a number of modern versions and translations of the Bible: the Revised Version, Moffatt Bible, Revised Standard Version, Amplified Bible, the Living Bible, the New English Bible, Knox Bible, Good News for Modern Man, Amplified Bible, Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Version and the New International Version. During all that time I also used the King James Version (KJV), also called the Authorized Version. But never in all those 41 years did I suspect that anything was seriously amiss with the modern Bibles: or that they are all dangerously flawed! To be sure I knew that some paraphrased publications, such as the Living Bible, could not be relied upon when deciding doctrine: and that others had several uninspired books (the Apocrypha): but never in the past 41 years did I suspect that EVERY modern English Bible cannot truthfully be called the HOLY BIBLE, the WORD OF GOD!
With the help of several reference books and modern
versions of the Bible - I possess about 20 - I began an exhaustive
study of the History of the Bible: of how we got our Bible
in the first place. This article tells of my findings: of facts
so stunning that they shocked me more than any truth I have ever
learned; including that of the true weekly Sabbath and
Festivals of the God of Israel. I felt horrified to think
that as the founder of A Voice In The Wilderness - Toronto, Canada,
with students in many countries, I had been deceived for so long
and had been guilty of giving sincere students faulty advice.
I determined - yea I prayed desperately - that if JEHOVAH (Yahweh)
the LORD God of Hosts would allow, I would join the growing band of believers
who honour the King James Version and tell the world. The facts
you are about to learn need to be studied prayerfully, several
times over. Particular attention should be given to Part Two
where many King James Bible texts are listed for comparison
with the modern version/s you may currently be using. I will quote
extensively from the reference books on Bible History mentioned
in Part Three. Remember that emphasis (bold type) throughout
this article is mine.
If you are reading this article on the Internet,
you are reminded that AVITW - USA publications do not carry
a copyright clause. So feel free to download, print, photocopy
and pass this article to your friends, because, believe it or
not, the world is currently being starved of the real Word
of God, the HOLY BIBLE! A great spiritual famine is
overtaking mankind and, as I was, the Christian Church is blissfully
ignorant of its danger. This article will answer the question:
" Which English Bible is the real Word of God?"
As most believers know, the Bible is often referred
to as 'the Holy Scriptures.' It is made up of two parts,
the Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament is a collection
of 39 books which were originally penned mostly in the Hebrew
language. The New Testament is a collection of 27 books, written
originally in Greek; though some portions were probably written
in Hebrew or Aramaic, a north Semitic language. The original
autographs (masters) were the hand-written scrolls penned by the
inspired prophets and apostles. They were written on vellum
(the skins of clean animals, such as calf, goat or antelope) or papyrus.
Vellum is more durable and costly than papyrus; but an entire
antelope skin would only furnish two or three pages of a manuscript.
Because of this fact the vast majority of manuscripts were written
on papyrus. Papyrus is a reed-like water plant with thick fibrous
stems from which a kind of paper was made in ancient times. The
average papyrus scroll was about ten inches in width and about
thirty feet in length. After years of constant use, being rolled
and unrolled, the original autographs (master scrolls)
especially those of papyrus, became worn and began to fall apart.
The God of Israel anticipated Satan's intended attack on the Scriptures: and how the enemy of souls would seek to frustrate the divine work of preservation by causing unbelieving scribes to add to, delete and distort the sacred writings. That is why this solemn, yea frightening, warning appears at the end of the Bible. It not only addresses copyists and translators who intentionally corrupt Jehovah's Word, but also those who knowingly promote their corrupted publications.
| Revelation 22:18 | 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. |
I repeat: to preserve His word, JEHOVAH
the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel must needs ensure
that accurate copies of the inspired masters be
made; else His promise that 'the Word of the Lord abideth
forever' was meaningless - if not false. Consequently
the Almighty caused faithful believers to copy His Word.
This is how He organized that work.
The Masorites were Jewish scholars who, like
their B.C. predecessors the Aaronic Priests, had the sacred
task of copying the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures. In his book
Story of Our English Bible, W Scott wrote over a hundred
years ago concerning the reliability of the copies made by these
faithful priests and scribes.
| Quote: | "It is well known that among the Jews it
was the profession of the Masorites, or doctors of tradition,
to transcribe the scriptures. We know to what extent these indefatigable
scholars carried their respect for the letter; and when we read
the rules under which their labours were carried on, we understand
the use that the providence of God (who had 'confided his oracles
to the Jews') made of their superstition.
They reckoned the number of verses, words, and letters in each book. They tell us, for instance, that the letter A occurs forty-two thousand three hundred and seventy-seven times in the Bible; the letter B thirty-eight thousand two hundred and eighteen times; and so on to the end. They were scrupulous of changing the position even of a letter, though evidently misplaced, but limited themselves to noting in the margin, supposing some mystery was involved. They tell us which is the middle letter of the Pentateuch, as well as of each of the books of which it is composed. They never allowed themselves to correct their manuscript; and if any mistake escaped them, they rejected the papyrus or the skin which they had blemished, and recommenced upon a fresh one; for they were equally interdicted from even correcting one of their own errors, and from retaining for their sacred volume a single parchment or skin in which an error had been made... "These facts, we repeat it, together with the astonishing preservation of the Hebrew text (1200 years more ancient than that of the Septuagint), plainly tell us how the intervention of the mighty hand of God was needed in the destinies of the sacred book." (Ref:A1) |
In his book God Wrote Only One Bible, Jasper James Ray confirms this fact about the faithfulness displayed by these ancient scribes in copying the Scriptures.
| He writes: | "In making copies of the original manuscripts,
the Jewish scribes exercised the greatest possible care. When
they wrote the name of God in any form they were to reverently
wipe their pen, and wash their whole body before writing "Jehovah "
lest that holy name should be tainted even in writing. The new
copy was examined and carefully checked with the original almost
immediately, and it is said that if only one incorrect letter
was discovered the whole copy was rejected.
Each new copy had to be made from an approved manuscript, written with a special kind of ink, upon skins made from a 'clean' animal. The writer had to pronounce aloud each word before writing it. In no case was the written word to be written from memory." ( Ref: D1) |
It is a sad fact that the Gentiles who copied the
New Testament Scriptures were not as diligent as the ancient Aaronic
scribes and Masorites. Therefore it is in the New Testament texts
where most errors are found.
Manuscripts produced by the early Christians fall into three categories:
As regards the format of ancient manuscripts, they are often described as:
A Voice In The Wilderness Vital Topics Booklet Index