The Nineteenth Century (1800 -1899), was a busy time for Christians and the Antichrist movement alike. In America an event happened in the early part of the century called the Great Awakening where millions heard the gospel of Jesus Christ preached and were converted. In 1844 there was an event called the Great Disappointment which happened because a pastor called William Miller didn’t believe Jesus Christ when he said in scripture “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only...” Matthew 24:36. He made several predictions on the date of the Second Coming of Jesus and after being thoroughly humbled he repented of his error. Unfortunately he had in the process of his folly started a movement which became known as the Adventists. Out of that movement came the Seventh Day Adventist Church and the Jehovah’s Witness Cult.
As I mentioned the Antichrist movement was also very active at the time as well. Ellen White of Seventh Day Adventist note is often described as being from an esoteric background and as a result the Church that she founded (SDA), has a number of false teachings and doctrines, such as, the Investigative Judgement and Soul Sleep. During this period Joseph Smith was busy meeting with angels and finding golden plates and so was born the Mormon Church of the Latter Day Saints. I think it is fair to say that the nineteenth century was a time of great growth amongst the Christian Church and significant progress in the Mystery of Iniquity.
One such work was a Romish attack on the 1611 King James Version of the Bible through a revision that occurred in the 1880’s. This is the only official revision of the King James Bible ever undertaken. There were a number updates to word spelling and printing errors by the publishers at Cambridge (1762) and Oxford (1769) and many subsequent word updates which made the KJV more current to the language of the day. I will add that I am not approaching this topic from a KJV only point of view. I firmly believe that if we were to be given a 1611 King James Version bible that we would not be able to interact with it from a meaningful perspective. The language was far more shakespearean in nature and simply wouldn’t convey a lot of meaning and, therefore light on the Christian narrative four hundred years on.
On this theme I would like to focus on the revision of the 1611 King James Version culminating in the 1881 English Revised New Testament and the 1885 English Revised Old Testament and subsequently the English Revised Version of the Bible (1881-1895). Two well known theologians, Brooke Westcott and Fenton Hort, were involved in the bible translation side of the project and represented the more esoteric or, dare we say papist concerns. To be fair there was a substantial process put in place under the Convocation of Canterbury and many fine churchmen, scholars and theologians worked together to produce an elegant, modern, clean reading bible with efficient reference tools that still stands up well even today.
However, when compared on verse by verse basis with the King James Bible it becomes apparent that there may have been certain agenda’s enacted in the text of the English Revised Bible. Which has been used as the template for virtually all of the modern translations of the last one hundred years. Many modern translations are identical in most texts on an almost word for word basis. It appears there has been considerable work done to alter the way the deity of Jesus Christ is portrayed. Certain verses have been left out that either impact the deity of Christ or effect the accuracy and validity of the bible. For instance where a New Testament scripture directly quotes from the Old Testament there are a number of instances of the New Testament verse being removed. References to the blood of Jesus have in some cases been removed. There also appears to have been an attempt to shift the emphasis of salvation from the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the Cross toward a somewhat more works based model involving the Church and the clergy. If I were to describe the process that has taken place then I would say that the scholars involved with this translation have optimised the bible for a more Catholic and Esoteric audience.
Here are a few verses to highlight some of the strategies used to achieve various agendas. Here I will compare the American Standard Version which is essentially the same Bible version as the English Revised Version.
1.
II Samuel 21:19 “And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob; and Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim the Beth-lehemite slew Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.” ASV
II Samuel 21:19 KJV “And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.”
As you can see there is a difference between the two versions as to who slew Goliath. The confusion comes from a scribal error over a word which means bread but with an extra letter means brother. The translators of the KJV were concerned for the accuracy of the record and assumed the word to be brother. The translators of the ASV were concerned for the accuracy of the translation and omitted the word. This means that they are saying that the record of David slaying Goliath is put under some doubt because here it says that Jaaraoregim slew him. It raises the question can we believe the Bible? It gives the Papists the opportunity to say “You see how inaccurate the bible is, how can you know if it is accurate about who Jesus Christs is?” “Come to us, our Pope and his Church can save you.”
2.
Matthew 5:44 “..but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you..” ASV
Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you...” KJV
As you can see in Matthew 5:44 above “do good to them that hate you..” and “..which despitefully use you, and..” have been removed and it completely changes what is being said here. You could say less is more but it really isn’t if it weakens the narrative.
3.
Matthew 20:16 “So the last shall be first, and the first last.” ASV
Matthew 20:16 “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” KJV
Once again an essential part of the verse is omitted. “.. for many be called, but few chosen.” KJV Few being chosen conveys that a person might not be saved. From a Catholic perspective the Church can and will save everyone so a bible which omits some of the exclusivity of God calling man but few men being chosen works well with the Papist dogma. So hence the change. It had to go.
4.
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour. ASV
Matthew 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. KJV
Fairly obvious the issue here. The subject has been deleted i.e.: What are ye watching for? The hour... wherein the Son of man cometh. Why has this been deleted? Because the papists are not looking for the return of Jesus Christ in glory and neither are the esoteric supposedly enlightened ones.
5.
Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. ASV
Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. KJV
Here the ASV adds two words “the Son” and it makes a big difference because it is saying that Jesus doesn’t know the day of his return. Note that this in not in the KJV. Those two words are not in the KJV. Why? Well if Jesus and the Father are one as Jesus stated in John 10:30 I and my Father are one. If Jesus and the Father are one then wouldn’t he know the hour of his coming? So to add those two words in Matthew 24:36 implies that Jesus and the father are not one. It is a direct attack on the deity of Jesus Christ.
6:
Mark 6:11 And whatsoever place shall not receive you, and they hear you not, as ye go forth thence, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony unto them... ASV
Mark 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city. KJV
What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? If you had problem with things of that nature in your church wouldn’t such a saying be offensive to you? Perhaps you could just edit it out and it wouldn’t be a problem anymore?
7.
1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently:...ASV
1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:... KJV
So your obedience to the truth rather than obeying the truth through the Spirit. In other words salvation by your works rather than saved by grace in faith alone. We can do nothing to redeem ourselves or even to obey the truth except through faith in Jesus Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit revealing the nature of Jesus in us but, that is not what this verse is implying in the modern translations.
So to conclude. At the head of this article is a picture of some of the verses you might like to check out for yourself. You can use the parallel bible feature of the Bible Hub website to compare multiple versions at one time. Acts chapter 17 verse 11 tells of the Bereans who studied the scriptures to see if what Paul had told them was true. Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. So my friends I admonish you to study to show yourself approved by reading the bible regardless of translation to increase your knowledge of the Almighty God and his ways.
One of the translators of the English Revised Translation Brooke Foss Westcott, of infamous Westcott and Hort notoriety, had this to say about the New Testament revision process at the time (circa 1885). “Difficulties and differences of opinion necessarily arise in determining the relative claims of faithfulness and elegance of idiom when they come into conflict. But the example of the Authorised Version seems to show that it is better to incur the charge of harshness, than to sacrifice a peculiarity of language, which, if it does nothing else, arrests attention, and reminds the reader that there is something in the words which is held to be more precious than the music of a familiar rhythm. The Bible, indeed, has most happily enriched our language with many turns of Hebrew idiom, and I believe that the Revision of the New Testament does not contain anything unusual either in expression or in order which is not justified by the Old Version.”
As I mentioned earlier the ERV and the ASV are elegant, modern, clean reading bibles with efficient reference tools that still stand up well even today. The point here is the deliberate weakening of the scripture in these two bibles and it’s continuation in subsequent bible translations up to date. The optimization of these bible’s to accommodate a Romish and Esoteric world view by changing scriptures and deleting texts to affect a more general interpretation in doctrine. Even so I am not recommending anyone stop using the translation that they are currently using. I am all too aware of the damage to faith caused by unhelpful disputes over scripture and doctrine. What I would suggest is that believers use a number of translations including the KJV and ASV to broaden their knowledge of the themes and doctrines of the Word of God. Find out what the scriptures relating to the blood of Jesus are and what they mean to our salvation. Search as the Bereans did and understand the credentials of Jesus Christ and his deity as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Immanuel who is God with us. Seek to understand all of scripture to apply it to your faith and enhance your witness of the gospel.
Blessings to you all in Jesus Christ, our glorious Lord and Savior.
Bruce Gibbs
Reference List
Norris R. 2014. Todays KJV and 1611 Compared and More. Unbound Scripture Publications.
