Can we know for sure we have the

perfect Word of God?

Pastor Jeremy Ballinger

Owning a good Bible is a wise investment. Therefore careful consideration should be given to some important factors in selecting the Bible you intend to use.

If you don't know which Bible to buy, be careful about asking the book store clerk for suggestions. The clerk can tell you which one is selling best (probably The New International Version) but modern English versions are not the most accurate.

Modern English Bibles are also based on less than five percent of available manuscripts that are reliable. They sometimes leave words out of the text, or add them, and sometimes leave out entire verses without making the reader aware of this. No one is to take away or add to God's Word (Deut. 4:2, Prov. 30:6, and Rev. 22:18,19.) Revelation states: (". . . If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the book of life . . .")

Consider that the Authorized King James (KJV) has 790,685 words, The New International Version (NIV) has 64,576 fewer words, The New King James Version (NKJV) 19,755 fewer words, and The Revised Standard Version (RSV) 30,534 fewer. Obviously these versions have left out many words which were not all articles or thee's, thou's, thine's, and ye's.

One tidbit of uncommon knowledge regarding the "archaic" thee's, thou's, thine, and ye's (Elizabethan English) is that the first three are second person singular and ye is second person plural. Modern translations are void of this distinction.

Which Bible is the Word of God is a very important question. If you don’t believe that, just go to the nearest Bible bookstore and ask the clerk for the perfect Word of God and see what kind of look you get. God said in Psalm 12:6-7, "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." Then we read in Psalm 100:5 that ". . . . his truth endureth to all generations," and Jesus said in John 17:17 that God's WORD is truth. So, if God told us that he shall keep them and shall preserve them from this generation for ever , then where is the perfect Word of God today? Nobody seems to know anymore.

A pastor friend of mine by the name of James Melton put it best when he wrote the following about preservation:

Now, if the Authorized Version isn't the infallible word of God, then WHAT IS? There has to be a Book somewhere in "all generations" which is God's word; so what book is it? Those who "use" the new versions believe that these are good and reliable translations, but they do NOT believe these to be INFALLIBLE translations. However, I know MANY people who believe the King James Bible to be an infallible Book. Why? Because they know that the One True God has ONE TRUE BOOK. He promised to preserve His words, and we believe that He has done just that. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). If His words didn't pass away, then where are they? I want to read them. There has to be a perfect volume somewhere. I know the King James Bible is the word of God because God promised to preserve His words.

The original crown copyright of 1611 does not forbid anyone today from reprinting the Authorized Version. It was only copyrighted then for the purpose of allowing the printer to finance the publication. For nearly four hundred years now we have been printing millions of copies of KJV's without requesting permission from anyone. Over eight-hundred million copies of the Authorized Version have been printed without anyone paying royalties. This cannot be said of any of the new translations.

The new "bibles" are the work of MEN, but the KJV is a divine work of the Holy Spirit. The term "Authorized" has traditionally been applied to the King James Version alone, for this is the one Book which the Holy Spirit has blessed and used for so long. The fact that it bears no copyright allows printing ministries throughout the world to print millions of copies each year for the mission field. I know the King James Bible is the word of God because it has no copyright.

The new versions do not compare themselves with each other, because they're too busy comparing themselves with one Book--the King James Bible. This fact alone proves that there is something very special and unique about the KJV.

Why does everyone line up in opposition AGAINST the King James Bible? Why not attack one another? That's easy: Satan has no desire to divide his own kingdom (Mt. 12:26). His desire is to discredit the word of GOD, not himself; so he attacks only one Book, God's Book, the KJV.

Those who oppose the KJV are unsure of themselves, for they have no Final Authority; so they despise those of us who DO have an Authority. They're unstable, insecure, dishonest, and very inconsistent. They're all TERRIFIED of One Book, the KJV, and they'll stop short of nothing in their efforts to rid the Body of Christ of that Book.

I know the KJV is the word of God, because it's the standard which all others use for comparison.

Now let’s compare Bibles and just see what the new versions have to say or what they don’t have to say.

The removal of virgin from Isaiah chapter seven in the RSV directly attacks the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that Mary was a virgin made the conception and birth of Christ a supernatural act, also eliminating the sinful blood of Adam’s race from His veins.

When a woman says, I know not a man; she is a virgin. But what about a person with no husband — does this mean by default that she is always a virgin?

If you believe that Jesus Christ was virgin born then you may have a problem with some of the new versions. Look at this comparison.

The peculiar wording of Joseph and his mother is sure to stand out as rather odd-sounding to the reader. God wants His word to be especially unique — uniquely God-like! The NIV removes this distinction and changes its impact by replacing the distinctive wording with the vague "his parents."

Still not convinced? Notice this one.

Satan is never satisfied with an indirect attack on truth. He must go for the kill. However, when he does so, it is much easier to identify his handiwork. No matter how one feels about the preceding verse from the NIV, the attack grows even stronger and more direct as we continue the comparison. The next verse directly attacks the Lord’s deity by destroying the doctrine of the virgin birth. See for yourself:

They recognized the fourth figure in the furnace for who He was and who He is. For the Son of God to show up in the fiery furnace, He must have existed prior to His becoming a man in Matthew chapter one. Can this be proven using an NIV?

NASV-He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

NWT- He was answering and saying: “Look! I am beholding four able-bodied men walking about free in the midst of the fire, and there is no hurt to them, and the appearance of the fourth one is resembling a son of the gods.”

The Bible and the modern versions both state that Jesus is the bright and morning star. Now, having established the identity of the morning star, our attention is directed to Isaiah chapter fourteen — the only place in the Bible that mentions Lucifer by name. He is the son of the morning that was created perfect until pride destroyed him. Notice the five times that he uses the personal pronoun "I."

Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, that crooked serpent — all the same. Praise God, one day Lucifer will be brought down to hell. The KJB proclaims this truth in this singular biography and identification of Lucifer. However, this is not the case in the blasphemous NIV. Instead of being brought low, the NIV allows Lucifer to become the imposter he desires so much to be (II Thessalonians 2:4).

Instead of revealing Satan to be the archenemy of God and man, the finger is pointed in the Saviour’s direction as though He is the imposter. Remember who the book of the Revelation identified as the morning star…now, look at the One to whom the NIV blasphemously points its finger — Jesus Christ!

The NIV fails to reveal Lucifer, but instead attributes the history and future of Lucifer to the morning star. According to Revelation 22:16, the morning star is the Lord Jesus Christ — not Lucifer! Thus, the NIV indicates that the Lord, rather than Satan, was actually the One that fell. This passage in the KJB is the only place Lucifer shows up by name. He remains hidden in the NIV.

Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

37 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.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

In the NIV, verse 37 is left out completely. Check it out for yourself. Now why would anyone want to leave out this verse? Looks like the work of the devil to me.

In the NIV, you no longer find Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 7:16; 9:44,46; 11:26; 15:28; Luke 17:36; 23:17; John 5:4; Acts 15:34; 24:7; 28:29 Romans 16: 26; or I John 5:7. These verses deal with doctrines of great importance. Who would want to remove Matthew 18:11 which states, “ For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost”?

Another update! I just opened the JW "Bible", the New World Translation (1961 ed.), and looked up all the verses that the NIV completely deletes. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BIBLE DELETES THE EXACT SAME ONES!!!! I mean ALL of 'em! The only difference between the NIV and the New World Translation deletions is that the JW Bible does not include any footnotes! Isn't that what I said above, that the NIV would eventually delete the footnotes?

Here we go again. The NIV clearly says in 2 Samuel 21:19 that David did not kill Goliath. Now even the unbelieving world knows that David slew Goliath. Little children know that David slew Goliath. The NIV translators don't know that David slew Goliath. People tell me, "The NIV is more accurate". They actually believe this hogwash. Let's look at some facts.

2 Samuel 21:19:

THE NIV

THE AUTHORIZED KING JAMES VERSION

Scattered throughout the Teen Study Bible are 20 full-color pages that Zondervan describes as "a Christian perspective on contemporary issues" and giving "biblical answers to the toughest questions asked by today’s teens". These pages easily stand out from all other pages. They are much thicker and much more graphic and colorful. As I first thumbed through the Teen Bible, my eyes instinctively stopped at these pages. Each page gives a stylish-colorful-wow-teen graphic presentation discussing a specific topic. The topics discussed are sex; money; death; stress; guilt; school; addiction; entertainment; prayer; witnessing; self-image; church; dating; friends; parents; and siblings.

It is some of the information on these pages that is alarming. These pages give the standard dictionary definition for the topic, and then Zondervan provides an "alternative definition" for the topic. The "alternative definition" is obviously aimed directly at the Christian teenager.

For instance, on the color presentation page for "money" the Teen Bible gives the standard dictionary meaning: "mon-ey (mun*ee) n. –the official currency, as coins and paper notes issued by a government". And the teen "alternative definition" given is a harmless "—what you never have enough of when you go to the mall". Ok. No problem. Most of the "alternative definitions" are trivial – but some of them are hard to believe. . .

Take the topic of "sex". The Teen Study Bible gives a standard dictionary definition, but the "alternative definition" is disgusting. Remember this is aimed directly at impressionable Christian teenagers. The "alternate definition" (1993 edition) for "sex" is "—another fun thing mean adults tell teenagers to keep away from."

Sex is "Another FUN THING MEAN adults tell teenagers to keep away from"! Does anyone seriously believe that such an "alternative definition" would DISCOURAGE hormone-crazy, Christian teenagers to abstain from sex? Is that not like throwing fuel on the fire? Can you imagine a parent telling their daughter, "Yes. Honey, we don’t want you to have sex because it’s so much fun".

Compare the Teen Study Bible’s "alternative definition" with God’s "alternative definition" of "sex":

The doctrine of eternal hell is a fearful Bible truth. The word itself has, from the beginnings of the English language, always had a fixed and established meaning. "The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God" (Psalms 9:17) is very plain. In fact, for many (including preachers and Bible translators) it is apparently too plain. Many people today do not mind using the word in their daily conversation, but do not like seeing it in the Bible.

Modern translations have tried to make the Bible more palatable and socially acceptable by taking some of the terror out of the fact that a man or woman who dies outside of faith in Jesus Christ goes to an eternal and conscious hell. Translators do this in two ways. First, the word is often left in its untranslated Hebrew or Greek form (Sheol or Hades), thus greatly diminishing its impact upon an English reader. The New American Standard version frequently reverts to this practice. Secondly, some simply translate sheol as "death" or "grave". The Jehovahs Witness "Bible" does this and (if you can believe it!) the New International Version is guilty of the same stratagem.

These are just a few of the many verses that take Hell out of the Bible. That’s why you don’t here preaching on Hell anymore because it is not in most of the modern translations that preachers use today.

In answering this question, let me refer to a booklet written by Terry Watkins.

The Bible in 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 warns of Satan's counterfeit: "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness;. . ." Isaiah 14: 14 tells of Satan's ultimate counterfeit: ". . . I will BE LIKE the most High."

And among his greatest counterfeit's is the New King James Bible (NKJV). Christians that would never touch a New International Version (NIV), New American Standard (NASV), Revised Standard (RSV), the New Revised Standard (NRSV) or other per-versions are being "seduced" by the sudtil NKJV.

And though the New King James does indeed bear a "likeness" to the 1611 King James Bible, as you'll soon see, there's something else coiled (see Genesis 3:1) "underneath the cover" of the NKJV.

Symbols are used throughout the occult. Harpers' Encyclopedia of Mystical & Paranormal Experience (p.594) says, "Symbols are important to all esoteric teachings, for they contain secret wisdom accessible only to the initiated."

Many people have asked about the mysterious symbol on the NKJV.

Thomas Nelson Publishers (publishers of the NKJV) claim, on the inside-cover, the symbol, ". . .is an ancient symbol for the Trinity." But Acts 17:29, clearly FORBIDS such symbology: ". . . we ought NOT to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, GRAVEN BY ART and man's device."

The three esoteric "6"'s separated.
Plainly displaying the interlocked "666".

The same symbol (with a circle) is displayed by the rock group Led Zeppelin. Members of Led Zeppelin are deeply involved in satanism and the occult. Guitarist Jimmy Page, so consumed with satanism, actually purchased satanist Aleister Crowley's mansion. Most believe the symbol is from the teachings of Aleister Crowley and represents 666.

One of the most occultic television shows ever aired is "Charmed". "Charmed" details the spells and occultic practices of three witches. The "NKJV symbol" is the show's primary symbol of witchcraft and is splattered throughout the series. Notice the "NKJV symbol" displayed on "The Book of Shadows". The Book of Shadows is commonly used in withcraft and satanism:

Why do we recommend rejection of the NKJV? Space limitations preclude a full discussion of every reason, but we do urge a careful consideration of the following facts. It is essential to know that many of the word changes between the original KJV and the NKJV are not changes which result from removing archaisms, etc. Instead, many are changes which clearly reveal that, contrary to their agreed basis, the NKJV translators departed from the original KJV and its underlying Greek text, the Textus Receptus, in favor of the very same wording found in versions translated from corrupted Greek texts.

The instances in which the NKJV breaks with the original KJV by substituting wording identical to that of corrupted modern Bible versions are too numerous to be considered coincidence. And, since Nelson tells us that the NKJV scholars spent "months of pra yer, research, and discussion over the handling of a single word," we must conclude that these changes were neither coincidental nor accidental.

The following references are listed as examples of the way the translators inserted erroneous words and meanings from corrupted modern Bible versions into the NKJV text:

Titus 3:10-KJV reads, "A man that is an heretick...reject." NKJV and NIV change "heretick" to "divisive man"; RSV and NASV to "factious" man. (The one who holds to heresy is to be rejected, not the one who exposes false doctrine. The new versions confuse who is in mind here).

Acts 4:27-KJV reads, "Thy holy child, Jesus." NKJV, NASV and RSV change "holy child" to "holy servant."

Acts 8:9-KJV reads, "bewitched the people." NKJV and NASV change "bewitched" to "astonished." NIV and RSV change "bewitched" to "amazed."

Romans 1:25-KJV reads, "changed the truth of God into a lie." NKJV, NASV and NIV read "exchanged the truth of God for the lie" or "a lie."

Romans 4:25-KJV reads, "Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification." NKJV and NASV change "for" to "because of." (Even the NIV and RSV use the correct word, "for").

2 Corinthians 10:5-KJV reads, "Casting down imaginations." NKJV, NIV and RSV change "imaginations" to "arguments."

Colossians 3:2-KJV reads, "Set your affection on things above." NKJV, NASV, NIV and RSV change "affection" to "mind."

1 Thessalonians 5:22-KJV reads, "Abstain from all appearance of evil." NKJV, NASV and RSV change "appearance" to "form."

2 Timothy 2:15-KJV reads, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God." NKJV and NASV change "study" to "be diligent." NIV and RSV change "study" to "do your best."

The 2001 English Standard Version is now heavily being promoted by many churches. It is a revision of the old Revised Standard Version, which earlier met with almost universal condemnation by evangelicals as being "liberal". Yet in the last few decades the church has been "softened up" by numerous conflicting bible versions like the NASB and NIV to now be ready to accept with open arms what it once rejected.

The ESV New Testament is based on the Westcott-Hort Greek text which differs from the Traditional Greek text that underlies the King James Bible; it omits some 5000 words, including 18 entire verses in the New Testament alone. The Old Testament is a random mixture of texts from the Hebrew Masoretic tradition, readings from the alleged pre-Christian Greek Septuagint, Samaritan Pentateuch, Syriac, and Vulgate. It is the old RSV in a new garb.

In the New Testament, the RSV and the ESV are missing the following whole verses. Matthew 12:47 (though the NASB, NIV have it, but omit or bracket the others) Matthew 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mark 7:16; 9:44, 46; 11:26; 15:18; most of Luke 9:55-56; all of Luke 17:36; 23:17; John 5:4, Acts 8:37; 15:34; 24:7; 28:29; Romans 16:24, and most of 1 John 5:7. So, yeah, we can see that the RSV and ESV is "close enough" to the King James Bible, right?

None of these Bible versions agree with each other in both texts and meaning in literally hundreds of verses. Did God really preserve His words as He promised, or do we no longer have any Bible that we can call the complete, infallible, inspired words of God? I know where I stand, by God's sovereign grace, on this most important issue. How about you?

The Holman CSB is the latest in a long line of modern bible versions that rejects the Traditional Greek New Testament readings, as found in such English Bibles as Tyndale, Coverdale, Bishop's, Geneva, and the King James Bible.

The Holman version also frequently rejects the Hebrew Masoretic text and instead follows the Greek Septuagint, the Syriac, Vulgate, or in some cases, just makes up its own text as it goes along.

A closer examination of the Holman text reveals that they generally have omitted over 2000 words that are found in the King James Bible.

1 John 5:7
Apparently the Holman editors did not consider the strongest verse in the Bible about the Holy Trinity to have enough "undeniable antiquity" or "value for tradition" since 1 John 5:7 did not make the cut. The Holman version omits these important words from 1 John 5:7 "in heaven, The Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth..."

KJB - "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."

Holman - "For there are three that testify:"

John 1:14, 18; 3:16
KJB "the only begotten Son"

HCS "the One and Only Son"

Why is this a problem? This is an error! Jesus is not the only son of God. Every Christian is a son of God, but Jesus is the "only begotten" Son.

If you choose to use the Holman Christian Standard, you are free to do so if you wish, but don't be fooled into thinking it is the inerrant, unchanging, pure and inspired words of God - it isn't.

The New Century Version (NCV) is the product of the Church of Christ affiliated World Bible Translation Center (WBTC) in Ft. Worth, Texas. The path to the New Century Version is a long and winding road driven by Church of Christ cohorts.

In 1978 the Church of Christ WBTC created an easy-to-read Bible specifically for the deaf, titled the English Version for the Deaf (EVD). The EVD is primarily the work of WBTC’s Senior Translation Consultant, Ervin Bishop. In 1983, the EVD was slightly modified, repackaged and published by Sweet Publishing of Ft. Worth as the best-selling International Children's Version (ICV), New Testament. Sweet Publishing is also Church of Christ affiliated. The International Children’s Version was endorsed (as is the NCV) by Billy Graham and used in his crusades.

In 1984, Sweet Publishing repackaged the ICV as The Word: New Century Version. In 1987, the Old Testament of the New Century Version was released. A few years later, the publishing rights to the New Century Version and the International Children’s Version was acquired by Word Publishing. In 1992 Word Publishing was purchased by Thomas Nelson Publishing. Word Publishing has since been renamed W Publishing.

The NCV has been published and re-packaged with many titles. Some of the NCV’s titles are: The Everyday Bible (endorsed by Billy Graham); The Holy Bible: New Century Version: Traveler's Edition, The Youth Bible; Extreme Teen Bible; The Revolve; Nelson’s KidsBible.com; Time With God; The Answer; and The Secret Kingdom Edition (special edition with Pat Robertson).

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BAPTISM IN THE NCV

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As we have seen, water baptism is the core of the Church of Christ cult. They loudly and proudly believe that water baptism is essential for salvation.

Notice carefully, in the following two groups of scriptures (Romans 6:3-4 and Colossian 2:12), the object of the verses have been changed from the RESULT of baptism to the RITUAL of baptism. The Church of Christ NCV adds the simple words "when we were" to baptism to emphasis the RITUAL of baptism. Important: The NCV is the ONLY version that does this! No other version makes these changes.

Romans 6:3-4, KJB

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:3-4, NCV

3 Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism.

4 When we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. So, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the wonderful power of the Father, we also can live a new life.

Colossians 2:12, KJB

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:12, NCV

When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and you were raised up with him through your faith in God's power that was shown when he raised Christ from the dead.

Notice, in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where the Bible is clearly referring to "spiritual baptism" by the Holy Spirit, the NCV Church of Christ, changes one little word "BY one Spirit. . " to "THROUGH one Spirit. . ." hence, removing the reference to "baptism BY the Spirit". The NCV also adds the word "WERE" (we WERE all baptized..) to emphasize the RITUAL of baptism – water baptism.

1 Corinthians 12:13, KJB

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13, NCV

Some of us are Jews, and some are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.

In 1 Peter 3:20-21, the NCV Church of Christ does not "pull any punches" but openly teaches salvation by water baptism. The NCV changes the phrase "like figure" to "water". Of course, the word "water" is not in any Greek text. The King James Bible says the "water of Noah’s flood" is a "like figure" whereunto even "baptism" (also a like-figure) also now save us" which clearly shows that "baptism" is a "like figure" of the "resurrection of Jesus Christ". Hence, "water baptism" is a "like figure" of the "resurrection of Jesus Christ". That is why many pastors say while baptizing someone "Buried with him in baptism and risen [resurrection] to newness of life".

1 Peter 3:20-21, KJB

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

1 Peter 3:20-21, NCV

20 who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people--eight in all--were saved by water.

21 And that water is like baptism that now saves you--not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.

Sprinkled throughout the NCV is the Church of Christ’s "being saved" plan of salvation. Salvation is turned into a process rather than a completed work at Calvary by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:47, KJB
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Acts 2:47, NCV
They praised God and were liked by all the people. Every day the Lord added those who were being saved to the group of believers.

1 Corinthians. 1:18, KJB
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians. 1:18, NCV
The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 15:2, KJB
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:2, NCV
And you are being saved by it if you continue believing what I told you. If you do not, then you believed for nothing.

2 Corinthians 2:15-16, KJB
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?

2 Corinthians 2:15-16, NCV
15 Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost.
16 To those who are lost, we are the smell of death that brings death, but to those who are being saved, we are the smell of life that brings life. So who is able to do this work?

In other places, such as 1 Peter 2:2 and Philippians 2:12, the NCV openly teaches the Church of Christ cult's salvation by works.

1 Peter 2:2, KJB
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

1 Peter 2:2, NCV
As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can grow up and be saved,

Philippians 2:12, NCV
My dear friends, you have always obeyed God when I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you. Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling,

Philippians 2:12, KJB
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Does the NCV bear the "marks" of the Church of Christ?

You’d better believe it does!

Some have ask about the Italicized Words in the King James Bible. Why are they there? Are these added words to the text? To answer this question, let me show you a track written by Bro. James Melton who states it just as it is.

The italicized words in the King James Bible are words that were added by the translators to help the reader. This is usually necessary when translating from one language to another because word meanings and idioms change. So, to produce a more readable translation, the King James translators (1604- 1611) added certain words to the Bible text. However, to make sure that everyone understood that these words were not in the available manuscripts they set them in italics.

Imagine the confusion which would arise if the translators had not used the italicized words:

"Salvation unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah."

This is Psalm 3:8 with one italicized word omitted. As you can see, the reading implies that the Lord needs to be saved! The correct reading is:

"Salvation belongeth unto the LORD: thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah."

Here is Psalm 7:11 with three italicized words omitted:

"God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry every day."

Is God angry with the righteous every day? No, the correct reading is as the King "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day."

Consider Psalm 12:5 without the italics:

"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set in safety puffeth at him."

The verse makes no sense without the italics:

"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him."

If we subtract the italics from Psalm 18:3, we have God commanding men to call upon Him to be praised:

"I will call upon the LORD, to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies."

Yet, if we leave the italics in place, the verse makes perfect sense and gives the praise to God:

"I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies."

Note Psalm 34:16-17 without the italicized words:

"The face of the LORD against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. Cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles."

This reading allows those that do evil to be delivered from all their troubles, but the italics give a whole new meaning:

"The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles."

Just from these few examples in Psalms alone, it is clear that the italics are essential. Hundreds of such examples could be presented.

Someone might suggest that some of the italics could be omitted, which may be true, but who makes that choice, and where do we draw the line? The moment we agree to changing any italicized words, we open the door for Satan. This we cannot do, so the best option is to leave the Authorized Version as it stands.

Not only does confusion arise when the italicized words are omitted, contradictions can also arise. For example, as we have already mentioned above, omitting the italicized words from II Samuel 21:19 would give Elhanan credit for slaying Goliath, yet everyone knows that it was David who slew Goliath. II Samuel 21:19 says:

"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."

If we omit the words "the brother of" then we make II Samuel 21:19 contradict I Chronicles 20:5:

"And there was war again with the Philistines; and Elhanan the son of Jair slew Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, whose spear staff was like a weaver's beam." (No italics!)

Another important point is that New Testament writers QUOTE from the italicized words in the Old Testament. Note the following:

Psalm 16:8 says: "I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."

The words "he is" are in italics. When Peter quotes this verse in Acts 2:25 he also quotes the italicized words, but Luke doesn't write them in italics:

"For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved."

Why did Peter quote these words and why did Luke write these words if they weren't in the original manuscripts? Should we omit the italics? Not according to Peter and Luke!

In Deuteronomy 25:4, the word of God says:

"Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn."

The words "the corn" are in italics, which the sceptics claim should be omitted. However, we find Paul quoting these words in I Corinthians 9:9:

"For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?"

If these words do not belong in Deuteronomy 25:4, why did Paul quote them?

It is easy to claim that the italicized words do not belong in the King James Bible, but proving it is altogether a different story. May God help us to spend more time reading and believing our King James Bible and less time speaking critically of it.

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If you believe that God did not keep His promise, then you have to expect that as people copied the Scriptures, mistakes constantly crept in. The next copyist would copy those mistakes, and add some of his own. As time went on, the Scriptures held by the church would deteriorate, becoming worse and worse, until nobody would really know what the originals said.

If you believed that, you would want archaeologists to search for the oldest copies of the Scriptures they could find. The idea is that the older it is, the closer it is to the original. You could never be sure you had an accurate copy, but the oldest manuscript would give you the best possible copy, with whatever errors it may contain. This is the method being used by all modern Bible translators today.

They have had archaeologists search the world over, and have found two very ancient copies. One was in the library at the Vatican. It's logical to call this one the "Vaticanus." The other one was deposited in a waste basket at Saint Catherine's Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula, and is thus called the "Sinaiticus." These two copies of the Scriptures, given to us by the Roman Catholic Church, originally came from Alexandria, Egypt, the fountainhead of great heresies of the early church. These two manuscripts disagree with 95% of the broad historical evidence, and they also disagree with each other.

But if they disagree, how do you base a Bible on them? That's simple... find a scholar you consider an expert. Whenever these two copies disagree, have your expert pick the one he likes. We will consider that to be the correct version of that particular verse. Thus, in reality, you are placing your faith in the opinions of this great scholar, instead of the broad evidence of history, left for us by the God of history.

It's kind of hard to have faith in a Bible made from that, isn't it? But if you don't believe God kept His promise, that's the best you can do. This is, in fact, the view held by the majority of Bible translators today. Since they don't believe they can possibly have a reliable, accurate copy anyway, they feel great liberty to add their own private ideas, or interpretation, to the Scriptures. Thus, we get a multitude of Bibles, that very clearly do not say the same thing! What's a person to do?

You believe God preserved His Word

If God kept His promise, then what we need to do is simple. Have archaeologists find all the copies and pieces of copies they can find that have survived from ancient times. If God kept his promise, copying errors will not have polluted the text. Instead, when we compare the copies from churches all over the ancient world, we will find that they agree, that they all had basically the same text. If we occasionally find a copy that does not match the others, we will throw it out, knowing that it was made by a sloppy copyist.

This has, in fact been done. The Old Testament Hebrew text was preserved by the Levites. The apostles quoted it, and we can trust it. For the New Testament, of all the copies in existence today, 95% agree in an incredible way. God did keep His promise! Only 5%, a tiny minority, are "messed up." All we have to do is put together a Hebrew and Greek text made up from our overwhelming majority of ancient texts, and we will have a text that we can be confident is exactly the same as the one held by the early church. Today, this text is called by several names, the most common being the "Received Text" or "Textus Receptus."

This was the text used by devout translators like William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Calvin and others, some of whom died to preserve the Scriptures. If they were going to have to die for it, they were determined to die for the right text! This is also the text used to make the most famous and durable of all English Bibles, the King James Bible.

No modern English Bible translation uses this text! But that's another story.

This brings me to the conclusion. The King James Bible is the perfect Word of God for English speaking people today. As we have seen from this booklet, Things that are different are not the same.

Let God be true and every man a liar.

Pastor Jeremy Ballinger

Under Grace Publications

P.O. Box 3274