ELEPHANTS
IN THE ROOM:
WHY
THE ENGLISH
KING
JAMES BIBLE IS
THE
MOST TRUST-WORTHY
Russell
Earl Kelly, PHD
July
30, 2019
1.GOD CANNOT BREAK HIS PROMISES AND LOSE HIS
WORD.
Admit it or not, except for the King James
Version, most other English Bible versions begin with the un-biblical premise
that our Omnipotent God is incapable of preserving His Word. Beginning with this
false presumption, they have assigned themselves the task of helping God
restore that which He promised numerous times would never require restoration. This
fabricated attempt to re-discover God’s so-called lost truth is tantamount to
calling God a liar. It is a declaration that His Word has been lost as early as
the second century for approximately 1700 years until Westcott and Hort began
restoring it with Vaticanus B in the mid-1800s. The very existence of “updated”
versions declares that God’s Word cannot ever be wholly trustworthy until it
has been wholly restored by them (if such is even possible). Their favorite
Greek version, the Nestle-Aland text, is already in its 28th revision.
…………………………………………
God Himself in the Bible teaches that, from
its beginning He inerrantly inspired holy men to write His Word. He did not inspire unholy and unsaved men to
reconstruct it for their own purposes. This includes the profit motive which is
common today.
The New Testament was first written by Jesus’
own first-generation apostles and disciples. Clinging to the Bible’s own
promises of eternal preservation, conservative Christians believe that the
inerrant Greek Bible has indeed continually existed throughout the centuries and
does not require rescue by those who do not believe the promises of the very
book they pretend to be rescuing. We also believe that God has preserved His
Word for English-reading persons in the King James Version. It is far safer to
learn a handful of archaic words from the KJV than to trust entirely new
versions based on Greek documents which have no pedigree whatsoever.
While we admit that Satan has used heretics
to create alternate false versions of God’s Word as early as Marcion in A. D. 150,
Origen in 250 and Jerome in 350, we hold firm to our conviction that the true
infallible inerrant Word has always survived through Divine preservation. We
believe that, from the beginning, faithful Greek-speaking Christians meticulously
copied and preserved God’s Word. We believe that, with minor spelling and
punctuation changes, the preserved Greek Bibles used by and edited by Erasmus in
1516 are essentially the preserved Word of God.
The following texts are a small sample which
declare that our Omniscient Omnipotent God has promised that His Word cannot
and will not ever be lost to require uninspired and often unsaved men and women
to restore it. It is absurd to infer that God’s Word had been lost to the world
until Westcott and Hort began rescuing it in the mid-1800s. And, if the world
does not currently have God’s preserved Word, then God is a liar, prophecy is false,
miracles are not real, truth is unrevealed, the plan of salvation is not known
and all mankind is headed for Hell. Yet these are the very doctrines held less
and less in churches which have strayed away from faith in a preserved literal
interpretation of God’s Word.
John 5:46 For had ye believed Moses, ye would
have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings,
how shall ye believe my words?
2 Tim 3:15 And that from a child thou
hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
2 Peter 1:20-21 Knowing this first, that no
prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy
came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost.
………………………………………
“Vaticanus B, Sinaiticus A and less than 50
other old documents dating between 350-400 are the oldest and, therefore, the best
New Testament manuscripts. They are nearest to the originals. The oldest existing
Textus Receptus manuscripts underlying the King James Bible are about 1500
years more recent and are, therefore, not the most accurate.” (my condensed
re-wording)
………………………………………….
4. ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM MAKE IT OBVIOUS THAT
VATICANUS B AND SINAITICUKS A ARE NOT THE OLDEST EXISTING MANUSCRIPTS OF THE
BIBLE.
FIRST ELEPHANT: the above lie presumes that
God is incapable of preserving His Word as promised in His Word. The lie
presumes that unsanctified men are required to rediscover and reconstruct a
lost document which states that it cannot be lost.
SECOND ELEPHANT: There are no ancient copies
of the Traditional Text because it has been so carefully mass-copied in such
great quantities since before the time of Vaticanus B by the Greek Church that worn-out
copies have been destroyed. That is why over 5000 newer copies of the Greek
manuscripts exist today.
THIRD ELEPHANT: Papyrus P52 is the oldest
existing piece of the Bible known today. It is from John 8 and dates to around
100. When translated into English, it reads like the Traditional Text rather
than the Vaticanus B.
FOURTH ELEPHANT: Although less than 50 pre-350
partial papyri manuscripts exist, research proves that, when translated into
English, about 50% of them quote the Traditional Text.
FIFTH ELEPHANT: Conservatives are convinced
that the Old Syriac Peshitta Bible dates back to 150. When it is translated
into English, it reads like the King James Bible rather than versions produced
from the Vaticanus B after 1881.
SIXTH ELEPHANT: The old Syriac Diatesseron,
is a gospel harmony dating back to 152-172. Three copies exist. When translated
into English, it reads like the King James Bible rather than modern versions
produced from the Vaticanus B after 1881.
SEVENTH ELEPHANT: The Old Latin Bible traces
its origin to around 150. The Waldensians used it as early as 157. Jerome began
with the Old Latin to translate the Latin Vulgate and replaced it with other
sources. However, the Old Latin was not
officially replaced by the Roman Catholic Church until after the Protestant
Reformation in 1548. The Old Latin was
the source of the Albigensian Bible of 1150 and still exists in 50 copies. When
translated into Englsh, the Old Latin reads like the King James Version and not
like modern versions based on Vaticanus B.
EIGHTH ELEPHANT: The Gothic (Early German and
Armenian) Bible originated in the 300s came from the Tepi Old Latin. When
translated into English, it reads like the King James Version rather than the
modern Bibles produced after 1881.
CONCLUSION: The “elephants in the room”
conclusively prove that the statements found in modern Bible versions that “---
is not found in the most ancient manuscripts” is a blatant lie! Even the
Scofield Reference Bible and the New King James Bible contain this false
information in places like Mark 16:9-20, John 8 and 1 John 5:7. The Vaticanus B
and Sinaiticus A originated in heresy-prone North Africa where Clement
(150-215) and Origen (184-254) inserted their false theology. Eusebius
(260-340) and Jerome (382) further manipulated Scripture.
5. POOR PEDIGREES: HOW THE WORLD GOT NEW
VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE.
As far back as 40 years before the Revision
Committee of 1881, two English Anglican priests and professors at Cambridge
University (Westcott and Hort) began secretly working on a new version of the
Bible based primarily on an un-sourced text discovered in the Vatican library
in 1481. It had no pedigree to recommend its validity or importance: Who wrote
it? Where did it come from? Why was it stored away and not mass copied?
Westcott and Hort determined to turn the
entire Christian world against the King James Bible and its underlying Greek
text, the Textus Receptus. The following describes them.
(1) They began with a deliberate lie. When
the King of England was enticed to slightly edit (not revise) the KJV, Westcott
and Hort agreed to abide by his rules, remove the massive footnotes from the
Bishop’s Bible and only make cosmetic changes in spelling and punctuation. They
began the project with a great lie.
(2) Unlike the King James compliers, they worked
in secret. The public had no access to their work.
(3) Although they did not revere the pope, they
were Roman Catholic in doctrine and practice.
(4) They did not believe or treat the Bible as
the verbal Word of God.
(5) The fall of man was an allegory involving
long periods of evolution.
(6) The doctrine of the “priesthood of every
believer” was a “crazy horror.”
(7) Darwin’s theory of evolutionist was “unanswerable.”
(8) Atonement is through Mary and Christ’s
incarnation rather than through His death and crucifixion.
(9) Biblical miracles are doubtful.
(10) The original copies of the Bible may
have been corrupted.
(11) Spiritism and ghosts are real.
(12) They break their own rules. P47, the
oldest Greek manuscript of Revelation, is not considered the best manuscript by
“the oldest manuscripts are best” advocates. Floyd Nolen Jones, Which
Version is the Bible, 40-60.
It is highly likely that the north African
genre of texts such as Vaticanus B and Sinaiticus A were recognized as corrupted
and were deliberately not mass produced. Why was Vaticanus B hidden in the
Vatican library and not used? And why was Sinaiticus A and its relatives not
found and used all over the Eastern Roman Empire?
…………………………………………
6. COMPARISONS:
If you think your modern version is superior
to the King James Version, read these changes:
Isaiah 7:14 (RSV) changes “virgin” to “young
woman.” If context is important, there is nothing sign-worthy about a “young
woman” having a child. While the Hebrew word for “virgin,” almah, can
mean “young woman,” the O. T. context demands it be translated “virgin” by most
modern Bibles in its other six occurrences. Almah’s counterpart in
Matthew 1:23, parthenos, can only properly be translated as “virgin.”
Matthew 1:25 (NIV, NAS) “Firstborn” is
replaced with “a son.” Perhaps an early scribe who wanted to promote the
perpetual virginity of Mary changed it.
Matthew 6:13 (NIV, RSV) “For thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” is missing. This reading
offends those who do not believe that God will set up a literal Messianic
kingdom on earth.
Matthew 9:18; 20:20; Mark 5:6 and Luke 24:52 replace
“worship” and “worshipped.”. Perhaps an early Arian who did not believe in the
deity of Christ tampered with an early manuscript.
Matthew 19:17 replaces “me good” with “what
is good.” It is clear from 19:16 that Jesus is referring to how the rich young
ruler addressed him.
Mark 1:2-3 “As it is written in the prophets”
is changed to “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet.” The KJV is correct
because verse 2 is a quotation from Malachi 3:1.
Mark 9:44 “Where the worm dieth not and the
fire is not quenched” is missing. The entire quotation is from Isaiah 66:24.
Inexplicably,
both Vaticanus B and Sinaiticus A indicate that they have omitted verses 9-20;
one has a blank space large enough to hold it and the other changes to a very
large lettering to cover up the same space. Also, 5th century Alexandrinus
contains all of it. Like Matthew, Luke and John,
Mark would have never ended his account of Jesus’ life before His glorious
appearing to all.
Luke 1:34 (RSV) “I know not a man” is replaced
with “I have no husband.” Since women can have children without being married,
the changed text is ambiguous.
Luke 2:14 (AMP, NAS, NIV) changes “peace,
good will towards men” into “peace among men of good will.” This is wrong
because the Bible teaches that there are no men of good will (Rom 3:10-16).
Luke 2:33 (NIV, NAS) changes “Joseph and his
mother” to “his father and his mother.” Yet God’s Word is teaching that Joseph
was NOT his father.
Luke 4:4 (NAS, NIV) deletes “but by every
word of God.” This omission leaves Jesus’ teaching incomplete; He tells how
“not” to live, but not how “to” live.
Luke 9:56 (NIV) omits “For the Son of man is
not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” If this had been retained
in the Roman Catholic Bibles, the Inquisition may not have occurred.
Luke 22:64 (NIV) deletes “and struck him on
the face.” Without this statement, the text merely says “they blindfolded him.”
If they only blindfolded him, why ask “Who hit you?”
Luke 23:38 (NIV) deletes the phrase “in
letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew.”
Luke 23:42 (NAS, NIV) omits the thief’s
address to Jesus as “Lord.” This error removes his conviction and realization
of Christ’s identify. Yet not one Greek manuscript omits this word.
John 7:53 to 8:12 (WH, most footnotes) is
missing or noted as not in the oldest manuscripts. It is the story of the woman
caught in adultery. Yet Jerome wrote (c415) “in the Gospel according to John in
many manuscripts, both Greek and Latin is found the story of the adulterous
woman who was accused before the Lord.” Hills, The King James Version
Defended, p151; Jones, ibid 229. And, since the 4th-5th
century, the Roman Catholic Church has read this text each year on St.
Pelagia’s Day, October 8th. Jones ibid 228.
Romans
8:1 (NAS, NIV) deletes the second half in all modern versions because it does
not exist in either Vaticanus B or Sinaiticus A. “Who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.”
Colossians
1:14 (NAS, NIV, most) is either missing or suggests removing “through the blood.”
1st
Timothy 3:16 (NAS, NIV) replaces “God” with “he who.” The erroneous translation
offers no precedent for the pronoun “he” and diminishes the deity of Christ.
2nd
Timothy 3:16 (NKJ) is an extremely important text which declares that “all
scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The NKJ reads “every inspired
scripture” which implies that not all Scripture is inspired.
Hebrews
1:3 (RSV) changes “the brightness of his glory” into “the reflection of his
glory.” It denies the deity of Christ.
1st
John 5:7 does not appear in modern versions and even Scofield says it is not
legitimate. Although few, there are 19 cursive manuscripts and 60 lectionaries
which contain the text. The 1666 Armenian Bible which quotes it is based on a
1295 Greek manuscript. The Old Latin Bible contains it from the 2nd
century. It is referenced by Tertullian (d220), Cyprian (d228), Priscillian
(d385), a 5th century Old Latin manuscript, Eugenius of Carthage in
484, Vigilus of Thapsus (490), Cassiodorus (c530) and Fulgentius (d553). Since something
that does not exist cannot be quoted, it must have been removed early after 553
--- after Vaticanus B and Sinaiticus A were written between 350-400. Moorman, Where
the KJV Departs from the Majority Text, 119, 121, 168, 171 and Floyd Nolen
Jones, Which Version is the Bible, p231-235.
Finally,
the Greek syntax demands an insertion of something between 1st John
5:6 and 5:8. Otherwise, a masculine “three” modifies three neuter words –
“Spirit,” “water” and “blood.”
…………………………………………
7.
CONCLUSIN:
First,
it is evident that both the Traditional Text of the Textus Receptus (KJV) and
the Vaticanus B genre versions existed as early as the year 200. Second, it is
also evident that deliberate presumptive changes occurred as early as 150 by
Marcion and others. Third, since God promised in His Word that He will preserve
it forever, we must conclude that one line of manuscripts was preserved and
another line was corrupted. It is the opinion of fundamental conservative
Bible-believing Christians that God has kept His promises and has indeed
preserved His Word from the beginning. It is inconceivable that so much time
and effort has been wasted in attempting to restore the Bible when the Bible
itself says that it will never need to be restored because God will not allow
it to be lost.
…………………………………………
8.
THE NEW KING JAMES BIBLE:
(1)
Makes no statement about the Bible’s teaching that God will always preserve His
Word as He promised.
(2) Uses
an newer Hebrew O. T. than the KJV. While the KJV uses a 1525 Masoretic text
from the 500s to the 900s, the NKJ admits to using the 1967/1977 Stuttgart
edition of the Biblia Hebraica, the Bomberg, the Greek Septuagint and the
(Roman Catholic) Latin Vulgate. This is a very serious departure from the
Textus Receptus and the O.T. Masoretic text. It also breaks the Westcott-HOrt rule
that “older is better.”
(3) The
NKJ recklessly states that nothing has really changed in God’s Word even after
the thousands of changes made to the Textus Receptus by Vaticanus B and
Sinaiticus A by Westcott and Hort and those who continue to follow them. The
NKJ states “There is only one basic New Testament used by Protestants, Roman
Catholics and by Orthodox, by conservatives and liberals. Minor variations in
hand copying have appeared through the centuries before mechanical printing
began about 1450.” I seriously doubt that anybody actually believes that statement!!!
The
NKJ states that “two paragraphs” are missing in the Gospels” (Mark 16:9-20 and
John 8:53 to 9:12) but those are a small fraction of what is really missing. It
also says “It is most important to emphasize that fully eighty-five per cent of
the New Testament Text is the same in the Textus Receptus, the Alexandrian Text
and the Majority Text.” If that were true, then God is not Omnipotent and is
only able to preserve 85% of the truth for mankind; the other 15% is error. Also,
who determines which 15% is corrupted?
(4)
Changed 64,000 words. The new words are brought over from the NIV, RSV, NAS and
other modern versions.
(5) The
NKJ replaced “thee,” “thou,” “thine” and “ye” with “you” and “your.” This
change makes it impossible for the reader to know if the pronoun is singular or
plural and causes confusion in understanding scores of texts like John 3:7.
(6) The
paid compilers of the NKJ were not passionate for the Textus Receptus Greek from
which the KJV was translated. They were divided in their loyalty to either the
Textus Receptus or the Vaticanus B and their genre of documents. Many of the
same compilers of the NKJ also worked on compilations of other modern
translations.
(7) DELETES
“God” 48 times (4444 vs 4396), “Lord” 66 times, “repent” 44 times, “damned”
completely, “heaven” 50 times, “devils” completely, “blood “23 times (Col
1:14) and changes 2289 NT words.
(8) OMITS
14 TEXTS: Mt 6:13b; 17:21; 18:11; 23:14; Mk 7:16; 9:44, 46; 11:26; 15:28; Lk
17:36; 23:17; Jn 5:4; Acts 8:37; 28:29
(9) Suggests
deleting Mark 16:9-20; John 7:53 to 8:12 and 1st John 5:7
