The Voice in the Wilderness Missionary to the World

Mark 1:3 "The Voice of one crying in the Wilderness. . . ."


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Dear Christian Reader, “Sadly, I say I have lived long enough to hear preachers I respect, have fellowshipped with, even preached for, say things like, ‘there are errors in the Bible, this is not in the original manuscripts, or expressed that the NIV, NAS, and other versions differ little from the King James Bible therefore must be given some consideration or legitimacy’.”
On several occasions I have been caught smack-dab in the middle of this KJB, new versions, textual debate. There are families, churches, and Christian colleges divided over this issue. Some ministries are torn as where or even whether to take a stand. From the pulpit to the pew, there is division. There have been some hot personality clashes. Many have chosen to keep church or school loyalties no matter what. Keep in mind; God is not the author of confusion. The whole matter is really quite simple. Permit me to give a brief outline that may make some spiritual sense. I trust most reading this desire to do what is right and certainly desire to have God’s inspired, infallible Word to read, study, and guide their lives. That being the case, consider this:
I.  The Argument – “…My words shall not pass away…” (Matthew 24:35).  “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” (II Timothy 3:16). “….Thou shalt preserve them” [His words] (Psalm 12:6 & 7). Has God preserved His Word that today man might speak definitively from divine record? Or is it all up for grabs from some eclectic hodge-podge of critical minds? Have these higher minds by self-appointment assumed the final say and authority? Does the one who is eternal and sovereign, the one true and living God, find Himself impotent to preserve for all generations His inspired, infallible Word? “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” (II Peter 1:21). Once in the miracle and power of it all, God gave His Word complete and inspired; but now it’s up to some elitist pool of scholarly minds to sort through a group of obscure, disgarded texts that differ significantly, and yet, compile in a methodically, scientific fashion a collection bound and stamped Holy Bible.
Critically speaking, if the word (critical) can be used here, these modern day versions differ in translation. What percentage proves heresy? If the blood or deity of Christ is compromised in some verses, or even one verse, but clear in others, does that version still deserve credibility? Does the doctrine of inspiration mean anything today? Is it important whether God has preserved His Word for every generation of Church history? You tell me. Each and every one of us must decide where we stand. Take a look at the following verses and versions.
KJB
Luke 4:4 “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man      shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
Colossians 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
Hebrews 1:3 “…when he had by himself purged our sins,”
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
NAS
Luke 4:4 “And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘man shall not live on bread alone’.”
Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Hebrews 1:3 “When He had made purification of sins,”
1 John 1:7 “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
NIV
Luke 4:4 “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”
Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,”
Hebrews 1:3 “After he had provided purification for sins,”
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

Was God’s Word lost amongst several thousand flawed manuscripts and through some folk smarter than us all by a pick-and-choose labor of scientific scholarship compiled what God could not preserve? How many generations have had accurate scriptures if this Critical (eclectic) Text is to be accepted? Before the Critical Text, what generation had the Word of God? Why the confusion? Why and when did the confusion start? Have you checked out what the proponents of this Critical Text and proliferation of new Bible versions believe about the inspiration of scripture, as well as the preservation of God’s Word for today? Before the confusion, had God not blessed the Texts used for so many years by the translators of the KJB? In those Old Testament Masoretic and New Testament Textus Receptus Texts, God has promised to preserve His Word and is that so hard to believe? What did these Critical Text translators think about infallibility? How can each believer be accountable or obedient to scripture if it is uncertain the Scripture exists today? Where is pulpit integrity if there is doubt in the Text of Scripture?

II.  The Attack – “Yea, hath God said…” (Genesis 3:1). Don’t forget for a moment that Satan is a liar and there is no truth in him (John 8:44). The devil desires to destroy, cloud the truth, and I am fully persuaded, bring confusion and division by the modern day proliferation of Bible versions. At first a small percentage of changes then a gender-neutral version and total deception. Be warned—God’s inspired, infallible, and preserved Word is under attack.
III.  The Association – Who is it exactly that is pushing these versions? Whether it’s Rupert Murdoch, secular publishing giants, or even big money “Christian” publishers be assured it’s not fundamental Bible believers and churches. Please read April 2002 The Voice in the Wilderness “The Bible’$ Money Trail”and “Secular/Sacred Money Connection- winter 2010.
IV.  The Accessibility – Do we have accessibility to the original writings or “autographa? By the way, did Paul, Timothy, Peter, or other New Testament writers have the original Hebrew manuscripts? Yet, they said, “Thou hast known the Holy Scriptures” (II Tim. 3:15); “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” (II Tim 3:16); “We have also a more sure word…” (II Peter 1:19); “They have Moses and the prophets” (Luke 16:29). Even though the New Testament writers did not have the original OT manuscripts, they had no doubt about possessing God’s Holy Word.
V.  The Ability – If each and every believer could access the original manuscripts, would each believer have the ability to read the original language? Yet, each believer is told to read and heed the scriptures. Memorize, meditate, study and obey are all a part of the believers responsibility. God has preserved His Word so that obedience is possible regardless of ability in original languages.
VI.  The Availability – “Jesus answered and said unto them, ye do err, not knowing the scripture, nor the power of God (Matthew 22:29). Without the availability of God’s Word, how could that be true? Paul reasoned out of the scriptures (Acts 17:2), and believers are comforted (Romans 15:4). How can we study to be approved unto God (II Tim. 2:15) if God did not make His Word available? Are these elite minds indispensable? – John 16:13 says, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth….”  Does the believer from the pulpit to the pew need to be proficient in Hebrew and Greek for guidance in all truth? Was the promise not given to every believer that through the Holy Spirit each child of God could study the scriptures with divine guidance discerning truth from error? Have we regressed to this Romanish/Reformation era where only those of the established church hierarchy hold the secrets of illumination? Beware of this elitist mentality. Nothing wrong with degrees, and scholarship, but remember the “Spirit will guide you into all truth.” Does that eliminate the Pastor/ Teachers and those gifted among us? Absolutely not! Read 1Corinthians 12 and other passages to see the significance of, as well as, the warning against viewing one member superior to another.

The church today has God’s Inspired, Infallible, and Preserved Word. There are no errors in His Holy Book and every believer can live by that Truth and die by that Truth. Every preacher and teacher can stand firm, holding forth the Bible and confidently declare, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Issues abound, and if the believer does not have absolute authority for answers “what can the righteous do?” This is where the proliferation of Bible versions becomes such a critical issue. For me it is simple, and this is what I believe!
I believe God has preserved His Word for us today from the original manuscripts or “autographa” down through the manuscripts received by the church and traditionally used in translation until the late 1800s. It is through this pure and preserved lineage we have the Authorized or King James Bible of today. Note it is not the English of the 1600s, but it is the English used in the meticulously accurate translation of God’s Word. Neither Shakespeare nor other great writers achieved the beauty and faithfulness found in the KJB English. Scholars have commented that “The vocabulary of both testaments of the KJB are surprisingly small; a few more than 8 thousand words are used—less by half than the vocabulary of Milton and about one-third the vocabulary of Shakespeare.”1 The KJB is accurate in translation, beautiful in language, easy to read, and masterful in memorization.
Please take careful note the root and origin of today’s modern versions. You can do the comparison, or should I say contrast, yourself. The NIV, NASV and others omit and rewrite. Not only do their translators seemingly take liberties, but also those who associate with and endorse these modern versions reflect the very compromise God’s Word clearly condemns. Are all KJB readers “true Bible believing fundamental Christians?” The answer is no. However, we are talking about the source of the truth not just individuals. If the source is the pure, preserved Word of God, error will be exposed. However, if the source is corrupt, error is inevitable. Statements like “not found in some manuscripts” or “this should have been translated” lead to “there are errors in the Bible.” Check it out for yourself and note not only the words omitted but also the entire passages missing. These modern versions are not easier than the KJB to read, which has been proven historically in the American school system as well as through Dr. Rudolf Flesch’s test of  readability. The source of the modern versions is apparent. The big money driven publishers exploiting the Bible market is as plain as the nose on your face. Which Bible – if anybody is confused, that confusion is not of God nor is this revisionary, money driven, proliferation of corrupt Bible versions. We do have God’s inspired, infallible, preserved Word for the Church today, and the source is clear as well as which translation!
One percent error leads way for two percent and ten percent. How many words or verses can a version change or omit before it is rejected? If one manuscript has obvious errors, and the same is true of the second, third, and entire collection of manuscripts until the translators must pick and piece together a Bible, can it be reliable? Can truth originate in error? Would God providentially preserve His Word through obviously corrupted text?
On the other hand, would it not make spiritual sense, let alone stand to reason, that His promise to “preserve His Words” and that His “Words would not pass away” include a reliable source of texts for translation? Also, with His promise to “guide into all truth” would be His provision of a translation that is more than someone’s eclectic pick-and-choose among thousands of flawed manuscripts. Then in light of the Great commission and the need for Bibles in many languages does it not make spiritual sense for translators to use one reliable source of texts than to repeatedly sort through thousands of manuscripts with thousands of discrepancies to arrive at a translation for a particular language group? Oh, you say, but the missionary does not have that process once the critical text is complete. Yes, and that stresses my point further. Now, the poor missionary must rely on the eclectic text that have repeatedly gone through edition changes in order to translate into a needed language version a Bible that had been lost among this vast assortment of manuscripts. Yes, complicated and confusing, but no, that is not of God!
May I introduce you to a religion that is quite emphatic about preservation? I hold in my hand a copy of the Koran. It is written from right to left in Arabic. Surah I, The Opening (Fatehah) says, “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. All praise is due Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” Surah II, The Cow (Baqarah) continues, “Alif Lam Mim. This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard against evil.” In the English preface to this Koran are these words:
“I invite those who may be reading this Qur’an for the first time to look deeply and objectively into its meaning. The Muslims were promised by Allah that this book would always remain free from falsehood, alteration and misinterpretation. We are the only people following a Divine religion who can claim to have a book which is pure and unaltered, which had been given to the Prophet directly from God and written down in his lifetime and preserved unchanged thereafter.”
Did you notice the wording? “The only people…who claim to have a book which is pure and  unaltered…preserved unchanged….”
VII.  The Answer – Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). The Bible repeatedly asserts the inspiration, infallibility and preservation of Holy Scripture. From stone and clay tablets to animals’ skins and scrolls, God breathed His Word to Holy men by the Holy Spirit. Manuscripts preserved the Word of God for the early church as down through the ages God continued to give His Scripture to generation after generation. The printing press eventually made the Bible even more available until even the farmers and mothers could read the wonderful Word of Life for themselves. Translators worked diligently to provide God’s Word in various languages. Many died as the enemy tried to stamp out the Holy Scripture. But God’s promise is sure. As Moses took the blood and sprinkled the Book, “…Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you” and by God’s blood He purchased His church so to this day we may have His Word preserved, sealed in blood. Even the blood of martyrs has brought to us today the text from which the King James Bible was translated. It is not the KJB versus the NIV or some other new translation. The point is clearly the source used for translation, whether English, Spanish, French, German, KJB, NIV, NAS, etc. The source, for example of the KJB is the Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Greek Textus Receptus. The modern versions came from the Critical Text which were texts corrupted and unused by the church for 1500 years.

God has preserved His Word for this generation in Text that has resulted in the KJB as well as Spanish, French, German, Russian, and many other languages. From the pulpit to the pew, believers can be confident in “thus saith the Lord.”
My dear reader, look upon the Book embossed in gold with the title Holy Bible. “Sing them over again to me, Wonderful Words of Life; let me more of their beauty see, Wonderful Words of Life.”
“Holy Bible, book divine, Precious treasure, thou art mine.”
“We praise Thee for the radiance that from the hallowed page, A lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age.”
“Mid the storms of doubt and unbelief we fear, Stands a Book eternal that the world holds dear; Thru the restless ages it remains the same – ‘Tis the Book of God, and the Bible is its name!’”
God has spoken. His Words are very clear and very simple to understand. Please do not make it complicated.
I hold in my hand a copy of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. Listen to these remarks: “The publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species in 1859 marked a dramatic turning point in scientific thought. The volume had taken Darwin more than twenty years to publish, in part because he envisioned the storm of controversy it was certain to unleash. Indeed, selling out its first edition on its first day, The Origin of Species revolutionized science, philosophy, and theology. Darwin’s reasoned, documented arguments carefully advance his theory of natural selection and assertion that species were not created all at once by a divine hand….”  Charles L. Surrett in his book, Which Greek Text? writes, “There seems to be a parallel between the integration of Darwinian Evolutionary thought into the theology of committed Bible-believers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries with that of the acceptance of Westcott-Hort at the same period in history. The mood, especially in Europe and North America, favored scientific investigation as an ultimate source of truth. The Liberals capitalized on this “modern” way of thinking to produce what has become known as Higher Criticism. Fundamentalists rejected those Liberal conclusions, but still felt the need to accommodate what they thought were the findings of science. In the area of Creationism, Bible-believers replaced the long-held view of six literal days of creation with some type of evolutionary explanation, such as the “Day-Age” or the “Gap” theory. Christians today do not castigate the late C.I. Scofield nor doubt either his salvation or sincerity on the basis of his Gap Theory beliefs of creation. Simply put, he and others like him did not have the information to combat what they thought were conclusions forced by science and scholarship.”2 Any question, just stand on The Book. True science will catch up and agree with The Book. The power and preservation of God’s Word is further emphasized by crimson theme. Pastor D. T. Young of Edinburgh and London preached from Hebrews 9:19 “The Crimson Book.” Under point number I, “The Book” is an Eternal Subject of Blood-Sprinkling, Young says, “How much nobler a Book is ours than the Book Moses had! Woe be to us if we undervalue it, depreciate it, or neglect it! Compare the Mosaic Bible with the Christian Bible, and it is “as moonlight unto sunlight, or as water unto wine.” Nay, it is the cold grey dawn to the blazing meridan. Yet thank God for the Book that Moses sprinkled.
“When Moses sprinkled his Book with Blood he proclaimed an eternal necessity. The Bible must evermore be blood-besprinkled. Only a Crimson Book can meet our heartmost needs. And the Christian Bible is all over, and through and through, sprinkled with blood. Yet, with “the Blood of Jesus Christ,” which Paul did not scruple to call the Blood of God.
“Meanwhile, who can deny that the Bible is blood-besprinkled? We do not like that word blood.  “The red word,” one of our novelists calls it. But the very word runs through the Bible. And the doctrine of the atoning virtue of Christ’s blood is the great characterization of scripture. It is prophesied in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament revealed. The whole book is crimson with redemption. I cannot pretend to be able to explain the mystery of the fact, but assured fact it is.
“Our Bible is sprinkled with the divine Redeemer’s blood. Let sneerers dub the Book as gory; we glory in its ruby redness. To us the blood-besprinkledness of the Bible is the guaranteed of its everlasting veracity.
“How know we whether we can safely accept its words? The blood of Jesus streaks its every page. The Book is sealed with Jesus’ blood’.”3
Out of the thousands that read this, many may disagree. I personally have preacher friends who do not hold this view of The Book and The Blood. The intent here is not to alienate or divide saved, Bible believing people. However, in these days of drift and compromise, I see a dangerous trend creeping in among us. Music, dress standards, associations, and tolerance of issues that once would have immediately been scripturally addressed are now overlooked, excused and even embraced.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (I Peter 5:8)  “…earnestly contend for the faith…there are certain men crept in unawares” (Jude 3 & 4), and we must not become a casualty. May we all hear our Lord say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”  “My words shall not pass away. Thou shalt preserve them.” Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.

1Through the Ages, Gaebelein.
2Which Greek Text?, Charles L. Surrett, p. 13.
3The Crimson Book, Dinsdale T. Young, pp. 3,8,9.