Q

I remember when the Amplified Bible came out. I believe it was first published by Zondervan. I know Dr. E. F. Webber offered the Amplified Bible through the ministry. I think in a subsequent edition there were some word changes. He examined the Amplified Bible and concluded that this ministry would go back to the KJV and never use anything else. We have not, over the program or in our publications to this date, used anything else but the King James Version. Several have written that they now use the NIV, NASB, or other new versions. They want to know what you would recommend concerning the future use or disposition of these bibles.

A

A lot of people pray to God; they are having problems in their lives; their lives are miserable. They pray, “God, please help me.” I think God is using these programs and all the information that is coming out about the new versions to alert Christians and to answer their prayers. People should not react like Naaman in 2 Kings 5. He had an incurable problem (leprosy). God’s prophet, Elisha, told him to “wash in Jordan seven times.” He proudly responded “may I not wash” in a better river? God’s prescription today is “the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:26) — seven dips a week, one each day in the KJV, the King’s Jordan.

Joshua 7:13 warns, “There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, 0 Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.

What does the New Testament define as “accursed”? Galatians 1:8—9 pronounces a double curse on anyone who preaches “any other gospel.” Verse eight says, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” It goes on in verse nine to repeat that curse again. We cannot carry bibles that preach “any other gospel” or we will be accursed; we’ll have an accursed thing in our house. Romans 1:16 says Christians preach “the gospel of Christ”; that is our gospel. But the new versions omit “of Christ.” They do this both in Romans 1:16 and 1 Corinthians 9:18; they have “any other gospel.” This is documented in chapter after chapter of my book New Age Bible Versions.

As I collated the new versions, word-for-word, I found that they repeatedly made alterations to the gospel; this puts them under a double curse. First Corinthians 15 defines the gospel. It begins with, “Christ died for our sins.”

In 1 John 3:5, instead of saying, “take away our sins,” some new versions drop the word “our, ” and just say, “take away sins.” They did the same thing in Hebrews 1:3; here the King James Version says, “by himself purged our sins.” New versions omit “our” and “by himself.” In 1 Peter 4:1, the King James Version says, “Christ hath suffered for us ”; the NIV drops “for us.” According to the NIV, Christ just suffered; maybe he suffered because of the cruelty of the people who were crucifying him. We know from the KJV that he was suffering “for us.”

First Corinthians 5:7 in the King James Version says, “is sacrificed for us.” New versions drop “for us.” Colossians 2:11 talks about “the sins of the flesh.” The new versions take the “sins” out. In Isaiah 53:10 they take the “sin” out again. New versions omit the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ between three and fifteen times. We know that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). Colossians 1:14 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood.” The NIV takes out “through his blood.” In Romans 3:25, the King James Version says, “through faith in his blood.” The new versions drop “in his blood.” In Luke 22:20, the KJV says, “blood, which is shed for you.” New versions take the “blood” out of there again.

Time after time after time we see another gospel; in fact it is the New Age gospel. In Mark 9:42, the KJV says, “believe in me.” That is how we are saved; we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Some new versions just say “believe.” You can believe in crystal power; you can believe in anything you want, since the “in me” is gone. They do this numerous times in the New Testament. John 6:47 says, “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” New versions drop the words “on me.”

New versions present a works-based salvation that is very agreeable to the religions of the world. In Mark 10:24 Jesus says, “Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!” They twist and truncate that verse and say, “how hard it is to enter into the kingdom of God.” I would never want to tell a child that it was hard to enter into the kingdom of God. It is easy. The bible talks about the simplicity that is in Christ. In Matthew 7:14, the NKJV changes the KJV from “narrow is the way,” to “difficult is the way.” In John 3:36, the new versions change “believeth” (that is how we are saved: by faith) to “obey.” “Unbelief” in Hebrews 4:6, is changed to “disobedience.” Consistently these new versions are changing the gospel.

First Corinthians 15:4 presents the second part of the gospel. It is very, very important. It says, “he rose again the third day.” The gospel of Christ includes the resurrection. New versions often veil the resurrection, the ascension, and the post-resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. For instance, in Acts 26:23, where the King James Version says, “rise from the dead,” new versions say, “proclaim light.” That has absolutely no meaning.

The NASB is particularly malevolent in this regard; it omits or brackets almost every mention of the ascension, bodily resurrection, and appearance of Jesus Christ after his death. The NASB omits the very important part of Luke 24:51—52, where the KJV says, “he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him. “ The NASB says instead, “he parted from them.” They omit that “he was carried up into heaven,” and “they worshipped him.” This denies the deity of the I.ord Jesus Christ. They are giving silent agreement to New Agers like Alice Bailey who said, “He never left... he apparently departed.... The Christ cannot return because he has always been here... in the Himalayas... securely concealed.” Full-page ads in USA Today that say that “Christ is in the world,” present the false Christ of the NASB who merely “departed from them.”

In the King James Version, in John 16:16, Jesus said, “because I go to the Father.” The new versions completely omit this section. John 3:13 says, “the Son of man which is in heaven.” The new versions completely omit this. Because new versions “chop and change the word of God” (Tyndale), and alter the gospel of Christ, they should be disposed of.