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The Disappearing Bible
© Copyrighted
by David F. Reagan
Hurry! Hurry!
Run to the bookstores! Search your attic! Hide what you
have! The Bible is disappearing! It is disappearing from our
homes. It is disappearing from our churches. It is
disappearing from our hearts. The Bible of C. H. Spurgeon
and D. L. Moody; the Bible of Charles Wesley and Isaac
Watts; the Bible of Billy Sunday and John Bunyan is fading
away. Do whatever is necessary to hold on to the truly
preserved Word of God-the King James Bible of 1611. How do I
know that God's Word is disappearing? Do we not have it just
as much in the modern versions?
How about the New International Version (NIV)? It is the
most popular version now. Is it not just as much the word of
God? No, it is not. God's Word is disappearing even in the
NIV.
The NIV has totally omitted 17 verses. In it you no longer
read 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 8:37; 15:34; 24:7;
28:29; Romans 16:24; or I John 5:7.
These verses deal with doctrines of great importance: the
doctrine of the Trinity (I John 5:7); the doctrine of hell
(Mark 9:44,46); the doctrine of salvation (Matt. 18:11; Mark
15:28; Acts 8:37); the doctrine of prayer (Matt. 17:21). And
marginal notes discredit other passages that are left in.
The NIV translators would have preferred to leave out Mark
16:9-20 and John 7:53-8:11. That's an additional 24 verses.
Why would someone want to remove these passages? Who would
want to remove Matt.18:11? It states, "For the Son of man is
come to save that which was lost." Yet, the advocates of the
new versions declare that no doctrines are affected by the
new bibles.
Something else is disappearing from the NIV. There are many
Biblically significant words that are simply no longer
there. By this I mean that these words are not mentioned
even one time in the NIV. This includes all the following
words in quotation marks. There is no longer a "Godhead".
There is no "Jehovah" or "blessed and only potentate". There
is no "Holy Ghost" and He is not the "Comforter". God is no
longer "immutable" or "omnipotent" - there goes Handel's
Messiah. Christ is no longer the "only begotten" or the
"first begotten". We no longer need to worry about "devils"
or "Lucifer" or "damnation" or "brimstone" or the
"bottomless pit".
Hell which is mentioned 54 times in the KJV is mentioned
only 14 times in the NIV and is entirely removed from the
Old Testament. But why worry about hell or damnation? In the
NIV, there are no "trucebreakers" or "winebibbers". No one
is ever accused of being "carnal", "slothful", or
"unthankful". In the NIV, there is no "backbiting",
"vanity", "lasciviousness", "fornication" or "whoredom". In
fact, no one is "effeminate" and there are no "sodomites".
No wonder the NIV is so well loved by so many.
It is a good thing that there is not much to be saved from
in the NIV because it's harder to get saved as well. No
longer is Christ crucified on "Calvary". He is not the
"testator" who brings us the New Testament or the "daysman"
who stands between God and us. He has not sprinkled His
blood on the "mercyseat". He was not placed in the "sepulchre"
and His resurrection is no longer established by many
"infallible" proofs. It only makes sense then that we are no
longer "quickened" and there is no more "propitiation" or
"remission" or "regeneration" in the NIV.
All the words in quotation marks and many others have been
totally removed from between the covers of the New
International Version. Therefore, it follows that the Word
of God is no longer "incorruptible". It is not the
"engrafted" Word of God. There is no "verity" and Christ
does not say "verily, verily". There is no "science" falsely
called and there are no "fables". Perhaps that is why the
saints no longer "abide in Christ.
With all that the NIV has removed, one must wonder how much
the next popular version will omit. There are many other
reasons for rejecting the new bibles. However, these
omissions ought to disturb every true believer. Never give
up your King James Bible of 1611. It is still God's
perfectly preserved Word for English-speaking people. Praise
the Lord for His gift of truth!
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