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What is going on around us? Doctrinal deception to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. How does anyone stand a chance to have the truth and the whole truth without subtle nuances in words that change meaning not to mention cultural divides and language barriers? Isn't the Bible a safe haven for us to dwell in or should we be concerned? As we know, there are vast numbers of translation variations out there to choose from with some quite obviously failing in accuracy. In this life the danger is real and all around us for it must be so in order for God to know that we are fully committed to Him rather than being tossed about with every wind of doctrine mentioned and outlined in Ephesians 4:14. We should not just accept everything out there believing it is truly God's Word. Based on God's will and our choices in response to His will, at times we may be protected in a bubble as it were, and/or we will be tested with many types of deception in order to be proven that we reject what is false and which can be incredibly subtle according to weaknesses justified to suit our fleshly lusts. As we may realise we are to accept only sound doctrine in order to skilfully and rightly divide the word of truth as is written in 2 Timothy 2:15. It would be timely and a good starting place to ask yourself…are all bibles created equally?
Remembering the day of my calling, the two overwhelming messages directly from God were clearly astonishing for me to know that our Creator was and is real without any doubt, not even a skerrick — meaning not even the smallest speck possible, and that He reassured me His Word, the Holy Bible could be completely trusted. My initial concerns involved owning a Catholic edition of the Bible from many years ago that was on a bookshelf somewhere in my home, a keepsake from high school days. Once God called me out of the world into His marvellous Truth I knew there was no way anything Catholic would be part of my life ever again. Now, God did not tell me which translation to use, but when I asked my Pastor he said that the King James (KJV) or New King James (NKJV) versions are reliable, not completely perfect like all things in this life, but sound enough to rely on and so they have been the best source for me. I think of my precious book as a trusty companion, my first go-to when evacuating one night from deadly bushfires burning wildly out of control some years ago now. Even though the binding is loose, some pages are tattered, and the book is well worn with evidence of sticky tape to hold things together, there is no way I would swap it for one in pristine condition as I know where everything is inside and this is incredibly comforting. Why change what is clearly working?
If we really think about it, the King James version of the Bible was completed in 1611 after being commissioned by the King of England under inspiration from God. We can read from this very informative link below a little of the pertinent history that is still relevant for us today, written by John Ross Schroeder on pp.4-5 for publication in the March/April 2011 edition of The Good News magazine to celebrate the 400 year anniversary of the King James Bible on May 2, 2011. One excerpt from Schroeder's article resonates quite deeply and stays with me for which I would like to share here, and I quote "In May of 1535, the authorities finally cornered and arrested Tyndale, halting his goal of translating the entire Bible into English from the original biblical languages. Even while Tyndale endured the most horrendous conditions in a dreadful prison near Brussels, Belgium, he requested a Hebrew grammar book so he could continue translating the Old Testament. On October 6, 1536, he was bound to a stake, strangled and burned. His final prayer was for God to open the eyes of the king of England". How grateful we are that God heard Tyndale's prayer and opened King James I eyes so that those thereafter, including us, could read a faithful version. God ensured we would have an authentic Bible to study from and prepare us for end time events — truly a miraculous blessing from our loving, awesome God.
https://www.scribd.com/document/53994601/The-Good-News-March-April-2011
Recently we had a sermon played in our congregation which gave me a second opportunity to listen and revise from the valuable information therein. The link is provided here because there is quite a considerable effort and workload made into forming this important and instructive lesson. https://youtu.be/wPpLpL4kU-I It will help you understand what is going on behind the scenes where our enemy works sight unseen under the cover of darkness in his deceptive "Workshop of Woes" to omit, twist, alter, distort, and corruptly interfere with by adding to and taking away from God's precious Word. You may be quite taken aback or surprised to learn the facts from this sermon concerning some Bible translations such as the New Living Version and the New International Version (NIV) which are corrupted versions of the Bible. Remember God's clear warning in Revelation 22:14-15 "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book". Clearly the devil thinks he can do whatever he wants to do, giving no heed to God in his rebellious ways, on a mission to get as many as he can to misunderstand scripture until the deception is so ingrained that minds are perverted, confused, deceived, and turned away from God without even realising what happened. It is for us, God's elect, so monumentally and fundamentally serious as the importance cannot be stressed enough, that what we refer to and read is the best textbook we can have in our hands, therefore we would do well to shun the false and poor translations such as the NLV and the NIV (refer to both sermon links). Using these versions is like dabbling with the demonic realm, walking through a minefield, while the devil is anxious for us to stumble, then fall for his lies, as they are out there to deceive us. Thankfully we do have some faithful ministers who shepherd the flock genuinely and alert us to these deceptions. Another excellent message on this very same topic can be referred to here: https://www.ucg.org/sermons/a-greater-deception-than-evolution
From time to time it is reasonable to refer to a few select translations which are regarded as solid and do not deviate away from God's message. Biblehub is one source online I appreciate very much while writing and studying but we must be wise in our use thereof. During my foundational years curiosity played a part in seeking out other translations to see if I liked them. Now I understand that liking them is not relevant, even harmful, and can be a huge problem by giving our enemy an opportunity to spew his lies into our minds — it is more a matter of drawing close to God with the translations that were inspired by God. As with all things in this world it seems like more and more translations will appear in bookshops for money making purposes. However, during the maturing process we go through, only a select few should be used as there is really no need to refer to many translations — for why should we when we already have the KJV and the NKJV? If we only had these translations of the Bible to read and refer to then we would be extremely blessed. Pride may very well be a factor in our seeking knowledge with references made to many translations which could cause confusion. Why help our enemy when we should be blocking him at every opportunity?
How do we function with best practice in mind avoiding deception wherever we go? A safe formula to use is firstly go to God in prayer before reading and studying. Ask Him to bless your time in His Word. Then ask for God to open your mind and heart to what He has for you with ears to hear so that you are fully tuned in to Him with anything and everything else blocked out. Next, understand that God will help you when you ask for help for we must not lean on our own understanding trying to do everything according to our own thoughts and ways as these are at best faulty human logic fraught with error and carnal thoughts as it is written in Proverbs 3:5-6. You may have heard that scripture interprets scripture and this is true, for the Bible really does interpret itself and no scripture should be used in isolation such as the world does with Matthew 7:1 for example, making this statement seem complete but it is not. God desires deeply that we seek out His wisdom by gaining knowledge from His Word and there is a way to do it over time recognising the many layers of a huge jigsaw puzzle that is full of the enigmas of life Proverbs 1 informs us of. We are to be searching for these gems and pearls of great price which only God can give to us on our daily treasure hunt as explained in Matthew 13.
In summary, you would do well to watch the sermon titled "Are All Bibles Created Equal?" while listening to Pastor Paul Moody's teachings revealing that indeed all bibles are not created equal. His sermon is directly inspired by God to warn and instruct God's elect for our learning and to protect us from deception. Click on the above links after praying to God to open your eyes and ears as many ministers are now using the NIV and NLV translations as a matter of choice rather than the KJV and NKJV which the Church of God always had in this modern era as her "go to" preference. Things have changed and are changing rapidly. Clearly not all Bible translations are to be trusted with the vast majority to be avoided and rejected. The Holy Spirit, our Helper is always with us and God is patiently longsuffering and waiting for us to listen and follow His direction but we must defer to God's Spirit in humility. Remember, deception is out there and the devil wants confusion from God's Word as that is our textbook and what better way than have you think it is good to look at these newer versions tempting you to indulge in pride and human logic. Don't do it your way by using versions that sound nice, that soothe the ears, that you choose to use as you find them easier to understand, as you will fall for these deceptions. Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 repeats God's warning to all who tremble at His word and pay careful attention "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death". Become wise in God's eyes rather than our own. How ironic to deceive God's elect than with the Bible, the book we trust to keep us close to God?! The enemy is real, his fight is dirty, and we need to sharpen our spiritual weapons so that they cut through the devil's deceptions.