“Counterfeit Versions”
Why I Use the Term!

By Dr. Ken Matto

(2 Cor 2:11 KJV) Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary gives the following definition of counterfeit, “Assuming the appearance of something; false; hypocritical; as a counterfeit friend.”

From Wikipedia, “To counterfeit means to imitate something. Counterfeit products are fake replicas of the real product. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product.”

In my weekly King James Comparison Posts I use the term “counterfeit versions” when referencing the modern versions. It seems there are some who disagree with that term and have e-mailed me making their thoughts known. I want to show why I use that term and why it is very apropos when speaking of the modern versions. Of course, those who cherish the modern versions and refuse to do any investigation of them, they will continue to disagree but that is their problem and not mine. For too long Christians have just accepted different things without any challenging or questioning. One such thing is the modern versions of the Bible. They will just pick up the latest version and accept it because some well-paid shill on the radio states that that it is a good version. One of the biggest modern version proponents out there was Billy Graham who pushed all kinds of modern versions. Chuck Swindoll also pushes modern versions as he reads them on his program. Charles Stanley uses the New American Standard version. David Jeremiah uses the New King James Version. Those are subtle endorsements because people hear them being read and then go out and buy them without any questions whatsoever.

Counterfeits in the Bible
There are several examples of counterfeits in the Bible which God gives us as warnings that counterfeiting by the kingdom of Satan will happen and if we are not careful, then we will be taken in by them.

Moses and the Egyptian Magicians
(Exo 7:10-12 KJV) And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. {11} Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. {12} For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

When Moses was confronting Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, he had set down his staff and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh commanded his magicians to do the same thing and their rods became serpents. It had looked like Moses had met his match and since the magicians did the same thing, it hardened Pharaoh’s heart even more. The magicians did not have the power to turn their rods into serpents but it was done by the power of Satan. They had counterfeited the power of God but their power was limited by God Himself who had allowed this to happen. (Exo 8:18 KJV) And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. God had allowed them to only go so far.

Book of Galatians
(Gal 1:6-7 KJV) I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: {7} Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Paul had penned the book of Galatians under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of exposing the Judaizers. The way a person becomes saved is by grace plus nothing but the Judaizers had created the works/grace gospel by telling people that you must be circumcised according to the law of Moses before one can become saved. This was a counterfeit gospel because one does not need any type of work whether it be circumcision or animal sacrifices to become saved. Any type of addition to the gospel of grace in Christ makes it a counterfeit gospel.

Counterfeits Beyond the Bible’s Completion
There are many counterfeits which we are seeing in our own day and if we got to analyze these much more closely than we have done, we will see how counterfeit they are. It is true and I don’t care who gets mad but a spiritual illiterate will accept anything without investigation.

Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism is one example of a counterfeit Christianity. It has all the appearance of being Christian yet is a major counterfeit. (Eph 4:11 KJV) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; Where does it say He gave Popes, Nuns, Prelates, Archbishops, Monsignors, Special class of Priests, Cardinals to the church? This institution is loaded with statues, idols, all kinds of relics and folklores. During the Middle Ages, they tortured and murdered millions of true Christians, so how could this organization be truly Christian? This institution does not teach the way of salvation yet it is attended by about one billion people who have placed their faith in a counterfeit organization.

Charismatic Movement
The charismatic movement is another counterfeit Christian movement. It contains false prophecies by their people and leaders (these so-called prophecies are all generic and never specific), false tongues (the tongues of Acts and 1 Corinthians were legitimate languages but modern tongues is all gibberish), false signs and wonders, false healings (no record of even one person being legitimately healed), majority of the leaders are thieves and frauds ((Luke 9:58 KJV) And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Jesus did not have a place to lay his head yet those like Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyer, Paul and Jan Crouch have multi-million dollar salaries and mansions), false teachings (Benny Hinn claimed Adam had the ability to fly into outer space and that God would destroy all the homosexuals by 1995). Anyone who buys into this movement, either on a national or local level is a severely deluded individual and really needs to see whether they are in the faith or not. (2 Cor 13:5 KJV) Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

So from these four examples we see that the Satan would not hesitate to counterfeit the workings of Moses and counterfeit the Gospel by adding works to it. Then we saw that Roman Catholicism counterfeits Christianity with its own system and just enough religious speech to give it some type of legitimacy in the minds of the unenlightened. Then we saw the Charismatic movement which also counterfeits true Christianity by adding sensationalism to the gospel.

When we look at these four satanic counterfeits, what makes us think that Satan would not attack and counterfeit the true Bible? Are we that naïve? Or are we so spiritually neutered that we are unable to spot a counterfeit? Or has the practice of letting our Pastor do our thinking for us has shown to be a dead end with severe consequences?

Why the Modern Versions are Counterfeit
There are many reasons why the modern versions can be considered counterfeits and we need to look at them closely. Since there are so many corruptions, I will use only one example but there are many similar to each one that I have given.

1) They change Specifics to Generic
(John 8:28 KJV) Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

(2011 NIV) So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.

If you will notice that when Jesus is speaking about “His Father,” He uses the term “my” in the King James Bible. In the 2011 NIV we see that it was changed from “my” to “the.” A very subtle but major attack on the relationship between Jesus and His Father.

2) They Omit Many words in many verses
(1 John 5:13 KJV) These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

(1995 NASV) These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

In 1 John 5:13 alone they omit 13 words. Notice the important teachings in those 13 words? They speak about believing on the name of the Son of God because without belief in Christ there is no salvation and this verse is making it absolutely clear by declaring it in those 13 words.

3) They Cause Confusion
(2 Sam 21:19 KJV) And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

(1 Sam 17:50 KJV) So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

(2 Samuel 21:19 HCSB) Once again there was a battle with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam.

(1 Samuel 17:50 HCSB) David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

According to the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Goliath was killed by Elhanan. According to the King James Bible, Elhanan slew the brother of Goliath because we read in 1 Samuel 17:50 that David slew Goliath and that is written correctly in both versions. However, in the King James Bible 2 Samuel 21:19 correctly identifies that Elhanan killed Goliath’s brother where as the HCSB states that Elhanan killed Goliath. So according to the HCSB, who killed Goliath, was it David or Elhanan? According to the HCSB, it was both! Do you see the confusion it would cause if you were a new believer and only had the HCSB?

4) They Reverse the Meaning of Words
For some unknown reason the modern versions are notorious for reversing the meaning of words and phrases.

(Eccl 8:10 KJV) And so I saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from the place of the holy, and they were forgotten in the city where they had so done: this is also vanity.

(ECCL 8:10 ESV) Then I saw the wicked buried. They used to go in and out of the holy place and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.

Here is the word which is translated totally opposite of its Hebrew meaning. The word is “shakhach” which is only translated “forgotten or forget” 101 times in the Old Testament.

(Deu 4:23 KJV) Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.

(Ezek 22:12 KJV) In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD.

As you can see the modern versions quoted above take the word and translate it as “praised.” This is an intentional reversal of the meaning of this word. There is no reason why this word should be translated as “were praised.”

5) Different Manuscript Sources
The King James Bible was translated from the Masoretic Text in the Hebrew and the Received Text (Textus Receptus) in the New Testament.

The modern versions have used the United Bible Society text which has 4 revisions. The Nestle Aland Text which has at present 28 revisions which started back in 1898. These two texts are primarily based on the Hort-Westcott Text of 1871 which are based on two of the most corrupted manuscripts from antiquity, the Vaticanus manuscript and the Sinaiticus manuscript. These texts are always in flux and are constantly being updated.

Sources used for the NIV - “The manuscript base for the Old Testament was the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Masoretic Hebrew Text. Other ancient texts consulted were the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotian (Septuagint), the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta, the Aramaic Targum, and for the Psalms the Juxta Hebraica of Jerome. The manuscript base for the New Testament was the Koine Greek language editions of the United Bible Societies and of Nestle-Aland.” - From Wikipedia (confirmed)

(Psa 119:89 KJV) For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. - The word of God is already settled in Heaven but in the modern versions it is not. They are subject to change at the whim of any scholar.

6) Doctrinal Attacks
Modern version proponents claim that the modern versions do not attack any of the Cardinal doctrines of the faith. Then what would you call these? Here are just three examples.

The Virgin Birth
(Luke 2:33 KJV) And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.


(Luke 2:33 - NASV) And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

If Joseph was His father then there was no virgin birth and we are all still in our sins.

Jesus sinned by Lying?
(John 7:8 KJV) Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come.

(John 7:8 NRSV) Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.”

Notice the difference. The New Revised Standard Version states that Jesus is not going up to the feast but the King James Version quotes His statement correctly by including the word “yet.”

Doctrine of Christ’s Sacrifice
(Col 1:14 KJV) In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

(Col 1:14 - Good News Bible) by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.

Notice what important piece of information is omitted? “Through His Blood” It was through the blood of Christ where we received forgiveness of sins.

(Eph 1:7 - Good News Bible) For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God,

One of the biggest cries from the modern version camp is that the words “through his blood” is found in Ephesians 1:7, so therefore the modern version is not omitting it. Think of the consequences of this scenario, when the Bible was first penned as manuscripts distributed to the churches by Paul, the Ephesians would have known that we are forgiven through Christ’s blood but the Colossian church would not have known that because it was omitted. Of course, both the letter to the Ephesians and the letter to the Colossians were printed in their entirety as the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write them. So there was nothing missing but think of how the Colossian church would have been cheated by not knowing that information.

7) They Agree with the Jehovah’s Witness Bible
(Gal 3:1 KJV) O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) O senseless Ga·la´tians, who is it that brought YOU under evil influence, YOU before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed impaled?

(NIV) You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
(NASV) You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
(ESV) O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

This is only one verse of hundreds where the modern versions and the New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses are in total agreement.

8) They Agree with the Roman Catholic Bible
Let us stay with Galatians 3:1
(NAB-Roman Catholic) O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

(NIV) You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
(NASV) You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
(ESV) O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

In this case too, this is only one verse among hundreds which are in total agreement with the Roman Catholic New American Bible.

Now at this juncture I want to give a quote taken from the 27th edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek text giving undeniable proof that the modern versions are Roman Catholic in origin. While there may be Protestant translators on each of the Bible Versions, they are ancillary to the supervision which is under the Vatican. Am I making this up? The following quote can be found and verified on page 45 of the 27th edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek Text.

Before I publish the quote, it is important to know that one of the Editors which worked on both the 27th edition of the Nestle-Aland text and the 4th edition of the United Bible Societies text was a man named Carlo Martini who was a Jesuit Cardinal. This means that they did not only use the Roman Catholic manuscripts but they had a Roman Catholic Cardinal as an editor.

“In 1955 K. Aland was invited to participate in an editorial committee with M. Black, B. M. Metzger, A. Wikgren, and at first A. Vö ö bus, later C.M. Martini (and from 1982 B. Aland, and J. Karavidopoulos) to produce The Greek New Testament, an edition of the Greek text with a critical apparatus of selected passages designed for the use of professional Bible translators throughout the world (1st. ed. 1966, 2nd ed. 1968). Work on both editions continued for some while in parallel. The intensive cooperation of the committee through the years proved so fruitful and stimulating to the participants that K. Aland decided to contribute his preliminary work toward a new text of Novum Testamentum Graece to the preparation of the Greek New Testament. The texts of both editions then proceeded to grow together so that eventually the 26th edition of Novum Testamentum Graece (1979) and the third edition of The Greek New Testament (1975) shared the same basic text.

These two editions were originally planned for different purposes, and they differ accordingly. The Greek New Testament was designed for translators, and while its critical apparatus is restricted to selected passages, the information on the textual tradition in these passages is as complete as possible. These passages are most often those in which modern versions are found to differ, and translators need to be aware of the reasons for their differences. Novum Testamentum Graece, in contrast, seeks to provide the reader with a critical appreciation of the whole textual tradition. Its apparatus is correspondingly more extensive, devoting particular attention to the transmission of the text in the early period. For this purpose, however, exhaustive detail is neither nor would it be useful (cf. below pp. 50*-51*).

The text shared by these two editions was adopted internationally by Bible Societies, and following an agreement between the Vatican and the United Bible Societies it has served as the basis for new translations and for revisions made under their supervision. (Emphasis mine) This marks a significant step with regard to interconfessional relationships. It should naturally be understood that this text is a working text (in the sense of the century long Nestle Tradition): it is not to be considered as definitive, but as a stimulus to further efforts toward defining and verifying the text of the New Testament. For many reasons, however, the present edition has not been deemed an appropriate occasion for introducing textual changes.”

If you take a look at what is in bold print you will plainly see that they hide nothing. The Greek text behind the modern versions are under the supervision of the Vatican. All modern versions use these Greek texts which means that what you have in your Bible and what is omitted is decided by the Roman Catholic Church. This is why the modern versions are very Vatican friendly and why they agree with the Roman Catholic versions. You can reject what is written but you cannot make the truth go away because anyone can check out what I have re-typed from the Nestle Aland 27th edition.

9) Two Completely Different Manuscript Lines
The King James Bible uses for its sources the Masoretic Text for the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus for the New Testament. The New Testament had come from Antioch where at that time the center of Christianity was located. These were the pure manuscripts which made up the line leading to the King James translation in 1604 when it commenced.

The modern versions use a completely different line of manuscripts. They use the Leningrad Codex of the Masoretic Text which contains about 20,000 differences. Many are very minute, nevertheless they are differences. Then for the New Testament they use manuscripts where were taken from Antioch to Alexandria, Egypt where they were corrupted by the large school of Gnosticism which existed there. The two manuscripts, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus differ in the gospels alone in 3,000 places. The Alexandrian manuscripts are severely corrupted and this is what the modern version proponents place their faith in.

10) They mutilate and omit the divine name of the Lord Jesus Christ

2 Timothy 4:22
(KJV) The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.
(ESV) The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you

Mat 16:20
KJV - Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
NIV - Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Matthew 18:2
(KJV) And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
(HCSB) Then He called a child to Him and had him stand among them.

The modern versions tend to mutilate the divine name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They either leave out “Jesus” or they leave out “Lord” or they leave out “Christ” or they omit the name completely or two of the three names. What makes these versions so subtle is that they do it on many of them but leave enough to make the claim that they do not attack the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Summary
Let us list the ten examples of why these modern versions are nothing more than counterfeits.

1) They change Specifics to Generic
2) They Omit Many words in many verses
3) They Cause Confusion
4) They Reverse the Meaning of Words
5) Different Manuscript Sources
6) Doctrinal Attacks
7) They Agree with the Jehovah’s Witness Bible
8) They Agree with the Roman Catholic Bible
9) Two Completely Different Manuscript Lines
10) They mutilate and omit the divine name of the Lord Jesus Christ

I have brought to light only ten characteristics of the modern versions (and there are many more), please tell me out of those ten, with the evidence right in front of you, are you still going to say that the modern versions are not counterfeits? How can you trust a version which has total agreement with the Roman Catholic and Jehovah’s Witnesses versions? How can you trust a version which has many words and even complete verses omitted (Romans 16:24, Matthew 18:11, Acts 8:37, etc.) when there is existing manuscript evidence for such verses? How can you trust a version which attacks the divine name of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Would you like to check your version and see if it agrees with the Roman Catholic and Jehovah’s Witnesses versions?

JW Bible - http://www.jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/

RC Bible - http://new.usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/index.cfm

The modern versions are counterfeit because their value is non-existent. These have been printed for the purpose of profit by the publishers. Since they are counterfeits, do you think the Holy Spirit is going to guide your understanding of them, especially when He gave the purer manuscripts through the King James Bible. God only wrote one Bible, He did not write hundreds and there is no need to start revising it with the every manuscript discovery. The Nestle-Aland Text is now in its 28th revision since 1898. How many more till they believe they have the complete word of God? No one knows! I do know this, I have the complete word of God in the King James Bible and it has never let any generation down. Once that Bible was removed from the church in favor of the modern versions, in came the false gospels and false teachers and the severe weakening of the church. You will probably continue to use your modern version, so I have a statement for you.


If You use a Modern Version of the Bible because the majority in your church do, then based on that reasoning, we must conclude that the Ten Spies were correct!

Numbers 13:1 - 14:45
Deuteronomy 1:19-36

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