“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