Saturday, January 18, 2014

How modern bible versions change end-time passages

I believe that the King James version of the bible is the preserved word of God in the English language. I won't go into all the reasons why in this post, but I do want to point out some changes that have been made to key rapture passages in modern versions. Here's a good sermon about why the KJV is the best version if you want to learn more http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5ZuDPcGUK0.  I'll focus on the NIV, NLT, ESV, and NKJV since those are the top 5 versions besides the KJV.

This is no small issue to God. He gives a very serious warning in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 22:18-19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.


2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
KJV:
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

ESV:
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
The NIV, NLT, & NKJV all basically make the same change. The phrase "at hand" means something is about to happen.

Here's a passage from Joel which was a prophecy about God sending destruction:
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Notice that Joel says it's nigh at hand because it's about to happen.
So the KJV says don't let anyone tell you that the rapture is about to happen until the falling away and the anti-christ is revealed, but the other versions say not to let anyone fool you into thinking that the rapture has already happened.

Revelation 6:17
KJV:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
ESV:
17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
NKJV, NLT, & NIV all make this change as well.
You might say that changing "is" to "has" is a minor change, but I've tried to explain that God's wrath doesn't happen till after the 6th seal is opened because of how this verse says it "is come", and the person said that the proper translation of that verse is "has come" to try to justify teaching that the tribulation and God's wrath are the same thing.

Revelation 7:14
KJV:
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
ESV:
7 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
So in the KJV a great multitude of people "came" out of great tribulation, but in the ESV they're "coming" out of great tribulation.  Since the rapture happens after the 6th seal, it makes sense to say that they "came" out of great tribulation, but if you say they're "coming" out of great tribulation, you might be able to argue that it's not the rapture and those people are just Christians that are being killed during the tribulation and they go up to heaven as they die.  The ESV is the only one of the other 4 that make this change.

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