Chapter 11
NIV AND THE GREAT COVER-UP
G. BURNSIDE
N.I.V. AND THE GREAT COVER-UP.
On the Thames Embankment in London stands the monument of William Tyndale, Bible translator and martyr. I have gone out of my way on more than one occasion to see it. Before Tyndale was burned for his translation of the Scriptures he wrote:
"I call God to record against the day we shall appear before our Lord Jesus that I never altered one syllable of God’s Word against my conscience, nor would do this day, if all that is in earth, or riches, might be given me."
Martin Luther wrote:
"No greater mischief can happen to a Christian people than to have God’s Word taken from them or falsified so that they no longer have it pure and clean."
Now here is an interesting statement from the pen of inspiration:
"Satan’s manner of working against God and His Word has not changed; he is still as much opposed to the Scriptures." G.C. 204.
Satan in his hatred of the Bible has not only burned the Bible and its followers, he has not only forbidden people to read it, but he has aimed at corrupting, "altering," and falsifying it. He has also cut out parts of it, changed words and added words.
Inspiration states regarding the Bible:
"I saw... learned men had in some instances changed the words." E.W. 220-221.
Not a few have attempted to interfere with God’s sacred Book.
"Wherefore also Marcion and his followers have betaken themselves to mutilating the Scriptures, not acknowledging some books at all; and, curtailing the Gospel according to Luke, and the epistles of Paul, they assert that these alone are authentic, which they have themselves shortened." Ante-Nicene Fathers (Scribner’s) Vol. 1, pp. 434,435.
Origen (184-254 A.D.) of Alexandria is probably credited at being foremost in this Satanic work. He freely stated:
"The Scriptures are of little use to those who understand them as they are written." McClintock and Strong, Art. Origen.
His devotion to pagan philosophy and especially "Plato, (a pagan philosopher) led him in to many grand and fascinating errors." Dr. Schaff’s Church History, Vol. II, 791.
Origen "who did most to create and give direction to the forces of apostacy." Yet despite that record in the Encyclical Letter by Pope Leo XIII, in the front to the Douay Version, are these words:
"In the Eastern Church, the greatest name of all is Origen—a man of remarkable alike for penetration of genius and for persevering labour." P.XIII.
Again from Inspiration I read:
"Ancient writings were forged by monks .... And a church that had rejected the truth, greedily accepted these deceptions." G.C. 56.
SATAN’S SAME METHODS.
Did you notice that Sister White stated that Satan’s method against the Bible has not changed. G.C. 204.
He uses his agents to change the teachings of the Bible. So it is very apparent that the aim of the revisers was not to remove a few old-fashioned words and make truth clearer, but it was a deliberate attempt to change, and cut down the Scriptures of Truth. "If you can’t refute it, distort it." The hundreds of omissions of vital verses, phrases. and words and the changing of other passages reveals the truth of this conclusion. Many have detected this tragic fact. For instance:
"The Revisers had a wonderful opportunity. They might have made a few changes and removed a few archaic expressions, and made the Authorized Version the most acceptable and beautiful and wonderful book of all time to come. But they wished ruthlessly to meddle. Some of them wanted to change doctrine.. Some of them did not know good English literature when they saw it... There were enough modernists among the Revisers to change the words of Scripture itself so as to throw doubt on the Scripture." Herald and Presbyter, July 16, 1924, p.10
We certainly do not need to be surprised. The sure word of prophecy has revealed that there would be the attempts by the Man of Sin.
DAN.7:25 "And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws."
DAN.8:25 "through his policy also he shall cause craft to propser in his hand." It would:
DAN.8:12 "cast down truth to the ground." Jesus said: JOHN 17:17 "Thy word is truth."
What a wonderful guide book our Lord has given to us. In the prophecies of the Bible we have light for these last days when:
ISA.60:2 "darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people."
2 PETER 1:19 "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place."
In the gathering darkness and confusion the light of Scripture has revealed the sinister hand that would "cast down" the word of Truth, that our precious Lord has preserved for us. How accurately it has foretold. How accurately have the facts confirmed that forecast and revealed the crafty cover-up of truth.
1870
In the year 1870 the Pope was offically declared Infallible. In the same year the Papacy lost all her territories and was limited to the Vatican. The soldiers of the Papacy—the Jesuits—were called to restore the power and influence of Rome. They rejoiced in the fact that the Reformation was waning. Now was their chance. They planned well. They must break the influence of the King James Version. So they selected two of their main agents. In all probability these two were fellow Jesuits. Their work and writings make it appear they were undercover Jesuits. These men were Westcott and Hort. They both hated and despised the multitude of manuscripts that give us the Received Text the King James Version. This they both aimed at downgrading. They were the tools of the power that Bible prophecy had declared would "cast down the truth to the ground." Their own words betray them.
Here are a few extracts from the pen of Dr. F. J. A. Hort.
F. J. A. Hort (1828-1892)
Hort writes to Westcott, October 17,1865: "I have been persuaded for many years that Mary-worship and Jesusworship have very much in common in their causes and their results." Life of Hort Vol.11, p. 50.
Hort writes to Westcott: "I am very far from pretending to understand completely the oft-renewed vitality of Mariolatry." Life of Hort, Vol.11, p. 49.
Hort writes to Westcott: "But this last error can hardly be expelled till Protestants unlearn the crazy horror of the idea of Priesthood." Life of Hort, Vol.11, p. 51.
Hort writes to Dr. Lightfoot, October 26, 1867: "But you know I am a staunch sacerdotalist." Life of Hort, Vol.11, p. 86.
Hort writes to Westcott, September 23, 1864: "I believe Coleridge was quite right in saying that Christianity without a substantial church is vanity and disillusion; and I remember shocking you and Lightfoot not so long ago by expressing a belief that ‘Protestantism’ is only parenthetical and temporary." "Perfect Catholicity has been nowhere since the Reformation." Life of Hort, Vol.11, p. 30,32.
Hort writes to Mr. John Filerton: "I am inclined to think that no such state as ‘Eden’ (I mean the popular notion) ever existed, and that Adam’s fall in no degree differed from the fall of each of his descendants, as Coleridge justly argues." Life of Hort, Vol.1, p. 78.
Hort "Think of that vile Textus Receptus." Life of Hort, Vo . 1, p. 214.
Hort writes to Rev. John Ellerton, April 3, 1860: "But the book which has most engaged me is Darwin. Whatever may be thought of it, it is a book that one is proud to be contemporary with....My feeling is strong that the theory is unanswerable. If so, it opens up a new period." Life of Hort, Vol. 1, p. 416.
B.F. Westcott (1825-1901)
Westcott writes from France to his fiancée, 1847: "After leaving the monastery, we shaped our course to a little oratory which we discovered on the summit of a neighboring hill. Fortunately we found the door open. It is very small, with one kneeling-place; and behind a screen was a ‘Pieta’ the size of life (i.e. a Virgin and dead Christ) .... Had I been alone I could have knelt there for hours." Life of Westcott, Vol-1, p. 81.
Westcott writes to the Archbishop of Canterbury on Old Testament criticism, March 4, 1890: "No one now, I suppose, holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal history—I could never understand how any one reading them with open eyes could think they did." Life of Westcott, Vol. 11, p. 69.
Westcott writes to Archbishop Benson, November 17, 1865: "I wish I could see to what forgotten truth Mariolatry bears witness." Life of Westcott, Vol.11, p. 50.
There is no doubt that both Westcott and Hort were very pro-catholic, and pro-evolution. They hated Protestantism and especially the King James Version. They were devoted to the Latin Vulgate and close friends of John Henry Cardinal Newman and Dr. Pusey, the leader of the Anglo-catholic movement, the man that. aimed at bringing the Church of England back to Rome. These men were all members of the revision committee. Dr. Moulton, a devotee of the Vulgate and Dr. G. V. Smith, a Unitarian were also members.
The result of their work was a big lift in the Rome-ward and modernist movement that upheld the two papal manuscripts.
They "caused craft to prosper". This is seen in their attempted cover-up. The many omissions are largely covered by the numbers of the verses, printed in very small numbers and scattered across the page so that the omitted numbers are hardly noticeable and hence the reader fails to notice the missing verses.
Their use of the two Catholic manuscripts Vaticanus and Sinaiticus is also largely covered.
For instance:
The N.I.V. has a line across the page after Mark 16:8 and this statement:
"The two most reliable early manuscripts do not have Mark 16:9-20.
Why do they not tell the full facts? Why did they not state that their so-called "two most reliable early manuscripts" are the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus? Why did they not also state that the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus include such writings as the Apocrypha, Bel and the Dragon and the epistle of Barnabas?
Why did not the authors of the N.I.V. tell you these facts?
To give you some idea of the nonsense. I will give you a paragraph from the epistle of Barnabas:
"But he adds, neither shalt thou eat the hare. To what end? To signify this to us: Thou shalt not be an adulterer; nor liken thyself to such persons. For the hare every year multiplies the places of its conception; and so many years it lives, so many it has. Neither shalt thou eat of the hyena; that is again, be not an adulterer, nor a corrupter of others; neither be like such. And wherefore so? because this creature every year changes its kind and it is sometimes male and sometimes female." Epist. of Barnabas 8:7-8.
Pardon me for quoting such rubbish. I do so that you may see the kind of nonsense that is in what the N.I.V. refers to as "the two most reliable early manuscripts."
Why did they not also state that every uncial manuscripts contain Mark 16:9-20. That is every uncial manuscript except these two corrupt Catholic manuscripts. Why did not the N.I.V. state that Mark 16:9-20 is contained in over six hundred cursive manuscripts. Why do they hide this overwhelming evidence. Do we see again the hand of Rome?
Bible prophecy clearly stated of Rome that "Through his policy also he would cause craft to prosper." Dan.8:25. Why did they not come out and openly state that their "two most reliable early manuscripts" are the two Roman Catholic manuscripts? Is this a cover-up?
SINAITICUS AND VATICANUS OF CATHOLIC SOURCES.
Sinaiticus "From the number of errors, one cannot affirm that it is very carefully written. The whole manuscript is disfigured by corrections, a few by the original scribe, very many by an ancient and elegant hand of the 6th Century whose emendations are of great importance, some again by a hand a little later, for the greatest number by a scholar of the 7th Century who often cancels the changes by the 6th Century amender, others by as many as eight (8) different later writers." Scrivener, p. 93, Vol. 1.
VATICANUS "One marked feature is the great number of Omissions which induced Dr. Dobbin to speak of it as an abbreviated text of the New Testament. He calculates that whole words or clauses are left out no less than 2556 times." Scrivener, p. 120 Vol.1.
This explains why the modern versions have omitted so much of the scripture—a fact which is not always apparent due to the way the numbering of the verses has been made hard to read.
"These are two of the least trustworthy documents in existence." Burgan "Revision Revised." p. 315,316.
These two manuscripts, the Vaticanus and the Sinaiticus, both of Catholic origin form the foundation of the N.I.V. and the other revised versions. The Roman Catholic Church accepts the R.S.V., and all the other modern versions, and any that are based on the Westcott and Hort text. But the Catholic church still hates the King James Version and has waged constant warfare against this God given Book.
Another fact not generally known is that the Jehovah’s Witness movement is in the same situation. Deceived by the same cover up. Their so-called Scriptures have the same corrupt foundation. Here are photocopies of their own printed Scriptures.
The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures
Presenting a literal word-for-word translation into English under the Greek text as set out in "The New Testament in the Original Greek—Text Revised by Brooke Foss Wescott D.D. and Fenton John Anthon Hort D.D. (1948 Reprint) together with the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, Revised Edition, a modern-language translation of the Westcott and Hort Greek Text, first published by them in the year 1881, with which are included the valuable Foreword and the Appendix of the said translation, with numerous footnotes and an Explanation of the Symbols Used in the Marginal References New World Bible Translation Committee
On page 5 under the heading "By Way of Explanation.
Omitted Verses: Verse found in the Authorized or King James Version of 1611, C.E. but not found in the Westcott and Hort Greek text are omitted and are indicated by a verse number followed by a long dash.
And on page 9 in the "Foreword."
The Greek text that we have used as the basis of our New World translation is the widely accepted Westcott and Hort text (1881), by reason of its admitted excellence. But we have also taken into consideration other texts , including that prepared by D. Eberhard Nestle and that compiled by the Spanish Jesuit scholar Jose Maria Bover and that by the other Jesuit scholar A. Merek. Where we have varied from the reading of the Westcott and Hort text, our footnotes show the basis for our preferred reading. We give some definiteness to the background for the renderings of our text by showing in our footnotes the most ancient manuscript, and versions upon which we call for support.
Thus their Scriptures are based on Westcott and Hort and other Jesuits.
How tragically true are the words of our God. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge". "Ignorance has destroyed more than the sword."
HOSEA 4:6,7 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame."
There are many earnest devoted people in both the Catholic and Jehovah’s Witness congregations. They are both kept in ignorance.
They both hate the King James Version. They both have likewise "Forgotten the Law of thy God."
How they and "all people that on earth do dwell" need to come out of this Babel of confusion and into the company pointed out by the nailed scarred hand of Jesus.
REV. 14:12 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
Then think of the result, described in these beautiful words of Jesus - Words which have been corrupted and changed in both the Catholic and Jehovah’s Witness Versions.
REV. 22:14 "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
(For more on the corrupting of Rev. 22:14 see "N.I.V. and Revelation 22:14" No. 8 by G. Burnside.)