Pharaoh King of Egypt (Part 21)

This post continues from where I’ve left off in Pharaoh King of Egypt (Part 20), where I’ve listed out a number of examples how the word of God has been changed, and even the gospel of Jesus Christ has been compromised in modern bible versions. That is what that has been happening according to the words of Paul in:

Colossians 2:8 "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."

One of the keyword to note in this verse is the word “spoil.” The word “spoil” is an action word, and it means to plunder or rob you of your possessions or precious things, such as in Exodus 3:22 “… ye shall spoil the Egyptians.” Colossians 2:8 is a stern warning, and it tells us that men will come, attempting to plunder you of something precious in you, using philosophy and vain deceit to exchange for the precious truth you have received in your heart. Who are these men?

Paul warned us:

Acts 20:29 "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock."

These men are what Paul described as “grievous wolves” which enter in among the body of Christ, not sparing the flock. These are what Jesus called “ravening wolves” according to:

Matthew 7:15 "¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Jesus calls them “false prophets,” teaching for doctrines the commandments of men according to Mark 7:7, which according to Paul in Colossians 2:8, are philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. Matthew 7:15 connects to:

Luke 11:39 "And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness."

A comparison of these two verses tells us that the Pharisees of the New Testament can be traced back to the false prophets of Old Testament times who pretended to be men of God. They were the ones who entered in among the sheep as wolves, not sparing the flock. Moses warned us in:

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, 2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3 Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul."

A false prophet is one that arise in among the people of God, whose goal is to turn the hearts of the people to go after other gods, to serve them, instead of the one and true God of Israel. Verse 3 tells us that God will allow that to happen, in order to prove the hearts of those who claim to love him. This is just like how he puts the tree of life together with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden of Eden, to prove the hearts of Adam and Eve. Likewise, God will also make you choose between life and blessing, and death and cursing:

Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:"

If you will hearken to the words of the LORD, and obey his voice, then you have chosen life and blessing. But, if your heart shall turn away and be drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, so that you will not hear the words of the LORD, then you have inadvertently chosen death and cursing. The bible tells us that God will allow that to happen, just so mankind have a choice. He will allow false prophets and Pharisees into your life, whose goal is to plunder you of the “treasure” hidden in the earthen vessel of your body, so that he can prove you.

2 Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us."

Those pretended men of God, with the help of “enticing words of man’s wisdom,” (1 Corinthians 2:4) will attempt to draw you to the worship of other gods. Their aim is to spoil you, and the weapons of their warfare are philosophy and vain deceit which have their origins in the tradition of men and the rudiments of this world, more specifically:

1. Tradition of men: Opinions, doctrines, practices, rites and customs that have been passed down from generation to generation, to be regarded as sacred and cannot be violated in any form or manner.

2. Rudiments of this world: Fundamental or first principles of learning in any form of art, science or language, to be regarded as fundamental truths that cannot be violated in any form or manner.

Collectively, these things form the general attitudes, laws or principles in a philosophical framework under which subordinate theories, facts, concepts or observations are comprehended. In simple terms, it is the so-called “science” of truths or established knowledge accumulated over time and organized in a systematic manner which aim is to provide explanations and predictions with reference to the operation of the physical world. These are the things that proceed from “man’s wisdom,” (1 Corinthians 2:13) coming from men of corrupt minds, destitute of the truth, seeking to replace the truth of God with the “truth” of man.

Romans 1:22-23 "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."

Those pretended men of God will profess themselves to be wise, and their goal is to change the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. In another words, they will attempt to explain the supernatural with the natural, and uncorruptible with the corruptible. One of the keywords to note here in this passage of scripture is the word “change.” Think about Textual Criticism, the philosophy that is driving the evolution of modern bible versions. That is one of the things that the Devil uses to change the uncorruptible things of God into corruptible things that do not last. Paul continues in:

Romans 1:25 "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."

The “truth of God” in this verse is a reference to the 66 books of the Holy Bible. That is what the Devil wants to do: he wants to change the words of the LORD in the 66 books of the Holy Bible into a lie, and he has been doing it with the help of men who became fools, professing themselves to be wise.

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

Those would be the false prophets and Pharisees of modern times, the ministers of Satan who transformed themselves as ministers of righteousness, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, corrupting the word of God with their opinions, doctrines, practices, rites and customs that have been handed down from generation to generation; as well as the so-called “sciences” of men which are still evolving, working to change the truth of God into a lie. Jude tells us that:

Jude 1:10 "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves."

That means that they will speak evil of the word of God which they know not, while teaching for doctrines the commandments of man, things which they know naturally as brute beasts, by which they themselves are corrupted. Eugene Nida (November 11, 1914 – August 25, 2011) was one such character.

In fact, Nida was the one who made famous the method of “dynamic equivalence” used in the translation of modern bible versions, the New King James included. He did not believe in Ecclesiastes 3:14 which says that “nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it.” He did not believe that the words of the LORD is to be translated exactly based on what God says, nothing more and nothing less. Moreover, he was instrumental in helping the Roman Catholic Church produce ecumenical bibles translated based on dynamic equivalence. According to wikipedia:

“Nida was instrumental in engineering the joint effort between the Vatican and the United Bible Societies (UBS) to produce cross-denominational Bibles in translations across the globe. This work began in 1968 and was carried on in accordance with Nida's translation principle of Functional Equivalence.”

To Nida, the translation of the word of God was “negotiable” in the sense that he did not believe there is such thing as the absolute truth, the absolute word of God. What he taught and believed was evident in the method of bible translation he promoted heavily in all his career as a bible critic. Nida believed in the translators having the authority and liberty to translate the manuscripts according to their own whims and fancies.

They call this approach of translation “dynamic equivalence,” which is essentially a “sense-for-sense” method of translation that focuses on readability, rather than an unyielding emphasis on literal “word-for-word” fidelity. The Living Bible is one of the best example of modern bibles for illustrating what the dynamic equivalence approach of translation is all about. Some comparisons between the 1611 King James Bible (KJV) and the Living Bible (LB) will show you what I mean:

Psalms 34:20

KJV: "He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken."

LB: "God even protects him from accidents."

Ezekiel 2:1

KJV: "Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee."

LB: "Stand up, son of dust and I will talk to you."

John 2:4

KJV: "Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come."

LB: "I can't help you now, He said, It isn't yet my time for miracles."

I could go on and on, but the above is in essence what I was trying to illustrate when I said modern bible versions is an attempt by natural men to help other natural men in understanding the things of the Spirit of God apart from the Holy Ghost. Corruption of the translation technique is another thing that the Devil was doing to change the truth of God into a lie. In a 2002 interview with Christianity Today, Nida was asked:

"What is the impact of multiple translations?"

He said:

"It makes people begin to think. As long as all people have the King James Bible, they didn't think. It is terribly important to have different translations to get a good argument started."

Those were his words verbatim. Nida did not believe in the perfect preservation of God's words. He believed that God only preserved his words in part, and then man has to do the patching. That is where the bulk of man's ideas and philosophies got injected into the translation, and that is dangerous. Modern bible versions is natural men’s way of helping other natural men to understand the things of the Spirit of God apart from the Holy Ghost, to which Paul has the following to say:

1 Corinthians 2:10 "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God."

Spiritual things must be revealed unto us by the Spirit of God. Paul continues in the next verse:

1 Corinthians 2:11 "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God."

The things of God “knoweth no man,” which is to say, it is not the words of men that would help another man in knowing the things of God, but the Spirit of God working through the word of God that we have received. Paul confirms in the next verse:

1 Corinthians 2:12 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."

It is not the spirit of the world as evident in the words of modern bible translations, but the spirit which is of God, as evident in the 1611 King James Bible, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

1 Corinthians 2:13 "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

Man’s wisdom can only teach man the things of man by the spirit of man. Man’s wisdom cannot teach man the things of the Spirit of God. That is the function of the Holy Ghost, and it is “NOT in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth.” Therefore, if you think that putting an NIV and a 1611 King James Bible side-by-side will help you understand the bible better, you are grossly mistaken. In fact, the bible warns us against fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness in Ephesians 5:11. There can be no fellowship between the truth and falsehood. Paul continues in the next verse:

1 Corinthians 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Modern bible versions is an attempt to explain the supernatural with the natural, and uncorruptible with the corruptible. To a natural man, the things of the Spirit of God is foolishness. Without the help of the Holy Ghost, he cannot discern spiritual things. That’s why he leans on man’s ways, relying on modern bible versions to help him understand what God was saying in the bible. But Paul tells us that the things of the Spirit of God must be “spiritually discerned,” such as in this verse:

Matthew 16:3 "And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?"

To “discern” simply means to tell the difference. A natural man could discern the face of the sky, but he could never discern the signs of the times, because the things of the Spirit of God must be spiritually discerned. It is the function of the Holy Ghost to teach spiritual men from the written word of God, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Paul tells us in the next two verses:

1 Corinthians 2:15-16 "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

A spiritual man is judged of no man because a natural man could never understand his ways. Granted that the natural man could see the “light” coming from him, and he could tell the difference between himself and the spiritual man, yet he considers the spiritual man a “fool.” I often see that reaction coming from random people in the social media, which shows their lack of spiritual discernment.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things by the Spirit of God who teaches him to discern spiritual things, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The mind of the Lord is the mind of Christ. That is also the mind of the spiritual man which is capable of receiving instruction from the Spirit of truth, teaching him from the word of truth: “precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” (Isaiah 28:13)

2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

The written word of God is the word of truth by which the Holy Ghost, also called “Spirit of truth” in John 15:26 may use to instruct the spiritual man. Paul calls the spiritual man a “workman” in this verse, because he is always studying the written word of God to shew himself approved unto God, just like the Bereans in Acts 17 who searched the scriptures daily, and Paul described them as noble. A key phrase to note in this verse is “rightly dividing the word of truth.” When you divide something, you are breaking up the thing, just like how Jesus broke the five loaves and two fishes to feed the thousands.

John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

Likewise, Jesus is the “bread of life” and the word of God is the “unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:8) In breaking the bread, in rightly dividing the word of truth, the workman who studies to shew himself approved unto God will be able to feed many, as also evident in this verse:

Proverbs 10:21 "The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom."

Fools die for want of wisdom, because the 66 books of the Holy Bible is a closed book for them. In fact, every person is born a fool, until such a time when they heard the word of God preached to them, and when they received the truth in their honest and good hearts, and their eyes were suddenly opened one day. That was what happened with two man, one of them whose name was Cleopas on their way to Emmaus, when they encountered the risen Christ.

Luke 24:27 "And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."

The keywords to take note in this verse are “Moses and all the prophets” and “expounded.” Essentially, Jesus opened the books of the Old Testament to them, and verse 31 tells us “And their eyes were opened, and they knew him…” It takes a spiritual man to expound the words of the LORD to someone before his eyes can be opened, and that is the job of a preacher, or any born again believer for the matter. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 to be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh for the reason of the hope that is in you.

John 6:58 "This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever."

The words of the LORD are the same in every true Holy Bible. In taking from the “bread of life” and rightly dividing it for the people, a born again believer who has the mind of Christ capable of being instructed by the Spirit of God will be able to feed many with spiritual meat, just like in Matthew 4:4 where Jesus said “… Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” It is the breaking of the bread which came down from heaven that will feed the souls. It is in rightly dividing the word of truth that the lips of the righteous will be able to feed many, and to rightly divide the word of truth is to expound: to lay open the meaning of; to explain; to clear of obscurity; to interpret.

2 Peter 1:20 "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."

Bible must interpret bible. The word of truth can only be interpreted by the Spirit of truth teaching a believer from the written word of God: precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. As what I’ve mentioned earlier, man’s wisdom can never teach man the things of the Spirit of God. One cannot interpret the 1611 King James Bible with help from the NIV or any other modern bible version for the matter.

Galatians 2:4-5 "And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you."

Any attempt in trying to interpret the Holy Bible with man’s wisdom would be “private interpretation” according to 2 Peter 1:20, and that is where the Devil has an inroad into your life with his marauding army of grievous wolves, transformed into ministers of righteousness. In order to bring you into bondage, they will attempt to plunder the precious thing in you, using philosophy and vain deceit in exchange of the precious truth that you have received in your hearts. That is why Paul strongly admonished us in Galatians 2:4-5 never to give place by subjection, no, not for an hour, so that the truth of the gospel might continue with us. It is the truth of the gospel that they are after. To continue in Part 22.