Chapter 6
Spirit of Prophecy
AND MODERN VERSIONS
G. Burnside
Ellen White’s experience was "The Lord showed me." "He told me." "It was presented before me." "Said the angel." "I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard." Thus God has provided guidance and instruction for His remnant church.
SISTER WHITE AND THE MODERN VERSIONS.
To justify their use of modern versions of the Bible, many claim "Sister White used them." To the many, this answers all. They argue all versions therefore must be good. I have often wished that Adventists used the modern versions as Sister White used them. If they used these versions as Sister White did, there would be no problem as we shall see.
Turn to:
PROV.30:5 "Every word of God is pure."
How much impurity needs to be added to a glass of pure water to make it impure? 5%? 1%?
A much higher percentage of error has been added to the Scriptures. The flood of at least one hundred versions in recent times has certainly corrupted truth and produced a babel.
REGARDING THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY, HERE ARE A FEW FACTS.
According to the index, there are listed 15,117 Scripture references in the 25 Volumes that are listed. 95% Of these references are from the King James Version (KJV) and 5% from all the other versions. The Revised Version came out in 1881. Since 1881 more than three quarters of Sister White’s writings have been produced. Therefore several of the revised versions were available during most of Sister White’s writing years.
IN TESTIMONIES Vol. 8
There are 666 quotations from KJV, 53 from American Revised Version, and 5 from the Revised Version.
She quoted often from Practical Psalms where the change was slight in the wording.
We should notice that verses that are omitted by the N.I.V. and other modern versions are quoted as the Word of God by Sister White. For instance:
ACTS 8:37 The N.I.V. omits this passage of Holy Writ, but Sister White quotes it as inspired.
Many other instances of omissions from the N.I.V., but quoted by Sister White could be given and God willing, will be given.
It should be remembered that there are no true Scriptures in the N.I.V. that cannot be found in the King James Version. But there are many true Scriptures that are omitted from the N.I.V. as we have noticed and will notice. When the thought is plainer and without error in a modern version, true, Sister White quotes it. But she never quotes the modern version when it has error. For instance several times she quotes REV. 22:14 "do His commandments," but she never quotes the erroneous "wash their robes" as found in the N.I.V. and other corrupted versions. (See G. Burnside, Rev. 22:14 and the N.I.V.) Again in JOB.19:26 (A. R. V.) "Then without my flesh shall I see God."
Or Lesser’s, "Then freed from my flesh shall I behold God."
While at times Sister White uses the A.R.V. or Lesser, she never uses them where they have been corrupted as above. On the other hand several times she quotes this text but always when it is true as in the KJV. "Yet in my flesh shall I see God." See G.C. p 299 etc.
TESTIMONIES VOLUME NINE.
This was the last Volume written by Sister White. Notice she never quoted from a Revised Version once in this volume. Sister White began with the King James Version and she finished the Volume with it. Our prophet used these modern versions less and less. It is a tragedy that too many Adventists are now using the modern Versions more and more. Inspiration used them less and less. Apostacy uses them more and more. May you follow the example of Sister White In her last volume of the Testimonies and drop out the so called revisions.
Now let us look at Sister White’s historic statements.
"THE FATEFUL FOURTH CENTURY."
We are fortunate to have an inspired guide in history. Historians write with a bias, and as a result can be confusing. Inspiration alone presents the full facts. Notice some interesting and enlightening facts of history.
G.C. 45 "The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of the fourth century...now the work of corruption rapidly progressed." This was in the fateful "fourth century." One of Constantine’s acts was to have the Catholic bishop Eusebius make copies of fifty Bibles for use in the churches.
As Constantine aimed at unity, the pagans with apostate christians, he naturally chose tampered manuscripts to suit his compromised christianity. The evidence is overwhelming in favour of the fact that the Vatican and Sinai manuscripts were two of Constantine’s fifty Bibles.
Sidney Collett in his "The Scripture of Truth" when writing about the Sinaitic manuscript that was found by Dr. Tischendorf stated:
Dr. Tischendorf believed that this and the Vatican manuscript were two of the fifty copies of the Bible which were made in Greek by command of the Emperor Constantine, about the year A.D. 331, under the supervision of Bishop Eusebius, the historian of Caesarea. P. 28.
These manuscripts came from the fourth century—the century of corruption. Sister White further states: G.C. 56 "Ancient writings were forged by monks ... And a church that had rejected the truth greedily accepted these deceptions."
Of the Catholic bishop who prepared these Bibles for Constantine, inspired history states:
G.C. 574 "Eusebius, a bishop who sought the favour of princes, and who was the special friend and flatterer of Constantine."
This was the century that brought in Sunday.
This was the century that produced the Vulgate from which came the Catholic Bible. In this same "fourth century" of corruption came the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, from which came the N.I.V. and its companion versions. They are companions in crime and corruption. For instance compare the Catholic "Douay. . Bible" and the N.I.V. Note their striking parallel. MATT.18:11 is missing from both of them.
REV. 22:14 has the corruption "wash their robes" in each.
LUKE 4:4 "But by every word of God" is omitted from both the N.I.V. and the Douay. Many more parallels will be given in a later leaflet—God willing.
"TO THE LAW AND TO THE TESTIMONY."
Hold fast to our Lord’s gift to His remnant people. May you ever be in the company of God’s "saints" that "have the Testimony of Jesus." Rev. 12:17
REV. 19.10 "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." That inspired voice further declares:
G.C. 65 "The Waldenses were among the first of the peoples of Europe to obtain a translation of the Holy Scriptures. Hundreds of years before the Reformation they possessed the Bible in manuscript in their native tongue. They had the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them the special objects of hatred and persecution . . . . they stood unflinchingly for God’s word and His honor."
The Waldenses, like the saints on Scotland’s isle of Iona held the true Scriptures. "They had the truth unadulterated, and this rendered them special objects of hatred and persecutions." G.C. 65.
Note it was because these saints held the Scriptures—"truth unadulterated" that Rome hated and persecuted them. Rome has always hated the Bible.
Rome held the Vulgate, Vaticanus, and Sinaiticus for centuries. But inspiration further states:
"Theirs was not a faith newly received. Their religious belief was their inheritance from their fathers. They contended for the faith of the apostolic church "the faith which was once Delivered unto the saints." Jude 3. "The church in the wilderness," and not the proud hierarchy enthroned in the world’s great capital, was the true church of Christ, the guardian of the treasures of truth which God has committed to His people to be given to the world." G.C.64.
God preserved His Word. He preserved it through His saints, the Waldenses and in Scotland’s Iona. We are clearly told that it was "the church in the wilderness" and "not the proud hierarchy enthroned in the world’s great capital"—Rome" that was the guardian of the treasures of truth." Rome may have had the Vulgate, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus but they did not have the—"Scripture of truth"—the Received Text, the "Majority text"—from which we have the King James Version.
May we each one be willing to die for it. To sum up:
Rome upholds the Vulgate Vaticanus and Sinaiticus but hated the King James Version. Why?
The sure word of prophecy answers:
Rome "cast down the truth to the ground." Dan. 8:12.
It "shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." Dan. 8:24.
"He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand." Dan. 8:25.
Such is the work and doom of Rome.
Remember! "But the Word of the Lord endureth forever." 1 Peter 1:25
1 JOHN 2:17 "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."