ACTS 20:37 38 "And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more."

We do well to note that Paul in this final meeting with the elders from Ephesus stated that he had given them the complete truth. This he repeated:

ACTS 20:27 "I have not shunned to declare unto you all the council of God."

What a contrast to the trimmed, partial and imperfect, so called Gospel, that is heard today. Also the situation is rapidly growing worse—prophecy is fulfilling. Incomplete Bibles make incomplete Christians. The popular but woefully incomplete N.I.V. is a tragic example. Not only are many—whole verses cut out, but also many vital words are missing. For instance Jesus declared:

MATTHEW 9:13 "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Now look at the N.I.V. The words "to repentance" are missing. This makes the words of our Lord of none effect.

According to this popular but polluted version what does Christ call sinners to? It could be to anything, or nothing. Repentance has never been popular. Origen despised the thought of repentance. So did Constantine, Jerome and Eusebius. Hence they simply cut it out of their polluted versions. The N.I.V. follows in their footsteps and likewise, in the footsteps of the Roman Catholic Douay Version. The Knox translation—the modern catholic Bible also cuts out "to repentance." The "Preface" of both the Knox and Douay Versions state that they are from the Vulgate translation. The Vulgate, with the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus translations originate in the corrupt fourth century. However, wiping "repentance" from this Scripture does not get rid of the need for it. Those that neglect "repentance" live in a fools paradise. Repentance is a vital truth in Scripture.

Sister White makes these interesting statements: "There is no salvation without repentance." 1 S.M. 365.

"Except the sinner repent, he cannot be forgiven." 1 S.M. 390.

"Repentance must precede forgiveness." 1 S.M. 390.

"Steps to Christ," which gives the plainest statement on the way to Christ and His Justification is worthy of our earnest attention. All that Elders Jones and Waggoner of 1888 said on Righteousness by Faith, Sister White said too and she has put it even plainer. Note that the first step for the sinner to take is repentance as revealed in "Steps to Christ."

"How shall a man be just with God? (How can a man be justified?) How shall the sinner be made righteous? It is only through Christ that we can be brought into harmony with God, with holiness; but how are we to Come to Christ? Many are asking the same question as did the multitudes on the day of Pentecost, when, convicted of sin, they cried out, ‘What shall we do?’ The first word of Peter’s answer was, ‘Repent.’" Steps to Christ," page 26.

REPENTANCE AND FAITH BRINGS JUSTIFICATION.

ACTS 20:21 "Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

MATT.3:2 John the Baptist—"Repent ye."

Note: Jesus put repentance before believe. Fools do at the end, (Rev. 6:14-17) what the wise do at the beginning.

WHAT IS REPENTANCE?

"Repentance includes sorrow for sin, and a turning away from it." S.C. page 26.

‘There is no salvation without repentance." 1 S.M.365.

The N.I.V. omits "Repentance" repeatedly.

Again the N.I.V. makes this fatal omission. Without Repentance there is no salvation. Again the N.I.V. has Jesus calling sinners to nothing. Jesus calls "sinners to repentance" but the N.I.V. drops out "to repentance." This, inspiration tells us is the first step to Christ. But the N.I.V. cuts out this vital part.

Perhaps this is an outstanding reason for the Laodicean condition of today. Since the introduction of the so-called revised versions, "Repentance" is a subject that is seldom heard. And since the rising flood of these perversions into our church "Repentance" is practically never heard. Is this an underlying cause of deepening lukewarmness? In love Jesus says to Laodicea—to each one of us, "Be zealous therefore, and repent." Steps to Christ, has "Repentance as the first step to justification and acceptance. Is the N.I.V. a factor in keeping Christ out of the life of many of our people? Read again:

Note before Christ reminds us that He knocks, He commands "Be zealous therefore and repent." Then, and only then will He come in.

Remember—inspiration states, "Except the sinner repent he cannot be forgiven." 1 S.M. 390.

"There is no salvation without repentance." 1 S.M. 365. Now notice:

JOHN 6:47 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that Believeth on me hath everlasting life."

The N.I.V. omits the words "On Me." Again the N.I.V. makes the words of our Saviour of none effect. Who are we to believe on? Buddha? Karl Marx? Lenin? Mohammed? If it is only "believe," then the followers of these false guides are right. But Christ is "the Way" to God—the only way.

JOHN 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

It is because of these deceptive omissions and changes that I will never use the N.I.V. as the infallible Scriptures.

We have an infallible Bible, and our truth is based on "many infallible proofs."

ACTS 1:3 "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

Again, why does the N.I.V. change the word "Infallible" in this verse to the much weaker word "convincing"?

PROV.30:5 "Every word of God is pure."

LUKE 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

The N.I.V. omits "but by every word of God."

Omission is one thing the N.I.V. does in a big way. For a list of hundreds of these omissions on vital themes see No. 8 of this series. "N.I.V. Doubt and Confusion", by G. Burnside.

"The Bible, which is to judge us in the last day." E.W. 58.

As judgment-bound mortals we do well to head God’s guidebook. The enemy would confuse. The oft repeated claim that the N.I.V is simpler and clearer is exposed in the light of facts. For instance note:­

Now notice the N.I.V. "To the law and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land."

Is this clearer? The aim of these modern translators is not clarity. It is to change the Word of God by omission and then by corruption. The most significant changes in the N.I.V. and other modern versions are not changes in translation but changes in the Greek text that are used. They are based on corrupted manuscripts. The revisers reject the Majority Text and rely mainly on two corrupt texts of Rome.

Notice another deadly omission.

COL.1:14 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."

The N.I.V. drops out the underlined words "through His blood." Remember and never, never forget that our only hope is through the merits of Christ’s atoning blood. Rome would have you look to the bloodless sacrifice of the Mass. To them it is the Mass that counts. But cleansing and forgiveness is only through the precious blood of Christ

1 PETER 1:18 19 "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Take another example.

Again the N.I.V. omits a word from God’s Book. This time the word "firstborn" is omitted.

First born implies other children could have been born to Mary but Rome teaches the permanent virginity of Mary, so they "cut out" "firstborn", and the N.I.V. as an obedient servant follows Rome.

Remember Jesus our Lord declares:

JOHN 6:63 "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Truly "My people perish for lack of knowledge." They lack the true knowledge. We need:

2 TIM.3:15 "The Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation."

May we never be found among those who use, and even recommend this perversion. It mutilates the words of life. This perversion falsely claims to be a version, but its failure and doom is clearly foretold in the sure, infallible word of the prophecy of our Lord.

The N.I.V. like white ants eats at the heart of Truth. Take another example:

MATT.27:35 "And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots."

The underlined words are missing in the N.I.V. The fulfillment of divine prophecy has never been popular with Catholicism. So it removes the heart of truth. The part that gives power. This omission is not alone. Take another example.

Here the whole of verse 28 is omitted. The fulfilment of prophecy confirms the Gospel and gives it certainty, so therefore Liberalism must get rid of it. Take another omission.

The underlined words "Spoken of by Daniel the prophet" are omitted. The prophecies of Daniel the prophet are hated by the man of sin so he seeks to have them hidden.

To remove any word of Scripture is to face the judgment of God.

REV.22:19 makes the fact painfully clear.

The N.I.V. seems to major in this devilish work of removing words from God’s Holy Word. We are reminded again of our Lord’s statement in:

LUKE 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

However the N.I.V. omits the key words of this text underlined. "But by every word of God."

Sister White has beautifully stated in "The Ministry of Healing" p. 48.

"After the multitude had been fed, there was an abundance of food left. Jesus bade His disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.’ These words meant more than putting the food into baskets. The lesson was twofold. Nothing is to be wasted. We are to let slip no temporal advantage. We should neglect nothing that would serve to benefit a human being. Let everything be gathered up that will relieve the necessities of earth’s hungry ones. With the same carefulness are we to treasure the bread from heaven to satisfy the needs of the soul. By every word of God we are to live. Nothing that God has spoken is to be lost. Not one word that concerns our eternal salvation are we to neglect. Not one word is to fall useless to the ground."

Again in "Desire of Ages," page 123:

"Every promise in God’s word is ours. By ‘every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ are we to live."

It is apparent from this and the many, many examples we have given that it looks impossible to accept the Spirit of Prophecy and the N.I.V. or any of the many corrupted modern versions. They both cannot be true. An imperfect Bible will make imperfect people, so the N.I.V. drops out the word "perfect". Turn to:

2 TIM. 3:16,17 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof. for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

The N.I.V. drops out the word "Perfect". I have noticed that probably the most unpopular word among professed "born again" Christians is the word "perfect."

D. L. Moody said he discovered that the majority of so-called Christians were more afraid of "perfect" than they were of "sin". So to fit in with popularity the N.I.V. omits "perfect."

Despite these facts professed Christian publications advertise the N.I.V. as: a "thoroughly reliable translation."

"Faithful to the original Greek text."

"A translation you can believe in."

"At last a thoroughly reliable rendition." (It makes one wonder.)

The N.I.V. attacks Bible Prophecy. The importance of Bible Prophecy cannot be exaggerated, For evidence on this see the G. B. prints. "Prophecy" and "Prophecy Speaks and Cities Fall."

OMISSIONS FROM THE N.I.V. NEVER SEEM TO CEASE.

MATT. 25:13 "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the, Son of man cometh."

"Wherein the Son of man cometh" is omitted in the N.I.V.

Evidently "the Blessed Hope" is not a happy hope with the men behind the N.I.V. Yet Billy Graham writes:

"In my opinion the New International Version is one of the most thorough attempts yet undertaken to convey the original meaning of Scripture, and yet it has done so in the language of today."

How necessary in this time of peril to heed God’s admonition in:

PS.118:8 "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes."

Not only omissions but alterations are too apparent in the N.I.V. Here is one that is little noticed but very important just the same:

REV.9:15 "And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men."

The N.I.V. changes this to: "And the four angels who have been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind."

Remember Christ emphasised that we were to live by "every word of God."

Not only is "every word of God" missing from the N.I.V. but in addition to the many omissions, changes are also common place in the N.I.V. Here in Rev.9:15 the Word of God is so changed to entirely alter the meaning and so do away with the Truth of this amazing prophecy that revealed the downfall of the Eastern Roman Empire on the 11th August 1840. Sister White wrote thus on this wonderful fulfillment of divine prophecy:­

"In the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the second advent, published an exposition of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire. According to his calculations, this power was to be overthrown ‘in A.D. 1840, sometime in the-month of August;’ and only a few days previous to its accomplishment he wrote: ‘Allowing the first period, 150-years, to have been exactly fulfilled before Deacozes ascended the throne by permission’ Of the Turks, and that the 391 years, fifteen days, commenced at the close of the first period, it will-end on the 11th of August, 1840, when the Ottoman. power in Constantinople may be expected to be broken. And this, I believe, will be found to be the case. Josiah Litch, in Signs of the Times, and Expositor of Prophecy, Aug.1, 1840.

At the very time specified, Turkey, through her ambassadors, accepted the protection of the allied powers of Europe, and thus placed herself under the control of Christian nations. The event exactly fulfilled the prediction. When it became known, multitudes were convinced of the correctness of the principles of prophetic interpretation adopted by Miller and his associates, and a wonderful impetus was given to the advent movement. Men of learning and position united with Miller, both in preaching and in publishing his views, and from 1840 to 1844 the work rapidly extended." G.C. 334,5.

Notice—further It is often claimed that the N.I.V. is clearer and more simple. The absurdity of this claim is again revealed by reading this text in the N.I.V.:­

REV. 9:15 "And the four angels who have been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind."

Simple? Clear? The only simple and clear thing about the N.I.V. is that it is simply and clearly wrong. This is the only simple and clear thing about it.

Jesus our Lord gave us the test. May you heed the word of Christ.

JOHN 14:29 "And now I have told your before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe."

Prophecy is to present the evidence that will lead us to "believe." The "infallible" evidence of fulfilled prophecy is to appeal to our logic. To lead us to give up our doubts and believe.

REV. 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which... was to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass," accomplished the plan and purpose of our Lord in 1840., with the conversion "of over a thousand unbelievers by the fulfilment of just one small-part of this incredible prophecy. This prophecy given by Christ, accomplished its Christ given purpose. This the enemy hates, so through. his agents he has the N.I.V. changed to deceive and the lukewarm sleepy multitudes are too indolent to bother whether it is truth or falsehood.

Today confusion reigns among the sleepy Christians of this tremendous hour.. It is remarkable that at this time when general knowledge has been greatly increase as predicted in Dan.12:4 it is also a time when as predicted in:

ISA.60:2 "For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee."

Notice the situation!

A great increase of knowledge in a myriad of lines, but spiritually, "darkness covers the people". How painfully true! The doubt and confusion has been greatly increasing by the Babel of corrupt versions that have poured into Christendom in this "time of terror." Truly "the night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us cast off the works, of darkness and ...put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provisions for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. ROM.13:12,14

"MARCHING ORDERS"

From the Captain of our Salvation, Jesus

Mt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Mt 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.