The many Bible versions published today do have differences among them. Some people feel the differences are not important. They usually select the version that is the easiest to read. Others will read only one specific version and believe the other versions have been corrupted by men. Many believe the 1611 Authorized King James Version (AV) is the only version which represents the inspired word of God, while others believe it was not translated from the oldest text. The KJV-only readers have rejected the more modern language of the New King James Version. This study is a history of the different source manuscripts that brought us our modern Bibles. History proves that the Greek Textus Receptus or Received Text as edited by Desiderius Erasmus from the Holy Greek Byzantine Manuscripts is the inspired word of God. This work was not a translation since all of the original manuscripts and the resultant new printed Bible were in the Greek language. Only the King James Version and the New King James Version were translated into English from the Greek Textus Receptus. This study will show that all other versions have been corrupted and should be rejected.

Byzantine New Testament Manuscripts

The eastern Greek Church has preserved more than 5,000 Greek copies of our Bible. The Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek and is called the Septuagint. The New Testament scriptures were originally written in Greek and required no translation. They are referred to as the Byzantine Text or Byzantine Manuscripts. There are a few slight differences among these 5,000 copies. Hundreds of manuscripts have been traced to texts existing at the end of the 2nd century A.D. However, no manuscript even relatively complete in form comes from that period.

Byzantium is the name given to both the state and the culture of the Eastern Roman Empire in the middle ages. Both the state and the inhabitants always called themselves Roman, as did most of their neighbors. Western Europeans, who had their own Roman Empire, called them Orientals or Greeks and later, following the example of the great French scholar DuCange, Byzantines, after the former name of the Empire's capital city, Constantinople. The Byzantine Christians have become the current Greek Orthodox Church.

Vulgate

The Roman Catholic Church has preserved more than 8,000 copies of the Bible written in Latin and called the Vulgate which was originally translated from Greek and Hebrew to Latin by Saint Jerome. Jerome (347-420) was born to Christian parents in Stridon near the modern-day Rijeka, Croatia and was given a fine classical education. He spent three years (379-382) in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) where he studied Greek and the Bible under Eastern Church father, Saint Gregory of Nazianzus. Jerome was ordained a priest. At the age of 37 he was appointed secretary to Pope Damasus I and became an influential figure. Damasus selected Jerome to create a new Latin Bible which was badly needed by the Church. Jerome was close to a Roman widow named Paula and her daughter. He traveled to Bethlehem in 386 to study Hebrew under Jewish scholars and was accompanied by Paula (later Saint Paula) and her daughter. At first Jerome used the Greek Septuagint for his Old Testament translation. Later he consulted the original Hebrew texts. Jerome was a contemporary of Saint Augustine (354-430) who was the leading figure in the Church in North Africa, and they were known to have met or corresponded. It may have been through this contact that Jerome obtained his Alexandrian manuscripts common in North Africa from which he translated the New Testament portion of the Latin Vulgate. The Vulgate shows that Jerome did not use Byzantine manuscripts from the Eastern Church. Through the next 12 centuries, the text of the Vulgate was transmitted with less and less accuracy or was deliberately revised. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) recognized the need for an authentic Latin text and authorized a revision of the extant corrupt editions. This revision is the basic Latin text still used by the Roman Catholic Church and scholars.

Several works were translated from the Latin Vulgate to English. These include the Wycliffe Bible (1395) by John Wycliffe, Matthew's Bible (1537) by English martyr John Rogers, Taverner's Bible (1538) by Richard Taverner, and The Great Bible (1539) by Miles Coverdale. These translations did not gain the respect needed to continue in popularity because their source was the Vulgate from the Roman Catholic Church. The Vulgate had suffered in reliability because of the many changes made over the years.

The printing press had been invented no later that 1456, but it would be many years before a Greek New Testament would be printed. The Protestants broke from the Roman Catholic Church in what was called the Reformation. The leaders of the Reformation and those in the Greek Church desired to have copies of the scriptures more readily available to the people.

Catholic Cardinal Ximenes prepared the Greek and Latin editions of a new Bible called the Complutensian Polyglot Bible. First published at the University of Alcala, Spain, it includes parallel texts in Hebrew, Latin, Greek and Chaldean. The New Testament portion was printed in 1514, but the entire Bible was not published until 1520 and not circulated until 1522. News of Ximenes' work drew the attention of others who hoped to produce their own versions of the Bible.

Textus Receptus

The rush was on to produce printed copies of the scriptures for the populace. Printer John Froben of Basle contacted Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) to prepare a Greek New Testament manuscript for printing. Erasmus was a Roman Catholic who was highly critical of his own Church. He wanted to change the Church from within and was in disagreement with the Reformers over their harsh methods. He was in a struggle between the two and at times at odds with both. Erasmus' theology was more in agreement with the Eastern Greek Church than either the Roman Catholic Church or the Reformers such as Martin Luther.

Erasmus combined native genius, classical and biblical learning, lively imagination, keen wit, and refined taste. He was the most cultivated man of his age and the admired leader of scholastic Europe from Germany to Italy and Spain, from England to Hungary. He was treated like a prince. Scholars, bishops, cardinals, kings, and popes paid him homage, sent him presents, or gave him pensions. All thought it a great honor to be in his presence. The humanists were loudest in their praise and almost worshiped him. To receive a personal letter from Erasmus was considered a great privilege, as he was a prolific writer with many friends.

Erasmus used approximately six copies of the Greek Byzantine manuscripts as his source for the new Bible, rejecting copies of the Alexandrian text available in the Roman Catholic Church. The first printing of the new Greek Bible was in February 1516 and contained Greek text parallel to his own Latin version. The work was a huge success and in great demand even though the hurried work left many typographical errors. The second edition was printed in 1519 and the third in 1522. This work became known as the Textus Receptus or Received Text. Erasmus' work came under criticism because of a few small differences not found in a majority of the Greek Byzantine manuscripts. The verse giving a good description of the Trinity (1 John 5:7 in the KJV and NKJV) was inserted in his third edition. However, this was not an addition by Erasmus because the same text can be found in four of the older Greek manuscripts. Of the Greek manuscripts used by Erasmus only one is said to have contained the book of Revelation but was missing the last page. He is believed to have translated the last six verses from the Latin Vulgate into Greek. Even so, these verses translated today from other Greek manuscripts give the same English rendering. The critics of the Textus Receptus tend to focus on these minor occurrences in the work in order to divert the reader from the real status of the work. The Textus Receptus is the Holy Inspired Word of God.

In Defense of Erasmus by Dr. John Cereghin

The printing press not only allowed the Reformers to print their own Bibles for the masses in their own languages (which the Roman Catholic Church did not do) but they began to print volumes of literature assailing Catholicism. The formidable task of suppressing writings considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church was taken up by Pope Paul IV (1476-1559) in 1559. His Index of Prohibited Books condemned all Protestant translations of the Bible as well as the works of Erasmus. After the Council of Trent, Pope Pius IV (1499-1565) published a new index that absolutely prohibited acquiring the writings of Reformers Zwingli, Luther, and Calvin. Bibles and literature were collected and burned. This took place in the middle of the Roman Inquisition, during which those convicted of heresy were burned at the stake. The Papal Inquisition was reorganized by Pope Paul II in 1542 as The Congregation of the Holy Office. With relentless zeal, the Papists sought to stamp out Protestant "heretics."

The Protestants were also guilty of burning innocent people at the stake, but they persecuted opponents on a much smaller scale than the Roman Catholic Church. John Calvin became the Church-State leader in Geneva (present day Geneva, Switzerland) in 1536, and the citizens were forced to accept his theology under the threat of death. Jacques Gruet, a known opponent of Calvin, was arrested, tortured for a month and beheaded on July 26, 1547 for placing a letter in Calvin's pulpit calling him a hypocrite. Gruet's book was later found and burned along with his house. Michael Servetus, a Spaniard, was Calvin's longtime friend in their earlier resistance against the Roman Catholic Church. Servetus, while living in Vienne (historic city in southeastern France), angered Calvin by returning a copy of Calvin's writings, Institutes, with critical comments in the margins. Servetus was arrested by the Roman Catholic authorities on April 4 but escaped on April 7, 1553. He traveled to Geneva where he attended Calvin's Sunday preaching service on August 13. Calvin promptly had Servetus arrested and charged with heresy for his disagreement with Calvin's theology. Servetus was burned at the stake on October 27, 1553. Calvin wrote much in following years in an attempt to justify his burning of Servetus.

In 1550 Robert Stephanus produced the next great edition of the Textus Receptus. In his fourth edition of 1551 he added the verse numbers which are still used in all modern editions. This refutes the Calvinists' claim that their Geneva Bible first published in 1560 was the first with verse numbers. Stephanus followed the wording in Erasmus' later editions of the Textus Receptus closely. Stephanus' fourth and fifth editions have now come to be named the Textus Receptus.

Martin Luther, the initiator of the Reformation movement, translated his German version of the Bible from the Textus Receptus and other Byzantine Greek manuscripts. Although he was a Catholic, he did not use the Catholic Vulgate.

Theodore de Beza (1519-1605) was the Protestant Reformer who succeeded John Calvin. Beza published the Geneva Bible in English between 1560 and 1611. William Whittingham, who was married to John Calvin's sister, is believed to have assisted by translating most of the New Testament. He has been accused of having a theological bias and making other random changes in the translation. The source manuscript for the work appears to have been the Textus Receptus and other Byzantine Greek manuscripts. The most disturbing feature of the Geneva Bible was the extensive commentary notes placed in the margins written by John Calvin, John Knox, Miles Coverdale, William Whittingham, Theodore Beza and Anthony Gilby. The marginal notes give an allegorical or philosophical explanation of scripture rather than a literal explanation of the text. The Roman Catholic Church was enraged because the notes deemed the act of confession of sin to men, the Catholic Bishops, as contrary to the Holy Scripture.

The Geneva Bible and the doctrines of John Calvin spread across Europe as church leaders used the marginal notes for the basis of their lectures and preaching. King James I (1566-1625) was opposed to Calvinistic Presbyterianism and some claim he was infuriated by the Geneva Bible because the marginal notes allowed disobedience to the King. This claim can be largely dismissed because Calvin ruled as King of Geneva and allowed absolutely no disobedience. King James was requested by Dr. John Reynolds of the Puritans in the famous Hampton Court Conference to authorize the printing of a new Bible without the marginal notes. King James agreed. He authorized work to begin on the new Bible in 1604 with a team of fifty-four theologians and scholars, and it was printed in 1611. The Bible was to be a new translation from the Greek. The King James Version of the Bible was prepared from the Textus Receptus as well as many of the other 5,000 Greek manuscripts. It is known as the 1611 Authorized King James Version and held by many as the only "Inspired Word of God."

Egyptian New Testament Manuscripts

Codex Sinaiticus (Sin.) was discovered in the Monastery of St. Catherine Library at the foot of Mt. Sinai in 1859 by German theologian and Biblical scholar Count Konstantin von Tischendorf (1815-1874). Some of the Old Testament is missing but the whole 4th-century New Testament is preserved, with the Letter of Barnabas and most of the Shepherd of Hermas at the end. It was taken to St. Petersburg (Leningrad, Russia) and in 1933 sold by the Soviet regime to the British Museum Library in London for only 100,000 British Pounds Sterling. It is a partial manuscript believed to be dated about 350 A.D. as shown in the table below. Later revisions representing attempts to alter the text to a different standard probably were made about the 6th or 7th century at Caesarea.

Codex Vaticanus (B) was discovered in the Vatican Library where it remains and is believed to have been there since before 1475 A.D. It is a partial manuscript believed to be dated about 300 A.D. as shown in the table below. The New Testament is missing Hebrews from Chapter 9, verse 14, Philemon and Revelation. The text type is mostly of the Alexandrian group.

Codex Alexandrinus (A) was discovered in the patriarchal library at Alexandria in the seventeenth century and taken to the British Museum Library in London as well. It contains most of the New Testament but with lacunae (gaps) in Matthew, John and II Corinthians, plus the inclusion of the extracanonical I and II Clement. In the Gospels the text is of the Byzantine type, but in the rest of the New Testament it is Alexandrian. It is believed to be dated about 450 A.D. as shown in the table below.

Beatty Papyri (P) became available in the period between 1930 and 1960 from two wealthy book collectors, Chester Beatty and Martin Bodmer. These fragments of papyri were mainly found preserved in the dry sands of Egypt. They are all Alexandrian text type. The various papyri fragments are now located in Dublin, Ireland; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Cologny, Switzerland; Vatican, Rome and Vienna, Austria. These fragments are partial manuscript with the Gospel of John 18:31-33 and 18:37-38 (manuscript P52) being the oldest dating to about 130-140 A.D. P52 is now in the John Rylands Library in Manchester, England. The others are believed to be dated about 200 to 250 A.D. as shown in the table below.

ca. A.D.		135	200	250 		300	350	450

Matthew				P45		B	Sin.       
Mark				P45		B	Sin.	A
Luke				P4,P45,P75	B	Sin.	A
John		P52	P66	P45,P75		B	Sin.	A
Acts				P45		B	Sin.	A
Romans-Hebrews		P46			B	Sin.	A
James-Jude				     	B, P72	Sin.	A
Revelation			P47			Sin.	A

The dating of these manuscripts is possible because a German pastor by the name of Adolf Deissmann published a rather innocent sounding book titled Bible Studies in 1895. Deissmann was reading scraps of papyrus found in 2,000 year old Egyptian garbage dumps. These papyri did not contain scripture but were private letters, business transactions, receipts and marriage contracts that were dated. The grammar and vocabulary contained in the papyri had unique features which were compared and matched with the undated scripture papyri.

All of the Egyptian manuscripts above are of poor quality with scribal errors of all sorts. They are poor copies with more than 5,000 changes as compared to the Byzantine manuscripts. Most of these changes are deletions with verses and entire books missing. Many verses are modified and the reading does not make a complete thought or simple logic. The only writing from the Apostle Paul is the book of Romans. There are more than 3,000 variants in the Gospels between the Codex Alexandrinus (A) and the Codex Vaticanus (B). Their lack of agreement reduces their reliability even further. One Bible text researcher has called this difference the 3,000 lies.

These manuscripts are believed to have been saved because they were stored away or discarded by the Gnostics, who were later purged from the Roman Catholic Church in the 2nd century. The first anti-Gnostic writer was St. Justin Martyr (d. c. 165). The full purging took place over many centuries until the Roman Catholic Church declared Gnosticism as heresy. The older Egyptian manuscripts are not necessarily in agreement with the original scriptures. Nobody knows. A manuscript cannot be declared more accurate simply because of its age. This is a common error made by student of Christian history. On the other hand, the Byzantine Greek manuscripts were in constant use as the early Christian church grew. Older Byzantine manuscripts were discarded because of wear and replaced with new copies.

Gnosticism was an esoteric religious movement that flourished and spread to Egypt during the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. They presented a major challenge to orthodox Christianity. Most Gnostic sects professed Christianity, but their belief sharply diverged from those of the majority of Christians in the early church. It is believed that the Gnostics butchered the Greek text with these 5,000 changes, which are mostly deletions. The Gnostics can be identified because the deletions match their theology. The Gnostics were a group that did not believe:

• The virgin birth.

• That Jesus was the Son of God.

• That Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

• That Jesus ascended to Heaven.

• That Jesus was the Creator.

• That Jesus removed the sins of all mankind.

Gnostics also believed that mankind was wholly evil and some sects even renounced marriage and procreation. They also believed in two gods, one evil god and one good god. Their teachings are believed to have influenced Saint Augustine in the development of his theology of "total depravity" of mankind and concept of God. For nine years St. Augustine adhered to Manichaeism, a Persian dualistic philosophy proclaimed by Mani (AD 216-276?) in southern Babylonia (Iraq) that taught a doctrine of "total depravity" and the claim that they were the "elect." He then turned to skepticism. Next, Augustine was attracted to the philosophy of Neoplatonism. He blended these beliefs with his later Gnostic Christian teachings. His teachings were in turn passed on to John Calvin in his extensive study of Augustine's writings, the most popular being his book, Confessions. It is very easy to follow the trail of John Calvin's theology from the pagan religion of Mani in Babylonia to his writings in France and Geneva.

In 1945 an Egyptian peasant found 12 codices containing more than 50 Coptic Gnostic writings near Naj'Hammadi, Egypt. It has been determined that these codices were copied in the 4th century in the monasteries of the region. It is not known whether the monks were Gnostics, were attracted by the ascetic nature of the writings, or had assembled the writings as a study in heresy. The evidence is clear that the Gnostics had a major influence in writing the Alexandrian manuscripts of the Egyptian region.

By the 2nd century, Christian Gnostic teachers had synthesized their mythology with Platonic metaphysical speculation and certain heretical Christian traditions. The most prominent Christian Gnostics were Valentinus and his disciple Ptolemaeus, who during the 2nd century were influential members in the Roman Church. By the end of the 3rd century Gnosticism as a distinct movement seems to have largely disappeared.

In 1881 two-British scholars, Brook Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort, published a Greek New Testament which was based on these manuscripts. Westcott and Hort taught that the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus should be the basis for the Bible. These men did not accept creation but rather believed Charles Darwin's "new" theory of evolution. They also believed in Mary worship. Their successful promotion of the two Codex texts still continues. Today many Christian denominations, as well as the Roman Catholic Church, use translations consistent with these texts. Their personal letters have shown positively they believed the same heresy as the Gnostics. Wescott and Hort did not believe:

• The virgin birth.

• That Jesus was the Son of God.

• That Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

• That Jesus ascended to Heaven.

• That Jesus was the Creator.

• That Jesus removed the sins of all mankind.

Major Doctrinal Differences

The King James Version and the New King James Version have as their source the Textus Receptus as well as many of the 5,000 Greek Byzantine manuscripts. Essentially, all other modern translations are based on the corrupted Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus which were promoted by Westcott and Hort. The Amplified Bible shows both texts with the major differences in italics and states that the italicized Byzantine text was not in the "original text." The other versions generally provide no source information but simply refer to their version as being translated from the "original or older text."

The New King James Version of the New Open Bible has a good description of the different sources in the Preface section. In addition, the differences are noted at the bottom of each page. You can easily check the differences by comparing the different versions. The versions using the corrupted Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus texts are: New International Version (NIV), Revised Standard Version (RSV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), The Living Bible (TLB), New Living Translation (NLT), New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), and New American Bible (NAB - Catholic).

The reasons for the attacks on the Textus Receptus, King James Version and the New King James Version by professing Christians are difficult to understand aside from ignorance, lack of the facts or lack of wisdom. These texts contain only orthodox Christianity, and the printing or translating difficulties of the past did not introduce any new doctrine nor did they remove or weaken any doctrine.

Some Christians claim the 1611 Authorized Version (AV) is the only true word of God. This faith is in error. As stated above, the Greek Textus Receptus is the inerrant Inspired Word of God. I would not criticize the 1611 AV except for the fact that some people are worshipping the 1611 AV book instead of the Author. Two easy examples to prove the 1611 AV is a translation with errors are:

• Romans 5:11 in the 1611 AV incorrectly translates the word "katallage" as "atonement," but the Greek Textus Receptus uses the word "katallage" as "reconciliation" as it also does twice in Romans 5:10. The New King James Version is correct in this verse. Atonement or "kaphar" is an Old Testament doctrine that does not appear at all in the New Testament. The atonement was an animal sacrifice for past sins that had to be done over and over by the Israelite people. The Greek word "kaphar" in the Old Testament means to cover or patch over. Jesus' death on the cross reconciled all people to God by reversing the enmity between God and man as a result of Adam's disobedience. Jesus did not cover or patch over our sins. He took away the sins of the entire world once and for all. People who believe Jesus atoned for our sins do not understand the gospel correctly.

• Acts 12:4 in the 1611 AV uses the word "Easter," but the Greek Textus Receptus uses a word that is always translated "Passover." Jesus observed the Passover as did all people in Israel. The Passover meal celebrated by Jesus was on Thursday. The word "Easter" is a pagan term that crept into the Church to replace the true words "Resurrection Day" as the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The Resurrection Day is celebrated by Christians on Sunday. People continue to call it Easter Sunday but never refer to Passover Thursday as Easter.

• The Apocrypha consists of 15 books of Jewish literature written during the period between the Old Testament and New Testament that were taken by the King James translators from the Roman Catholic Bible. The Apocrypha were also incorporated into most English bibles prior to the translation of the 1611 King James Authorized Version. The inclusion of the Apocrypha into the 1611 King James Authorized Version is unfortunate because the Apocrypha is not Holy Scripture. The inclusion means that the 1611 King James Authorized Version is less than perfect. The Apocrypha must be rejected.

The Greek Textus Receptus, modern King James Version and New King James Version are the true Word of God. Any and all can be read with complete assurance of the accuracy of doctrine.

On the other hand, all other Bible versions are based on the Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus and Codex Alexandrinus. Many verses in these texts openly refute or weaken the solid foundation of the orthodox Christian faith. They can easily be classified as heretical. The following tables shows some of the major Christian doctrines with a few of the many representative verses which are omitted or changed in most versions but shown correctly in the King James Version (KJV) and the New King James Version (NKJV). The other versions represented in the tables below are: Revised Standard Version (RSV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), New International Version (NIV) and New American Bible (NAB - Catholic).

Jesus is the subject in 1 Timothy 3:16, and it is clearly stated in the KJV and NKJV that God was manifested in the flesh in Jesus. Other versions say "He was manifested in the flesh" but that reduces Jesus' deity to that of any common man or creature. I am manifested in the flesh and so is my cat. The message in the other versions is pure nonsense and a blasphemous heresy. The Gnostics did not believe in the Deity of Jesus and could not accept the holy Byzantine Greek scriptures that Jesus was God manifested in the flesh.

The orthodox Christian Church has always held to the doctrine of the Trinity as clearly stated in 1 John 5:7 in the KJV and NKJV. Other versions omit this verse and divide 1 John 5:6 into two parts to make 1 John 5:6 and 7.

In Mark 2:17 the KJV and NKJV are clear that Jesus is calling sinners to repentance. All other versions leave the word "repentance" out. They give no explanation why He is calling them. In John 6:47 Jesus called people to believe in Him. Other versions don't explain what they are asked to believe. The Gnostics revised the holy Byzantine Greek scriptures because they did not believe that Jesus took upon Himself our sins.

In Luke 2:33 and 2:43 of the KJV and NKJV Joseph is not called Jesus' father, but Joseph is called Jesus' father in all other versions. This lays to question the virgin birth, the role of the Holy Spirit in His conception and His divine nature. In John 9:35 the KJV and NKJV call Jesus the Son of God but other versions call Jesus the Son of man or Man. The Gnostics revised the holy Byzantine Greek scriptures because they did not believe Jesus was the Son of God.

The KJV and NKJV say Jesus Christ gave us redemption through His blood. He was broken for us. Other versions leave out the reason He suffered. The Gnostics did not believe Jesus took upon Himself our sins.

The KJV and NKJV clearly present the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Mark 16:9-20. The other versions which use the corrupted Gnostic text give the verses but add a footnote disclaimer stating the verses should not be there. The KJV, NKJV and Greek Byzantine manuscripts clearly support the resurrection of Jesus Christ while other versions seriously weaken the doctrine as can be seen in the verses below. The disclaimer footnotes are blasphemy. The Gnostics did not believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John 6:47 in the KJV and NKJV reads that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ. Other versions do not identify what or in whom their faith is to be. The Gnostics revised the scriptures because they did not believe Jesus was the Son of God and did not believe that faith in Christ resulted in salvation.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (resurrection).

Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.

The Gnostics revised the scriptures because they did not believe the holy Byzantine Greek scriptures were the word of God.

The Gnostics revised the scriptures because they did not believe in sanctification of the believer.

The Gnostics deleted parts of the holy Byzantine Greek scriptures because they did not believe that Jesus was resurrected and would return in the second coming at the end of the great tribulation.

The Gnostics revised the holy Byzantine Greek scriptures because they did not believe in the deity of Jesus and His involvement in the creation.

These verses also give absolute proof that the 1599 Geneva Bible published by the Calvinists and revered by them to this day was translated from the Greek Textus Receptus and Byzantine Greek manuscripts into English. All of the test verses listed in the above tables are identical in the 1599 Geneva Bible to those in the King James Version. Yet, modern day Calvinists generally assault the Textus Receptus, King James Version and New King James Version in new books, publications, articles and web site postings. This fact gives a twist to the history of the Bible which is almost humorous except for the seriousness of the subject.

In 1982 Zane C. Hodges and Arthur L. Farstad published The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text. This publication was an attempt to replace the Textus Receptus as the preferred manuscript for the translation of our modern Bibles. However, the majority of the Greek Byzantine manuscripts which support a particular text does not necessarily insure that it matches the original text. The differences between the Majority Text and the Textus Receptus are not very important because there are no doctrinal changes.

Copyright © 1998 - 2007 by Kent R. Rieske and Bible Life Ministries. All Rights Reserved.

Permission is granted to copy this information in whole and without revision providing that full credit is given to the author. This information may not be copied in part and the information may not be included in any material that is offered for sale. You are encouraged to place a link to this article on your website page.

Other web sites that have more information on the Bible version controversy can be found at:

In Defense of Erasmus by Dr. John Cereghin

Textus Receptus - Which is the real Word of God?

The Attack on the Bible by Terry Wilkins

A study of the Byzantine history, culture and society is available at:

Byzantium: The Byzantine Studies Page

A photocopy of the 1599 Geneva Bible is available from L. L. Brown Publishing below. It is a copy of the original which includes the margin notes. The original type is very small and difficult to read because of the poor quality and old English spelling. However, it is nicely bound on good paper. Their site is:

The 1599 Geneva Bible original photocopy by L. L. Brown Publishing

The following 1599 Geneva Study Bible online is NOT identical to the photocopy of the original 1599 Geneva Bible listed above. The first two examples checked were missing: Verse 1 John 5:8 and many verses in Luke 2.

Read the 1599 Geneva Study Bible online with margin notes

Read the KJV Bible online --- The Bible Gateway

Read the NIV Bible online --- The Bible Gateway

Read the New American Bible online - Catholic

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