Changes to 2 Pet 2 – Part 1 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
This lesson is about changes in 2 Peter 2. Since 2 Pet 2 is about false teachers and how they beguile unstable souls, you can be sure that there will be some significant changes in the modern Bibles to disguise their work. Today we are going to identify 17 things that have been changed in the NIV in this one chapter alone that make major doctrinal differences to the text.
Before you roll your eyes and say, “Not another broadcast against modern Bibles,” you’d better listen carefully because this lesson is not just an argument for the King James Bible. It is a study that opens your understanding to the disguise that is already in place by false teachers who have substantially corrupted God’s people. Remember the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven. They both speak of corruption in the body of Christ before the 2nd Coming of Jesus. And today you are going to see one of the contributing factors, the perversion of the words of God.
Note these serious changes in 2 Pet 2:
Damnable heresies – 2 Pet 2:1 – changed to “destructive heresies” – damnable heresies are heresies that deserve condemnation and imprecation [a curse, v.14] – Paul dealt with the heresy concerning the gospel in Gal 1:8-9 and he condemned the perpetrators of this heresy with a curse – he did the same thing in 2 Tim 2:17-18 – these heresies are way more than destructive, they are damnable, and yet most preachers are not condemning them because the instruction to do so has been removed from their Bibles!! These heresies are not only destructive, they must be condemned.
Lord – 2 Pet 2:1 – changed to “sovereign Lord” – and “flesh” in v.10 and v.18 has been changed to “sinful nature” and “sinful human nature” and “corruption” has been changed to “depravity” in v.19 – these changes are the result of the Calvinistic influences among the translators, evidently – Calvinism teaches predestination to salvation which eventually kills in Christians the zeal and command to “witness” – if the sovereign Lord has already predestined some to salvation and some to condemnation then what’s the use of witnessing – your failure to witness won’t keep those predestinated to salvation from being born again and your witnessing couldn’t possibly help those predestinated to condemnation!
Pernicious ways – 2 Pet 2:2 – changed to “shameful ways” – pernicious means that the ways cause great injury and great harm by insidiously undermining and weakening [“insidious” characterized by treachery or slyness; operating in a way that is not easily apparent; more dangerous than seems evident] – in other words, the ways of these false teachers are not just something to be ashamed of, they are ways that absolutely injure and harm Christianity – in other words, bringing the world into church, for example, is not just shameful, it insidiously weakens the church to the point that there is no way to recover from the damage.
Shall be evil spoken of – 2 Pet 2:2 – changed to “disrepute” – the way of truth has been in disrepute since Jesus was here on the earth – they called Jesus a blasphemer – Paul told Felix that “the way of truth” was “the way which they call heresy” [Acts 24:14] – the fact that the way of truth was in disrepute had nothing to do with Paul preaching damnable heresies, it had to do with the unbelief of those who rejected the truth – in 2 Pet 2 the way of truth is “evil spoken of” by believers who have followed the pernicious ways of the false teachers who influenced them to speak evil of men who preach the truth – we’re talking about Acts 20:29-30.
Feigned words – 2 Pet 2:3 – changed to “stories they have made up” – the trouble with the false teachers is not made-up “stories” – the trouble is that they have altered the words in the Bible – they have substituted the “feigned words” of men for the true words of God – like the changes that have been made in the NIV – these are feigned [counterfeit] words – the translators want you to believe that their Greek and Hebrew substitutions are true.