Bible Version Discrepancies #8 - THRONES, DOMINIONS, PRINCIPALITIES, POWERS
For most of my life I have been afraid of the "King James Version" of the Bible. I always thought that it would be like reading Shakespeare - well, it's not. Most of the time on my Sunday blog posts I referenced the N.I.V. (New International Version) but recently, when I need clarification, I refer to the K.J.V. (King James Version) and the N.K.J.V. (New King James Version). In making this small switch I discovered that there are many serious discrepancies between NIV & The King James versions. I also found out that the Bible "scholars" who compiled NIV were members of secret societies. Whether or not there was anything nefarious behind the NIV translation does not affect the goal that I have for this series. We are going to use our God-given common sense to compare these versions and come to our own conclusions.
It is important to note that the King James Version was first published in 1611 and it wasn't until 1978 that the New International Version was first published.
Even if we find serious discrepancies by comparing these two versions, I want you to know that I believe God has still been able to get His message across to us - He is not fazed by "misinterpretation". His Truth fills our heart and that is why we are able to objectively study and compare these versions without losing God's meaning.
In this series we are going to really dive deep into God's Word.
We continue our comparison study with
"Colossians 1:15-20".
Color code meaning in the pictures below:
Highlighted in yellow means that those words/sentences do not appear in one of the versions (including when references to God or Jesus appear in lower case rather than upper case)
Highlighted in orange means that the meaning of the word comparison was very different
Highlighted in green means that the meaning of the word comparison was similar or the same.
One of the first shocking differences I noticed was the grammar in N.I.V. - it is very disrespectful. Many words describing or referring to God or Jesus are NOT capitalized in the N.I.V. (those letters are underlined in yellow in the two pictures below - NIV being on the left). Modern grammar rules have become relaxed in everyday life but that does not mean that this should apply to the Holy Bible!!
I found something absolutely fascinating in verse 16 in the NKJV - "thrones, dominions, principalities & powers" are all different classes or orders of angels!!
I found this so interesting that, in the future, I will be doing an entire post or maybe even a series on these angel orders.
Before we compare and explain a little about these angel classes, I want to remind everyone that we should NEVER worship angels. When John wrote the book of Revelation he was visited by an angel and this is what happened:
And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
Revelation 19:10
The first comparison was the same word "thrones"
Thrones - the third ranking order of angels.
OR
- the power, dignity, or rank of one who occupies a throne
powers vs dominions
Powers - an order of angels, celestial hierarchy (the 6th ranking order)
vs
Dominions - the 4th level of celestial ranking
rulers vs principalities
Rulers - a person who rules or governs; sovereign
vs
Principalities - the 7th ranking position in the angel order
authorities vs powers
Authorities - persons in command
vs
Powers - an order of angels, celestial hierarchy (the 6th ranking order)
Even though "powers" occurred in both versions I marked it as "different meaning" because of the order in which it appears.
I am going to compare "supremacy" and "preeminence" first.
supremacy vs preeminence
Supremacy - highest rank or authority
vs
Preeminence - superior to or notable above all others
Keep these definitions in mind when you read through "might" and "may" below:
"might" vs "may"
I had to research this one because I couldn't remember from my grade school years the detailed difference between "might" and "may".
Might - is used to express what is hypothetical or remotely possible
vs
May - is used to express what is factual or what could be factual
This is huge!! The New International Version is basically countering the entire New Testament by saying that Jesus Christ is hypothetically or only possibly preeminent or supreme!!!
through vs by
Through - by way of
vs
By - because of
I might be wrong on this comparison but to me "through" is just a pathway, whereas "by" is the reason for something occurring.
This final comparison is also a gigantic find.
"making peace through his blood shed on the cross"
vs
"having made peace through the blood of His cross"
The first one (N.I.V.) implies that Jesus' death is not in the past or implies that it is continuing. Plus, it seems to focus on His dying instead of His resurrection. Whereas, the N.K.J.V. infers that Jesus' work is done - He already rose from the dead and conquered death for EVERYONE - past, present and future. It is DONE - Jesus MADE peace - it is FINISHED.
I pray that you will continue to reflect on these differences this week and never stop digging deep into God's Word.
Other Version Discrepancy posts:
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