False Teachings, Refutations, and Biblical Corrections
Overview
Jeffrey Khoo’s Kept Pure in All Ages (2nd edition) advocates for the King James Version (KJV) as the only English Bible version based on the perfectly preserved Word of God in the Textus Receptus (TR) and the Masoretic Text. It promotes the Verbal Plenary Preservation (VPP) doctrine, claiming God preserved His Word perfectly through the Traditional Text underlying the KJV. "Kept Pure in All Ages" can be downloaded from this link (click): https://www.febc.edu.sg/assets/pdfs/febc_press/Kept%20Pure%20in%20All%20Ages%20(2nd%20Edition).pdf
While it affirms biblical inspiration and the value of historical Bibles, the book contains several serious false teachings, logical errors, and misapplications of Scripture that must be biblically refuted.
False Teachings and Refutations
1. Verbal Plenary Preservation of a Specific Text/Form (VPP)
Claim:
God has preserved His Word perfectly in the Hebrew Masoretic Text and Greek Textus Receptus underlying the KJV, to the exclusion of all other manuscript traditions.
Refutation:
While Scripture promises preservation (Psalm 119:89, Isaiah 40:8, Matt. 24:35), it does not specify how God preserves His Word—whether through a particular manuscript family (like the TR), or through the multitude of reliable manuscripts spread across history.
Psalm 12:6–7 does not clearly teach the preservation of written Scripture. The referent of “them” is more likely the poor and needy (v.5), not “words” in v.6. Even if it were about God's words, the verse affirms their purity and truthfulness, not a guarantee of perfect word-for-word transmission in any single manuscript.
Matthew 5:18 teaches the enduring validity of God’s Law—not the exact preservation of every jot and tittle in a specific manuscript tradition.
Biblical View: God has preserved His Word substantially and reliably through thousands of manuscripts, not by re-inspiring or preserving one particular form. See:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God...” (2 Tim. 3:16)
But the copies we have are reliable through textual comparison (e.g., Luke 1:1–4). Nowhere does Scripture teach the infallibility of any particular edition or translation.
2. KJV-Onlyism and Denigration of Other Versions
Claim:
Modern versions like the NIV are “corrupted,” “perversions,” or even Satanic, because they are based on Alexandrian manuscripts (e.g., Codex Vaticanus, Sinaiticus).
Refutation:
This is a baseless and slanderous accusation against the NIV and other modern translations.
Godly scholars like Bruce Metzger, F.F. Bruce, D.A. Carson, and others who contributed to modern translations affirmed biblical inerrancy and sought accuracy—not to corrupt God's Word.
The Alexandrian manuscripts (like Vaticanus and Sinaiticus) are among the earliest and most reliable witnesses of the NT text. While they differ from the TR in places, no essential doctrine is lost or contradicted.
Mark 16:9–20, John 7:53–8:11, 1 John 5:7: These passages are indeed questioned in modern versions, but often with footnotes explaining manuscript evidence—not removed maliciously.
“Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” (Prov. 30:6)
Ironically, the TR includes additions like 1 John 5:7 (Johannine Comma), which are almost certainly not original.
KJV translators themselves stated in their preface (“The Translators to the Reader”) that “even the meanest translation of the Bible contains the word of God.” They never claimed theirs was perfect.
3. Exclusive Authority of the KJV
Claim:
The KJV is “superior” to all other English versions and should be exclusively used.
Refutation:
This view elevates a 1611 English translation above the original-language Scriptures. This is neither historical nor biblical.
The KJV contains errors and archaic language (e.g., “letteth” in 2 Thess. 2:7 means “restrains,” but today reads as “allows”).
No Scripture commands the exclusive use of one translation or language. In fact, the Bible was first translated into many languages (LXX in Greek, Syriac, Latin, etc.) long before the KJV.
Acts 2:11 affirms multilingual transmission: “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
4. Misuse of Confessional Documents
Claim:
The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) supports the TR/KJV as the preserved Word of God.
Refutation:
The WCF (1.8) affirms that God’s Word has been “kept pure in all ages” in the original languages, not in one manuscript line or English translation.
The authors of the Confession used a variety of Greek manuscripts, and they never endorsed the KJV as perfect or exclusive.
Correct Doctrine on Scripture
1. Inspiration:
Scripture is God-breathed in the original autographs (2 Tim. 3:16).
God used human authors, writing in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
2. Preservation:
God has faithfully preserved His Word throughout history, not through any single edition or language.
Textual criticism (when done reverently) is a God-honoring discipline to recover the original text.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
3. Translation:
Faithful translations (e.g., NASB, ESV, NIV) convey God's Word accurately.
Translations should be judged by accuracy, clarity, and fidelity to the original, not tradition.
Conclusion:
Kept Pure in All Ages presents a zealous but deeply flawed defense of a particular Bible version. It confuses tradition with truth, preservation with perfection, and reverence with exclusivity.
Its core errors are:
Teaching a perfect Bible in the TR/KJV that Scripture itself does not claim.
Dismissing and slandering other Bible versions and scholars.
Misapplying preservation texts to bolster an exclusivist view.
Biblical truth is not bound to the KJV or any single manuscript stream. God has preserved His Word reliably across languages, translations, and manuscripts for the edification of all His people.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
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