Exposing the Blatant Mutilation of Scripture in John 1:18
Few verses in the New Testament have suffered as much at the hands of scribes as John 1:18, a verse that explicitly declares the nature of Christ and His relationship to His Father. The battle over its wording is not a matter of mere translation preference—it is a war between the preserved Word of God and the corruptions of men who dared to tamper with divine revelation.
The Corruptions of Human Hands
Many modern versions, based on lying manuscripts, introduce the blasphemous and nonsensical rendering (corruptions bolded):
"No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known." (English Standard Version (ESV))
Or worse:
"No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (New American Standard Bible (NASB 1995, NASB 2020))
Or even worse:
"No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us." (New Living Translation (NLT))
These translations, which are derrived from the corrupt and unreliable texts nearest and dearest to lying Trinitarian scholars—which often hold to manuscripts riddled with errors, omissions, and doctrinal distortions. The phrase "only begotten God" (μονογενὴς θεὸς, monogenēs theos) is an anomaly, an unnatural construction completely foreign to John’s Gospel and inconsistent with the rest of Scripture.
Why? Because nowhere else in Scripture is Yeshua called "the only begotten God." The phrase "only begotten Son" (μονογενὴς υἱός), however, is used multiple times throughout the New Testament (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9), reinforcing the correct reading of John 1:18. The insertion of "God" instead of "Son" is a theological mutation introduced by lying Trinitarian scribes who sought to invent Scriptural evidence that Yeshua was God, since no such evidence exists in the original texts.
The Vast Manuscript Evidence for "Only Begotten Son"
Contrary to what liberal scholars and textual critics claim, the overwhelming majority of Greek manuscripts—including the Byzantine text type, the Peshitta (Syriac), and the vast tradition of the early church—support "only begotten Son" (μονογενὴς υἱός).
Here is the real evidence:
- The majority of Greek manuscripts (including key Byzantine witnesses) preserve "Son."
- The Latin tradition overwhelmingly favors "Son."
- The Syriac tradition, one of the earliest translations of the New Testament, agrees with "Son."
- Church Fathers like Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hippolytus quote John 1:18 as "only begotten Son" rather than the aberrant "only begotten God."
This is not a matter of mere textual variation—this is an obvious and deliberate corruption by Trinitarian heretics who infiltrated the transmission of Scripture. Paul the apostle warned us all of these ravenous wolves before their arrival (Acts 20:29)
Why It Matters
If John had truly written "only begotten God," then the entire Johannine theology collapses. The Gospel of John consistently distinguishes the Son from God the Father. This corruption erodes the clarity of Christ’s unique Sonship and feeds into the Trinitarian deceit that sought to redefine Christ as being God Himself rather than the Son of God who was begotten before creation (Proverbs 8:24-26).
To accept this corrupted text is to reject the consistent testimony of Scripture, to mangle the greatest commandment (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29), and to bow to the deceptive influence of the lying, anti-Christ Cults of Constantine whose very fingerprints of heresy stain the very manuscripts they produced.
The Conclusion: Accept the Truth or Embrace Lies
The correct reading of John 1:18 is "the only begotten Son"—and the vast manuscript evidence, historical attestation, theological consistency, and common sense all prove it beyond any reasonable doubt.
For example, the 1599 Geneva Bible, the KJV, the YLT, and the NKJV all render this verse correctly:
"No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." -John 1:18 NKJV
The modern critical text peddlers who prefer "only begotten God," such as the lying, disgraced, and dishonorable translators of the ESV, NLT, NASB, NIV, OJB, and others are not engaged in faithful preservation of God’s Word; they are indulging in the same intellectual arrogance and lies that led the Cults of Constantine to distort divine truth in the first place.
Before you buy a Bible, check John 1:18 as an initial litmus test.