
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He doesn’t change. But there is a whole group of Christians out there right now who are convinced that the Bible does. They are calling it the Mandela Effect and are attributing the changes to a variety of possibilities. Some believe in multiple realities and a slide of consciousness from one to the next. Some say that it is the work of CERN, the great Hadron Collider, and a breakthrough to a “mirror universe.”
Others just believe the world is like a “holodeck” (to use a word from Star Trek) or a “matrix” (like the movie with the same name) with a glitch. Still, others say it’s time travel or magic from the devil. Whatever the explanation, these Christians are sure that it is happening. And, they are slamming their Bibles shut in protest, claiming a “famine of the word of God.” But while these Christians will bring piece after piece of so-called “evidence” of the Bible’s “changes,” they are all ignoring one very important problem with any and all of these theories: the character of God.
What Is The Mandela Effect?
Fionna Broome coined the term “Mandela Effect” in 2009. It describes large groups of people all clearly remembering events that never happened. The name comes from a situation with political activist Nelson Mandela. While history records that he died in 2013, many people remember him dying in prison in the 1980s. In fact, when comparing these false memories, Broome noticed there were similar details of the supposed funeral and a speech that his “widow” made.
But Mandela’s double funeral was just the beginning. As soon as people started hearing about the phenomenon, all of a sudden there were lots of examples. There were tons of tiny details that people were remembering very clearly one way but were finding out that they were not that way at all. The supposed changes involve characters and lines in movies, the spelling of names, and even the location of countries on the map. Whole groups of people remembered things that were simply not in historical evidence.
But the spelling of Berenstain Bears (versus Berenstein Bears) and the silver color of C-3PO’s leg (versus the all-gold version people remember) are minor compared to the “changes” people started to find in the Bible. The most famous one is Isaiah 11:6, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb…” (versus the lion and the lamb people remember. This is probably from the fact that Jesus is both the Lion and the Lamb). But there are also questions with the words “bottles” (used in the KJV. People remembered “wineskins” which is used in the NKJV and other versions) and “stuff” (which people argued was not a word in use at the time the Bible was written. However, that word was actually in the Oxford Dictionary as early as the 1400s.)
Malevolent Bible Changes
Worse than that, people started finding words that they claim point to a new perversion in the Bible. For example, a website proclaiming supposed Bible changes said that the Bible is now condoning homosexuality. They cite the following verse. “Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left.” They say that it USED to say “Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.” As you will know if you search for these scriptures, the first one is actually Luke 17:35. The second one is Matthew 24:41. They are BOTH in the Bible (and always have been). The gospel writers just chose a little bit different words to describe the same scenario.
Ridiculously enough, I also found a site that claims that the Bible now promotes the transgender agenda. It cites verses such as Isaiah 49:23 in the KJV. “And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers…” Now, as we all know, basic Bible learning is known as “milk.” Mature, deeper learning is known as “meat.” Is it so amazing that the King James Bible would use a metaphor here? John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible interprets the verse just that way. It says that Christian kings and queens would come “who feed the church with the milk of the word, and the breasts of ordinances.”
A Spiritual “Pull”
If you start to research this, first of all, please cover yourself with prayers of protection against deception. There is a real spiritual “pull” there that tells me that this whole idea comes straight from the enemy. Secondly, you will see terms like “the newest changes.” It’s as if this is some kind of ongoing project to rearrange and replace words throughout the Bible. You will also see verses you know, love, and remember, and claims that they have always read a completely different way than you know they have. It’s a frenzy; it’s a blindness. Once people believe this lie, they stop trusting everything in the Word of God. It leads people to paranoia, distress, and lack of faith in the things of God.
The Character of God
Put aside for a moment that the theories of “quantum pollution” and parallel universes are farfetched and like something straight out of science fiction. Ignore that people’s memories are fallible and susceptible to suggestion. Never mind that internet search engines and available information can be tampered with and that pounding people’s brains with false information from memes, t-shirts, and broadcasts can make a big difference in how they remember things. Forget how different Bible versions and slightly different wording in different chapters can cause confusion.
Dismiss people’s tendency to paraphrase when they can’t remember the exact words to a verse. (And the even greater tendency to repeat what people say, handing down verses and prayers in an oral tradition, instead of checking what the Bible actually reads). Discount all of these great explanations for why people are misremembering what the Bible says. And you are still left with the greatest problem with this theory: the character of God simply would not allow for His Word to be changed.
Is God Weak?
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” 1 Peter 1:25 says that “the word of the Lord endures forever.” Hebrews 4:12 says that the “word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to the dividing of soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” John 10:35 says that “scripture cannot be set aside.” If the Bible is God-breathed, enduring forever, alive and active, and cannot be set aside, is God too weak to protect His Word and His own reputation for Truth? God forbid! The God who created the universe and calls the stars by name is well able to protect His own words. He is not at the mercy of quantum physics or the devil’s wiles. He is in control.
Is God Careless?
Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the sword of the spirit is the Word of God. We are in a battle. Most of the full armor of God is defensive, but the sword is the one offensive weapon that God gives us to fight the enemy. When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He fought using the Word. He used Deuteronomy 8:3, Deuteronomy 6:16, and Deuteronomy 6:13 to withstand the enemy, and the enemy had to leave. It is the same with us today.
As believers, we stand on the promises God made in His word. We resist the devil, and he has to flee. Does God care so little about His children that He would allow someone or something to sabotage our weapon? Would He allow the very words that will vanquish the enemy to be changed little by little? God forbid! 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…”
A Great Deception
It is the strangest thing to talk to people who believe this great deception. The people simply refuse to answer the question as to why God would allow His word to be corrupted. When talking to someone on YouTube about the phenomenon, I commented that people should be very careful what they lend their ears to because to “and to you who hear, more will be given.” The person’s comment was that I didn’t even know the Bible. The actual verse read “For whoever has, to him more will be given.” But he was correcting me to Matthew 13:12 while I was quoting Mark 4:24!
Likewise, people comment that the Bible warns about the Mandela Effect when it says that in the last days, there will be a famine of the word of God. But that isn’t what Amos 8:11 actually says. It says there will be a famine for HEARING the words of the Lord. These people are so worried about the Bible being changed by nefarious sources that they have stopped reading their Bibles altogether and are relying solely on what they remember. This absolutely contradicts what the Bible tells us to do. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding.”
Faith Comes By Hearing
Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Ephesians 5:26 talks about the “washing of water by the word.” Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Besides being a sword to fight the enemy, faith, guidance, cleanliness, and protection from sin are just the start of the massive benefits of daily Bible reading. But when people start to question the Word of God, they are questioning the character of God as well. Those who say the Bible has been changed are falling into a trap of the enemy. They no longer trust God or His Word.
The Final Trilemma
CS Lewis popularized the “trilemma argument.” The argument goes that when you add up the things that Jesus Christ said and did when He was on earth, it was not possible that He was just a “nice man” or a “good teacher.” He either had to be a liar, deceiving others for His own gain, a lunatic, himself deceived into believing He was a deity, or Lord, God in the flesh. Given the recorded history, there is no other alternative. I believe the same kind of trilemma exists with the so-called Mandela Effect and the character of God. Either God is weak, unable to protect His Word from the haphazard changes of the universe, He is careless, leaving His people vulnerable to fight the enemy with a defective weapon, or He is well able to protect both His people and His Word.
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There’s just not enough ROOM here for all the LOVE I have for this post, Sis!! Amazing information, thoughtfully worded and OH SO NECESSARY for this day and age!! I greatly appreciate your writing and sharing this!! I have shared it everywhere, and will like it share it again at a later date, just because! Praise the Lord, our God, may his will be done!
Thank you! To God be the glory because HE is worthy!
Amen!
So God’s name isn’t Jealous? Or is it? The last few bibles I’ve seen say God’s name is Jealous, named Himself after one of the most disgusting sins imaginable? Nope, something has changed. Jealousy is evil and evil is imperfection and God is perfect therefore God cannot be Jealous or, if God actually is jealous then God is in fact the evil entity known as Satan. Lucifer means Light and God means Jealous? Who is on the side of light and who is on the side of dark! How can we trust anything from someone who calls himself Jealous? I mean put Darth in front of Jealous and it sounds like you have yourself a Sith Lord. I feel sick. What if we all have it backwards and Jealous is the real enemy?
God’s name is Jealous. That’s Strong’s Concordance number 7067. God demands exclusive service and will not accept second place in the hearts and lives of people. This is consistent with Luke 14:26 and Luke 10:27. You are comparing God to people, but there is no comparison. He is not prideful when He says His name should be glorified. He is not sinful when He is jealous. He is the one and only true God Who deserves honor and glory and is within His rights to reject those of His creation who do not worship Him alone.
One more time, God is not so weak that the Bible could be changed without His permission. He is not cruel to tell us that the Bible is our weapon against darkness and then allow it to become faulty or suspicious. He is well able to protect His Word.
;WOW this is amazing. Astounding! Thank you. Just WOW!
Thank you, Sis! People who believe in this are on me like a dog on a pant leg on social media now. I am praying for their eyes to see, and I am begging God for His protection from spiritual deception. It is no joke.
Awesome article and yes so needed for these times we are in. God doesn’t change especially in our hearts and for those who have ears to hear and eyes to see! I just had another miracle happen this morning and I am smiling and praising as He is always present!
Yes, it takes eyes to see. I have gotten half messages like this and half explaining how I am totally wrong and the Bible is totally NOT the Bible any more. It is so sad. Anyway, maybe you will blog about your miracle. I would love to read it if you do!
Very good article Angela. I compiled three articles on the Mandela Effect a couple of years ago and they’re on our AMTM website, which I personally think totally disproves it, but what i discovered is that no matter how much evidence you give to a believer in that psyop, they refuse to accept it. It’s one of the craziest deceptions out there. Thanks for writing this article!
I remember those articles. They were excellent! It is definitely a spiritual blindness. Crazy days, for sure. Anyway, thank you for the compliment. We can pray God uses both of us for His glory!
You Stated — “Others just believe the world is like a “holodeck” (to use a word from Star Trek) or a “matrix” (like the movie with the same name) ”
My Response — That’s an interesting statement given that the Bible having the word “Matrix” in it is one of the reported Mandela Effects. O.o
Strong’s Concordance lists “matrix” as meaning “womb.” If you have ever seen that movie, that’s pretty much what those pods were. The enemy loves to give new definitions to old words, but it is that hint of truth that makes the bigger lie more dangerous. Thanks for commenting. I’m looking forward to checking out your blog as well.
You Stated — “The enemy loves to give new definitions to old words, but it is that hint of truth that makes the bigger lie more dangerous. ”
My Response — But in this case they gave the words the same definition because the Matrix is a womb in the movie. If anything the movie now points an entire new generation at the Bible.
If the Mandela Effect is real then keep in mind that nothing has power to do anything without that power coming from God and with permission to do so. Power is nothing without God.
You can’t even scream at God without the sound he permits to allow you. Just a thought
I’ve often said to people, about the war with God, as being a handful of ants attacking the ocean.
To be honest even the ground the ants stand on is soaked with ocean water.
The Mandela Effect is amazing but on a scale from 1 to God it doesn’t even register.
God is awesome! I’m going to adopt your last line and use it in many autuations: “_____ is amazing, but on scale from 1 to God, it doesn’t even register.” Love it!
You get it. GOD is making the changes which are real. The KJV bible is being modernized (President, matrix, unicorn, penny, suburbs, print in a book, …) GOD is showing the faithful the Redeemer is coming. The sun is white no longer yellow. Many satanic creations (books, movies, music) are being exposed. Words,logos changing. the small t is no longer cross shaped. the small a is now a backwards 6.