No more, and perhaps less than the first fake "revision".
Your assertion is not true. The NKJV is not the same as the 1881 Revised Version whose New Testament was translated from Westcott and Hort's Greek text. The NKJV is not a "fake" revision as you falsely allege.
The NKJV is a true, genuine revision of the KJV and is a translation of the KJV's underlying original languages texts.
KJV defender David Norris acknowledged that the NKJV can “be classed largely as a revision rather than a retranslation” (
Big Picture, p. 367). KJV defender David Sorenson admitted that the NKJV’s N. T. “is translated from the Textus Receptus” (
Touch Not, p. 240). David Sorenson also listed the NKJV as being “based upon the Received Text” (p. 10). Laurence Vance acknowledged that the NKJV’s “New Testament was based on the Received Text” (
Brief History, p. 92). KJV-only author Samuel Gipp acknowledged that the NKJV “is based on the correct Antiochian manuscripts” (
Answer Book, p. 104).
Wilbur Pickering maintained that “the King James Version (AV) and the New King James Version (NKJV) reflect a form of the text based upon the many later MSS” (
Identity of the NT Text II, p. 1;
Identity of the NT Text IV, p. 2). KJV-only author Jack McElroy admitted that the “NKJV is translated from the same Greek New Testament and virtually the same Hebrew Old Testament as the 1611 King James Bible” (
Which Bible Would Jesus Use, p. 135). Charles Surrett, who is biased toward the KJV, indicated that at least “72 times” the KJV’s underlying Greek New Testament text supported the NKJV’s renderings in the book of Romans over the KJV’s renderings (
Certainty of the Words, p. 123).
In his list of formal equivalent translations, William Einwechter included the NKJV along with the KJV, and he noted that the NKJV is “based on the TR” (
English Bible Translations, pp. 17, 29). Kerby Fannin listed the NKJV and MKJV as being “based on the Received Text” (
While Men Slept, pp. 469-470). Michael Sproul referred to “the fact that the NKJV is translated from the same Greek text as the original KJV” (
God’s Word Preserved, p. 39, footnote 51). J. G. Vos as revised by M. L. Strauss noted: “The primary distinction of the NKJV is its textual basis, utilizing the Textus Receptus, the edition of the Greek NT behind the KJV” (
Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 5, p. 1007). Gary Zeolla affirmed that the NKJV is “based on the same Greek text as the KJV, the TR” (
Differences between Bible Versions, pp. 20, 66). Gary Zeolla suggested that “the KJV and NKJV attempt to translate the original text as word for word as possible” (p. 61). Zeolla asserted that “the NKJV is highly readable and is extremely accurate” (p. 68). Gary Zeolla maintained that the NKJV “is every bit as faithful to the original text as the KJV, even more so at times” (p. 242). Gregory Tyree listed the NKJV and the KJV as literal translations of the Majority text family (
Does It Really Matter, p. 77). In the introduction to the
Eastern/Greek Oxthodox Bible, Laurent Cleenewerck maintained that the NKJV is “based on the Textus Receptus and follows the formal-equivalency approach and general style of the KJV” (p. 17). Norman Geisler and William Nix observed: “The diligent efforts by the revisers of
The New King James Version to produce an English Bible that retains as much of the classic King James Version as possible while at the same time bringing its English up-to-date has been achieved to a great degree” (
General Introduction to the Bible, p. 599). Alec Gilmore described the NKJV as “little more than a language update” (
Dictionary, p. 119). William Paul claimed that “the NKJV is virtually the King James Version, only without the 17th century archaic word forms” (
English Language Bible, p. 80). William D. Mounce described the NKJV as the “American revision” of the KJV (
Greek for the Rest of Us, p. 264).
TR defender Jim Taylor listed the NKJV as a revision of the KJV (
In Defense of the TR, p. 101).
In the editor’s preface of John Maxwell’s commentary on Deuteronomy in
The Communicator’s Commentary, Lloyd J. Ogilvie maintained that the NKJV “combines with integrity the beauty of language, underlying Hebrew and Greek textual basis, and thought-flow of the 1611 King James Version, while replacing obsolete verb forms and other archaisms with everyday contemporary counterparts for greater readability” (p. 10). In
The Inspirational Study Bible [NKJV edition], Max Lucado asserted: “The New King James Version preserves the precise scholarship of the original King James Version while updating the literary form of the text” (p. v). Max Lucado added: “The NKJV is a dependable version of the classic text in language that makes sense for today’s readers” (
Ibid.). Ron Rhodes wrote: “The New King James Version (NKJV) is a revision of the King James Version (KJV) in modern English” (
Complete Guide, p. 113). Ron Rhodes added: “The NKJV significantly updates the KJV, making it a much more accurate translation” (p. 114). Evangelist Estus Pirkle wrote: “In my opinion, the New King James Version is the greatest English translation that is available today to English readers. It is based on the same Hebrew and Greek texts (Textus Receptus) used by the 1611 KJV translators” (
The 1611 KJB, p. 177). Wilbur Pickering asserted: “Until such a time as a good translation of the Majority Text becomes available, the best current English version of the NT is the NKJV—an excellent translation of a good Greek text” (
Identity of NT Text II, p. 183). The special committee on Bible Versions for the Baptist Missionary Association Theological Seminary reported that the NKJV “seems to be as faithful to the Hebrew and Greek texts as the earlier versions” (bmats.edu/about-us/bible-versions).
Jack Lewis, a supporter of the Critical Text, claimed that “the NKJV is a deliberate effort to turn the processes of scholarship back to the state of textual knowledge prior to the influence of Westcott-Hort” (
English Bible, p. 333).