The following article was written by Pastor Terry Fenton

 

Introduction

Is the Authorized King James Version the Word of God or are all the Bible versions about the same; seems to be one of the most divisive issues today in many of our Christian churches. Pastors and people alike fight and bicker over the different Bible versions. We Bible believers (KJV) are referred to as church splitters, trouble makers, name callers, Ruckmanites, a cult, part of a ‘movement’, Bible worshippers, the KJV ‘only’ crowd just to name a few.

            The King James Bible was translated in 1611 and it now is 2005. That is a time period of 394 years. This “movement” has been around a long time. It is not us (KJB Believers) that have departed from the truth and started “trouble.”

            The revision process started in 1870 by the Church of England, which produced the first revision since the King James Bible in 1611. That is a time span of 259 years. The Revised Version was published in 1881. Shortly after that the American Standard Version was then published in 1901. There are over 200 different English versions available today with a new one coming out every 6 months to 12 months. With so many different versions, it can be very confusing to many people.

            1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

            Why all the versions and the confusion?

Genesis 3:1  “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” The Devil put doubt and confusion in the mind of Eve so she would disobey God. That is what has happened in these last days. The Devil knows that his time is short so he is working hard to confuse as many as he can before he is thrown into the lake of fire.

 

            The following ten reasons are why I believe and hold to the King James Bible (KJB).

 

1.                  God said He would preserve His Word. Psalms 12:6-7 “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” There have been various discussions as to what God meant by “seven times.” I have heard two thoughts on this. First, there are the seven major languages that the Bible has been translated from: Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Syriac, Latin, German, and English. Second, there are the seven major English translations from the Greek Textus Receptus; Wycliffe Bible of 1384, the William Tyndale Bible of 1526, the Miles Coverdale Bible of 1535, the John Rogers Bible of 1537, the Great Bible of 1539, the Geneva Bible of 1560, and the King James Bible of 1611. The English language itself went through various stages of development starting as early as 449 AD to the present. It really doesn’t matter to me as to what the “SEVEN” is. God said it and that’s good enough for me.

Psalms 119:89 “For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” Matthew 5:18  “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:34-35 “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” 1 Peter 1:25 “But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” If God made the statement that He would preserve His Word, why is it so hard to accept the fact that He did preserve His Word in the KJB?

 

2.                  There are no copyright laws applied to a KJB. A KJB that has no notes, references, comments, etc. can be copied by anyone anywhere in the world at any time. God would not want His Word hindered in its dispersion. All the Bible translations that I know of have a copyright. Webster defines copyright in this sense:

COPYRIGHT, n. The sole right which an author has in his own original literary compositions; the exclusive right of an author to print, publish and vend his own literary works, for his own benefit; the like right in the hands of an assignee.

In 1710 the British Parliament passed a law called the Statute of Anne, named for Queen Anne, who reigned over Great Britain and Ireland from 1702 to 1714. This was the first real copyright law in the modern sense. It granted authors the exclusive right to authorize the printing or reprinting of books for a limited number of years. Our Congress adopted the first U.S. copyright law in 1790. The copyright law has been amended frequently, often in reaction to new inventions, such as photography and the development of motion pictures. My question is why would God want His Word totally controlled by man? The only thing man knows how to do is mess things up. God knew that His Word needed to be published and made available before man could put his meat hooks in it. Psalms 68:11 “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.”

 

3.                  God is not the author of confusion. As stated above in 1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

I have had a lot of people ask me, “Why do we have so many Bible versions today? It is very confusing when they say different things.” Dr. Mickey Carter, Pastor of Landmark Baptist Church in Haines City, Florida, wrote a book entitled, “Things That Are Different Are Not The Same.” He says on page 14, “Many people today are baffled when it comes to selecting a version of the Bible to read and study.” To go along with this thought on confusion, why is “through his blood” removed from Colossians 1:14 in a NIV bible? Why is 1 John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (Which clearly teaches the trinity) removed from many modern versions? Why is Acts 8:37 “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” missing from an NIV. The verse teaches that a person must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and be saved BEFORE they are baptized. But with the verse missing, it is teaching that being baptized can save a person, or it could be construed that way. Why does the NIV change 1 Timothy 3:16 to read, “He appeared in a body” instead of the KJB wording which is “God was manifest in the flesh?” Anyone could be a “HE” but only “GOD” can be God, which proves that Jesus Christ is God. The blood is important for the remission of sins, so why take the word “blood” out? The Bible teaches emphatically the Trinity, so why do other versions remove the greatest verse in the Bible that teaches the Trinity? The Bible makes it clear that Jesus is the only way to be saved, so why remove a great verse that simply shows that we must believe on Christ before being baptized. The KJB shows that Jesus Christ is God beyond a shadow of a doubt. One of the meanings of the word “confusion” as stated in the Encarta Dictionary is: “disoriented state of mind: a psychological state in which somebody is disoriented and unable to think clearly.” If God is not the author of confusion then who is?  That sounds like the Devil to me.

 

4.                 I still believe that David killed Goliath. There is no question with most people that David killed Goliath. The KJB - 2 Samuel 21:19  “And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.” This verse shows how Elhanan killed the brother of Goliath but the NIV has Elhanan killing Goliath. The NIV – 2 Samuel 21:19 In another battle with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan son of Jaare-Origim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, who had a spear with a shaft like a weaver’s rod. The question is WHO KILLED GOLIATH? The NIV in 1 Samuel 17 has David killing Goliath then in 2 Samuel 21 Elhanan kills Goliath. Is that not a major contradiction? Ask any Sunday school child who killed Goliath and they will say David.

 

5.                 The KJB has a lower reading level than the new modern Bibles. So the KJB is still a “Book for Dummies.” Again, I have heard people say that the Bible is too hard to understand and especially a KJB. There are two possibilities involved. First, the person is not saved. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The things of God (God’s Word) are understood only because the Spirit of God indwells a saved person. A lost person can read a Bible 100 times and still have no idea what it says. Secondly, a saved person will not grow and learn if they are not reading and studying the Bible on a regular basis. 1 Peter 2:2  “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” The “Flesch-Kincaid reading level for a KJB is lower than all of the modern Bibles, in fact, the KJB ranks easier in 23 out of 26 comparisons according to “New Age Versions” by Gail Riplinger, page 195. The comparison was between Genesis chapter 1, Malachi chapter 1, Matthew chapter 1, and Revelation chapter 1. The Bibles compared were a KJB, a New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Version (NASV), Today’s English Version (TEV), and a New King James Version (NKJV). The overall grade level averages are quite interesting. The grade level average for the NKJV for the four chapters was 6.9; the grade level average for the TEV was 7.2; the grade level average for the NASV was 6.1; the grade level average for the NIV was 8.4 (and so many say the NIV is easier to read); and the grade level average for the KJB was 5.8. What makes the difference? The KJB uses one or two syllable words while the new versions use multi-syllable words. Riplinger goes on and compares many words used in the new versions and words the KJB uses and shows how complex the words are used in the modern versions. I have been reading a KJB all of my life. I do have problems with the Bible at times but it is not the Bible’s fault, it is my fault. I don’t always obey what it says. My grand daughter has been reading a KJB since she was five and she has no problem understanding what is says. Psalms 119:130 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

 

6.                 The KJB is responsible for more souls saved, more revivals, and more lives being changed than any other book on planet Earth.

When we look back over church history, the greatest period for revivals and missionary endeavors is during the supremacy of the KJB. During the reign of the KJB were men like, George Whitefield, who could preach to 100,000 people at a time without the assistance of a sound system. And John Wesley, who during his preaching days wrote 233 books and pamphlets and rode over 250,000 miles on horseback. The two greatest songwriters, Fanny Crosby and Charles Wesley,   composed nearly 17,000 songs. George Mueller prayed in $7.5 million dollars to feed 2000 orphans daily. He also read his Bible through over 200 times and traveled 200,000 miles on a preaching circuit after he was 70 years old. During the Great Awakening of 1740 – 1770, 50,000 people came to Christ out of a population of 300,000 in New England. It has been said that D. L. Moody preached to over 100,000,000 and 1,000,000 came to trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Evangelist Sam Jones preached a four-week revival service in Nashville, Tennessee, where over 10,000 people were saved, baptized and added to the area churches. The Fulton Street Prayer Revival started September 23, 1857 and went through 1862. It was started by a layman, Jeremiah Lanphier, as a prayer meeting with 6 in attendance. Less than 6 months later over 10,000 Christians were praying daily. There were times that 50,000 souls would be saved a week. As a result of this prayer meeting, 2.5 million souls were saved. When Jonathan Edwards preached his famous sermon entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” people would scream out “Is there no way of escape?” while clutching pews and pillars for fear that the ground would open up and swallow them. It is said that when Charles Finney came to town, Rochester, New York, one of them, that things would never be the same again. Factories would shut down for the preaching services, bars would close permanently, and thousands would be saved. We have not seen things like what happened during that revival time happen in these “new version” days. I believe that when we get to heaven, we will see how God has used His preserved Word (KJB) down through the ages.

 

7.                 The THEE’S and THOU’S are vital in having a full understanding of the Bible. Many people today make fun of the KJB by saying that the THEE’S and THOU’S are not needed. They also say that the THEE’S and THOU’S make the Bible hard to read. Quite the contrary, a careful study of them makes the KJB easier to read than the modern Bibles. Let me explain. In the language of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament there is a very distinct difference between the second person singular and the second person plural pronouns. There is no difference in our modern English – both singular and plural are translated YOU. However, in the old English there is a difference just as there is in the Hebrew and Greek. As a result, the old English used in the KJB gives a superior translation than the modern English does. In the KJB, anytime you see the words THEE, THOU, THY, and THINE, they are always singular. YE, YOU, and YOUR, are always plural. This helps us better interpret and read the Bible. Read carefully the following verses and you will see the difference.

Exodus 4:15 “And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.” The THOU and THY refer to Moses while the YOU and YE refer to Israel.

John 3:7 “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” Jesus was speaking directly to Nicodemus and so He used “THEE.” The YE, is Jesus speaking to the whole world. To be born again was not just for Nicodemus but also for the whole world.

As you read the Bible, it is amazing how easy it becomes to understand who is speaking and to whom when you know what the THEE’S and THOU’S mean. Praise the Lord for them.

 

8.                 The manuscript evidence is clear that the KJB is the correct translation. Most existing manuscripts of the Bible can be divided into two lines. They are the “Alexandrian” and “Antioch.” There are only two Bibles in the world, God’s and the Devils. There are two basic views of the Bible. It is either perfect or imperfect. These two lines originated in two different places. Alexandria, Egypt, and Antioch, Syria. In a complete study of the Bible, Egypt and Alexandria are mentioned in the negative context most of the time. Examples are: Genesis 12:10-12; Exodus 1:11-22; Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 17:16; Acts 6:9; Acts 27:6. Not only were the manuscripts corrupted from Alexandria, Egypt, the philosophy was also corrupted, that the Bible had mistakes in it and could not be trusted. Every vital doctrine is attacked in the new “modern” versions and ecumenism, liberalism, evolutionism, and Romanism is promoted. The verses that deal with Antioch are in a positive setting. Examples are: Acts 6:3-5; Acts 11:19-30; Acts 13:1-3 we see the first missionary journey originating in Antioch; Acts 14:25-28; Acts 15:23-27. It is very interesting to see what the Bible says about these two places. Alexandria – NEGATIVE, Antioch – POSITIVE. Egypt is a type of the world while Antioch is a type of a Christian’s new life in Christ. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which one God would use to bring His pure Word through. The two texts are the Majority Text (Antioch) and Minority text (Egypt). The Majority Text has been known as the Byzantine Text, the Imperial Text, the Traditional text, the Reformation Text as well as the Majority Text. The Textus Receptus or “Received” text came from this line which borne the King James Bible, also known as the Authorized Version. The Minority Text has distorted the major doctrines such as the virgin birth; the blood atonement, the Trinity, and the deity of Christ just to mention a few. This Text line is the source of all the new modern versions that there are today.

 

9.              The KJB has NO contradictions or mistakes.  Psalms 119:140 “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.” I have had many people tell me that the KJB has mistakes and contradictions in it. My response is simple, “show me one.” No one can prove a mistake in a KJB. There are a lot of mistakes in the other version. One such mistake has already been mentioned with “Goliath.” There “appears” to be contradictions in the Bible, however, every one can be explained by using the Bible. I remember years ago when my ego was somewhat inflated, I went running to my pastor and said, “I think I found a contradiction.” His first response to me was, “there are no contradictions in the Bible.” After I showed him the scripture, he had a very logical and right explanation. You can imagine how low I felt when I was proven wrong but I needed the humbling. I never “question” God to the point where I “question” the authority of the Scriptures. There are many things in the Bible I have not yet come to a complete understanding of, I am not too proud to admit it. Every time I read the Bible through again, I learn something I did not know before. A careful study of ALL Scripture will prove that there are no mistakes in God’s perfect, preserved Word. After all, how could there be a mistake in something that is without error?

 

10.         I am convinced that the KJB is the Word of God. I have no doubt in my heart that the KJB is the Word of God. I certainly am not an expert on the issue but the studies I have done with the comparisons prove to me that God could not nor would not lose His precious Word. Once we know where the Bible is and trust it as THE WORD OF GOD, we need to love, learn it, and live it. Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Read the Bible every opportunity that you have. God did not take the measures that He did to preserve His Word for us to simply ignore it.

 

 

Interesting quotes about the Bible

 

“So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens to their country, and respectable members of society”. - John Quincy Adams

 

All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.... All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it. -- Abraham Lincoln

 

All that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine book. --David Livingstone

 

I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me. -  D.L. Moody

 

Perhaps there is no book more neglected in these days than the Bible.  I believe there are moldier Bibles in this world than there are of any sort of neglected books.  We have no book that is so much bought, and then so speedily laid aside and so little used, as the Bible. – Charles Spurgeon

 

It is impossible to govern the world without the Bible. -- George Washington

 

If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instruction and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury all our glory in profound obscurity. -- Daniel Webster

 

The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it. --Napoleon Bonaparte

 

The devil is not afraid of the Bible that has dust on it. –Anonymous

 

In this little Book will be found the solution to all the problems of the world. -- Calvin Coolidge

 

It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people.  The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom. --Horace Greely

 

I always have said, and always will say, that the studious perusal of the sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands. --Thomas Jefferson