Which Bible is God’s pure preserved Word?
Answers to Bible Questions
Scriptures are from the KJB
(Q) Which Bible is God’s pure preserved Word?
(A) First, one important thing we must understand about the Bible. If the critic and the correctors of the Bible are right when they say God’s word was inerrant and perfect only in the original manuscripts, then we could call off the Judgment Seat of Christ. After all God. would be totally unfair to judge our service and mete out rewards based on the content of a book to which we never had access. How could we obey II Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, without access to the word of truth?
Lovers of the Word of God see the King James Bible as a token of God’s Providential care of His people and a translation without equal in all history.
With England fighting her way out of Roman subjection, there was a prevailing spirit of Protestantism in the King James Bible, the spirit of “earnestly contending for the faith” (Jude 3) for which men and women had endured fire, dungeon, and sword.
The Translators of the KJB
The philosophy of the men behind the King James Bible was uncontaminated with the leaven of modem thought, atheistic and pantheistic ideology, and the other godless philosophies which arose in the following two centuries.
These were chosen men from London, Oxford, and Cambridge, scholars of impeccable integrity and unquestioned fidelity to Holy Scripture, whose one commitment was to translate the text as faithfully as possible, without “any private interpretation” (2 Peter 1 :20).
What Text did the Translators use
They were the best manuscripts–the Masoretic Hebrew Old Testament Text and the Received Greek New Testament Text (Textus Receptus). These were accurate and preserved copies of the inspired, inerrant, infallible Scriptures handed down by the Jews of the Old Testament and by the Apostles of the New Testament. They were carefully copied by their custodians. These accurate copies (apographs) were in the possession of the faithful church up to the time of the Reformation and accepted by Protestant scholars as the most accurate and the closest to the originals (autographs).
Sometime around A.D. 500, a group of Jewish scribes called the Masoretes began to copy the Old Testament and add things into the text to make it more readable for a Western audience. Most of the Jews in that time period were becoming more and more like their Western neighbors, so the Masoretes tried to accommodate them. They did not change the text, but they added “helps” to ensure its accuracy and to aid the people in understanding it.
One way they did this was by adding vowels to the Hebrew text to help the reader pronounce the words. Western / modern nations in the 600’s had a hard time pronouncing a series of consonants. We would have the same difficulty today. It is hard for a Westerner to pronounce “bllgm.” It is easier for him to pronounce “ballgame.” We need vowels to pronounce our words. So, to assist Westerners in the 7th Century, the Masoretes added vowels to the text.
The Masoretes also added a system of checks and balances to make sure that the text was copied accurately by their scribes and the system was very, very, thorough. Numbers were placed at the end of each book, telling the copyists the exact number of words that a book contained in its original manuscript. If the copy had a few more words or a few less words than the original, the copy was thrown away. At the end of each book, the Masoretes also listed the word or the phrase that would have numerically been found in the exact middle of the book. Again, if the copy did not have the right word or phrase in its middle, it was thrown away.
To double-check for accuracy, after one scribe had finished writing, another scribe would begin to count his words and to look for the phrase that appeared in the middle of the book. If he found everything as it should be, the copy would be kept and used for reading and studying. If the scribe found so much as one error, the copy would be discarded, and the writing scribe would have to start all over again on another copy. Talk about a frustrating job! A scribe could spend up to several months copying the Book of Ezekiel, only to find that he was one word off the number count, and he must now start all over again.
The Masoretes also included a system of checks and balances within the Hebrew text itself. Within the text, they included footnotes that told how many times a certain word or group of words appeared in the book. One footnote might reference the word “garden” and in the margin it would say that the word “garden” appears 11 times in the Book of Nahum. After the copying scribe finished the Book of Nahum, another scribe would see this footnote in the text and count how many times the word “garden” appeared in the book. If it appeared 11 times, the copy would be kept. If it only appeared 10 times or if it appeared 12 or 13 times, it would be thrown away and the copying scribe would have to start all over again.
It should be noted here that the King James translators lacked nothing; and more recent manuscript discoveries duplicate what the King James translators already had, albeit in a different format.
Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found were not even about the Bible, and what little Bible they contained was already known to the King James translators.
Similarly, as the King James translators already had the Roman Catholic translations, they had the same material as subsequently found in Vaticanus and Sinaiticus. The so-called Septuagint was also known to the King James translators although no manuscripts are older than third century A.D., probably making the Septuagint the work of Origen.
The King James translators were divided into six companies, two at Cambridge, two at Oxford and two at Westminster, and each company had specific responsibility to translate specific portions of scripture. Then, as each company would complete its portion, that company would send its work to the other companies for review. Differences of opinion were settled with prayer and debate at group meetings.
Bishop Richard Bancroft gave the charge to the translators to
give them a starting point for their work. After four years of work, with the
translators’ numbers having decreased to forty-seven, two men were chosen from
each of the six companies to review the entire work. After thirty-three months,
the review was completed, and the King James Bible was published in 1611.
It took thirty-three years after the printing had been authorized by the king for the then named “Authorized Version” to become more popular than the Geneva and the Bishop’s translations. From 1644, when the final edition of the Geneva Bible was published, the King James was to become the most influential book ever published: God’s perfectly preserved words.
The Technique
The King James Bible translators adhered strictly to the literal or classical method of translation called the “Verbal Equivalence” or “Word for Word” technique. This Spirit-guided safeguard insured an exact and faithful translation, free from the corruption of men’s thoughts.
The Theology
Without exception the translators were men of faith and of sound understanding in God’s Word. Among their company were High Churchmen of the Church of England and Puritan scholars-all of whom were men fully submitted to the authority of Scripture. God’s greatest gift of the Sixteenth Century English Reformation has lost none of its light and truth. Preserving perfectly each and every doctrine of salvation, it stands unrivaled the greatest English translation of all time.
God promised to preserve his pure words to all generations forever (Psa. 12:6,7), and the KJB affirms that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.”, and “that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation”, and “Thy word is true from the beginning”, and “Every word of God is pure” (II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:20; Psa. 119:160; Prov. 30:5). Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matt. 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). The “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” is the mightiest of the “weapons of our warfare… Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God” (Eph. 6:17; II Cor. 10:4). The church is supposed to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and use it to “discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not” (Mal. 3:18; II Tim. 4:2). Christians are warned to “believe not every spirit”, but to take “the holy scriptures” which is the Holy Bible which is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” and use it to “try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (II Tim. 3:15; I John 4:1). Isaiah said, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word [the scriptures], it is because there is no light in them.” (Isa. 8:20). Shouldn’t the church be highly suspicious of Bible critics who tell us that we ought to believe their revelations and trust in their signs and wonders, but we ought not to believe that the KJB is God’s pure, infallible, preserved word? God’s promise to “preserve” his “pure words” “forever” “to all generations” of believers “of every nation under heaven” is well documented by the overwhelming majority of manuscript evidence (Psa. 12:6; 33:11, 119:90; Luke 21:33; Acts 2:6,7)
The Critics
Bible critics in all camps, both denominational and non-denominational, don’t believe that there is a pure Bible anywhere on the face of the earth. But to believe that God promised to preserve his word and then failed to keep his word is a most dangerous fallacy. The Bible says that “Every word of God is pure”; and “With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure”; for “thou hast… revealed them unto babes”: but “with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward”; for “thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent” (Prov. 30:5; Psa. 18:26; Matt. 11:25). “Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled, and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.” (Titus 1:15). “With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness…. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.” (Psalms 18:26-30). “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD and depart from evil.” (Prov. 3:7)
Are there errors in the KJV?
The simple answer is No. Are there seeming errors in the KJB? Certainly. This is because men don’t rightly divide God’s truth according to God’s instructions in II Timothy 2:15. There are those who use the KJB and then turn around and cast doubt on the purity and accuracy of its text. This was a habitual problem for the children of Israel in the Old Testament, doubting God’s word: “Theysoon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul…. they believed not his word:” (Psa. 106:13-24). God allowed people who used his name in the Old Testament to be deceived, and he allows people who use his name today to be deceived: “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (II Thess. 2:11,12). The Bible says that “God shall send them strong delusion… who believed not the truth”. Jesus said, “thy word is truth” (John 17:17); and “his truth endureth to all generations” (Psa. 100:5). “Yet the LORD hath not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” (Deut. 29:4; Rom. 11:8). When there is sin in the heart of a man or a woman (pride, lust, envy, etc.), all or part of God’s word will be rejected and replaced with a substitute of their choice, “every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Gen. 3:1,5,6; Deut. 12:8; Philip. 1:15; Jam. 4:5; I John 2:16).
What about Satan
Satan has been at war with the word of God for thousands of years, from Genesis 3, where Satan used God’s words to cast doubt on God’s words; in Matthew 4, where Satan used God’s words to tempt Jesus Christ the living Word; to Revelation 12, where Satan is at war with the remnant of Bible believing Christians who “overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11). The Bible tells us that “The words of the LORD are pure words”, and “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou [meaning God himself] shalt preserve them from this generation forever.” (Psa. 12:6,7): “and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever.” “even they, and their children, and their children’s children forever” (Isaiah 59:21; Ezek. 37:25,26). In Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, there were devout men “out of every nation under heaven” when the disciples of Jesus Christ were all filled with the Holy Ghost and “every man heard them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:1-6). Peter and the other apostles said, “And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.” (Acts 5:32).
Our adversary the devil has been hard at work since 1611 launching all the fiery darts of the wicked against the remnant of Bible believing Christians, “as the KJB of 1611 was destined to reach ten times as many people as the “originals” could reach, and it would be responsible for bringing many more to Christ than the ‘originals’ could produce….”In 1857 The American Bible Society said of the King James Bible that “it had the effect to develop and fix the structure and character of the English language; and with that language it has since been borne abroad even to the ends of the earth. And now, during the lapse of almost two and a half centuries, it has gladdened the hearts, and still gladdens the hearts, of millions upon millions, not only in Great Britain, but throughout North America and India, in portions of Africa, and in Australia. At the present day, the English is probably the vernacular tongue of more millions than any other one language under heaven; and the English Bible has brought and still brings home the knowledge of God’s revealed truth to myriads more of minds, than ever received it through the original tongues
The Holy Bible, the KJB (which some refer to as the Protestant Bible) but is in reality the Holy Scriptures preserved from those that were first penned by the holy men of God), is the most powerful book on earth. This is because God himself is the author, and it was written “not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth” (I Cor. 2:13). If the KJB is “confusing, unintelligible, incredible, impossible, misleading, garbled, or “obscure”, it is because it is the truth of God recorded in a Book which is designed to destroy or save the reader, depending upon his attitude towards it….”2 “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). “And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” (Matt. 21:44).
We have no legitimate reason to doubt that the KJB we hold in our hands today is the very word of God preserved for us in the English language. “The authority for its veracity lies not in the first printing of the King James Bible in 1611, or in the character of King James I, or in the scholarship of the 1611 translators, or in the literary accomplishments of Elizabethan England, or even in the Greek Received Text. Our authority for the infallible words of the English Bible lies in the power and promise of God to preserve His Word! God has the power. We have His Word.”
What about Greek/Hebrew lexicons and dictionaries
Some in the Christian community today use Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries and Interlinears to gain what they believe will be a “deeper” understanding of God’s word. However, man-made dictionaries and expository books attempting to give a more “accurate” meaning of some biblical word or passage will inevitably corrupt the questioned text. WHY? This is because the men who gave us our Greek/Hebrew lexicons and dictionaries were, for the most part, un-saved liberals who’s views and interpretations of the Bible were tainted by Gnosticism, mysticism, classical mythology and secularism. The various conflicting/confusing definitions given by reference books and lexicons cannot be from God, because “God is not the author of confusion”, and that divides the body of Christ (I Cor. 14:33). The apostle Paul admonished us to “all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (I Cor. 1:10). As the leadership in many churches today are moving people to Greek dictionaries, lexicons, or some other book or new bible version, the numerous conflicting versions set up the need for an interpreter (a pastor with a lexicon) to supersede the authority of the Holy Bible, moving the church, ever so subtly, back to the Old Testament or Roman Catholic Priesthood which established an intermediary between God and man (I Tim. 2:5; 4:1). Jesus said, “That which is highly esteemed among men [including bible lexicons] is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15). By “correcting” a word or phrase in the King James Bible, man is placing his lexicon on the same level with the scriptures. “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.” exclaimed the apostle Paul, “For I determined not to know an thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (I Corinthians 2:1,2). Be of the same mind one toward another…. Be not wise in your own conceits. (Romans 12:16)
Unlike the KJV translators, who had the entire original work (vast numbers of original language manuscripts, many citations of the early church fathers, and numerous bible translations in different languages from various lands) which contains the word in question and could read the word ‘in use’ in its entire context, those who translate the Textus Receptus today from Greek to English have only modern and secular viewpoints to draw from, and must, therefore, rely on the “corrupt words” of unsaved liberal lexicon writers. “The KJB, like all translations,sometimes translates several different Greek words with the same English word (or the same Greek word as several different English words). Although it may be quite straightforward to determine the English equivalent of the Greek word for dog, many other Greek words have many English counterparts….” “The lexicons and grammars of unsaved liberals are at the foundation of all Greek and Hebrew studies today. Current lexicons are either reprints of the works of 19th century liberals or highly plagiarized and slightly edited re-typeset editions. The few study aids that have been written by ‘Christians’ were compiled using the corrupt lexicons of un-believers. These unsaved men cannot discern spiritual things. “The wise men…have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jer. 8:9).” “If Christians knew how these rubber crutches were constructed, so much weight would not be placed upon lexicons.
Paul said, Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect (I Corinthians 1:17). For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: 4But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. 5For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness: 6Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ ( I Thessalonians 2:3-6 ).
“If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.” (I Tim. 6:3-5)
Understanding the Scriptures
If there is something in God’s word (the KJB) that you don’t understand, you can rest assured that it is not an “error”. Until Jesus opened their understanding, his own apostles were unable to understand the scriptures. “These things understood not his disciples at the first” (John 12:16). “But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them” (Luke 9:45). Jesus said, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” (Matt. 11:25). “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:45).
The facts presented here support the Authorized King James Version of 1611 as the true Word of God preserved in the English language. In addition to the eighty-seven thousand patristic writings (citations by the early church fathers), lectionaries and versions, over 99% of the 5200 existing Greek New Testament manuscripts are in agreement with the text of the English Authorized Version of 1611. Upon examination of the historical records and the manuscript evidence the reader will see God’s promise of the preservation of his word in the English Bible version known to us today as the Authorized KING JAMES BIBLE.
Why the Apocrypha Isn’t in the Bible?
- Not one of the apocryphal books is written in the Hebrew language, which was alone used by the inspired historians and poets of the Old Testament. All Apocryphal books are in Greek, except one which is extant only in Latin.
- None of the apocryphal writers laid claim to inspiration.
- The apocryphal books were never acknowledged as sacred scriptures by the Jews, custodians of the Hebrew scriptures (the apocrypha, was written prior to the New Testament). In fact, the Jewish people rejected and destroyed the apocrypha after the overthrow of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
- The apocryphal books were not permitted among the sacred books during the first four centuries of the real Christian church (I’m certainly not talking about the Catholic Religion which is not the true church.
- The Apocrypha contains fabulous statements which not only contradict the “canonical” scriptures but themselves. For example, in the two Books of Maccabees, Antiochus Epiphanies is made to die three different deaths in three different places.
- The Apocrypha includes doctrines in variance with the Bible, such as prayers for the dead and sinless perfection.
| There is a wonderful promise found in one of David’s psalms, as follows: 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 forever (Psalm 12:6-7). These pure words of God were conveyed to men through David and Moses and Paul and the other authors of the books of the Bible Furthermore, He frequently issued serious warnings against changing any of these words. For example, Moses wrote: Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4:2). Many years later, in the Proverbs God inserted a further warning: Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar (Proverbs 30:5-6). At the very end of the Bible, of course, is found the extremely grave warning through Christ’s beloved disciple John: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book (Revelation 22:18-19). God was indeed dead serious when He assured David (and all of us!) that He would preserve His pure words forever! Remember also that the Lord Jesus Himself said: 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 5:18). And He also insisted that “the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). Conclusion Satan is the master strategist. His secret weapon is counterfeit Bibles. By evil genius he sent forth a hundred corrupted modem English versions displacing the King James Bible from its exalted position as the authoritative Word of God in English. Sensing that his days are numbered, the Master Deceiver raised up false teachers, apostate and infidel scholars, translators, editors, and, consultants in the Church, in seminaries, and in Bible societies, “giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Timothy 4: 1), “who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them” (2 Peter 2: 1). Beginning with the English Revised Version (1881) the enemy of Man soul has spawned a host of contaminated, unfaithful versions, attacking and undermining, manipulating and mutilating, the vital doctrines of our salvation, in particular, the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The king James Bible stands head and shoulders above all the modern versions and it remains God’s pure preserved Word. Don’t be deceived, use the King James Bible!! Maranatha (Lord Come) John |