IS THE KING JAMES
BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD?
By Bro. Nic Kizziah
An
article published in the The Believers Newsletter - March 2003
IS THE KING JAMES BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD?
If it looks like the word of God, and it sounds like the word of God, and it smells like the word of God, and it feels like the word of God, and it taste like the word of God, then that is a pretty good indication that that’s what it is, the word of God. A lot of people have been deceived. They have fell for the same old line that Eve fell for many years ago, “Yea, hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1.) The Bible records this question as the first words spoken by the serpent, which is the dragon and the devil and Satan. The serpent wants you to doubt God’s word. “Yea, hath God said?” Is the Bible really the word of God? Is the Bible really true? Can I really trust what it is saying? Wasn’t the Bible mistranslated? Is the word of God really in English? Did God really raise Christ from the dead? Did Jesus really do all those miracles? Was Jesus really born of a virgin? What about Jonah and the whale? “Yea, hath God said?”
You don’t have to be a Hebrew or Greek scholar to understand this issue. As a matter of fact a lot of them don’t understand it. That is because many of them are Bible critics. They have torn the Bible apart and never did put it back together again. They say if we believe the standard text which we have received from our English-speaking forefathers then we are old fashioned, unlearned or just plain gullible. Therefore a response is in order.
Many times the Hebrew and the Greek words are of a disputed meaning. We to day are far removed from those days. So those who study these languages are in at least some instances making an educated guess at the meaning of some of the words. There is nothing wrong with studying these ancient tongues. I’m sure in some cases it gives one new layers of meaning. The danger is you have a multiple choice of meanings. Combine this with disputed meanings and you have a pick and choose whichever one you feel is right. This is fine for the theologian who wants to study these obsolete (dead) languages. Nevertheless this can be dangerous if a scholar thinks he has the authority to correct the Bible. The Bible is something God wove together through process of time. The preservation process was an operation of God. Therefore we have no right to tamper with the word of God as it is written and was faithfully handed down to us by our forefathers. In fact we are commanded and warned not to add to or take away from the word of God (Deuteronomy 4:2,) (Proverbs 30:6,) (Revelation 22:18-19.)
God gave the common man, those who are not scholars in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic, a spiritual book in a pure language (Zephaniah 3:9.) It will defend itself. As a student of that book, I take great joy in shewing some of the facts about what the word of God actually says about the subject. Number one: Jesus says my words shall not pass away (Matthew 24: 35.) Number two: The Bible says the scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35.) Number three: The Bible says the LORD shall preserve his pure words forever (Psalm 12:6-7.) So if these words can not pass away, and the scripture can not be broken, and the words of the LORD shall be preserved forever, then where are these pure, unbroken, and preserved words that can not ever pass away? They have got to be out here somewhere, that is if you believe the Bible. Find these words and you have found the final written authority. The Bible says to study the word of truth (Second Timothy 2:15.) The Bible says to preach the word (Second Timothy 4:2.) Where is the word of truth I’m to study? Where is the word I’m to preach? Is it not the Bible itself? So the real question is which Bible is the real Bible?
If God is the author of all the books that call themselves Bibles then He would be the author of confusion because they are all written with different words, sometimes saying different things. Therefore they are teaching different doctrines. God is not the author of confusion (First Corinthians 14:33.) Therefore He is not the author of all the so called bibles. You cannot have two or more Bibles saying different things in the same language and they all be the pure word of God. These products are sold to the publick as the newest updated version of the word of God. If you want to find the real Bible you need to find the one God has breathed on. You need to find the one that God has blessed. In your search for the real Bible you are looking for something that’s pure and preserved, not something new.
If the pure word of God is the originals only, then they have passed away because we do not have any of the originals. The originals were inspired but were not preserved. All we have are copies of copies of copies etc., and some of these were corrupted by agnostic, Alexandrian philosophy. Nevertheless, these pure preserved words do exist and they are in written form. When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, the first thing the Bible records Jesus saying to the devil is, It is written (Matthew 4:4,) and again, It is written (Matthew 4:7.) Once more, It is written (Matthew 4:10.) He did not say, it was written in the originals only. That’s what many Bible critics believe, it was written in the originals only, and it got lost. Whereas true Bible believers believe it is written, and it is still written!
In the New Testament when Jesus and the apostles read the books of the Old Testament, they were not reading the originals. For example when Jesus read from the book of the prophet of Esaias (Luke 4:14 -22,) he was reading a copy of a copy of a copy etc. Furthermore, according to the history books, the language spoken by the common man in Nazareth at that time was Aramaic, not Hebrew. Only some in the elite upper class knew Hebrew. So the book Jesus read was most likely an Aramaic translation. It’s conceivable that he could have been reading Hebrew and translating into Aramaic. At any rate he called it scripture (Luke 4:21.) If it’s scripture then it’s the word of God. Nevertheless it was not the originals. Therefore the evidence from the Bible shews preservation of the pure words of the LORD does not apply to the originals. Even though they were inspired, they were not preserved. There is not one piece of one original manuscript known on the face of the earth today. God allowed all of them to be destroyed. Nevertheless the LORD preserved his pure words. Man did not and could not do it, but the LORD could and the LORD did. The truth about the knowledge of God made it through under the supervision of the LORD himself!
The King James Bible has been blessed above all other books. It has been bathed in blood. It has stood the test of time. It has been used in a peculiar and unique way by God to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all over the globe. It is truly the grand old Book of God!