Why We Use the King James Bible - Part 1

Here at Fourth Watch we consider ourselves Bible believers. But what does that actually mean? Which Bible should we believe in and why? Many professing Christians today will say something to the effect of, “The Bible is the word of God, in its original translation.” They do not hold that there is an objective, preserved word of God in any language other than ancient Hebrew and Koine Greek.

This is a problem because the majority of the people saying this (majority, but certainly not all) are not fluent in either Greek or Hebrew. How can you judge the inerrancy of a scripture in a language you do not personally understand? At the same time the people saying this will dismiss English translations of the Bible as being all equally acceptable, since we can’t actually know the original text.

Folks, by saying this you are making the word of God of none effect. Jesus says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

Psalm 12 says “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.” (Psalm 12:6-7)

So, the question becomes, do you believe Jesus, or not?

As far as a doctrinal position, we consider the use of the King James Bible as a “should” rather than a “must.” We say you should use the KJV because it is objectively the finest translation available in the English language and therefore if any English translation was given or preserved by the Holy Spirit, it would be this one. However, the last thing we would want to do is put forth a doctrine of men as the commandment of God.

Furthermore, we believe in the historic Baptist distinctive doctrines of individual soul liberty and priesthood of the believer. Therefore, we can only say assuredly why we use the KJV over other Bibles, and if you choose to use a different version that is your right as a liberated individual with the Holy Spirit dwelling within you as your guide. But take heed so that your decision is wise and you are aware of the potential issues with other translations.

The Bible places the harshest curse on people who willfully tamper with the word of God (Jeremiah 23, 29, & 36, Revelation 22:18-19). The Holy Spirit admonishes us: “Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 19:27) We would not have this admonition from the Lord if there was no way to know the difference between words of knowledge and words of error.

How can we tell if a translation is reliable? We ourselves are not scholars of Greek or Hebrew, but we do have a decent grasp of English and common sense, and that is all you need in order to judge the quality and reliability of an English translation of the Bible.

Let's use Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 1 as a simple litmus test of your translation.

The KJV reads as follows:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Notice that this verse is one complete sentence and the word heaven is singular.

Looking around my own household I found two other Bibles belonging to relatives. One a Catholic New American Bible translated by the Catholic Biblical Association of America, and the other a New King James version distributed by Gideon International, a Protestant organization.

The Catholic Bible reads as follows:

“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,”

This is the beginning of a sentence that runs into verse 2.

The New King James reads as follows:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Much closer to the KJV yes, but different by one letter.

Heavens vs heaven. Why am I harping on this? Because these translators through their carelessness make God a liar. The creation account gives us seven distinct days of creation. The KJV translators are correct to say that “In the beginning God created heaven”, singular, because those other things that will come to comprise the heavens, plural, were not created on day one.

The firmament was created on day two, and the sun, moon, and stars are created on day four (See Genesis 1:6-8 and Genesis 14-19). Once these things are established, it is appropriate to use the word heavens if the translator so chooses, but not at Genesis chapter 1, verse 1.

Once we arrive at Genesis 2:1 we see a shift in the KJV: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” (emphasis in italics is ours) And we see logically from the chronology laid out in Genesis why the change in wording is appropriate.

But the NKJV is completely arbitrary about this and it will lead to an embarrassing discrepancy later on. Let’s turn to Revelation 21:1 and see.

The King James Bible reads:

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” Rev 21:1 KJV

This makes the KJV consistent from start to finish, and upholds Jesus’ promise that “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Genesis 1:1 starts with heaven, singular, and earth, and the description of the new heaven and new earth is consistent with the language established at the beginning in Genesis.

But now look at what the clowns of the NKJV did:

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no sea.” Rev 21:1 NKJV

There was never a heaven to begin with according to this translation, only heavens. But now that it’s all passed away, they’re suddenly using the word heaven in the singular since it was never once used in Genesis chapter one.

At least the Catholics decided to be consistent in their error:

“Then I saw new heavens and a new earth. The former heavens and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no longer.” Rev 21:1 NAB

Now, does the Bible contradict itself or do men contradict themselves? God is not the author of confusion. (I Cor 14:33) Therefore if you see a blatant and sloppy contradiction like this you are justified in dismissing these translators as poor stewards of the Word. God is able to preserve the essential meaning and power of his words despite the shortcomings of we men, but that does not mean that every translation of the Bible holds equal merit.

If your Bible is wrong right off the bat like that in Genesis 1:1, what else could it be wrong about? If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3) As we continue in this series, I will show you why these careless errors taint and distort the word of God in unacceptable and even damnable ways.

Genesis 1:1 on its face appears innocent enough, but we guarantee you they will make larger errors later. And some of these “errors” are not errors at all, but deliberate manipulation of the scripture to make it conform to the author’s doctrine rather than conforming their doctrine to suit the scriptures as they are.

Selah.

Christ Alone

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." I Corinthians 3:11

Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of Christianity. His Gospel was passed down by the apostles, without contradiction, for our "doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness." (II Tim 3:16).

This seems self explanatory when considering the Christian faith. Unfortunately modern teachings aim to separate believers from their own savior by insisting that Christ's ministry only applied to Jews. They're taught that the Apostle Paul contradicts Christ and in such cases they're to follow Paul for doctrine, as if they were preaching two separate messages.

This is the state of modern Christianity.

Such teachings are relatively new and are mostly the result of Judaized reference bibles. The goal of these bibles and their authors has been to make followers of Christ, sympathetic to anti-Christians and the mosaic law.

It's a noble effort to ease the rifts between Christians and Jews, but it's also led us to pharmaceutical mandates and an open air prison camp for all of humanity. Wake up Christians.

More on this soon...

Not with Men's Hands

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;” Acts 17:24-25

This is a passage from a speech that Apostle Paul gave to the Athenians, explaining idolatry among the children of Israel and all nations of the earth.

Idolatry appeals to the flesh and attempts to circumscribe God and constrain him into things that can be shaped and made and understood through man’s individual effort.

But God is all-Holy, all-powerful, and for him to submit to our will would be idolatry in itself, since he as God must uphold the divine order. Our works cannot not define God.

As far back as the law of Moses it says, “And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God…” Deuteronomy 27:5-6

Our works are far more likely to condemn us before God than to justify us. What we do must be done in humility and submission and above all, faith, without which it is impossible to please him.