Preface
Firmly
believing that every Christian who has the capacity in this day and age of web
blogs and free self-publishing should study the Bible and write about what
they’ve seen for the edification of others I have taken on the task of
commenting on the entire Bible. If the Lord permits me I will complete it. I do
not insist that I am right in every particular of interpretation but am hopeful
that, even if you disagree with me, you will grow to love your Bible as much as
I have. Pick it up, read, study, comment. I am an ordinary Christian with no
seminary training. I have multiple degrees but that is because I worked for a
university and received my classes free. I felt it best to be able to relate to
what the students assigned to me experienced. As a result, I have a BA in
Anthropology, an MA in American History, and Graduate Certificates representing
an additional year of study each in Ancient and Classical History, European
History, Civil War Studies, and the American Revolution. This does not make me
an expert in the Bible. I simply read the Bible, cross-reference verses, study,
and read some more, praying for wisdom and understanding from the God who is
active in every moment of our existences and is the source of our reasoning
ability and even consciousness. At this writing I am finishing up on my 63rd
reading of the Bible; the first two times being the Good News Bible and the remaining times the King James Version. I believe that God has prepared me with the
experiences of my life and the personal talents He has given me to do this. But
I am not alone. There are millions of Christians who should do the same. I
could not have embarked on this project without the indwelling of the Spirit of
God and Christ and without the inspiration my wife, Beth, gives me every day as
we learn what God has for us together.
Introduction
The Bible is the word of God, the written word
of God. It is absolutely essential to our sanctification, being set apart for
God’s purpose. Its importance cannot be overestimated. But, what is a Bible? Is
it a New American Standard Version? A
New King James Version? The King James Version? After all, each of
them say different things at key points and each of them are translated from
different manuscripts with in some cases only slight variations and in others
extreme differences.
I believe that the Authorized Version of the Bible, the King James Version, is the preserved word of God and the last of
what can truly be called an authentic Bible. If you read it over and over, and
I am on my 63rd reading of it, God will use His words to change your
heart and mind, not only answering your prayers but giving you a greater
understanding of His purpose in your life. This book is my final authority in
all matters of faith, practice, and doctrine and that most, if not all, modern
Bibles are perversions of God’s word made possible by Satan who, from the
beginning, has caused mankind to question what God said. Those of us who still
hold to the King James Bible as God’s
word in English, or any other language for that matter, are often derided by
modern evangelicals as being reactionary and ignorant. Some of your brothers
and sisters in Christ might even call you a rebel, and not in a very
complimentary way, if they are not mocking your refusal to go along. But are
you a rebel or are you really a remnant, holding on to the faith of your
spiritual forebears with regard to God’s words? This introduction is going to
contain some historical information that might seem dry to you but I hope you
will pay attention so you know some of the background of why you believed what
you believed about the Bible. Take your time and try to understand what you
can. It will be helpful for you to know from whence you came in regard to the
question of “What is the Bible?”
Right now, we’re
going to lay a foundation and get some background on the people and events that
led us to where we are. It may seem a bit dry for you but please bear with me.
I think this information and this appraisal is important.
A movement began among Independent Baptist
churches in 1964 that regarded the King
James Bible as the very word of God in print, with all other modern
translations being counterfeits and frauds. The founder of the movement, and
for decades its most outspoken proponent was Dr. Peter S. Ruckman of the Bible
Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. Dr. Ruckman fired the first salvo in the
movement with a book published by his church’s bookstore entitled, Bible Babel. This book was the beginning
of a movement that split many Independent Baptist churches apart and struck at
the heart of fundamentalism in America. First published in 1964, the book was
reprinted in 1981, revised in 1987, and reprinted again in 1994. There are at
present approximately one thousand, five hundred congregations in the U.S. and
abroad that hold the King James Bible to
be their infallible guide in all matters of faith, practice, and doctrine.[1] The
central themes of the King James-only
Movement are that the King James Bible (KJB), also known as the King James Version (KJV) or the Authorized
Version (AV), was inspired by God (or in that Bible’s expression, “given by
inspiration”), no less than the original autographs, or is God’s word
providentially preserved in English, at the very least, with any Bible
translated after 1611 an unreliable substitute or counterfeit.[2] If
you believe this there are many Christians who will insist you are being
rebellious and are nothing but a divider, working against the gospel of Christ
and, in fact, are somewhat of an embarrassment to mainstream evangelicals. But,
are you a rebel or are you simply, and more importantly, a remnant, someone
standing on the faithfulness of past generations who were responsible for the
greatest movement of evangelism since the first century on the truth of the
Bible?
[1]
“Bible
Believers’ Church Directory,” Bible Believers. Accessed 1.1.2014, www.biblebelievers.com.
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